Too many unlikeable characters.

It’s a couple of months after the events of the first book. Lexi Jones has only just recovered from the injuries she sustained when she tried to catch a killer that time. When Lexi hears of the death of real estate agent Marilyn she is a little disappointed it is not a suspicious death; she wants to sleuth again! Though a 37 year old woman that suddenly dies of heart failure, that doesn’t sound entirely natural to me either. The coroner rules it such though.

A few days later another woman is found dead. This time it is considered a suspicious death by the police - something to do with finding the body in an unusual place.

Shortly after, Lexi’s friend Dash is arrested for the murder of the second woman, Rachel. And while I do get why the police like to question him thoroughly (the body was found in his garden and he was dating the woman), I don’t get why Lexi and her friends find anything of the following suspicious:
- Rachel was at Dash’s bar the night before she died;
- Rachel’s underwear was found in Dash’s hamper.

Dash’s owns a bar, lot’s of people hang out there. Rachel and Dash used to date. The fact that Rachel was at the bar, or her underwear in his hamper are the least incriminating elements.

Lexi enlists her book club, the Macaroons, to help investigate this case. Which they all have time for, or are willing to throw their busy schedules around. Lexi gives them tasks to investigate possible suspects and they all come back with interesting ‘juice’. When the Macaroons compile a list of suspects half the town is on it. All the women wanted to kill Marilyn because she slept with their husbands. All the men wanted to kill Marilyn because they could not have her all to themselves.

Meanwhile, Lexi is striking up some kind of rapport with detective Berg, after he’s stopped give her tickets for minor infringements of local code.

I just couldn’t get into this book. There are too many characters, their dialogue is all a bit hyped up, and most of the characters don’t sound like actual likeable people. I wouldn’t want to spend time in a waiting room with them, let alone in a conversation. I also didn’t care for the dog that dominated every scene it was in.

And I very much don’t like the ‘romance’ part of this book (note the quote marks). It wasn’t cute when Berg picked up Lexi at the police station. That was assault. As was banging on her door in the middle of the night to apologise and definitely when he came round to prove a point.

Oh, and if the sleuth doesn’t figure out who the killer is,

Spoiler

until after the killer tries to kill them too, the sleuth did not solve the murder. The killer solved it for them.

Don't think I will pick up this series again in the future.

I read an ARC through NetGalley.