Revved Up 4 Murder

By J. C. Eaton

I have read a lot of the cozy mysteries created by the husband/wife writing team called J.C. Eaton. I have enjoyed most of the ones in the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series, but Revved Up 4 Murder lagged a bit for me. The predictability is what got to me. Sophie (Phee) constantly frequents fast food restaurants picking up food for herself and her husband or her co-worker Augusta. Although Augusta can be counted on to get treats like donuts for the office, Phee often purchases their lunches or brings home meals for her husband, a detective in the Williams Investigations firm they both work for. As a reader, the repetition quickly became old.

There are other aspects that were funny in the earlier books, but fell flat for me in this one. Sun City West is a retirement community and Phee’s mother lives there. Both men and women there don’t have enough to do in their retirement years and spend a lot of time stirring up trouble, gossiping, and dramatizing events. Phee’s mother Harriet has a chiweenie dog, Streetman, who is spoiled and neurotic. Harriet brings Streetman along when she ventures out on escapades, and Harriet expects her daughter to solve crimes even though she is an accountant/bookkeeper for Williams Investigations. Despite the predictable phone calls from Harriet to Phee demanding outlandish investigations, there are admittedly some funny scenes with the “book club ladies” and their dogs.

In spite of my hesitations about Revved Up 4 Murder, I must “confess” that there are a lot of credible suspects for the crimes which include murders and the theft of a valuable object from a  museum. I didn’t guess the solution to the mysteries which were fairly complicated. The investigative team of two private detectives and a duo of less than stellar detectives from the local police force are aided by Rolo, a computer genius with access to the dark web. His expertise is not cheap, and he insists on being paid in expensive kitchen appliances to support his current food craze. 

My conclusion is that the core mystery is much more interesting than the context and setting, but it could be a fun diversion if you need a break from other genres or the news cycle.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery, Humor

Notes:  #12 in the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series. There are a number of characters who are introduced in previous books, but don’t stand out as individuals in this book. They function more like a Greek chorus to this plot.

Publication:   February 20, 2024—Beyond the Page Publishing

Memorable Lines:

Gossip at the beauty parlor rises exponentially at rates not even seen by mathematicians. 

Going to sleep at my normal hour was never going to happen. More thoughts crossed my mind than ants on a watermelon.

When I ended the call, I was certain my mother and her crew of yentas would be camped out across the street from Betsy’s house. Nothing ensures that someone will do something like telling them not to. It’s like a law of physics, only with human nature.