If you're looking for a good mystery that will challenge your inner sleuth and offer you lots of giggles, then you may want to check out The Belvedere Club.
Set in free-spirited Marin County, a place of hot tubs, new age crystals, and progressive latte-sippers, this debut novel by Marin County author Nicola Twrst is an entertaining read.
The novel opens with a female reporter's murder in the premises of an exclusive women's club run by the philanthropic silver-haired ladies of Marin society.
The incident sends Briana Kaleigh, a Washington D.C. photo-journalist and the dead woman's best friend to Marin County to look into the murder.
Pushy, high-strung, and caffeineated, our lovely protagonist soon collides with the mellow sandal-wearing Lieutenant Dusty Arkansas, the Zen-Buddhist investigator handling the case.
The two couldn't have been more different. Sparks fly when they join forces to catch the perpetrator, gumshooing their way to a host of eccentric suspects and witnesses from an obese voyeur chef to a blind bag lady to the age-spotted ladies of the Belvedere Club, picking up contradicting clues along the way.
The love-hate relationship between Arkansas and Brianna makes the pages come alive as the reader wonders whether they are romantically attracted or simply tolerating each other.
Quirky description of Marin County colors the pages. Bay Area description and attitude is spot on.
The novel has loads of twists and turns with perfectly placed red herrings that make it difficult to guess the perpetrator.
There are subtle hints, however, giving readers aha moments in the end. Overall, a highly enjoyable book.
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