Notebook Mysteries ~ Decisions and Possibilities by Kimberly Mullins – Review by Angela Hayes

Notebook Mysteries ~ Decisions and Possibilities by Kimberly Mullins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

Notebook Mysteries- Decisions and Possibilities is the second instalment in the Notebook Mysteries series by Kimberly Mullins. I was drawn to this book by the intriguing cover and the fact that it was a mystery with historical detailing. I had never read one of Ms. Mullins books before, but my curiosity was piqued enough for me to snap up a copy to explore.
The story/series follows Emma Evans on her ‘investigations. I really wish that I had read the first book before jumping into this one, as even though this story can be read as a standalone, I think the other book would have provided more character details and pertinent background information that would have enhanced my reading experience of this book.
Whilst I enjoyed the somewhat quirky mystery and Emma’s adventures/investigations- it did take me a while to ‘settle’ into the story and get my mind around the author’s writing style. I do think that that the ‘interruptions’ throughout the story from the ‘narrator’ really disrupted the flow of the story and kept pulling me out of the story. I think that the story would have been much more enjoyable without the ‘narrator’, and the information provided by the narrator could have been added to the story without the ‘disruptions. (see below for example)

“Emma pulled herself into the present and opened her desk drawer to find her current case book. She still kept her observations in the black notebooks she always carried with her. As she tried to pull the drawer open, it got stuck and she had to pull forcibly on the handle. When it finally gave way and allowed her access, she knelt to discover what had kept the drawer from opening. It was another notebook, wedged in the back; she reached in and pulled it out.
She sat back on her knees, looking at it for a long moment, and realized which one it was. It must be a day for memories, she thought, shaking her head. That notebook, the black cover faded with age, was from another day long ago when she was ten years old and involved her “incident”.
[The Narrator said, “The incident was when Emma was attacked at the age of ten by a career criminal named Zeke Jones, and it was not the last time he would go after her. He had a personal vendetta against her; he felt she was always taking something from him that he believed was his.”
Dear-one commented wryly, “To be fair, she did keep uncovering cases where he was also involved. The Stubing store theft, the smuggling operations involving store owners, and then when he had volunteered to “take care” of Emma for the notorious gangster John Harden.”
The Narrator added, “When he did go after her that last time, Emma was ready for him.”
Dear-one asked, “What happened to Zeke?”
The Narrator said, “Well, we will get to that later.”
Dear one said, “You know you say that a lot.”
“I know, but I always plan to go back,” commented the Narrator, as she continued to write.]

Emma opened the notebook and remembered how it had finally returned to her.”

The story did remind me a little of the Enola Holmes television movie, and I do think that with a little tweaking that this book/series would also make a great television series. I will go back to read book one to see what happened there, while I await book #3.

Thank you, Kimberly Mullins!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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