This cozy mystery by Lorena McCourtney is another one I found in my Kindle library while looking for something to read when out on dog walks. I’m not sure how it ended up in my Kindle library, but it’s a decent way to spend some time while my dog naps or just watches the world go by while lying on a patch of grass.
The main character, Ivy Malone, is a self-professed little old lady, or as she puts it, an LOL. I don’t think we ever get her age, but she’s a retired librarian and a widow.
The book starts with Ivy visiting some graves, only to find that other tombstones in the graveyard have been torn down. She reports it to the police, but it’s clear they’re not doing anything about it.
At the same time, Ivy is beginning to realize that she has become invisible. Waiters pass her by, clerks and receptionists ignore her.
Rather than complain about it, she decides to use it to her advantage. If the police won’t investigate the vandalism at the cemetery, and she’s turning invisible, she might as well investigate it herself. It’s not like anyone will see her.
So she spends a few nights camping out in the cemetery before she witnesses the vandalism taking place. She doesn’t manage to get the license plate of the car that was used, but she does get a good look at one of the men and clearly hears the distinctive voice of the other.
Then her neighbor, a young woman, turns up dead from a bullet to the chest and Ivy decides to investigate.
As it turns out, the name the woman was using wasn’t even her real name, and she had dyed her hair, so identifying her is easier said than done. Only once she’s identified can Ivy figure out how she ended up dead.
If you like cozy mysteries, especially those with a religious bent, I would recommend this one, but it wasn’t really my thing. A good mystery should always be a few steps ahead of the reader, but I felt like I was always a few steps ahead of Ivy, which left me bored while I waited for her to catch up.