I enjoyed the mystery in this book but the author kept pulling my out of the story. It is a "pet peeve" of mine but I just don't like it when EVERY time the main character shows up the first thing you get is a detailed description of everything she is wearing (from shoes to hats). Once or twice in a book I can ignore but when it happens at every opportunity I get bored with it, then get irritated.

I doubt I'll look for more by her - like I said the mystery was good but chic lit overtones were a bit too strong for me. ( )

This was terrible and very amateurish writing. I knew the killer by page 30, it was a dead giveaway. I flipped to the back,confirmed and then put the book done and returned to library. What a disappointment, I'm glad I did not give it any more of my time ( )

Meredith Cole is one of the 2009 Debs at The Debutante Ball. If you haven't heard of The Debutante Ball, it's a group blog which features debut authors. I've either read or plan to read all the books they have featured or recommended and they have never once steered me wrong. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already!

Posed for Murder is the first mystery I've read in some time. I do enjoy mysteries, but I hate it when I figure out the ending halfway through the book, which is something that happens all too often. Posed for Murder, however, was a completely different story. In my arrogance, I thought I had the murders solved multiple times throughout the novel; however, Cole always threw me for a loop and moved in an entirely different direction. The ending was definitely a surprise, and a well-written one at that. Cole's storytelling ability and imagination should be commended; the entire book is a delight to read!

I also loved the main character, Lydia. She was so strong and resilient, but the best part is that she didn't even realize it. She felt weak in her situation and decided to do something about it by asking questions and finding out as much as she could about the murders. She didn't intend to become an amateur detective, but she couldn't imagine doing nothing and just waiting for the murderer to strike again. I think Lydia is a testament to the power within us; she is dealt an incredible blow in life but she doesn't let it stop her. She is strong because she has to be, because to her being anything else just isn't an option. I feel like if I were to meet Lydia one day and tell her "I admire you because you were so strong in the face of such horrible occurrences," she would say, "I'm not strong, I just did what I had to do!"

Meredith Cole is a great writer, and I hope we'll be seeing more from her soon. Posed for Murder was definitely left with some loose ends, and I hope that means this is the start to a series. I would love to read more about Lydia, and with Meredith Cole's imagination and writing ability, any sequels are sure to be just as great as the original!

Thank you to Meredith for sending me a copy of this book to review!

Edit: After writing this review, I happened upon a post at the Debutante Ball in which Meredith Cole discusses the second book in the SERIES - so it will be a series!

From S. Krishna's Books ( )