Your Killin' Heart
A Mystery
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
With Your Killin’ Heart, award-winning author Peggy O’Neal Peden has given us a witty debut full of Nashville charm and generous heart.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Nashville is an aspiring country music star. Campbell Hall, for one, just wants to get her travel agency off the ground and move on from a break-up. But when she gets the opportunity to visit the mansion of mysterious country icon Jake Miller, she jumps at the chance. After all, who knows what clues are lurking around the long-dead star’s last home?
But as Campbell pokes around, she discovers more than a few sequined suits and priceless memorabilia. She finds Hazel Miller, Jake’s widow, quietly resting in a bedroom on the main floor. But Hazel might just be dead quiet. And Campbell might just be the last person to have seen her alive.
Juggling the twisty plots of high-profile country stars with her blossoming business—not to mention the tattered remains of her love life—Campbell thinks she’s got everything figured out. But when the danger becomes personal, she must uncover a killer who will stop at nothing to get what they want—or face the music.
Winner of the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Because Nashville travel agent Campbell Hale, the narrator of Peden's middling debut, is a fan of deceased country star Jake Miller (whose life and work resemble that of Hank Williams), she jumps at the chance to accompany her sometime boyfriend, lawyer Doug Elliott, as he retrieves some paintings from the home of Jake's widow, Hazel, for his art dealer brother. The curious Campbell stumbles on a too-still Hazel in bed and realizes later that the woman may have been murdered. Campbell sifts the circumstances of Hazel and Jake's lives, discovering an illegitimate child, a resentful grandson, a former mistress, an opportunistic assistant, and a well-connected attorney who wants to keep the Miller secrets off the front page. Warnings from handsome detective Sam Davis fail to deter Campbell, who encounters threats and attempts on her life. An insufficient array of suspects and detection a step removed from the action undermine the delivery of the promising premise.
Customer Reviews
First book in A Nashville Mystery series!
Your Killin’ Heart by Peggy O’Neal Peden is A Nashville Mystery. Campbell Hall runs a travel agency in Nashville, Tennessee. When Doug Elliott mentions he is going to Jake Miller’s home, Campbell convinces (twists his arm) him to allow her to tag along. Doug is going to repossess paintings from Jake Miller’s widow, Hazel for his brother, Ken Elliott. Ken owns The Mockingbird Gallery. Hazel never paid for six paintings she acquired from his gallery. Campbell grew up hearing the music of Jake Miller and is excited at the opportunity to see inside the deceased star’s home. They arrive at the house and are told that Hazel is not available. Doug, always the lawyer, wants to make sure he has the proper releases signed by Hazel for the paintings. Hazel’s assistant, George Lewis assures him that she has authorized this venture. While waiting for Doug, Campbell starts snooping around. She opens a door and discovers it is a bedroom. The room is dark, but she does see a shadowy figure on the bed. Campbell quickly closes the door and waits for Doug. They deliver the paintings back at the gallery and head for dinner. The pair later hear that Hazel Miller was found dead inside her home. Was Hazel in the bedroom that Campbell looked in? Campbell is visited by Detective Sam Davis and asked about her visit to the Miller house. Campbell believes something is rotten about this whole affair and starts her own investigation. Someone, though, is not happy with Campbell’s snooping. Despite threats to her life and Doug’s pleas for her to quit, Campbell perseveres. Can Campbell find the killer or will the killer stop her meddling forever?
Your Killin’ Heart was a light cozy mystery. While I liked the setting, I did not like Campbell Hall. Her nosiness knew no bounds. Her curiosity (nosy nature) is why she went to the Miller house and why she investigated the murder. Campbell was going to continue despite the danger it was posing to Doug’s future political career and to her own life. I can see Campbell when she is retired, sitting at her front window with a pair of binoculars (keeping an eye on her neighbors and their visitors). The story is written in the first person. It seemed like Campbell opened her mouth and never stopped talking. We are given every little detail of rooms, Campbell’s life and her thoughts. I give Your Killin’ Heart 3 out of 5 stars (okay, but not for me). The mystery was uncomplicated and can easily be solved early in the book. I found the ending unsatisfying. I was left with some unanswered questions. While Your Killin’ Heart was my type of cozy mystery, readers who enjoy lighter cozies with levity will be entertained.