Book Review: The Git-Buggy Murders? by Alexie Linn

Surreal. That’s the first feeling that pops up. Seeing Sally the Loner at an ice cream social is surreal. But when she turns her van around to go to an ice cream social, it becomes a phantasmagoric moment for the record books.
Add to it that she comes away with three new friends that call themselves the 3 Houseketeers… Well. Now we’ve surpassed surreal and flew right into fantasyland on a pink elephant.
Why does it matter? Because suddenly Sally is the credible alibi for the 3 Houseketeers. Three abused wives that have become 3 wealthy widows in one fell swoop. How did she become the credible witness? As a spectator in the first annual scooter race for octogenarians. Where the only competitors are the maniacal grumpy old geezers of the befriending ladies.
Were they accidents or perfect murders?
You tell me. And Detective Muldoon.

My Review

I chose to read this book after receiving a free copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. I haven’t read any of the Sally the Loner series, but The Git-Buggy Murders? is a standalone cozy mystery.

Sally lives alone and likes it that way. When she meets some other seniors at an ice cream social (she was just there for the ice cream), she’s not sure if she wants to get involved with them or not. Kat, Mazy and Helen call themselves the houseketeers, and they talk about their abusive husbands openly with Sally. They also talk about waiting for their husbands to die so that they can move on! They want Sally’s help to learn how to live alone since they’ve all been married since they were young.

Like Sally, I got the niggling right away that something was up with the houseketeers. They seemed to be focused only on their husbands being gone.

When Sally was invited to the git-buggy race between the three husbands, it was odd that she invited her family from out of town to go. In the long run, it was a good move so that she wasn’t the only witness to the husbands’ deaths. Of course, when all three of them have “accidents” on the same outing, Sally and her friend, Detective Muldoon, suspect it may be otherwise. But can it be proven? While Sally waits to hear if the deaths were ruled accidents or not, the houseketeers move on easily with a little help from her.

The ending isn’t a typical one, but it was fitting for this book. There was a note at the end that the houseketeers would show up in a later book.

The imagery was good. There are a lot of conversations, which I always like. The conversations in this book, however, lack consistent quotation marks. It’s often difficult to follow which character is talking and when they stop talking. I suggest proofreading.

If you like cozy mysteries this is a cute one. I would recommend it, but only after it’s proofread.

About the Author

Alexie Linn is a writer of cozy mysteries and adventures with a purpose. Reader’s comments include fun, interesting, couldn’t put it down, and provocative. She pursues her passion of uplifting and encouraging readers from her off-grid ‘rabbit-ranch’ in the Sonoran Desert.