2020 bk 119: 2022 bk 42: This was written for the mystery arm of a romance publishing office. I wish she had sold the story to Kensington. It is a fun mystery. Police Officer Stella Valocchi captures a rapist, only to return home to find her police officer boyfriend in bed with her best friend. With that she leaves her possessions, takes the dog, quits her job, and heads home, only to find that her Uncle Benny, the man who raised her, had died. Helping her aunt is the one man she least expected to find, the man who left her at the alter when she was a teenager. From there the plot thickens, twists, turns, and boggles the mind. A fun read. I've had the book for at least ten years, am not sure why I kept it based on the cover, but after reading it again - I know why I kept it. It is a fun mystery!
A re-read as I scan my shelves to see if I need to weed anything. This book is still enjoyable and kept me up far too late last night as I didn't want to put it down!

After catching her boyfriend in bed with another woman, Stella Valocchi quits the police force and returns to her hometown, where she discovers that her Uncle Benny, who raised her with his wife Lucy after the death of Stella's parents, has died. When police reveal Benny was actually murdered, Stella vows to find the culprit herself.

This was very clearly inspired by Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. Every single character here is quirky or enigmatic to the nth degree. Stella's Aunt Lucy thinks that Benny has been reincarnated in Lloyd, the dog that Stella stole from her boyfriend after discovering his infidelity. Her cousin Nina is a mud-wrestling lesbian.

Jake Carpenter is the guy who left her at the altar when they were teenagers. (And no, she's not over it.) He seems to be inextricably linked to what happened to Benny, but conveniently keeps disappearing so that the answers Stella needs are never forthcoming. He was a plot device more than he was an actual character, so the mild romance element didn't work. I'm wondering if ex-boyfriend Pete stays in the picture in future books (of which there were only two), thus setting up a similar love triangle to what's found in the Stephanie Plum books.

Stella irked me a bit as the protagonist. She was too hip and self-aware. She continually believes herself to be, basically, the best cop in the world. She's always dismissing every other cop she sees, even detectives who rank higher than her, as being dumb and not knowing how to do their jobs properly. But too many times to count, antagonists seem to easily get the one-up on her.

The plot was fast-paced and entertaining, and there was lots of action. I appreciated the fact there were so many strong female characters. But too much of it was just a bit too silly (the vibrator in the courtroom scene comes to mind), and overall, I felt the book just tried a bit too hard. I can't say I'd make an effort to track down the other two books, but if I come across one in a post-coronavirus op shop, I'd probably pick it up!