Review: Random Acts of Murder by Christy Barritt

Random Acts of Murder by Christy Barritt

Book Description:

When Holly Anna Paladin is given a year to live, she embraces her final days doing what she loves most—random acts of kindness. But one of her extreme good deeds goes horribly wrong, implicating Holly in a string of murders. Holly is suddenly in a different kind of fight for her life.

Only two other people know Holly was at the site of the murder, and one of them is the killer. Making matters stickier is the fact that the detective assigned to the case is her old high school crush and present day nemesis.

The clock is ticking as Holly is forced to play a dangerous game. Will Holly find the killer before he ruins what’s left of her life? Or will she spend her final days alone and behind bars?

Review:

I recently discovered Christy Barritt's Squeaky Clean Mystery Series. I haven't been able to get my hands on very many in the series yet, but Barritt writes such an entertaining story that I jumped at the chance to read her Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries.

I was intrigued by Holly Anna's story from the first page. When she is given less than a year to live, she decides she wants to do good with the time she has left. Her method of performing random acts of service is definitely odd (and illegal in the instance we find her in at the beginning of the book), but she really does have the best intentions. She bites off way more than she can chew and finds her life in danger.

Holly Anna is a great character. Not only does she have a good heart (even before her diagnosis she was making a difference as a social worker), but she's also likeable in her uniqueness. She likes to wear vintage dresses and drives a '64 1/2 Mustang. She is very close to her family and is an optimist. She comes across as a good, moral person, although a big dilemma in this story is not being honest about what she found. It's a tough situation because she's not fessing up in an effort to save the problems it would cause her high profile family.

The tension between Holly Anna and Detective Dexter (her old high school crush) really added a lot to the story too. This was a great ride. If you enjoy clean mysteries, definitely try Christy Barritt's books.

About the Author:

Christy Barritt is an author, freelance writer and speaker who lives in Virginia. She’s married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy’s a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado. She’s only won one contest in her life—and her prize was kissing a pig (okay, okay… actually she did win the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery also). Her current claim to fame is showing off her mother, who looks just like former First Lady Barbara Bush.

When she’s not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident prone she is.

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Title: Random Acts of Murder
Author: Christy Barritt
Publisher: River Heights
Published: June 30, 2014
ASIN: B00LGNDJBM
Source: I purchased an eCopy as part of Fatal 5: Novels of Mystery and Suspense

Purchase: Amazon | Kindle