Cordelia West has spent years building a quiet, respectable life in Dallas and putting as much distance as possible between herself and her chaotic hometown of Sarsaparilla Falls. Then she gets a phone call: a great-aunt she never knew existed has died and left her the Chickadee Motel. The catch? It can’t be sold until its residents leave or pass away. So Cordelia heads back to sort it out. only to discover the Chickadee isn’t a motel. It’s a brothel. Run by three women in their sixties known as the Chicks, who have been entertaining the men of Sarsaparilla Falls for decades with their wives’ full knowledge. When the town’s hypocritical pastor turns up poisoned in one of the Chicks’ beds, Cordelia finds herself playing reluctant madam and even more reluctant detective.
As a Texan, the title alone had me. Add in a gorgeous cover, quirky senior characters, and a small-town murder mystery? I was ready to love this. And I did like it. I just didn’t love it, and I’m honestly not entirely sure why.
The Chicks are the absolute highlight of this book. Daisy, Arline, and Belinda Sue are the kind of characters you want to jump into the pages and befriend. I want them all to be my great-aunts. They’re fun, fully themselves, unapologetic, and bring this wonderful energy to every scene they’re in. The humor hits, the Texas small-town setting is a blast, and the premise is one of the most original I’ve read in a cozy mystery in a long time. If you loved The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, you’re going to get similar vibes here: seniors behaving badly, a dead body, and a whole lot of charm.
Cordelia’s growth throughout the story is genuinely great. Watching her go from buttoned-up Dallas professional to someone who actually cares about these women, and this town was really satisfying. That said, she is a terrible detective. Just hilariously bad at it. Which is endearing up to a point, but I did find myself wanting her to piece things together a little faster. I also wanted more from the romance with Archer. The bones are there and the childhood-nemesis setup is fun, but it never quite gets to where I wanted it to go. This definitely feels like it’s setting up for a series, so maybe that’s intentional but I wanted a little more heat and development in this installment.
The mystery itself is well constructed with twists I didn’t see coming and a solid ending. The writing is strong, the characters are well developed, and for a book that’s under 300 pages, it packs a lot in. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted, it made me feel hopeful. And yet something kept me from fully clicking in. It took me longer to read than I expected for its length, and I kept putting it down when normally a book like this should be a one-sitting read for me. I genuinely can’t pinpoint what was missing and that might just be a me problem. The ingredients are all there and I think for a lot of readers this is going to be a home run.
3.5 stars. A quirky, charming Texas cozy mystery that I’d absolutely recommend to anyone who loves small-town settings, lovable ensemble casts, and murder with a sense of humor. And if this does turn into a series, I’ll be back for the Chicks. Every time.
AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP |★★★
The Best Little Motel in Texas is out now. Huge thank you to Harper Perennial for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
