Bowled Over by Victoria Hamilton

Blurb: Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two.

With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton…

My Review: The first book in this series, A Deadly Grind, was one of my favorite debuts of 2012. (See my review here.) This one is even better.

On the 4th of July, Jaymie brings potato salad in a vintage depression glass bowl for the fireworks celebration. It's her latest acquisition and she's always excited to "break in" new pieces. Little does she know it's about to be smashed into pieces...used as a murder weapon against Kathy Cooper, Jaymie's best friend in high school turned bitter enemy, even though Jaymie never knew what soured their relationship.

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Jaymie decides to clear her name and at the same time hopes to discover what destroyed their friendship so many years ago. She ends up discovering many twisted relationships and a wealth of possible suspects: the sister she was having a custody battle with, a cheating husband, the former classmate arrested after being the last person seen with the bowl. Just when I thought I had the killer figured out, there was another twist or turn that took the story into another direction completely. The final revelation of the killer I never saw coming; that to me is a great mystery!

In Jaymie's personal life, she and Daniel reach an understanding about their relationship, but I think she has much more chemistry with Detective Christian, so I'm very eager to see how this possible triangle plays out. She reaches some closure in regards to her fractured friendship with Kathy, but is nonetheless heartbroken by the lie that came between them.

I'm already anxiously awaiting the third book in this wonderful series, Freezer I'll Shoot (due in November) and Victoria Hamilton's brand new series, Bran New Death (A Merry Muffin Mystery), due in September!

A received a copy of this book from the publisher with the request for a review.

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