Review: Board Stiff by Kendel Lynn

‘As director of the Ballantyne Foundation on Sea Pine Island, South Carolina, Elliot Lisbon scratches her detective itch by performing discreet inquiries for Foundation donors. Usually nothing more serious than retrieving a pilfered Pomeranian. Until Jane Hatting, Ballantyne board chair, is accused of murder. The Ballantyne’s reputation tanks, Jane’s headed to a jail cell, and Elliot’s sexy ex is the new lieutenant in town.

Armed with moxie and her Mini Coop, Elliot uncovers a trail of blackmail schemes, gambling debts, illicit affairs and investment scams. But the deeper she digs to clear Jane’s name, the guiltier Jane looks. The closer she gets to the truth, the more treacherous her investigation becomes: a brutal attack on her own suspect and the murder of a witness. With victims piling up faster than shells at a clambake, Elliot realizes she’s next on the killer’s list.’

I typically don’t read your lower-end publisher books, but this one surprised me. I really actually enjoyed it. I loved Elliot’s character and her spunk is what drives this story forward. It does have some cussing in it, and while that doesn’t bother me, it might bother others. So just a warning to those who might be offended by the language. I liked the setting, a small island in South Carolina and it was a nice escape during the snow storm currently raging outside my window. Nothing like reading about the beach and the nice weather when it looks like a winter wonderland outside. 

Elliot works as a director for the prestigious Ballantyne Foundation, which is known for its philanthropic assistance in the community and beyond.  She is also working towards her private investigator license and uses her sleuthing skills to solve petty crimes. When a murder lands a board member is some hot water, she is determined to crack down on the suspects and solve this mystery before anyone else gets hurt. She is constantly running into her ex, Nick Ransom, who is a detective on the local police force. Nick hinders her investigation and she is determined to come out on top and show Nick just who is the better detective. It was interesting to watch them go back and forth and I thought there were a lot of humorous moments in this book. Never a dull moment with Elliot. 

The only thing that I really didn’t like was the love triangle thing going on in this book. I typically do not like those situations in my mysteries, and this one has it in droves. That basically was the only negative part of this book for me. Everything else was just fantastic. The writing was great, the characters are well developed and interesting to read about and the plot and the mystery conclusion was superb. I most definitely will look into any other books released in this series as I really enjoyed Elliot’s character. Even though a couple of things bothered me, I still thought that this was a book worth reading and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.