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BOOK INFO
Title: The Body in the Wetlands
Author: Judi Lynn
Publisher: Lyrical Underground
Publish Date: April 23, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: jazzi Zanders Mystery #2
My Rating: 3/5
BOOK BLURB
High summer in River Bluffs, Indiana, turns chilly when house flipper Jazzi Zanders has to catch a killer while hammering nails and stripping paint.
When established house flippers Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod donate a week’s worth of remodeling work to Jazzi’s sister Olivia, they’re expecting nothing more than back-breaking roofing work and cold beers at the end of each long, hot day. With Jazzi’s live-in boyfriend and partner Ansel on the team, it promises to be a quick break before starting their next big project—until Leo, an elderly neighbor of Olivia’s, unexpectedly goes missing . . .
When the friendly senior’s dog tugs Jazzi and the guys toward the wetlands beyond Olivia’s neighborhood, they stumble across a decomposing corpse—and a lot of questions. With Jazzi’s pal Detective Gaff along to investigate, Jazzi finds her hands full of a whole new mystery instead of the usual hammer and nails. And this time it will take some sophisticated sleuthing to track down the culprit of the deadly crime—before the killer turns on her next . . .
MY REVIEW
The Body in the Wetlands is the second book in A Jazzi Zanders Mystery series by Judi Lynn. Jazzi and her cousin Jerod are house flippers. Also on their work crew is Ansel, Jazzi’s boyfriend. Besides working on houses, Jazzi has a knack for stumbling into mysteries. In this book, Jazzi and crew are working on her sister’s house. They meet an elderly neighbor, who soon goes missing. When Jazzi helps look for him, she stumbles across a corpse.
I started reading this book and then realized it was book 2 in the series. So, I hopped on Amazon and got the Kindle version of the first one. These are quick reads, so I was able to read the first one fast and then go back to this book. I’m glad I read The Body in the Attic first, as it did allow me to have more background on the characters. That said, The Body in the Wetlands can be read as a standalone.
The mystery in this book starts with a missing elderly man. That soon leads to the discovery of two dead bodies. So, not only does Jazzi want to find the missing man, but now she’s looking for a killer. Jazzi doesn’t sleuth on her own, she is friendly with a detective who keeps her up-to-date on the cases and even brings her along when talking with witness and suspects. So, yeah, a little far-fetched.
This is a cozy mystery with romance and humor. I like Jazzi’s family and the house flipping aspect of the series. Personally, I don’t like Jazzi’s boyfriend Ansel. Or, maybe I don’t like Jazzi with Ansel. She’s mostly a strong character, but with Ansel, she’s weak and insecure.
A light and fun read for fans of cozy mysteries. The mystery is solid and has enough to keep the reader guessing.
Books in the Jazzi Zanders Mystery Series:
- The Body in the Attic
- The Body in the Wetlands
- The Body in the Gravel
- The Body in the Apartment
- The Body from the Past
- The Body in the Beauty Parlor
- The Body in the Trench
- The Body in the Buick
- The Body in the Wheelbarrow
- The Body in Someone Else’s Bed
Great review Darina. Thanks for recommendation of reading the first one before this one, I will do that. Maybe Jazzi will get a clue and leave Ansel in the next book, who knows.
Thanks, Carla! Other readers enjoy Ansel more than me, so I imagine he’ll be sticking around. Hope you enjoy the series if you get the chance to read it. 😀
I hope to for sure.
Light and fun is nice at times!
Yes! That’s why I enjoy cozy mysteries. 💜
Thanks so much for featuring my book. I started out writing cozy mysteries when the market was glutted and no one would buy them. Great timing on my part:) But I still loved them. It’s been wonderful to be able to get back to them.