Killer Gumbo (Savory Mystery Series Book 4)

Author:    Karen McSpade

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B09HDW1P6Z

Newcastle Media

60 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

November 30, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Chicago detective Piper Sandstone is about to embark on her most dangerous mission ever while hiding in Savory, Alabama.  With a price placed on her head by some dirty cops, Piper is forced to go undercover as a waitnress at a local café.  But when a dognapping and murder shake up the local community, Piper finds herself tangled in the mystery,  Now, she must hide her unique talents and maintain her cover if she wants to make it home alive.

Savory, better known as Alligator Alley, is not your typical tourist Gulf Coast town.  Why?  Because it's home to the three-time AKC champion poodle Victory Cup Valentino, but this year bad things are about to go down,  Even before Piper can get unpacked, there is a murder, and the poodle goes missing right before the Westminster Dog Show.  But before she can get any answers, all hell breaks loose when a body turns up in the bayou and she's at the center of the crime scene.  To top things off, the handsome sheriff is asking too many questions.

Fortunately for Piper, a group of sweet older ladies known as the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad is on her side.  These quirky amateur sleuths are a force to be reckoned with and they've taken a special interest in Piper's unique skills,  Now, they must join forces to solve the mystery and catch the killer before another Savory resident winds up dead.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Piper Sandstone is a Chicago police detective who is currently hiding out in Savory, Alabama under an assumed name.  She works as Sharon, a waitress, at a local eatery, and is becoming fond of a group of older women who call themselves the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad.  These ladies are determined to find out the truth about a murdered dog trainer, and they've taken on 'Sharon' as one of their own.

But then a local man dies at the eatery and it's discovered that he's been poisoned.  Now these woman are wondering if the two are connected, and what they have to do with the recent dognapping that's taken place.  So in this vein, they've decided to go undercover to discover clues, but they may have gone just a tad too far this time...

This is the fourth episode of this series, and I have read every one.  Each time they get more interesting, and give you a little bit more in clues to work with.  There is suspense aplenty, and snippets of information given, both about Piper and what is going on in Savory.  In this, we are drawn into the town and its residents, wondering who killed both people and why.

Just when you get to the part you want to know more of, the book drops a small bomb and gives us something to look forward to in the next...which I want to read right away.  Ms. McSpade tells a mean story, and her books are always intriguing and worth the read.  Highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy from the author but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Gumbo-Sandstone-Mystery-contemporary-ebook/dp/B09HDW1P6Z/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4364199129

More on Karen McSpade's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/karen-mcspade/

Rekindling Motives (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series Book 2)

Author:    Elaine L. Orr

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781948070027

Lifelong Dreams Publishing

252 Pages

$8.99 $.99 Amazon

October 2, 2017

⭐⭐⭐

Jolie Gentil appraises the vacant Tillotson-Fisher house and finds the skeleton of Richard Tillotson in an antique attic wardrobe.  He vanished after his sister married his business partner in 1929.  Jolie sees a link to the Fisher family's Prohibition era business and works with friends Scoobie and Ramona to gather clues from old photo albums and ledgers.  The present day murder of Richard's former girlfriend, Mary Doris, tells them they're on the right track.  Did the secret she kept all these years finally kill her?  Between running the food pantry at Christmas time and escaping a burning building, they hope to figure out who the modern killer is before someone else gets hurt.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Jolie Gentil moved back home to Ocean Alley after her husband was put in the witness protection program (another story) and works as a real estate appraiser for Harry Steele's agency.  When she's asked to appraise an old home she finds an attic filled with treasures...until a skeleton pops out from a closet and the head falls down the staircase with Jolie.

Now she's figured out the skeleton is that of Richard Tillotson, who vanished in 1929.  But finding out his killer is another problem, one her Aunt Madge wants her to leave alone.  But Jolie has a deep curiosity about the murder, and goes to see Richard's 94-year-old girlfriend in the hope that the woman can give her some insight.

With another murder more modern, and Jolie armed with old photo albums and ledgers, she's planning on figuring it all out.  But someone doesn't want her to, and they're willing to kill her to keep the family secrets...

