Saturday, April 30, 2022

Dead Editor File (The Taylor Browning Mysteries Book 1)

Author:    G G Collins
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:`9780988467460
Chamisa Canyon Publishing
212 Pages
$14.95; $.99 Amazon
October 15, 2017

⭐⭐⭐⭐


Preston Endicott, Jr. was hated by most of the staff at his book publishing house.  At least until he turned up dead in his locked office in this debut of the Taylor Browning Mystery Series.  Taylor, the new mystery editor at the Santa Fe book publisher, sees plenty of possible perps right in the office suite.  But the employees are hardly the only people to count as suspects.  Dominique Boucher, their bestselling author, just submitted her latest manuscript.  It's a locked-room mystery with a similar story line to the real life puzzle.  His ex-wife wasn't a fan either.  And there is the matter of a large inheritance: a successful company and many financial assets.  Who stands to gain the most?  Detective Victor Sanchez is assigned to uncover the killer.  His crime-solving style manages to irritate just about everyone on his lengthy person of interest list.  But he secretly hopes the editor, Taylor Browning, is not the murdering type.  Those green eyes of hers can sparkle or spark.  About the only non-suspect is Taylor's Abyssinian cat, Oscar, who manages to get in enough trouble on the domestic front.  Feline royalty expects to dine on schedule and penalties can be quite severe when expectations are not met.  Taylor's new hobby appears to be amateur sleuthing until she discovers her own life is in danger.  One thing is certain.  She can't edit her way out of this one!

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Taylor Browning moved to Santa Fe after the death of her husband.  She lives with her Abyssinian cat, Oscar, and works as a mystery editor at a small publishing house.  But when the owner -- Preston Endicott, Jr. -- is mysteriously killed in his locked office, everyone who works there is a suspect, along with his ex-wife, Jessica, who made no bones about the fact that she hated the man.  Could one of Taylor's co-workers be a killer?  Perhaps -- and Taylor is determined to find out who had the best motive.  Now if she can just stay alive long enough to figure it out...

This is the first book in the series, and as such, I enjoyed it very much.  I found the chapters devoted to everyone's thoughts an interesting item, and something I encounter rarely in the books I read.  I also enjoyed the little tidbits about Santa Fe and the surrounding areas and attractions as something nicely added.  It gives you a feel for the area, which is always welcome in books.

Taylor herself is a good protagonist.  Whatever she learns she shares with Detective Sanchez -- eventually, and in her own way.  Do not get me wrong; she doesn't withhold information for her own use, as some protagonists do; she just forget to inform him until something triggers in her brain.  How it triggers is also a bit of a twist, and a good one at that.

I do like Oscar, but I have a soft spot for cats anyway, and also for characters who like cats, so that puts Sanchez and Jim on my list.  While Jim is abrasive, it's because he's been embittered, and as the saying goes, people can change given the right time.  He might.  Time will tell.

As to the mystery, it was done very well, and gave us clues throughout to determine our own suspect.  I am glad to say that I was right, but then again, as I have said many times over, I read a lot of mysteries, so there's that.

When the ending comes, it was done in such a way as to be rather refreshing, since I have never read it this way before.  I found it unusual yet satisfying, and am glad that I picked this book up.  I will definitely read the next in this series.  Recommended.



More on G G Collins's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/G-G-Collins/e/B008C3G3X0/ref

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Murder in Tropical Breeze (Tropical Breeze Cozy Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Mary Bowers
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:`9781980680369
Independently Published
224 Pages
$9.99; $2.99 Amazon
January 28, 2015

⭐⭐⭐⭐



Strange winds are blowing in Tropical Breeze, Florida.  When Vesta Cadbury Huntington, one of its oldest, wealthiest and most eccentric citizens, dies in her sleep, nobody is surprised except for Vesta herself.  It wasn't her time, and she didn't appreciate being bumped off into the Land of the Dead prematurely.  The granddaughter of an archaeologist, she calls upon an Egyptian goddess for help.  Basket, the protective cat goddess, responds, and Taylor Verone, Tropical Breeze's modern-day cat rescuer, is going to help -- whether she wants to or not.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Taylor Verone, who owns a pet shelter, is called upon in the early morning hours to help rescue a litter of kittens, she's there in an instant.  But what she doesn't expect is to see a strange black cat with eyes as green as her own, watching her -- nor her elderly friend Vesta, who is guiding her toward the kittens.

When she learns that Vesta passed in the night, she's stunned.  But then the black cat attaches itself to her, and tells her that she is Bastet, the Egyptian goddess, and has failed in her task to protect Vesta -- who was murdered.  Now she plans to use Taylor as her means of revenge in order to find a killer.  Taylor soon learns that she has no choice but to help, but doesn't even know what Bastet -- renamed Basket -- wants her to do.  When she discovers another body, things start to come together -- but will it be in time to save another elderly friend from being jailed?...

This is the first book in the series, and there are times I prefer to read older books, since they focus mainly on the plot and nothing else, if you get my drift.  I found this book to be interesting in the fact that I have not read another author who used Egyptian goddesses as protagonists -- especially through the eyes of a human.  It was extremely interesting, and fun to read.

I found the plot very well done, and there was plenty goings-on throughout; and not all centered through the murder, either; but nothing took away from the murder mystery itself, instead drawing things more toward it, which is how it should be.  I did enjoy Taylor's character, and even some of the secondary ones, although I would have liked to have known more about the surroundings besides being in Florida.  A little more about the town itself?  

