Thursday, February 14, 2013

FOAL PLAY (2013)

Foal Play: A Mystery
Foal Play: A Mystery by Kathryn O'Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 “Fire Chief Colleen McCabe enjoys working with her men at the firehouse and sharing a home with her border collie Sparky. But when a dead body washes up on shore, she knows trouble has arrived in Corolla.”

Bottom Line: Recommended for cozy readers everywhere!

As a young girl I loved the seashore, horses, and mysteries, so Foal Play was a natural choice for my reading list for a month in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I was lucky to receive an advanced reading copy (ARC) from the author.

Kathryn O'Sullivan's mystery is being published as a result of  winning the Malice Domestic/St. Martin’s Minotaur competition for Best First Traditional Mystery novel, and that's where I first heard about it.

All the expected elements are present to make this a very readable cozy: a great location, a slue of amusing characters, a handful of possible villains, a winning amateur sleuth, and the horses. There are, however, a couple of shocks I didn't expect in a cozy.

Did you know about the threatened herd of Spanish mustangs on the coast of North Carolina? I didn't. And there really is a Corolla, North Carolina as well as a Whalehead Club and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. If you're like me, you'll be looking for pictures and more information. Road trip, anyone?

If this doesn't turn into a series for author Kathryn O'Sullivan, I will be very surprised. By the time I got to the hilarious funeral service scene in the church, I knew this would make a  great caper movie too. It's great fun.

Having a woman as the Fire Chief of a small town in a tourist area, opens up all kinds of possibilities. Did I mention she and the Sheriff seem attracted to each other?

Make sure you get your copy when the book lays down in May so you can take it to the beach this summer. You won't be sorry.

Disclaimer: The author and I share an alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University's theatre department.

Title: Foal Play
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Minotaur (May 7, 2013)
No. of Pages: 272
Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 1250026598
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Advance Reading Copy

"Kathryn O'Sullivan is also an award-winning playwright and creator of the Western Web series Thurston, and a theatre professor at Northern Virginia Community College. She lives in Virginia with her husband, an award-winning director and cinematographer, and their rascally rescue cat, Oscar."


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