I loved the two main characters in Amanda Flower’s first Piper & Porter mystery, Dead-End Detective. And, I like a cozy mystery that features a detective agency. It’s not quite as cozy as some books. Best of all, it took me forever to figure out who was the killer, although there was a growing suspicion before the ah ha moment. Two terrific leads, plus two terrific cats. Does it get much better for readers of cozy mysteries?

Darby Piper returns from her morning run, running a little late because of a cat, to find her business partner, Samantha Porter, escorting the owner of Lake Waters Retreat from their office. Darby has always viewed Samantha as a friend, and mentor, so she’s stunned when Samantha tells her she’s leaving Two Girls Detective Agency to be Head of Security at Lake Waters. What will happen to Darby, who’s the junior partner with only a 40% share in the business and an apartment above the business? It’s not a comfortable confrontation between the two women.

When Darby’s ex-boyfriend, Police Office Austin Caster, wakes her early the next morning, it’s to tell her Samantha is dead. Where was Darby during the night? It doesn’t take long for Darby to realize she’s the number one suspect. She argued with Samantha. She inherits the business. And, Samantha was run off the road by a car, probably the white car that is missing from Darby’s garage. Even she thinks she should be the primary suspect.

But, Darby doesn’t inherit the business. She’s shocked to learn Samantha left her share to Tate Porter, her nephew. Tate’s a veteran, a world traveler who never settled down. When he shows up in town the day after Samantha’s death, Darby is suspicious. Where was Tate when his aunt was killed?

But, if Tate can get past his suspicion of Darby, she needs to try to do the same. He’s willing to work with her to investigate Samantha’s murder. The more they dig, the more Darby fears she didn’t know Samantha as well as she thought. Samantha became a private investigator to look into her father’s murder when she was young. Did Samantha learn something that led to her own murder? Was she closing the business because she was on a trail that was too personal to share ?

I loved the humor in the book. Darby, the daughter of a librarian, holds Tate “at bookpoint” when she unexpectedly finds him on a couch. But, it’s the two cats, Romy and Gumshoe, who are the distractions. Romy is a neighbor’s cat that Darby rescues repeatedly from a tree, and, then Tate has to rescue him. Gumshoe is Darby’s Ragdoll with a slight attitude.  But, they’re cats. Not magical or talking or detective cats, just cats.

Darby and Tate make an interesting pair of detectives. The two characters in their thirties bring their own flaws and baggage to their partnership. Tate’s are a result of his years at war. Darby’s might be owed to her years training as a dancer, and her long history with her ex-boyfriend.

Dead-End Detective has so much potential because of those two characters. I’m wishing Amanda Flower good luck with this series. And, I wish the second mystery was already available.

Amanda Flower’s website is www.amandaflower.com

Dead-End Detective by Amanda Flower. Hallmark, 2020. ISBN 9781947892798 (paperback), 328p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .pdf to review for a journal.