DESCRIPTION:
JJ and Jo find the ideal spot to get away from their busy work lives—Magnolia Bluff offers Flower Bed & Breakfast, a quaint country destination within the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
They pull up to the picturesque building only to discover a crowd of citizens anxiously awaiting a special podcast, created by a group of local women, to start. Flower B&B is the sponsor of today’s show in this multi-day series. The couple works through the human log jam. As they check in, they learn that a cyber-attack may prevent the show from airing.
JJ, a technology guru, is convinced by Jo to help the group meet their broadcast promise. While he’s working on the issue, Jo spots a girl in the crowd with fear in her eyes who flashes the international help sign. The teenager vanishes into the throng. Fearful young people signaling for help strikes too close to home for Jo.
Their romantic vacation becomes a journey from one crisis to the next as these vacationers help the evangelizing ladies even as risks are multiplying. Threats expand to include all the podcasters, the show location owners, and suspected missing teens.
Authorities discount the gossipy group’s allegations that Mateo Hernandez built a wall around his property for more than privacy. JJ and Jo work to assemble the necessary clues to convince Chief Jager that Hernandez is a bigger menace. Their nosing around places them both in harm’s way. When Jo is attacked it becomes personal.
This romantic getaway isn’t even close to plan. Lives are at stake, and the young couple won’t accept failure.
MY REVIEW:
I picked up this book thinking it was part of the The Enigma Series, but it’s not. It’s a whole different series but the titles confused me. This is book 5 of the series but it can be read as a stand-alone story.
What I liked about the story. Though this is considered a cozy mystery, the authors touched upon the horrors of human trafficking and the impact it causes to the small towns and surrounding farms along the Texas and Mexican borders. Mary Lou and her podcasters could be considered busy-bodies, but they saw a threat to their community and decided to be pro-active instead of waiting for the authorities to take care of the problem. In steps JJ and Jo, and with their help, they’re able to get the sheriff and Feds to take action. Still, I thought it a bit too pat that JJ happened to be there just when the hacking of the podcasts started.
What I didn’t like. I am not a fan of using dialogue to describe the scene and what people are wearing. It makes the conversation stilted and unrelatable as people don’t talk that way. It’s something novice writers do. The characters were also too one dimensional. The only way to tell who was talking was by the dialogue tags. No individuality at all, and therefore, they were also unforgettable.
If you like cozy mysteries you might enjoy the story. For me, I give it 3 stars.
Thank you for reading and reviewing the story. Your comments are appreciated.