Vice and Virtue
(A Layla Virtue Mystery #1)
by Libby Klein

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Layla Virtue, a blue-haired, thirtysomething recovering alcoholic and former cop is trying to reinvent herself in this hilarious and heartfelt mystery.

Layla is taking her new life one day at a time from the Lake Pinecrest Trailer Park she now calls home. Being alone is how she likes it. Simple. Uncomplicated. Although try telling that to the group of local ladies in relentless pursuit of her as their new BFF.Meanwhile, after her first career ended in a literal explosion, Layla’s trying to eke out a living as a rock musician. It’s hard competing against garage bands who work for tacos and create their music on a computer while all she has is an electric guitar and leather-ish pants. But she isn’t in a position to turn down any gig—which is why she’s at an eight-year-old’s birthday party, watching as Chuckles the Clown takes a bow under the balloon animals. No one expects it will be his last…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

It would have been charming if it weren’t the place where dreams go to die.

Agnes was a prickly woman of retirement age whose hobbies appeared to be telling other people what was wrong with them and sucking on lemons.

There was a poster hanging on the back wall that said JESUS ALREADY KNOWS EVERYTHING YOU DON’T WANT YOUR MOMMA TO FIND OUT.

Miranda was perpetually uptight about most things. Punctuality was just a lone grain of sand on the seashore of her pet peeves.

Let me check the temperature of Hell and get back to you.

I loiter at the diabetic supply store looking for my next sugar momma.

There were two reasons I didn’t hang out with women. They could turn vicious in a pack environment, and I had an aversion to drama.

The world is full of trolls who want to steal your happiness to make up for their own misery.

Apparently, they can’t diagnose that until I’m dead, which sounds like a load of crap telling someone you have a disease that will kill you and we’ll let you know for sure after it does.

My Review:

I vastly enjoyed this witty tale. The writing was well-paced, populated with the most quirkiest of characters, and laced together with world-class snark. I had highlighted so many favorite quotes that it was rather painful to pare down the list to include in my review. This was just my first date with the crafty scribe known as Libby Klein, but we are going to be an ongoing item if she can continue to churn out more cleverly penned tales on par with Vice and Virtue. I am eager to see what she conjures up as the next adventure for this tribe of eccentric snoops.

About the Author

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Libby Klein writes ridiculously funny murder mysteries from her Northern Virginia office with a very naughty calico Persian named Miss Eliza Doolittle, and a sweet black Lab named Vader. She can name that tune for 70s and 80s rock in the first few notes, and she’s translated her love of classic rock into her Layla Virtue Mysteries. Libby was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that prevents her from eating gluten without exploding. Because bread is one of her love languages, she includes the recipes for gluten-free goodies in her Cape May based Poppy McAllister series. Most of her hobbies revolve around travel, and eating, and eating while traveling. She insists she can find her way to any coffee shop anywhere in the world, even while blindfolded.