by: Connie di Marco
Series: Zodiac Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: August 8, 2017
Publisher: Midnight Ink
The stars predict a wedding-day disaster, but San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti never expected murder.
Julia Bonatti is alarmed by the astrological signs looming over Geneva Leary’s wedding day, but nobody asked Julia’s opinion and being a bridesmaid means supporting the bride no matter what. Even with the foreboding Moon-Mars-Pluto lineup in the heavens, no one’s prepared for the catastrophes that strike: a no-show sister, a passed-out wedding planner, and a lethal shooting in the dead of night.
With anger and grief threatening to tear the Leary family part, Julia is determined to understand how such a terrible tragedy could occur. As she digs deeper into the family’s secrets, her astrological insights will lead her to the truth about a criminal enterprise that stretches far beyond the California coast.
All Signs Point to Murder is the second book in Connie di Marco’s Zodiac Mystery series. It is a standalone read. I will admit that the astrology aspect of the book throws me off. I just can’t wrap my head around it. But ultimately that's just a small part of the overall story.
Over the past couple of years, Julia Bonatti’s life has changed dramatically. She lost the love of her life in a hit and run accident and has had to pick herself back up. While she isn’t ready to venture back into the dating pool, she is ever so slowly putting the past behind her. Losing Michael changed the trajectory of Julia’s life. She is now a San Francisco based astrologer, giving private readings to people and writing a column for the Chronicle.
All Signs Point to Murder finds Julia being a bridesmaid in her college friend Geneva Leary’s wedding. Before the wedding, things get a little rocky when the bride’s younger sister disappears and then is found drunk. The wedding proceeds, but tragedy is to come. Geneva’s sister is shot and killed. Was this just a tragic accident or was Moira’s past and present finally catching up with her?
Moira, the youngest of the Learys, had several issues and was of questionable character. Not wanting the police to just put the investigation on the back burner, Geneva asks Julia to look into Moira’s life and make sure that there aren’t any surprises that the family doesn’t know about. Julia turns to her charts and starts an investigation into the life of Moira. Her investigations reveal more questions than answers and put Julia’s life in jeopardy several times.
Connie di Marco has weaved together a truly good murder mystery. She provided plenty of little red herrings to have you questioning everyone involved. In the end, the reveal was surprising and the fallout from Julia’s investigation huge. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. I’m curious to see how Julia’s life continues to evolve.
**Received a copy from Midnight Ink in exchange for an honest unbiased opinion.**
Rating: 5
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The Zodiac Mystery Series:
Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries from Midnight Ink, featuring San Francisco astrologer, Julia Bonatti. The first in the series, The Madness of Mercury, was released in June 2016 and the second, All Signs Point to Murder, available for pre-order now, will be released on August 8, 2017.
Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the national bestselling author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. Some of her favorite recipes can be found in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Connie is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Places to find Connie di Marco:
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Kim ~ thanks so much for your review! I'm so glad you enjoyed the mystery and Julia's adventures!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Thank you so much for reading it! I'm looking forward to the next one!
DeleteI've called the next one Tail of the Dragon. I think I told you. I hope they keep that title!
DeleteYes you did. It's an interesting title. My brain is trying to figure out what it means.
DeleteWell, without giving too much away, it's an astrological reference that ties into the story. But there are also dragons, sort of. That's really all I can say for now, Kim!
DeleteI know.
DeleteDon't mean to be mysterious ~ hope you understand!
DeleteYou're fine. Honestly, if you tried to explain the whole astrological part to me I would get really confused. I think it's pretty cool that the planets can have such a huge impact on our lives. I just don't understand when you talk about going into whatever sun or the planets passing by. I just like to loss myself to the mystery. Which I know is going to be good. No pressure. :)
DeleteThat's good, I'm glad the details don't bother you, you can just skip over them really. But I realized with the first book that astrology magazines had reviewed and paid attention, so I want to make sure I get things right. It's really all about the mystery and the characters, but since Julia solves the crimes using astrology, I try to put in enough detail that it's real, but try not to put so much that it bores people who don't have an interest in it. Some people are made about the subject, but most readers couldn't care less. That's fine with me, no need to know anything about astrology.
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