Title:	Dead in a Dumpster: Leah Norwood Mystery #1
	Author:	B.L. Blair
	Published:	September 21, 2014, B.L. Blair
	No. of Pages:	208
	Cover Price:	$8.99 Paperback, $2.99 Kindle

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Leah Norwood discovers the body of Isabel Meeks, the manager of Patina, an antique business next to her store, Scents and Sensibility, in the dumpster behind their businesses. Isabel was not liked by anyone, but for some reason, Leah is regarded as a viable suspect. The new police chief is sexy enough to almost bring Leah to her knees, and it seems every time she starts to discover new leads in the case, or is in danger, he is involved. Reed Hill, Texas is just north of Dallas, with only about 10,000 residents and a definite small-town feel, and is the backdrop for this fun novel.

Leah is a likeable character, and in her sleuthing, doesn’t go overboard. Her character is believable, and it’s really nice to have a protagonist who isn’t constantly having money problems. The other characters are also believable, and are similar to people that we know in real life. While this novel may be considered a cozy mystery, because it is light-hearted and fun, it can also be considered a suspense-thriller novel, because there is suspense throughout and readers will feel like the danger threatening Leah is enough to keep readers on the edge of their seats. The romantic aspect of the novel helps to keep it lighter than a serious thriller, but the fact that Leah has her head on straight and doesn’t do stupid or pushy things makes for a viable storyline.

The only drawback to this novel is that it seriously needs a good editor; there are dozens of grammatical errors which luckily don’t take away from the charm, but should be corrected. While my copy is a review copy, the novel has been out for over two years, which is plenty of time to correct errors.

Most readers who read this novel will want to pick up the next one in the series; hopefully more are in the works, because Blair’s storylines are good and she adds enough suspense to keep most mystery/suspense/thriller lovers happy. This is a fun series that is recommended for readers who prefer not to have graphic violence, sex, or language in their novels. It is suitable for most ages, even young adults, and is a fast moving read.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.