Truth, Lies, and Second Dates

Reading this book was like watching a comedic tennis game. There is a lot of snarky back and forth dialogue between the main character Captain Ava Capp and all those she encounters. Ava is an airline pilot for Northeast-Southwest and she is fixing to pilot a flight back to her hometown and she recognizes one of the passengers as the twin brother of her murdered best friend. It has been 10 years since Dani was murdered and the family is having a 10 year memorial which Dennis, the twin brother, and his cousin Xenia back Ava into a corner and she has to go. After the memorial, Dennis and Ava go drinking and he gets rip-roaring drunk. A hunky guy helps Ava pour Dennis into her rental car and then helps her get Dennis up to his hotel room. Ava and the new guy then go down to the hotel bar and share a drink, conversation and a few kisses. The next morning Ava and Dennis are summoned back to the funeral home by Dennis' mom. Ava is then accused of vandalizing the memorial area and her mystery man from the night before steps up to offer an alibi and Ava learns that he is the county medical examiner, Dr. Tom Baker. Dr. Baker can't decide if Ava is the murderer or another victim or knows more than she is telling and he asks if he can hang out and talk with her. Things get crazy when you throw in the actual killer, the creepy flight attendant, the over-the-top niece and the other airline employees. Hang on for a wild ride on your way to solving a 10 year old murder. My thanks to Netgalley, MaryJanice Davidson and St. Martin's for allowing me access to an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. The above is my freely given review of this title. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

This was a fun rom-com with a cast of characters that were all as entertaining as the other. Each one was unique, quirky, hysterical, and lovable. The one character that was the “adult” in the group was Tom’s niece who was a small child genius and I loved her more than any of the others. While Ava and Tom are definitely the main characters, the romance was on the light side but the humor carried the story enough so that element wasn’t missed too terribly much. Watching Ava and Tom try to solve the mystery was more fun than suspenseful. I found myself trying to figure out who, what and how so I could get a jump on the reveal, but I was unsuccessful. This has a fast pace, lots of one liners that had me laughing out loud, and a slow burn romance. This is written in a style that isn’t my normal go to read, with what often bordered on what I consider immature humor. Normally, I would regret this choice but these characters were so likable I couldn’t help but enjoy this book in every way.

Ava lives her passion as she captains’ flights all over the world. The one place she hates to visit is Minnesota. She grew up there which wasn’t an easy road so with all the bad memories, she prefers to stay away. Running into a friend from childhood on her flight has her attending a 10 year memorial for her best friend. From there, well everything gets really crazy. The one bright spot is meeting Tom and he ends up helping her unravel all the craziness. Tom is the county medical examiner and is not sure what to make of Ava but knows he enjoys spending time with her. Now, this story was funny, unexpected and a pleasure to read. I had fun with Ava and Tom as they navigated all the pitfalls happening to Ava. Hannah, Tom’s niece, is a joy with her intelligence and straightforward honesty. This is a new author for me and I loved the writing style and pace of the story. I was pulled in and excited to figure out what would happen next. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.