Book Review and GIVEAWAY: One of Us is Dead, by Jeneva Rose {ends 5/11}

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

CRYSTAL

I held the glass ever so gently, careful not to mess up my freshly done manicure. I went for a soft-pink color – no acrylics, no fancy designs or bold colors. Just something simple and practical. I raised the mimosa to my lips and took a long drink, while one of the manicurists worked on my other hand.

So far, so good. We made it past the first potential blowup. I thought for sure Keisha was going to throw Olivia out, but thank Jesus for Karen stepping in. Keisha and Olivia both have strong personalities – who knows what would have happened? I had no idea Olivia manipulated this event. It was completely out of line as Glow is Jenny’s salon, and she should have asked Jenny first. However, in a way, I could see where Oliva was coming from. Maybe she genuinely wanted it to be just as girls. Maybe she wanted to open up about what was all going on with her and Dean. It wasn’t the best way to do it, but I think her intentions were good…at least I hoped so.

Talk about frenemies! This small group are all grown women, and they fill the roles of each others’ best friends and worst enemies at exactly the same time.

Official synopsis:

Meet the women of Buckhead—a place of expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships.

Shannon was once the queen bee of Buckhead. But she’s been unceremoniously dumped by Bryce, her politician husband. When Bryce replaces her with a much younger woman, Shannon sets out to take revenge …

Crystal has stepped into Shannon’s old shoes. A young, innocent Texan girl, she simply has no idea what she’s up against …

Olivia has waited years to take Shannon’s crown as the unofficial queen of Buckhead. Finally, her moment has come. But to take her rightful place, she will need to use every backstabbing, manipulative, underhand trick in the book …

Jenny owns Glow, the most exclusive salon in town. Jenny knows all her clients’ secrets and darkest desires. But will she ever tell?

Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead—and who will wind up dead?

They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly.

The whole story is told in alternating chapters that jump between the characters leading up to the death, and with chapters of Jenny telling the police detective the whole story in between. Whom is actually dead is not revealed until nearly the end of the book. Most of the characters were loved or hated at different points of the story.

Shannon has been replaced in the heart (and home) of the politician by Crystal, a former bartender who was first his mistress before marrying him and trying to fill the large role Shannon had played in the community before being unexpectedly replaced.

Olivia definitely fancies herself the biggest puppeteer in Buckhead. She tells how she has made each of the women who they are, and how she plans to manipulate them next. Even the men associated with each woman play a role in the story, and how everyone expects it to go.

Overall, I gave this quirky mystery 3 out of 5 stars. I liked the writing style, although I did have to flip back to the beginning of a chapter a few times to remind myself of whose story I was in right then. It was a quick read with a "right" ending, in my opinion. 

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Becki Bayley is a wife and mom who mostly minds her own business, but doesn’t mind hearing vicariously of the entertaining drama of others. She blogs at sweetlybsquared.com.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of One of Us is Dead!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, May 11th, at 11:59pm ET, and winner will be contacted via email the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

One of Us is Dead, by Jeneva Rose