A Glimmer of Death by Valerie Wilson Wesley

 

Welcome Back Booklovers! January has been a busy month for new releases across genres and I'm back with a review of another new one. I haven't been reading as many cozy mysteries as I used to because for awhile I felt like every new series I picked up read exactly the same. While this one has the familiar tropes expected in a cozy mystery without feeling like a carbon copy of everything releasing right now. I'll be honest I went into this book without reading the synopsis. I just heard it was by a veteran Black mystery author and I immediately put in my arc request with Kensington Books. 

This story follows the widowed Odessa "Dessa" Jones, a struggling real estate agent and former caterer in a New Jersey town. It's been a year since her husband's death and she's just trying to stay afloat and keep her desk at the agency while her crazy boss' threats loom. In usual cozy fashion her boss was one of those people everyone hated so it's no surprise there are multiple suspects when he ends up dead.

If you're looking for a light easy to read mystery with a interesting cast of characters I suggest picking this one up. This was full of young and old characters each with their own set of secrets. I liked that Dessa was actively trying to learn more about the way the law works and how conmen run their cons. Sometimes in cozies the way the women are instantly sleuths despite no years of experience and able to put the clues together is annoying. And like the readers Dessa didn't know her coworkers too well so we learned about them as she did.

And there was a twist on the cozy romance in that the potential love interest is a retired police officer so he's close enough to the force to be helpful but not the ones running the investigations. 

Throughout you get plenty of descriptions of scrumptious cakes as Dessa restarts her catering business on the side. As you can find a recipe for her 7 Up cake included.  A solid start to a new series.