It’s Murder, You Betcha!

• Title: It’s Murder, You Betcha!
• Author: Jeanne Cooney
• Website: https://jeannecooney.com/
• ASIN: ‎ B0D3K6X2ZH
• ISBN: ‎ 1682011488
• Publisher: ‎ North Star Press of St. Cloud
• Publishing Date: March 12 2024
• Genre: Mystery

Book Description (from Amazon.ca)

Move over Stephanie Plum, Betty Crocker, and the residents of Lake Wobegon. Retired farmer Doris Day Anderson Connor and her quirky friends and relatives are solving crime in the Scandinavian-Lutheran farming community of Hallock, in the northwest corner of Minnesota.

This book, the second installment in the It’s Murder series, has Doris and her sister, Grace Kelly Anderson, the owner of the local café, taking ninety-year-old Rose O’Brien ice fishing. The day ends, however, with nothing to show for their efforts except a dead body. With Rose distressed over the crime, Doris feels compelled to make inquiries in an effort to move the murder investigation along, much to the chagrin of the sheriff, an old boyfriend and a current puzzle. While in the café, at a funeral, and during a gender-reveal-party blizzard, she uncovers answers, but she also learns secrets and lies that lead her to wonder if she truly knows the residents of her hometown. After all, at least one of them is a killer.

My Thoughts

“It’s Murder, You Betcha” is the second novel in the “It’s Murder” series by Jeanne Cooney. The murder happens fairly quickly during the first few chapters and readers are left with trying to figure out who-dun-it throughout the rest of the book adding a few plot twists and turns. Readers are not alone in their sleuthing skills as Doris is there to help out putting her nose into everything. It is the typical “small town” mentality.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and the accompanied recipes. Recipes, I might add, I will be trying! There are many characters (suspects) for which Ms. Cooney did a wonderful job bringing to life. It is well written and the pace is well constructed leaving the reader satisfied and engaged. It took me a bit to figure out the murderer, but there was still a potential I was wrong. I found myself at times, laughing at Doris and thinking to myself, “she’s so real!” This book would be for readers who love a good cozy mystery.

Reviewed by: KellyR

Rating: 4