Thursday, October 30, 2008

Mini Review: The Clockwork Teddy

John J. Lamb's Bear Collector Mysteries have become a favorite series of mine. And the latest, The Clockwork Teddy, didn't disappoint at all.

Brad and Ashleigh Lyon are in California catching up with old friends and participating in the Sonoma teddy bear festival. Early that morning, Brad witnesses a person in a bear costume attack and rob a fellow artisan.

That night, Brad and Ashleigh are visiting with his old San Francisco Police Department partner when there is a call to go to a murder scene. Brad tags along for old times' sake and finds a robotic teddy bear at the scene. Even weirder, he thinks the murder is connected to the robbery that morning. What's going on?

One reason I love the series so much is because of the characters. Brad and Ashleigh are the kind of peole you'd want to spend time with in real life. The supporting characters are also well drawn. Plus I love Brad's fun sense of humor and puns.

The plot is a combination of police procedural and cozy, and it works well. I did figure one part out before Brad did, but I couldn't put the book down anyway because I still needed the rest of the pieces. And the last 50 pages had me glued to the book.

If you have missed this great series, drop everything and go get it now.

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