In full disclosure, I haven't read any others in this series.  I actually picked this book up because it was supposed to be about the holiday season, which we are into.  While there is a mention or two of Christmas, this book could take place any time of the year and it wouldn't matter.  There are no decorations, no trees, no town decorations, no snow...no nothing.  Why?  Doesn't Jolie's family celebrate the holiday?  There isn't even any holiday shopping, or mention of meals.  All in all, this book didn't produce what it promised.  

In defense, I will say that yes, it had a mystery, but even so, there could have been some decent reference to Christmas in passing more than just moving on to where Jolie gets up on New Year's Day.  Say what?  What happened to the week between Christmas and New Year's?  This is what to expect.  There are also no descriptions of the B&B or any of the town.  It left me wondering exactly where Ocean Alley might be, and if anyone else lived there.

But, back to the murder:  it was done very well, and there were a few suspects on the line, but actually there were no clues leading to the murderer, which I found disappointing.  There were scenes of the food pantry and Jolie's introduction into it, and Scoobie, who is really odd and I don't know whether I like him or not yet; the characters I really like are Mary Doris and Lance.  They, at least, have stories to tell.  I do like mysteries within mysteries, and that is what saved this book for me.

Although I didn't feel that this book was a page-turner, it was done well enough that I will more than likely go back to the first book and continue on with the series.  Perhaps after reading a few more books I will warm up to more of the characters that people the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Rekindling-Motives-Jolie-Gentil-Mystery/dp/1948070022/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4360560776

More on Elaine Orr's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/Elaine-L-Orr/e/B001HD0X6K/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

Death by the Finish Line (An Abby McCree Mystery Book 5)

Author:    Alexis Morgan

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496731272

Kensington Publishing

336 Pages

$8.99; $7.99 Amazon

December 28, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overcommitted Abby has once again been drafted to use her organizing superpowers -- this time for a 5K charity run that's part of the Founder's Day Celebration in Snowberry Creek, Washington.  At least she has help, albeit from an unlikely source: Gil Pratt, a member of her handsome tenant Tripp Blackston's veterans group and co-owner of a motorcycle repair shop with his brother.  Abby and Gil might seem like an odd couple, but they work great together.

The event seems to be running smoothly -- until city council member James DiSalvo is found murdered in a raving along the race route.  Unfortunately, Gil's brother Gary had a very public argument with DiSalvo minutes before the race, making him the prime suspect.  Now the two race organizers must again team up to prove Gary's innocence -- before the real killer makes a run for it.  But one wrong step and Abby may be the next one to come in dead last...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Abby McCree inherited her late aunt's Victorian home in Snowberry Creek, Washington.  It was fortuitous because after her divorce, she moved in and suddenly the town took to her right away.  Because of her business expertise, Abby has a habit of getting roped into events all year long by the mayor's assistant -- and her tenant, Tripp Blackston, is starting to become something more than just a tenant.

This time out she's working on the Salmon Scoot, a 5k run in which the proceeds of the event will benefit the high school.  Her co-chair is the unlikely Gil Pratt, co-owner of a motorcycle repair shop along with his brother.  Abby is surprised to find that Gil isn't scary at all, and they actually work well together.  But the day of the race, she witnesses an argument between Gil's brother Gary and James DiSalvo, a city council member.

Later, when DiSalvo's lifeless body is found along the race trail, Gary is arrested for the murder.  Gil is beside himself, knowing his brother isn't a killer.  Now Abby, even though she's promised both Tripp and Sheriff Gage Logan that she will stay out of it, is somehow dragged into the investigation anyway.  She's determined that any information she receives she'll turn over to Gage, but if the wrong person thinks Abby might know a little too much, it might also be the last thing she does learn...

This is the fifth book in the series and I have read them all and enjoyed every one of them.  I do like the fact that Abby's relationship with Tripp is progressing (albeit slowly), so there's that, but in this book she befriends biker Gil, who somehow develops a soft spot for Abby, and, of course, her baking skills.  We also get to see a little more of Gage's relationship with his daughter Sydney, and there's a sweet moment that should please anyone.

However, the dead man's daughter is haranguing Gage daily, and there's another woman who's muddying the waters, making it difficult for Abby to figure out the truth.  But her friends are around her, and their tidbits of information are giving her a clue as to what the dead man was truly like, and it might make things easier in the long run.

