Murder Most Lovely by Hank Edwards and Deanna Wadsworth is what happens when you replace Jessica Fletcher with a gay mortician/coroner, move from Maine to Michigan, and introduce a cat named Mr. Pickles Furryton. And we can’t forget Michael’s grandfather, the aging womanizing former mortician and coroner who loves him some manhattans while trying to peek at murder scenes.
I have to say, right off, that I definitely enjoyed this more than I ever loved any Murder, She Wrote episode. Jessica Fletcher was always a little too wholesome for me. OTOH, there is much less wholesomeness in this story, but a whole lot more wacky ridiculousness.
Michael loves mysteries. He has a favorite author, Russell Withingham, who writes the Brock Hammer books. And it’s just Michael’s luck that the literary festival in his little town just happened to be able to get him in for a signing. So, on the rainy morning that was the first day of the festival, Michael grabs his umbrella and the first 10 books in the series, and stands in line to get them signed. While he’s waiting, he nearly pokes the eye out of the gorgeous man behind him, who then offers to hold the umbrella for him.
Gorgeous man’s name is Jazz Dilworth, which Michael thinks sounds like a name straight out of a Brock Hammer book, and he’s a stylist at the local beauty parlor. And oh yeah, he’s Russell’s ex-husband, and it wasn’t a pretty divorce, as evidenced by the huge fight that Jazz and Russell get into.
Russell really is a douchebag of douchebaggian proportions. I think that Jazz is well shut of him. I mean, seriously. He had a habit of sticking his dick into just about any hole he could, as often as he could, whether or not he was married. It’s just obvious as the story goes on how pathetic he is.
I love the chemistry between Jazz and Michael from the very second that they start talking to each other. They are so sweet and wonderful together. It’s a medium burn story, which works really well for these two. We really get to watch them build their relationship and friendship up, and we definitely get to see how much Jazz cares for Michael, and how he’s willing to take care of him when necessary.
Russell’s PR man Norbert was an asshat and just a creepy mccreeperson from the very start. I never liked him, and then I ended up liking him less, if that’s at all possible. Well, it must be, because that’s what happened.
I really enjoyed this one, if you can’t tell. Mysteries are one of my fallbacks, so this one was perfect. I’m really hoping that this is the first in an ongoing series starring Jazz and Michael. The book says that it’s Case One, so I’m really hoping that they stay the main focus of each book, along with their friends, who are all fun.
The drug dealer angle seemed a little weird to me. It seemed almost like a tacked on aspect. I mean, I liked how the way that the overall mystery worked, but I think that the chapter that was from the POV of the dealers was just totally random.
OK, that’s all for this one. Go read it and enjoy yourself. Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 