Peril At Pumpkin Hill (Inn Vermont Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

Author:    Thea Cambert

Genre:      Mystery 

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9798722350596

Independently Published

144 Pages

$6.99; $3.99 Amazon

March 15, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trying to juggle everyday responsibilities along with holiday tasks...can be murder...

It's Christmastime, and the entire town of Williamsbridge, Vermont, looks like a snowy New England postcard.  The Inn on Pumpkin Hill is booked solid, and it's sure to be a busy season for Eloise Murphy and her mother, with all the local festivities that are planned for the holidays.

Eloise does her best to juggle her innkeeping duties with her job as a reporter, and secret advice columnist at the local newspaper.  When a body turns up, she joins forces with her oldest friend to solve the mystery in time for Christmas.

Will the daring duo save the day?  Or will the killer strike again?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Eloise's mother June turned their large home into an inn after her father's death.  It's Christmas, and the entire place is booked with a group of people who are there for a family reunion.  But not everyone is welcome to the town, and there are more than one person who would like to see that person gone.

Fortunately, they are.  Unfortunately, they've been murdered in the back of the inn, and now all the family members are suspect.  But which one had the greatest motive?  After realizing the dead person's room had been ransacked before Eloise could lock it for the police, she has one clue.  Then she overhears conversations -- and now she has more.  With the help of her childhood friend, Matthew, who now works at the inn, they're determined to get to the truth of the matter.  But will they be able to do so before someone else gets killed -- namely, one of them...

This is the first book in the series, and I really wanted to read it because I read Ms. Cambert's other series and enjoy it so much.  This one is no less enjoyable than the other.  While these are short mysteries, they are fun to read and are written well.  The characters are interesting, and the dialogue is crisp.  

Watching Eloise and Matthew go about their day while trying to put clues together and figure out a mystery was fun, but hearing the descriptions of the inn and the things around them made this pleasant to read.  I myself had a few clues to the murderer, and it was pretty apparent before Eloise discovered it, but it was still entertaining watching the climax and how it played out.  I enjoyed this book quite a bit and will continue with the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Peril-Pumpkin-Hill-Vermont-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08Z1RNNNQ/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4815273219

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

Fatal Brushstroke (An Aurora Anderson Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Sybil Johnson

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781940976525

Henery Press

270 Pages

$31.95; $4.99 Amazon

November 11, 2014

⭐⭐⭐

A dead body in her garden and a homicide detective on her doorstep.  Computer programmer and tole painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson doesn't envision finding either when she steps outside to investigate the frenzied yipping come from from her own backyard.

After all, she lives in Vista Beach, a quiet California beach community where violent crime is rare and murder even rarer.

Suspicion falls on Rory when the body buried in her flowerbed turns out to be someone she knows -- her tole painting teacher, Hester Bouquet.  Just two weeks before, Rory attended one of Hester's weekend seminars, an unpleasant experience she vowed never to repeat.

As evidence piles up against Rory, she embarks on a quest to identify the killer and clear her name.  Can Rory unearth the truth before she encounters her own brush with death?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Rory Anderson wakes up one morning to the neighbor's dog barking in her backyard.  After returning the dog, she goes to see what is the problem...and finds a finger sticking up out of her garden.  After calling the police, she sees more of the body and discovers who the dead woman is.  Hester Bouquet, her tole painting teacher.  But it looks as if all the evidence points to Rory as the killer, and the chief of police is going to charge her even if she's not guilty, so she needs to find a killer fast.

But when a second body is discovered, the rush is on, because they're getting close to charging her, and it doesn't look pretty...

This is the first book in the series, and I do realize that it is an older book, but I do like to read them because they're not filled with author political views.  That drives me crazy, unfortunately.  But also unfortunately, this book just couldn't keep me interested.  The only likeable character in the book is Rory.  She's also the only one we know anything about.  She's a computer programmer but never spends time doing anything, so I imagine she must have a healthy bank account.

There were so many questions -- what kind of a town does she live in that her neighbors would shy away from her when she had nothing to do with the past?  Pretty overly-righteous and overly judgmental people, if you ask me.  I also had to wonder at the chief, who was blaming a small toddler for something she had nothing to do with so many years ago.  Just sayin'

Detective Green seemed off, too.  He started out okay, but then just seemed to be a shell of a man going about his day and not even caring -- very unemotional.  I realize cops have to be impartial, but this guy was almost robotic.  Her mother didn't seem to care about anything that was happening to her daughter, either.

I knew the murderer the minute that person stepped on the page.  It wasn't hard to decipher, but I did look toward the end to see the reason why and how the climax was going to come about (I just couldn't finish this book; sorry; so I did move forward).  At any rate, the ending was fine, and there was some resolution to a couple of things, but I will read the next in the series to see if it improves.

https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Brushstroke-Aurora-Anderson-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00N265TVY/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4814679354

More on Sybil Johnson's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/sybil-johnson/

Exercise Expired (A Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mystery Book 6)

Author:    Brianna Bates

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B01LRK9ZS4

Independent Publishing

166 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

September 7, 2016

⭐⭐⭐

All that hard work is finally paying off for curvy, voluptuous amateur sleuth Missy DeMeanor.  She's lost pounds and inches to fit into her wedding dress, and gained self-esteem and the appreciate eye of more than one male co-detective.  That is, they would be co-detectives if Missy were investigating -- which she's not.  Because she promised her fiancé she'd leave investigating to the professionals -- him, among others.  Yeah, Miss, we've heard that one before.

