As a professional editor, Mikki Lincoln is used to crimes against the English language. As an amateur sleuth, she’s finding catching criminals a lot more dangerous than catching typos . . . Nestled in the picturesque Catskills, the village of Lenape Hollow prepares to celebrate the 225th anniversary of its founding. Freelance book editor Mikki Lincoln has been drafted to update and correct the … Lincoln has been drafted to update and correct the script, left over from the town’s bicentennial, which is housed at the historical society.
The building is being renovated for the first time since that last celebration. But when construction reveals a shocking discovery—human remains walled up in a fireplace—Mikki shifts focus from cold-reading to solving a cold case.
Just as her investigation seems to have hit a brick wall, a new murder rattles the townspeople. Clearly, someone is hiding a few skeletons in the closet. Now Mikki will need to go off script to make a connection between the bicentennial bones and the current homicide. But if this book editor isn’t careful, she may be the next one sentenced to death . . .
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Clause & Effect is the second installment in A Deadly Edits Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone if you have not had time to read Crime & Punctuation. I like that Mikki Lincoln is a mature main character (70 years old). She is a retired English teacher who now lives in the home where she grew up with her cat, Calpurnia. I think the name of her proofreading and editing business is clever (The Write Right Wright). We learn a little more about her friend, Darlene Uberman and her frenemy, Ronnie North. Personally, I could do without Ronnie. She is an abrasive character (the traditional mean girl) who quickly got on my nerves. The endless sniping reminded me of high school girls instead of mature women. Mikki’s cousin, Luke shows up and we learn more about Mikki’s family tree. I enjoyed Mikki’s reminiscing about her childhood as it lets us get to know Mikki better. The two mysteries tied together nicely which provided multiple suspects and a red herring or two. There are clues to help the reader identify the evil doer before Mikki. Mikki’s questioning technique leaves a lot to be desired (blunt). She comes across as a busybody instead of amateur sleuth. Detective John Hazlett tells her multiple times to stop investigating, but he does appreciate the intel Mikki shares with him. Readers also learn more about the village and how it has changed over the last twenty-five years. I admit it is confusing that there is a town and a village with the same name. I did feel that the story lacked humor and the pacing was lethargic (action was sorely needed). The literary and grammar references that were sprinkled throughout Crime & Punctuation were missing in Clause & Effect. There are some language and grammar tips from Mikki at the end. Clause & Effect has a town celebration, two dead bodies, a crumbled fireplace, feuding sisters, a cat named Calpurnia, and one prying proofreader.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Mikki Lincoln finds herself reluctantly tasked with editing and basically rewriting the script for the play the was performed 25 years ago at the town’s bicentennial celebration so it can be performed for the Quasquicentennial this year. The problem is the old script is kept at the historical society and can’t be checked out. Mikki is forced to work in the archives room while construction on the building continues so it can be completed before the celebration.
While the contractor is working on the renovation one of the walls crumbles on top of him revealing an old fireplace. He has minor injuries but another body is found in the rubble. One that was murdered and closed up in the wall presumably during the last renovation before the bicentennial. Mikki can’t get the body out of her mind and finds herself spending more time trying to solve the cold case that her regular editing work or the Lenape Hollow founder’s day script. When a new murder is added to the mix, Mikki finds herself editing her time to do it all. She may be asking her last question, writing her last paragraph, final sentence, period, end of story, if she finds herself in the killer’s sights.
I love that Mikki Lincoln is an older lead character, retired teacher, set in her ways, working so that she can live in the house she grew up in. She wears hearing aids that come in handy for some stealth eavesdropping. Mikki is smart, a great multitasker, with keen insight. All qualities that make her a great amateur sleuth. We also continue to meet the residents of Lenape Hollow. Ms. Dunnett does a wonderful job fleshing out her characters and connecting them to Mikki is a believable way.
I enjoyed that a cold case connects to a new one. It allows readers to not only follow the clues but get to know about the village’s past. Much has changed in 25 years but many things remain the same. The mystery unfolds in a very intriguing and interesting way. There were plenty of twists and a wonderful moment when the last clue falls into place. I was so surprised when I realized where the story was leading. It is so much fun when that happens.
The subplots tangled within the mystery were great too. I was really drawn by the character researching their family history. They have a big secret and they learn something they wouldn’t have found out if they hadn’t made the trip to Lenape Hollow.
Another strong story for this series. Well-written, relatable characters, set in a place with a long history. An entertaining read! I hope to visit Mikki and her friends again soon.
“Clause and Effect” earns 5/5 Suspicious Scripts…Engaging Fun!
