My type of character, Leah Norwood is someone who embodies the solfter side of life as the small business co-owner of Scents and Sensibility with such wonder botanical scents while at the same time she also appreciates the cold steel of a handgun, and she doesn't mess around. Great characters and such interesting jobs, plus who doesn't appreciate a gal who can hold her own with local hoodlums while solving not one but two crimes. No one liked Isabella but that doesn't mean she should have been tossed in the trash. Not only is Leah a straight shooter but also a sharp shooter. Looking forward to reading books 2 and three now that I am solidly hooked.

Small business owner Leah Norwood s having a pretty awful day on the run up to Christmas. When locking up her shop for the night she discovers the dead body of the manager of the shop next door. It quickly becomes apparent that she is a prime suspect so she decides to investigate and exonerate herself.

I did like this book. There was a decent amount of dry humour and an interesting cast of characters. Unfortunately there was also a lot of 'tell' and not enough 'show'. There were a lot of unnecessary descriptions which, whilst interesting, served to slow down the plot and distracted from the story. Also Blair went to great pains to stress how 'average' Leah was, and yet she has these two gorgeous men vying for her attention without any explanation as to why (it's not that I think she should have been gorgeous, average is fine, but I would have liked some explanation about why they found her so attractive). The ending was a bit jarring as well!

All in all this was an okay read, but I probably won't carry on with the series.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher*

This is a fast book to read. While I wouldn't really call it a cozy mystery, the story has good bones and enough action to keep the reader intrigued.
I would read another book in the series, I think it has the potential to become a good series.
I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

Great read. Loved the twists and turns. The characters were so realistic. I got lost in the story and couldn't put it down.

This is an exceptional cozy mystery. Characters are well written and the storyline flowed very naturally and kept my interest throughout. I look forward to reading the upcoming additions to this series! Well done!

This is an enjoyable start to the Leah Norwood mysteries. Leah is hauling out the trash for her store, Scents and Scentsibility, when she finds the dead body of another store owner. Though shaken, it doesn’t take her long to figure out she is a suspect in the murder. Now that she has a personal stake in the case, Leah decides to keep her eyes and ears open to see if she can learn anything. Add in drugs, a crime family, and a rather attractive detective (on top of trying to keep her business running), and there are no shortage of distractions for Leah.

Though this book has apparently been out for a while, I had not read it so was excited to have the opportunity from NetGalley and the publisher to do so. I found the heroine likeable and the setting comfortable. I like the triangle that set itself up for future books, as well. The murderer was who I thought it was in the beginning, but it was still interesting to see how Leah found it out in her own time. I look forward to future books.

Definitely the right type of week for this book, dreary and rainy certainly matched the tone of the book. Like the shop and the community with its well written characters. There was plenty in the story to keep me engaged. I will hopefully continue with this series.

Many thanks to Net Galley for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well written and were well thought out. I loved the Scents and Sensibility shop and the community around it. I was really engaged with the story, as the plot moved at a steady pace meaning that there was never a dull moment.

The only reason for me personally that this was not five stars was the fact that it was an easy solve which meant that the later parts of the book were mildly frustrating as I was 99.9% sure and the characters weren't seeing what I was seeing. The only other thing was the sudden love triangle development at the end of the book which I found mildly annoying but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book too much.

I shall hopefully be continuing with the series, an really enjoyable read with a well thought out plot

Dead in a Dumpster is an interesting read. I read it on a dreary, rainy day and the tone couldn’t have been better matched for the weather. I wouldn’t exactly call it a cozy mystery. The characters thoughts and actions are a bit too rough-around-the-edges at times to neatly fit into that category, yet it wasn’t a suspense novel either. It is a good mystery, nonetheless. There are plenty of secrets and suspects to keep the reader engaged.