Soft Hearts by Eric Lodin
Series Name: Rett Swinson #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: May 22, 2021
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A Halloween Murder, a Dragon Suspect-and a Neighborhood Secret.

Harriett “Rett” Swinson is trying to rebuild her life after a failed marriage when a group of Halloween trick-or-treaters discovers her neighbor, retired English professor and poet Wanda Hightower, dead on her porch, stabbed in the back and through the heart. Was her killer a random psychopath in search of blood on All Hallow’s Eve-or one of the neighbors who helped with her lawn’s makeover gone wrong? Wanda claimed to have dirt on nearly everyone in their Downtown Raleigh neighborhood, so the list of suspects is long.

Finding the killer will require Rett to reconstruct Wanda’s turbulent past while weighing her growing attraction for Homicide Detective Darryl Schmidt against a desperate need for independence-and a growing feeling that an innocent man is being singled out by the police for the murder.

The first installment in the Rett Swinson Mystery Series, Soft Hearts explores how the fragile vulnerability of human beings can become their greatest strength.

Dru’s Short Musing:
This is a finely tuned drama that immediately grabbed my attention and became a page turner as I had to know how this will end. The author staged the book quite nicely that kept me in immersed in all that was happenings. The comfortable tone made it easy to follow along with what the author intended, and the pacing was on par with how well this story was being told. Starting over is hard, but it is the journey that overtook this story as Rett set about finding a killer that was hiding amongst them. I like how the author chose each chapter as a story within and the messages there were laid to bare. This was a solid mystery with some twists and turns that enhanced my reading enjoyment. Rett is a dynamic character and I liked watching her find her way. This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book in this pleasantly charming new series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the author.