Book Review: Not a Girl Detective

Book: Not a Girl Detective (A Cece Caruso Mystery book #2) by Susan Kandel

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Besides her beloved collection of vintage designer clothing, there is nothing Cece Caruso cherishes more than her childhood memories of Nancy Drew. Her near obsession with the fictional teenage sleuth led her to become a professional biographer of classic mystery writers. And now that she's working on a book about Nancy's pseudonymous creator, "Carolyn Keene", Cece's in heaven.

At the L.A. home of another rabid Drew-ophile, Cece finds a treasure trove of useful memorabilia, including one unique and somewhat shocking collectible. Later she finds a dead body -- and a puzzle that would sorely test the sills of her spunky girlhood heroine. Now she'll have to channel her former idol and unmask a murderer, and the killer may be coming for Cece next.



Rating: 3 stars

Review:

Not a Girl Detective follows 30-something writer and vintage fashion lover Cece Caruso who was writing a biography about Carolyn Keene the pseudonymous writer of the Nancy Drew books. During the process of researching and writing the book, she met Edgar Edwards a unique collector who was also a big Nancy Drew fan. His magnificent collection included the complete collection of the first edition blue covered Nancy Drew books and a provocative painting of Grace Horton who was the cover model for the original Nancy Drew books.

Edgar considered Cece to be a kindred spirit because that would explain why he lent her his second home in Palm Springs for her to stay in while she attended a Nancy Drew convention. Going with her will be her two best friends Bridget (who owns a clothing store) and Lael (a Master Pastry Chef).

The convention was off to an interesting start with Cece meeting a colorful group of people who were at the event. When Cece gave her speech it didn't quite go over well with some of the Nancy Drew fans. But even that little bit of discomfort couldn't dampen her mood. However, Cece and her friends finding Edgar's body that was stashed away outside his Palm Springs home certainly did. He had been murdered but by who and why?

Cece was reluctant to get involve searching for the killer but she did so in order to clear one of the suspects who she thought was innocent. But once she started looking for clues, she realized there were plenty of suspects who could have killed Edgar.

As a Nancy Drew fan I found the story to be interesting because it included quite a bit of background information that I never knew about the Nancy Drew series. However, as a mystery fan I was disappointed because even though there were a few red herrings it was still too easy to figure out who the murderer was and as well as their motive for killing Edgar.

But as I mentioned before this is an interesting story and I like Cece, she's an amusing character. She writes biographies about mystery writers and has a love of vintage fashion but she's also a bit of a mess. I think she's still nursing a broken heart from her divorce because even though she's dating LAPD Police Detective Peter Gambino, who is a pretty good guy, she seems to be doubting his affection for her especially earlier on in the story. Her friends Bridget and Lael were also fun characters and like Cece they are also a bit of a mess. Unlike Nancy Drew, Cece's friends were not really helping her unofficial investigation. In fact at times, it seemed like they were more of a hindrance. However, they did show up when she was most in need of help.

This was a good read, it's fast-paced, humorous and kept my attention till the end. I felt like there were equal amounts of fashion being mentioned as there were interesting information about the Nancy Drew series. My only disappointment was with the mystery but if you're not a big mystery buff such as myself I do think this story would make an interesting read.

Since this is my first time reading anything from this series, this second book (which I bought from a library book sale) was written in a way that was easy to follow. There was nothing that made me feel like I miss something because I had not read the first book. Aside from my issue with the relative ease of solving the mystery, I wouldn't mind reading more books from the series.