Just finished reading...

A Crafty Killing (Victoria Square #1) by Lorraine Bartlett.*

Recently widowed Katie Bonner is just getting used to the idea of her husband being gone. So when his former business partner Ezra Hilton dies unexpectedly, and she learns that she is the main beneficiary, she's flabbergasted. She works full-time, and knows next-to-nothing about the operations of Artisans Alley.

But when she takes time off work to deal with funeral arrangements and familiarize herself with how the Alley is run, her employer is extremely difficult and unsupportive. In frustration, she quits her job, and decides that operating and promoting Artisans Alley is more suitable to her education and talents anyway.

Frustrated, because she doesn't think the police are doing enough to determine the cause of Ezra's death, which she's certain was NOT accidental, she starts to investigate on her own. It's then that she realizes that her husband Chad's car crash might not have been accidental. She seeks the advice of the owner of the pizza parlor next door to the Alley, but the more she learns about him and the other shopkeepers, the more confused she is about whom to trust.

Bartlett's new series is going to be a hit. A likeable, intelligent, independent protagonist with just enough problems and insecurities to be realistic, and a convincing mystery make this an unputdownable read.


*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.