Sunday, November 29, 2009

Murder Packs a Suitcase by Cynthia Baxter


ABOUT THIS BOOK: Mallory Marlowe is ready to turn a corner—one lined with palm trees, plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments, and snack bars shaped like giant ice cream cones. Thanks to her new job as travel writer for the New York magazine The Good Life, recently widowed Mallory is zipping around Orlando, assigned to rediscover the glory days of “old Florida.” It’s the first of what she hopes will be many exciting adventures . . . but she’s about to discover that the Sunshine State has a dark side.

Settled in among the faux volcanoes and tiki torches of the Polynesian Princess Hotel, Mallory is on the lookout for quirky attractions like alligator farms and pirate-themed diners hidden amid the glitzy theme parks. But she’s not prepared to find a cranky journalist speared to death in the Bali Ballroom—or to find herself a suspect in his murder. With her trip coming to a close, Mallory has no choice but to figure out if one of her fellow travel writers is a killer. Because if she doesn’t get out of Florida soon, her career—and her life—are about to come to a dead end.Includes Mallory’s article for The Good Life, with tips and reviews of real Florida attractions!

Quote from the book: "She also spotted a stuffed mommy gator with two babies Velcroed on, which struck her as a terrific way of keeping one's offspring close by. She wished someone had thought of that when Jordan was little."

Why this book, you might ask: The cover caught my eye, the title was fun, if a little corny and the book description sounded good!

My Thoughts: This was a fun to read cozy mystery. I liked the cover, bright and attractive. I might even call it "Cover Kitsch" to go along with this cute story. I liked Mallory, her visits to kitsch-y "old Florida" attractions and the humor the author wove in. I liked the way the author wrote about the nonfictional destinations. I figured out pretty soon who the murder victim would be because he was such an awful person. What I didn't figure out was who the murderer was. As the story rolled, Mallory found that everyone on the trip, including herself, had reason to want Phil dead. All in all I liked it a lot. I'll look up this author's next book in this series.

Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Bantam (October 28, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0553590359
ISBN-13: 978-0553590357
murder, mystery, cozy, travel, Florida

5 comments:

Jo, a retired teacher said...

Goodness, you are busy. I've been busy and haven't kept up for a few days and you've read 5 books. Makes me feel like quite a slacker.

Ladytink_534 said...

Hmm, never heard of something like this before. I mean, it seems to follow the same path most cozy mysteries do but the surrounding plot seems pretty unique.

You know, I've lived in Georgia my whole life until a few years ago and now I live in Mississippi yet I've never been to Florida lol. There are gator farms nearby here though...

Angela said...

That sounds like a fun book.

P.S. - I wanted to let you know that I'm reading the book you suggested for my blog this coming weekend, probably on Sunday.

Jen said...

Like you, I thought this was a catchy cover! I may have to look into this one!

Faith said...

Thanks for this review Sharon, I have this one on my TBR pile. I should get to it sooner rather than later. I LOVE your blog background, it's gorgeous!