Review: Nearly Dead in Iowa by Wendy Byrne

Synopsis

Manhattan socialite Isabella "Izzy" Lewis is in desperate need of a fresh start. Ending up on the wrong side of a nasty divorce, jobless, and pretty much homeless, she’s hit rock bottom. So when the father she never knew asks her to visit him in Iowa, she figures she has nothing more to lose—until she arrives at his home and promptly stumbles (literally) over a dead body.

Now her missing father is murder suspect number one, and Izzy's in the cross hairs of the local sheriff who’s convinced she’s somehow involved. After being reluctantly adopted by a local group of Jessica Fletcher wannabes, Izzy resolves to find her missing father and the killer. A job that proves harder than she thought as she juggles running down clues to the killer's identity, her hot but suspicious new next door neighbour, keeping the sleuthing senior citizens out of trouble, and above all, going at least one day without being nearly dead in Iowa.

Review

It’s a very intriguing story which kept me on my toes from the very beginning until the end. I loved all the characters, even side characters are amazing. It all starts when Izzy comes to visit her father in Iowa. She is recently divorced and looking for a place to start over. When her father contacts her out of the blue it seems befitting. What she doesn’t imagine is finding a dead body and treated like a suspect by small town Sheriff and his friend. This is a very unique and disturbing situation for her but she can’t go back, firstly because there is nothing for her to go back to and secondly because her father is still missing and may be even dead for all anyone knows. So she decided to stay in quaint little town in Iowa. Soon she is dismissed and her father becomes most likely suspect in murder investigation of his best friend. Izzy can’t let police find her father before she does. She is sure that her father is not involved in the murder and with the help of local ladies she decides to do some investigating on her own. Soon she finds herself in danger but refuses to back off. Someone is very scared that she will uncover the truth. The more time she spends in this small town the more she likes it. But first she needs to get to know more about her father. She is looking forward to meet him. Her father’s neighbour decides to keep an eye on her since she is an outsider and who knows what she is up to. Soon they start spending time together and there is chemistry between the two. Unfortunately, they always end up arguing which makes it a little difficult to act upon their mutual attraction. I loved the mystery and the drama, this was one fun read. There were many laugh-out-loud moments and some amazing scenes which I re-read many times. I just enjoyed taking my time reading this book. It was interesting and I wanted to take everything in. It made my favourites shelf.