Varnished Without a Trace (A Tallie Graver Mystery #5) by Misty Simon

Varnished Without a Trace

(A Tallie Graver Mystery #5)

by Misty Simon

Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: September 29th 2020by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Goodreads synopsis: 

Her number is up . . .

This Christmas, Tallie Graver would like to take a break from running her cleaning business to be with her boyfriend, Max, and enjoy their first holiday together--alone. Instead, she's stuck keeping her mother and grandmother from duking it out during the town's annual Christmas Eve bingo game. As for festive spirit, she'll have to settle for her mean-spirited Aunt Ronda, whose mouth could use some soap.

The night only gets worse after Tallie discovers Ronda's body. It seems someone cleaned her clock with a can of varnish. While all the evidence points to Ronda's husband, Tallie doesn't

believe her beloved Uncle Hoagie could do such a dirty deed. Of course, his sudden

disappearance doesn't help his case. If Tallie hopes to clear his name, she'll need to dig up some dirt to locate the real killer. Otherwise, someone else could get rubbed out . . 

***

4.5 stars

This is  the fifth book in the Tallie Graver mystery series by Misty Simon.

Tallie has a cleaning business she loves but her family wants her to take her place in their funeral home business. While visiting with her aunt, mother and grandmother during a bingo game, Tallie comes across the dead body of her Aunt Ronda.  Her Uncle Hoagie is suspect number one, then a body turns up they think is him but surprisingly, it is really a very close lookalike. Then they discover Hoagie might not even be related to them at all. What the heck is going on?

I surprisingly enjoyed the back and forth between Tallie’s real job and her family obligation to the funeral home. Plus, all the red herrings and twists and turns kept my attention all the way through. Great characterization. Loving Tallie’s family. They are so dominant here.

I will definitely want to check out the other books in this series just to see what happened in the past. Loving it so far.

If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.