I've been reading a lot of iffy cozy mysteries lately. Where you keep reading the first few chapters because it *has* to get better, then you get sucked into the middle and find the ending is a little lacking. These books have been nice fillers, but have left me wanting something more.

This book was not one of those cozy mysteries. I was sucked in by page two. And I just kept wanting more and more. And the ending was satisfying, but I still wanted more. More of this author's writing and more in this series instead of finishing the book and hoping there is more hidden in code on the backcover. I often tell my friends that a book was well worth the effort to read. This book is even better than that, because it took no effort.

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This books was such a fun read. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

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I am really enjoying this book. The heroine is a bit flaky but likeable and the secondary characters are exaggerated but still enjoyable too. I'm not very interested in dance and I was afraid it would delve too much into dance but it doesn't at all. I am expecting the next one in the mail and I bought the third in the series. Cozy, fun light read!

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This book is set in Ogden, Utah, where I live (well, I live in the next town over and work in Ogden). Ms. Roberts has done a creditable job of representing our city and its culture while at the same time telling a really fun story about a flaky but lovable heroine. There's a fair amount of Stephanie Plum in Jenny Partridge, though skewed in a much different way. This and the other books in the series are really fun to read.

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Tutu Deadly by Natalie M. Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My oldest daughter is a dancer and into musical theater. So when I saw this book listed on the Cozy-Mystery group by someone that they had just read it, i knew I had to see what it was about.

The lead character is Jenny T Partridge, and she owns a dance studio, albeit a small scale studio. She has psycho dance moms coming in and out all day, complaining that their daughters are better than they really our, deserve more front-center time, etc, etc. On this day, she has been confronted by a psycho mom who thinks her daughter is a dancer, when she clearly could care less about dance and more about picking her nose, who proceeds to pee herself and the dance floor. As she is cleaning up the mess, a police detective walks in and asks Jenny about a mom, who she comes to find out is dead. Jenny faints on the spot.

This is different in a number of ways from most Cozy mysteries that I have read. In most books, the lead is a capable and confident woman who purposely sets out to find out what is going on, Jenny has no desire to find out what is going on, to just live her normal life, but that is not to be. Jenny comes across in the first few chapters as almost a brick short of a full load, so to say. She can't get a simple common expression correct and seems to be oblivious to half the world around her.

I think it was Chapter 3 or 4 when I fnally stopped getting the feel that Jenny was brainless, but just oblivious. If it wasn't for the hunky detective that shows an interest in her, and the best friend James that has no clue how to handle his mother, who is actively planning his and Jenny's wedding even though James is gay, I would have no interest in another book, but the ending of this has me on pins and needles to find out what happens with the detective and james.


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What I liked: Jenny is a funny and slightly eccentric heroine. The character is engaging and likable.

What I didn't like: Pretty much all of the secondary characters. The plot was a little convoluted and not really much of a mystery at that. I also hated the two cops. Neither one seemed interesting and the one Jenny likes only seems to want to get her in bed.

3 out of 5 because I did finish it and I wanted to know how it ended.

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