Goody
Goody Gunshots
An
Abby Shaw Mystery
Sammi
Carter
Berkley
Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-425-22332-9 (0425223329)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22332-1 (9780425223321)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): When Abby Shaw witnesses a stanger being gunned down on the highway, she's convinced she's seen a murder. Problem is, there's no body. But days later, when a body does turn up, wishy-washy witnesses make things sticky. Even elbow-deep in hot syrup, Abby is determined to find out the truth. And it's not as if she can take her sweet time figuring it out -- she's busy running Divinity, training a new employee, and helping to coach her nephew's basketball team. Not to mention that nosing around for too long could get her killed ...
Review:
Paradise Colorado candy shop owner Abby Shaw searches for a dead man
who suddenly isn't, then unexpectedly is, in Goody Goody Gunshots,
the fourth mystery in this series by Sammi Carter.
After dropping off her nephews and while returning home from her
brother's house one evening, Abby nearly runs into a disheveled man at
an intersection called Hammond Junction. A few seconds later, Abby
hears what seem to be gunshots and the man goes down. Fearing her own
safety, she leaves the area and contacts the police. But when the
authorities search the area, no body is found. A couple of days pass
and Abby sees the unkempt man again, clearly alive, but soon thereafter
she stumbles across his dead body. Abby is determined to sort out the
true circumstances of the mysterious appearance and death of this man
in her small town.
Goody
Goody Gunshots is subtitled
"A Candy Shop Mystery" yet Abby as a candy maker and her candy shop
Divinity play absolutely no relevant role whatsoever in the story. They
seem to merely exist as props, and infrequently used ones at that. Abby
could have been portrayed as a dentist or accountant or construction
worker and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference to how the story
plays out or concludes. The plot itself is fine, a bit derivative, but
otherwise workable as a template for a murder mystery. And it can't be
said that the book is poorly written or that its characters lack depth
and interest. But couldn't the author have done something, anything, to
make candy or sweet treats an integral part Abby's investigation or its
resolution? In some ways it seems all rather pointless, but in the end
it's simply just disappointing.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Goody Goody Gunshots and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Goody Goody Gunshots? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Candy
Apple Dead
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback), September 2005
ISBN-10: 0-425-20532-0 (0425205320)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-20532-7 (9780425205327)
Chocolate
Dipped
Death
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback), March 2006
ISBN-10: 0-425-20894-X (042520894X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-20894-6 (9780425208946)
Peppermint
Twisted
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback), December 2007
ISBN-10: 0-425-21227-0 (0425212270)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-21227-1 (9780425212271)
Goody Goody Gunshots
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback), September 2008
ISBN-10: 0-425-22332-9 (0425223329)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22332-1 (9780425223321)
Sucker Punch
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback), June 2009
ISBN-10: 0-425-22706-522706 (0425227065)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22706-0 (9780425227060)
Omnimystery
keywords for Goody Goody Gunshots
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Location(s) referenced: Colorado.
