Saturday, June 11, 2011

Driven to Ink by Karen E. Olson

#3 Tattoo Shop Mystery
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 299
Challenges: off the Shelf, Cruisin' through the cozies
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5


Simple Description: 
Brett's day was off to a great start, until she found a dead body in her car's trunk.  Something like that will put a damper on anybody's day.  The worst part of it is that she had lent her car to Sylvia Colman for her drive-thru wedding.  Did Sylvia and her new husband have something to do with this?  Why is a tattoo cord around the dead man's neck?  And why is a cord missing from her tattoo shop?

While Brett doesn't really want to get into trouble with the cops she also can't help asking questions and looking for answers.  She knows Sylvia couldn't have killed the man but it does look like she's involved somehow.   In searching for answers Brett spends a lot of time with Jeff, Sylvia's son and rival tattoo artist. Is it possible Jeff isn't as bad as Brett thinks he is?

My Thoughts: 
This is book #3 in the series and I'm really looking forward to book #4 (which has already found a place in my library).   This series quickly became one of my favorites, starting as early as book 1.  I enjoy Brett's character.  She realizes she shouldn't be digging for info and investigating things on her own but at the same time she knows she wants to know what's going on.  I do like that she involves her brother, a cop, and let's him know what she finds.  He's never happy with her, but he doesn't ignore what she has found.

I like there there was more interaction between her and Jeff and that we learned more about Jeff.  I think he's a great secondary character.

I personally love tattoo's, so the fact that tattoo's are a part of this story is something else that keeps my interest.  I think those who don't have tattoo's and don't necessary like them could enjoy this series.  But I think those who are intrigued will find the tattoo part an extra, fun, perk to the stories.

3 comments:

Marce said...

I love tattoos and look forward to starting this series, I have the first on my Wishlist, i'm sure I will get to this year.

bermudaonion said...

I don't have tattoos, but still think this sounds like a fun series.

Unknown said...

Marce - as a tattoo lover I think you'll get a kick out of that aspect. I can't wait to hear your thoughts when you do read it.

Bermudaonion - I think you'll enjoy it, even if you don't have tattoo's. It's a fun series.