Trouble in Store by Carol Cox

Melanie is a governess to a wealthy, political family in Ohio when her charge lies to his parents, throwing Melanie in a bad light and causing her dismissal. While hastily packing her belongings, Melanie remembers her cousin's promise that she is always welcome to help at the store he co-owns in Arizona. Having no other option, she sets out.
Meanwhile, her cousin and his business partner have died and the business partner's nephew, Caleb, has taken over the store. The mercantile is the last hope for him as well and he's not about it let it go to some woman from back east. Melanie tries to make herself useful around the store but Caleb resents her ideas and tries to get her married to one of the locals.
In the midst of all this, mysterious notes are left, someone is breaking into the store, a man is murdered at the back porch. It's a lot to take in. While the end is predictable, there are a few surprises to keep you reading.
Trouble in Store starts as your typical romance (boy and girl don't get along) and morphs into a murder mystery. Somewhere before they find the killer, boy and girl fall in love, although I'm not really sure when or why. 
The main problem I had with the story was character development. As previously mentioned, I have no idea when Melanie and Caleb's relationship changed from hateful to loving, or why they suddenly decided they needed each other. I would have enjoyed it more if the book had focus, not running back and forth between suspense, romance, comedy, mystery...it just didn't seem to fit to me. While all the strings were tied up at the end and everything was resolved, I felt there were ways the characters, from primary to secondary, could have had a little more depth. Maybe explain why they behave certain ways. At times I thought we were going to learn something new about the professor or Levi but the action just kept going without addressing the statement they had made or the look they gave another character.
Carol Cox is an interesting author, describing landscapes and places with detail. This was the first book of hers I have read and I'm willing to read another one of her books and give it a chance. I would recommend this as a book to read if you don't have anything you really want to dive into. Good for an escape into 1885 but not a totally captivating read.

I was given this book by the publisher to review. This in no way altered or interfered with my opinions or comments.