The only thing I was a bit disappointed in was the ending.  I did like how Taylor put everything together, and it was worth reading to get to that point; and I also enjoyed how the resolution came leaving us to look forward to something else; but I loved Basket most and anyone who has read the book will understand what I am saying and if you have not, you should read this book.  That is the only reason I took away one star.  (No, Basket did not die, for those who think this!).  At any rate, I will read the next in the series just to see if I am going to stay with this series or move onto another.  Recommended.



More on Mary Bowers's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Bowers/e/B00T1ZOHR2/ref

Monday, April 25, 2022

Grow Now (How we can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet, One Garden at a Time)

Author:    Emily Murphy
Genre:     Reference/Gardening

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9781643260471
Timber Press
226 Pages
$23.99; $9.99 Amazon
January 18, 2022

⭐⭐⭐


Did you know you can have a garden that's equal parts food source and wildlife haven?  In Grow Now, Emily Murphy shares easy-to-follow principles for regenerative gardening that foster biodiversity and improve soil health.  She also shows how every single yard mirrors and connects to the greater ecosystem around us.

No-dig growing, composting and mulching smartly, and planting a variety of edible perennials that attract bees and butterflies are all common-sense techniques everyone can use to grow positive change.  You'll also find detailed advice on increasing your nature quotient, choosing plants that cycle more carbon back into the soil, selecting a broader variety of vegetables and fruits to improve overall soil fertility, rethinking space devoted to lawns, and adding companion plants for pollinators to rewild any plot of land.  Exquisitely photographed and filled with helpful lists and sidebars, Grow Now is an actionable, hopeful, and joyful roadmap for growing our way to individual climate contributions.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

This book is filled with helpful information -- if you live where there is a lot of rain.  There is no information on irrigation for states that don't.  I live in one of those states, and what good would it do to plant all these things if they're going to die?  I can't afford to put in a high-priced irrigation system, and it would have been nice to have information on what plants don't need tons of water to exist.

Try growing blueberries in the desert.  You can't.  We already have desert plants and flowers, so there isn't anything new here that would give information on growing herbs that I didn't already have.  Unfortunately, this book just wasn't what I was looking for, while it does have interesting information, if you have time to use it; and you will need a lot of time to grow the plants she mentions.

I was given a copy of this book from Amazon but this in no way influenced my review.


Deadly Home (An Emily Bennett Mystery Book 1)

 Author:    Trisha Grace
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9798585590948
Independently Published
204 Pages
$9.99; $2.99 Amazon
June 12, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Having your motion sensor alarm triggered at two in the morning is never a good thing -- especially if you have a target on your back.

Emily Bennett is tired of traveling around the world and chasing story after story as an investigative journalist.  She is tired of living -- as her parents have always said -- recklessly.  Now that she is a successful murder-mystery writer, she thinks it is time to try and lead a normal life.  Time to settle down and live life quietly.  And she is doing just that -- in the picturesque beach town of Anchorville, Oregon.  But two weeks after moving into her beautiful new home, a man triggers her motion sensor at two in the morning.  Minutes later, she is in the living room -- a gun in hand -- facing down the intruder.  An intruder who is supposed to be dead.  Emily wants answers.  Unfortunately, Alexander Lewis doesn't have any.  He has lost his memory and is more confused about the situation than she is.  Emily doesn't know what to do.  She is supposed to be done with being reckless.  She can't possibly let Alexander stay, especially not when she suspects his aunt may be a murderer...right?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Bennett is an ex-investigative journalist who is now a bestselling murder-mystery author, and is tired of traveling and just wants to set down roots.  She's finally found a place she can call home, a house in Anchorville, Oregon, that became available when the previous owners both died unexpectedly, and their son was killed in Afghanistan.  But early one morning her motion sensor is set off and she finds herself face-to-face with an intruder.  Luckily she has her gun -- but she won't need it.  The intruder is Alexander Lewis, the supposedly dead son.

It appears he's not dead -- and has amnesia.  He wants to know what really happened to his parents.  Even though Emily has given up her former life, her curiosity gets the better of her -- and she finds herself searching for answers...answers that could get her killed, as if she wasn't already on the radar for death...

This is the first book in the series, and even though it was previously published under another name, I had never read it before.  I found myself soon engrossed in the story, and I also wanted to know what had happened to Alexander's parents.  But even more, I found the back stories of both Emily and Alexander to be extremely interesting, and this is what really kept me reading the book.

Emily is a transplanted Brit, and although she's happy now, I do have to wonder what type of parents she grew up with that would make her the person she is.  Sad, really.  As is the case of Alexander, a man without a past who is slowly learning it by the actions of his friends and ex-girlfriend (who is about as annoying as they come -- kudos to Emily for handling the woman).

Then there are Carl and Sam, two of Alexander's teammates and close friends who aren't sure of Emily's motives toward Alexander, but it is the story of Alexander and Emily that focuses much of the action upon.  They are the catalysts for a genuinely intriguing story of murder and secrets.  

It's a delightful foray into this series, and the ending itself brings us satisfaction, knowing that justice has been done (as we knew it would).  I am glad that I found this book and look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I was given a copy of this book from the author but this in no way influenced my review.