I will not give out any more information on the plot, but I will say that this book is chock full of action, and the clues are there, even if they are few and far between.  The murderer came as a surprise to me, and I am usually very good at this, so that was pleasant and enhanced my enjoyment of the book.  It was one that I read in one evening, and a very good cozy to keep you entertained.  We also get a hint as to what the next book will be like, and I truly wish I could read it now.  Ms. Morgan is a talented writer that knows how to pull in the reader and make them want to be part of the book itself, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Finish-Line-McCree-Mystery/dp/1496731271/ref

Goodreads:      https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4346208916

More on Alexis Morgan's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/alexis-morgan/

Mystery on the Half Shell (Savory Mystery Series Book 3)

Author:    Karen McSpade

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B09DBY8JVD

Newcastle Media

61 Pages

$2,99 Amazon

November 16, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After solving a case involving dirty cops, Piper is forced to hide out in Savory, Alabama until the corrupt officers land behind bars.

Savory, better known as Alligator Alley, is not your typical tourist attraction Gulf Coast town.  Why?  Because it's home to the three-time AKC champion poodle Victory Cup Valentino, but this year bad things are about to go down.  Even before Piper can get unpacked, there is a murder, and the poodle goes missing right before the Westminster Dog Show.

Piper can't resist looking into the case, and she can't risk blowing her cover if she wants to make her way back home.  But before she can get any answers, all hell breaks loose when a body turns up in the bayou.  And she's at the center of the crime scene.

Fortunately for Piper, a group of retired ladies known as the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad is on her side, and they are a force to be reckoned with.  Now, they must work together to solve the crime and stop the murderer before they end up in a body bag.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Piper Sandstone moves to Savory, Alabama, it isn't her own choice.  It's because she's in the middle of a trial involving dirty cops, and it's for her own safety.  Since she's now Sharon, a waitress at the local diner, she needs to keep her identity secret.  But it doesn't stop her from investigating crime -- it's inbred in her as a cop -- and she's investigating the death of a young woman whose body was found in the swamp.  Joining her are a group of four retired ladies known as the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad, and they're just as concerned about justice for the dead woman.

But things get hairy when she's caught snooping by the local sheriff, who now doesn't trust her, and more involved when she finds something she didn't expect to find.  Now she's wondering why things aren't looking the way they should, and if there's more to the story.  But before she can do any more sleuthing, something occurs that stops everything temporarily...

This is the third installment in the series, and I have to say that I am really enjoying it.  While these are short reads, it is difficult to put them down, and it makes you want to finish the entire series in one sitting.  There is enough action to please anyone, and enough mystery to keep you guessing.  Since these are short, I hesitate to give you any more information than I already have, but urge you to read the series, beginning with the first book.  You won't be disappointed.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the author but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Half-Shell-Sandstone-contemporary-ebook/dp/B09DBY8JVD/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4341163819

More on Karen McSpade's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/karen-mcspade/

Howl to Get Away with Murder (Dog Groomer Mysteries Book 5)

Author:    Chelsea Thomas

Genre:     Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9798763335866

Independently Published

258 Pages

$12.99; $5.99 Amazon

November 9, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Amy Stewart moved back home to her small town of Toluca Lake, CA for the palm trees, the cute pets, and the relaxation.  She opened the world's cutest pet salon and quickly settled into life in a town where people are friendly, the weather is perfect, and everyone knows everyone else's dog by name.

She didn't anticipate solving so many murders.

But Amy and her grumpy granny have an incredible eye for detail, and they've got determination, they've got the persistence needed to solve any crime.  So when something goes wrong in town all eyes turn to them.

This time the body shows up at a local bar.

A dear family friend is targeted as the primary suspect, so Amy and Granny need to work fast in order to keep their friend out of jail.  But this case is dangerous and if they're not care our heroes could be the killer's next victims.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Amy Stewart moved home to Toluca Lake, CA after a disastrous relationship, and opened a pet salon along with her granny.  Her sole other employee is her best friend from school, Betsy.  In between making dogs look their best, the trio are off solving murder mysteries -- even when they don't want to.

When a friend at the local bank asked Amy to look into a missing Canadian man who was supposed to show up for a meeting at the bank but never arrived, she's not sure she's willing to do it, since they don't want to get involved in other crimes.  But Amy agrees, and while heading out one night to Little Canada,  Amy finds the man.  In a bathroom.  Killed with a hatchet.  Now there's another murderer on the loose, and Amy and her granny Petunia are out to find a killer once again.

