Murder Outside The Lines
The Blurb
With Halloween just around the corner, the fall colors in Georgetown are brilliant. As manager of the Color Me Read bookstore, coloring book creator Florrie Fox has arranged for psychic author Hilda Rattenhorst to read from Spooktacular Ghost Stories. But the celebrity medium arrives for the event in hysterics, insisting she just saw a foot sticking out of a rolled-up carpet in a nearby alley. Is someone trying to sweep murder under the rug? Florrie calls in her policeman beau, Sergeant Eric Jonquille, but the carpet corpse has disappeared without a trace.
Then in the middle of her reading, Hilda chillingly declares that she feels the killer’s presence in the store. Is this a publicity stunt or a genuine psychic episode? It seems there’s no happy medium. When a local bibliophile is soon discovered missing, a strange mystery begins to unroll. Now it’s up to Florrie and Jonquille to expose a killer’s true colors.
The Details
Series: A Pen & Ink Mystery – Book #3
Author: Krista Davis
Genre/Category: Cozy – Bookstore/Halloween
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496724631
Page Count: 352
Rating: 
The Review
Murder Outside The Lines is a delightfully convoluted mystery that will have readers confused and longing for more. This one is a definite head-scratcher, but in a good way. The readers’ inner sleuth will rear its head as they try to keep the evidence in order, the suspects and the killer insight, the red herrings contained, and the book store from being haunted. There is plenty of action and more than a touch of Halloween mischief in this third installment in the “A Pen & Ink Mystery” series. There is intrigue, mystery, a hint of the paranormal, and even a ghost or two. This book has exactly what every cozy reader is looking for during the spooky season.
It’s almost Halloween, and Florrie arranges for a local psychic to do a reading at the bookstore; only things don’t go according to plan. There’s a mysterious delivery, a psychic vision, a disappearing body in a rolled-up rug, and a murderer underfoot. This story is a ride readers will adore. Florrie is one of those characters readers either love or hate, it’s easy to do both, and the suspects in this book agree. Most of the characters from this series are likable and relatable, but some are just odd enough to keep the audience guessing every time.
The victim isn’t in the least sympathetic, the suspects are varied, and some are even scary; at times, there are more suspects than Halloween ghosts in a graveyard. The bookstore plays a pivotal part in the story, and many of the clues and suspects can be found within its walls. The evidence is peppered throughout the story, but many readers will have no idea who the killer is until the very end. Things come together as Florrie, and her friends question everyone and find answers that lead to more questions. In the end, they come to the correct conclusion, but not without a bit of danger and intrigue. Murder Outside The Lines is a wonderful cozy for the holiday season and throughout the year.
The Author
Krista Davis is a New York Times bestselling mystery author. Krista resided in Northern Virginia for many years and lived for a time in Old Town, Alexandria. Today she lives with an assortment of dogs and cats in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Like her Domestic Diva protagonist, Sophie Winston, Krista loves to entertain friends and family but would just as soon leave the cleaning to someone else. In the unlikely event that Krista ever wins the lottery, you will find her in the middle of a giant pile of rescued dogs and cats.
Krista’s other books readers may be interested in checking out include from the “A Domestic Diva Mystery” series, The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit or from the “A Paws & Claws Mystery” series, The Dog Who Knew Too Much.
Represented by: Bookends LLC
Contact Krista: 
Find Krista on Social Media:
Contact The Cozy Review
Leave a Reply