More on Trisha Grace's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/trisha-grace/

Friday, April 22, 2022

Murder Rings a Bell (Rooftop Garden Mysteries Book 4)

Author:    Thea Cambert
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9798682570980
Summer Prescott Books
176 Pages
$7.99; $3.99 Amazon
September 2, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


After the fireworks...
Murder is afoot.

It's summer in picturesque Blue Valley, Tennessee, and that means it's time for the Annual Independence Day Celebration at Blue Lake.  Main Street is hopping with summer visitors, and amateur sleuth, Alice Maguire, is even busier than usual.

Between ringing up sales at The Paper Owl, helping her dear friend Franny plan her wedding, and teaming up with her brother Ben for the yearly, highly competitive pedal boat race, she barely has time to take a breath.  Her only respite comes in the form of cool summer evenings spent with her beau, Detective Luke Evans.

When a body washes up on the shore of Blue Lake, Alice is shocked, as is the entire town, but not as shocked as she will be when she discovers the victim's identity, and learns that the death was no accident.  Luke lands squarely at the top of the suspect list, in a case that will prove to be Alice's toughest yet.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

In small town Blue Lake, Tennessee, everyone is gearing up for the annual Independence Day Celebration.  There is also a medical convention in town, and Alice Maguire, owner of bookstore The Paper Owl, learns to her dismay that one of the physicians is her boyfriend's ex-fiancé.  Luke Evans discloses to Alice that the woman left him when her career became more important than their relationship.  But Alice is twice as surprised when she finds that the woman is the same one who so rudely entered her shop and sized her up.  Now she wonders if Luke is having second thoughts about it all..

But things take a nasty turn when a dead body is found in the lake by herself and her brother Ben, also a police officer.  When the identity is discovered, Alice and her friends Franny and Owen are sure they can figure out who wanted this person dead.  But they not only have to look at both locals and tourists alike, they also have to look at the doctors.  Someone is a killer, and they won't have any qualms if they have to do it again...

This is the fourth book in the series and I have enjoyed them all.  They are easy-to-read, fun mysteries that are well written and keep you guessing right up until the end.  Just when you think you have the right suspect, the author proves you wrong once again, and it's enjoyable to try and figure out who the killer might be.

There is also the story of Alice and her friends, while we watch Franny and Ben (mostly Franny) prepare for her upcoming wedding, and the blooming relationship between Alice and Luke.  You also get a bit of other townspeople in each book, and it makes the town of Blue Valley seem more realistic, which is very nice.

I love that the climax in every book is worth getting to the end for, and we also always have a teaser for the next in the series.  This is one series that I am liking very much and I can't wait to revisit the town in the next book.  Highly recommended.



More on Thea Cambert's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/thea-cambert/

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Bacon, Bodyguards, and Ballistics (Deep Fried Revenge Book 1)

Author:    Karen McSpade
Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book
ASIN #:    B09X7J9G6W
Newcastle Media
52 Pages
$.99 Amazon
May 22, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Reeling with excitement over the opening of a private investigation agency and her budding romance with the sheriff, Piper Sandstone can't wait to launch her dream career and return to a somewhat normal life.  But danger lurks on the horizon -- the dirty cops back in Chicago still want her dead.  Even if it means putting the people she loves in jeopardy to find her.  They are ruthless and on the hunt, no price is too steep for her head.

But Piper's already in a predicament of prodigious proportions when an art heist at the Bancroft Estates leaves a bodyguard dead...and she and her crime-fighting gal pals are at the center of the crime scene.  

Tangled in another mystery in Savory, Alabama, Piper is determined to solve the case with the help of her quirky amateur sleuth friends dubbed the Dentures and Diamonds Crime Squad.  These zany retirees traded in their female rock band glory to fight crime, but can they help Piper maintain her cover and catch the killer before or another Savory resident winds up dead?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Piper Sandstone, aka Sharon, has just opened the Queen's Bees Privates firm along with her senior sleuthing friends, Doris, Rosemary, Patty Sue, and Margie, (aka The Delta Queens) and they're just off a case of finding a killer and a champion dog.  Now they're ready for business.  But before they do so, they're attending the dog show at the estate of a wealthy art collector.  Unfortunately, things don't go well -- the art is stolen right off the walls, and during the show.  So now they have to wonder who would have planned something like this?  It doesn't help when the owner Henry Hughes, shows up, screaming at everyone, nor when the PIs find a dead security guard,

Someone had to know about the heist.  Was it the security guard they found, Marco Jenkins?  Or the IT guy who claims a hacker broke into the system?  Or was it someone close to Mr. Hughes, who might have thought this was a good opportunity?  But Piper knows art like this can't be sold, and only another private investor will buy it.  So where do they go from here?

With the unwanted help of Piper's new bodyguard, Gemma Bianchi, hired by her uncle, Chief Hobbs, to protect her (really, how can a woman so small protect anyone?), and Gemma constantly telling her everything Piper does is a bad idea, she's still determined to solve the case.  If the PIs don't they might just be relegated to more cases involving cows (read the book to find out).  But just as things seem to be getting interesting, her Chicago friends Nancy and Morgan have surprises in store for them.

Being the first book in the new series, I liked where it started -- after the murder, where it backtracked a bit -- and of course, being a serial book, there was a cliffhanger; but I didn't let this distract me at all from the book itself, which is written well and pulls you into the story immediately.  The only downside is that you have to wait for the next to see what Piper and her friends are up to.  A great beginning for a new book in the life of Piper Sandstone.  I can't wait to read the next.

