I wanted to like Joan Hess' Claire Malloy but with this book I just couldn't do it. I don't hate her but she seems very wishy-washy and I certainly wouldn't enjoy the relationship she has with her daughter (I'd sit her right down and tell her if she doesn't like her life with mom, she knows where she can take it! Just durn glad my daughter never went through this period) or her boyfriend ( where's the romance? From this book they aren't even dating and they certainly aren't hanging out with each other other than in the bedroom). And does she have any friends other than her former teacher?And then murder was highly contrived and the whole story seemed pretty fantastical. When the murder was revealed, it was exactly who I thought it was and further I didn't care! This is indeed a cozy and for some the antics that Claire gets herself into and out of may be funny but Hess doesn't have the same comic touch as a Janet Evanovich. I have another book by her and I'll give her another shot and hope she improves.