Currently Reading: Murder of a Barbie and Ken

The first book I read from A Scumble River Mystery series was Murder of a Bookstore Babe (book #13) and now the second book I'm getting ready to read is this one, book #5. I am certainly not reading this series in order. It would be nice if many of the cozy mysteries had the book number somewhere on the cover or the spine. Because when I'm at the bookstore reading the description, I'm not focusing on whether this is the 1st or 11th book in a series. The only thing I'm thinking about is whether the book seems interesting or not.

Something that I like is that most authors tend to write the books in a way that is easy to follow along no matter what order you're reading them in. Which is a good thing since I keep reading books in the middle of a series.

Book: Murder of a Barbie and Ken (A Scumble River Mystery book #5) by Denise Swanson

Edition: Paperback

Description:

It all begins innocently enough, with school psychologist Skye Denison and her boyfriend, Simon Reid, seeking to expand their horizons by joining Scumble River's social club. That's how Skye ends up buying a week's worth of Instant Gourmet food at a home-product-peddling party hosted by Barbie Addison. Also club members, Barbie and her husband, Ken, maintain such perfect appearances and designer lifestyles, it's as if they're living in a toy maker's dreamworld.

But when Skye stops by to pick up her food, she finds Barbie and Ken with big bows tied tightly around their necks -- both dead, and not looking so perfect either. Of course, Scumble River needs Skye's help in solving this disturbing double homicide. Soon, she finds herself juggling so many balls at home, at school, and around town, she's in danger of dropping some -- with possibly lethal consequences.