DEATH CRASHES THE PARTY - Vickie Fee

The first in the "Liv and Di in Dixie" cozy mystery series opens with Dixie, Tennessee party planner Liv McKay, inspecting an upscale Victorian home where she is planning an anniversary party for the snooty Erdmans, when she discovers the bodies of two brothers who've been shot to death - one of them dressed in the uniform of a Civil War soldier.  Things get even hotter when the investigation of the deceased siblings - both of whom worked as mechanics for the trucking company co-owned by Liv's husband and father-in-law - uncovers a drug smuggling ring apparently going on at McKay Trucking, right under the owners's noses.  Determined to help, Liv - with the aid of her best friend Di - gets herself into all kinds of trouble with the police, the FBI, and several of the more shady characters who live in Dixie, in this nicely-plotted first novel by author Fee - who even reserves a very nice little plot twist/surprise for the end.  Liv and Di are both likable, very real women who have their flaws, but are at heart there for each other and their town; the contrast between Liv's strong marriage to devoted husband Larry Joe and single Di's blooming romance with the sheriff, Dave, gives the friends even more depth and authenticity.  Very often you have to leave a little leeway when it comes to reviewing the first of a mystery series; more often than not, the first book suffers from "growing pains" as the author tries to find both his or her voice with the characters, as well as the fleshing out of the characters themselves.  Here, you can feel those vibes but - for me, anyway - not as obviously as many first novels; Vickie Fee seems to not only know but like her characters very much, and it shows.  I would liked to have seen more of the party planning aspect of Liv's life, in direct relation to the mystery especially (though it sounds like that's coming in book two - and I thought the touches of humor in this book, particularly with how the Erdman party turned out, were terrific), and I did struggle with what I call the breaking of one of the "writer's commandments" - of not giving a number of characters similar names, to the point your readers may confuse them (Rudy? Ray? Ralph? I found myself going back, at first, to remind myself who was who a few too many times).  But those are minor tweaks; I really enjoyed Liv and Di, hoping for more Di in future volumes to share the spotlight (this one was focused more on Liv as the central character), but either way heartily do look forward to delving more into these characters and this series.  ****

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.