The first book in a new cosy series and what a bit of fun it was. A great setting and love the music theme to the story, this book follows Venus Bixby when she finds a dead body on the morning of her 50th birthday party.

The perfect length for a book, well written and I read it with such ease. It is fun, entertaining and kept me guessing. It had it all, murder, mystery, twists and more. I enjoyed the characters once I became familiar with them and the story built as it went on. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this series. I would give this one a 3 1/2 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Aspetuck Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery is a debut cozy mystery. I wanted to like it and it had potential but it didn't keep my attention. The beginning was slow. The first chapter is a newspaper story. The next chapters were from the main character, Venus Bixby's point of view which was ok. Venus doesn't come across very likeable. She seems spoiled and self centered. She falls and breaks her thumb and it is her 50th birthday. She has a boyfriend Budd. Another chapter focuses on Venus's store, the employees including her good friend Carole who has a catering business. I didn't like Carole either and she.doesn't seem like a very good friend although she caters a nice birthday party at the end. Another chapter is about Maggie McGhee and the Whaling Museum. The beginning is all rather disjointed and an unusual introduction to the characters. Whatever. I kept reading. Often an author makes the characters unlikable to start and by the end they grow and are ok. That is kind of the case. Venus trips over a dead body. She suspects everyone including Budd. Once the story got going it was ok although too descriptive at times and the humor missed the mark. I liked Venus's twin Sherrie and the cozy mystery was ok but not too hard to guess the culprit. I read a lot of cozy mysteries and I could never write one so I try to give the benefit of the doubt to all authors but I had a tough time with this one. It did get better but the characters and relationships are what I enjoy and these weren't very well fleshed out. It just didn't hold my attention. #AWhaleOfAMurder #AVenusBixbyMystery #NetGalley #AspertuckPublishing

A Whale of a Murder is the debut of the A Venus Bixby Mystery series set in Chatham Crossing, Massachusetts and featuring music store owner, Venus Bixby. Venus is preparing to celebrate her fiftieth birthday with a party at the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum and also serve as the Grand Marshal for the town's Fourth of July parade.

As Venus walks through the museum grounds to check on the party preparations she stumbles over the platform shoes 0f the museum gift shop manager, Margaret McGee. The woman is dead and a valuable artifact is missing.

Detective Oscar Donovan has his hands full of suspects and he thinks Venus might be one of them. Venus and her sister Sherrie create a Sisters' List of Suspects and begin their own investigation that ultimately ends in a reconstruction of the morning Maggie was found dead.

An interesting debut, but the characters take a little getting used to. Complicated relationships exist between Venus and pretty much everyone in her life. Nobody seems to give off warm and cozy vibes except for Venus' cats: Sonny and Cher. I'll give the second installment in the series a try now that the majority of Chatham Crossings backstory has been told.

I received an advanced copy of A Whale of a Murder from NetGalley via Aspetuck Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

3 stars

Being from Massachusetts, I loved how the author used language that people native to Massachusetts would use when describing places. This story follows Venus, while she uses her sleuthing to catch a murderer.

I did really want to love this book, but the timing of events was slightly off for me. The beginning prior to the murders felt too slow, while the ending happened too fast.

Overall, it was a decent book and I likely will continue if there is another book featuring Venus' adventures.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest an voluntary review.

Record store owner Venus Bixby is ready to turn 50. But she’d like to do in her next decade they become part of Chatham Crossings town committee. But my past once, she stumbles upon a body and becomes a suspect in a murder.

Well, Venus be able to figure out who killed the museum shops manager? Or will she be spending the rest of her birthdays in prison?

The first in a new cozy mystery series, it’s a good start that lays the foundation for many more entries to come. Venus has the ability to engage the reader and keep them sleuthing along with her. I’ll be back for more in this series!

A WHALE OF A MURDER is the first book in the brand-new Venus Bixby Mystery series by Valerie Taylor. Protagonist Venus Bixby is just turning 50 and is ready to celebrate her birthday with a big bash. I love when “women of a certain age” are the main characters and instead of giving up and settling into a boring existence as they age, they take charge and enjoy life at its fullest. Venus is a fun character, as are her friends and frenemies. They’re well-developed and add a dash of humor to the storyline. I found the plot had a slow start (maybe too much backstory all at once?) but once the investigation started, the pace improved. I also enjoyed the music mentions (be sure to check out the playlist along with cookie recipes at the back of the book) and how Venus uses pun-y music lines or titles throughout the book. This is a lighthearted cozy mystery and a good start to the series.

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Normally I love cozy mysteries however this one I had a hard time getting into it. Just was not my style but it was well written and I did enjoy certain parts but it was overall I was not one. I was super fond of

#AWhaleofaMurder #NetGalley is the first in a new series by Valerie Taylor, a new to me author.
Venus Bixby is turning fifty, and the small town of Chatham Crossing is really turning on the celebration in her honor.
Venus owns a unique store, Oldies & Goodies, which has a wide selection of items to purchase, including cookies. Overseeing the shop are Sonny and Cher, a pair of cats that take their job seriously.
While preparations for the event are taking place, Venus literally stumbles over a dead body, which turns her birthday celebration into a murder investigation.

I really enjoyed meeting Venus and the other characters in this book. #AWhaleofaMurder is well written and captured my attention from the beginning of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

A delightful mystery, A Whale of a Murder keeps you guessing until the very end. A well crafted story, I quite enjoyed the overall storyline and the well-developed character.

An engaging read. I enjoyed that the main character was older, having just hit her fifties. The plot kept me engaged and interested throughout the book.