by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Killalot, and a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

When a fortune teller declares “Death is near,” Ivy Meadows did her best to shrug it off. After all, she was attending the Phoenix Renaissance Faire where there was an abundance of fairies, pirates, dragons, and hobbits in attendance. Along with her brother, his girlfriend, and Ivy’s own boyfriend Matt, Ivy had been invited to support her friend Riley McFarlane’s jousting match. His opponent Angus Duff oozes charm and gallantry upon the ladies, but when his jousting bout ends tragically no one seems unduly surprised. Although Riley’s being knocked out and impersonated during the match has most of the faire considering it a prank gone wrong, the Faire organizers are concerned about liability and want to hire professional investigators. It just so happens that Ivy is an actor and part-time private investigator for her uncle’s Duda Detective Agency, which explains why she is soon going undercover as a belly dancer with a questionable Cockney accent.

Ivy had hoped to utilize her professional acting skills to help her question employees and the more than 12,000 attendees, but she is soon shut down and made into a mute dancer from Liverpool. Fortunately, her career as an actor takes an upswing when she is hired by a prominent director to workshop a play modernizing Camelot. Not the Arthurian Camelot, but the Camelot of the John F. Kennedy era, now tentatively titled “Kennelot” with Ivy in the role of Marilyn Monroe. She is a far more confident Marilyn than she is a detective, although her determination to find answers is never in questioned. Far more troubling for Ivy are her fears that in order to have a successful acting career, she may have to sacrifice her relationship with her boyfriend Matt.

While this is an undeniably fun romp of a mystery, it also depicts the struggle of a deeply wounded and vulnerable character. Even though at the time they were both children, Ivy (to her family she is Olive Ziegwart) still feels responsible for the accident that caused her brother’s brain damage. That guilt, not to mention the psychological damage inflicted by her parents, haunts Ivy and affects her decisions today. As entertaining as it is to see Ivy attempt to play charades as a muted belly dancer and contend with an unfocused method director, seeing her grow and share her new realizations with others is even more rewarding. Life lessons for Ivy come from a completely unexpected place, from a source that means the most.

Ivy is a delightful sprite of a character, made all the more likable by her flaws and vulnerability. This sixth in the series continues to delve into the fascinating world of acting, not to mention the exuberant and attention-seeking personalities who pursue it.

Check out other Henery Press mysteries on their website.

To enter to win a copy of Killalot, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “killalot,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 12, 2019. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address (so if you win we can get the book sent right out to you), and if via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Killalot (Ivy Meadows Mystery #6)

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Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.