Is it luck or is it . . . Destiny?
Are superstitions real? Rory Chasen doesn't think so--until her beloved fiance walks under a ladder and is killed by a car five minutes later. Needing closure, Rory takes her dog Pluckie to a town called Destiny, where superstitions are a way of life.
Rory's visit to Destiny takes an unexpected turn when Pluckie saves the life of Martha, the owner of the Lucky Dog Boutique. To show her gratitude, Martha offers Rory a job at the pet store. But when Martha becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the local bookshop owner, Rory refuses to believe that she would do it. Rory is convinced the real killer still roams Destiny's streets, and she must uncover the truth before Martha is hauled off to jail.
My Thoughts :
I have so many books on my 'to be read' pile and so I try to hold myself back when picking out review books. If I see an ARC up for grabs from a favourite author then I have no worries about requesting a copy but other books that catch my eye usually don't get the time of day. However Lost Under a Ladder had a nice cute cover and an interesting blurb. I am a sucker for a good cozy mystery and I am always looking for new and interesting concepts. This one built up around superstitions sounded nearly supernatural and I decided to cross my fingers and give it a try.
The first fifth of the book was easy and exciting reading. As everything was explained about destiny and the plot started to show itself I was enjoying the new feel of the whole concept. I was getting to know Rory and starting to like her. Then I had to stop reading and didn't get to pick up the book again for a few days. When I came back to it I was still excited but that excitement wore off as I got further into the book. I started to be annoyed by Rory and certain parts of the story started to bug me.
You expect a cozy to be a little over the top, strange and not like real life. However I couldn't believe that Rory was just leaving her life behind after two days to live in Destiny and got a job that quickly. I know her circumstances would have made it easier for her to just walk away but she didn't even talk to her best friend again. Also there was too much 'going to eat' and 'getting food'. There must have been too much because it is something that really stuck with me. The superstitions were interesting enough but I wanted more information about them because I hadn't heard of all of them.
Now I am not sure if a town like Destiny really exists but I am sure it would be a nice gimmick. The author certainly put some time and effort into the idea and I have to give her a big thumbs up for that. However the murder mystery was weak and the plot in general was a little bleh. For a debut it wasn't awful and I still liked it enough to give it 3.5 stars out of 5. There is promise here but the next installment will have to wow me more than Lost Under a Ladder did for me to keep following the series.
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