Dead in the Alley
by Sharon Michalove
July 18 - August 12, 2022 Virtual Book Tour
When Bay Bishop’s husband was found in the alley behind their Northern Michigan restaurant, she lost not only the partner in her dreams of establishing the best fine-dining establishment in the area but the man she thought was the love of her life.
Now she’s a suspect.
The detective who shows up on her doorstep turns out to be the high-school boyfriend who broke her heart. Faced with uncomfortable truths and new beginnings, Bay must chart a course to prove her innocence and create a new future.
SHARON MICHALOVE writes romantic suspense and is the author of At First Sight and At the Crossroads in the Global Security Unlimited series. Dead in the Alley is her first traditional mystery.
Book Details:
Genre: Traditional Mystery Published by: Indie Published Publication Date: August 10, 2022 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 978-1-7369187-4-6 Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads
My Thoughts:
Opening with the tragic loss of Bay's husband, I was anxious to see where this novel would take us in regard to the mystery side of things. The small town aspect helps amplify the mystery within and isn't overly heavy. At times, I did feel there was a lot of over-explaining when it came to the details and it would deflect from the storyline. I had to go back and re-read a few portions as the depth of detail would have me losing my focus.
I felt like the characters were relatable and realistically flawed. The relationship between Bay and Gray, as well as Bay with her family, took precedence over the mystery. I would have liked to see these be more intertwined, but ultimately, they were aligned with the plot.
I love a second chance romance and thought that Bay and Greg found that they still had chemistry burning. It seemed a little quick and odd considering she was a suspect at one point (possibly pushing that boundary of professionalism), but added a sweet note to the mystery.
If you love a mystery that focus more on the relationships behind it, this is a good read. Even though I felt like a lot of the narrative could've been eliminated, this made for a comfy, in-depth read on a long, rainy day!
I received a complimentary copy for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
About the Author:
Sharon Michalove grew up in suburban Chicago. She received four degrees from the University of Illinois because she didn't have the gumption to go anywhere else, and spent most of her career at the university, eventually earning a PhD, working in departmental administration, publishing and libraries. Her specialties are 15th-16th century European history, polar exploration, and food history. She may be one of the few people in America to never live outside her home state.
In graduate school, she met and married the love of her life. They shared a love of music, theater, travel and cats. He died in 2013.
Sharon also loves hockey, reading, cooking, writing, and various less elevated activities like eating cookies and sampling gins and single malts. After spending most of her life in a medium-sized university town she moved back to Chicago in 2017 so she could go to more Blackhawks games and spend quality time at Eataly. In 2021 she accomplished a lifetime goal by publishing her first novel. Unfortunately her other lifetime goal, to be English, is likely to remain unfulfilled.
Catch Up With Sharon Michalove: www.SharonMichalove.com Goodreads BookBub - @sdmichalove Instagram - @sdmichaloveauthor Twitter - @sdmichalove Facebook - @sharonmichalove
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Dead in the Alley by Sharon Michalove. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.