From an award-winning author, this cozy mystery will “keep you guessing until the end.” (Goodreads reviewer) In Death by Association, DIY Diva Laurel McMillan learns that the high walls and guarded gates of Hawkeye Haven can’t protect her community. When Laurel takes her pampered chocolate Labrador retriever, Bear, for an early morning walk, she finds her friend, security guard Bessie, bleeding … Bessie, bleeding and unconscious at her guardhouse post. If the attack on Bessie isn’t enough to set the residents’ nerves on edge, the murder of Victor Eberhart, the unpopular president of the powerful homeowners’ association, certainly does the trick. Despite teaching DIY classes and writing project instructions for her latest book, DIY for Dog Lovers, Laurel manages to squeeze in time for some DIY detective work. But as she gets closer to the truth, Victor’s killer would like nothing better than for the DIY Diva to take a dive.
Includes recipes for dog treats and project instructions for a reversible, two-tone, fringed dog scarf and a no-sew foam bed for pampered pooches.
The DIY Diva Mystery Series includes
Death by Association (Book 1)
Death by Design (Book 2)
Death by Proxy (Book 3)
Author Paula Darnell is the winner of two book awards in 2020: second for Death by Association in the at-large communications contest for a novel, more than 40,000 words, from the National Federation of Press Women and second place for a published fiction book in the Public Safety Writers Association Writing Competition, awarded July 12, 2020, for her historical mystery, The Six-Week Solution.
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Death by Association takes place at the
Hawkeye Haven Community located in the
the central Iowa town of Center City.
Laurel McMillian moved there after the death
of her husband to be near her cousin who
lives in the community. Laurel has a chocolate
Labrador retriever named Bear who makes the
story more enjoyable. Laurel is titled the DIY
Diva. She makes jewelry, crafts plus writes DIY
books on the various activities. She teaches
an earring class at the Hawkeye Haven Center.
On a morning walk, Laurel and Bear discover a
security guard at the gate has been attacked
plus the guard’s gun was stolen.
The gun is then used to kill the arrogant head
of. the Home Owner’s Association. He is very
unpopular with all his atrocious demands. So
many suspects to weed through but Laurel is
determined to find the killer. Even though she is
warned to leave it to the police, she starts her
investigation.
Characters are very well defined and colorful
with a variety of interesting and intriguing
backgrounds.
There is plenty of tension, thrills, chills and turns.
There is humor and a touch of romance.
You will get to attend a Greek festival with dishes
such as : Spanakopita, Dolmades, Saganaki,
Honey Puffs, Pastitsio, Baklava and Ouzo.
After the conclusion of the story, you find recipes
for Laurel’s Peanut Butter Dog Treats, Lynn’s
Pumpkin Dog Treats, Bessie’s Dog-Bone Treats,
Tracey’s Yum-Yum Yam Chips plus several crafts
for dogs.
A Highly Recommended Read!!!
I volunteered to read Death by Association. Thanks to
the Review Crew for the opportunity. My opinion is
my own.
Death by Association by Paula Darnell is apparently a first novel, based on my Amazon search. It is a good beginning. Our heroine, Laurel, is not a twenty-something, earns a living through her own business, and has a rewarding life on her own. She lives in a gated community with her dog, Bear, and runs regular crafting classes for her homeowner’s association. She has written multiple DIY books and is working on a new one for dog owners. It is only when the elderly security guard is attacked and the president of the association is murdered that she feels she needs to have a handle on what is going on. In the process she meets police lieutenant Wesson and begins dating him.
