A standard cozy mystery but I couldn’t connect with the characters.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Mikki is a book doctor that finds herself in the middle of an investigation. Will she uncover secrets that point the killer in her direction or will they go for someone else? This was a fast paced book that had some laughs, surprises, and twists. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

What a fantastic book! I had such a fun time reading this story.
I enjoyed all the colorful characters and all the different twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Not a bad series but not an exceptional one. When I saw this book available for request from Netgalley, I purchased the first one to get a feel for the series. The premise is great: Mikki Lincoln, a 60ish retired teacher purchases her childhood home, opens an editing business to make extra money, and finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. As a librarian and former English teacher, I enjoyed the references to grammar and punctuation and word choice and I appreciate an older protagonist vs. some of the cozies that feature younger (often empty headed) heroines.

But this one is just "okay" for me. I don't connect with Mikki well; her sleuthing is about as subtle as a sledge hammer and I find myself wondering why anyone would talk with her let alone give her personal information about themself or their past. She seems to be merely a busybody (she has no great personal stake in solving the murders in the first two books) so why risk life and limb?

The Deadly Edits series is readable if not compelling. If you have a few hours, the titles are not a bad way to pass the time, but, for me, not "must reads."

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Clause & Effect is a good mystery with interesting characters. It is well written and the characters are well developed. I would read more by this author.

I will admit, I definitely read this book based on the cover. I did not read the first book in this series but this one does work as a stand -alone. It's a traditional cozy mystery, rather slower paced up until the last few chapters.
Mikki, having been suckered into doing some volunteer editing of the script for the town's historical pageant is at the historical society building when a body is uncovered during renovations.
Mikki while digging through the town's past for the script also starts to dig through the victim's past causing some old wounds of towns people to be reopened.

3.5 stars
After Book #1 in the series, Clause & Effect is a bit of a disappointment. The writing is just as good, the characters are as engaging, and the premise of a play at a town festival is fun. The disappointment comes with the very noticeable absence of the grammar and literary references that made the first book so much fun. Also, the scenes leading to the reveal were predictable and fairly stock material for a cozy mystery. In all, the book is decent, but not amazing.

Mikki Lincoln gets dragged into helping with a pageant play with the historical society. Turns out that she has to do a lot of work on the play to get it ready. While at the historical society, there is a body found in the wall. Mikki is intrigued enough to get involved in figuring out who the body is and what happened to them. She becomes involved in tracking down events that happened 25 years ago and wading through old memories in her small hometown in upstate New York. I like how the heroine is an older lady which lets us remember that people are still smart and capable even when they get older. I thought the ancestry tidbits were interesting and amazing to think of having family in the same place for so many years. It made me a bit nostalgic.

It's interesting to read a current book with the main character a woman of a 'certain age'. Mikki is a widow who moved back to her childhood home in New York and is roped into editing a play for a 225 year founders celebration. Chaos ensues when a body that was walled up in the historical society fireplace is revealed during a remodel. There are many side stories that are absorbing, and the build up to the conclusion is extremely suspenseful. I highly recommend the A Deadly Edits Mystery series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I received a free copy of CLAUSE & EFFECT (Deadly Edits Book 2) by Kaitlyn Dunnett in exchange for an honest review. Since the events of CRIME AND PUNCTUATION, Mikki Lincoln has continued to work as a freelance book editor to fund both her retirement and the repairs her childhood home. When the ladies of the historical society guilt Mikki into revising a play describing the town’s history in anticipation of Lenape Hollow’s 225th anniversary, Mikki finds herself in more trouble than just correcting factual inaccuracies, outdated style, and bad grammar. Mikki becomes embroiled in solving a historic murder where the victim disappeared without notice or comment by the community and where the killer still roams free. As Mikki zeroes in on the murderer, other townsfolk fall victim to the murderer. Can Mikki identify the killer before she becomes history, too?

I enjoyed this story. I have been looking forward to this sequel since I read the first of the Deadly Edits book. I recommend this book and this series to fans of Kaitlyn Dunnett, senior citizen sleuths, and smalltown cozy mysteries involving writing, editing, plays, and history.

#ClauseEffect #NetGalley

Mikki Lincoln bought her childhood home to spend her golden years where she started out. Little did she know she would be coerced into rewriting the town’s bicentennial play to accommodate their 225th anniversary. As Mikki is working at the local historical society during some construction, she is witness to a body being found as some repairs are being made.

While the murder occurred while Mikki was gone from Lenape Hollow, she knows many of the main suspects and helps to identify the victim. Unfortunately, Mikki is curious and begins asking lots of questions and has quite a few potential suspects in her list. Eventually she gets too close and risks her own life when the killer strikes again 25 years later and Mikki is still asking questions.

The second book in the series, though the first I have read, works well as a standalone, though you will definitely want to read the first book too. An enjoyable cozy with a sexagenarian main character that you can totally relate to, especially if you’re a grammarphile like Mikki and me.

The book covers for this series are so fun. A professional editor features at the main character. This second book continues the character development as well as revealing more about the small town and local history. Fun and enjoyable.

This book is an absolute page turner - the talented author has ended so many of her chapters with cliff hangers that you just can't put it down! Mikki Lincoln has retired to her home town of Lenape Holland, NY and has agreed to help rewrite the town's history play to update it for the 225th anniversary. She is at the historical society researching the original script when a construction accident unveils the body of a woman who had been buried there many years ago. Through conversations with residents and her own researching, Mikki becomes convinced that the body is that of Grace Yarrow, a young woman who wrote the original script and has not been heard from since and she is determined to find out the truth. This delightful story features original, relatable characters, a small town setting and lots of local history. I highly recommend it.