Cooking the Books is an interesting mix of cozy mystery and romantic suspense in that many of the suspects were the heroine's past or current love interests, that the heroine wasn't actually trying to solve a crime, but stay alive, and that all the loose ends were not tied up at the end … as this is the first in a mystery series.

Sloane Templeton is neither extreme in the archetype of female sleuths — a Jessica Fletcher nor an Eve Dallas.  Sloane isn't knowledgeable about a variety of topics. She isn't physically fit, her body honed into a weapon, nor even is she knowledgeable about weapons. Yet she is a defender of underdogs and willing to sacrifice her own comfort to help others.  Of course she has actrocious taste in men.

The problems:  Sloane has inherited half of her mother's bookstore and she has no interest in books. Sloane is divorced and her ex is suing her for her inheritance. A big corporation wants to buy out the building that houses her apartment and the bookstore. Two professors are squabbling over buying a rare book she possesses. Her ex-lover is a gangster. Her current boyfriend isn't that into her. Her mom's business partner wants to buy out her interest in the bookstore. And Sloane would like to get back into the world of computer forensics, but she's still grieving and emotionally unable to take the steps needed to realign her life.

As I've said before, I'm not that into snark, but Sloane didn't seem to be either. I liked her.  I didn't always understand or agree with her decisions, but she never annoyed me to the point where I wouldn't want to be her friend. In fact, if she were real, I would pray for her because I see her potential to be a mighty force for the Lord.

As was, Cooking the Books struck me as spiritually lite. Even Sloane's revelation about her ability to defend herself and not be a victim didn't hold long before she was questioning again. So she may have taken a few baby steps toward healing, but Sloane has a long way to go — which I suppose is okay if it is going to be a long series.

Guess I'll have to keep reading to see.