Review of "Seeing Red: A Red Herring Mystery" by Dana Dratch

In this 2nd book in the 'Red Herring Mystery Series', red-haired journalist Alex Vlodnachek - whose brother is a baker - has a lot on her plate.....and it's not just pastries. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****



Alex Vlodnachek is a free lance journalist who lives in Fordham, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Other members of Alex's household are her brother Nick - who's recovering from heartache and starting a bakery business and Lucy - a sweet puppy who was rescued from the streets.





Since going free-lance Alex has been making ends meet by writing exposés about local affairs - a job that often leads to trouble. Moreover, Alex has now agreed to be the advice columnist dubbed 'Aunt Margie', while the regular writer is off for six weeks. Aunt Margie is a fount of wisdom, and Alex muses: "Whether you were a teenager with a crush on your mom's hot best friend or a grandma who secretly hated one of your grown kids, everybody wanted commonsense coaching from Aunt Margie."

As the story opens, Alex is attending a party at the 'Cotswold Inn' - a B&B across the street from her house.



Owned by a handsome British gent called Ian Sterling, the Cotswold Inn regularly hosts tourists as well as big shots from the capitol who want a quiet place to rest. Ian is assisted by his father (and business partner) Harkins, a man with a colorful past.

At Ian's party Alex hears about strange goings on at the inn, including sounds of a ghost baby crying; plumbing problems; electrical mishaps; and more. These occurrences are nothing, though, compared to what Alex herself finds at the inn over the next few days - including stolen artworks and dead bodies.

Before any of that happens, though - on the morning after the party - Alex finds a live baby on her kitchen counter, with a couple of diapers, a few bottles, and no note.



Alex and her brother decide not to call the police, thinking they'll take care of the child while they search for the mother. Nick promptly dubs the infant James Bond Vlodnachek (JB), and the house soon gets filled with baby paraphernalia, including diapers, formula, clothing, and a crib.

Because of everything that's going on, Alex's small home becomes crowded with people. Grandma Baba is recruited to help with little JB; the 'real' Aunt Margie - a disheveled, middle-aged man named Marty, who's recovering from surgery - arrives to get away from a pushy niece; and Alex's fashionista mom shows up - but lack of space relegates her to a bed in the Cotswold Inn. All this leads to fun and mayhem, especially when Baba mistakes Marty for an intruder.



The hullaballoo at Alex's house, plus her strange discoveries, make the journalist nervous - especially when murder occurs at the B&B.....and bodies disappear.

It turns out there are several mysteries afoot, and the plot gets a tad complicated. In between villainous goings on, though, there are light scenes: everyone pitching in to care for JB; Nick baking and selling cakes and cookies; Lucy getting walked, scarfing snacks, and going to the doggie park; romantic tingles between Alex and Ian; and more.

This is an engaging cozy, but requires a huge suspension of disbelief. The average person - if they found a baby, stolen art, and two dead bodies - would call the police. Not Alex! She's going to investigate everything herself - with a little help from Trip, her best friend and former editor.

In the course of her inquiries Alex makes some startling discoveries and puts her own life in danger.....but she discovers everything in the end.

I liked the book and got a kick out of the entertaining characters. I'd recommend the novel to fans of cozy mysteries.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Dana Dratch), and the publisher (Kensington) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars