Skye Denison has a new social worker to share her office and the newest murder. Skye literally stumbles over the body of a pushy Promfest chairperson, Annette Paine, during a Halloween fund raiser and is then caught up in the middle of trying to figure out whodunit before she becomes the next victim. There is evidence that Skye might be the one targeted, especially when other things start happening to her. Will Skye be able to help the police figure out what is going on before it is too late?

Denise Swanson continues to make the character of Skye Denison believable with her little quirks, like keeping a stash of cookies in her drawer for those stressful days.  The plot is slow to develop and several chapters passed before the murder took place. There are a handful of realistic suspects but also some little subplots that are not necessary. The antics between Skye and the new social worker are fitting and make sense when the truth is revealed.

Murder of a Royal Pain is not as good as other books in the Scumble River Mystery series but is still well worth the read. It is quick and still enjoyable.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Murder of a Small Town Honey, # 1   [review]
Murder of a Sweet Old Lady, # 2    [review]
Murder of a Sleeping Beauty, # 3    [review]
Murder of a Snake in the Grass, # 4   [review]
Murder of a Pink Elephant, # 6   [review]
Murder of a Smart Cookie, # 7   [review]
Murder of a Real Bad Boy, # 8    [review]
Murder of a Botoxed Blonde, # 9   [review]--Thanksgiving
Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry, # 10    [review] - Halloween
Murder of a Royal Pain, # 11    [review]
Murder of a Wedding Belle, # 12   [review]
Murder of a Creped Suzette, # 14    [review]
Murder of the Cat’s Meow #15 [review]
Murder of a Stacked Librarian #16 [review] --Christmas
Murder of a Needled Knitter #17 [review]