Lethally Green by Amber Boffin

"Lethally Green" is Amber Boffin's debut novel, as well as the first in a new cozy mystery series. The story is set in Canada, and the descriptions of the area, wildlife, and townsfolk are detailed and interesting. Although there are a lot of characters, they are all clearly drawn enough so that it is easy to keep everyone straight. The author has set up lots of potential for developing relationships among the cast in future books, which I look forward to reading. Main character Maggie is likeable, and I enjoyed her methodical (though amateur) approach to solving the mysteries. The double mystery itself was well set up, and the reader is able to follow the clues along with Maggie. Of particular note is the fact that the author skips around to multiple viewpoints, sometimes allowing the reader to learn things that Maggie herself does not. This is unusual for cozy mysteries, and I thought the multiple perspectives added to the development of the plot. My only criticism of the book (published by Avenoak, an indie publisher) is the complete lack of copy editing. Although the errors are all fairly minor, they are present on virtually every page. By the mid-point of the book, I was playing a little game of trying to find an error-free page. If Avenoak does not provide copy editing service before publishing, I'd suggest that the author hire a freelancer to do the job. Ms. Boffin potentially has a wonderful career ahead of her as an author; I hope that she is able to address the copy editing issue before the publication of the sequel to "Lethally Green".