Cozy Mystery Review: Basket Case, by Lesley A Diehl

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Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this fun cozy!

A 

Basket Case (Maddie Sparks Mystery Series) by Lesley A Diehl

About A Basket Case

 

 

 A Basket Case (Maddie Sparks Mystery Series) 

Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series  

Setting - Upstate New York  

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Camel Press (November 12, 2024) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 250 pages 

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1684922208 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1684922208 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D4MWFWSP

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Maddie Sparks believes she has found the perfect balance in her life--Zack, the man she loves, a book she loves writing and volunteer work at a local museum with a granddaughter she adores. An old flame from Zack's past arrives and drives a wedge into Maddie and Zack's romance, her writing stalls and someone murders the museum's director just as the museum is about to return a collection of Native American artifacts to the Onondaga and Oneida nations. Standing over the dead body of the museum director is an Indigenous man from neither group who insists one of the baskets in the collection belongs to his family. The authorities believe he is the killer, but Maddie does not. With her love life on hold, Maddie and her granddaughter set out to identify the killer, but their search reveals thefts at the museum and a two-hundred-year-old family secret that is the key to the motivation behind the killing. When Maddie uncovers the history behind the feud over the basket, she knows the identity of the killer, making Maddie his next target.
 

My Review:

What a fun read! I love that the main character is a senior (well, no surprise there, as I have written one as well), and that she's lively and feisty. Both Maddy and her granddaughter are well-drawn and appealing characters, though many of the other characters are a little black-and-white. As a result, the outcome of the story is pretty well foregone, but it also means that this is a straightforward and kind of soothing read.
 
Maddy does a good job of putting things together, though her tendency to race into dangerous circumstances has me really hoping her bone density is good! She really needs to learn to be more careful! The relationship issues in the book were nicely done, not dominating the story but adding an extra level of interest and conflict. 
 
Finally, there is a lot in here about Native American rights and artifacts, and I found that aspect of the story interesting, but am not in a position to judge about the accuracy of details--though it all rang true to what I know.
 
Overall, the prose is solid (I read an uncorrected proof and there were a few issues that I trust will be corrected in the final edits), and the story is complex enough to keep the reader's interest even if you guess who the baddies are. And Maddie's cat is everything a cat should be.

My Recommendation:
I'd call it a perfect beach read, but unless you are in the southern hemisphere it's the wrong season for that, so let's just say a great choice to pair with a glass of wine by the fire.
 

About Lesley A. Diehl

Cows, Lesley learned growing up on a farm, have a twisted sense of humor. They chased her when she herded them in for milking, and one ate the lovely red mitten her grandmother knitted for her. Determining that agriculture wasn’t a good career choice, instead, she uses her country roots and her training as a psychologist to concoct stories designed to make people laugh in the face of murder. Unusual protagonists appear in many of Lesley’s works including Desdemona the crime-fighting potbellied pig, a hobo turned county sheriff and Lesley’s zany back-home-on-the-farm relatives (The Killer Wore Cranberry, all six anthologies). She is the author of several cozy mystery series (The Eve Appel Mysteries, Laura Murphy Mysteries, The Big Lake Murder Mysteries, and her newest, Maddie Sparks Mysteries, featuring a senior sleuth and her rescue cat). Her cozy mysteries have won several Readers’ Favorite Awards and a short story Sleuthfest Award. Find out more at www.lesleyadiehl.com.

Author Links  
Website www.lesleyadiehl.com
Blog www.lesleyadiehl.com/blog
Facebook www.facebook.com/lesley.diehl.1
 GoodReads www.goodreads.com/3414925.Lesley_A_Diehl
Amazon www.amazon.com/author/lesleydiehl
GoodReads www.goodreads.com/3414925.Lesley_A_Diehl 

 Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Bookshop.org -

TOUR PARTICIPANTS
December 6 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
December 7 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT
December 8 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW
December 9 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
December 10 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 11 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read - REVIEW
December 12 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 13 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
December 14 – Reading Authors Network – AUTHOR GUEST POST
December 14 – Frugal Freelancer – CHARACTER GUEST POST
December 15 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
December 16 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
December 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
December 17 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
December 18 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
December 19 – Christy's Cozy Corners –
 

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Comments

  1. Rita WrayDecember 8, 2024 at 7:49 AM

    Thank you for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 8, 2024 at 9:36 AM

    Spike the Cat loved your review of the book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassDecember 8, 2024 at 7:35 PM

      Spike's a great cat. And I love that he can help break a case without being anything but a cat---no supernatural powers needed!

      Delete
  3. diannekcDecember 9, 2024 at 4:50 PM

    Sounds like a book I would really enjoy reading

    ReplyDelete

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