Beauty Expos Are Murder
The Blurb
Easter weekend on the Jersey Shore is hopping. Poppy’s Bed and Breakfast is busier than ever, but she needs to leave things in the hopefully capable hands of Aunt Ginny and the paws of Figaro, the black smoke Persian. She’s selling her paleo/keto muffins and cookies at the Health and Beauty Expo in Cape May’s Convention Hall. Normally sharing a booth with the love of her life would be a treat, but she’s recently discovered secrets that throw her new romance into chaos.
But more secrets are about to be exposed at the expo. In his keynote address, prominent cosmetic surgeon Dr. Lance Rubin reveals his breakthrough anti-aging technology. Unfortunately, someone has one-upped him with a truly foolproof anti-aging formula: murder. With the plastic surgeon dead under his own UV mask and bedlam reigning in the hall and back at the B&B, Poppy needs to follow a twisted trail marked by glowing footprints to unmask a killer.
The Details
Series: A Poppy Macallister Mystery – Book #6
Author: Libby Klein
Genre/Category: Cozy – B&B/Pets
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496733134
Page Count: 464
Rating: 
The Review
I have a big complaint about Beauty Expos Are Murder, the sixth book in the “A Poppy Macallister Mystery” series; okay, more than one starting with the length. This book is unnecessarily long and convoluted to the point that it is bogged down with too much mystery. This book really should have been broken down into two separate books. Many readers aren’t sure which mystery is most important between Poppy’s love life gone wrong, murder(s), theft, and corruption. Also, the whole paleo/keto baking seems to be added in to justify using the beauty expo as the setting.
The main character, Poppy, is, at times, fantastic and, at other times, a bit much to take. Other characters, such as Aunt Ginny and her friends, are great, and I would love to see more about each of them. Gia, his mother, and the rest of his family are not likable characters except Gia’s son Henry. The addition of Gia’s wife, Alex, did not help matters. Unlike Poppy, Alex is small and beloved by Gia’s mother, and she doesn’t need to be on any diet, least of all a paleo/keto one. Amber comes to Poppy for help, even though they are not friends, because she is being set up to take the blame for murder, and Joanne, who is Poppy’s childhood enemy, is hired by Aunt Ginny to work at the B&B; simply add too much to the overall plot. I can live with Amber, but there is no way anyone would have Joanne working for them! She mistreats Poppy and does whatever she wants; no good business owner would allow Joanne anywhere near their place of business or their customers.
Suspects in not one, but two murders, all appear to have good motives or no motive. There are twists and turns in every direction in both investigations. Poppy, for once, isn’t a suspect, but she knows everyone who is and sticks her nose in where it doesn’t belong, as usual. Poppy and Gia’s relationship in Beauty Expos Are Murder is interesting and resolved at long last, but the cost to Poppy may be greater than she expected. Her paleo/keto booth at the expo gets vandalized, along with a few other vendors, and she ends up focusing more on that and the murder of the keynote speaker at the expo and little else. She leaves the B&B in the hands of Aunt Ginny and Joanne and goes about investigating the murder. After a few misdirections on her part, the murderer steps forward, and Poppy finds a way to stop the killer. If readers have not read any of the other books in this series, I would suggest they start at the beginning; otherwise, this book will not make any sense whatsoever.
The Author
Libby Klein graduated from Lower Cape May Regional High School sometime in the ’80s. Her classes revolved mostly around the culinary sciences and theater, with the occasional nap in Chemistry. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, and befriend random fluffy cats. She writes from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard. Most of her hobbies revolve around eating, and travel, and eating while traveling.
Other books in the “A Poppy McAllister Mystery” series readers may want to read include Class Reunions Are Murder, book one, or book five, Wine Tastings Are Murder.
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