Sometimes I enjoy reading intense, edge of your seat kinds of books. Then, there are times when I just want to relax, read and enjoy the images that are created in my mind through the story I’m reading. That relaxation, easy reading, fun experience defines the Minokee Murder Books (one and two) by Iris Chacon. Chacon creates verbally a well-drawn picture that is much like the best possible caricature of the individual. She highlights those positive and engaging features just enough to make sure you see them before seeing the rest of the individual. It’s easy to become engaged with her characters and her book because it is so entertaining, and relaxing to read.I recently finished the second of her two books in this series, THE MAMMOTH MURDERS, and found it just as entertaining as I did the first one, Finding Miranda. Because I often read for entertainment, I found it refreshing to read two books that were both engaging and light enough for me to pick it up and read without adding to any tension or stress of my day. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy intense books from time to time, and certainly not to say there are not some “situations” that occur in these books that can cause you to read a little more rapidly or wonder if all is going to turn out alright in the end. It’s just that these two books particularly are light hearted enough to make you relax like you would if you were immersing yourself in a delightful bubble bath.
Here’s my review of THE MAMMOTH MURDERS for you to consider. Let me also encourage you, if you like to indulge in light-hearted fiction from time to time, to pick up the first book, Finding Miranda, and start with it. You may find them hard to put down, not because you are so concerned about what’s happening, but because you are just having so much fun reading.
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This is book two of the Minokee Murders series, and it is unclear if there will be more. Both books are complete stories within themselves although there are some continuing storylines between the two main characters, Miranda and Sheppard, and secondary characters in the book. While you can easily read the second book in the series without having read the first one, reading them in order will add to your enjoyment of this light-hearted approach to a cozy mystery.
Miranda has moved to the small town of Minokee, located in the middle of a swamp in Florida. Minokee is so small, there are only two roads which parallel each other and they only extend for a block each. Miranda has moved there from Miami upon inheriting her aunt’s house. Shep lives there by choice, in part to escape his overbearing mother. Other than Miranda and Shep, the town is inhabited by several older women whose primary entertainment is watching Shep go on his morning run, hopefully shirtless and Pieto, friend to Shep who is working for Shep and also as a spy in Shep’s mother’s house to keep an eye on her controlling efforts.
All the characters are slight exaggerations of people, almost as if they are verbal representations of the best possible caricatures of each individual. There’s Miranda an almost invisible, quiet as a mouse librarian; Shep a golden god type figure like Fabio who just happens to be blind, and Miz Martha who is the wise and “never to be underestimated” senior citizen neighbor who can canoe a river and wield a shotgun and most any other activity she chooses. There are numerous other characters who round out the book, including Shep’s mother, Miranda’s parents, and numerous people involved in a possible discovery of prehistoric bones in a newly developing sinkhole.
The entire book is light hearted and fun while maintaining some excellent characteristics of a mystery. There’s a murder, lots of red herrings, and a clear-cut path to the truth if the reader is paying attention to all the clues. It’s easy reading and perfect when you want to just relax and enjoy something totally light and fun, perhaps as a respite from the intensity of a regular day.
My thanks to BooksGoSocial Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital reader copy of this in exchange for an unbiased review.
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That’s it for now. I’m making this one short so I can go do some more reading. Hope you are finding some time to turn the pages as well. For now, Happy Reading.
