Taking Out the Trash by Tristi Pinkston Narrator: Veleka Gray
Series: Estelle Watkins Mysteries #1
Published by the author on July 25, 2018 (first published 2012)
Source: Won
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 4 hrs 16 mins
Format: Audiobook
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Murder is rotten. Genteel Southern lady Estelle Watkins didn't expect to find a little surprise in her trash can, and she certainly didn't expect her son to get accused of murder. Determined to save him from spending the rest of his life on death row - or worse - she's thrown into the middle of an investigation along with Vera, her next-door neighbor and faithful sidekick. Their methods are a bit unusual, but never underestimate a woman on a mission to protect her son....
Taking Out the Trash is a cozy mystery that’s trying to be funny, but fell flat for me. Estelle is a middle-aged housewife with an accountant husband, an adult son, and a quirky best friend, Vera. The cops find a Senator’s body in her garbage can and her son, who has an internship in Washington, quickly comes under suspicion. Of course, Estelle and Vera have to investigate; they can’t have Andrew convicted of the murder.
I like that Estelle and her husband are a stable, loving couple, but I tend to prefer my heroines with a bit less lying to their husbands/having their husbands treat them like they can’t take care of themselves. Granted, maybe she can’t, she does end up in a couple of dangerous situations, but still, that’s standard cozy behavior. And I wish she could have kept the hair color that made her feel so pretty. She also seemed a bit older than her early-60s to me, but that could have been due to the narrator.
Taking Out the Trash is clearly trying to be funny, with silly puns and one-liners throughout. It didn’t make me laugh, more made me roll my eyes. I find it more annoying than amusing. But it’s hard to tell when a “funny” book is going to strike the right chord for me. The joke around our house is I don’t have a sense of humor. I do, really, but I don’t always find the same things funny as other people. So, if you like your mysteries mixed with comedy, give this one a try. It’s pretty short, 176 pages/4 hrs on audio and the first in a series.
This counts as 4 pts in the COYER Treasure Hunt (book you’ve won in a giveaway).
About Tristi Pinkston
Tristi Pinkston is the author of over a hundred books, the mother of four fantastic children, and the wife of one very, very patient man.
Tristi is a stay-at-home mom, a homeschooler, a media reviewer, a freelance editor, a regular presenter at writers conferences up and down the Wasatch Front, has served in the Relief Society presidency in her ward, and she sits on the board of directors for iWriteNetwork.
It sounds like it tried too hard. Sorry the humor didn’t work.
And there is a good possibility that others will really enjoy it.
Thanks for the honest review.
Thanks. I always hate when I don’t love or at least like a book.