Review of Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery Book 2) by Rose Pressey

Honeysuckle Homicide

Raelynn Pendleton inherited a big Victorian house that she intends to decorate on a budget with her trash-to-treasure creations. Her plans are hindered when her no-good, cheating ex-husband Ross Perkins comes back into her life. Within hours of his return, Ross has pulled Raelynn into a murder investigation.

Handsome Sheriff Kent Klein thinks Ross is guilty as charged and warns Raelynn to stay away from him. But Ross has convinced the town of Honeysuckle, Kentucky that Raelynn murdered the successful local realtor Luke Lexington. Raelynn must prove her innocence or her days of Dumpster-Diving will be over.

**My thoughts**

I am ashamed to admit that I think this is my first Rose Pressey book ever. She is an author whose name has been regularly shared within my circles and I have downloaded a few of her books on free offer or on special sale price, but haven't yet read them. I happened to catch this book under the freebies section on the Amazon bestseller list the other day and downloaded it. I was in the mood for a fun cozy mystery on this glorious summer day, so I chose this one. I'm glad I did.

It is the second book in the series, but I felt like I was able to follow along even without having read the first book. Raelynn is telling the story, so you know that she inherited her Victorian house from an elderly woman and turned it into an inn while restarting her life after her husband cheated on her. Then she had problems with the local people because a schoolteacher was murdered in her backyard and she was a suspect. There are allusions to who the murderer was, but the full identity is never disclosed. I liked that, because I am pretty sure I am going to go back and get the first book to read.

She stumbles upon the murder of a local real estate agent after her POS ex-husband decides to drop into town. She gets totally sucked into the situation and is determined to clear her name, as well as figure out who is committing all of these murders in this otherwise decent small town. She jokes that she is an amateur sleuth, based on all of the mysteries that she has read, and does carry on in an amateur fashion. (Can I just say, stop picking up evidence with your bare fingers, woman!!)

She is also conveniently dating the local sheriff, which presents its own set of wrinkles in the story. But she seems content to have moved on to this new relationship and it serves her well. I just wish he would have gotten after her more about her secret sleuthing practices!

Raelynn is actually an enjoyable heroine compared to many of the other ones out there. I loved her enthusiasm for her crafting, although I cannot imagine doing all of the dumpster diving. It did make really want to work on some of my own pieces. (Spoiler: Though I have some materials ready to go on my porch, I have been lazy all day.) I really enjoyed her and her best friend Claire Ann. Kent seems like a worthy boyfriend. I wanted to smack Russ, the ex, and all of his family and close friends.

I did briefly feel like I was confusing characters for a little bit because so many of them had names that started with C, but then was able to get them all straightened out.

Pressey is also a talented writer, compared to many of the other authors within this genre today. I love to take a gamble  on the free books out there to help me discover new authors and series. Some are good and others are ... well, not.

Is this one of the greatest cozy mysteries ever written? Not exactly. But it's a perfect read when you're lounging around and want a good escape for an afternoon. I am definitely going to check out the first book in the series, as well as some of Pressey's other titles.

Overall, I give it four stars.

Buy it on Amazon