Heavenly Hazelnut Murder Southern Belle Cozy Mystery Series Book Two
Cozy Mystery
Totally Bound Publishing
January 5, 2021
168
Book two in the Southern Belle Cozy Mysteries series
Everyone has secrets…even a pastor.
Life had been back to normal in Sweet Grove, with smoothie sales up and murders down to zero. With Gran’s shop doing well, Belle helps her best friend by tending bar at the Honey Buckle whenever needed. Belle tries her best to like Pastor Luke, who she’s been dating for the last few weeks, but when she finds out he’s been less than genuine, things end badly. Their break-up is epic gossip all around the small town.
When the pastor turns up dead, people rush to suspect her. Apparently, their fight about her spending so much time in a bar was overheard. Belle knows she didn’t do it, but who would kill a pastor? Who else would have a motive? With the handsome but romantically complicated sheriff asking her a lot of questions, Belle decides she needs to get to the bottom of it, ASAP.
This had better be the last murder in Sweet Grove or Belle’s amateur sleuthing might become a habit…
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
I did not read the first book in this series and I think that had something to do with my lack of interest in the characters. The author did touch base on things that occurred in the prior book but I still believe I needed to have more information about who Belle was and her return to her hometown of Sweet Grove.
Belle Baxter apparently had an interest in the sheriff, Gus but stopped pursuing it because of his ex-fiance. She is now dating the pastor, Luke, who she doesn’t really know if she likes or not and at dinner one night she realizes that he is not the man for her. Luke is much more conservative than she thought and when he states his views about a woman’s place in a man’s life she tosses her water in his face and walks out and leaves no doubt that they are finished.
When Luke is found dead, killed by a python all eyes turn to Belle since her very public breakup with Luke but fortunately her alibi is solid and now she is determined to work with Gus to find the person responsible for his death. Suddenly other snakes show up in work places and in homes and there is no doubt someone is responsible.
Gus tries to prove to Belle that his relationship with his ex is over and done with and while they team up in search of a killer she begins to see things differently. I really never got the feeling of what Belle was truly like and I am sure I would have if I read book one. The story was slow moving, lacked any kind of excitement or romance.
There was no real in-depth investigation going on but Luke’s secrets came to the forefront, he was a womanizer and his religious beliefs made him enemies. I can honestly say that there wasn’t any one character that I truly liked and I can also honestly say that I did not dislike the book and was able to read it through till the end. The discovery of the killer was also anticlimactic.