Back home again in Indiana. Allie is back putting her life in danger. A surprising ending, but really called for a head slap. Of course, that was the culprit. Oops! Almost put an identifying pronoun there. No he or she hints from me. I look forward to reading more of her adventures.

A Genuine Fix by J.C. Kenney is the 2nd book in the Allie Cobb Mystery series, and another great addition. Allie Cobb is now running the family's literary agency, and helping to plan her best friend's wedding in Rushing Creek, Indiana. When a man is found dead in a pile of mulch, Allie becomes the prime suspect. The man who is found dead is the guy who stood up Allie at her high school prom. Allie has no plans to go to jail, so she is determined to find the truth of who murder him. I really enjoyed this book, and read it in one day it was so good. So many twists and turns. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this cozy mystery.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

A Genuine Fix by J.C. Kenney is the second An Allie Cobb Mystery. Allie Cobb along with her tortoiseshell cat, Ursula (Ursi for short) is out walking on Friday morning. It is the day she checks out the progress of the Winchester-Cobb Memorial Park of which she is the head of the steering committee. Allie notices a dump truck has unloaded mulch where the gazebo is to be erected and then Ursi uncovers a hand. Georgie Alonso, the boy who stood Allie up for the senior prom, is found dead under the mulch and Allie is Police Chief Matt Roberson’s prime suspect. Allie Cobb, the Kickboxing Crusader, sets out to clear her name by finding the killer. A Genuine Fix can be read as a standalone if you have not had the opportunity to finish A Literal Mess. The story progresses at a steady rate making for a quick, easy to read cozy mystery. J.C. Kenney’s vivid descriptions brought the town and characters to life for me. I especially enjoyed the details of Allie’s charming abode above the bookshop. A Genuine Fix is told from Allie’s perspective (first person narrative) which allowed me to understand how she was feeling and her perspective on matters. Allie Cobb is settling into her new apartment and busy obtaining new clients for the Cobb Literary Agency. Allie is a woman who will not let herself be set up for a crime she did not commit. She is strong and determined which I like in a main character. Allie also has a “dogged desire for the truth.” The mystery is straightforward with a couple of suspects and pointed clues. Allie’s method of investigation is direct. Everyone in town knows what she is doing which aids Allie as well as the killer. It also results in some humorous situations. The way the villain was captured was unique and entertaining. A Genuine Fix is a lighthearted cozy mystery with a cunning cat, a disagreeable victim, a mound of mulch, a tolerant police chief, and one determined bicycle riding literary agent.

Allie Cobb has returned to Rushing Creek to take over her father’s literary agency, as well as oversee the project of a new park being built in honour of her father, Walter Cobb, and her best friend Sloane’s father, Thornwell Howell. While Allie checks on park progress one morning, she discovers the body of a former classmate at one of the build sites.

In the in-story interim between books, a lot has been happening in Allie’s life, as she has found an apartment, a boyfriend, and her career is looking up. Also, Sloane and Luke have meanwhile gotten engaged.

I liked this story slightly better than the first because this one seemed slightly more lighthearted (even though still revolving around a murder), maybe because Allie wasn’t close with the victim in this story like she was in the first. The story, for me, gets a little bogged down or sidetracked in favour of unimportant details but it’s still a very enjoyable read and I’d certainly read another Allie book, if there are to be any more.

A Genuine Fix is the second book in the Allie Cobb Mystery series.

Allie Cobb, who has recently moved back to Rushing Creek and taken over her late father’s book editing business, is happy that the business is doing well. She already has had one bestseller and a second well on its way to becoming another bestseller.

