Mysterious Reviews Home

Goody Goody Gunshots

An Abby Shaw Mystery by Sammi Carter

Goody Goody Gunshots by Sammi Carter

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.

Acknowledgment: Penguin Group provided a copy of Goody Goody Gunshots for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

Location(s) referenced in Goody Goody Gunshots: Colorado

— ♦ —

Goody Goody Gunshots by Sammi Carter

Goody Goody Gunshots by An Abby Shaw Mystery

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22332-1
Publication Date:
List Price: $6.99

Buy the Book (purchase options)

— ♦ —

Page Author: Lance Wright
Site Publisher: Mysterious Reviews

Mysterious Reviews is a Division of
The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books
and a Business Unit of the
Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites