Book Review: Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis

Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis is the first installment in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series, a cozy mystery series centered on private investigators. The story follows Sandra Wallage, the wife of a U.S. senator and the newly elected president of Portland High School’s PTA, who becomes the latest target of a vicious gossip website called Dirty Laundry. After a heated PTA meeting, Sandra crosses paths with Maya Kendrick, a private investigator who has uncovered the identity of the person behind the gossip site. When the two women attempt to confront the culprit, they instead discover a dead body. Was it really a suicide, or did someone have a motive for murder?

I’m a longtime fan of books by Lee Hollis, which is actually the pen name for sibling writing duo Rick Copp and Holly Simason. They’ve written several cozy mystery series, and what I appreciate most about their books is that they aren’t overly kitschy, unlike some other cozy mysteries I’ve read. I had already read a couple of later installments in this series, so I wanted to go back to the beginning to see how the characters first developed. Unsurprisingly, I already loved the series and knew I’d enjoy the first book—and I wasn’t disappointed.

Each book in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series can be read as a standalone, although later installments occasionally reference earlier events. Since Murder at the PTA is the first book, there’s a lot of character building and backstory, but that doesn’t come at the expense of the mystery. There are plenty of suspects, and many characters have strong motives for wanting the person behind Dirty Laundry silenced. While there were clues, I didn’t correctly guess the killer; I overlooked them and didn’t give them much thought at the time.

As expected, the book features a mix of likable and unlikable characters. The two main characters, Maya and Sandra, are extremely likable, and I could see parts of myself in both of them. Maya is a bit of a spitfire and takes zero nonsense from anyone, while Sandra is more of a mediator who prefers to handle things herself, even when she’s unsure how.

Some characters I disliked right from the start were the principal, Stephen Wallage, and Frances Turner. The principal comes across as immediately unpleasant and gives the impression that he looks down on women and sees everything in strict black-and-white terms, with no room for nuance. Stephen Wallage, Sandra’s husband, is a complete blowhard ... one of those characters who just feels slimy and all too familiar. Frances Turner, Maya’s partner in their private investigation business, is unyielding and snide. While some of her behavior could be attributed to pregnancy hormones, she generally seems like an unhappy person determined to make everyone else miserable.

Although I didn’t correctly guess the killer, I thoroughly enjoyed Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis. I found myself completely immersed in the story; it played out like a movie in my head. Every time I put the book down, I had trouble returning to real life. I rated this cozy mystery five out of five stars, and I’m looking forward to reading the remaining installments in the series that I haven’t yet read.

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