This is probably not a series I would have ever picked up on my own. A friend of mine gave me this book a few years back, and I set it up on my shelf and promptly forgot about it. Once in a while, when going through my stack of books to be read, trying to decide which one to read next, I would see it and say, "I need to read that someday." Well, that someday finally arrived, and I made the decision to pull it down and read it. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I figured since my friend put enough thought into it to give it to me, I should at least give it the benefit of the doubt. And I was surprised how much I enjoyed it!
Mind Over Murder is the first book in the "Raven's Next Bookstore Mystery" series by Allison Kinglsey. It is different from other mystery series that I read, in that there is more than one main character in the story. The protagonists are Clara and Stephanie Quinn, sisters who reside in the small town of Finn's Harbor, Maine. Stephanie, who is married with children, has recently opened a bookstore (Raven's Nest - hence, the title to the series), and Clara just recently returned to town after living for years in New York. To complicate matters, something happened to Clara while she was in New York that is keeping secret from her family, and it is one of the reasons she came home. She agrees to help out at Stephanie's store until she can get herself established and find a job of her own.
Kingsley does a great job of balancing the story between the two sisters. I think writing the story in third-person rather than first-person helps. I've noticed that with both The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers and The Hardy Boys Adventures series, which are written in first person with alternating chapters changing character points-of-view, the biggest complaint is trying to keep up with which character is now the focus. But with this book, there is no confusion, and the transitions between Clara and Stephanie are smooth and easy to follow. Plus, the characters are written sufficiently different, so that even without being named, the reader knows which one it is. Now, the book does focus more heavily on Clara, which I think has to do with the fact that she is the one who just returned to town, she is the one carrying a secret regarding her past in New York City, and she is the one with psychic powers. I'll be curious to see if that holds true in the other books of this series.
With regard to murder mystery, I have to admit the killer was fairly easy to spot. Kingsley did try to throw in a number of possible suspects - the new owner of the business next door who turns out to have basically forced the victim to sell her the business before she died; the man whose life was basically ruined by the victim years before; the bookstore assistant whose last run in with the victim resulted in her threatening the woman; and even the good-looking guy who owns the hardware store across the street, who had his own ax to grind with the victim. It seems the victim made an enemy of pretty much every person she met! And even though Clara and Stephanie don't see it until the end, I think any astute reader who has been reading mysteries as long as I have will spot the killer early on - the signs are there, and while the means may not be clear, the motive and opportunity definitely are!
Overall, it was a really great read, and I will definitely be purchasing the next three books in the series (sadly, it appears there are only four books in this series - not sure if sales just didn't warrant any more, or if the author moved on to other things).
RATING: 8 tiny whale charms out of 10 for a new mystery-solving duo with a twist!
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