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



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

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Murder Just Isn't Faire (Rooftop Garden Mysteries Book 3)

Author:    Thea Cambert
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9798676995348
Independently Published
162 Pages
$6.99; $3.99 Amazon
August 20, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐


Sometimes murder can be a royal pain...

Spring has come to Blue Valley, and that means the arrival of the Nottingham Medieval Faire -- owned and operated by the Webb brothers, Rich and Logan.  The faire features King Richard the Lionhart, Prince John, Robin Hood and his merry men, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the whole gang.  This year, Owen gets to play Robin Hood, and Alice has reluctantly agreed to be his Maid Marian.

Daytime events are held in Town Park and on Main Street, but in the evenings, the clearing in the woods near the lake lights up for jousts and balls, costumes, and all manner of revelry.  Things go terribly awry, however, when one of the events has a rather dark outcome, and mayhem breaks loose.

Murder is afoot, and Owen is the number one suspect.  Alice and Franny -- along with Ben and Luke -- won't rest until they find out who really ruined the Faire.

Can they clear Owen's name and catch a killer in time to save the Faire?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Alice and her friends in Blue Valley, Tennessee are getting ready for the annual Medieval Faire to arrive.  They've all got their costumes, and this year baker Owen is going to be Robin Hood -- even though he's never shot an arrow.  Still, everyone is excited, especially at the hint of a celebrity guest.

The guest turns out to be a movie star who is also friends with Rich Webb, the elder of the two brothers who run the faire.  But not everyone in town is happy with the faire, and when someone is shot through the heart with an arrow, it's suspected that Owen did the deed.

But his friends don't believe it, and they determine to find the truth -- even if it means putting their own lives in danger to do so...

This is the third book in the series and I quite enjoyed it as much as the first two.  It's written well, and the plot line is interesting, surrounding the events taking place at an annual faire.  With suspects abounding, and motives in the air, Alice and Franny, along with Ben and Luke, have their tasks cut out for them.  Who had the best motive?  Or the opportunity?  

I'm getting to enjoy the characters more and more, and while we only get a glimpse or two of each of them in different books, we learn more about their pasts -- and this time about the future of some of them.  It's fun reading, doesn't take a lot of time to do so, and makes you want to read the next in the series.  That's a good thing, and I enjoyed this look into their lives.



More on Thea Cambert's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/thea-cambert/

Friday, April 15, 2022

Murder at the Taffy Shop (A Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery #2)

Author:    Maddie Day
Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9781496731692
Kensington Publishing
304 Pages
$8.99; $6.99 Amazon
March 30, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐


When your mother is an astrologist and your dad is a minister, you learn to keep an open mind.  Which is just what Mac loves to do -- exercise her mind by puzzling out fictional clues in the mystery novels she reads and discusses with her Cozy Capers Book Group.

But now Mac's friend Gin has found herself in a sticky situation.  After wealthy genealogist Beverly Ruchart is found dead outside Gin's taffy shop, the candy maker becomes a person of interest.  When it's revealed that Beverly was poisoned the night Gin brought a box of taffy to a dinner party at Beverly's house, she's bumped to the top of the suspects list.  It's up to Mac and her Cozy Capers crime solvers to unwrap this real-life mystery.  But this time they might have bitten off more than they can chew...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Mac Almeida owns a bicycle shop on Cape Cod, and spends her off time either with her boyfriend, baker Tim, or her book club, the Cozy Capers Book Club.  One day while she's at her parents' home relaxing, a woman comes through the hedge holding Mac's dad's puppy at arms' length and insists the puppy has been digging in her garden.  After an unpleasant talk, she returns home.  Later Mac finds that the new man in her friend Gin's life is the ex-son-in-law of the woman, Beverly Ruchart, and that Gin and Eli are going to a dinner party at his home.

But the next morning when Mac sets out for her daily walk with Gin, she finds her stooped over Beverly, who is very dead indeed.  Now Gin is the main suspect in Beverly's murder, despite having barely met the woman, and Mac and her friends are determined to find the truth.

But she has more problems on her plate with Tim wanting to take their relationship to the next level, which is marriage, and she's not sure if she's ready.  Fortunately -- or not -- the murder will be first and foremost, and this will have to wait.  But if Mac waits too long on both fronts, she might just find herself in more trouble than she wants...

This is the second book in the series, and I have to say that I did like it better than the first.  If I could find anything I didn't like, it's what most authors are doing nowadays; adding political agendas into their books.  Personally, if I need a window fixed, I'm not going to hire a woman's company just because she's a woman.  I'm going to hire the most capable company for the job.  It doesn't matter to me who owns it; what matters is if they are going to do a good job. 

Other than that, I did like the plot.  It seems the murdered woman had more going for her than anyone thought, and she was more generous than expected, which made it difficult for Mac to weed out a killer.  The clues were there, but you had to look for them (which I always enjoy doing anyway).

The descriptions of the surrounding area were definitely a plus and always good in a book; you can take yourself away to the area without having to leave your home, and Ms. Day is excellent at this.  When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it really wasn't much of a surprise, but it was put together well, and left us with a teaser as to what the next book might have in store for us.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next in the series.  Recommended.



More on Maddie Day's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/maddie-day/

Monday, April 11, 2022

Massage & Murder (A Cozy Spa Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Jenn Cowan
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #    9781985872226
CreateSpace Publishing
186 Pages
$10.00; $.99 Amazon
February 28, 2018

⭐⭐⭐


I'm a licensed massage therapist.
A professional.
A healer,
Not a killer.