Allie best friend, Sloane, has provided the funds to have a park to built in honor of her late father and best selling author, Thornwell Winchester. Allie has been appointed the chair of the committee overseeing the park’s construction. Allie usually visits the site on Friday to make sure everything is on schedule and everything is being built according to plans. Friday has arrived and Allie and her cat Ursi have set off for the park for their weekly visit. The first thing she notices is that a dump truck had dropped a load of mulch right where the gazebo is to be constructed, she starts to look around for the driver, but none is found. She notices Ursi pawing around in the mulch and has uncovered a finger. That finger is still attached to the body of Georgie Alonso. Alonso had a reputation around Rushing Creek for being a trouble maker and had a few people who would like to see his demise. Allie is not one to hold a grudge, but in high school, Georgie asked Allie to the prom and ended up standing her up and had a few laughs over it. Because of her having been stood up, Allie falls under suspicion and Allie starts her own investigation to clear her name. On her list of a potential suspect is Lori Cannon, Georgie is the father of her daughter and with his work habits is often behind on support payments. With a million-dollar life insurance policy, Lori ends up high on Allie’s list. Also, she wants to check out Roger Parke, owner of Parke’s Landscaping. Georgie had worked for Parke and had an accident involving a truck, Georgie ended up filing a workmen’s compensation claim and Parke ended up having to pay Georgie $25,000. Also, Georgie had reportedly had a gambling problem and she needs to learn more about this problem.

The book is well-written and plotted and with a very enjoyable cast of characters. The author has continued to develop the characters. There are plenty of twists and turns and red herrings that kept me guessing until the end.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this interesting series, A Mysterious Mix Up, coming in December 2019.

Cozy Mystery in Indiana
This is a fun cozy mystery that includes a cat, a dog, and the Kickboxing Crusader. The story moves quickly and keeps the reader involved in the solving of the murder. The story includes the best description on page 18;
By the time I looked up, her back was a feline version of the St. Louis Arch, and her tail was a bushy, black-and-orange feather duster.' I enjoyed this book and will be looking for more cozies by this author. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

A Genuine Fix by J. C. Kenney is the second book in Allie Cobb Mystery series but can be also read as a stand alone.

In this installment Allie has moved back to her hometown, she has her own agency and a new boyfriend. Her brother and her best friend are getting married and everyone is thrilled.
That is until Allie manages to find dead body of an old nemesis in the park that is being built and that will be named after her late father.
Since it is an election year everything needs to be done to the letter, so even though police chief who happens to be her former brother in law doesn't think she did it, she is immediately questioned and interrogated.

Nice continuation of the book one, Characters develop further as we get to know them better. Relationships progress and the whole book has a steady pace.
Light and easy to read with enough twists and turns to keep readers engaged.
Nice summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

I really love this series. What started with a fantastic first book has been followed by an equally good second, which can be a little hard to do in the cozy genre. How do you make it so that small towns all of sudden have an influx of crime/murder and not make it feel dated? Well something worked here and I never doubted Allie, nor the police working on the case. All the clues seemed to point her way, but the red herrings didn't get in the way of solving the crime.

I love Allie's job, and I love that she's following in her father's footsteps by having the books published displayed in her work space! Such a nifty little detail. Sloane and her upcoming wedding make for good reading too, as well as the remainder of Allie's family group.

This is a great mystery with some twists and turns. The culprit is someone you'll never expect! Five stars, give this series a go!

I'm in two minds about this book: on side I loved the small town atmosphere and enjoyed the mystery, on the other side I found that Ally somehow turned into a sort of superhero and sometimes grated on my nerves.
I appreciated the description of the small town atmosphere with the fabulous shops and the gossips, I loved to meet again the characters even if I'd have preferred some more character development.
The mystery was ok even if the solution seemed a bit rushed.
I liked the description of Ally's work as it was a sort of behind the scene.
I look forward to reading the next instalment hoping that there will a woman and less the Kickboxing Hero.
As I liked it I recommend it.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Allie Cobb had returned home from New York City to Rushing Creek, Indiana less than a year ago and a second murder has happened in the small town. This time it’s the boy who stood Allie up at senior prom and some folks in town believe Allie killed him as payback. To clear her name, before the police are forced by the mayor to make an arrest, Allie outs on her sleuthing hat and gets down to business.

It’s been awhile since I read a cozy where I kind of cringed at times as I read it, but the clock starts again today. While the story has a few things I connected with, a shorter protagonist and life in a small town, there are things I just couldn’t ignore. Why would the chief of police allow the mayor try and force an arrest on circumstantial evidence or why would said chief of police actively pursue partnering with a civilian with no law enforcement background on a murder case?

However I did enjoy the message of getting past the angst and challenges of high school and becoming a strong adult who does not need the approval and acceptance of others to know your own worth. This is one of those books where I will need to read another entry and decide whether or, not it’s a series I will continue on with.

