Transactions we Expose

Title: Transactions we Expose
Author: Chelsea Michelle
Series: Watson Twins Mysteries, book 1
Major Themes: Mysteries, Family
Synopsis: When a local businessman is found dead, Michelle Watson is determined to figure out what happened, and drags her sister Chelsea into the search for the truth as well.

I’ve been looking forward to reading Transactions we Expose for what feels like well over a year now, and I’m so thrilled that it has finally been released! Amanda Tero and A.M. Heath have long been among my favorite indie authors, and seeing how they worked together to bring about this cozy mystery series has been a lot of fun to follow along with, and even more fun to finally get to read! It’s been a while since I last had the chance to read a mystery, too, so that is a bonus—this was a great book to (hopefully!) get me back into the genre.

Publisher’s description:

My thoughts:

Transactions we Expose turned out to be all I was hoping for, and a little of what I wasn’t. I loved the family aspect of the story; Chelsea and Michelle are so different, but the scenes where they’re able to communicate without saying anything are so realistic and a hoot to read! Then there’s the small-town atmosphere; that also felt realistic and rather cozy. The mystery itself was well done; I kept guessing throughout the story as to who the real murderer was (not that I’m generally that good at guessing, anyway, but it was fun to try!).

There were a few things I didn’t like so much about the story. It felt LONG to me, somehow; I read books of this length fairly frequently, but by around halfway through the book, I was getting ready to move on to something else. I don’t think there was anything unnecessary in the story, and it didn’t feel like there was too much description or time spent fluffing around; it all had to be there to support the story, but it did feel like a longer read. I also struggled with Michelle’s penchant for seeming to want to date every handsome guy that comes along. That, and her flirty side, didn’t set so well with me, but that’s probably because I’m a lot more like Chelsea in many ways—cautious and less prone to exuberance. I also struggled with some of the lying that went on. Even if it was “necessary” to protect characters, that didn’t feel like something should happen with Christian characters. Then, some interview scenes didn’t feel entirely realistic—I’m not sure people would freely give out information the way it was done here, but that’s a minor quibble.

Overall, Transactions we Expose was a fun read. The mystery was well done, with a decent amount of red herrings to keep things interesting. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters in this book—after briefly meeting them in the two “mini-mysteries” that preceded this story, it was lovely to go more in-depth with them here. The ending was satisfying, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the authors go with their next book. If you enjoy cozy mysteries and longer books with solid faith-based content, I’d highly recommend you check this story out!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

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