Heavy, dude

Blah blah Cozy Mystery blah blah comfort reading blah blah here we are again.

Heavy Mental is a little bit unusual in that its heorine, Clancy Parker, is a PI by day and a musician by night. It is no credit to this particular book that I can’t, to save me, remember what position she holds in the band, or even the band’s name. I do know she’s not the bassist.

Recently dumped by her boyfriend, who was the bassist for the aforementioned band, Clancy and her band are struggling to find a replacement in time for a Big Upcoming Show they booked; Clancy thinks a friend of hers might be the best person for the job, but she used to date the band’s drummer (so that rules Clancy out for that one, too). And there’s, of course, bad blood there. But, actually, none of this has anything to do with the Mystery that Brought Us Here Today.

Come to think of it, I’d say probably 50% of this book doesn’t really have much to do with the mystery.

Clancy’s mother sends a client Clancy’s way; a woman who is convinced she’s losing her mind, or rather whose husband is trying to convince her she’s losing her mind. Initially, the contract is to find a lost necklace. Ultimately, of course, it ends up with multiple homicides.

Honestly, I’m not sure why cozy heroines get out of bed in the morning.

I wasn’t very impressed with any of the characters in the book, I saw whodunnit and why very early on (and even how). Really, rather than reading this I’d recommend you watch Gaslight. Or Midsommer Murders. In contrast with Heavy Mental, the characterization in both is solid and there’s no weird “romance” subplot in either. (Side note: yes, I know that a cozy mystery by definition includes romance but usually that romance involves the main character and isn’t a weird twisted-around way of making sure that something very awkward happens in the third act before the murderer is caught.)

Seriously, skip it.

I wish I had.