Dressed For Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"After finding herself mixed up in a murder investigation the previous Summer, Katherine Goff’s life simply has not been the same. Her husband has been in the US recording a new album, the Burgundy region locals are finally starting to see her as a real neighbor, and Katherine has even started helping out with “tourist” excursions. It seems she’s finally found her place in the small community of Reigny-sur-Canne.

But when Katherine stumbles across a body in the local museum during a tour, she finds herself caught up once again in a whirlwind of gossip and speculation. When the police zero in on her friend Pippa as a suspect, Pippa and Katherine team up to find the real killer and clear her name.

However, the more clues they discover, the more the real killer wants them off the trail. When Katherine and Pippa start receiving threats, they must decide what they are more afraid of—the police getting it wrong, or possibly becoming the killer’s next targets."

My Thoughts:

Last year I read and adored the first book in this series Love & Death in Burgundy.  I remember wishing and hoping that it was going to be the beginning of a series because I had found it to be such an enjoyable read.  I was so thrilled when I saw this book and realized it really was part of a series.  It was an absolute joy to jump back into Katherine's world and Burgundy yet again.  One of my favorite things about these books is the sense of place that you get while reading them.  I've never been to France but reading books like this sure makes me want to go.  I can't get enough of just the little every day details that are included about Katherine's life there.  The small specialty shops she goes to in order to by certain foods and her distaste for big shopping centers is so much fun to read about.  This book is actually told from two separate viewpoints - Katherine's and a secondary character from the first book named Pippa.  I was just thinking that we got more of the details I was mentioning before in the previous book but I think that is because the time was split between Katherine and Pippa.  I preferred Katherine's point of view myself but I did mostly enjoy both.  It's funny but I was less worried about the mysteries when reading these books and more just immersed in the every day life that Katherine was living.  I will say that the mystery in this book had me more intrigued in comparison to the first book.  I also really liked the ending.  I felt like it was just the perfect feel to this cozy series and left me wishing and wanting a third book!

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and these characters so much!  It was such a delight to dive back into this world that the author has created with characters that I've grown to actually care about.  I love the little details that the author adds to each book that makes you feel like you are actually there while reading.  I just found myself so completely immersed in this book that I was almost sad to see it end.  I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Katherine and her friends quite yet!  I will say that I skimmed a few Goodread's reviews after finishing this one and it looks like readers may benefit from reading this series in order.  It's only two books so not too overwhelming to think about and I think that those details that carry over from the first book will only enhance your enjoyment of this one!  In the meantime, I will just be sitting over here pining and wishing for book three.  A solid four star read and a series that I can easily recommend!

Bottom Line:  A wonderful follow-up to the first book and has cemented my love of this series!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.  Thoughts are my own.