Taking on The Big Apple, One Vegan Wrap, Coffee, and Murder, at a Time (Killer Content mystery Review)

I know there are plenty of folks out there who're perfectly happy staying in the small towns and communities they grew up in—actually, that describes approximately ninety-five percent of my high school graduating class—but that was never, ever gonna work for me. (I guess if you’re already pleased as punch with who you are, and have zero interest in growth or—gasp!—change, then all I can say is more power to you, but… yeah, no.)

Anyway, when what sounded like a fun little mystery—featuring (what would undoubtedly be) a plucky heroine, from Tinytown, USA (in this case a Louisiana bayou hamlet), who goes to the Big Apple (mainly Brooklyn, but tomato, tomahto) and has adventures—happened across my desk, I latched onto it greedily. 

But, would it be a fulfilling fish-out-of-water/young-woman-spreading-her-wings-and-finding-herself tale… or some disappointingly-schmaltzy claptrap about how much better life in the country is? Time to dive into Olivia Blacke’s Killer Content. 

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It probably wouldn’t have taken the sweetest deal in the world to persuade Odessa Dean to venture from her safe-but-boring bayou berg—where she’s been waitressing at a little dive for several years, and… well, not doing much else, really—but having a well-to-do aunt (cum Fairy Godmother) in Brooklyn, New York requesting her help for a few-months (apartment- and cat-sitting) is basically like hitting the I-have-ALL-the-reasons-to-leave-Nowhere-USA lottery.

So, even if—technically—it turns out she has merely traded in her apron at the lowly crab shack for an apron at Untapped Books and Cafe, said cafe just happens to be inside a hip bookstore, serving cool, creative dishes (alongside barista-made coffee concoctions for the first half of the day, and fancy craft beers later on), in Brooklyn. Where, you know, anything can happen.

And happen, it does… when Odessa takes a break from her shift one afternoon to check out a flash mob dance thing at nearby Domino Park, but winds up finding a fellow waitress, Bethany, in the middle of all the action… dead. 

Despite not knowing the other girl very well, Odessa is convinced her death couldn't have been just an accident, as the police seem content to believe. (Odessa hasn’t been reading and watching mysteries and crime shows all those years for nothing; she knows something hinky is afoot.)

And, the more she discovers about the dead girl’s world—Bethany was an up-and-coming YouTuber (who made fancy soaps!), shared a tiny apartment with three roomies, and was in a long-term, tempestuous relationship—and walks in her shoes--taking on some of Bethany’s shifts at the cafe, as well as taking over handling the bookstore/cafe’s social media presence--the more our amateur sleuth is absolutely convinced she’s right: Bethany was murdered.

Armed with little more than her trusty phone (hello, google and maps!)—and no small measure of chutzpah—Odessa sets out on a mission of justice for Bethany… because even though she may be viewed as a “country bumpkin” by nearly every fast-talking New Yorker she meets, she’ll never be mistaken for someone who doesn’t care about the people in her life… and that quality, really, transcends all accents, outfits, and other inconsequential differences, any day of the week.

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The “cozy” mystery typically isn’t my thing, but Killer Content, for me, rises above that generic classification. Yes, it’s “cute”, takes place within a (mostly) small area, and is free of any of the kind of scenes you might not want your thirteen-year-old reading, but it’s also more clever and less obvious than such stories often are. 

Odessa is a charming main character—impossible not to like—as well as a smart one, and it’s enjoyable seeing her not just finding her footing in the big city, but also finding herself. (Blacke has at least one other book planned in this series, so it will be fun seeing what else she has in store for her protagonist.)

Killer Content isn’t the kind of book you read to gain fresh insights about yourself or the world at large, nor is it trying to be. What it is, is a light, entertaining mystery, served up with plenty of smiles and some genuine laughs, that leaves you satisfied at the end… and also wanting refills.

~GlamKitty