The first third of Death by Association was very wordy and redundant. She had trouble getting going. A she got into the meat of the story, it picked up and the repetition lessened. There were a variety of characters that will wear well as the series continues; well done, interesting characters with plenty of space to round out as she goes. The setting is good, although as with many cozies, there is about to be a crime spree. The depiction of the homeowner’s association hits the bulls-eye in too many cases, sad but true. This was a fun and interesting story. I recommend it.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I liked the setting of this book, a guard-gated community, where all of the residents feel safe because of the security. Laurel and her adorable chocolate lab, Bear, are out for their daily morning walk and find Bessie, the security guard, unconscious. She immediately calls for help and Bessie is taken away by ambulance. After this happens the residents wonder just how safe it is in their residential community. This is followed by the murder of the HOA president at his home. Now everyone is really on edge. Laurel is questioned by the police because she found Bessie and also happened to be out on her walk when she saw the ambulance headed into the community and followed it to see what had happened. Laurel is inadvertently draw into the investigation as she talks to the other residents in her DIY classes and those that she knows and comes into contact with. I like the way that she conducted her investigation while going about her normal activities and enjoyed the interaction between the characters.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from The Review Crew. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Can Laurel find the killer and bring peace back to her neighborhood?
Death by Association Paula Darnell is a different cozy, and it’s excellent. This story takes place in Center City, Iowa in a subdivision formed around a golf course which their own HOA. The main character, Laurel McMillian, is a thirty-eight-year-old widower who moved here with her cousin Tracey away from Seattle. Her love interest is, Lieutenant Wesson is a forty-four-year-old divorcee with one kid in medical school that is there investigating the murderer of the HOA president.
Sleuth
Our sleuth is a still young woman who is doing quite well for herself after losing her husband. Laurel has made a great living off of doing DIY projects online and then writing books about them as well. She is currently living in the HOA subdivision and is teaching classes with her DIY projects while thinking of her next book that she wants to write for her DIY Diva Brand.
What I like about her is that she didn’t set out initially to look into this death; it just happened as the story progressed. Another thing that I liked about her is that she is very close to her family and wants to do them proud. The last thing that I like about her is that yes she is crafty, but she can’t cook or bake. She also can’t tell when a man is interested in her. That right there kind of reminds me of me.
Love Interest
Our love interest is our cop of course. He is Lieutenant Wesson, who likes to go by Wes, is a pretty interesting character, and he is partnered with another detective by the name of Smith. Except she is grouchy and not very pleasant while Wes is nice. Wes is a great guy, and he is bringing Laurel out of her dating funk. He also likes dogs especially Laurel’s dog named, Bear.
Five Stars
Death by Association by Paula Darnell is a great book. These characters are all great, and I can’t wait to read more about them in the next book. Laurel though is going to be testing Wes’s patience a lot I have a feeling. I am giving this book a five-star rating and recommending it to all cozy mystery lovers. There are also the DIY projects she mentions throughout the book at the end along with some recipes.
Anyways until the next time enjoy this review brought to you by,
Baroness Book Trove.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If you would like to read more reviews like this one, please go to baronessbooktrove.com
Death by Association by Paula Darnell is an interesting beginning to a new cozy series. I enjoyed meeting Laurel McMillan and her chocolate Labrador, Bear. They are well developed characters by the end of the book. Laurel’s DIY profession is unique and this is a refreshing change in cozy mysteries.I also enjoyed meeting other residents in Hawkeye Haven. There is a diverse cast of characters and Ms. Darnell has begun developing each of them in this book that I thought they might be great neighbors to have in my own community.
The plot moved smoothly with plenty of suspects and enough twists to keep me guessing until the reveal. I confess the reveal made me a little apprehensive for Laurel but it all turned out well. An enjoyable afternoon read and I look forward to more books in this series.
As a member of The Review Crew, I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. All of the above opinions are my own.
Author Paula Darnell’s debut book, DEATH BY ASSOCIATION is a great start to her DIY Diva Mystery series.
I truly enjoyed DEATH BY ASSOCIATION. I knew on page one that I was going to enjoy getting to know series protagonist, Laurel McMillan and her chocolate Lab, Bear. They were both a delight to read.
The mystery in this whodunit was well plotted by author Darnell. There were just enough clues to lead the me on the right path to the killer, but enough twists and turns to have me second and third guessing myself. In the end, I was sure I was close to solving it, but fell short. Once I read the reveal, I had that ah-ha-I-should-have-known-that moment that had me smacking my forehead.
Fun and interesting characters, an original setting in a gated community (Oh, the trials of an HOA), Bear the dog, and great writing all make DEATH BY ASSOCIATION a story worth reading, and a great debut for Darnell.