A Genuine Fix by J. C. Kenney is the second in the series featuring Allie Cobb, a young, single woman who is a literary agent living in Rushing Creek, Indiana. Allie has demonstrated in the past that she is capable of fending for herself with the skills she has developed through boxing for fitness. To that end, she has been given the nickname the Kickboxing Crusader. This is a running theme throughout the book as Allie is regularly referred to by the nickname when others talk with her.
In this book, Allie has taken on the responsibility of organizing the construction of a new park whose land and costs are being covered by Allie’s best friend Slone. Early in the book Allie goes to the park for her regular weekly inspection of the construction and immediately finds a dead body. As it turns out, the dead body belongs to a young man who stood Allie up for prom when they were seniors in high school, a fact the reader learns later in the book.
Everything in the book happens rapidly, without much buildup. Allie is immediately suspected of the murder and jumps to defend herself, then solve the murder to clear her name. When the police chief, who is her former brother-in-law, decides he believes in Allie’s innocence, he then accepts her insistence on solving this murder. On several occasions he gives Allie information and she tells him her suspicions as they develop. They aren’t actually working together, but Allie isn’t truly encouraged to let the police handle the investigation.
Having lived in New York City for a number of years before returning to Indiana, Allie is accustomed to walking or riding her bike everywhere. To that end, she is known around town as walking with her cat on a leash or riding her bike if she has a distance to go. The bike riding is central to this story, with Allie’s ability to ride at high an integral part of the book’s finale.
There are a couple of clumsy attempts to implicate Allie, none of which are given credit by the police chief after the initial questioning where took her into the station for interrogation. As Allie chases down leads and closes in on the perpetrator, she continues to justify her actions based on the belief someone is trying to frame her for murder.
Everything in the book happens quickly, including the reveal of the murderer’s identity and the final arrest. The story is told from Allie’s point of view and the writing is more of a style that “tells” a story than “shows” one. As such the reader doesn’t have as much opportunity to imagine the world Allie inhabits.
The ending felt a bit sudden, and in true cozy mystery writing the “least likely” suspect turns out to be the guilty party. It’s an easy book to read, and is ideal for the reader who is looking for something they can take on vacation and read portions of in between other activities. While there are opportunities for the reader to figure out the murderer before the final reveal, it isn’t a difficult task and most experienced mystery readers will likely know the killer’s identity well before the end of the book. My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me an Advanced Digital Reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Literary agent Allie Cobb is adjusting to life back in her small hometown of Rushing Creek, Indiana. She is busy running her late father's literary business while preparing for her best friend Sloane’s wedding to her brother Luke. Allie has also agreed to chair a park planning committee that is building a memorial park in honour of both her and Sloane's deceased fathers. But Allie gets a big shock when she finds the body of gambling lowlife Georgie Alonso buried in a pile of mulch near the planned gazebo site in the park. Having been humiliated by Georgie during her high school days, Allie has to fight to clear her name as the prime suspect. Allie does her own snooping and undercovers decades-old secrets and several high-profile suspects. The ending is a bit too much as the feisty Allie almost loses her life as she confronts the killer on her own.

This was a fun read and another entertaining entry in the Allie Cobb mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Kensington with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Series: An Allie Cobb Mystery - Book 2
Author: J.C Kenney
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Literary
Publisher: Lyrical Press (Kensington)
Page Count: 202

A Genuine Fix, a cozy mystery by J.C. Kenny from Lyrical Press (Kensington) comes out next week. This is book two in the “An Allie Cobb Mystery” series. This new book is an intensely entertaining read, filled with intrigue and suspense.

Allie is once again involved with a murder investigation, but this time she is the prime suspect. When she finds the body of an ex-flame from high school, and a man she openly despised, everyone thinks that she killed him to get revenge.

Characters in this series are still growing and developing, but Allie is well-rounded and likable. Sloane, her best friend is marrying her brother, and both characters bring a sense of happiness along with the promise of a future to the series. Allie’s mom and her cat also play a big part in making this cozy mystery fun and a page turner with readers anxious for the nest twist.

The victim, in this case, is not at all good. He is every girl’s nightmare in high school, the guy you crushed on and thought would never notice, the guy who stood you up and made you a laughingstock. But… as an adult, he is also the father of a young girl which is his only redeeming value. Finding his killer isn’t easy, especially as it appears that the killer is setting Allie up to take the fall. However, perseverance is one of Allie’s best characteristics. In the end, she unmasks the killer and exonerates herself; at the same time, she gets justice for a little girl who never knew she needed it.

I enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to the next installment. I am happy to recommend A Genuine Fix to cozy mystery book lovers everywhere.

ARC provided by NetGalley

Allie returned home to Indiana (in the previous book) for her father's funeral and found herself solving the murder of her best friend's father. She decided to stay and take over her own father's Literary Agency. Taking over a business, as much as starting a new one, takes time and patience and focus. Things Allie soon find take a lot of effort.
Allie is also becoming involved in community affairs, such as helping on a Mayoral campaign, working against a man she has a complicated relationship with already. They must work together to complete a community park to be named after her own father and that of her best friend.
All aspects of this book are intertwined, as are the clues and red herrings presented. You don't need to have read the previous book to follow along, but I enjoyed A Literal Mess and am sure you will also.
All the cozy mystery must haves are included.
As if that is not enough tension, aforementioned best friend, Sloane, is moving in with Allie's brother as they prepare for their wedding. Much is happening as this plot flows quickly forward.
What else could go wrong?

We all know not to ask. Taking her celebrity kitty out for a walk, to check on the new park status, the pair uncovers a dead body. The police chief is Allie's former brother-in-law and the victim was not a well liked person. As is often the case, the police are more concerned with closing the case than finding a true, guilty party and need it wrapped up before election time.
Allie makes a convenient top suspect. Her only hope is to solve the crime before time runs out.

Great friendships and wonderful community characters. All the things we love in a fun, cozy mystery.

All of the promise in J.C. Kenney's first book in An Allie Cobb Mystery series was fulfilled for me in 'A Genuine Fix'. The locale is delightful, the characters engaging and there is an expertly crafted mystery that had me guessing. Unlike another reviewer I appreciated the play of how an election cycle impacts a murder investigation, especially when the police chief is your former brother-in-law, including what may have seemed as 'silly' tests to rule out Allie as chief suspect. This book has warmth, intelligence and the added bonus of learning about the publishing industry. I can't wait for more!

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

It really doesn't make sense that Allie would kill Georgie, a guy who stood her up for the prom all those years ago but a cozy isn't a cozy if someone illogical isn't the first suspect. Turns out, of course that there are lots of people who didn't like him so when Allie decides to investigate on her own, she walks into a mess of troubled people. Allie's a literary agent and she's also busy with lots of other things, including a romance and a cat. I didn't read the first book but I don't think that was a problem as Kenney provides enough info to get you going right away. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For cozy fans.

This was a decent cozy mystery. This was the second book in the Allie Cobb Mystery Series. It wasn't my favorite. Though listed as a stand alone, I think this reader would of enjoyed it more if I had read the first book in series. The characters were a bit flat for me and I didn't like how the main character took credit for solving the entire murder mystery.

I did like the humor and the fact the main character is only 5 foot 1 and the antics this provided.
I do think I will go back and read the first book in the series to see if that makes a difference .

Good mystery, great storyline. Loved the sense of family. Not a fan of the fact that she takes sole credit for catching the killer. Just a pet peeve of mine, and since she pretty much worked in tandem with the police, it just seems ridiculous. Other than that, great story with the park and her job. Very enjoyable.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books in return for an honest review. This is the second book in this series and can be read as a stand-alone. In the first book, Allie returned to her small home town when her father died unexpectedly. That book ended with Allie taking over her father's literary agent company and solving the murder of her best friend's father. In this book, Allie's brother and her best friend are getting married. So, she's balancing her job, the wedding planning and chairing the committee to plan a new town park - when she goes out to the park site and discovers a dead body, buried in a pile of mulch. And, that dead body belonged to a man who'd stood her up for her HS prom as a joke! Somehow, that translates to Allie being the prime suspect in his murder. This is one of those times when living in a small town makes it really difficult to be seen as an adult and not her high school self. Allie is determined to figure this out so the park opens on time, the wedding goes without a hitch and she's cleared of all involvement!

I enjoyed this second book in the Allie Cobb mystery series. I enjoy the relationship of Allie and her friends and family. The small town is nice setting with good characters and ones you really wouldn't want to have to interact with. I like how the characters are moving forward and growing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.