The problem is that they don't know anything about him, so they have to start from scratch.  While the clues are all pointing to one person, Amy isn't sure that person is the guilty party.  But who else could be a suspect, when everything is steering her in that direction?

To top it off, both surgeon Jacob and detective Mike are pursuing Amy, and she's feeling both guilty and torn.  She hasn't given romance a thought, doesn't want to lead them on, and doesn't know who she likes better.  So what's a girl to do?

Meanwhile, her cat Fluffy is in a conundrum himself.  His love interest, Queen Elizabeth, has asked him a very special favor, and he wants to do everything he can to help her.  But even Fluffy has his limits, and he might have to ask someone else to help him.  It seems there are two in the household who are having romance problems, and neither one knows quite what to do...

However, finding a murderer this time out is different, with Amy having doubts and no help from the police, since she isn't able to either ask Mike or find him when she needs him.  So Amy and Granny are on their own, and Little Canada isn't the only place they wind up where they don't belong...

This is the fifth book in the series and just as delightful as all the others.  I do love the chapters with Fluffy, as he contemplates life and love in the feline masses.  It's always fun and interesting to read what he has to say.

Meanwhile, we have Betsy and her ever-changing screenplay -- all because she spent a night in jail and is now deciding she needs to sell her story to an agent so it can be made into a movie.  It's a hoot with the lines she comes up with, but at the same time, I'm grateful I don't have a Betsy in my own life.  I'd probably stop answering the phone after awhile...

Then there's Petunia, who's still playing poker and teaching her 'life skills classes' to unsuspecting males, all of whom are in need of dire confidence in themselves.  Those poor men.  It comes at a cost, but at least they're learning something worthwhile, right?

At the last, there's Amy, who is such a muddle inside that she can't think straight outside when it comes to men.  And murder keeps getting in the way.  Her professional life is just fine, because she's doing what she wants -- grooming the creatures that mean most to her -- but it's the humans she has troubles with, and never more so than when they commit murder...

In the end, the story was intriguing so much that I read it in one sitting.  It was almost exhausting with everything that was going on, and it was definitely hard to put down, which is just what a book is supposed to achieve.  What it also achieved was finding a murderer that came as a complete surprise.  We find out at the same time as Amy, so it was just like being there when it occurred (which, of course, we are).  It was unexpected and worth reading, and it all made sense when it came together.  All in all, the book was put together well with taut prose and a very good plot...and I have to say that I'm team Jacob -- which I usually don't take sides, but in this case I'll make an exception.  Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book from the author and Booksprout but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Howl-Away-Murder-Chelsea-Thomas/dp/B09LGNQYZ2/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4339216325

 More on Chelsea Thomas's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/chelsea-thomas/

Thanksgiving Waffle Murder (Wicked Waffle Paranormal Cozies Book 3)

Author:    Carolyn Q. Hunter

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781981635733

Create Space Independent Publishing Platform

188 Pages

$7.99; $2.99 Amazon

December 11, 2017

⭐⭐⭐

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching in Haunted Falls, Colorado, and diner owner, Sonja Reed, is busy getting her new cottage ready for the big event.  This year she is playing host to a large crew of hungry people -- including her boyfriend Frank's parents, and is excited to host everyone in her very own home.

Unfortunately, the harrowing nightmare's she's been having seem to be overshadowing the event and Sonja is beginning to wonder if perhaps there are ghosts involved.  When the nightmares come true and another murder occurs, she finds herself plunged smack dab into the middle of another mysteyr.

Will Sonja be able to solve this latest case before it ruins the holiday and more, or will she be the next victim?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sonja Reed is having the big Thanksgiving dinner at her own home, and she's invited both friends and family, and a lonely English transplant named Tabitha Rondo, who is away from her own family.  But they are barely into the celebration when Sonja goes to check on the turkey that her butler Gram is making when she finds a body in the old brick fireplace.  Now, with everyone gathered together in one room, it's up to Sonja to quietly try to figure out if her nightmares -- which involved a woman being strangled to death -- had anything to do with the present situation.

Her nightmares haunt her, and she discovered that indeed a woman was murdered on the premises in the early 1900's.  But how could the spirit of the sad young woman tell her anything about a present day killer?...

