Still as Death by J.A. Kazimer

When she’s not dodging alligators or local gossip in the small town of Gett, Florida, Charlotte Lucky has her hands full keeping the family distillery up and running. She came face-to-face with the killer a couple of months ago and one can say Charlotte Lucky, a small-time actress in LA is now a small-time amateur sleuth in Gett.

She’s busy planning her grandfather Jack’s seventy-fifth birthday party – supposed to be a surprise for the old man. But Charms, as Charlotte is known as, is in for a surprise when actor/ex-boyfriend Marcus Savage comes to Gett for a visit.

At the birthday party, Marcus gets down on one knee and proposes to Charms but the attention is diverted to a bank manager who drops dead. Hullabaloo done with, Charms finds a sparkly diamond ring on her finger. When did she say yes? Even she doesn’t know… thanks to the ‘distraction’.

The next day, she goes to Marcus and breaks off the engagement. A day later, Marcus is found dead. The gossip is that Brodie and Charms killed Marcus so that they could be together. Now, now, Charms and Brodie need to solve the case…and of course, prove they are not dating.

The first book in this series – A Shot of Murder – was a disappointing read for me. The annoying bits were the townspeople not being able to forgive Charms for painting the overhead tank green ten years ago. And men looked lecherously at Charms – thanks to the STD commercial in which she played a seductive girlfriend.

However, things have changed completely in this book. The annoying bits no longer steal the spotlight. As the first book ended, we also saw Brodie make a confession to Charms – he painted the overhead tank green, not Charms (in a drunken stupor). The Getts and Luckys are always at crossroads when it comes to Whiskey. But Charms caught her grandfather Jack and Rue Gett (Brodie’s grandmother and the owner of Gett distillery) kissing in the dark. With Charms attracted to Brodie – and vice versa – Getting Lucky might happen soon.

J.A.Kazimer has surely outdone herself with Still as Death. Be it the mystery or the storytelling, this book is a complete entertainment package. There are two murders for Charms and Brodie to solve. Not just that, one of the victims was Charms ‘fiance`’.

The mysteries kept me guessing until the end. The identity of the perp was unexpected and surprising. The story continues a bit further after the ‘arrest’; we have another ‘arrest’ followed by a huge surprise.

I am eager to see how the above-mentioned surprise is going to change things for Charms, Brodie and the Lucky distillery.

Well-developed characters and well-written mystery, Still as Death by J.A. Kazimer has made it to my Best Books of 2020 list. A highly recommended read from me. And yes, this book can be read as a standalone.

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i received an ARC from Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

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