The cosy mystery is not a genre I’m generally drawn to. I’ve read a few (mostly Josh Lanyon’s Secrets and Scrabble series and a few others) and the words “Gregory Ashe” and “cosy mystery” were not, until now, ones I’d have expected ever to see written in the same sentence. But here we are at the beginning of a new series of cosy mysteries by Gregory Ashe – and I will admit that I wasn’t overjoyed at the prospect of a GA book with no gut-twisting angst, inventive swearing (or sex).

BUT. He’s an immensely talented writer and I’ve reached the stage where I’ll read anything he writes, so there was never a chance I wasn’t going to at least give his latest The Last Picks series a try. Book one (of a proposed twelve!), Mystery Magnet, is exactly what you’d expect from a cosy mystery. It’s fairly short, the protagonist is endearing with a distinctive voice, there’s a quirky secondary cast, and a decent – though not especially complex – mystery to be solved. I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next book and Mr. Ashe clearly demonstrates that yes, he absolutely can write a successful cosy mystery.

Our narrator is Dashiell (“just Dash”) Dawson Dane, an aspiring mystery writer whose parents are both very successful authors of dark mysteries and thrillers:

I’d grown up with parents who specialized in the macabre, where talking and reading and thinking about things like exotic murders and due process and, yes, homicide interviews were part of daily life.

– and are way too wrapped up in their own drama to be bothered overmuch about their son. After breaking up with his boyfriend, Hugo, Dash gets a job as PA to celebrity mystery author Vivienne Carver and drives across the country from his home in Providence to the small Oregon town of Hastings Rock and Vivienne’s coast-side mansion, Hemlock House. It’s certainly different, and Dash is looking forward not only to starting his new job, but also hoping that the new location will blow the cobwebs off his own writing process, which has been stalled for some time.

His new job gets off to a terrible start, however, when, the very next morning, Dash is returning from a coffee-run in town and sees a body floating in the water just beyond the cliffs – a body wearing the very distinctive red sweater Vivienne was wearing the day before. When the sheriff and his deputies arrive, they are very suspicious of the new guy on the block; Dash can’t prove he was alone and asleep all last night, and when a secret passageway is discovered, connecting his bedroom with Vivienne’s, he’s convinced he’s the prime suspect in her murder. And what is any self-respecting mystery writer to do in those circumstances? Why, he must turn amateur sleuth to prove his innocence by catching the real killer, of course!

I haven’t read too many cosies, but it seems that where they really stand or fall is on the quality of the characterisation – and one of the many things Gregory Ashe excels at is creating layered, nuanced and likeable characters. Dash is awkward and endearing, he clearly has self-esteem problems and anxiety issues, and his narrative voice is full of humour – with a delicious streak of snark – and self-awareness. I liked him a lot, and thankfully, his determination to get to the truth isn’t characterised by his doing really dumb things that put him in danger all the time! And although this is Dash’s show, there’s a lively and well-characterised secondary cast on hand to liven things up; we have Millie, who completely lacks an ‘inside voice’ and WHOSE ENTHUSIASM FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IS BARELY CONTAINABLE, Indira, the very enigmatic live-in cook and housekeeper, Fox, a local artist prone to dramatic gestures and woeful lamentations “Never love or cherish or hope for anything,” the mysterious Keme, who seems to have taken an instant dislike to Dash, and Deputy Bobby, sternly helpful purveyor of parking tickets, and who I’m guessing will turn out to be Dash’s love interest.

The writing is deft and fresh; the use of language and descriptions are still recognisably Gregory Ashe, but there’s a lighter note overall that is perfect for the genre. It’s also the shortest Ashe book I’ve ever read (not counting the short stories that take place between his longer titles) – I read it in one evening. The mystery itself is entertaining and there’s a nice twist near the end, the dialogue is sharp and witty and I really liked the emerging relationships and the interactions between the characters. It’s early days so it’s a bit ‘bare bones’ at the moment, but I’m looking forward to watching Dash as he settles into Hastings Rock and seeing how all the relationships develop.

I’m never going to be able to call myself a fan of cosy mysteries, but Mystery Magnet was a lot of fun and is a book I’d definitely recommend to anyone looking for a quick, lighthearted read filled with interesting characters, great dialogue and a snarky, engaging protagonist.