Finders, Not Keepers (The Not So Reluctant Detectives Book 1) by @denaehaggerty #CosyMystery #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

Author: D.E. Haggerty

Kindle Edition

Category: Cosy Mystery, Murder, Romance, Book Review

What do you do with a diamond no one wants? You can’t keep it. Or can you?

Join Terri on her quest to find a home for the diamond, which may result in the unveiling of a murderer – if she survives long enough.

Terri is in the process of sorting through the boxes in the attic for something her ex husband wants, annoyed with herself for not forcing him to take his stuff when he moved out.

When her friend, Melanie arrives she helps Terri get the boxes downstairs. Later, as Terri is cleaning the now box free attic she makes an astonishing discovery. Hidden in a corner is a necklace. A large pear-shaped diamond on a platinum/white gold chain. Terri is understandably utterly astounded.

Terri is determined to find the previous owners of her house and return the diamond. Luckily her super hot next door neighbour Ryder, is a private investigator – the perfect person to ask for advice. Even though it was easy to find the previous owners, a Mr and Mrs Collins, returning the necklace proved trickier as they didn’t want it. It transpired the necklace had belonged to their niece, Jessica.

Mr Collins cleared his throat. “Our niece Jessica was only twenty-five when she was killed.”

Terri gasped. “Killed? Oh no! What happened?” She leaned forward, her coffee and pie forgotten.

“That’s what we’d like to know,” Mrs Collins snapped. Her husband reached over and grasped her hand. 

“She was murdered three years ago,” he explained.

Both parties come to the decision Terri should check out local charities to try and find the one that meant most to Jessica, and donate the diamond. Terri’s research, and Melanie’s wanting to solve Jessica’s murder, lead them both into danger and Terri is (very) occasionally glad Ryder is so protective, however he does have some anger issues when it comes to Terri getting herself into trouble. Maybe a touch too much alpha male but he’s genuinely worried for Terri. However it’s soon apparent that Ryder wants much more than a neighbourly kind of relationship with Terri, but is willing to wait and take things at her pace. A definite point in his favour.

Terri and Melanie are total opposites, and it’s usually Melanie doing the instigating with Terri going along with whatever crackpot idea Melanie dreams up. They’re a great foil for each other.  I loved the fact that Terri is a librarian and each chapter heading is a librarian related quote. Well written in the third person from Terri’s perspective, there’s a good dynamic between the characters. An entertaining cosy murder/mystery with an interesting cast of characters.

I chose to read and review  for Rosie Amber’s book review team, based on a digital copy from the author. 

Book links ~ Amazon UK | Goodreads

About the Author

I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book

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