Killer Honeymoon
A Savannah Reid Mystery
Author: G.A. McKevett
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: March 26, 2013
I think I've only read one other book in the Savannah Reid series, and I remember it being a fun read (though apparently I had some issues with the fact checking, according to my review), so I was happy to get my hands on this. I've been reading so many heavy, heartbreaking books lately that I was due a nice light read. And thank goodness for it! It was exactly what I was looking for in a cozy mystery and it came at the perfect time.
One thing I liked about this one in particular is how the author managed to make her main characters--a police officer and a private investigator--feel like amateur sleuths (in a good way). While on vacation (the titular killer honeymoon, no less), Savannah Reid and her new husband Dirk (Are people really named Dirk? Perhaps only in the South?) stumble upon a dying woman, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. Although they are unable to save her, they do hear her dying declaration and are prepared to make a statement to the local police. Unfortunately the police seem more interested in protecting the reputation of the tourist destination than solving the murder of the woman, who turns out to be a popular news anchor. Obviously, Dirk and Savannah have to step in and solve the crime, with or without the help of the police!
A lot of times, the difference between a cozy mystery and a crime thriller is whether the murder is being solved by a professional police officer or an amateur sleuth. This of course is not a hard and fast rule, as there are plenty of cozies that star police officers (the Hamish Macbeth series by M.C. Beaton is one of my favourites), just as I'm sure there are plenty of gritty thrillers that don't. Of course it's the tone of the book that determines its genre. Still, there's something inherently cozy about having an amateur sleuth solve a crime on his or her (but often her) own, just as there's something thrilling about having a police detective do it.
Well at least in fiction. In real life, a police officer's day is disproportionately filled with paperwork and an amateur sleuth who tries to solve murders is charged with obstructing justice. But in mystery novels an amateur sleuth can be a delight. But how does the author get her character to solve the crime without her seeming like an insufferable busybody? And how does an author explain why her protagonist hasn't just gone to the police with her findings? This is the perennial question in amateur sleuth fiction. And I'm a sucker for an author who solves it well.
I'm so glad I didn't remember much about my previous encounter with PI Savannah Reid. I enjoyed Killer Honeymoon SO much more than I thought I would, based on my review of A Body to Die For. It may not be perfect and it may not be the book that "redefines the genre" or anything, but in terms of a satisfying cozy mystery and an escapist summer read, it's just perfect.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher/author through the LibraryThing Members Giveaway program. I was asked to post an honest review (though not necessarily a favourable one). The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
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