River City Dead by Nancy G. West is the fourth book in the “Aggie Mundeen” humorous mystery series. Publisher: Henery Press, January 17, 2017
Advice columnist Aggie Mundeen and SAPD Detective Sam Vanderhoven plan their first rendezvous at a San Antonio River Walk hotel during Fiesta Week—sumptuous sights, sounds, and festivities in the middle of America’s Venice. A vacation from crime and a reset for their tumultuous relationship.
But murder descends on the Casa Prima Hotel. Disturbing revelations surface about the Fabulous Femmes, Aggie’s new friends holding a convention. Evil emerges at parties in La Villita. Calamity plagues Aggie’s debut dance performance at the Arneson River Theater, the celebration skewed by carousing, crazies, and corpses. Even in idyllic River City, crime complicates relationships.
When a dead body interrupts a planned getaway, Aggie gets involved which may or may not hinder her relationship with the detective. What I liked best about this book was the interactions and exploits that awaited Aggie as she investigated this murder, despite being warned away from it. As this is my first time reading this series, the subplot was very interesting and gave me a better insight into Aggie and what she does. I like the writing style and the ease in how the story flowed from chapter to chapter. The narrative was visually deliberate in letting me see what was happening through the characters’ eyes and putting me in the middle of all the action. The mystery was well done and I had a good time figuring out who the killer was with all the clues planted for me to follow. This was a good read and I can’t wait for more adventures with Aggie and her friends.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.