Sex, Murder and a Double Latte – Kyra Davis

    When a mystery writer cries bloody murder, everyone blames her overactive imagination . . .
    Thriller scribe Sophie Katz is as hard-boiled as a woman who drinks Grande Caramel Brownie Frappuccinos can be. So Sophie knows it's not paranoia or post-divorce, living-alone-again jitters, when she becomes convinced that a crazed reader is sneaking into her apartment to reenact scenes from her books. The police, however, can't tell a good plot from an unmarked grave.
    When a filmmaker friend is brutally murdered in the manner of a death scene in one of his movies, Sophie becomes convinced that a copycat killer is on the loose -- and that she's the next target. If she doesn't solve the mystery, her own bestseller will spell out her doom. Cursing her grisly imagination (why, oh, why did she have to pick the ax?), Sophie engages in some real-life gumshoe tactics. The man who swoops in to save her in dark alleys is mysterious new love interest Anatoly Darinsky. Of course, if this were fiction, Anatoly would be her prime suspect . . .

Breaking It Down Further: Murder mystery writer Sophie Katz just finished her latest novel (early for once) and is happy as a clam… Until a string of unusual events makes her feel like her privacy and maybe her life is at stake. After her apartment is broken into and her car is vandalized, Sophie can’t help but feel a little uneasy… And even more uneasy when she makes the connection that all of the creepy coincidences piling up are taken directly out of her best seller Sex, Drugs, and Murder. Soon it moves beyond creepy and into murderous. Can Sophie solve the mystery of the murderer before she ends up as the victim of a crime she herself designed?

So upon finishing, I have to say the end pushed me towards liking the book more. Thoughout the beginning and middle of the book, I felt like it was a little too fluffy for me. Sophie was likable enough, but there were too many “stereotypical” characters (gay best friend/hairdresser, best friend who owns a sex shop, best friend who’s a total “dumb blonde” type, overbearing Jewish mother, sister with a bratty kid). It just seemed like there were too many characters and not enough realness (is that a word?) in each person. Granted it’s supposed to be a lighter and more humorous piece, but I like a book where there are more real people with some token characters peppered in to be the ones who are over the top. As for the mystery, again through the beginning and middle I was almost disappointed. It seemed too easy. But then once I got really close to the end, it got really interesting! I thought I knew who Sophie’s stalker/soon-to-be-killer was, and then things get switched around again. So good job on that change, otherwise I may have had a very different opinion of this book! ALSO — A major thing which I can’t believe I almost forgot to include in my review! Even after reading, I’m still not sure if I think book-about-an-author’s-book was too easy to come up with and or a well-thought out and clever little idea. Really still not sure how I feel about it.

3.5/5 stars
It was enjoyable, lots of silly moments and crazy characters, but just a little to overdone for me. The mystery was drawn out enough and Sophie did some good investigation, but I just didn’t feel like I’d come back to a second book.