When a client ends up dead on my massage table, I become the number one suspect.
I have Means.
Motive.
Opportunity.

But I didn't kill her.
The clock is ticking, someone is stalking me, I have to find out who before I end up in jail or worse...dead.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Autumn is a massage therapist in a run-down salon, but she loves her job.  That is, until her ex-best friend is found dead on her massage table.  Now, the lead suspect -- her ex-boyfriend and also the father of her ex-best friend's daughter, thinks she may have murdered the woman.  With motive, means, and opportunity, she knows she's not guilty.  But in order to find out who killed April, Autumn may just have to use herself as bait...

I really wanted to like this story, but I have a hard time with first person, present tense,  As in: "I am going to the store now."  Who cares?  This is difficult enough to pull off in a book, but it just feels off if you can't...and it could be better.

Maybe if the plot were pulled together better, or the facts were written as a story, it would have been better.  But I just didn't enjoy this as much as I should have.  Also, there should have been an editor somewhere along the line.  Words were used that shouldn't have been, as using "too" instead of "to".  This was done quite a bit.  And Travis's hair color changed in the middle of the book -- he 'ran his hand through his blond hair.'  Say what?  I thought he was a redhead?  Ah, well...

I also didn't like the fact that Travis really thought Autumn could be guilty.  For someone who has feelings for her, this seemed wrong.  If they were married, would he still believe her capable of murder?  If he would, then she should run as fast as she can in the other direction.  Just sayin'...

But it was the ending that got me.  I really detest cliff hangers, and even though this left us just a bit of a one, it was still a cliff hanger.  It's like holding the reader hostage: you need to read the next book to find out what happens next!  Nope.  I don't like it one bit.  And isn't fifteen years a long time to be rehashing high school grudges?  Move on, people!

Other than that, the story line was okay, and I may or may not read the next in the series.  An alright read that is a short cozy and quick to read.



More on Jenn Cowan's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/jenn-cowan/

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Murder Sets the Stage (Rooftop Garden Cozy Mysteries Book 2)

Author:    Thea Cambert
Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9798670892001
Independently Published
166 Pages
$7.99; $3.99 Amazon
July 29, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐



Nothing puts a damper on the holiday spirit...
Quite like a murder.

It's holiday festival time in picturesque Blue Valley, Tennessee, which means there'll be plenty of fun, and an onslaught of tourists coming to town.  This year, Paper Owl owner, and amateur sleuth, Alice Maguire, is helping out with organizing the Hometown Holidays Festival.

The festival fearures a week chock full of activities, beginning with the Bowl Full of Jelly 5k Fun Run, and leading into the Mistletoe Market, the Winter Wonderland, and the annual Tinsel Theater's production of A Christmas Carol.

Main Street is decorated to the nines, and the rooftop garden that Alice shares with her fellow sleuthers is cozier than every, with the addition of Owen's new fire ring.  Franny will be whipping up plenty of hot chocolate, and Alice's budding romance with Luke Evans is going smoothly.

Life is good in the quaint little town, and it's shaping up to be a perfectly wonderful holiday, but when a body is discovered at the 5K, it'll be up to Alice, Owen, and Franny to make sure that Blue Valley's Hometown Holidays Festival gets back on track -- and that means they'll have to catch a murderer.  

Will they catch the killer and save the festival?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Alice Maguire and her friends are preparing things for the Hometown Holidays Festival in small town Blue Valley, Tennessee.  There's a new 5K race that's going to take place, and the person who is going to direct their own version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Ash, is ready and raring to go.  But not everyone is happy about his changes.  A local named Chester is angry because his Ebenezer Scrooge has been scratched entirely from the show, and it's been changed to a modern version about an alcoholic.  But Ash seems to have made other enemies in town, and Alice is about to find out who they are when Ash's body is found during the race.  

Now with Chester being suspected of murdering the man, she knows he couldn't have done it, but who did?  With her friends Franny and Owen on board, they want to investigate and find out who had the biggest motive to get rid of the demanding director...

This is the second book in the series, and I enjoyed it quite as much as the first.  This isn't high art, nor is it supposed to be.  It's a book to be read and enjoyed, and I did just that.  It takes place at the Christmas holiday, and even though we are well past the season, nothing says we can't visit it now and then and I am glad I did.

I enjoy the banter between the characters, and the fact that the romances aren't getting in the way of the murder mystery.  While it was fairly easy to decipher who the guilty party was (I read a lot of mysteries, as I've stated often enough) it was still fun to read the story and watch how Alice came to the same conclusion. 

Her relationships with her friends is warming, and I like the fact that her brother Ben doesn't chide her for getting involved, because, after all, Alice doesn't knowingly walk into situations she shouldn't.  It's a story that can be read in a couple of hours, and it's relaxing and enjoyable.

When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it's not so much a surprise as satisfying for the conclusion, and the motive for the murder is, of course, one that is as old as time itself.  After all, there are only so many reasons for murder, right?  But I think the writing is very good, and the author has given a story that will entertain, which is the reason for books anyway.  Recommended.



