A Whale of a Murder - A Review

 Review

A WHALE OF A MURDER by Valerie Taylor
The First Venus Bixby Mystery

Chatham Crossing is a quiet Massachusetts town where nothing much happens, at least on the outside. An old whaling town, it's best known for the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum. It's also home of Oldies and Goodies, a popular music store run by Venus Bixby. While the town is gearing to celebrate Independence Day, everyone is also planning to celebrate Venus' fiftieth birthday with a gala affair at the museum. But some people have motives other than wishing Venus well. As Venus walks through the museum's garden to check on her party's progress she manages to trip over a pair of platform shoes. Shoes attached to a body. A body who won't be around to sing Happy Birthday.

Murder and robbery put a halt to a big birthday bash in the first Venus Bixby Mystery. Like the whales at the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum, A WHALE OF A MURDER has good bones. I wanted to love it and while I didn't dislike it, I had some issues with it.

The first part of A WHALE OF A MURDER jumped timelines so much I felt I had whiplash.  The book started with a report of the murder, then we went to a time before, then after, and back and forth. In addition, the story was told from multiple points of view. While doing so gave readers some insight into these characters, it was a jumble and took away any sense of continuity. I preferred it when the author finally got to a linear time frame told from Venus' point of view, interspersed with the newspaper articles which were a nice touch.

The characters here are certainly unique. Venus could use a better circle of friends-who needs enemies when you have friends like hers! Venus herself is certainly flawed and not the most likeable of protagonists, especially in the first part of the book. I never did work out why she should be the toast of the town. I did enjoy seeing her relationship with her sister evolve.

The mystery and Venus' investigation were very drawn out. She and her sister made a suspect list, asked some questions, but mainly went sightseeing. Too much time was taken away from the actual plot and spent on things not germane to the mystery. 

With musical jokes, delicious cookies, and a birthday diva, A WHALE OF A MURDER is an interesting start to a new series.