Review of TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A WRITE by Cathy Wiley

4 of 5 stars

Cassie Ellis is a mystery book author. She's meticulous about her research even going so far as to take lessons on shooting a gun and the proper stance associated with each particular gun being shot. She visits the places around Baltimore where the action in her book takes place and listens to the police scanner religiously to pick up correct police jargon.  It certainly doesn't hurt that she's dating hunky James Whittaker, an upstanding and well-respected cop on the Baltimore police force who follows the rules and regulations to the letter. When Whittaker's father is suddenly accused of killing the very police officer that exposed his past crimes, Cassie decides to investigate personally much to the consternation of her boyfriend, James.

I don't usually read many mysteries, but when the publisher offered a copy for review, I thought it would be a nice break from my usual fantasy genre. I'm glad I accepted. The author does a very good job of letting the reader get to know both Cassie and James. She's stubborn; he's overprotective, and between the two of them, misunderstandings happen. I could definitely feel the frustration of both of these characters. They each think they're doing the best thing for the other. James's father is also a unique secondary character. I liked him, but I wanted to shout, "what were you thinking?" when the plot revealed some interesting tidbits about him. This is exactly what every author hopes for—that your readers become so engaged in the characters that they think they know best.

The writing is clear and concise and the plot moves along nicely.  I read the book in two sittings. Ms. Wiley uses the clever ploy of letting Cassie write a scene in her head to let the reader in on some information that we would not normally know. In this way, the story is not blogged down with back story or filler.  There is no over the top violence in the book. I did not read the first book in this series, but there was enough clues in book 2 to make me want to go and purchase book 1. However, this book was thoroughly enjoyable without having read book 1. If you enjoy a cozy mystery, I would definite recommend you pick up a copy of "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Write." Recommended.

Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Wrongs-Write-Cassandra-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B005ZU5FIC