BOOK REVIEW: All that Shimmers by Diane Bator
‘Glitter Bay’s a pretty safe town’ – then POW! A fine cozy mystery unfolds
Canadian author Diane Bator writes mystery novels, as her list of publications confirms: Wild Blue Mysteries, Gilda Wright Mysteries, Audra Clemmings Mysteries, and the Glitter Bay Mysteries, of which ALL THAT SHIMMERS is the third volume. She is a Book Coach, and a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, the Writers’ Union of Canada, and The Writers’ Community of York Region. In other words, she has found success for her cozy mysteries, one strong reason being her style of writing, offering her principle character Laken in conversation with the reader as the story opens, an immediate involvement in her rising mystery.
Diane has condensed the plot – ‘When Laken Miller moves into the apartment above Vintage Sage, it seems all of Glitter Bay goes crazy, especially when Laken suspects her new home is haunted. Just when she thinks she’s the victim of mass hysteria, she finds her ex-husband’s body in the courtyard. Can Laken prove her innocence before the local police cuff her with a different kind of glittering bracelet?’ Fine characterizations – a former model, animals, a sister, the veterinarian, et al – on the stage of the Pacific Coast little town of Glitter Bay, make for a feisty, suspenseful cozy mystery. Reading this book will likely find the reader searching for the initial two volumes of the series! Highly recommended