I like to 'read the season,' as it were, and this is the first Thanksgiving book that I settled upon.  While it wasn't a bad book, it wasn't enthralling, either.  It is a quick read and only took me about an hour to finish, but that's neither a minus or a plus.  I just felt that I didn't really get to know any of the characters involved, so I didn't really care when the murderer was found, and the reasons for the killing didn't seem to be rational to me, especially because of who the murderer was.  But it was a decent book, and easy to read, and I might very well try this author again, beginning with the first in the series and watch it progress.

https://smile.amazon.com/Thanksgiving-Waffle-Murder-Wicked-Paranormal-ebook/dp/B077DZYQ73/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4331319657

More on Carolyn Q. Hunter's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/carolyn-q-hunter/

Absence of Alice (A Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery Book 9)

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496722539

Kensington Publishing

288 Pages

$6.96; $6.61 Amazon

December 29, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sarah's latest client, Alice Krandle, is sure she has a fortune in antiques on her hands.  She's already gotten a generous offer for the whole lot before her garage sale has even begun, but she thinks she can earn more with Sarah's expert help.  The problem is that while Sarah's sorting through items from decades past, her landlady, Stella, faces a clear and present danger.

Stella's kidnapper has contacted Sarah with a set of instructions, and "Don't call the police" is at the top of the list.  But they didn't say anything about Sarah's friend Harriet -- who happens to be a former F.B.I. hostage negotiator...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sarah Winston is an ex-Air Force wife whom, after her divorce, decided to stay in Ellington, Massachusetts and run a garage sale business for others, which she's very good at.  But after a successful sale for Alice Krandle, a cantankerous elderly woman who's happy with Sarah's results, she receives a phone call from someone who tells her that he's kidnapped her landlady Stella, and she won't be returned unless Sarah does exactly what he says.  Part of that is to not contact the police nor her boyfriend Seth, who is the DA, so she's stuck in a precarious situation.

When she learns that Seth was almost abducted the same day, she's running scared, but willing to do whatever it takes to get Stella back alive.  She has Stella's phone, which the kidnapper is watching every text she sends, and he is following Sarah's every move.  She's given herself a time limit, and then whatever happens, she's going to the police.  But she has help in her assistant Harriet, who's an ex-FBI hostage negotiator, and the two are working together.

When Sarah finds the body of a woman dressed like Alice in Wonderland, she's horrified.  But when state police are called in, she's finding her adrenaline heightened and her sense of fear intensified.  But the kidnapper doesn't know Sarah, or what she's capable of when someone she loves is in danger.  It's Sarah's intrepid instincts that puts her ahead of the kidnapper's little game...

This is the ninth book in the series and I have read all of them.  I loved the plot line in this one.  It pretty much put Sarah on her own against someone with a sick mind who though they could use her as a pawn to get to someone else.  It shows Sarah's true strength, and the lengths she will go to to protect those she loves, even putting her own reputation on the line.

I have to say that it bothered me, though, how Pellner and Awesome reacted to her.  Would they not have done the same thing in the same situation?  Would Pellner have put his wife's life on the line?  I don't think so.  Cut her some slack, guys.  I did love the fact that it showed how loyal Sarah's friends are, and how loyal she is to them.  It warmed my heart.

When Sarah starts 'the game' as it were, she's worried and scared, but once she has help unknown to the kidnapper, things start to become more interesting, and that's when the book pulls you in.  I really couldn't put this one down and read it all in one sitting.

In the end it was definitely a twisted situation as well as a rather sad one, but there are other things that make it all worth the while.  I did enjoy this book immensely and look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Absence-Alice-Sarah-Garage-Mystery/dp/1496722531/ref

Goodreads:     https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4326273186

More on Sherry Harris's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/sherry-harris/

Sell Low, Sweet Harriet (A Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery Book 8)

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496722515

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$7.99; $5.99 Amazon

December 31, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ONE WOMAN's TRASH...

Sarah Winston's garage sale business has a new client: the daughter of a couple who recently died in a tragic accident while away on a trip to Africa.  Their house is full of exotic items from around the world that need to be sold off.  When Sarah learns that the deceased were retired CIA agents, the job becomes more intriguing -- but when an intruder breaks in and a hidden camera is found, it also becomes more dangerous.  And Sarah has enough on her plate right now since she's investigating a murder on the side at the nearby Air Force base, where her status as a former military spouse gives her a special kind of access.

