Review: Bel, Book, and Scandal

  

Title: Bel, Book, and Scandal
Author: Maggie McConnon
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Recommended If You Like: strong female protagonists, family ties, long-running mysteries with surprise endings, secrets from the past

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

The long-running series' mystery of what truly happened to Belfast's best friend, Amy, so many years ago, takes a shocking turn in this latest cozy mystery. Belfast, a chef at her family's Shamrock Manor, spots a newspaper photograph that turns everything she thought she knew about that fateful night upside down. Drawn into a story she has never truly been able to leave behind, Belfast is determined to solve the mystery that has haunted her all these years.

What I Liked:

I love the character of Belfast. She feels so real, as does her family. She's not perfect, neither are they, but they love and drive each other crazy in equal measure. Belfast is funny, and clever, and determined, but still doesn't know where she's going in life. She is relatable, and it's impossible not to like her.

I was so excited to see so much development in the mystery of Amy. It's one I've been following since I read the first book in the series, and I've been wanting to know the solution so much.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I felt like what was revealed, while surprising and shocking and fantastically dramatic, didn't feel like it entirely fit with what had come in the books before. I absolutely adore a shocking twist that I never saw coming, but this one felt a little too out of left field.

So...?

Definitely read the books that came before this one so you can understand the importance of what is happening in this one. This is a cozy mystery series I really enjoy, and I hope that, even though it felt like an ending, this isn't the last we read of Belfast.