Double Strike by Gretchen Archer (Davis Way Crime Caper #3)
Double Strike is the third book in the Davis Way Crime mystery series by the cozy mystery author Gretchen Archer. Having already read the first two books in the series, when I noticed it listed at Netgalley, I jumped on the bandwagon and requested it right away. Afterall I couldn’t wait to see what new mischief Davis (also mispronounced David) would get herself into again.
The story picks up some time after the happenings in the second book. Davis is still working undercover at Bellissimo resort and casino in Biloxi and she is just about to get married, and I mean she’s literally one day away from it, to her latest love interest, Bradley Cole.
As stories would have it, however, things are not in favor of the marriage and Davis has to postpone it until the new ‘fire’ at the Bellissimo is successfully put out. And boy does ‘fire’ here have several meanings, especially when at some point Davis’ hair gets on fire as well, which starts a whole new set of ‘fragrant’ adventures involving her desire to have long hair again. Lots of chuckling moments on this one. And then fire is also the main cause of her wedding being canceled when an ungrounded lightning strikes the Bellissimo.
Davis is sent by ‘NoHair’ Jeremy to work undercover at the new casino opening #StrikeItRich. She kind of fails in her job and gets herself fired within the same day, however, NoHair would have none of this: Davis gets there another job as a social media manager, which involves getting up to speed fast regarding the various social media platforms, which also means that she has to learn Twitter speak pronto #TwittSpeakPronto.
As usual in the Gretchen Archer books, there are several subplots that eventually converge together. First, we have the primary story regarding her job as an underground PI. Then Davis is also a double for the boss’s wife, Bianca, which causes all sorts of mayhem for the poor girl. And then we have her twice ex popping up again, her divorce (#NotQuiteDivorce) from him, and her legal problems with the folk back at Pine Apple, the place where Davis grew up and got married twice.
It is quite easy to follow all these stories, especially if you’ve already read the previous two books in the Davis Way series.
Even though Davis seems to be the queen of mishaps, she manages to solve the big case and save the day for Bellissimo in grand style. She is in fact quite the professional detective, having been a police officer back at home and knowing her way at least to a degree around hacking computers, an interest that serves her and the hotel quite well a few times.
Davis does remind me at times of Stephanie Plum, however she is much more mature and her intelligence comes to surface quite often (whereas Stephanie Plum is more of a #GetItRightByLuck sort of girl).
While there are not many huge #LoughOutLOud moments, there are plenty of chuckle and smile inducing ones. Gretchen Archer has a way with a words that make this cozy quite the fun book to read.
I was not quite sure whether I should be annoyed or laugh at the abundance of the Twitter short hand writing using hashtags in the book, which was basically littered with them. I decided to enjoy them because they definitely added that extra charm and brought the point for the #StrikeItRich Sweepstakes storyline really well. And I got the bug as now I’m writing in #TwitShortHand as well.
Overall if you’re looking for a light read, this cozy mystery will be perfect. It reads fast, gives you lots of sunny moments and if you are a part of the current social media movement, this will appeal to you even more. I know #ItDoesForMe.
