The Great Jewel Robbery

 

The Great Jewel Robbery is a series starter cozy mystery by Elizabeth McKenna. Released in May 2019, it's 204 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well written small town cozy with significant romance subplot. Big town reporters Emma & Grace are on site to cover a charity event in a small lake town when skullduggery and the theft of an extremely valuable necklace gives them more of a story to investigate than they had bargained for.

It's tropey in a lot of ways (buddy amateur sleuths, contrary but oh-so-handsome local lawman, over the top capers and hijinks), but honestly it's such a fluffy enjoyable readable book that it's pure comfort food for the eyes. There are now two books extant in the series making it a decent candidate for a short weekend binge read. 

Readers who enjoy a dose of HFN romance in their mysteries will find a lot to like here. The writing is above average, protagonists who are funny and don't make readers want to bang their heads together, lots of eyelash fluttering and heart palpitations when Detective Ryan shows up. The language is squeaky clean and the violence isn't graphic. The author has also included a couple of recipes (planked salmon & potato pancakes) in the back of the book as well as precis of some of her other books.

Four stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.