Death Crashes the Party (A Liv And Di In Dixie Mystery #1)
by Vickie Fee
Blurb:
In the quirky, close-knit town of Dixie, Tennessee, party planner Liv McKay has a knack for throwing Southern-style soirées, from diamonds-and-denim to black tie affairs, and her best friend Di Souther mixes a mean daiquiri. While planning a Moonshine and Magnolias bash for high maintenance clients, Liv inconveniently discovers a corpse in the freezer and turns her attention from fabulous fêtes to finding a murderer. Together, Liv and Di follow a trail of sinister secrets in their sweet little town that leads them from drug smugglers to a Civil War battlefield, and just when they think they’re whistling Dixie, Liv and Di will find themselves squarely in the crosshairs of the least likely killer of all. . .
My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
Death Crashes the Party is the first book in a new series that follows the adventures of Liv and Di who live in the town Dixie. I liked this book, but at the same time it also didn’t really impress me. Enough was happening to keep my attention, but it also felt like I was making progress very slowly and it took me so long to finish this book.
The mystery was interesting and I liked the mix between what Liv and Di uncovered and how the police also did their part of the investigation. It all worked pretty well and was quite realistic in my opinion. On the other hand part of the mystery was a bit predictable, one of the people who I suspected at first turned out to be the murdered, but there was also a nice twist as well. The ending felt a bit too rushed to fully appreciate it though, it just felt it all got wrapped up a bit too fast suddenly. And there was a classic bad guy tells the main characters everything scene. I just wished they had put more pieces together themselves as when we finally have the conclusion it made me wonder why they didn’t found out any of that and only other tiny pieces.
Also the title is a bit misleading, yes there is a party, but the death bodies aren’t found at the party. And I was a bit disappointed by that to be honest, as I kinda liked the plot idea of finding a death body during a party. Also I would’ve liked to see more about the party planning business. There are quite some sub plot lines, some about Liv her party business, Di her budding romance with Dave, Liv her family, Liv her house and some plot lines related to the mystery. So there was enough going on, it just felt a bit off at times.
The main character is Olivia or Liv, who owns her own party business and get’s quite the scare when she finds two death bodies while visiting two clients while planning their party. I liked Liv, although even after reading the whole book I still don’t feel like I really know her. Her best friend Di is one of the more important side characters and I liked how open and honest Liv was with Di. Overall I thought Liv was a nice enough character, I just felt like I never really connected with her and she does her fair share of less smart things in this book as well.
Beside the few main characters there is a big cast of characters, most of whom play a minor part and at times I had trouble remembering who was who. Most side character we learn a bit about and while they do bring the town alive. I would’ve liked getting more of a feel for some of the characters.
This book takes a slightly different approach to the romance as most cozy mysteries books. Namely Olivia is already married, so no budding romance here. I quite liked reading about a married couple for nice, but sadly I didn’t really feel their connection. They seem pretty normal, but there wasn’t really any spark. I did like how they cared about each other and had these little gestures that they did care, I just had hoped for a bit more. And I only realized she was married after the first few chapters, although that might’ve been an error on my part as I had assumed she was single, until we met her husband for the first time. Also for some reason I really dislike the name Larry Joe, not sure why, but it really rubbed me wrong.
To summarize: Death Crashes the Party is a story driven book that follow Liv and Di who try to help the police uncover the mystery of the murders of two brothers. Overall it was a nice read, but it failed to really impress me. There is enough going to keep my attention, but at the same time it felt like I was slowly crawling through the book. The mystery was interesting, a tad predictable and realistically done. I liked how Liv and Di where part of the investigation, but also let the police do their job. The end felt a bit rushed and I had wished they had put more pieces together before the bad guy explained everything. I liked the main characters, although I would’ve liked getting to know them even better. There are a lot of side characters and at times it has hard to keep rack of everyone. It was interesting to read about a married couple for a chance, but I didn’t really felt the romance. And for some reason the name Larry Joe bothered me. The party business from Liv was a nice addition, although it stayed pretty much on the background.
Links:
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I haven’t read this, but I totally get how you feel about it. Some books are like that—good, nothing really wrong with them, but they don’t reach out and grab you. They’re good when you need a break from crazy, intense books. I’m cracking up though that you were so bothered by the name Larry Joe you actually mentioned it in your review lol. But I’ve literally only read one book, I believe, in the past two years that had a married protag who wasn’t cheating or getting divorced, so I suppose it’s nice for a book to have a healthy marriage in it.
