Aimee Machado is thrilled to be starting her first job as a forensic librarian at the medical center in the town of Timbergate, north of Sacramento, California. Her ebullient mood is somewhat dampened by her recent breakup with her former live-in boyfriend, Nick Alexander. And then there’s a little matter of murder: on Aimee’s first day on the job, a body is found in a nearby Dumpster and soon identified as her supervisor’s wife, Bonnie Beardsley.
Aimee’s heartbreaker of a brother and best friend, Harry, just happens to be one of the last people to see Bonnie alive, but he is hardly the only suspect. Bonnie was notorious for her wild partying and man-stealing ways, and she has left a trail of broken hearts and bitterness. Aimee is determined to get her brother off the suspect list.
Aimee’s snooping quickly makes her a target. Isolated on her grandparents’ llama farm where she fled post-breakup, she realizes exactly how vulnerable she is. Three men have pledged to protect her: her brother Harry, her ex, Nick, and the dashing hospital administrator with a reputation for womanizing, Jared Quinn. But they can’t be on the alert every minute, not when Aimee is so bent on cracking the case with or without their help.
Review: Due for Discard is an enjoyable cozy mystery featuring a librarian and a llama farm. I did like that the library is, in fact, a medical library. Being in a hospital seems to leave room for so many more mysterious deaths in the future.
Aimee was a pleasant character – smart but she knows when to keep her thoughts to herself and she seems to see a good side to everyone, even those she finds a little whacky or is not overly fond of. Another thing I liked about her is that she wasn’t all gung-ho to battle with her attacker. She weighed her options and figured it would be best to flee rather than fight.
I would have liked to have had more of Amah and Grandpa Jack – they seemed like they would be fun to have around in a murder mystery. I mean, they own a llama farm. Nick also seemed like a fun guy, good to have around in bad times. But I’d also like to see if Jared has a shot with Aimee. The love triangles that never quite get resolved are so enticing.
As the story progressed, I went through each of the characters looking for the murderer and found that it really could have been any of them. While the ending was not a complete surprise, it was tidy and closed up all the loose ends. I like when stories do that. I feel like I have truly finished a book.
If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, Due for Discard is worth the read. It’s a pleasant whodunit to add to your bookshelf.
Sharon St. George had the good fortune to spend an idyllic childhood in a small northern California town, riding horseback and camping with her family in the nearby mountains. One of her favorite pastimes was reading fiction, and a trip to the library was always an occasion of great joy. She’s traded horses for llamas, but she still treks to the high mountain lakes near her home—always with a mystery novel in her backpack. Sharon’s writing credits include three plays, several years writing advertising copy, a book on NASA’s space food project, and feature stories too numerous to count. She holds dual degrees in English and Theatre Arts, and occasionally acts in, or directs, one of her local community theater productions.Sharon is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and she serves as program director for Writers Forum, a nonprofit organization for writers in northern California.