Review of “Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek” by Kris Bock (audiobook) This is a great, fun cozy detective mystery audiobook - it’s not to be missed! This is a book in author Kris Bock’s “Accidental Detective” series. If you’re familiar with other titles in this series you won’t be surprised that this entry is also fantastic! The story begins when Kate Tessler, previously a long term highly respected war correspondent who covered some of the world’s most dangerous regions, has recently returned to her childhood home in Phoenix, AZ after experiencing a severe leg injury from a bomb during her last posting abroad. This injury has effectively ended her career as a war correspondent and has left her with a weak and sometimes unreliable leg. Approaching her 50th birthday she is uncertain about what the future holds for her. One day she receives an anonymous email accusing Mayor Todd Paradise of political misconduct and asking Kate to pursue the allegations. Kate has known Todd since high school and he is currently a romantic interest. After failing to receive adequate supporting evidence of the supposed malfeasance, Kate decides to pursue the case until the Mayor can be proven innocent or until firm evidence of wrongdoing is found. Kate has long known Todd to be an honest and upstanding person so she suspects that he is being set up but knows that she must pursue the case with an open mind, regardless of the final findings. In her new role as an amateur detective Kate enlists the assistance of her sister Jen and her band of Coffee Shop Irregulars, a motley but engaging mixture of enthusiastic seniors and young computer experts, and they embark on the investigation. I won’t provide any further details because I want the listeners (or readers for those not into audio) to have the pleasure of experiencing this fantastic story for themselves! The storyline is creative and contains plenty of twists and turns and overall suspense that kept me immersed and looking forward to the next clue. I followed the story avidly and found it to be extremely satisfying and entertaining throughout. The characters are completely sympathetic and relatable. Kate is spunky and determined, even in the face of adversity, and Todd is very believable as the caring and supportive main parent of two teenage boys, one of whom is transgender. The issues of physical adversity (Kate, at the time of this story, has not chosen to consider herself as disabled) and of identifying as transgender are handled with sensitivity and respect, which I applaud and appreciate. The narrator is great and does an excellent job of bringing the characters and narrative to life. I highly recommend this audiobook (or book if that’s more your style) and I look forward to listening to other titles in this series and other works by this author. I was not familiar with Kris Bock’s writings before encountering this audiobook and am very pleased to have had the opportunity to discover them! Review by Sue Ratner

What a delightful book! The characters are thoroughly engaging (Kate and Jen are my favourites), the mystery is exciting, the romance between Kate and Todd is adorable, and the humour is wonderfully witty. Christina Delaine nailed the narration, as always.