Curtains for Miss Plymm

This is a fun cozy mystery featuring Mary McGill, a retired home economics teacher in the small town of Santa Louisa. Now that Mary has retired she has become immersed in the town's charitable activities and is working on the spring rummage sale and when she goes into the church to work on the sale she finds the body of an elderly woman, Emilie Plym. Mary's knowledge of the townspeople both from her years of teaching them as well as her many local activities makes her an asset to her nephew Don, the local police chief. This is an enjoyable addition to the mystery story genre and I thoroughly recommend it.

I love the comfortable tone and the evenly paced flow in this story that kept me engross in all the action from beginning to end. The mystery was executed in a style that had me hunkering down to see what happens next. The author did a good job on the narrative, the dialogue, and setting up the suspects with multiple direction changes that prolong the telling of this drama, making me more curiouser as to how this will all play out. I like the cast and the small town atmosphere and how it all meshed together in a delightful and easy read.

Curtains for Miss Plym: A Canine Mystery by Kathleen Delaney is the second book in this series but can easily be read as a stand alone. I hadn't read the first book; but I had no problems with understanding the characters and the relationships with others in the small town of Santa Louisa.
The characters are relate-able and Mary McGill's cocker spaniel, Millie, is a real sweetheart. The pace of the book was rather slow for me but the descriptive writing of the small town helped to make feel right at home in this small town. I also enjoyed the fact that Mary works closely with the sheriff to solve the murder which is not often the case in cozy mysteries. The secondary characters were all involved in moving the story along and added insight into Mary herself.
I was given an ARC via NetGalley by Severn House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Mary is getting ready for a big rummage sale so she goes down early to open up, do a final check on how it looks and make some coffee. She didn't expect to find a dead body...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 1st.

Mary calls Dan, the local police chief, and reports the murder. The victim is a little old lady who lives in another world in her mind. She gets lost and can't find her home, forgets what she was talking about, and doesn't understand most of what she's told. Why would anyone want to kill her?

This is a small town mystery, where the gossip outruns the facts. Soon everyone knows all about it and everybody has a theory. Dan's trying to stick to the facts but sometimes the gossip has some truth in it, so he listens. So does Mary.

The old woman's relatives were staying with her and getting her ready to go in a home. She had caretakers but they had their own apartment on the property and weren't with her all the time. There's missing money involved and both Mary and Dan think that's the prime motivator for murder. It shuts down the source of the money but enough has been withdrawn to make it worthwhile.

However, when Gloria, a nurse who does home care, is killed, too, it complicates the case. What did she know? Was it the same killer?

I like Mary as a character and her dog, Millie is cute. Dan ends up with a dog before the end of the story. I thought I knew where the money was; I was wrong. I didn't suspect the killer. And if the mystery itself doesn't entice you enough, there's a komodo dragon involved too...

I received an e-book edition of Curtains for Miss Plym: A Canine Mystery by Kathleen Delaney in exchange for an honest review. Severn House Publishers approved this via NetGalley.

Curtains for Miss Plym: A Canine Mystery, is a cozy mystery.

I did not expect to love this book. After I followed Mary and Millie into the church hall, where they found Miss Plym's body, I was hooked.

Mary McGill has had over sixty years to perfect making tea. She and her adopted companion; Millie the Cocker Spaniel, make a good team.

Excitement is in every nook and cranny, as Mary gathers clues. Staying busy, she helps her friends in the Santa Louisa community.

Reading this novel took me back to my youth when I read my first Agatha Christie mystery, except this is a modern mystery. "Curtains..." is not out of touch, Mary McGill is toting an iPhone and dialing 911.

I fell in love with Mary McGill's character. She is strong, and as an amateur detective she is tireless in her efforts to benefit the community. There were twists and surprises.

Mary sometimes solves mysteries in her sleep. Our hero is over seventy years old. She is active, and handles herself against a violent killer.

I recommend this to anyone who loves a cozy mystery, and will ask our library to add it to our collection.

Kathleen Delaney has a new fan. The writing is good, and there were no formatting errors. Except for murder and larceny, the content is clean.