9. Bye Bye Love

Bye Bye Love, by Virginia Swift (2005)

This mystery is set in Laramie, where I live, so I was excited to read it. I wasn't familiar with the author or the series before this book, so I didn't really have any expectations. The heroine, "Mustang" Sally Adler is a professor at the University of Wyoming and singer in a local band. She's approached by a musical hero of hers and asked to look after his ex-wife, who lives outside of town. Of course, the ex-wife is murdered, and Sally goes to work to find out who killed her.

I like mysteries because they're entertaining and usually fairly quick, easy reads. I especially like ones set in places I know because it's fun to recognize the landscape of the story. The Laramie in this story didn't really feel like the town I'm still getting to know. I'm thinking that some of the bars and restaurants are renamed versions of real places, but I'm not sure. The mystery was pretty good, though. The victim was involved in an animal rights/environmental group, which was an interesting choice that build in good conflict with the hunting culture. Even though the local flavor wasn't quite what I was looking for, I'll probably check out more from this author.