While on a blind date with a doctor and his mama, Lucy Fong gets a call that her estranged mom is found shot in the stomach in her private investigation office. She returns to Morro Cliff Village to search for answers and her sister…and finds only a dead body in her sister’s apartment. When the local police chief zeros in on her sister as a “person of interest,” Lucy must brush up her sleuthing … her sleuthing skills. It’s a race to find her sister before the police—and the killer—do.
She must use all her wits (and those she can borrow) to find this hidden killer before he strikes at her family again.
Don’t miss this fast-paced cozy mystery—get your copy of “Just Shoot Me Dead” today!
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At the outset let me say that I have long been a fan of the Raina Sun mysteries and have posted 5 star reviews. Anne R. Tan writes exceedingly well, and her books are well edited. I pre-ordered this but I also I did receive this book free but that has no influence upon my rating.
This is the first book in the Lucy Fong Amateur Detective series. The story opens with Lucy (an out of work internet marketing consultant) and her foster grandmother PoPo (also Raina’s grandmother) having dinner with a Chinese doctor and his mother – PoPo having set Lucy up on a blind date.
I should explain that PoPo is a term of endearment for maternal grandmother, and PoPo informally adopted Lucy and brought her into the Wong family when as a teenager Lucy had run away from home and landed at her uncle’s shop in San Francisco. Lucy believed she needed a grandmother and PoPo was more than willing to take on the role. You should know that PoPo is quite a character! A 60 something active retiree who has assisted Raina Sun in investigations (PoPo describes her relationship with Rainy as “Rainy and I are like Sherlock and Watson.”) , and has been known to dress strangely, flirt with anything in pants regardless of age, and has used a watermelon launcher as a weapon. Her antics will have you laughing until you can’t stop!
While at the dinner Lucy receives a call from her cousin Estelle that her mother, a private investigator from whom Lucy had been estranged for about 12 years, had been shot. Lucy immediately leaves for her home town. She finds her mother unconscious with her cousin Estelle by her side. Unexpectedly, PoPo shows up. In short order they find Lucy’s half-sister Breanne missing, and find a dead body in her sister’s apartment.
PoPo and Estelle, a retired pharmacist, become fast friends and the three undertake to find out who shot Lucy’s mother (a private investigator running her deceased father’s agency), find Breanne, and find out who killed the man in Breanne’s apartment. Are the crimes related? You’ll have to read the book to find out! And – I should note that there is a hunk of a police chief who is quite inexperienced (no police experience but a former Assistant District Attorney) who PoPo would like to hook up with Lucy!
This a a great new series by Anne R. Tan. Lucy Fong is the cousin of Raina Sun. I am glad to see PoPo in this one.
What a fun book! I love the characters and the story.
family-dynamics, murder-investigation, situational-humor, verbal-humor, twisty, suspense, cozy-mystery
Po Po, the irrepressible grandma from the Raina Sun series is now involved in her foster granddaughter’s life and investigation. Although Lucy’s family has a long history of private investigators in their small town, Lucy has been living and working in San Francisco for a long time. Now mom is in hospital and unresponsive since getting shot in her office, and little sister has gone missing. Lucy also discovers a good friend in her cousin, and an ally in the attractive police chief. Lots of twists and suspense as well as some really great situational humor. Can’t ever go wrong with an Anne R Tan cozy mystery!
A good start to a second book series. I liked that Lucy seemed more mature than her cousin Raina, and found the aging and more age-appropriate Po Po somewhat more realistic and rather appealing, also. Curious, that Raina and Lucy would both have the same vintage cat clock, but I quite like the concept of an extended “family” connection between the two series, and hope there will be a cast of interesting cross-over characters appearing in both, as this series and the Lucy character also develop more uniquely in coming books.
This is a spin-off to the Raina Sun mysteries that I have enjoyed. While Lucy Fong is on a blind date with her foster grandmother, PoPo, joining them, Lucy is told that her private investigator mother has been shot and her half sister has disappeared. Now, I have to say that when PoPo gets involved, she can be either a help, or a hindrance! I think she is an absolute treasure!. Can Lucy find out what happened and solve the case? This is a fun story with complex characters. I think it’s a great start to a new series.
ARC – I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest
Po Po just cracks me up!
I am so glad that Po Po is also part of this new series.
Lucy is called back to Morro Cliff when her mother is shot at her office.
Now, it is up to Lucy + Po Po to find out what happened to Lucy’s mother.
You can’t help, but be entangled in their antics as they go about their way in solving this crime.
( I do hope that there are some reconciliations in the horizon )
The storytelling + the character’s build were awesome!
It has all the ingredients that you need for a great book!
Love this new series by a very entertaining author.