Book Review: Scene of the Climb by Kate Dyer-Seeley

In Kate Dyer-Seeley's debut mystery we meet Margaret Mary Reed, "Meg" to her friends. She's newly out of college and still trying to deal with the recent accidental death of her father, the top-notch journalist, Charlie Reed. Following in her father's footsteps she hopes to be a journalist, that is if she can find a job. When she discovers a journalist job at adventure magazine, Northwest Extreme, she decides to tell a small lie about her outdoor experience. After all a job is a job right? Little does Meg know that this job will mean scaling cliffs after contestants on the Race of the States outdoor adventure race. During a trip out with the contestants Meg witnesses the death of Lenny Ray, one of the contestants, and is horrified to find a killer in their midst. She does what any good journalist would do and starts to hunt down who killed Lenny!

Since I'm more the indoors type I wasn't sure about an adventure-style cozy mystery. I could see how they would appeal to those that love that mysteries and also love to climb cliffs. However, I'm more the climb-into-my-bed-with-a-good-book kind of person. However, within pages of reading Scene of the Climb I discovered Meg was more like me than I thought. Meg is an mocha-full-fat-with-extra-whip kind of girl and she's clearly out of her depth with all the adrenaline junkies at Northwest Extreme. However with her tenacious "fake it until you make it" attitude she's more than happy to try and fit in.

With a murder that takes place on a trail, amidst the beautiful rocky terrain of Oregon, this mystery was thrilling from the start. While I may not have been outside on the trail, my adrenaline sure was pumping as Meg witnesses the murder and then has to dodge bullets and cougars to try and avoid being the next victim. I loved the mystery. It took just the right turns to keep me interested and I didn't want to put the book down, not even for a second!