Forced to move back home to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia after her father and brother end up in jail for running a Ponzi scheme, Sophie Parker does the best she can. While living with her curmudgeonly aunt, she works as a wench waitress at a pirate-themed restaurant and learns the ins and outs of discount shopping through a coupon group. Life goes from bad to worse when an innocent … airplane ride with her former teenage crush, AJ, leads to her being picked up by the police. The plane’s indebted owner has been murdered, and he’s the man who helped put her father in jail.
What started as a curiosity has now turned into a quest to make sure she isn’t arrested. Armed with gossip from the women in her coupon group, and her cantankerous aunt, Sophie sets out to find out who killed the ruthless businessman minutes after she flew off with AJ.
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Death Of A Debtor
Sophie Coupon Mystery, Book #1
Jenna Harte
5 Stars
Synopsis:
Forced to move back home to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia after her father and brother end up in jail for running a Ponzi scheme, Sophie Parker does the best she can. While living with her curmudgeonly aunt, she works as a wench waitress at a pirate-themed restaurant and learns the ins and outs of discount shopping through a coupon group. Life goes from bad to worse when an innocent airplane ride with her former teenage crush, AJ, leads to her being picked up by the police. The plane’s indebted owner has been murdered, and he’s the man who helped put her father in jail. What started as a curiosity has now turned into a quest to make sure she isn’t arrested. Armed with gossip from the women in her coupon group, and her cantankerous aunt, Sophie sets out to find out who killed the ruthless businessman minutes after she flew off with AJ. (Goodreads)
Review:
This is a great start to a new cozy mystery series. The characters were fun, the setting engaging and the mystery was carried on well throughout the book.
The characters are well developed and well rounded. Sophie’s life has been turned upside down when her dad and brother are sent to prison for running a Ponzi scheme. Although Sophie is now financially destitute, and all of her neighbors blame her and ostracize her, she still holds her head high and is trying to get her life back on track. Sophie is strong, resilient, brave and smart and I admire her for that. When see “accidentally” runs into Aj, her high school crush, she is excited and nervous. Aj grew up on the “wrong side of the tracks” but that never bothered Sophie. She agrees to go on a plane ride with him and that is when her life falls deeper down the hole. When someone is murdered, her and Aj are considered prime suspects. Now she has to figure out who the real culprit is before she joins her dad and brother in prison.
The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and this description pulled me into the story from the very beginning of the book. Some of the citizens of the community did not treat Sophie bad, while others were very mean. Even her aunt was not very nice to her. But she does have her couponing group, who for the most part were supportive.
The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider. There were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and I was surprised when the murderer was revealed, which is how I like my mysteries.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next one when it is published, which I hope is soon.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Booksprout, which I greatly appreciate .
I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout. I voluntarily reviewed this book.
This is a good book but it has taken me awhile to read it. This story has a lot of twists and turns but it all came together. In the military there is a saying that stuff rolls down hill. It sure happened in this story. The sins of the father and son were visited on the daughter.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love cozy mysteries but they do tend to be similar to each other. I found this to be very refreshing and original. Wonderful characters with a great story to keep you riveted.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wonderful and Funny Cozy Mystery
I loved this book and am looking forward to the rest of the series. This book has all of the ingredients for a memorable reading experience. There is lots of humor, riches to rags, small-town bigots, a lovable Great Dane, a cranky great aunt, loved ones in prison and a murder to solve. This takes place in a very small town in the Shenandoah region. The plot and its execution are great. The humor is fresh and the characters seem realistic. I received this ARC book for free from Booksprouts and this is my honest review.
Life isn’t exactly the way that Sophie Parker planned. After her dad and brother are jailed for running a Ponzi scheme, she finds herself without any money and moving back to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. While she is not homeless (her cantankerous aunt takes her in), she is stuck working at the only place that will hire her as a wench waitress at a pirate-themed restaurant. Her only friends are the ladies of a discount shopping coupon group which just so happens to include her high school nemesis. When her former teenage crush, AJ, invites her on a plane ride she never images that they will both be suspected of murdering the indebted plane owner.
Sophie finds herself on a madcap adventure trying to stay one step ahead of the police, who want to finger her for the crime. She finds herself investigating the situation using her smarts, the info she gets from the gossipy coupon group, and surprisingly her aunt. The book is filled with lots of humor, some laugh out loud moments, lots of action and adventure, and a really good murder mystery to solve.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sophie has been through so much. He father and brother are in jail for running a Ponzi scheme and her mom ran off to who knows where. She’s stuck living with her grumpy aunt and working as a wench in a pirate themed restaurant. Her Harvard degree is pretty worthless, so she’s stuck. Good thing she’s learning about couponing from her only friend that stuck by her. While trying to by groceries she miscalculated the amount she would save and in walks her old crush, AJ, to save the day. He asks her to go flying with him and that’s when things get worse. Murder…if she thought things were bad before, they are even worse now.
This is a fun, fast and actually sweet story. Well, part is sweet and other parts are just heartbreaking when the lives of some of the characters come to light. I can’t wait for book 2!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sophie Parker has moved back home to care for her aunt after her father and brother are busted running a Ponzi scheme. Once living a life where she could have anything she wanted she’s now working as a waitress. Things go from bad to worse and then some when she is suspected of murder. A fun and entertaining story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sophie Parker has returned to her hometown with her tail between her legs and barely two dimes to rub together after her father and brother were imprisoned for running a Ponzi scheme. Sophie isn’t finding much forgiveness from people she knew all her life even though she had nothing to do with her family’s criminality. She works as a pirate wench at a theme restaurant to pay the bills, and it’s barely doing that. Right when she’s about to suffer some embarrassment about not being able to pay for her groceries even though she has coupons, her old crush from high school steps in, pays, and helps her save face. Soon, however, things go from bad to worse when that crush is murdered, and Sophie is suspect number one.
I loved Sophie’s character. She lived life in the highest echelons of society, and now she’s doing what she has to do to survive. She’s resilient and resourceful and still has an honest pride and self-esteem despite what life has thrown at her and what others think about her. Like all good cozies, this book had a cast of quirky characters, including the Sophie’s Aunt Rose, whom she promised her father she would help take care of, and a diverse group of people in a couponing group who help her figure out the murder. I think it’s a fun idea to use couponing as the basis of a series of cozy mysteries. I love cozies, and I don’t think I’ve seen that particular spin on a cozy before. The dialogue is snappy, and Sophie’s interior monologue shows both her humor and her desperation, making her a real character. The book has some odd problems with grammar, punctuation, and usage. She had more creative comma issues than most. But this didn’t detract from the story, and I feel like this is a great start to a fun new cozy mystery series.
An enjoyable read. A fun mystery with a likeable character that you could bond with. Loved it!
Sophie Parker is having a difficult time living down her notorious family, when, in a set of innocent circumstances, she is in hot water with the police. It will take all her coupon group, her aunt, and Sophie to figure out the answers. Death of a Debtor is a thoroughly enjoyable novel and I recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Fun start to a new series! I am a sucker for a good cozy mystery, and this one gripped me from the very beginning. Sophie is smart, strong, resilient, and determined. I really admired her ability to hold her head high in an area where everyone blames her for the actions of her family. She previously had it all, and now she is willing to take any job that she can get. It’s hard not to root for a heroine like that. And of course, she gets herself involved in a murder mystery. When she feels that police aren’t looking in the right direction, she takes it upon herself to investigate… despite warnings and attempts on her life. The plot keeps you guessing, and I have to say that I was totally surprised by the twist at the end!I love my cozies with a hint of romance, and I can’t wait to see where this romance goes! I hope book 2 is released soon!!!
*I received an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.