Staying Home is a Killer by Sara Rosett

The book "Staying Home is a Killer" is the second Mom Zone Mystery written by Sara Rosett. It was published in 2007 by Kensington Books. I had never heard of this author or her books, but found it browsing the new book section of my local library. This book appealed to me since I stay at home during the day and work only part time at night. The main character sounded like a person I could relate to, but also interested me because I am not very familiar with military life. Military wives have always fascinated me. They seem to handle things, like TDY's where their husband is gone for weeks or months at a time, with ease. That is what really drew me to this book. The organizing tips are great, too.

Ellie Avery is a stay at home mom, wife of an Air Force pilot and runs her organizational business, Everything in Its Own Place, on the side. Just being the mother of 20 month old Livvy keeps Ellie busy enough, but then one of her friends is murdered. When a female pilot in her husband's squadron is poisoned, every lead points to Ellie. She knows she didn't do anything wrong, but now she has to prove it. Most people would leave this in the hands of the police, but Ellie isn't most people. She also has access to everyone on her suspect list, which is considerably longer than the list the police are using. Penny's murder was originally considered suicide, but the police determined it was actually murder. She had contact with an unusual amount of people in various walks of life who might have killed her. Staff Sergeant Rory Tyler and First Lieutenant Aaron Reed were in her husband's squadron and Ellie had seen them the day Penny was killed. Penny obviously had a problem with the two men, but Ellie wouldn't find out exactly what until much later. They were pretty high on the list. The wing commander's wife, Clarissa Bedford, also had a problem with Penny. Penny had been interviewing General Bedford for an upcoming festival and his wife was seriously unhappy about that. There was also Victor Roth, an art gallery owner. Ballard Nova runs the Pathway group, sort of Bible study meets new age. Penny took care of the children while the moms went to the group session. As the book progresses, Ellie finds herself drawn in deeper to deeper. It seems she is the key to these mysteries, but she has no idea what it could be. When she stumbles across Clarissa lying dead in the parking lot, she barely is able to stay out of jail. After attacks on her, being followed by a mysterious truck and having her dog abducted, she has just about had enough. Even when it seems as though the bad guys have been arrested, she still has a nagging feeling there is something left undone. Ellie has a knack of being in the right place at the right time, at least when it comes to solving mysteries. The end will surprise you at first, but then it all makes sense.

I absolutely loved this book and will make a point to read her first book and any future ones. Any woman who enjoys a good mystery or is interested in the military will probably enjoy this book. There is probably a little too much romance and not enough action for guys. This book also includes Ellie's tips for organizing a closet. They were very informative and could be helpful if you want help organizing closets.