Picked Off
by Linda Lovely
I enjoyed Picked Off, a cozy mystery by Linda Lovely, but I didn’t love it and I didn’t think it was as good as the first book in the series.
On the positive side, it has an interesting plot, likable characters and appropriate injections of humor. In fact, there is an exciting escape scene that is as funny as all get out! It’s worth reading the book just to experience that piece of writing. There are lots of fun, folksy figures of speech to roll off the tongue and stir the imagination.
On the negative side, Brie, who is helping her Aunt Eva with Udderly Kidding Dairy, is as enmeshed as ever in her attractions to Paint and Andy who are best friends to each other. The irony of a vegan who runs a dairy farm and engages in cheese and meat curses is lost on no one and remains amusing in the second book. The romantic triangle, however, is losing its appeal. Brie, along with the author, appears stuck on the fence. My other criticism is that there were a few loose ends that did not get tied up. I am especially interested in the missing backpack containing evidential video footage. It seems to have dropped off the radar.
The basic plot is interesting: Carol Strong is campaigning for South Carolina governor and her son, football star Zack, is attacked during a Halloween themed rally for her benefit. There is more mayhem, lots of entanglements, and plenty of folks to accuse. Imagine trying to identify suspects when most guests are wearing masks. Brie, her friend Mollye, and Aunt Eva find themselves overly and dangerously involved, but the reader benefits by enjoying the plot’s development.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Brie Hooker Mystery Series
Publication: June 5, 2018—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
My nerves jangled. Who could blame me? Yesterday’s assault would have scared the beans out of a bowl of chili.
Eva returned around lunch time, exhausted. Airlines could assess a surcharge for the size of the bags under her eyes.
…we were more out of our depth than a vegan at a wienie roast.
education pathways 
The escape scene was very funny.
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Great review. I have the first book but was unsure if I wanted to read it because I’d read that it had some spiritistic stuff in it and that’s not for me. You mentioned “cheese and meat curses” in this one so I’m guessing the first book contained some of this too.
Thanks for sharing. 😊
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Actually, what I meant was that instead of bad words the main character creatively uses non-vegan expressions such as “greasy gopher guts” and “spam in a can” as interjections.
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Yes… I got that. 😊
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I don’t remember any paranormal elements in either book. I can be naive and might have missed something, but I went back to my review of the first book and there was no mention of that in my “notes” section.
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Thanks so much for that!! Valuable information. I thought there was a prevalence of it in the book. If not, I can give it a try. 😊
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‘Scared the beans out of a bowl of chili’. That’s the first time I’ve heard that one.
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