Poppy Harmon and the Shooting Star
Poppy never planned on speaking to her old acting rival Serena Saunders again, let alone accepting her as a client. But familiar drama barges back into her life when Serena requests an urgent background check on Ned Boyce, her fiancé, before tying the knot. And the flighty film star is behaving out of character by wishing to start over with Poppy, this time as friends.
Wealthy, connected, and the owner of a breathtaking mountaintop home, Ned seems like the most unlikely private investigation subject in Palm Springs. Poppy no sooner thinks she’s nailed down her latest assignment than Serena is caught holding a smoking gun over a stranger’s dead body.
With Serena claiming self-defense and the wedding fast approaching, the Desert Flowers team must summon their showbiz talents to expose the truth about the unknown victim. But as her former enemy finds herself in another devastating position, only Poppy can determine who’s innocent and who’s ready to smile for their mug shot.
The Details
Series: A Desert Flower Mystery Book – #5
Author: Lee Hollis
Genre/Category: Cozy – PI/Older Sleuth
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 9781496738899
Page Count: 288
Rating: 
The Review
Poppy is getting acquainted with her old acting nemesis, but nothing is what she thought it would be. They weren’t friends when they were both in the same shows, but Serena regrets this and wants to make amends. However, when Murder becomes the star of the show, all bets are off, or are they? Poppy wants to believe Serena and finds that she wants to be friends, but she just isn’t sure she can trust her. When one murder turns into two, she knows something is off, and it looks like Serena might be a killer or a victim.
Poppy Harmon and the Shooting Star is the first Poppy Harmon book I have read. I enjoy many of the characters and the descriptions of the relationships. Having an acting career is a great background for the main character; it gives this cozy originality. The Desert Flower PI team is terrific and entertaining and makes for some interesting situations. Readers will not know who the killer is immediately; with the varied and motive-driven suspects, along with evidence that jumps up to bite you when you least expect it, this story will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The reveal of the killer has plenty of twists and turns, and even though the reader is led in a specific direction, Poppy seems to keep finding new avenues to explore. But in the end, her acting skills allow her to keep the killer from getting away with murder. I enjoyed this book but needed to read the others in the series to understand who Poppy is and the background of the PI firm. I didn’t feel I had a grasp on who the main characters were, so a little background would have made this book more enjoyable for me. But it was still interesting, and I recommend it to cozy readers.
The Author
Lee Hollis is the pen name for a brother and sister writing team. Rick Copp is a veteran film and television writer/producer and author of two other mystery novel series. He lives in Palm Springs, California. Holly Simason is an award-winning food and cocktails columnist for the Mount Desert Islander newspaper in Bar Harbor, Maine, where she resides. Contact Rick and Holly on social media and their website.
More books from Rick and Holly include Murder on the Class Trip from the “A Maya and Sandra Mystery” series or Death of an Ice Cream Scooper from the “Hayley Powell Mystery” series.
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