Genre:

For mall cop EJ Ferris, catching customers who "forgot to pay" is quite a change of pace from her former life in the military. But when a real crisis heats up her climate-controlled domain, her old instincts come back faster than last year's skinny jeans.

On good days, Fernglen Galleria is a tranquil haven of capitalist splendor--but today is not one of those days. Arriving for her morning shift, EJ spots a sleeping homeless person outside the east entrance. But the man turns out to be neither homeless nor asleep. He is, however, dead.

With half the security cameras sabotaged, no one can be sure what happened. EJ is determined to help solve the case--whether Detective Helland likes it or not. Uncovering a deadly conspiraccy right in her own mall. EJ is about to catch a killer, or get put on layaway for good.

Series: Mall Cop (Book 2)

Review

An injury forces EJ Ferris to take a medical discharge from the military. She is now a “mall cop” at Virginia’s Fernglen Galleria. Catching shoplifters, finding lost keys for motorists, and subduing drunken Easter bunnies is now all in a day’s work for EJ. One morning as EJ walks from her car to the mall entrance, she discovers a dead body right outside the door to the mall. At first she assumes it’s a homeless man, but it soon becomes evident this isn’t a street person and his death was no accident. It even looks like the young man’s death may have something to do with some shady operations going on at Fernglen involving mall employees. Although lead investigator Detective Sergeant Andrers Helland doesn’t want EJ’s help, she just can’t help but get involved in the investigation of a murder that occurred on her home turf, even if that means angering Helland and putting herself in the target of a murderer.

EJ (short for Emma-Joy) is a wonderful main character – tough, but vulnerable and with a sharp wit that is very entertaining. She has been trying to get hired on as a police officer somewhere, but her injury is preventing her from getting hired. I admire the fact that even though working in Mall Security isn’t her first career choice, she puts her all into the job. When the opportunity arises for her to be temporarily managing other employees, she tries her best to connect with each one of them, even those who are resentful of her new responsibilities. 

There are interesting side-characters as well that go beyond the stereotypical characters of some cozies. Her best friend Kyra isn’t just a boring sidekick for EJ; she has her own likes and dislikes and distinctive personality. EJ’s grandfather isn’t just the eccentric elderly relative, but an intelligent vibrant character who truly helps EJ with her investigations. EJ has two possible love interests and both are nice, intelligent, handsome men, so it’s not obvious who she may end up dating. There is also an abundance of other supporting characters that either work with EJ in Mall Security or work at one of the mall shops which adds realism to the mall atmosphere. There are more to some of these characters, such as Jay Callahan the “cookie-seller” than first meets the eye which makes the book interesting and keeps each character distinct from each other.

All Sales Fatal is an excellent follow-up to the debut book in this series, Die Buying. The mystery has plenty of twists and turns, but is ultimately resolved by the end of the book. However, there are a couple of cliff-hangers in regard to EJ’s future career plans as well as in the romance department to keep readers excited and looking forward to the next installment of this series. Readers who enjoy Elaine Viets will enjoy a trip to Fernglen Galleria.

Reviewed by Christine

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