Revved Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

Item: Revved Up 4 Murder
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted March 21, 2024 by BaronessMom in Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Revved Up 4 Murder

by J.C. Eaton

Series: Sophie Kimball Mystery #12
Series Rating:

Published by Beyond the Page Publishing on February 20, 2024
Setting: Sun City West, Arizona
Genres: Cozy Animal Mystery
Pages: 300
Format: ebook, Kindle, Paperback
Source: NetGalley
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Nook
Also in this series: Molded 4 Murder , Dressed Up 4 Murder, Broadcast 4 Murder, Railroaded 4 Murder, Saddled Up 4 Murder, Grilled 4 Murder, Strike Out 4 Murder

When a corpse is discovered under a car at the local auto restoration garage, Sophie “Phee” Kimball gears up to investigate a crime that puts a whole new twist on the term “body shop” . . .

The seniors of Sun City West are celebrating again, this time over the news that Wayne from the pinochle club finally has a chance to restore his classic car. Phee goes along for the ride, but her thoughts are on her agency’s latest case—a priceless artifact that’s missing from the local museum. It’s an antique doll supposedly filled with treasure—but also carrying a curse for whoever possesses it. Then a dead body is found under Wayne’s car, along with signs of foul play, and Phee is coaxed into helping get him off the hook.

It’s clear to Phee that the victim was killed by sabotaged machinery, but the garage attracts so much foot traffic that narrowing down a list of suspects will be nearly impossible. Harder still will be keeping her mother’s gaggle of friends from meddling in the case, especially after they throw a wrench into the works by trying to locate the missing doll. Soon Phee and the whole group are careening toward a head-on collision with a thief, a killer, and a cursed doll, and she can only hope they don’t drive her insane—or worse—make her the next victim . . .

Revved Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton is a fun, fast-paced mystery with lots of hilarious moments and quite a few eye rolls.

Will Sophie figure out what is going on before Wayne goes to jail for murder?

The Book Club Ladies

Harriett and her book club ladies are all doing well. They are all moving about and doing their recreational hobbies. Then, a hexed wooden doll is stolen from the local museum, and the ladies want to help find it. Of course, Sophie must assist them in the investigations.

However, Sophie isn’t moving fast enough for Harriett, so she and her sister decide to investigate the museum.

I ended the call before my mother said another word. Then I stomped over to Augusta’s desk. “This will make your day! My mother and my aunt are locked in the art repository at the museum. When my aunt gets an idea, she’s like a bull moose in mating season and nothing will stop her.”

J. C. Eaton. Revved Up 4 Murder (Kindle Locations 1208-1210). Kindle Edition.

The Pinochle Guys

Add to the missing doll, a member of the automotive garage club is found dead under Sally Stang, Wayne’s 1965 Mustang that he is rebuilding at the club’s garage. Now, Herb and the guys are all worried about Wayne. So, Harriett decides that Sophie has to find the culprit because they have this buy-sell-trade event coming up, and Jay Leno will be there. Harriet is one of the MCs. She will not allow this murder and the hexed doll to stop the event.

The guys are ready to help the ladies find the people messing with the citizens of Sun City West.

There are some crazy things to watch for:

a crazy fishing trip
the dog park antics
a stakeout in a restroom
Steadman finds the decoy box in a shipping facility

Five Stars

I always look forward to a Sophie Kimball Mystery. The relationship that Sophie and Harriett have is fantastic. But the situations that the Book Club Ladies get Sophie into are hilarious. My rating for Revved Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton is five stars. I highly recommend Revved Up 4 Murder to all the cozy mystery readers.

I wanted to point out that the car on the cover is a Chevelle, not a Mustang. Someone, please tell the cover artist so they don’t make a mistake like that again.

The Sophie Kimball Mystery Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Revved Up 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton.

Until the next time,

Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon, Books A Million, and Barnes and Noble affiliate, meaning that if you click on a link that takes you to one of those retailers and purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. Mainly, this helps with the cost of the website and a few giveaways.

About J.C. Eaton

J.C. Eaton is the pen name for the collaborative writing team of Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp. Together they juggle three unique series of cozy mysteries, all with quirky characters and a zillion twists and turns. Learn more on their website – https://www.jceatonmysteries.com

From analytical Sophie “Phee” Kimball to impulsive Norrie Ellington and sassy Marcie Rayner, they’ve got a sleuth for all tastes!

While Ann is a seasoned author in her own right, having eight published YA time travel mysteries to her credit, James, a former winery tasting room manager, has focused on non-fiction with informative blurbs on the wine industry. This unlikely author duo found common ground when they moved to Arizona and realized that the community they were living in was the perfect background for murder mysteries.

Ann admits that she’s definitely “the detail person” while James is more comfortable with plotline and the big ideas. Running the dialogue is their favorite pastime in this venture.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: