The first book in the Odessa Jones series. The first in a new series!

Odessa Jones, a realtor in New Jersey has the ability to sense smells, and hear things other folks can’t. Aunt Phoenix calls “glimmers”, hazy auras, sometimes with color, appear when certain people enter her space. She can “read” rooms and know intimate things about the occupants. She senses bad things. This “gift” couldn’t be trusted, useless, comes, lingers, then disappears sometimes. You have to listen to it.

It was an added pleasure that Odessa was an experienced cook and owned a catering business. I love novels with cooking in the theme. I felt the glimmers didn’t really amount to much for Odessa, but maybe it something she has to hone and understand in future incidents. I enjoyed the innocents of Odessa, and look forward to reading the next novel in the series. ( )

A Glimmer of Death by Valerie Wilson Wesley is the debut of the Odessa Jones Mysteries. Odessa “Dessa” Jones is a widow who is still grieving the loss of her beloved husband. They had a catering business together, but Dessa has not felt like cooking since her husband’s death. This is what led Dessa to get her realtor’s license and begin working at Risko Realty. Dessa was hoping for a cozy work atmosphere where she would make friends, but that is not the case at Risko Realty. Charlie Risko has a temper, and the atmosphere is tense. Odessa inherited the family “gift”, but she is wary of it and has never learned to use it. We learn more about Odessa, her deceased husband, her “gift”, and her family as the book progresses. A Glimmer of Death is told in the first-person point-of-view, so we are privy to all of Odessa’s thoughts (which can be rambling and repetitious). I was not a fan of Odessa nor many of the other characters in this book. The exception is Odessa’s two aunts. The murder of Charlie Risko has Odessa questioning her fellow realtors in hopes of revealing the killer. She uses baked goods as a way to get into their homes and ask questions. There are a handful of unlikeable suspects all with motive to kill Charlie (he was an odious man). Most readers will have no problem solving this whodunit long before the reveal. I had hoped it would be more of a challenge since there were so many suspects. The clues were a bit too obvious. I do want to let readers know there is, unfortunately, some mild foul language in the book. I like the potential love interest for Odessa. He is a kind man who is a former cop who now runs a killer barbecue joint. He is also helpful to Odessa’s investigation. I wanted to like A Glimmer of Death, but it is a lukewarm read for me. I could not get into the book. I found it a dull read (boring, unlikeable characters, sluggish pacing, and an easy to solve mystery). The paranormal element was light and confusing. The story needed more excitement and action. It is classified as a cozy mystery, but it lacked that cozy feel (charming small town with friendly residents). The ending was anticlimactic and rushed. This is the first book in the series, so I am hoping for improvement in the next Odessa Jones Mystery. ( )

I think I like this new writer, but I'd like to read more. ( )

A Glimmer of Death by Valerie Wilson Wesley is a bit of a tough one to write about. I want you to read it because it was really good, but if you are a hardcore cozy fanatic, it may not be what you usually look for in a cozy. Most of the aspects are there, but there is a really big one that is missing… at least it was for me.

Usually in cozies there are so many wonderful characters and that’s one of the reasons that readers keep coming back. These characters become friends and you want to catch up with them when the next book comes out. But in A Glimmer of Death, a lot of the people were nasty pieces of work.
Now, I don’t want you to decide not to read it because Wesley really does a great job with character development, even the not so likeable characters. And there are still characters that you will enjoy, and a lot of diverse characters too! I just want to let you know before you delve into the book… this is a review after all. ;)

I loved the premise with Dessa and her family having psychic abilities. It was a fun change to have the main character already aware of them, instead of spending half of the book realizing it. Yet, Desssa doesn’t have a firm grip on them, so we do get some exploration. And we are introduced to her two aunts who do have their powers more under control. I really enjoyed her aunt's powers when it comes to money. Often in the supernatural community you shouldn’t use these types of powers to benefit yourself, but maybe it’s the dark witch in me that says, “Why not?!?”

I was also very happy with the way the love interest is playing out and that he was a police officer so he still has contacts on the force, but that he has a profession that matches Dessa more. Plus his grandma’s name was Odessa too, so how perfect is that. And as far as the mystery goes there are a lot of suspects and red herrings, but if you pay attention there’s a good chance you’ll be able to figure it out before the end of the book. There were two things that Wesley included that helped me come to the conclusion early.

An excellent start to a new series, and I really hope that the slight change from the usual cozy doesn’t stop you from reading it or makes you leave a negative review just because of it. ( )

family-dynamics, friendship, widow, real-estate, baker, other-gifted, cozy-mystery, murder, discrimination, situational-humor, small town, small business*****

While trying to dig herself out of grieving for her husband who died a sudden unexpected death, Dessa is working as a real estate agent with some challenging coworkers. Dessa senses some aspects of them but isn't sure of that part of her. Then the boss gets murdered in the office and the Afghanistan vet is arrested because his prints were on the murder weapon. But he has no one else to turn to except Dessa who comes to believe in him but finds some disturbing photos in his apartment when she goes there to pick up his parakeet (note that she owns a cat!). Seems as if everyone trusts her but she decides that the way to get through the confusion is to do a limited resume of the business she had shared with her husband (baking) in order to pick the brain of the friendly restaurant owner who is an ex-cop. Lots of suspects, plot twists, red herrings, and another murder or two in this start of an excellent series!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )