Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Review ~ LOST UNDER A LADDER by Linda O. Johnston

Lost Under a Ladder (A Superstition Mystery, #1)
by: Linda O. Johnston
Series: A Superstition Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Source: Publisher ~ Midnight Ink via NetGalley

Is it luck or is it . . . Destiny?

Are superstitions real? Rory Chasen doesn't think so--until her beloved fiance walks under a ladder and is killed by a car five minutes later. Needing closure, Rory takes her dog Pluckie to a town called Destiny, where superstitions are a way of life.

Rory's visit to Destiny takes an unexpected turn when Pluckie saves the life of Martha, the owner of the Lucky Dog Boutique. To show her gratitude, Martha offers Rory a job at the pet store. But when Martha becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the local bookshop owner, Rory refuses to believe that she would do it. Rory is convinced the real killer still roams Destiny's streets, and she must uncover the truth before Martha is hauled off to jail.

REVIEW
Lost Under A Ladder had all of the makings of a good cozy mystery.  Rory Chasen is trying to understand the validity of superstitions after her fiance’ is killed after he walks under a ladder.  She goes to a town called Destiny, California to talk to the country’s foremost expert on superstitions who is part owner of a bookstore.  Destiny is a town rooted in superstitions.  It was supposedly founded during the California Gold Rush and was at the end of a rainbow.  The mayor even dresses like a leprechaun although I’m not sure that’s intentional although all of the townspeople seem to buy into all of the superstitions that exist.

After Rory’s dog, Pluckie leads her to rescue the distressed owner of the Lucky Dog Boutique, Pluckie then leads her to the dead body of the one person in town that she came to see.  Rory and her “lucky dog” get wrapped up in trying to find the real killer while Rory attempts to embrace the town and all of the superstitions that it’s residents have to offer.  This information may have been of interest to me as a reader if the book itself wasn’t so detailed about everything, and I do mean everything.  We always know what Rory is wearing, exactly what she feeds her dog, and every time that her dog takes a squat to use the bathroom.  I could not have been more bored in reading this book.  I took me more time to read this book than any other book that I have read this year. If I hadn’t committed to reading it, I would have cast it aside when I was 20% in.

The last 15% of this book was the best part of the book.  If it had been told in reverse, I may have been more interested.  I literally have not given you the name of any of the other characters in the book because I just don’t care about them.  I didn’t care if the murder was solved or not.  I just wanted to get the book over with.

**Received a copy from Midnight Ink Books in exchange for an honest unbiased review.**

Rating: 2

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