Book Review: Boot Scootin’ Bump Off by S.C. Merritt
Finding the Book
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Let’s book-talk with a book review of Boot Scootin’ Bump Off by S.C. Merritt!
I have so much fun when I dig through Amazon for the upcoming new cozy mystery book releases, and that’s where I found this book. The cover alone grabbed my attention, and the dogs made me smile! The reference to Nashville and the image of an RV near the water, along with the subtitle of “Bucket List” told me this was probably a fun travel cozy mystery, and it is!
After adding this book to my new books list for March, I was contacted by the author asking if I’d like to read and/or review it, and I was quite excited since I had it on my list. And anything that makes it to my monthly list of new books is automatically added to my TBR, so this was an immediate win in the neverending battle to put a dent in the mountainous TBR.
About the Book: Boot Scootin’ Bump Off by S.C. Merritt
Boot Scootin’ Bump Off: Bucket List Mysteries Volume 2 opens with two middle-aged women putting the final touches on their upcoming travel adventure. Best friends Dot and Maisie live in a Florida retirement community and have joined forces to purchase an Airstream RV and start traveling.
Together with their respective dogs, they load up and make their first trip, heading to the country music city of Nashville, Tennessee.
After arriving at the RV campground, the two friends start exploring Nashville, seeing the sights, and meeting new people. They have fun tourist-y activities planned, including a Grand Ole Opry show being held at the historical Ryman Auditorium.
Dot has surprised Maisie, who is the country music fan of the two, with tickets to the meet and greet after party. Maisie has revealed that she knew one of the up-and-coming country music artists, Clint, as a child, and thanks to Dot, she’s able to see him and catch up.
While the meet and greet event is a novelty to the two women, it’s obvious there is an undercurrent of tension among some of the country music folk. By the end of the evening, one is found murdered and Clint has run, knowing he is the most likely suspect.
Dot and Maisie work during their vacation week to help find the murderer and give Clint his life back before they have to head back home to Florida.
From the Publisher: A wild ride of music, mayhem and murder in Music City, USA
When best friends, Maisie and Dot chose Nashville, Tennessee as the first bucket list destination in their new Airstream travel trailer, they expected cozy camping, lots of country music and lazy days relaxing on the banks of the Cumberland River. But, when Dot surprised Maisie with backstage passes at the Grand Ole Opry, the besties never dreamed the biggest surprise of the night would be finding a dead body at the star-studded after party.
What I Love
The Characters
Being a middle-aged woman myself with a few really good friends with whom I would travel, I completely related to the characters of Dot and Maisie. Dot is a retired cop, making the story work well with the ladies becoming involved in helping to solve a mystery.
Maybe because I’m a blogger, I enjoyed Maisie’s career as a food blogger, which was a perfect way to work in the culinary slant of this book. (And the yummy southern style recipes are included in the book!)
The dogs were a lovely addition to the storyline and written very well. Sometimes in cozy mysteries I don’t love the way animals are written, a bit silly with a lot of focus on said silliness. I feel like it takes away from the story. Merritt, however, includes these two dogs in a lovely style with them being an asset to the story and an enjoyable inclusion.
I appreciated the mix of characters from the country music industry, some down-home good and some that are better avoided. These characters along with the campground character additions made a perfect mix of choices to work through a whodunit!
The Plot
This is a well-written cozy mystery book, and I enjoyed the storyline’s path from beginning to end. It worked well, making sense in how the characters were involved in the story and how the mystery unraveled.
I am impressed with the quality of the details in this mystery since sometimes it is hard in a novella to get in enough details for the mystery to flow and make sense from beginning to end without feeling like details are thrown in abruptly to get the mystery closed in its short length.
One of the main characters, Dot, is a retired police officer, and there is a detective with the Nashville police in this story as well. I’m a stickler for the law enforcement procedures to be done accurately, and this author does a fabulous job!
Every piece of this story worked together to make a cohesive and strong mystery storyline.
The Setting
I’m not a country music fan, but I completely enjoyed going along with Dot and Maisie as they traversed the city of Nashville. There is super interesting Nashville history sprinkled throughout this book. It’s almost like a friend is sharing their details about a trip with me and I’m soaking it in, envisioning each step and learning through a living history lesson.
The best scene introducing a historical piece that was imperative to the storyline working was a Downtown Nashville Ghost Tour. I loved how the author wrote this scene with Dot and Maisie visiting some historical landmarks and worked it into the mystery’s plot!
Final Thoughts & My Star Rating
Reading Boot Scootin’ Bump Off was such an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. It really is the definition of a “cozy” mystery.
Merritt did a wonderful job writing in a way that brought me right into the book alongside the characters. I enjoyed the mystery’s storyline and think the author did a fabulous job getting in all the needed details in the short novella length.
I know it’s not easy in a novella length book to get all the elements of the mystery put together without cutting a few corners, but well done, just well done!
I also enjoyed the real life details included in the storyline with the characters living life while they solve the mystery, as if the mystery were just worked into daily living. I am a huge fan of this type of story and it contributes directly to my definition of cozy!
While I usually read series in chronological order, I purposely started with book #2 in this case to see if I needed to recommend starting at the beginning of the series. I was able to jump right into this second book and didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not reading book #1 first.
The author does give a bit of background detail here and there as needed so I feel comfortable in saying you can read this second book without having read the first. But I do plan to go back and read the first book and will continue to follow this series!
I give this book a 5-star rating!
*****
Get the Book
Grab the book in Kindle ebook or paperback formats here on Amazon.
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