Carrie Schmidt's Reviews > Murder at the Painted Wings Cafe: A Seneca James Mystery

4.5 stars

I became a fan of Seneca James, author Ruth J. Hartman’s latest cozy mystery protagonist, in the first book of this series, Butterfly Betrayal. So I was eager to hang out with her again – and sleuth alongside her – in Murder at the Painted Wings Cafe!

Seneca’s butterfly farm attracts tourists and hungry patrons… and also dead bodies, much to her dismay. In this case, the victim is an odious man who dares to rudely pick a fight with Seneca’s sweet cousin Evie shortly before his untimely demise. Fortunately, local sheriff (and Seneca’s best friend) Cody doesn’t think Evie is guilty, but Seneca isn’t taking any chances and decides this case needs to be solved sooner rather than later. Enter a cast of quirky supporting characters who had me laughing nearly from beginning to end. In fact, I was making a list of my favorite giggle-inducing scenes to mention in my review and finally gave up because the list was getting too long. (Okay, so the library scene was my favorite. Or maybe it was the inebriated castle stormers. Oh! Or maybe her conversations with the hardware store owner or with Johnny or … well, you see what I mean.) Basically, it’s barely-controlled chaos, fueled by small town gossip, and I loved every minute of it. Several of those eclectic characters do double duty as plausible suspects with believable motives too, and I kept changing my mind as to who I thought ‘done it’. I like being surprised in a mystery, and Murder at the Painted Wings Cafe did exactly that in its big reveal.

Bottom Line: Murder at the Painted Wings Cafe by Ruth J. Hartman is a lot of fun to read, with a town full of colorful characters who contribute hilarity, emotion, and motive to this entertaining story. The author skillfully uses a heap of red herrings mixed among the legitimate clues to craft a clever and layered plot, and I continue to enjoy spending time with Seneca and her costume-wearing cat Winifred in the process. BFF Sheriff Cody would make a marvelous romantic lead, in my opinion, and this book’s gossip about their near-miss kiss in the last book had me chuckling often. I still think there’s something simmering between Cody & Seneca, and I will keep following this series to watch where their relationship goes, but it stays in the background enough to appease mystery purists. This is another delightful visit to Seneca’s butterfly farm & cafe, and I look forward to the next one!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

first reviewed at Reading Is My SuperPower