Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Book #Review ~ Strangled by Simile (Chalkboard Outlines, Book 3) by Kelley Kaye @kelkay1202 ~ #CozyMystery

Strangled by Simile (Chalkboard Outlines) by Kelley Kaye

About Strangled by Simile:

 

Strangled by Simile (Chalkboard Outlines) 

Cozy Mystery 

3rd in Series 

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing 

Publish Date: May 23, 2021

Number of Pages 258

Southern transplant Emma Lovett and best friend/colleague Leslie Parker can hardly believe it: it’s Emma’s third year at Thomas Jefferson High School, and in addition to an amazing year with boyfriend Hunter Wells and Leslie’s brand-new love interest, they’ve gotten all the way through Homecoming with no one dying.

Oops.

At the end of October, Emma finds the strangled body of Charlie Foreman, one of Leslie’s favorite nemeses. And the first clue implicates Leslie in the crime! To make things worse, Emma’s feeling a little oogy: tired, dizzy, and something’s up with her eyes. What’s going on?

All Emma and Leslie are trying to do is find new methods for teaching the youth of America, hopefully using lessons from The Great Bard—their hero—William Shakespeare.

But someone has a different idea: more schooling in murder.

My Review:

Emma has been teaching at Thomas Jefferson High School for three years - Three Years!! It seems like only yesterday Emma finds herself in Colorado after leaving her husband. Now, she's settled in, is having a blast teaching, enjoys her friendship with Leslie, and loves spending time with her boyfriend, Hunter Wells. What Emma doesn't love are the sudden health issues she's encountering and continuing to find murder victims.

One morning, after being awoken before her alarm, Emma decides to go into work early. It is then she discovers the body of coach Charlie Foreman. As if find Charlie wasn't unpleasant enough, the local police give Emma a hard time at the scene. Later, the police implicate Leslie when a clue at the scene leads back to her. Emma, Leslie, and Hunter don their amateur sleuthing caps to exonerate Leslie and find the real killer.

Emma, Leslie, and Hunter are great characters. Emma and Leslie have a wonderfully developed friendship. Emma and Hunter have a cute romantic relationship. I enjoy all of their interactions. Strangled by Simile introduces a serious topic and the build-up is executed well by the author. They work well together at the school and while investigating the murder of Charlie. 

Even with the serious undertones though, the author tastefully adds humor and wit to the mix. Leslie is a funny character and I enjoy her wittiness and penchant for Shakespeare quotes. Emma is a little more serious but she’s wonderful. The world building is done well. I was able to visualize the entire story and felt like I was there helping Emma, Leslie, and Hunter. The story was fast-paced - never a dull moment. I enjoyed Strangled by Simile. 

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

My Rating:


About Kelley Kaye:

“Kelley Kaye” taught High School English and Drama since 1992 in California, then Colorado and now Cali again, but her love for storytelling dates back to creating captions in her high school yearbook. Maybe back to the tales she created for her Barbie and Ken—whatever the case, the love’s been around a long time. She’s married to an amazing man who cooks for her, and they have two funny and wonderful sons.

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