Deuce Winters is a stay at home dad in the small town of Rose Petal, Texas. He is forced to prove his innocence when his old high school rival, Benny Barnes, is found dead in Deuce's minivan. This is the first in this humorous cozy mystery series.
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Deuce is clearly innocent, but the gossiping townsfolk and incompetent law enforcement in Rose Petal believe Deuce had something to do with Benny's death. Deuce's wife, Julianne, a high powered attorney, discourages him from investigating and encourages him to focus on being a dad to their three year old daughter, Carly. Deuce, however, with too much time on his hands and an ego that isn't happy with being portrayed as a killer, can't help himself from looking into Benny's death.
Deuce begins asking questions around town about Benny and that leads him to an encounter with Benny's wife, Shayna, who also happens to be Deuce's old flame from high school. Shayna is a drunken mess and doesn't make much sense, accusing Deuce of killing Benny. Deuce does learn from her that Benny was going to sue Deuce because of an old football injury that Benny blamed Deuce for and that Benny was involved with investing in something called Killer Kids, a brand new recreation center for kids.
Deuce goes to Benny's place of employment, a local rug store. He meets the manager, Reggie Hamlin, a college kid who runs the store for his dad. He tells Deuce that he had to fire Benny and another employee named Odell Barnabas because they weren't actually working and were always working on their Killer Kids project.
Deuce also begins working with a local private investigator named Victor Anthony Doolittle. Their relationship is very contentious, but Victor is a good investigator and Deuce is learning from him how to ask the right questions.
Deuce meets Odell, who is not terribly smart, but seems sincere about the Killer Kids venture. He tells Deuce that he and Benny had almost enough money to make Killer Kids a reality.
Deuce learns that both Shayna and her sister Deborah were having affairs with Reggie Hamlin. He also discovers that Reggie stole Odell and Benny's investment money for Killer Kids. When Deuce confronts Reggie about this, Reggie is revealed to be the killer. After a minor scuffle, Deuce subdues him.
The mystery is solved and Deuce is contemplating becoming a part-time investigator in the future. Julianne also tells him that she is pregnant again.
Best part of story, including ending:
I really liked this story because of the humor. All of the characters are funny and the dialogue is especially humorous.
Best scene in story:
The opening scene where Deuce discovers the dead body in his minivan was my favorite simply because it was just hilarious.
Opinion about the main character:
I like Deuce because he seems like a normal guy who can't help but make his life more complicated.
