3.75 Stars. I thought this was a fun debut. It’s not a perfect read, it had a few issues, but it was really entertaining and exactly the kind of book I needed. For the past week I have had a house full of family company, including an eight month old baby. I love my extended family but they are loud and a bit messy so it has been a whirlwind with no quiet time for me to read. The reason I bring this up is a week without reading could be why I found this book so appealing. It was like finding a glass of water in the desert, so your mileage may vary slightly.

While this is a crime/mystery romance the crime part is not too heavy. I actually don’t think you have to be a mystery fan to enjoy this. There is just enough excitement and mystery to keep you turning the pages, but it never gets too dark or heavy. I liked that I didn’t guess who the “bad guy/girl” was. I had an idea, but I ended up being way off, so I appreciate that Stiling didn’t make it too easy to figure out.

When it came to the main characters I had fun with them. You have a really likeable and sweet Chief of Police in Micki and you have an ice queen Town Manager named Savannah. Savannah is an ice queen to say the least. I almost worried Stiling was going a little too far with her character, but it did give the characters this intense sexual love/hate chemistry in a few scenes. I did think the characters fell out of the “hate” into the “like” period a little quickly, but I think that is something that Stiling will get better at as she becomes a more seasoned author.

Overall, I thought this was a good, entertaining read. It has a few bumps, but it is a very readable and enjoyable debut. I would not hesitate to read Stiling again in the future.

Great story, very well written for a debut. (If this isn't a pen name which I'm seeing more often) but I digress.

These characters are like chalk-and-cheese, although that's not entirely true. Savannah comes across as closed off, but Micki sees right through her.

Micki, is a likable character. Savannah, you'll either love or hate, or hate to love. I'm not a fan of bitchy 0ff-handed conflict, so she rubbed me the wrong way for the better part of the story. I also found her parenting skills questionable. Sure, it was sweet that Micki went to her daughter. But I would think most parents would run to their terrified child, not send someone else. Officer of the law or not.

Speaking of questionable, I found it highly odd/unethical, not only how, but how soon, Micki ended up in Savannahs bed.

The mystery - To me it was so clear who the villain was from very early on. Or so I thought, how very wrong was? I Loved that.

My quibbles aside, which truly are minor, this was an enjoyable story. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, and I would definitely read more by Stiling.

FOOTNOTE - I've tagged this story as bisexual due to Savannah being bi, therefore, some of the suspects are male ex's. But rest assured the story is lesbian fiction.

This book has been a bit odd. The story is a mystery with a romance, involving Savannah, the mayor or something similar, of a small town with Micki, the police chief of the same small town. Savannah is mean with many and a bit commanding in the worst way of the word, so she is a character difficult to like. She has a daughter, Eliana, cute and smart, so different from her oddly. And to top it all, she treats Micki very badly, using her power to diminish Micki's efforts in her new position as police chief. So they are a bit antagonistic at first, but Micki always is on the good side and Savannah in the not so good one. And when mysteriously Savannah starts receiving notes and objects a bit scary, all her nastiness and disrespect toward Micki suddenly disappears.

The oddness go on with the way which Mickey tries to resolve the mystery and her level of implication, too much personal after Savannah behavior, not make much sense.

And by the end of the book, when all is resolving,  the reasons they disliked each other seem nonsensical, too. And poor Eliana disappears from the story.

I think this story had more potential and I do not think it is well resolved. But despite this, it is an entertaining read.

4.5 stars - Excellent Debut Novel

This was a unexpected but very pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed this book. Overall, this is light read - not a hard core or bloody mystery/crime drama or an angst-ridden romance - but Stiling manages to balance the mystery and the romance quite well to make it a great book to while away (wile away) a dreary afternoon.

The mystery was plausible without going over the top - there's something just inherently creepy about stalkers and Stiling used it well to stir up the suspense. She also managed to include a decent set of suspects, alibis and red herrings to keep me guessing. Best of all, she didn't include the big bad's POV - I hate it when a book includes the bad guy/gal's POV in the narration - it ruins the flow and, honestly, it always seems cheesy to try to explain or demonstrate how batshit crazy they are.

The dynamic between Micki and Savannah worked particularly well - gotta love the ice queen melts trope - with a great chemistry and some amusing dialogue. The love/hate dynamic works well in place of the "instalove" you sometimes find in lesfic novels - the idea that the attraction was there, but masked by the sniping/one-upmanship of the MCs. Both characters were engaging and believable and the evolution of their relationship worked. Even the secondary characters seemed three dimensional.

I'm surprised this is Stiling's first novel and I will be looking for her next one.

By the way - I do agree with the stalker, asparagus is better when it's steamed.