...IS ANOTHER WOMAN'S TROUBLE

With so much work piling up, Sarah decides to hire some help.  But her assistant, Harriet -- a former FBI hostage negotiator -- has a rare talent for salesmanship.  Which is good, because Sarah may have to haggle for her life with Harriet's assistance...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sarah Winston is a former military spouse who decided after her divorce to stay in Ellington, Massachusetts, near her friends.  She's built a life for herself and is happy with her business organizing garage and estate sales.  Her latest client is the daughter of former CIA agents, and has asked her to sell all the contents in her parents' home, since she and her brother don't want anything.  But when a man enters the home declaring he's Jeanette's brother Troy, Sarah is at first told it's okay, but then after he injures himself and is taken to the hospital, Jeanette declares him a fraud and both are wondering what he wanted so badly at the home that he would lie to gain entrance...

Meanwhile, a young military spouse at Fitch Air Force base is found murdered, and to Sarah's surprise, both police officer Pellner, who's now a friend, and OSI agent Frank Bristow are asking for her help.  They want her to listen to any rumors of who might have had a reason to kill her and report back to them.

It looks as if her plate is full, with the murder investigation, and a sale so large she needs to hire help.  But there's more...mobster Mike Titone is back again, living next door to Sarah for reasons unknown -- meaning he won't tell her -- and she's on guard looking for strangers trying to enter her building, even if Mike does have a bodyguard outside.

But when Sarah hears disparaging remarks about herself, and a base wife is asking for her help declaring her innocence, what is she to do?  Stretch herself as thin as she can and hope that she doesn't break over trying to catch the bad guys...this one might even be too much for her...

This is the eighth book in the series and I have read them all.  I am really enjoying this series, and reading them faster than the author can turn them out.  If I like a series, I will try and read them all at once (not always possible); but I love Sarah.  She's not stupid and doesn't take unnecessary chances like breaking and entering, and even though she goes a little farther than the police like, she doesn't knowingly put herself in danger.

Sarah is strong, smart, a beautiful woman, and finally deciding she can move on with life after her divorce left her broken and bruised.  Watching her figure things out is interesting enough, even with everything else that is going on in her life.  I love the fact that we are given glimpses into what her life must have been like as opposed to what it is now (I much prefer the now, having once been an Air Force wife myself).

When Sarah figures things out, she catches the man breaking into the home in a dramatic climax that is different enough to be believable, and when the murderer of the young wife is found, it's rather sad how people can do things that can cause pain to others.  This book is definitely a very good one, and the story is drawn well, with characters you want to see time and time again; and like the DiNapolis, I do like Seth much better than CJ.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Harriet-Sarah-Garage-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07NX1WXLN/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4324820908 

More on Sherry Harris's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/sherry-harris/ 

Let's Fake a Deal (A Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery Book 7)

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496716989

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$7.99; $5.99 Amazon

July 30, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SHE'S GOT THE GOODS...

As a former military spouse, Sarah Winston's learned a little about organizing, packing, and moving.  Her latest project sounds promising: a couple of tech-industry hipsters, newly arrived in her Massachusetts town, who need to downsize.  Unfortunately, when Sarah tries to sell their stuff, she discovers it's all stolen -- and she's the unwitting fence. 

BUT SARAH'S PROBLEMS ARE JUST BEGINNING

Michelle, an old friend of Sarah's from the Air Force base, is in line for a promotion -- but not everyone is happy about it, and she's been hit with an anonymous discrimination complaint.  When one of the men she suspects is behind the accusations turns up dead in Michelle's car, Sarah needs to clear Michelle's name -- as well as her own for selling hot merchandise.  And she'll have to do it while also organizing a cat lady's gigantic collection of feline memorabilia, or they'll be making room for Sarah in a jail cell...

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When Sarah Winston's twenty-year marriage dissolved, she decided to stay in Ellington, Massachusetts.  It's the last place she and her ex-military husband were stationed, and she's made friends, not to mention starting a new romance with the DA.  She has a business where she runs garage sales for people and seems to be making a small profit with it.  But when she's running the latest sale in another town, the police show up and arrest her for selling stolen merchandise -- which she didn't know was stolen but they aren't buying it.

