What an entertaining novel this is! I don't know how I missed the first one but I did and that didn't matter a whit because Cox wisely catches you up (spooling it out a bit) on the life of Theo Bogart (not her real name btw), a British expat resident (hiding out) in San Francisco, along with her grandfather. Theo fled the UK after a tragic incident involving her parents; she's resettled nicely, bought a business, built a life. Then one day a priest turns up and wants to speak with her grandfather who, as it turns out, worked as an intelligence officer. Oh, and she finds the local pain in the neck attorney murdered in her new Tesla. You will quickly find yourself in Theo's world- alongside Nat who owns a coffee shop and the others who populate her neighborhood. Then she and Nat find a hand (well, entwined fingers) in a microwave oven he's just bought and they're off. There's more murder, a kidnapping, and some slightly implausible if amusing things that go on. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Great dialogue, a plucky heroine, and terrific use of local color make this an excellent read. Oh- and the plot and the storytelling are wonderful. I hope to see more from Theo.

This is a fun mystery -- cozy with an "edge," and featuring a very appealing main character and an interesting San Francisco setting. I look forward to recommending this to readers who like cozy mysteries that are a little more sophisticated than the usual.

I read the first book in the series, The Man on the Washing Machine, to get some background before reading the current book. Although it isn’t necessary to do so, I am glad that I did.

In this second installment we get to learn more about Theo and her Grandfather. There are also a whole host of characters from the neighborhood, some from the first book plus a handful of other new characters. This is both a blessing and a curse--the characters are colorful and add a ton of interest, but most of them lack the depth I needed to get to know them better. Especially Ben, I need more of Ben. Who is he really? I need some depth to his character and their relationship ASAP.

The setting is perfect, a small neighborhood in San Francisco. It sounds like a place I’d like to visit with the coffee shop, sweet shop, soap shop...but seriously, where is the bookstore? I am rooting for a bookstore in the next installment.

At one point, Theo thinks to herself that this murder could have a cast of dozens like a modern version of Murder on the Orient Express. I agree. Because of this, I was happy the author used a plot device that I really enjoy, especially when I am a bit tangled up like I was in this story. The author takes a chapter and has the main character run through all of the players and their possible motives and alibis. This saved the book from being a total jumbled mess where I had the potential to be lost the entire time. However, this came a little late for me, with only 10% of the book to go.

All in all, I enjoyed the characters, setting, and mystery enough to gladly read the next installment in this mystery series.

The second the Sue Cox San Francisco Theo Bogart series, and a charming and delightful mystery it is.
In this offering, a thorn-in-the-side neighbor is murdered. Without giving too much away, Theo's grandfather becomes involved as well as her friends Nat (of The Coffee), Haruto (her tenant) and more. Financial shenanigans and a nod to the homeless problem in the City round out the mystery.
The characters are interesting and well-rounded and the setting is wonderful. Another great tale.

This is the second in a series by Susan Cox featuring Theo Bogart who has moved to San Francisco from England to get away from a troubled past. Her past is alluded to numerous times in the book but there is no explanation. There are also references to the first book and how her relationships to secondary characters in this novel may have developed and changed there, however these are also not explained. The result is a slight feeling that I’ve come in on the second half of a story and I’m left trying to piece together how past relationships are affecting present ones. I would strongly recommend if someone is interested in this series they begin with the first book so they have a better understanding of how the various characters all piece together.
The book is complete, with a well defined mystery and sufficient clues for the reader to solve the puzzle on their own. It moves at a rapid pace, sometimes feeling as if portions of the book are not as flushed out as they might be to give the story more depth. The characters, also, are a bit shallow although there is information that indicates they could be interesting if more details were there for the reader to delve into during the read.
It is an easy read, one that can be picked up and put down as you engage in other activities; so it might be a good beach or airplane read. There are several interesting elements in the series, particularly Theo’s grandfather’s history and group of friends. Theo’s relationship with two other characters, Davie/Davo and Haruto; both of whom seem to have unique characteristics that would be interesting to explore.

Susan Cox's second offering in the Theo Bogart Mystery series seems a whole lot less Tales Of The City...
And entirely too much...
Espionage and geriatric spy rings, dead priests, mutilated body parts, philanthropic endeavors gone awry, and just plain weird.

Not helping matters in the least is the fact that most of the original cast that helped to make the first book so readable was either killed off or jailed in said first book. Has left for some reason or other. Or has paired up in some semblance of decidedly murder free domesticity.
Causing Theo to call in the help of her grandfather and by extension the aforementioned geriatric Branch of the Secret Service. To solve the murder of resident bitch, Katrina Dermody.

A woman who, as luck would have it. Proves tons more interesting in death than she was in life.
With ties to a dead priest, whose mutilated hand ends up inside the microwave at the local coffee shop. A not so above board orphanage in Kiev, and the local homeless man who often camped out on front of their building.

While it is quite clear that Ms. Cox makes a valiant effort to both construct and support both a captivating storyline and plot. The transience of the new cast members. Coupled with the forced complexity that the espionage elements brings to things. Takes away away from the homey atmosphere of the first book and makes the Katrina's killer far easier to spot.
A great many of the more jaw dropping moments are found in those revelations about Katrina and her connections. Than can ever be attributed to her untimely demise.

