Victoria Hamilton - Bran New Death (2013)

This is the first book in the Merry Muffin Mystery series and seems to be part of the penny-dreadful mystery books that are being conveyor-belted out these days. It's tolerable light reading, but don't expect a mystery in the realm of Christie or Sayers. These are fluffy books that you can spend a few hours consuming, non-taxing or thought provoking.

The protagonist Merry Wynter's life falls apart in New York, so she heads off to a house she recently inherited from her Uncle. Merry essentially runs away from home and only lets friends know she's gone once she finds herself alone and in trouble - like most kids. Happily her friends are very forgiving and they rush to her aid as she creates a new life in Autumn Vale and solves the mystery of her Uncle's murder.

The story wasn't unduly deep and the characters didn't draw me in. I didn't like any of them, I felt they were cardboard cut-outs. Surface development without substance which left me not overly interested in reading the next two books in the series.  I think an author with Hamilton's experience should have been able to write more realistic characters than this. The whole book felt tongue-in-cheek, right down to the character's names. Like the author was poking fun at the more ludicrous writers in the world - only she wasn't, and that's just a bit sad for literature.