It was ok, as far as cozy mysteries go. It started out great, with Morgan finding a gorgeous naked dead guy. There's a spattering of chuckle worthy scenes throughout the book. But there's also lots of eye rolling moments. Morgan was a bit of a Mary-Sue and Death (Dee-th) a Marty-Sam.

Who buys stuff from a thrift store only to mend it and then donate it back? Really?

As for the mystery, I figured it out by halfway through, but you'll have to keep reading to the end for confirmation. The ending definitely has a hook quality to it. Despite the con's of this read, the hook got me wanting to find out who done it in the next book.

The roguish/bantering male lead of this kind of mystery romance has reached his expiration date with me. Otherwise inoffensive, the 'sexy banter' was sexual harrassment.

Funny, entertaining cozy mystery. It was predictable but engaging enough to keep me reading.

This is not at all my usual fare. But, variety is the spice of life. It's the fourth deal of the day I have bought from Audible that is a romantic mystery. The "romance" isn't too bad, and it's not over done. The performer is perfect for the part. The story kept my interest the entire way.

A gorgeous, naked, dead man made his appearance in the first sentence. His erection (the result of gravity on settling blood, we're told) makes an appearance in the first few pages. Our Heroine gets mocked for having had a sexual liaison with said corpse by the town jerk, in front of our Hero. Heroine and Hero have eyes for one another, but no confidence, of course.

In true "bros before hos" fashion, when Hero asks Heroine's True and Loyal Friend about the cause of the mocking, True Friend refuses to tell a stranger the story. Until Hero shows his matching military service tattoo, and then all bets are off.

The embarrassing back story? Heroine's fiance came out as gay, at their wedding rehearsal dinner, in a dress. When she laughed because she thought it was a joke, groom cried.

S0 - in this day and age: what gay man gets engaged? Is he so in the closet that he gets to the wedding rehearsal dinner before doing anything about it - and then wears a dress?

And- Hero, in his first ever sentence with Heroine, references this: "You seriously didn't know he was gay? You couldn't tell by the way he kissed? Or made love?"

Really? That's your ice breaker? And apparently, the only reason a man would wait until getting married to have sex is because he is gay.

All that in the first 28 pages. Don't ask about the rest. I didn't bother.

This book was a mixed bag for me. Some aspects were well written and well handled, like the physical issues Death (deeth) has due to injuries sustained in the military. The mystery was engaging, and the ending fun. Other parts were silly and even somewhat tone deaf (the reason Wren’s engagement was broken). One bit character in the story was offensive and unnecessary. Don’t worry, you’ll know who I mean. Thankfully his part is very minor.

Amanda Ronconi is an excellent narrator and helped the book come together. Overall, I enjoyed it,but not sure I’ll go on with the next on.

There isn't a lot to say about Death and the Redheaded Woman, it is probably more around a 2 2.5 star book, but for me I gave an extra star for reminding me of the old Black and White Thin man movies, now this isn't as good as those, but Wren and Death, (Deeth) do have the same type of chemistry.
This book is what I'd call Airplane reading, something light, a little laugh out loud funny, while giving your brain a vacation from having to think to hard.
I would say the biggest let down came in the form of the ending, abrupt is to tame a word for where the epilogue stops.

Death (pronounced 'Deeth') is a bounty hunter and private investigator who's down on his luck. After his ex-wife left him penniless and homeless he finds himself living out of his car. To top it all off, his lungs were severely damaged after an IED destroyed the humvee he was riding in while on a deployment and now any physical activity can leaving him gasping for breath.

Wren is an auctioneer and appraiser working on a deceased estate to catalogue everything for sale. Unfortunately one of the first things she finds in the house is a naked dead man.

When Death learns who the dead man was he immediately sees an opportunity to track down some stolen jewellery and collect a tidy reward. He joins forces with Wren and they begin their search. But one of the bandits also wants his payday and he's none too happy to have them in the picture.


Death and the Redheaded Woman is a complete hoot. The minute Wren used an atlatl (spear thrower) against the bad guys I was hooked. Well actually I was hooked before then but that just sealed the deal. The writing style reminds me a little of Molly Harper with its clever banter and very funny moments.

If there is a downside, I don't think it ended well...well actually it ended quite well and then an epilogue was tacked on which didn't really work for me. But that's a small thing and honestly hardly worth mentioning.

"He was gorgeous and he was naked but, unfortunately, he was dead". How's that for a first line in a book?

Wren Wren Morgan goes to the old Campbell mansion to do an assessment of the contents for an estate auction the last thing she expects is a naked, dead man in the parlour. While filling out her statement at the police station bounty hunter Death (pronounced Deeth) Bogart arrives to turn in a fugitive. Sparks instantly fly. Together they start to hunt for missing jewels, some from a theft three years earlier and some from the Civil War.

The repartee between the two is fast and funny and sustained throughout the book. All the minor characters are equally funny and likeable, well except for Eric Farrington but every town has to have one.

I really enjoyed this book although I do have one quibble. There is no way the Civil War jewels could have been hidden where they were for over 100 years without being found.

Thanks Kristen for the recommendation. I am looking forward to reading the others in this series.