The beginning of a fun new mystery series!  This easy to read mystery has likeable characters, an intriguing mystery, a little romance and something a lot of mysteries don't have, a family life for the sleuth.

Nell is a single mom with 5 daughters ranging from out on their own down to 13.  She's a journalist writing a column for her local paper when her mother's house is burned down and a dead body is found in the garage.  Her mother, an very opinionated bookstore owner, needs to move in with her while her house is unlivable. Solving the mystery seems the best way to keep her mother from being the prime suspect in the murder and getting her out of Nell's house!

We get a good feel for the citizens and interactions in Nell's small town in Australia.  The family dynamic, while comic at times, also has a authentic feel to it.  I could imagine my kids and my siblings interacting in very similar ways.  That feeling of a real family is something that's missing in a lot of mysteries and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I'll be ready for more adventures of Nell Forrest!

I was given the opportunity to read this through NetGalley and I appreciate the author and publisher for letting me do so.