More on Thea Cambert's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/thea-cambert/

Friday, April 8, 2022

Ruby Red Herring (An Avery Ayers Antique Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Tracy Gardner
Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:    1643856599
Crooked Lane Publishing
336 Pages
$16.77; $13.99
June 8, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


After her parents' death, Avery Ayers takes over the family business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised, from the home office in Lilac Grove and a branch in Manhattan.  Now living back at home with her younger sister Tilly and their newly moved-in, eccentric Aunt Midge and her Afghan hound, Avery's life is filled with jewels, tapestries, paintings, and rare finds.  But their world is rocked when Avery leans that the theft of a priceless ruby may be connected to her parents' demise.

The trouble starts when the Museum of Antiquities hires Avery to appraise a rare, resplendent ruby.  It bears a striking similarity to a solitary stone in the museum's prized Xiang Dynasty bejeweled dragon medallion exhibit, which has long been missing one of its ruby eyes.  Now, Avery and her colleagues -- ostentatious Sir Robert Lane and fatherly Micah Abbott -- suspect they may have the missing gem.  But facets of the case remain cloudy.  Security guard Art Smith is always underfoot but is not what he appears.  Another body turns up connected to the appraisal.  And Avery receives mysterious notes that begin to put her life in danger.

Avery enlists possible ally Art's help in cutting the list of suspects who might have polished off her parents and swiped the jewel.  Was it art collector Oliver Rennell?  Curator Nate Brennan?  Acquisitions Liaison Francesca Giolitti?  Actor Tylor Chadwick?  Was the crime impersonal or perpetrated by someone all too close to Avery?  If she can't find the culprit, lovely Lilac Grove may be the setting for Avery's own death.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

After her parents' untimely death in a car accident, Avery Ayers returns home to Lilac Grove, New York, to help run her family's business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised.  She lives with her younger sister Tilly, and her Aunt Midge, who had moved in after the deaths, leaving her Manhattan apartment for Avery to use while in the city.

Avery is working on verifying a very large Burmese ruby that was acquired from a mysterious collector.  This ruby might be the twin to the bejeweled dragon medallion which is currently housed in the Museum of Antiquities, with the other ruby ensconced as its left eye.  If this one is verified, it could make the medallion worth millions.  But strange things are happening, and not only on the work front.

Avery hopes to find her parents' verification papers on the other ruby, but before she can do anything with them, there is a break in at her home and they are stolen.  There are mysterious notes that appear to come from her deceased father.  Then someone is murdered, and it changes everything.  With one clue that links her to someone named Art, she asks him for help, and suddenly she discovers that her life is in danger and Art might be the only one she can turn to.  Who is trying to kill her?  And more importantly, are Tilly and Midge in danger, too?...

This is the first book in a new series, and I wish I had had the time to read it sooner.  It is definitely the most intriguing book that I have read in a long time.  It's full of details, of mysterious goings-on, and plenty of red herrings (hence the title).  I absolutely loved this book and devoured each page eagerly, wondering where the story line was going to take me next.

Avery is probably one of the most intelligent protagonists I've ever come across; she's generous, smart, fiercely protective of her family, dedicated to her job; while at the same time being vulnerable, recognizing that therapy has helped her cope with her tragedies, and willing to take a chance on trusting someone other than her family.  She's human.  She has flaws.  But she does what she needs to to find out the truth of what is going on.

And what is going on is more complicated and deadly than anything she might ever have imagined.  It fills her with fear.  Yet she knows that in order for it to end, she needs to do whatever is necessary, and with the help of the mysterious Art, she will find the truth to free herself and learn who's behind the fatal car crash.

In the end, when the killer is revealed, it comes not so much as a surprise, as the fact that the person who has caused such havoc does not care, and would continue to do so again.  This is a wonderful book, full of everything you would expect in a mystery, and I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

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



More on Tracy Gardner's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/tracy-gardner/

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Perils in Provence (A World Traveler Cozy Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Carolyn L. Dean
Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ASIN #:    B07GZ51Y7F
Freeform Publishing
108 Pages
$3.99 Amazon
September 11, 2018

⭐⭐⭐



It's not easy to go from making pies to investigating mysteries in Provence.
A dangerous past life.  A new mysterious boss.  An old chateau with some very suspicious characters.  Jennifer was happy working as a baker at the Ravenwood Inn, but when fate comes calling in the form of Gable Landon, she's ready to jump at the new career he offers.  Soon she's globetrotting from Oregon to Bruges, then on to Provence to assess a rundown property her boss might want to buy,  The charm of southern France and its food and landscape is almost intoxicating, and it doesn't hurt that she's made a new friend, a French bulldog named Orly.  What Jennifer hadn't expected, though, was stone cold murder.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Jennifer accepted a job from Gable Landon, a mysterious man who wants her to travel to Provence in the guise of an insurance adjustor, in order to assess the price he should offer for a run-down estate that has a vineyard.  When she arrives, the estate is indeed rundown, but she notices its charm and what it could become.  She also meets the staff, who share their dinners together, and then begins her assessment of the grounds.

What she discovers in the house is what startles her; but before she can decide to do anything about it, she hears a woman's scream in the night, and finds her dead outside.  Now, with the death, she is told not to leave, but she does a little investigating on her own, and finally figures out who the killer must be.  Can she leave before she's the next victim, or will she have to fight off a murderer?..

This is the first book in a new series, and I really wish the author would have given us some background on Jennifer.  All we ever read about is Ravenwood and how much she loves it, but we know nothing about her past (at least I don't, since I've not read the earlier series).  Yet she refers to Ravenwood quite a bit, and I don't know why.  I'm also guessing she was a spy in a former life, due to some things that she mentions, but again, never explained there...so...

