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Death by Diploma Series: Chalkboard Outlines, #1, #1 by Kelley Kaye Bowles
Genres: Adult, Fiction, Humor, Mystery
ISBN: 1940215625Emma Lovett leaves her philandering husband and crosses the country to begin her teaching career at a high school in Pinewood, Colorado.There, she meets Leslie Parker, a fellow teacher given to quoting Shakespeare to fit all situations, and the two become fast friends.
Arriving at work early one morning, Emma discovers the body of the school custodian, a man who reminds her of her late father. When the police struggle to find the killer, the ladies decide to help solve the murder. Their efforts lead them to a myriad of suspects: the schizophrenic librarian, the crude football coach, the mysterious social studies teacher, and even Emma’s new love interest.
As Emma Lovett discovers the perils of teaching high school, she and Leslie learn more than they ever wanted to know about the reasons people kill.
Published by Red Adept Publishing LLC on February 23, 2016
Pages: 228
Format: eBook
Source: BookSirens
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Death by Diploma by Kelley Kaye Bowles wasn’t as fun of a cozy murder mystery as I thought. It was an enjoyable read, but it took me a long time to get through.
The thing is, the characters were developed well. I enjoyed the friendship between the two female protagonists, Leslie and Emma. A lot of the other characters were quirky.
However, what really slowed me down was Emma’s accent. The author wrote in her southern accent into the dialogue, which is certainly not needed. It doesn’t allow the dialogue to flow well at all and this is a case where “showing, not telling” is not the correct advice.
The mystery isn’t and the description wasn’t too bad, but the pacing was slow at times. I sometimes found myself wanting to skip ahead to get to the next part.
Overall, this wasn’t too bad of a read. I won’t mind trying the second book in the series, but I don’t think I’ll rush out to buy it anytime soon.
Rating: 3/5 Coffee Cups
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Rachel Poli is an indie author, podcaster, and content writer working on her debut cozy mystery novel.
Although she favors mystery, Rachel is a multi-genre author with too many ideas and characters in her head, often experimenting with short stories and flash fiction.
When she’s not writing, she’s reading, organizing something, or playing video games. She currently resides in New England with her zoo.
