Bearly Departed

Sasha Silverman, along with her sister Maddie and her Uncle Ross manages the family business, a stuffed teddy bear shop, and factory, The Silver Bear Factory. In small-town Silver Hollow crime is rare, and murder is rarer. Will Taylor, Sasha’s sales rep is murdered in her factory. She is not willing to sit on the sidelines while the police take their time figuring out who and why someone stuffed Will, literally and left him on the factory floor.

It’s bad enough Will was killed inside their bear factory, but the police suspect her Uncle Ross. Her uncle may be grumpy, and ill-tempered but he would never kill anyone, no matter how many times she threatened to. The investigation drags on, and Sasha becomes increasingly worried that the police will pin the crime on her uncle, and destroy the business her parents built from scratch. Adding to the mix is the sudden appearance of her ex, things go from bad to worse.

Series: A Teddy Bear Mystery – Book #1
Author: Meg Macy
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books

Rating:

Sasha has problems. Business is not as good as it should be and sales are dipping a bit, but not enough to warrant laying off people as their sales rep suggests. On top of that, she finds out that Will Taylor is trying to undermine the family business and sell it off to their biggest rival. When Will is found dead inside the factory things get even worse for Sasha and the store. People stop coming into the shop; orders dry up, she doesn’t know what to do to reverse the downward spiral. Topping it all off she finds out her father is very ill and her ex-husband has moved back to town. It’s enough to make a woman pull her hair out.

This book is a lovely cozy with multiple suspects and motives. The suspects are well written and lively, with just enough of a hint of underlying motives to keep the reader guessing. The main characters are fun to travel through the town and the story with, each has very distinct personalities and oddities. The plot stays true to the storyline and is fast-paced.

This is a character-based mystery and readers who enjoy getting to know a cast of characters will find themselves delighted. There is no adult language or sexual content, and this makes for an enjoyable read that is also entertaining. The killer may not come as a big surprise, but there are some twists that will leave the reader wondering until the very last page. This book is highly recommended.