Book Review: Caught On Camera (Camera Club Mystery, #1) by Kara Lacey

Caught on Camera by Kara Lacey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Small-town vibes, a close-knit family, and murder make this a perfect cozy mystery!

Caught On Camera is the first book in author Kara Lacey’s new Camera Club Mystery series, and it is a wonderful debut displaying all the hallmarks of what I love in a good cozy. With an engaging and relatable main character, a quaint, homey Vermont setting that had me considering travel plans, and a baffling murder, I was quickly invested and absorbed by the story.

The book’s protagonist and soon-to-be amateur sleuth is Bobbie Brooks, a recent widow and transplant to the small town of Stonebridge, Vermont, from big-city Boston. Early on, we learn about the unexpected death of her husband and can almost feel her lingering grief and need for a change. Stonebridge has been home to her older sister, Alicia, since her marriage to a local attorney. Bobbie thought it would be a great place to start over and, hopefully, open her own photography business. Wanting to become more of a part of the community, she, along with Alicia and her friend, café owner Rose, formed a photography club. Their first photo outing as a club ends tragically when Bobbie discovers the body of one of their members at their chosen shoot location. The story makes an abrupt left turn when Bobbie goes from primary witness to primary suspect.

Considering the lead detective’s attitude and arrogance, Bobbie can’t help but get involved in investigating to clear her name, and she’s good at it, noticing things at the crime scene that the police overlooked. Thankfully, she and her sister have a close and supportive relationship, and Alicia’s attorney husband, Nate, comes in very handy when the detective’s questioning goes from fact-finding to accusation.

I appreciate it when the murder occurs early in a mystery, as oftentimes, too much exposition upfront gets really tedious really fast. Readers who feel the same way will not be disappointed here as the future victim is introduced within the first couple of pages and dispatched only a couple of pages later. She’s also a delightfully catty and unpleasant woman, although, of course, undeserving of being murdered. I enjoyed how the author developed the town and its residents as Bobbie works through her investigation. Each shopping stop or coffee break introduced a few more locals and laid out the town while Bobbie gathered clues or pieces of information needing to be checked out.

While Bobbie, Alicia, and the remaining members of the Keep It Snappy Shutter Club developed a list, I had my own potential suspects as well. The exciting resolution is good, and armchair detectives will be able to pick out clues that lead to the truth.

I recommend CAUGHT ON CAMERA to cozy mystery readers, especially those with a fondness for Vermont settings and labrador retrievers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

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