Take the Monkeys and Run by Karen Cantwell

Take the Monkeys and Run by Karen Cantwell
Description via Goodreads:
Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia. Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie’s Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor. 

Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb’s ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard. When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation. It’s up to her now. With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves. The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?

Sometimes I need a break from some of the "heavier" titles I tend to lean towards and spend an afternoon reading a fun, slightly over the top mystery.

Enter Take the Monkeys and Run, the first book in Karen Cantwell's Barbara Marr Murder Mystery series.

This was a fun book to read. It was really well paced, the writing was good and I adored Barb, the heroine of the book which was the best part. She was a character that I felt like could be my neighbor and someone I could absolutely go sneaking around the neighborhood with in the middle of the night.

Sure, the plot was a little over the top and at time ridiculous, but that's what made this book so much fun. It was a classic version of a murder mystery carried out by how we might think we'd handle ourselves if thrown in a similar situation.

I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series. I can't wait to see what Barb Marr gets herself into next!