A Crime Story: A Mother-Daughter Cozy Mystery by Richard E. LaMotte is a light-hearted thriller about a mother and daughter who get stuck in a small town with a murder mystery on their way to Hollywood.


Clair and Mindy decide to start investigating the unsolved murder of Samantha and write a crime story to pass the time. They soon realize that everyone in town has their theory about what happened, but Mindy is set on uncovering the truth in memory of Samantha. It doesn’t take long for their snooping to start annoying the wrong people, and accidents start to happen. Will they be able to answer the unanswered questions, or will Samantha’s murder always stay a small-town mystery?


Richard E. LaMotte wrote A Crime Story in a way that will have anyone, even readers who don’t enjoy thrillers or mysteries, loving this light-hearted mystery immensely. It is not overly elaborate, is easy to read, and even easier to enjoy. The theme which stuck with me as a reader was the relationship between a mother and a daughter who needed to find each other again.


They grew as characters while they were investigating the murder, and through this, they could also reconnect. The pace of the story is gentle. I enjoyed the fact that the book wasn’t more than two hundred pages, but it never felt rushed.


I recommend this book to any reader who wants a quick, enjoyable read with adventure and a little suspense.

~Reviewed by Antoinette Wessels for Readers' Favorite