Murder Takes A Vacation by Laura Lippman
A review of the first Mrs Blossom mystery with a trip to Paris, a river cruise and of course, a murder. Discover why this book is such an entertaining read.
This novel had popped up on various book sites, and so when I saw one of my local libraries had it in stock, I had to give it a try.
Laura Lippman is new to me, but she clearly has an extensive back catalogue. And it shows in the quality of Murder Takes a Vacation*.
The story follows Mrs Blossom on a holiday of a lifetime to Paris for a river cruise. However, right from the start, the holiday takes several unexpected turns.
Murder obviously features in the story along with an interesting array of characters that'll have you second-guessing about their motives.
However, the star of the story is Mrs Blossom herself. She defies stereotypes and is written with nuance and a delightful sense of humour.
Her motivation for the cruise, along with aspects of her life, are gradually revealed as you move through the story. But right from the first chapter you're intrigued enough by this lady to see what happens next.
The murder itself felt like a supporting point to the story of Mrs Blossom's adventure, but that's a positive because her character is so well-crafted I would read her future activities.
As I've not read any of Laura Lippman's books before I wasn't aware of her Tess Monaghan series. However, for fans of these stories, you'll be pleased to see that she makes a cameo appearance in Murder Takes a Vacation*.
In short, this is an engaging story with a standout main character and hopefully the first of many that feature Mrs Blossom.
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