Charlemagne "Charlee" Russo arrives in Portland ready for the
Stumptown Writers' Conference. She hasn't seen the conference
organizer and her friend, Viv, in a long time but they've worked the
conference/book tour circuit together in the past and she's excited to
see her again. Unfortunately, Viv has other worries on her mind than
the conference as her daughter, Hanna, has been kidnapped.
Meanwhile, all the volunteers for the conference are out sick with food
poisoning. Can Charlee help organize the conference and find Hanna?
FOUL PLAY ON WORDS is the
second book in A Mystery Writer's Mystery series and can easily stand
on its own merits. Charlee is out of town, so any relationship building
from the first book, FICTION CAN BE MURDER, is irrelevant to the
central storyline. Charlee does maintain regular phone contact with her
brother and boyfriend but otherwise, all the characters appear to be
new to series readers.
I love mysteries and book conferences of any sort are fun, so I couldn't
resist a mystery that incorporated both topics. Even better, the heroine
is a mystery writer herself! Charlee initially seems like the logical one
out of the whole bunch. After all, she's the one who questions some of
the things Viv is telling her as well as Viv's potentially disastrous
solutions. However, Charlee is also a bit flighty at times and several
scenes had me scratching my head a bit at her naivete.
And have I mentioned the agility dogs? No? Well, the agility dogs are
almost a side story in FOUL PLAY ON
WORDS as the hotel hosting the Stumptown Writers' Conference
overbooked and has two conferences going on at the same time. The
scenes featuring the agility dogs, particularly Scout, are phenomenal!
FOUL PLAY ON WORDS will appeal
to a certain type of reader. Some of the humor is downright hysterical
and had me giggling out loud. Other moments are a bit over the top and
will appeal more to readers who like that sort of outrageous humor.
Regardless, there's a little something for everyone who likes cozy
mysteries in FOUL PLAY ON
WORDS.
Between a kidnapping, a double booking, and a crew of
hapless volunteers, Charlee is worried the writing
conference will go to the dogs
Mystery author Charlee Russo agrees to speak at a
Portland writers' conference organized by her friend Viv
Lundquist. When Viv picks her up at the airport, she
frantically explains that her daughter Hanna has been
kidnapped. Unfortunately, Viv has a history of
embellishing the truth and Hanna has a history of
disappearing.
Charlee takes over the conference preparation so Viv can
search for her daughter, but the situation gets tense
when the hotel double-books the event with a dog show.
Despite it all, Charlee is compelled to investigate after
she learns shocking secrets about both Hanna and Viv. Can
she find Hanna in time, or will a plot twist lead her to
a ruff ending?
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