The Camera Never Lies

Title: The Camera Never Lies
Author: Elizabeth Goddard
Publisher: Barbour Books
December 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60260-627-2
Genre: Inspirational/cozy mystery

Polly Perkins has gone to a small town on the Oregon coast to be with her best friend, Rene when she marries. But Polly has no sooner arrived than her mother does, all upset due to a scam where someone stole over $50,000 from her. Polly thinks her mother is blowing it all out of proportion, until an acquaintance from Polly’s past is found dead—and Polly’s mother had been overheard threatening to kill him.

Polly was supposed to be there to take photos of her friend’s wedding, but instead she finds herself taking shots of the victim, the maid, the gawkers, and everyone else. She firmly believes the camera never lies, but will her pictures help her find the murderer? Or will the murderer find her, first?

THE CAMERA NEVER LIES is one of the final few cozy mysteries that Barbour books published. I enjoyed most of the light-hearted mysteries in this collection, but unfortunately, this wasn’t one of them. This book did have the usual array of colorful characters, including Polly’s own mother, but most of the story came across flat.

I did figure out who the victim was before he was killed, and I started gathering my clues for the killer as soon as possible. And I had my suspicions early on. If you are looking for a cozy mystery, then THE CAMERA NEVER LIES might be something you’d like. $10.99. 249 pages.