Pickle in the Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler

With her friends, Eddy and Coop, Shay teams up them and others to find a way to clear JT’s name. Shay doesn’t think so- and she sets out to find a way to prove that to everyone. The man that JT is accused of murdering is the scum of the Earth, JT was involved in a undercover case to bring his operation down, but because of her actions he was let go. It’s a nice day until Shay finds a body- and then has to watch her girlfriend, a cop, get arrested in broad daylight. While not normally Shay’s scene- JT enjoys them and Shay enjoys seeing her girlfriend happy. Shay and her girlfriend, JT, are spending a day at the Renaissance Festival.

There was a lot of the story left hanging until the last few chapters and other elements that didn't seem to be carried on through from the outset. The murder mystery is resolved in a flurry of action but not with much satisfaction. Maybe a few too many weird nicknames running around here. Many colourful characters add to the story - some regulars such as Coop and Eddy, others just for the story like Taffy and Peaches. But that part of the storyline is dropped like a hot potato and it leaves me confused - why was the victim there? How would the murderer know he was there? The set-up to the story reads like a missed opportunity - Shay and JT are at a Ren Faire where Shay stumbles upon the body of a man in the portapotty. It took me several chapters of reading to figure out more about Shay than her gender and her stress-borne tendency to revert to messiness without JT, her partner who's falsely accused of the murder in question. This mystery had a lot of fun moments bouncing around in semi-disconnection from the murder investigation and the main character, Shay.

Pickle in the Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler