No Rest for the Wicked

Are you under the impression that working in a book store is boring? Then you have never visited Thornton's Books in Juniper, Oregon and met Jane Serrano. Forty-three, widowed, the mother of a beautiful daughter, Jane does more than shift dusty tomes from shelf to shelf - she solves murders.

Elizabeth C. Main has created an unorthodox cast of characters in her No Rest for the Wicked.  Jane's daughter, Bianca, the brightest star of the aging group, Alix, a cynical multi-married owner of an upscale wedding boutique, Bible quoting, cake baking, Minnie, young Tyler and his crusty grandfather, shy, retiring Velda and long-suffering love interest Nick; just to name a few. Oh, and lest I should forget, there's Wendell the Wedding Dog.  His services are a bit pricy but he looks great in a tux. He'll do almost anything you ask at your nuptials unless an uninvited porcupine crashes the party.

Main writes a true 'cozy' mystery drawing her story and characters from real life, skillfully putting them on the page for mystery readers to follow with delight. But don't let their playfulness fool you - there's a good mystery here. A charming, womanizing, con-man who targets the elderly is the current corpse. Jane Serrano, from the first book in this series, Murder of the Month, has been established as the amateur sleuth of choice and when the body is discovered she and her crew gear up to go after the murderer, especially since one of their own has been hauled off to jail as prime suspect. Their investigation leads Jane and Minnie straight into a locked cellar with an armed killer on the other side. Taunt and dramatic, funny and warm, Main is an author who entertains.