A ZOOM WITH A VIEW

A recovering academic goes back to her Texas hometown, where she finds herself almost immediately embroiled in a murder investigation.

Blue Oak isn’t where Leonora Holloway imagined she’d end up after years of struggling to live off English literature postdocs that never help land her a tenure-track job. But an offer from a family friend, Kay Schneider, a real estate agent, to work as a well-paid photographer tempts Leo back despite her disgust with small-town life and the knowledge that she will have to stomach more frequent contact with her distant and flamboyant hairdresser mother, Karina. At first, Blue Oak and its eccentric inhabitants seem little more than a temporary, “kitschy-quaint” stop on a trip back in time Leo would rather not take. But when Chaz Nickolson, a rival realtor, fitness guru, and wannabe influencer suddenly turns up dead after trying to sabotage Kay’s July Fourth parade float, everything changes. Nothing—and no one—is quite what they seem, including Leo, who, along with her friend Emily, has been pseudonymously moderating a snarky Reddit account dedicated to mocking Chaz’s self-important “exploration of himself and his place in the world.” In this deftly plotted cozy mystery, Cannon follows Leo as she joins forces with a detective to find answers and absolve Kay of Chaz’s murder. The main character’s journey to the truth winds through unexpected terrain that includes a love triangle with two handsome former classmates, shocking revelations about those closest to her, and the realization that her sleepy hometown hides more secrets than she ever could have imagined. As it explores a woman’s unwanted confrontation with the ghosts of her past, Cannon’s novel also examines the way charming facades often mask much darker realities.

A smart, funny mystery with twists and turns to spare.