Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
The Missing Dough is the 6th installment in the Pizza Lovers Mystery Series. The series centers around Eleanor and her sister Maddy, co-owners of The Slice of Heaven located in Timber Ridge, NC. While it is not absolutely necessary to read the previous books in the series it does help in understanding the background of the characters.
When Maddy's obnoxious ex-husband Grant arrives at The Slice in an effort to get her back, neither Eleanor, her boyfriend Dave nor Maddy's fiancé Bob are too happy. The foursome attends the local festival and sees Grant arguing with a stranger and the members of the band, only later to learn that Grant has been found murdered behind the promenade. Bob and Dave do not have alibis and become suspects, forcing Eleanor and Maddy to try and find the real killer.
It appears that Grant was mixed up in a shady investment scheme and had scammed current girlfriend, another ex-wife and his business partner out of money. His mother has also passed away leaving money to Maddy in her will, which Grant and sister Rebecca are not too happy to learn.
I've enjoyed the previous books in the series but this one seemed to be lacking in storyline and left a few loose strings. Eleanor has a great friendship with reputed mobster Art, who she seeks help from in this case, but Art says he needs to distance himself from Eleanor for her own safety. While he does contact Eleanor part way through the book to make amends, we never really know what he was involved with that might have caused trouble for her. There is the mention of a gambling ring in the next town of Cow Spots and the neighboring Chief of Police catches Eleanor and Maddy snooping around but there was really no resolution as to who was running the gambling ring or what that had to do with Grant's death.
It was nice to have Josh and Greg, Slice employees assist in the investigation a little bit, but it was awfully irresponsible for Eleanor and Maddy to ask for their help and put their lives in danger. Police Chief Kevin Hurley is back and it continues to amaze me that he can never find clues on his own and relies on the assistance of the two amateur sleuths.
I'm not giving up on the series yet, and will be looking forward to Thin Crust Killers.
When Maddy's obnoxious ex-husband Grant arrives at The Slice in an effort to get her back, neither Eleanor, her boyfriend Dave nor Maddy's fiancé Bob are too happy. The foursome attends the local festival and sees Grant arguing with a stranger and the members of the band, only later to learn that Grant has been found murdered behind the promenade. Bob and Dave do not have alibis and become suspects, forcing Eleanor and Maddy to try and find the real killer.
It appears that Grant was mixed up in a shady investment scheme and had scammed current girlfriend, another ex-wife and his business partner out of money. His mother has also passed away leaving money to Maddy in her will, which Grant and sister Rebecca are not too happy to learn.
I've enjoyed the previous books in the series but this one seemed to be lacking in storyline and left a few loose strings. Eleanor has a great friendship with reputed mobster Art, who she seeks help from in this case, but Art says he needs to distance himself from Eleanor for her own safety. While he does contact Eleanor part way through the book to make amends, we never really know what he was involved with that might have caused trouble for her. There is the mention of a gambling ring in the next town of Cow Spots and the neighboring Chief of Police catches Eleanor and Maddy snooping around but there was really no resolution as to who was running the gambling ring or what that had to do with Grant's death.
It was nice to have Josh and Greg, Slice employees assist in the investigation a little bit, but it was awfully irresponsible for Eleanor and Maddy to ask for their help and put their lives in danger. Police Chief Kevin Hurley is back and it continues to amaze me that he can never find clues on his own and relies on the assistance of the two amateur sleuths.
I'm not giving up on the series yet, and will be looking forward to Thin Crust Killers.
