Review: Murder is a Family Business

Murder is a Family Business by Heather Haven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read this book when it was freshly released. I thought I'd re-run this review to introduce the Alvarez family to fans of cozy mysteries. No little old ladies however. Lee is young, smart, a sharp dresser, and has a family with skills in the detecting business. Enjoy.

My Review Starts Here:

This is a nice introduction to a family of private detectives. True, they're supposed to be in the business of investigating corporate theft and other ethically challenged business practices.

However, Lee has been set the task of tailing on her mother's (the agency boss) friend's husband because the wife is suspicious that he's having an affair. Lee finds herself sitting on a dock in San Francisco in a driving rainstorm, getting soaked to the skin, and she can't even see her quarry in a dilapidated warehouse. What the heck would a warehouse have to do with a man philandering on his wife? Lee loses contact with the man, but finds a lost kitten. To me, far better to take the kitty home then to hang out trying to track the man's supposed extramarital affairs.

Lee returns the next day to check out the warehouse and finds the man dead, shot three times in the chest.

Okay, Lee is now hip-deep in a murder, somewhere the family agency didn't want to be. Lee is persistent, however (an annoying characteristic according to her mom) and just has to find out why the man is dead and whodunit.

The clues pile up while Lee investigates, leaving the kitten to the care of her tio (uncle) while she tries to figure out why the man is dead.

Okay, enough plot because this is just the beginning as Haven stacks up a lot of clues and hints and puts Lee is dire danger.

All in all a nicely done suspense/mystery. The only complaint I have is that a section set in a hospital goes on too long for my taste. There. I said something negative so you know I am really giving an honest assessment.

I definitely enjoyed this book and I look forward to the continuing adventures of the Alvarez family detective agency.