Too Dead for His Britches by Riley Blake

Too Dead for His Britches by Riley Blake
Series: Book one in A Christian Women’s Book Club Mystery series
Publisher: Self-published on January 26, 2023

REVIEW BY VERA DAY

Walkmans and shoulder pads, corded phones and mullets. Author Riley Blake takes us back to the 1980s in this hilarious Christian cozy mystery novella set in small-town Tennessee.

Harper Kay is a very young church secretary. The pastor is murdered (in a most unusual way), and older church members suspect Harper. And where the heck are the pastor’s pants?!

Older church members also accuse her of other, indecent things, but Harper and Deputy Max are going to figure out who really killed the pastor and who’s really been sleeping with whom. (Any intimacy is implied. This is a clean read.)

Harper’s witty thoughts and snappy dialog made me laugh out loud. Her character hooked me from the very first sentence of the book:

“Thank you for calling Baduga Fellowship Church where your blessings are our blessings. How much are you tithing today?”

Riley Blake, Too Dead for his Britches

Harper is entertaining for sure, but the more dangerous scenes had me worried about her!

As far as the Christian message goes, there is no preaching to the reader. But there is an important lesson to be learned about how we judge one another. Appearances can be deceiving, and the heart is where the truth lies.

Toward the end, Harper notices Deputy Max’s handsome looks. He says something that I found out of place. (Maybe it was supposed to be said as a joke?? Or hey, maybe it’s a tiny hint at a future book’s plotline!) Other than that one line, I seriously had a blast reading Blake’s story.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series and give Too Dead for His Britches four-and-a-half fun and funny fish!

I read Too Dead for His Britches through Kindle Unlimited.