Typos might be within Mikki’s skill set as an freelance book editor, but investigating murder just might her talent. Engaging fun! Kaitlyn Dunnett has penned a very entertaining second book in her Deadly Edits series. With a clever mystery incorporating a recently uncovered cold case and then a current one adds to an engaging dramatic layer to the mystery. Also including an exploration of the town’s interesting past, wonderful characters, and a final solution that was a “Wow!” The citizens of Lenape Hollow are set to celebrate the 225th anniversary of its founding and hope to reenact a play written for the previous bicentennial…but the script needs a bit of work. Enter Mikki Lincoln…she has been asked to polish it up with some updating, unfortunately she’ll need to work on the script in the archives…at the museum…during its renovations. Worse? While there, a wall collapses revealing a dead body appearing to be about twenty-five years old…leftover from the bicentennial? When another suspicious death occurs, Mikki is compelled to investigate. Could the old script riddled with content errors be a clue waiting to be deciphered? I love Mikki! She is delightful, clever, and easily identifiable to me (I, too, am a recentlyretired teacher, who even does a bit of editing on the side). The other characters are quite intriguing, but the “mean girl” senior citizens seemed over drawn, but then I recently ran into a former high school acquaintance who seems to be the same personality…so outgrowing the pompous snarky attitude may be very realistic after all. I wavered a bit as to who was the killer, but the whole experience was very entertaining! I recommend that cozy fans check out this book!
I love Mikki and her quirky friends! This story revolves around Mikki re-writing a play about the town’s founding. Of course, there is a body involved with a museum renovation and it’s up to Mikki to solve. This of course leads to danger for Mikki but she overcomes all obstacles and proves age doesn’t matter.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
Clause And Effects is the second book in the Deadly Edits Mystery series.
I’m really enjoying visiting with residents of Lenape Hollow and especially Mikki Lincoln. Most all seem to be salt of the earth folks who watch out for each other.
Mikki Lincoln, a 60-something retired English teacher has returned to her hometown and has bought the home she grew up in. The house needs updating and she decided to start a freelance book editing business to supplement her retirement income. The community wants to celebrate the 225th anniversary of its founding. Her best friend Darlene Uberman her high school nemesis, Ronnie North are able to convince her to rewrite the play that was used for the 200th celebration.
The historical society won’t let her take the original play from the building and is provided some space on the second floor of the building as there are renovations going on the first floor. As Mikki is reading the original script, she hears a loud crash goes to see what has happened and finds that a wall that was built 25 years ago has come down. Once the dust settles, Charlie Katz the contractor working on the project discovers a body wrapped in plastic in the fireplace. Mikki doesn’t really have the time to learn who the body might be, but she can’t try and learn whose body was found. Hopefully, the identity of the body will soon be learned and the killer will be determined if the killer is still around.
The story is well told and plotted proceeds at a good pace. This book has a cast of interesting and believable characters. Many of the characters from the first book are back once again. A new character is introduced in this book. The new character is Luke and he is a cousin of Mikki who she didn’t know anything about and is able to share some family history that Mikki was aware of. Hopefully, he will be back in future books so that we can learn more about him.
I will be definitely watching for the next book in this series.
Series: Deadly Edits – Book 2
Author: Kaitlyn Dunnett
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Literary
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 288
Publishing Date: June 25, 2019
Clause & Effect by Kaitlyn Dunnett is the second book in the cozy book series “Deadly Edits, published by Kensington Books. This is fast becoming a favorite series. Only two books into this cozy book series and fans are already making it a must read. This book is articulate, edited well, and plot driven with great characters and beautiful settings.
Mikki, is what women of a certain age aspire to become. She is independent, hardworking, and enjoys spending time with her friends. She gets involved with community situations that aren’t always to her plan, but she does them never-the-less and does them better than anyone else could. She is smart, funny, and energetic. Other characters are equal to Mikki is strength and determination, even when they don’t like what is going on, they give it their all. They are loving and supportive of each other, while still retaining some of their high school rivalries and grudges. All-in-all they are wonderfully exciting and fun.
Finding a body is not Mikki’s idea of fun, but she seems to attract them out of the woodwork, literally. A body that has been walled up for twenty-five years isn’t a pretty sight. It doesn’t take Mikki long to find out who the victim was but figuring out who the killer is tests her investigative abilities. When she finally figures it out, she almost becomes the next victim and has to play keep away with the killer. Thankfully, Mikki wins the game, banged up and bruised but intact.
I genuinely love this cozy book series and Mikki. In Clause & Effect, just like in the last book keeps you guessing, has lots of action, and ends up making the reader happy with the outcome. Questions are posed, and answered, victims are abundant, and the killer comes off as a nice person, but in the end, is ruthless and single-minded. I am thrilled to have read this book and look forward to the next. A cozy book series that will entertain and make readers smile is always welcome on my bookshelves.