The Outsmarting of Criminals by Steven Rigolosi is the first book in the “Miss Felicity Prim” mystery series. Publisher: Ransom Note Press, March 2014

After being mugged in New York City, Miss Felicity Prim decides to leave the big city and purchase a home in the country, where she will be safe from the dangerous criminals who call New York home. A devoted reader of crime fiction, Miss Prim believes that her reading experiences have given her the skills required to become an amateur sleuth in her new home of Greenfield, Connecticut. She gets her chance to prove her mettle when she finds a corpse in her basement. As Miss Prim searches for the victim’s identity and killer, she finds her father’s old journals, which create a crisis in her family. Meanwhile, Miss Prim’s young friend, Dolly, has become involved in a dangerous situation and needs Miss Prim’s help. Can Miss Prim, with her insights into human behavior and her steadfast refusal to rely on forensics and databases (which she considers the crutches of lazy investigators), save the day and bring everything to a happy resolution? Of course she can.

Steve has written a delightfully charming whodunit with colorful characters and wittily engaging banter. The mystery had a strong plot that kept me guessing with a slew of suspects and some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. I especially loved seeing titles of books I read within the pages of this tome. Some humor and misfortune rounded out this wonderful drama and I and I can’t wait to see what road Miss Prim takes in her next adventures.