The murder occurs halfway through the book, and this is a very short book, so we don't have a lot of insight on who wanted that person killed, and there is only one or two clues as to the murderer, which we barely pick up on.  Also, the past of the dead person is referenced, but we're never given any insight into that, either...which leaves us not really caring about the dead person at all; it's almost as if they didn't exist in the first place.

I wish this book could have been a bit longer so we could have had those details explained, but they weren't, and therefore I can't give this book more than three stars.  The writing was very good, but the lack of details (including the surrounding countryside) left me wanting.



More on Carolyn L. Dean's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/carolyn-dean/

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Handbook for Homicide (A Booktown Mystery Book 14)

Author:    Lorna Barrett
Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9781984802750
Berkley Publishing
306 Pages
$13.79; $7.99 Amazon
July 21, 2020

⭐⭐⭐


Haven't Got A Clue bookshop owner Tricia Miles's relationship is on the rocks.  After a not-so-fun vacation with her on-again-off-again lover, Marshall Cambridge, Tricia's hoping for smooth sailing back in Stoneham.  Unfortunately Booktown greets her not with blue skies but with another body.

When Tricia's assistant manager, Pixie, finds homeless vet Susan Morris's body behind Haven't Got A Clue, Pixie's checkered past makes her the prime suspect.  Tricia sets out to clear Pixie's name armed with only an anchor insignia earring found at the scene of the crime.

As Tricia digs deeper she discovers Susan was involved in a scandal right before retiring from the Nacy -- but since nobody in the village knows Susan, even Tricia's one lead is in danger of drying up.  With family drama brewing in the background and all of Stoneham convinced her manager is a murderer, Tricia knows she has to get to the bottom of the case soon before Pixie's life is sunk.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Tricia Miles has just returned from a vacation in Ireland with her boyfriend, Marshall Cambridge.  But it wasn't wonderful, nor even much fun, when Marshall spent all of his time with all the other passengers on the tour group, since he was their guide.  Now she hopes she's back to her old life when her assistant manager, Pixie, discovers a body in the dumpster behind Tricia's bookshop, and things are looking less than good when Pixie is sure she'll be the person taking the fall for the murder.  Determined to not see that happen, Tricia does what she does best -- asks questions to find out who had a reason to want the woman dead.

But all is not well in Stoneham, as some of its inhabitants have their own problems, and Tricia also becomes involved in those as well.  Then she hears some surprising news about police chief Grant Baker which sends her reeling, and now she's questioning her own life.  Before she can fix it, she has to figure out who killed Susan -- as long as she can stay under the radar on this one, she might live to tell the tale...

This is the fourteenth book in the series, and I have not read them all.  But from the tone of it, I'm not missing anything.  First off, the blurb is misleading: Pixie is not a serious contender for murder, so I don't understand why Tricia is involving herself in this one.  Secondly, there's nothing that states a "career woman" can't have a life with a husband -- or even children, for that matter.  Career women do this every day and thrive.  So that made me roll my eyes.  Also, why do these women drink so much?  If they drank this much in real life, I'd expect them to have dry skin and health problems.  (Why is it when I read a book that takes place on the East Coast, everyone can't go one meal without drinking?  Please don't take offense, East Coasters -- it's just what I've observed from reading).

All Anjelica and Tricia do is drink and snipe at each other.  I guess I figured that because Tricia wasn't wanted, she'd be the one who thrived and survived, but it's the golden sister, Anjelica, who has that role; everything she touches is golden, so it just makes me wonder why Tricia doesn't resent her in any way?  Neither sister has a relationship (although Angelica has had several) but if Tricia can't manage one, then why are they getting in the way of the mysteries?  She's almost a 'senior sleuth' and even wears sweater twinsets.  I thought those went out in the sixties.  (Sorry, feeling snarky after reading this book).  I also don't care for the fact that while the sisters have pets, they don't allow them on their furniture.  Aren't the pets family members?  Would you tell your brother or children they have to stay on the floor?  I guess I love my cat more than Tricia loves hers.

I've also noticed that many of the men in this town are not nice, with the exception of the people the sisters' hire.  So there's that, and it's not a pleasant thought.  In the end, the reason for the murder didn't even make sense, and the ending wasn't as satisfactory as I'd hoped it would be.  Sorry.



More on Lorna Barrett's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/lorna-barrett/

Monday, April 4, 2022

Death in Paris (Mairi Maguire Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

Author:    Kate Darroch
Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book
ASIN #    B09PMP4J6Y
Ad Astra Press, Inc.
181 Pages
$.99 Amazon
March 30, 2022

⭐⭐⭐


8:10 am on 15th August 1970.  They've been in Paris only 12 hours.  Lianna is locked up in jail, charged with murder. Màiri is being hunted by murderous criminals.  She never dreamt that travelling outside Scotland would be so dangerous.  Will 
Màiri ever again see her comfy home in Merrylea, her loving sisters Morag and Katriona, her schoolboy nephew Niall?

Major Ellis Peverel seldom leaves Màiri's side.  Respected by the Paris police, shrouded in secrets, who is this man?  Is he a true friend to Màiri or does he have an agenda of his own?