To drown her sorrows she goes to the base bar with her friend Michelle, a Lt. Colonel who is up for a promotion to a full colonel but it is being stalled because someone on the base has put in a complaint about her.  When Michelle points out the possibility of who it might have been, both of them decide to just have a fun night out and call Sarah's brother Luke to pick them up.  But when Luke returns with them the next day to pick up their vehicles, there's a body in Michelle's, and it's the man who filed the complaint about her.  Now Sarah has to not only prove her own innocence, she's promised to help Michelle prove hers, also.  

But in doing so, she refuses to see her boyfriend because it could harm his chances for re-election, and she doesn't want to do that.  Instead, she spends her time working on a sale for a woman obsessed with cats, and trying to stay under the radar of the police.  But while looking for the people who hired her to sell the merchandise that was stolen, she comes across the fact that they don't really exist.  Except they do...somewhere.  Finding them could be a killer...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have read all of them.  I have to admit I wasn't impressed by the first in the series, as I didn't really warm up to either Sarah or CJ, they just didn't appeal to me.  But I am glad that I stayed with the series, as I really enjoy the books now.

In this latest installment, we have Sarah trying to locate the hipsters that hired her as well as figure out who framed her friend Michelle.  But it's not that easy, especially since Michelle is military and they aren't giving her anything to work with; then again, neither are the local police helping Sarah figure out who is trying to frame her.  It's a troublesome situation.

But we follow along as Sarah searches for thieves and killers, and the story becomes more twisted and convoluted than Sarah even thought, and watching everything come together is the best part, and even if I did know the murderer before Sarah, it was still fun putting the pieces together.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Fake-Sarah-Garage-Mystery/dp/1496716981/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4321714258

More on Sherry Harris's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/sherry-harris/

Red Beans and R.I.P. (Savory Mystery Series Book 2)

Author:    Karen McSpade

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B09DBZ147F

Independently Published

64 Pages

$.99 Amazon

November 2, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐

After solving a case involving dirty cops, Piper is forced to hide out in Savory, Alabama until the corrupt officers land behind bars.

Savory, better known as Alligator Alley, is not your typical tourist attraction Gulf Coast town.  Why?  Because it's home to the three-time AKC champion poodle Victory Cup Valentino, but this year bad things are about to go down.  Even before Piper can get unpacked, there is a murder, and the poodle goes missing right before the Westminster Dog Show.

Suspicions run high, especially with two other newcomers with very sketchy backstories showing up in town.  But before Piper can get any answers. all hell breaks loose when a body turns up in the bayou and she's at the center of the crime scene.

Fortunately for Piper, a group of retired ladies known as the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad is on her side, and they are a force to be reckoned with.  Now, they must work together to solve the crime and stop the murderer before they end up in a body bag.

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Piper Sandstone is a Chicago detective who is relegated to living in small town Savory, Alabama under an assumed name until the dirty cops she brought to justice are put away.  So she's taken a job as a waitress, and is friends with a group of retired women who consider themselves amateur sleuths.  They're trying to solve the disappearance of a prize-winning poodle and his handler, Susan Tate.  But things go south when a body is found and Piper, living under the name Sharon, is determined to find out what is really going on...

This is the second part of an episodic story involving Piper and her efforts to stay under the wire but can't get over the fact that she has crime-solving in her blood.  I will say that it is better than the first part, and I enjoyed it much more.

Piper is trying to fit into her new life, but she's finding it difficult, especially when it's obvious that the sheriff is interested in her.  She wants to stay on the down low, but knows she wants to solve the crime as well.  And that's what brings her to her latest predicament, where she's pretty much stuck in a circle that she can't get away from...

That is all I am going to say, since this is a short mystery (64 pages) and saying anything else might ruin the story for others.  However, you should read the first and then this one, as it is a continuation, but it will be worth it to read them together.  Recommended.