Kristen Burns recently posted…Book Review: The Paper Magician (The Paper Magician Book 1) by Charlie N. Holmberg
I am still happy I read it, but like you said it didn’t reach out and grab me. I am not even sure why, but the name Larry Joe bothered me a lot, it just rubbed me wrong. It was nice to read about a healthy marriage for a chance, like you said if you read about a married couple it’s often about them being divorced or at the end of the book they get married, but you never see the couple as a married couple. So it was nice to read about a healthy married couple.
Lola recently posted…Review: Death Crashes the Party by Vickie Fee
Ah ha, you’re on your cozy mysteries discovery 🙂 I’m sorry that one wasn’t memorable, the title was catchy ^^
I agree the title was catchy, now if only the death actually took place at a party like the title suggested. It was still an enjoyable one if not memorable.
Lola recently posted…Review: Death Crashes the Party by Vickie Fee
Given the title, I would have thought they would have discovered a body at the party. I do love my cozy mysteries, but some of them, especially the first book of a new series, can be sluggish. I think they try too hard sometimes to introduce the characters/setting ect. that they bog down the plot.
Angela @Simply Angela recently posted…A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton
Yeah I have a feeling that might be the issue with a lot of these series that the pace get’s bogged down a bit in the first book. I have read a few 3 star books cozy mysteries and those were all the first book in a series, but if I would get the chance to review the second book I probably will to see if the second book get’s beter. It still was a nice one though, just a bit sluggish.
And it was a bit of a shame they didn’t discover the body at the party, but before it.
Oh those middle of the road ones are hard. I do like a married couple in a book. It’s so interesting. That’s too bad they didn’t have a big spark 🙁
anna (herding cats & burning soup) recently posted…Guest Post w/ Jennifer Byers Chambers–Women of the Oregon Trail + giveaway
It was fun to read about a married couple, as you don’t see those as often in books. Though it would’ve been nice if they had more of a spark, but it still was nice to read about a married couple instead of two people falling in love for a chance.
I was intrigued when saw the title. I would be disappointed that there was no death at the party either. I guess that is a little morbid, but hey, that is what the title said. Glad it turned out okay. Great review.
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…The Queen Audiobook by Tiffany Reisz (REVIEW)
I agree, it’s a bit morbid to want the death at the party, but I thought it would make for a interesting scene. Now the death happened while planning the party, it just made less of a bang that way? It was still a fun read.
Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: Where do you Read?
Slow to get going and characters that weren’t as interesting, but yet some stuff to enjoy. So hard with these middle of the road ones.
I read a handful of historical mysteries with husband and wife detective teams and a few urban fantasies with married pairs. I’m sure I’ve read a few follow-up series books in the contemporary romance genre. I like them both for the stability and also because the conflict in the relationship is different.
Sophia Rose recently posted…New Pack Order by Eve Langlais
Yeah the ones in the middle are always a bit hard, I still enjoyed it, but also had some issues. The married pairs can be fun to read about. I’ve read a few novella’s in contemporary romance with couples that are together or married or engaged, but not as many full lenght. I like the stability and how there is less focus on them getting together and more on other issues.
Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: Where do you Read?
Thanks for sharing, Lola. I too run into books that I enjoy but don’t wow me. Why do I feel guilty when I give them three stars? I guess because Amazon’s new rating system is terrible. It makes it seem like a Three is no good.
Laura Thomas recently posted…Have A Happy Thanksgiving!
I think a three star rating is still good, if I didn’t enjoy a book it get’s a 2 star rating. In my opinion a 3 star is a book that was still enjoyable, but had some issues too. They don’t wow me, but where still enjoyable for the most part.
I’ve found that a lot of cozy mystery series start of mediocre, and then get better with the second and third books as we (and the author) get to know the characters better. A few start off strongly, but they’re hard to find!
I’m glad you were able to enjoy this one, though it’s a pity it wasn’t one of the great ones.
Wattle recently posted…Book Review: Sinful by Jennifer Dawson
I’ve read only some first book in a series so far as I am still new to this genre, so maybe that’s why I am encountering lots of 3 star reads. I am planning to continue some of these series to see if they improve. It’s good to know that a lot of cozy mysteries get better with the second and third books. Most of the cozy mystery books I’ve read are promising and were fun, but were lacking a bit, so I am hoping the second books are better.