Who really killed the corrupt taxman for whose death Lianna has been framed.  Màiri has only 6 days to find the murderer.  Can she free Lianna in time?  Or must she choose between her friend's freedom and her own...if she's still alive.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Màiri Maguire is a schoolteacher who is on holiday at home, having the term ended.  She is hoping that her boyfriend of twelve years, Brian, who is returning from his work, will finally ask her to marry him.  But instead, he drops a bombshell on her that makes her want to get away quickly.  Fortunately, she has the perfect excuse: she's been asked to teach in Istanbul, and jumps at the chance, especially since she can choose her own assistant -- her best friend Lianna, who wants to leave for her own personal reasons.

But when they arrive on the first leg of their journey, they're in Paris, and just looking to have fun.  But fun isn't what they get when Lianna is arrested for murder, all because she had an altercation with the deceased, on the train to their destination.  Determined to prove Lianna innocent and get her out of jail, she's determined to find the killer.  

But there just might be too many suspects -- all of the people on the train that were in the same place as the now deceased man.  Fortunately, but also suspiciously, aiding her, is Major Ellis Peverel, who is everywhere Màiri is.  Is he one of the bad guys, or is he truly helping her?...

This is the first book in a new series, and I really wanted to like it.  Unfortunately, it felt like homework. You know, where you have a workbook and you have to figure out the answers?  There are even workbook pages with all the names and information, and you have to deduct and insert new information.  Admittedly, Màiri does this, but why are they there?  The plot should not be so convoluted that you have to have this in a book.  (Who was on the train, what time they arrived at the hotel, etc.).  This just seems like overkill.

Plus, there are just too many people.  Granted, it is easy early on to figure out who the 'bad guys' are, but so much intrigue that it just became tiresome.  This, I could even have gotten past; mainly because the writing was good, so I have to give that to the author.  However, what killed the book for me was the fact that I absolutely detest cliffhangers.  I feel like the author is holding her reader captive (Aha!  Now you need to read the next book!).  Yes, I understand it's a series.  But that doesn't make it right in my book.  So I don't know whether I will read the next or not.  Time will tell.

I was given a copy of this book from the author but this in no way influenced my review.



Sunday, April 3, 2022

Waffles and Scuffles (An Ivy Creek Mystery Book #5)

Author:    Ruth Baker
Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:    9798442064711; 9798441596145
Clean Tales Publishing
188 Pages
$15.99; $9.99; $2.99 Amazon
April 1, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐


Lucy's excited about the new year and all the dreams she hopes will be fulfilled over the coming months.  She's glad when her customers make the right noises when they taste her latest treat.

She's happy to offer this treat as her main item when she's invited to serve her pastries at the local theater.

She knows her treats are delicious and to die for but when a fight breaks out over them, she's left wondering if she's witnessing fact or fiction.  Things take a turn for the worse when a prominent personality in town drops dead in the middle of a rehearsal at the theater.

The death of this prominent person attracts the attention of local and national media who descend upon the small town of Ivy Creek.  Lucy is left feeling despondent and lonely when all her customers desert her baker after a popular reporter twists her words, which paint her, her bakery and the town in a very bad light.

Lucy has also come to a crossroad in her relationship with one of the most eligible bachelors in town.  Have things turned sour beyond repair or is her relationship about to soar?

Will she set aside past hurts, and her pursuit of happiness to find a killer who seems to hold allthe aces in a murder investigation that appears unsolvable?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lucy Hale returned home to Ivy Creek after her parents' death in a car accident, and she's determined to keep their bakery open and profitable.  So far, everyone in town loves her breads and sweets, and comes to her on a regular basis.  When she's asked to supply treats to the local theater, she has no hesitation, although others warn her that the director, Pete Jensen has a bad habit of not paying people, including his cast and crew.  To make it worse, he also takes advantage of people in other ways, which makes him quite unlikable, even if he has become famous.

Still, Lucy decides to give Pete a chance, and brings her treats to the theater to sell.  But while there, she also watches the action on stage -- and wishes she hadn't.  During a particularly frenzied scene, Pete is killed, and it's soon learned that he was murdered.  Who would have murdered the man?  Or the better question might be, who wouldn't have?...

This is the fifth book in the series and I have read them all, enjoying each one more than the last.  However, the big problem that I have noticed in this book is that the author must be British and writing about small-town America.  I say this because of some of the words that were used; two, for example were 'plaster' (bandage), and 'cooker' (stove).  There were others, but if you're writing about America, our words are a bit different.  Just sayin'...

The other thing that bothered me is the fact that the people of Ivy Creek sure are fickle.  This isn't the first book that they've stopped going to Lucy's because of some imagined slight.  Stand by your citizens, Creekers!  But these are minor, and did not disrupt my enjoyment of the book.

I found the story line to be well written and kept me reading in one sitting.  I did enjoy the way Lucy is gaining confidence in herself and enlarging her bakery, and I do feel that positive thinking helps.  I also like the fact that she is moving on with her life after her tragic loss.  It's also nice to see that she and Taylor are becoming friends again, and perhaps in a later book (please) we'll find out why they broke up in the first place.

The mystery kept me guessing as to whom the killer was until almost the same time as Lucy discovered it, and the reason why was just as one would expect, with the murderer finding their own reason in their disturbed mind.  In the end, I did like the conclusion of the book and hope to read the next in the series soon.  Recommended.

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



More on Ruth Baker's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ruth-baker/

A Corpse Among the Carolers

A Food Blogger Mystery Book 7 Author:     Debra Sennefelder Genre:      Mystery Paperback; Digital Book ISBN #:     9781960511928 Beyond The...