Book Review: Corpse Pose

Book: Corpse Pose (Mantra for Murder Mysteries book #1) by Diana Killian

Edition: Paperback

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Corpse Pose follows A.J. Alexander as she tries to find out who murdered her Aunt Diantha Mason. Leaving her hassled life in Manhattan, she drove to New Jersey (after picking her mother up at the airport) to figure out what happened to her aunt. She had a sinking suspicion that the police think she may have had something do with her aunt's death.

A.J. had no real intention of staying in Stillbrook, New Jersey that is until she found out her aunt left her beloved yoga studio, Sacred Balance to her. The tranquility of her aunt's cozy little home may have changed A.J.'s mind about living in the small town as well as given her a new outlook at her recent divorce to her husband and business partner Andy. For the entirety of their relationship Andy had been living a lie, until he left her for someone else. Although they are still friends, she understandably is a little bitter.

In between A.J. trying to acquaint herself with the running of her aunt's very popular yoga studio and butting heads with co-manager Lily Martin, she and her mother Elysia were conducting their own amateur investigation into the death of Diantha. Which angered local Police Detective Jake Oberlin who preferred she stayed out of his investigation.

I like the writing for this, the author has a way of drawing suspicion on to several characters making you wonder if perhaps they were the murderer. I love when a mystery isn't so easy to figure out yet leaves you plenty of clues along the way to try to solve it before the reveal. This fast-paced story was not short on suspects but not so many as to become overwhelming.

This wasn't all drama and suspense there were plenty of humorous moments as well as a little bit of romance brewing between A.J. and Detective Oberlin.

It's been a while since I've read a cozy mystery and I'm glad I picked this one. I really like this. It had a good mystery, a main character whose life is not a total mess and thankfully there was no love triangle. I don't know why some cozy mysteries seem plagued with that romance problem. Since, I would love to read the second book, I already promptly added it to my wishlist.