Casket Case (Cynthia Shade Mystery series Book #1) by Lee James

Cynthia Shade. That's her name. She has ADHD and cynophobia. That's just a fancy way of saying she's terrified of dogs. Not all dogs mind you, just the tiny ones that come at you with their razor-sharp fangs and frenzied eyes. To make it worse, she can't find a job, rather, she can't keep a job, and she's about to be evicted. Just when she gets a glimmer of hope she's blackmailed into trying to solve a murder.

Wait-what?

Cue the handsome sheriff who awakens real interest in perpetually single Cynthia, and a cast of crazed suspects. One of whom is determined she doesn't make it out of this adventure alive.  (Summary via Goodreads)

In Casket Case by Lee James Cynthia Shade is just trying to live her life the way she wants to even though she is avoiding calls on her cell from collection agencies and she never knows if the lights will turn on in her apartment.  Cynthia has a dream and the only person who understands is her uncle Garrett.  And it looks like she might just get that dream come true.

Uncle Garrett has a food truck for Cynthia, yeah it needs some work, but she can see herself running her very own business in it.  Unfortunately, when she takes it for a test drive, she gets on a road where she has trouble turning it around.  And when she is in a driveway getting ready to back up, the crazy owner comes out yelling at her.  To make matter worse, when she is out of the truck, the truck starts to move on its own right over into the neighbor's very expensive water fountain.  And to make matters even worse when she meets the neighbor after tackling her from the moving food truck, she is brought into her house to find the woman's husband dead in the kitchen !!!

Sam insists that she didn't kill her husband.  She received a text from. him, rushed home and found him dead.  And because Cynthia doesn't have any money to pay for the damages done to the fountain, Sam ropes her into helping prove her innocence.  But Cynthia soon learns that Sam's live was full of secrets and lies and doesn't know what to believe.

Casket Case is captivating from the very first chapter.  You cannot help but fall in love with Cynthia and the rest of the characters.  You will love the storyline and want to read as fast as you can to see who killed Sam's husband. And you will even like the Sheriff.  I could not put the book down once I opened it and I'm sure that will be the same for you.