Snap Shot: 5

This was my first Chyittenden novel. If you haven't already read the summary, Snap Shot is about Diana Gordon, who gets injured one too many times on the job as PI and decides to make her photography hobby full-time. She meets handsome chiropracter Conner Callahan - a widow at 40 - in her new town, small Port Findlay, Washington. A murder shakes up the town and, in true romantic suspense style, throws a reluctant Diana and Connor together. I liked this book overall. There were times when I felt Diana's character - particularly her background - needed more development. There were also times when the authors summed up emotions or dialogue too quickly and I found myself wanting more. The axiom "show don't tell" comes to mind. Still, Snap Shot was well-written and worth the read. I plan to follow up on this author to see her evolution as a writer.

Diana Gordon decides after being shot that the life of a private investigator is too dangerous to suit her. Instead she moves from San Francisco to the small, picturesque town of Port Findlay, Washington. There she becomes a photographer and settles into a new life. She agrees to be a judge for a photography show and while meeting with the other judges, she discovers that a member of their judging panel has been killed. The victim was a very prominent member of the community and her death causes quite an uproar. Diana treads a fine line by doing some investigating into the murder while trying not to reveal that she used to be a PI. She is aided by Connor Calahan, a Port Findlay chiropractor, and soon their friendship turns into something deeper. In this book, Meg Chittenden spins an interesting story with likeable characters, in an interesting setting.

While shadowing a man suspected of insurance fraud, Diana Gordon, a private investigator in San Francisco, is shot. She decides that enough is enough and quits the business and the big city for life in quiet Port Findlay, Washington. Leaving crime and violence behind her, she dusts off her camera and changes careers by opening a photography studio, Photomania. Diana gets roped into co-hosting the annual Port Finley Arts Alliance Photography Show with the widowed local chiropractor Connor Callahan by the forceful Arts Alliance president, Rosemary Barrett. At the pre-opening judging of the photographs, Diana, Connor and the two judges discover Rosemary's murdered body. Despite her best efforts, Diana gets drawn into the investigation and into Connor's life. Whether you class it as mystery, romance or romantic suspense, Meg Chittenden never fails to deliver a great yarn. Her characters are people you really feel something about. Diana and Connor as a couple are delightful even with Diana's reluctance for permanence and Connor still "chatting" with his dead wife at her graveside. The storyline flows as smoothly as silk without a jarring or false note from my point of view. The mystery is well plotted with no obvious ploys to deceive the reader. A classy addition to Meg's bibliography showing her talent and skill as an author.

For a "former" P.I. she sure took a long time to suspect what was going on. She also didn't make much use of her job skills. Why such a lack of curiosity?

After being shot by a mark that she was investigating, private investigator Diana Gordon quits sleuthing as she is tired of injuries and feeling old at thirty-four. The part owner of G and J Investigations Diana leaves the practice without asking for compensation from her partner, Bradley Jeffers. One year later, Diana has relocated to Port Findlay, Washington where she has opened up a photography practice, the one skill from her previous work that means doing all the shooting and not being shot back. However, Diana has been roped into co-hosting the annual Port Finley Arts Alliance Photography Show with chiropractor Connor Callahan, a widower still "talking" to his beloved late spouse. As someone stalks Diana from her previous life with plans to kill her, she and Connor begin to fall in love. However, she has doubts as she has had one failed marriage and she believes he has room for one woman in his heart, his beloved deceased spouse of fourteen years. SNAP SHOT is an entertaining Pacific Northwest romantic suspense tale that readers will enjoy due to the shy antics of the lead couple when they are near each other. The story line is further propelled by eccentric secondary characters who constantly push the dynamic duo together, but not as matchmakers but for the photography show. The tense intrigue subplot is cleverly developed, but the key to this fine thriller is the personal dynamics between the reluctant yet hopeful prime pair. Harriet Klausner