This is a new to me author. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.
Emma Lovett has left her old life behind and is starting over again in Pinewood, Colorado where she is beginning her teaching career at a local high school.
She becomes fast friends with Leslie Parker, another teacher, who has the ability to quote Shakespeare to fit any type of situation.
After a sleepless night, Emma decides to go into school early, unfortunately for her, she stumbles over the body of Melvin, the school custodian. Who would want to kill this gentle soul? Leslie convinces Emma they have to investigate and soon the laughter begins. It seems everyone has a secret they want to keep hidden but Emma and Leslie dig deep and soon piece together the clues.

I really liked the story and the characters. The big problem for me was Emma's accent. I was overwhelmed reading all the "Ahm a southern girl," "Ahm just so glad to meet you," nonsense and it soon became a turn off. I think the author could have used a different technique to get her point across. That was the deciding factor between a 3 & 4 star review.

This was such a fun cozy to read. Likable protagonists, good storyline, great mystery to solve, fun animal sidekicks and it moved quickly and was so funny to read that you didn't want to put it down! I love Emma and Leslie, they actually remind me of two of my friends, and I really was sad when the book ended. I can't wait until the next in the series comes out!!

* I'd like to think the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest opinion*

Death by Diploma by Kelley Kaye is the 1st book in the Chalkboard Outlines Mystery series, and a delightful series. This book made me laugh out loud, and the quirky characters are great, taking me back to my high school days.

Emma Lovett leaves her old life behind and settles in Pinewood, Colorado to begin her teaching career at Thomas Jefferson High School. Emma meets Leslie Parker, another teacher at the high school and they become fast friends. Leslie shows Emma around, and give her the ins and outs of the other staff. One morning Emma trips over the school custodian, Melvin's body. Next Leslie convinces Emma they need to solve the crime, and the sleuthing begins.

Not only is this book really funny, it has a great mystery. There are twists and turns around every corner. Just when I thought I figured out the who done it, it changes. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love humorous cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book.

Good read. A little bit of everything for everyone. Liked the characters, the story flow. Good who done. Given copy from Netgalley for honest review.

Emma Lovett is a "Southern Bell" who left her philandering husband and South Carolina behind to become an English High school teacher in Pinewood Colorado. She meets up with Leslie, a smart-mouth, feisty divorcee who is also an English teacher. She takes Emma under her wing, introduces her around, warns who about parents and staff she needs to be careful of and generally show her the ropes.

Emma makes it through the first couple of days and when she arrives at work early one morning to prepare for classes, she stumbles upon the dead body of the kindly custodian, Melvin, in the office. The detective assigned to the case is not very smart, so Emma and Leslie decide they need to solve the case on their own. They sneak into the school at night and run into an intruder and get knocked over, luckily with just minor injuries. When they stumble upon another dead body, they begin to have second thoughts about their exploits. A second storyline deals with a scandal that is changing grades for athletes which they also end up getting involved in.

Of course being a cozy mystery novel, there has to be a love interest and there is one for both of the ladies. Emma meets up with the special investigator from CHSS and Leslie has a younger man who she is keeping secret. There are some quirky characters in the story as well as a lot of Shakespeare quotes that remind me of my high school English classes. A great read for cozy mystery readers.

After leaving her husband Emma Lovett is starting over in Pinewood, Colorado at her new job as a teacher. Immediately after starting English teacher Emma finds herself making friends with Leslie Parker who also teaches at the school. Arriving to work early one morning though Emma walks in to find the body of the custodian. Emma and Leslie decide they are going to investigate the murder on their own when the police don’t inspire confidence.

Death by Diploma was a rather cute and funny cozy mystery with these two young teachers looking into the murder in their school. Their investigation is believable enough as they tend to just stumble on clues all throughout the read instead of suddenly becoming like a real detective which turns me off some cozy mysteries.

One thing I did think went a bit over the top with these characters was some of their supposed actions as teachers. A few things along the way with them and other staff wasn’t really believable in a teaching situation… tossing a dodge ball at a student? Wouldn’t happen. But they were funny enough that I hope the author just tossed things in for humor’s sake as real teachers wouldn’t act that way.

Overall, 3.5 stars, an enjoyable little cozy mystery with plenty of funny parts during the investigation.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.