1st book in cozy series. Kate has just had a baby and finds herself becoming involved in a murder case. A bit of a stretch on the story line but kind of fun to read. Goodreads: From Publishers WeeklyIn Orgain's charming debut thriller, office manager Kate Connolly becomes a supersleuth and a new mom in the same week. From the moment she and newborn Laurie lock eyes, Kate can't imagine returning to work after her six-week maternity leave, but in expensive San Francisco, she and her ad exec husband, Jim, need every bit of both incomes. Then a dead body is fished out of the bay and linked to Jim's estranged brother, George. Both the police and PI Albert Galigani, hired by the dead man's mother, believe that Jim and Kate know more than they're revealing. Kate is determined to find the elusive George and get some answers, but she soon gets in over her head. Galigani serves as a charming mentor as Kate navigates the twists of motherhood and an uncomplicated but engaging plot.

Synopsis:
Kate is on the brink of giving birth when they receive a call that her the police believe the decomposed body they just found might belong to her brother-in-law George. This drags her into a complex investigation involving people she grew up as well as her brother-in-law and people associated with him.

My rating:
3/5

I had very mixed feelings about this book.

I am a mom and watching Kate navigate the early days of motherhood brought back memories and was super relatable. I really enjoyed a lot of the discussions around motherhood and Kate's difficulties/concerns about returning to work after the birth but equally feeling like she has no choice. Also, I loved all the discussion and worry she was having around breastfeeding. It was so good to see all the conversations about this from her concern to making enough milk to go back to work to the clothing mishaps that can happen when let-down happens at inopportune times.

On the flips side, I hated Kate's husband, Jim. I thought he was a jerk. I felt like the author was trying to play his ineptness for humor but that ended up really hitting poorly for me and instead of laughing I just got mad at Jim and wondered why Kate was married to him. There is a brief point in the book where there is some suspicion around Jim and honestly I wanted him to be the killer so he could go to jail and Kate could like out her life without his uselessness. And my issue wasn't even just that he is inept at parenting. I understand that many men don't have as much exposure to babies as women do and maybe his big important job kept him from going to parenting classes (or whatever else makes his skills sorely lacking) but I also felt like he wasn't trying. He didn't want to take care of his kid. He is inconvenienced by the kid and just wants mom to walk back through the door so he can hand her over, call her a cry baby, and go back to his more important job related things. This missed the humor mark for me but I am aware that for some people it might hit.

(Slight Spoiler ahead)

Another big issue I have with this book is the mystery itself. I didn't think the mystery was very good. I didn't think the conclusion was reasonable and the killers motives felt slim (and that's being generous). I also didn't like the implication that the motive was enough because this character is just mentally ill. Their reasons didn't have to make sense because they were crazy.

Overall, this book just hugely missed the mark for me and I don't plan to continue in the series. ( )

It’s a cute little story. On the day that Kate goes into labor, she and her husband receive a phone call from the coroner asking for identification marks of the husband’s brother. She has her baby, girl and it turns out it’s not her brother-in-law. Later, she gets a call to come to the morgue and reclaim the belongings that were found near the body and goes and meets an old school friend who’s husband was the dead man. On her way home, she sees George (the brother-in-law). That’s basically how she solves the crime by stumbling on the clues. The home life with a newborn was entertaining. ( )

'Bundle of Trouble' is a book I got for free through e-mail promotions. There was a time that I was on a kick of cozy mysteries, and I picked the book because the immature detective looked interesting.
Because I was a little bit burnout from the last books I read on the kindle, I was in the mood for a cozy mystery, 'Bundle of Trouble' caught my eye.
Well the truth I anticipated somthing and got something else. As for the main character, I found Kate to be slightly irritating; her constant whining about going back to the office got to be grating. However, as the story progressed, I got to like her more. My favourite character, though, was the PI Galigani.
The mystery part itself had some interesting twists. She did stumble into a lot of clues to the point it seemed improbable, but maybe it was beginner’s luck. The actual mystery part of it was pretty good- it kept me guessing for a while. There sure seemed to be a lot of dead bodies turning up, too! It was kind of funny to picture this plucky little lady trying to track down a killer with her baby and all of her baby gear in tow!
For I don't thinks I will continue with the series, the future will tell. ( )

Definitely not my favourite cozy mystery series - there was a lot of internal dialogue that I did not enjoy. I did like her lists, I thought those were cute and funny - I thought some parts were funny and entertaining but a lot of it was just .. blah, like why is this necessary, why are we repeating this again, why is this happening - but the end was good and fun

I called a lot of the book but it was still fun toward the end to read and the very end - I also called but it was still absolutely joyful to read.

Reading the struggle of a new mother was fun too - it was an interesting take on a mystery trying to be a PI or solving a mystery while literally taking care of a brand spankin new baby and separation anxiety .. ( )