3 and 1 / 2 stars

PI Jordan Lacey takes on a case of plant murder. Someone is poisoning Samuel Steel’s prize garden. This rather mundane task turns deadly when Samuel’s wife turns up dead.

George the Jester enters the picture and creates havoc in his inimical style. He claims that he is being stalked by some woman. He doesn’t know her name or who she is, but she’s definitely stalking him. Jordan takes him a little more seriously when he is found hanging in his dressing room. Jordan now has two cases and two murders on her hands.

Along the way, Jordan has all kinds of guys falling all over her, but she resists them for she is enamored with a certain DI James who doesn’t know that she’s even alive.

There is definitely a certain degree of comic relief in this book. It is fairly well written and plotted, except at one point where the book loses its way. The characters are likeable, if a little insipid – at least as far as Jordan is concerned. This is my first Stella Whitelaw book, and I’ll certainly look into her other novels.

I want to thank Netgalley and Endeavour Press for forwarding to me a copy of this cozy little book to read.

Too slow moving and detailed for my interests. It was a bit confusing also.

Even though I generally read dark books, I also love cozies. They're a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Jest and Die was the perfect example of this. It's a murder mystery that begins with a comical premise. Someone is poisoning Mr. Steel's garden, so he hires P.I. Jordan Lacey to investigate.

Things spiral downhill from there as Jordan has many mishaps in trying to figure out who the culprit is. Then entertainer George the Jester enters the picture, bringing further chaos. This book is simply fun. The sea coast setting is also great, and now I wish I could travel to England to visit there.

Jordan is a terrific main character. She's funny and smart and able to get out of a tight situation by using her wits. Unfortunately, she is a bit of a Mary Sue with every man she meets falling all over her. The notable exception to this is D.I. James who remains glacially distant while Jordan moons over him from afar.

I hadn't realized that this book was part of a series, nor did I know that it was a re-issue of an older book. I'm not sure that I would have picked it up had I known these things, but I was able to follow along for the most part.

The one thing that prevented a full five-star rating was a very strange turn of events in the middle of the book. A major character has a tragic accident. This comes out of nowhere and is never fully explained. For about three pages, everyone is devastated, then its back to business as usual. I was really put off by that. I found myself searching the first part of the book for clues as to what on earth had happened! While this didn't spoil the book, it did make me shake my head.

Otherwise, Jest and Die is an extremely fun book, and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy a good, cozy mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and Endeavor Press for the review copy.