*I would like to take this opportunity to thank Netgalley and Minotour Books for providing the review copy on which my honest critique is based.

I didn't read book 1 in the series, The Man on the Washing Machine, and you don't need to have to greatly enjoy this novel! It definitely made me miss all my old haunts in the 'City by the Bay', with all the local places and color! And it's modern take of the I'll effects of media are very timely! It's a tangled web of a mystery, with multiple stories intersecting in the oddest ways. Yet Theo keeps her head, and with the help of her friends and her grandfather's former colleagues, Theo find out the brutal truth of the murder and secrets of her neighborhood. This is a great stay at home read!

I really hate to give a less than positive review, especially since I was such a fan of the first book in the series. But after attempting a number of times, this second book just did not engage me as much. I may finish it later, but with so many to read, I simply must move on. I think the main problem is that one of the highlights of the first book was all the quirky and interesting characters in the neighborhood, and the author just took too long to introduce anyone besides the main character and her gay best friend, Nat. The dead woman, the main mystery, was definitely not a good person, and there are a lot of suspects, but the book just moved too slowly. And her boyfriend from the last book apparently is absent in this one (up until I stopped reading), and it was something I wanted to see more of after the first book ended. I recommend the first book often, and readers will probably want to continue the series once this one is published. Unfortunately, it just did not hold my interest after numerous times opening my digital ARC. Sorry :(

A Great Book about an english Woman living in San Fransico now. In a nice neighbourhood. But then three murder Happen and she gebt’s caught in betreuen. While trying to solve the.murder she gets into a dangerous situation.

spies, murder, family-dynamics, friendship, satire, San Francisco

I'm thinking that this is also a kind of satire on spy novels as well as being a pretty good murder mystery. Theo is a Britisher who ran to the far side of the US because of majorly bad press, but the reader doesn't get to know what the issues were until a third of the way into the book. When she fled, her wealthy grandfather promptly followed to be there for her as well as provide further financial backup. Theo owns and operates a fragrance business and has an assortment of friends in the neighborhood and one bete noire common to all the neighbors, a nasty blackmailer of a lawyer. Of course Theo is the one to find the lawyer murdered in her Tesla, and not long enough later she finds fingers in the microwave of her friend's coffeeshop and the rest of the body in another area of the neighborhood. But then things get crazy. Even crazier than the characters. A very interesting read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is a title that can't be ignored for obvious reasons. And the cover art reminds me of that picture that made its rounds on twitter last year of the diner--where the longer you looked at it, the more wrong it became. I was thrilled to be approved and quickly gave it a read.

Theo is adjusting to life outside of England in a colorful neighborhood in San Fran where she runs a soap shop. She's made some friends and has adjusted well after some family upheaval, but her life takes a chaotic turn when a murder rocks her neighborhood.

This is my first experience with a cozy mystery, and it was delightful. Theo was a quirky narrator with a lot of heart. I loved her descriptions and her reactions to the English language. You never realize how difficult and odd English is until you get an outside perspective, and her handling of, for example, coffee or java added such charm to her character. Her relationships, too, were fun. I loved Nat and his coffee shop, and their interactions felt wonderfully awkward--not cringey, but cute.

The mysteries, too, are endearing and fun. Standard as far as suspect lists and scouting out suspicions, but Cox handles the structure well, and the plot reveals are well-paced and executed.

Overall, this is a great summer read--the perfect blend of entertainment and action--but it would also fit right at home in front of a fire with a PSL and slippers.

Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Theo left England after family drama and the paparazzi became too much for her, and when she relocated to San Francisco, she assumed a new identity. Now she owns a shop called Aromas which sells scented soaps and shampoos. When an obnoxious attorney from the neighborhood is murdered, Theo starts to investigate. Was the woman blackmailing people, and did she know Theo's true identity? Did her mysterious past in Kiev have any bearing on her death? I especially enjoyed this entertaining mystery's San Francisco setting. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

What joy to find a new (to me) modern mystery series. I love author Susan Cox’s stylish and funny narrative, quirky characters, San Fran setting, and gutsy protagonist, Theo Bogart. That crazy title and colorful cover sealed the deal.

I dug the first chapter so much that I knew I had to read book one first.* I did, and became an instant fangirl.

Book two is also set in San Fran, with many of the same offbeat characters, wry humor, and gripping mystery.

Theo, once a paparazzo in Europe, is now owner of Aroma, a bath and body shop. She’s been on the run from a terrible family tragedy in England, her birth country, and hopes to create a new anonymous life in the City by the Bay.

But bodies start piling up and Theo, in part to protect her past, feels compelled to investigate. As she toils to uncover the truth, she finds more unsettling things about her family, especially her British grandfather who moved to SF to keep an eye on her. Can you say, “Spies?” I knew that you could.

I think Theo and I could be besties. She’s funny, bright and her own person. When she left her Louboutins behind in London, she switched to tees and jeans. Plus she loves jazz and Jobim and tea — a hip trifecta. What a gal! What a book!

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 03 Nov 2020

Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#TheManintheMicrowaveOven #NetGalley

* (The Man on the Washing Machine, Cox’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel award-winning debut.)