I received an advance copy from the author but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Beans-R-I-P-Sandstone-contemporary-ebook/dp/B09DBZ147F/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4319915647

More on Karen McSpade's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/karen-mcspade/

Murder on an Irish Farm (An Irish Village Mystery Book 8)

Author:    Carlene O'Connor

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781496730800

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$26.00; $12.99 Amazon

February 22, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If only her mother could be here!  The entire O'Sullivan brood -- not to mention the regulars from Naomi's Bistro -- have gathered at St. Mary's Church for the wedding of Siobhán and Macdara.  It's not every day you see two garda marrying each other.  Only Siobhán's brother James is missing.  They can't start without him.

But when James finally comes racing in, he's covered in dirt and babbling he's found a human skeleton in the old slurry pit at the farmhouse.  What farmhouse?  Macdara sheepishly admits he was saving it as a wedding surprise: he purchased an abandoned dairy farm.  Duty calls, so the engaged garda decide to put the wedding on hold to investigate.

James leads them to a skeleton clothed in rags that resemble a tattered tuxedo.  As an elderly neighbor approaches, she cries out that these must be the remains of her one true love who never showed up on their wedding day, fifty years ago.  The garda have a cold case on their hands, which heats up the following day when a fresh corpse appears on top of the bridegroom's bones.  With a killer at large, they need to watch their backs -- or the nearly wedded couple may be parted by death before they've even taken their vows...

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Siobhán O'Sullivan is preparing for her wedding to fellow garda Detective Macdara Flannery.  But her brother James, who is to give her away, is missing.  After learning that they must be married soon, she proceeds down the aisle with her brother Eoin at her arm.  Yet before the ceremony begins, James enters, covered in mud, and, knowing it's important or he wouldn't show up that way, the wedding is postponed.  Now the two have a major problem: there's a skeleton in the slurry pit of the farm that Macdara had purchased as a wedding surprise.

But when it's discovered that the body is Tommy Caffrey, who was thought to have run away the day of his own wedding fifty years before -- to the day -- along with thirty thousand quid, the two garda have a mystery to solve.  Who killed Tommy?  And when they arrive the next morning at the farm to further investigate, there is a crowd gathered and the once-jilted bride is crying, because now her own brother Alan lies on top of the skeleton.

With two bodies, and two murders, and many more suspects, how are they supposed to figure out if it's one murderer or two?  But Siobhán has her own methods of looking at cases, as does Macdara, and together they vow to find out the truth.  Unless, of course, the murderer decides to continue killing...

Siobhán is finally marrying her own one true love, Macdara, and is just as nervous as any bride would be.  But it's not to be on this day, because she discovers something more important, in the form of finding out who wanted to kill Tommy Caffrey and why.  But when she starts asking questions and digging into the murder, she discovers Tommy wasn't the saint his would-be bride, now married to his best friend, made him out to be.

She discovers secrets, lies, and treachery, things which may be common in a murder investigation; but how have they been held all of these fifty years?  Someone isn't telling the truth, and it's her job to find out who.  But what she doesn't count on is that more than one person is is lying, and it might put her in danger to keep on.  

Still, as a garda, she needs to do so.  But there is more afoot when she's informed by the parish priest of another issue that might change the lives of all the O'Sullivans.  This she needs to put on the back burner while she tries to find a killer, but it nonetheless wears on her.  Meanwhile, her fiancé Madara is trying to eat his way through Ireland and cracking jokes every chance he gets to lighten her mood.  But is it going to be enough?  And will she be able to figure out the case using her instincts, which have not failed her thus far?

This is the eighth book in the series, and can be read as a standalone.  The books keep getting better, and while I will admit that I did struggle a bit through the first one (sometimes I have that problem with the first in a series) I am glad that I stuck with it.  I had a suspicion of who the murderer was the minute that person stepped onto the page, and I am glad that I was right; but then again, I read a lot of mysteries so I am pretty good at picking up clues early on.  Still, for the most part, there were plenty of red herrings, and if you haven't read a lot of mysteries, you might be steered into another direction, which is what mysteries do best. 

Keep on with the book as the ending might surprise you, and Ms. O'Connor is such a delightful writer that I also read another series she authors; she has a way with descriptions and words that draw you into the story and the pictures fly right off the page.  The books stay with you awhile, and that is exactly what they are supposed to do.

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, the reasons why they killed are very sad as well as being twisted, but it all comes together nicely and the final pages are enjoyable and give us something to look forward to in the next book.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496730801?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4318291171

More on Carlene O'Connor's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/o/carlene-oconnor/