Thursday 28 February 2019

The Chalkboard Outlines Mysteries by Kelley Kaye



Book 1

Death by Diploma

Emma 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.

Review 

A clever 'who dunit' with quirky characters and quick, smart dialogue.


I loved the humour running through the book especially in relation to school and the different <i> kinds </i>  of teachers there are in the profession.  The observational comments made by Emma and Leslie about their colleagues really made me laugh out loud. It was so spot on!

The main characters in the book are lively and relatable. Emma and Leslie just clicked as friends from the first page and their chemistry was completely believable. Hunter and Emma's first interactions were very cute and funny. I couldn't help but smile all the way through their first meetings. I can't wait to see more of how that romance develops.

The mystery itself was very cleverly written. The red herrings had me distracted and completely clueless right to the end when I inevitably had that 'duh' moment. Why didn't I see that coming?! 

I experienced a broad range of emotions whilst reading this book. Although the story was very humorous it was also sad and poignant especially in relation to the victim and his lost opportunity at love. 

I really liked that there were literary quotes sprinkled throughout the story. It brought back great memories of when I studied Shakespeare as an undergraduate.

This was an excellent introduction to the series and I can't wait to read more.



Book 2                  Poison by Punctuation

High school teacher Emma Lovett is finally recovering from her first year of teaching when she discovers another dead body. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this time, someone has killed a student, Kisten Hollis.

Emma and her best friend, Leslie, are desperate to solve this murder. But suspects abound. The perpetrator could be a teacher, an administrator, a member of Kisten’s zealous church community, or even another student.

Emma must juggle her teaching responsibilities, her new romance with handsome Hunter Wells, and interest from a hunky second suitor, all while searching for evidence to bring a killer to justice before someone else dies.
 


Review  

The Chalkboard Outlines is proving to be my newest favourite cozy mystery series.


There are so many things about this story that I just loved. The character development is brilliant. Leslie and Emma are so funny as best friends and they are just great together as partners in solving crime. They make the perfect partnership.
Hunter is still a cute character but I couldn't help but really like Will the doctor as well. It's always good to a have a gorgeous doctor on speed dial and a well written love triangle can be lots of fun. I hope Will becomes a permanent part of the crime solving gang. He is more useful than Hunter in that regard and he's a vital source of information in the absence of a nice police detective. 

Poison by Punctuation is choc full of suspenseful and exciting scenes. I couldn't put it down.

Both books are available now in paperback, digital and audio.


2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the dual review! I don’t think I’ve ever had both come out together...�� yay, Books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome! Thanks for visiting my blog.

      Delete