THE READAHOLICS AND THE GOTHIC GALA is book three in Laura
DiSilverio's "Readaholics" cozy mystery series. In this
"Readaholics" mystery series, Amy-Faye Johnson takes the
organizational skills she uses with her event planning
business and applies that to solving crimes. In THE
READAHOLICS AND THE GOTHIC GALA Amy-Faye doesn't go
looking for murder and mayhem, but has it land on her
doorstep. I was drawn to this book because I love cozy
mysteries, but I also adore gothic novels and was
intrigued to have them front and center in this book.
Laura DiSilverio provides quite a cavalcade of quirky and
extremely suspicious characters. The Readaholics book
club selection in this story is the classic novel REBECCA
by Daphne du Maurier, and I enjoyed the book chat and the
way the club members draw parallels between the
characters and situations in REBECCA to current events.
The Celebration of Gothic Novels provides a great
backdrop to the sinister and puzzling events in THE
READAHOLICS AND THE GOTHIC GALA. The celebrity authors in
town for the event are an entertaining and odd assortment
of huge egos. Amy-Faye and her more down-to-earth friends
balance out the authors' outlandishness. I like that the
victim is a stranger to town, just as the primary
suspects are. I like the symmetry of the victim and
suspects both being completely unknown territory for the
amateur sleuth and her pals to investigate. The costume
party murder site lends to the overall strangeness of the
murder itself and the characters. I'm happy that Amy-Faye
doesn't go on investigative trips alone and almost always
has a trusted companion along as backup. The resolution
fits the story, and I enjoyed Laura DiSilverio's fun
twist near the end.
THE READAHOLICS AND THE GOTHIC GALA is a mystery with
greedy suspects, costume changes, wild alibis, and the
perfect sleuth to sort it all out. The side stories
involving the evolution of Amy-Faye's love life, and her
friend Brooke's ongoing quest to be a mom make the main
characters more real to the reader, and provide nice
counterpoints to the murder. Amy-Faye's romance with Hart
adds soft edges, and I love that her police chief hottie
doesn't scold her for trying to look into the murder or
treat her like a mischievous child. I look forward to
reading the next "Readaholics" book by Laura DiSilverio.
One sleuthing book club finds themselves in the midst of
a gothic-esque mystery as they read Du Maurier’s
Rebecca in the latest from the author of The
Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle.Reading the gothic classic Rebecca already has the
Readaholics spooked, and the chills only get worse when
someone in town actually gives up the ghost....
Amy-Faye Johnson has her hands full coordinating the
Celebration of Gothic Novels in Heaven, Colorado. The
festivities start off smoothly, but the weekend is soon
cursed with large egos, old resentments, and uninvited
guests. Matters become truly grave when a dead body is found
at the gothic-themed costume party.
The out-of-town authors claim not to know the victim, but
Amy-Faye has doubts. With skeletons turning up in all of the
suspects’ closets, Amy-Faye and the Readaholics must tap
into their knowledge of gothic literature to find a killer
who lurks in the shadows...
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