Terry Ambrose

Home of Mysteries with Character

Review of Back Stabbers by Julie Mulhern

By

From the publisher of Back Stabbers

All Ellison Russell wanted was an update on her stock portfolio. Instead, she found her broker dead.

With an unexpected out-of-town guest at her house, Ellison is too busy for a murder investigation. Only this time, Detective Anarchy Jones wants her help, and she can’t deny the handsome detective. Can Mr. Coffee supply her with enough caffeine to keep her brain sharp and everyone else happy?

Juggling bodies (one, two, three, four), two-faced friends, her social calendar, and a cat (yes, a cat) is taxing but Mother might be the biggest challenge of all.

With a killer drawing closer, can Ellison put together the pieces or will she be the one getting stabbed in the back?

My review

This cute cozy is filled with humor, twists-and-turns, and a look back to seventies high society. It’s a fun read with crisp dialogue and quirky characters. I especially liked the scene in which there is a literal cat-and-dog fight that results in plenty of mayhem. I don’t want to spoil the surprise of where the cat winds up, but it had me laughing out loud.

The identity if the killer isn’t clear until the end thanks to red herrings and some deft plotting. Relationships between the characters feel real—even when they’re the deliberately contrived relationships of people who mix socially but dislike each other. This creates some delicious backbiting which we, as readers, get to enjoy.

Book & a Latte Contest

What: This month, Julie is giving away one e-book copy of “Back Stabbers” and I’m adding a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. One random entry will be chosen as the winner. The winner will receive a book and a gift card.

How to enter: Choose one or more of the options below. Each option gives you an additional chance to win.

Who can enter: This contest is only open to anyone over 18 years of age.

Winners: Selected winners must claim prizes within 72 hours of notification. Verification of entries: All winning entries are subject to verification.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Terry

I started out as a skip tracer. Just in case you don’t know, that’s the guy who finds the people who don’t want to be found. It was the little things—getting paid to lie—that made skip tracing the fun part of the job.

Those years of chasing deadbeats taught me many valuable life lessons, such as liars come from all walks of life, and always keep your car in the garage.

Find me on: Amazon Bookbub Instagram Facebook

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ROBIN COXON says

    I love this series and the fact it involves a 10 year old girl who is a very good sleuth. Terry Ambrose you have knocked this series out of the park.

  4. san says

    I am intrigued by the fact that you were a skip tracer… Just the idea of there are enough people not wanting to be found that make the occupation necessary – that’s quite a thought. Perhaps I will use that as a writing prompt: list five reasons why a person might not want to be found; choose one and write for 15 minutes about it. I think I will…

    • Terry says

      Hey San, have fun with the writing prompt. There are plenty of reasons — from the innocent to the very sinister!

  5. Kai W. says

    Love the review. Sounds like a great mystery to read.Love the review. Sounds like a great mystery to read.

  15. Sally Schmidt says

    Having trouble getting the comment to save. This is such a cute series, and I love this cover with the knife. Thanks for the giveaway.

  21. Myra Ball says

    My favorite books are the laugh out loud. This books seems right up my genre. I wish you add included a link to Amazon but I looked up the series. I wish they were on KU but a may still check out the Country Club Murders series. I like nice long series and Julie Mulhern is a new author to me.