Not my usual genre but I know the author. Very fun read!

When Terri finds a valuable diamond necklace in her attic, instead of keeping it for herself, she decides to solve the mystery and find the owner. Because … what would Nancy Drew do? Throw in a hot neighbor - who also happens to be a private investigator - and a pushy friend, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a humorous mystery. As Terri investigates, she finds herself getting deeper and deeper into trouble and has to keep reminding herself that the “we’re not in a John Grisham novel.”

I love the cute librarian-related quotes at the beginning of each chapter and the bookish references throughout. Unfortunately, both the characters and the plotline are unbelievable, and there are numerous editing errors and problems with the writing: too many physical descriptions and descriptions of actions; too much telling, not showing; extremely repetitive, monotonous storyline, with everyone constantly telling the other characters what has happened; too much similarity in names, e.g., the accountancy firm Schumacher and Scribner and the jeweler Schreibner; insights into other people’s minds even though the story is told wholly from Terri’s point of view.

While this mystery is solved, the author leaves Terri’s story on a cliffhanger, to be continued in the next book in the series.

Warnings: sexual references, violence.

I received this book in return for an honest review.

Full blog post: https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2018/08/finders-not-keepers-by-d-e-haggerty.html

If I had been in Terri's position and found a diamond necklace, I'm not so sure I would be willing to give it up or search for the owner.  Especially if I found it in my attic!

I am hoping that this is going to be a new series because the interaction between Terri, Ryder, and Melanie is engaging and comical at times.  Terri is in her early 40's and Ryder is in his 30's somewhere, but that doesn't stop him from wanting Terri or from acting like a "caveman" wanting her to stay out of harm's way.  I understood Terri's frustrations about being told to not do one thing or another.  She is a grown woman after all!  But learning more about Ryder's background (the important nugget comes near the end of the book) created a better understanding of his viewpoint.  Melanie is a bit of a wild child and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions.  But she is a good offset for Terri who is very much a "follow the rules" kind of gal.

The mystery itself was well written and none of the clues were obvious in assisting me in solving the crime of who killed Jessica.  I liked how the victim was woven into Terri's life in multiple ways and I even felt sympathy for the Collins' family because of the way their children acted about what Jessica left behind.  You see it too often, someone dies and all people see is dollar signs and greed is rampant.

I can see future books with Terri, Ryder, and Melanie so I hope that there are more to come!

This was so painful. The main character was whiney the neighbor/romantic interest was a bully. No woman, especially one who volunteers at a woman’s shelter, should put up with his obnoxious behavior. He kept telling her she’s his woman and she can’t do this or that and after 5 weeks of dating he wants to move in with her. I didn’t even bother with the second or third book in the series that o had. Returned them to KU. Glad I didn’t spend money on these

This one is definitely a keeper! Haggerty delivers another fantastic cozy that I couldn’t put down. Fun characters, humor, and an exciting mystery, I was hooked.
While the premise seemed a bit odd, I was quite intrigued by the mystery it created. As the story progressed, so did the stakes. What started off as a simple task became so much more involved for Terri as she got deeper and deeper into things. We get taken on the fast paced adventure along with her and I loved it.
In addition to the thrill of the mystery, we get drawn into the romance. At times, Ryder’s alpha attitude is a little over the top but I just loved him. The push and pull between these two really pulled me in. I loved their chemistry and the progression of their relationship.
Haggerty sets up the next story in the series perfectly. I can’t wait to see where things go with our next couple and I hope we get to see more of these two!!

This was so painful. The main character was whiney the neighbor/romantic interest was a bully. No woman, especially one who volunteers at a woman’s shelter, should put up with his obnoxious behavior. He kept telling her she’s his woman and she can’t do this or that and after 5 weeks of dating he wants to move in with her. I didn’t even bother with the second or third book in the series that o had. Returned them to KU. Glad I didn’t spend money on these

I received this from cozy mystery review crew for a review.
I enjoyed that the main character was a school librarian and nice to see the struggle of normal life. She has an ex husband who wants a sweater from the attic but instead she found an expensive pendant. She doesn't know who owns it, so she gets her hot neighbor to track down the owners. A relationship between them starts. The owner of her house tells her that it was a family members but they dont want it.

It was an interesting book but it was slow starter.