The Happy Housekeeper's Guide to Arson

Written by Blythe Baker

Narrated by Alex Picard

Suspicion. Lies. Murder. Barbara Hollis didn't expect to encounter any of these in small town life. With a murky past to hide from, moving to quiet little Cobbsville was supposed to be a perfect escape. But a neighbor who has her own dangerous secret to conceal soon becomes as big a threat as the crazed lunatic who is setting fire to houses around town . . .



Even as a terrible new doubt surfaces against her brother, Barbara is intrigued by an attractive new acquaintance who happens to be the local mayor. But will one more distraction prove welcome . . . or deadly?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798855545906

[joannefm2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Barbara Hollis left the big city to move back home and live with her widowed brother, taking care of his twelve-year-old twins and keep house. Her past is behind her, and she's looking forward to a new future. Unfortunately, she's already been involved in one murder, and wants to forget it. But when she is running errands one day she comes upon a burning house, and with the owner being taken to the hospital, her inquisitive nature wonders if it's not arson. While the fire department deems it an accident, she's not so sure...

She also meets the handsome mayor, who seems to take a liking to her, and asks her out. But there are problems with their date, and she's not sure about the man, even though her brother, the police chief, warns her away. She's an adult, right? Also, what was her neighbor doing in the middle of the night? Barbara finds it suspicious, but doesn't know how to ask her without seeming to be prying (which she would be).

Who knew there would be so many questions in a sleepy town like Cobbsville? Not Barbara...

This is the second book in the series, and I really enjoyed the first one. This one, not so much. There were too many unanswered questions, and I also would really like to know why she left Liberty City. There's not even a hint of why anywhere in these first two books.

Saying that, I found that the issues with her neighbor added nothing to the story except to fill pages. They had nothing to do with the murder, so why was it in there? Same as with her dating. Because of this, we were given less to think about with the arson, and the ending seemed like it was thrown in to finish the story.

Still, I will read the next in the series to see if any of this goes anywhere -- and if we learn anything about why she moved back home.