Lynne J. (Doughgirl) reviewed on 2/27/2011 + 138 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Rating: 3.75* (round up to 4*)

Most mystery readers have never heard of this series before, I'm sure, because it was published by - of all publishers! - Harlequin. Harlequin is known for publishing romances, not mysteries! But they published this under their now defunct NEXT line, which was a line of books - small novels really - featuring more mature women in their 40's and 50's and the life issues they frequently face. And it's a shame that most mystery readers haven't heard of these books, because I really enjoyed them. Ahtough the fact that I AM a more mature woman in my 40's may have something to do with how well I related to the character of Maggie.

I really liked these books. They aren't really cozies, but they aren't hard-boiled thrillers either. I liked Maggie. She throws herself into her work - getting by on caffeine, very little sleep, and Benedryl - and solves the mysteries using dogged detective work. Although her mother seems a bit extreme, there probably really are people like her in this world. She seemed very real. In fact, everything in these books came off as realistic, which was a plus for me. There are three more books in this series and I'm looking forward to reading them.

P.S. The one thing that bothered me a little were Maggie's hives. They were pretty much constant throughout both books and Maggie dealt with them by taking large amounts of Benedryl and slathering herself with calamine lotion. Not only did I get a little tired of hearing about it, but I frankly wondered how Maggie could function this way. If I take even ONE Benedryl, it makes me so sleepy I'm thinking through a fog.

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