Since losing her office job, Devereaux Sinclair has been trying to rebuild her life by running Devereaux's Dime Store and Gift Baskets. But no matter how hard she tries, she can't quite escape the crimes of her ex-boss or the fact that her father is in jail. The past really comes back to haunt her when her ex-boyfriend's fiancé is found murdered and a police detective would love to put Dev in jail for the murder. With the help of hunky Jake Delvecchio Dev sets out to find the killer but will she be able to clear her name in time?

"Little Shop of Homicide" is the first book in Denise Swanson's new Devereaux Dime Store cozy mystery series. I'm a fan of Swanson's Scumble River cozy mystery series and I was eager and curious to see how this new series is - so far I'm happy with it. Swanson has created a delightfully complex heroine in Devereaux - she is trying to build a new life and escape her past but is always looking over her shoulder. Her worries about her grandmother, who is showing signs of dementia, are very realistic and also help set up a future plot line (I hope) regarding what really happened with Dev's father. The dime store is a great setting and I loved the description of the gift baskets that Dev makes. This book is a bit sexier and grittier than most cozy mysteries I've read. In fact, while the mystery is well plotted with plenty of suspects, at times this book reads more like a romance novel with a touch of mystery thrown in as opposed to a real mystery. This isn't a bad thing - the relationship between Devereaux and Jake sizzles - but I'd like to see a more developed mystery in future books.

"Little Shop of Homicide" is a nice start to Denise Swanson's new cozy mystery series and I look forward to reading other books in the series. ( )

I'm still reading Ms. Swanson's delightful Scumble River mysteries for the first time, but when I saw Little Shop of Homicide at my library, I decided to check it out. If I enjoy one series by an author, I usually enjoy his/her other(s).

There were some definite similarities between the two. Devereaux Sinclair and Skye Denison both grew up in small Midwestern towns to which they have returned after years of working in a city. Both have ample curves. Both have a man left behind and a new one to grab attention. Both have past scandals. Both got dumped when the scandals struck. Both live with cats.

Differences: Devereaux voluntarily left her big city job to look after her grandmother instead of being wrongfully fired. Skye used to hate Scumble River, Illinois while Devereaux loves Shadow Bend, Missouri. Devereaux bought and is running the town's old five and dime store instead of doing the same job in a smaller setting. Instead of Skye's many relatives, Devereaux counts only her grandmother. Birdie Sinclair took her in when Dev's father's life went off the rails. Skye may think that her mother is still too interested in running her life, but Dev's mother -- who lives in another state -- cares so little that her daughter knows she has a new stepfather only when there's a name change on her mother's annual Christmas card. (Is Dev's mother on her fourth or fifth husband by now? Dev isn't sure.) Bingo the cat definitely considers Skye his human. Banshee, Mrs. Sinclair's elderly Siamese, looks on her human's granddaughter with about as much love as most cats regard getting baths.

Poor Dev is being hounded by a homicide detective with reason to hate her former boss. He wants Dev to be guilty so much that he's not willing to consider other suspects. Good thing that Gran's rancher neighbor has his extremely handsome and sexy nephew with the law enforcement background staying with him.

I do believe I shall follow this series with interest. ( )

I really enjoyed the first in this series, small town murder and mayhem, bring me more! ( )

Nice start to a new cozy series. I'll continue reading the next in the series. ( )