Dollycas's Thoughts
History meets mystery as hairstylist Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton attend a Seminole battle reenactment at a nearby living history village. They meet several costumed actors before the big event including the town marshal, Phileas Pufferfish, Millie Bleecher who was serving homemade biscuits from an outdoor oven made from a cardboard box, Simon Weedcutter, the village farmer, and more.
Many visitors came to the village to watch the exciting reenactment but when the smoke clears and visitors leave a dead body is found back in the village. Marshall Pufferfish is dead by a tomahawk to his head. One of the other actors in the village discovered him and her screams drew a crowd including Marla and Dalton and Dalton immediately takes charge.
Marla is not one to stay idle during a murder case. She is quick to question everyone she met that day and others including a long-lost relative. When another village actor is killed she turns up the heat and even takes a friend along so she can question people more in-depth. But her actions have been noticed by the killer and she may not live long enough to share her history with anyone.
Dalton and Marla are enjoying every minute they can with his daughter Briana before she leaves for college and their new son Ryder. Dalton will be retiring in just a few weeks and then he should have all kinds of time to spend with his family. I thought motherhood would slow Marla down but that sure wasn't the case. She was involved I think more than ever. Their home life is always written in a very realistic way but to accept the sleuthing Marla does you have to suspend reality for a bit. With this 18th book, she does have plenty of experience and Dalton is fully supportive of what she does but the situations she gets herself into are downright scary and they are so much fun to read. She is sometimes like a bull in a china shop but she does seem to pull the clues together faster than anyone else.
Ms. Cohen's descriptive writing style sets a scene so perfectly. I easily envisioned the Pioneer Village from each building to the Seminole site along with each actor's clothing and physical traits. We have a similar site here in Wisconsin, Old World Wisconsin, that I have visited many times over the years so I was familiar with the idea and how things work which helped bring the place to life for me too.
The mystery was truly a tangled one. Did an old mystery connect to this new one? Was the marshal cookin' the books? What was going on at the neighbor's farm? Is a button found at the crime scene an important clue? At times I felt like everyone was just going in circles as every suspect had a motive and some kind of opportunity. I did hone in on one person fairly quickly but I didn't have a good reason, just something about them felt off. As the story continued my theory held strong and culminated in quite a standoff.
Star Tangled Murder was full of twists, secrets, and lies making it a very compelling cozy mystery. And while all my questions about this current case were answered the final pages gave me a few more. The author leaves these characters in a really good place but I don't think this will be the last we see of them, at least I hope not. With Dalton retired is this dynamic duo hanging up their sleuthing shoes? Is Marla really going to be content working less and keeping her nose out of everyone else's business? Will Dalton be happy with a life full of some teaching, hobbies, and being a stay-at-home dad? I don't think so. I am very interested to see what the author has planned.
History meets mystery as hairstylist Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton attend a Seminole battle reenactment at a nearby living history village. They meet several costumed actors before the big event including the town marshal, Phileas Pufferfish, Millie Bleecher who was serving homemade biscuits from an outdoor oven made from a cardboard box, Simon Weedcutter, the village farmer, and more.
Many visitors came to the village to watch the exciting reenactment but when the smoke clears and visitors leave a dead body is found back in the village. Marshall Pufferfish is dead by a tomahawk to his head. One of the other actors in the village discovered him and her screams drew a crowd including Marla and Dalton and Dalton immediately takes charge.
Marla is not one to stay idle during a murder case. She is quick to question everyone she met that day and others including a long-lost relative. When another village actor is killed she turns up the heat and even takes a friend along so she can question people more in-depth. But her actions have been noticed by the killer and she may not live long enough to share her history with anyone.
Dalton and Marla are enjoying every minute they can with his daughter Briana before she leaves for college and their new son Ryder. Dalton will be retiring in just a few weeks and then he should have all kinds of time to spend with his family. I thought motherhood would slow Marla down but that sure wasn't the case. She was involved I think more than ever. Their home life is always written in a very realistic way but to accept the sleuthing Marla does you have to suspend reality for a bit. With this 18th book, she does have plenty of experience and Dalton is fully supportive of what she does but the situations she gets herself into are downright scary and they are so much fun to read. She is sometimes like a bull in a china shop but she does seem to pull the clues together faster than anyone else.
Ms. Cohen's descriptive writing style sets a scene so perfectly. I easily envisioned the Pioneer Village from each building to the Seminole site along with each actor's clothing and physical traits. We have a similar site here in Wisconsin, Old World Wisconsin, that I have visited many times over the years so I was familiar with the idea and how things work which helped bring the place to life for me too.
The mystery was truly a tangled one. Did an old mystery connect to this new one? Was the marshal cookin' the books? What was going on at the neighbor's farm? Is a button found at the crime scene an important clue? At times I felt like everyone was just going in circles as every suspect had a motive and some kind of opportunity. I did hone in on one person fairly quickly but I didn't have a good reason, just something about them felt off. As the story continued my theory held strong and culminated in quite a standoff.
Star Tangled Murder was full of twists, secrets, and lies making it a very compelling cozy mystery. And while all my questions about this current case were answered the final pages gave me a few more. The author leaves these characters in a really good place but I don't think this will be the last we see of them, at least I hope not. With Dalton retired is this dynamic duo hanging up their sleuthing shoes? Is Marla really going to be content working less and keeping her nose out of everyone else's business? Will Dalton be happy with a life full of some teaching, hobbies, and being a stay-at-home dad? I don't think so. I am very interested to see what the author has planned.
Marla and Dalton attend a reenactment of a Seminole Civil-war era massacre at a local Pioneer village, and of course, a dead body is found nearby. Who could have wanted Phil, the administrator and pseudo-sheriff dead? Suspects include the man who runs the gift shop, the blacksmith, the farmer, the teacher, the minister, the shaman, and the sister and brother duo who are real descendants of the original owners of the land. So many suspects kept me guessing who the killer could be. Meanwhile, Ryder is almost a toddler, Brianna is ready to leave for college, and Dalton is ready to retire. I hope this book is not the last one in the series!
