It's Just a Little Crush (Lizzie Hart Mysteries) by Caroline Fardig

Copy editor Lizzie Hart is twenty-six, independent and maybe looking for a little excitement in the sleepy midwestern town she lives in. In spite of herself, she can't help but blush, stammer and occasionally spill coffee when charming reporter Blake Morgan is in the same room with her. Is there any way she can get this guy out of her system?

No guarantees, but there is nothing like a handful of murders, bombings and some breaking and entering to give Lizzie something else to think about. So much for a quiet little town. As her friend reminds her, murder is usually about love or money, and those two are everywhere. The woman obsessed with spelling and grammar may not know how to tell a story, but she certainly knows one when she sees one- and she also knows how to dig for it. When her investigation puts her at directly at odds with Blake, she finds herself re-evaluating her feelings for him... a couple of times. Is he going to stop her, help her or does she need to get this guy out of the way if she wants to find the truth? Or is he the key to this whole thing?

Lizzie has rooting value, but she also makes you laugh- a pretty mean feat in the middle of a story about murder and general mayhem. (Hands down, the funniest scene involved a makeover by a mortician. So wrong, yet so perfect.) She's has her suspicions about almost everyone, but she also has a sense of humor about herself. When you laugh- and you will- you're laughing with her, not at her.

Lizzie does solve the mystery, but there's more than enough material from this story to make you want to snap up the second as soon as it comes out. What is the story with her quiet colleague, and what was in that duffel bag? Why did Lizzie break it off with her ex-boyfriend? Did something happen between Blake's grandfather and Lizzie's grandmother? What is going on with those... accountants? And what, if anything, is Lizzie going to do about Blake?

Recommended for fans of chick lit and mystery.

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