Missy's been working out at a small gym with a personal trainer who, unbeknownst to Missy, has signed her up for the annual Celtic Games and a training weekend to prepare.  When Missy finds one of her fellow athletes murdered, she knows she has just the two days to find the killer.  By the end of the weekend she'll learn two things -- there are 50 ways the fitness world can be deadly, and what her trainer always says is right: you can always do more than you think.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

In this sixth and final installment in the series, Missy has been signed up by her friend Marie to attend a weekend training camp for the annual Celtic Games.  They'll be pushing themselves harder than they've ever done, and Missy isn't ready for this.  But ready or not, she's going to do it, even if it kills her.  But it doesn't; in fact, someone else gets killed and Missy is sure it's murder.  Now she has to figure out who did the deed.  But unless she figures it out quick -- in two days a murderer will go free...

This is the last book, so I really had expected more of it.  A lot of the book was all the exercising Missy was doing, and I really didn't care.  That had to be over half of the book.  I was also stumped by something one of the attendees told her to do, then did not do it themself.  That seemed odd and out of place.  I also found it odd that these health nuts would be smoking.  It just did not ring true.

To top it off, the ending seemed unfinished.  There was so much more that needed to be said, and never was.  It was almost as if the author was going to write another book and never did.  So I was a bit disappointed in that.  When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, the reasons are believable enough, but again, I wished for more from the last pages.

https://www.amazon.com/Exercise-Expired-DeMeanor-Mysteries-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01LRK9ZS4/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4808594874

More on Brianna Bates's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/

Tea Room Toxin (A Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mystery Book #5)

Author:    Brianna Bates

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B01CKWMBYI

Independently Published

163 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

March 4, 2016

⭐⭐⭐

Missy's best friend Noreen realizes her dream of opening a tea room, only not with Missy (as Missy'd kind of hoped), but with her other friend, Tonya, with whom Missy has never...quite...clicked.  And then someone slips a deadly toxin into the very cup of tea Missy herself handed Tonya.

"Never quite clicked" is how Missy sees it, but the cops have other ideas -- they think she had a perfect opportunity and at least two motives to murder Tonya -- all except for Missy's true love, Tyler, who knows she couldn't be a murderer.  He should -- he investigated her once before and got his fingers burned.  Although she's sworn off sleuthing, there's really no other way out, especially when she finds herself in handcuffs.  So once again, Missy DeMeanor, amateur detective, dones her deerstalker -- and the game is on!

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Missy DeMeanor is happy that her best friend Noreen is opening a tea room, but not happy that she's opening it with her other friend Tonya, whom Missy just can't like.  The feeling is mutual, especially after hearing Tonya talk behind her back.  But when Missy helps out because of how many people have attended, she pours a cup of tea for herself and Noreen.  Noreen already has a cup, but tells her to offer it to Tonya.  Then not soon after, Tonya is taken ill and dies.

Since Missy poured the tea, she's a suspect when it's determined that Tonya was poisoned.  When things start to heat up, a lot of people seem to think that Missy hated Tonya enough to kill her.  All except Noreen and Tyler, her boyfriend.  But she's not even sure about Noreen.  Now Missy has to find the killer herself, since it appears the police are looking to put the cuffs on her...

This is the fifth book in the series, and again, a short read that can be done in an afternoon or an evening.  These books are entertaining enough, even if they miss a bit of reality now and then.  The author does have some talent, but I feel that she hasn't developed it enough; or maybe the books are too short to develop characterization.  I try not to ding an author unless they really screw up.  Anyway, what bothered me is that Noreen is supposed to be so hot, but she spends her nights drinking and smokes.  That's going to take a toll on your skin, and the end result is it won't be pretty.  So there's that.

When Missy starts investigating, she once again steps on the toes of those she questions, and they all throw it back on her, so it appears that she's not getting anywhere at all.  It isn't until she asks for the help from someone she wished she didn't have to that she starts to figure everything out.  And when the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it's a sad business.  However, I will read the last one in the series to see how it all ends up.

https://www.amazon.com/Tea-Room-Toxin-DeMeanor-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01CKWMBYI/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4806595116

More on Brianna Bates's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/

Scrapbooking Slaying (Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mystery Book #4)

Author:    Brianna Bates

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book 

ASIN #:    B01B7870WE

Independently Published

190 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

January 28, 2016

⭐⭐⭐

Missy struggles with all the romantic issues of an American Bridget Jones, including how to handle more than one man in her life.  Not to mention the same weight insecurity.  But that's about all she's insecure about -- Missy's independent, doesn't need a man to be happy, and supports herself working more than one job.  Plus, she's got a beautiful dog, half a dozen hobbies, and dozens of friends she grew up with, one in particular -- her best friend, Noreen.

But right now she's wondering if Noreen's beginning to favor another friend, someone Missy just can't work up any affection for.  She could brood about that, but when she goes to a scrapbooking session at a local school, she doesn't even get in the door before someone gets murdered,  Missy has murder karma, no question!

And after three successful outings, she's now proven herself as an amateur detective extraordinaire.  The police know they need help, and there's a new cop in town -- a hot one.  But then, her high school sweetheart's back too.  What's a female sleuth to do?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Missy DeMeanor works at a bookstore with her best friend Noreen, has a dog, a home, and a truck that just died on the way to a scrapbooking session.  She calls Noreen for help, and she shows up with her new friend Tonya, whom Missy just can't like.  When they arrive at the school, it's discovered that a young woman has died.  Missy used to babysit Olivia, and can't believe the pretty woman has been murdered.  But there's a new cop on the case, and he asks Missy for help.  He's heard of her reputation, and trusts her judgment.  He also seems to be interested in her personally, and that leaves Missy flustered.

When she starts investigating who would want to kill Olivia, she finds it all heads back to Olivia's friends.  One of them decided to silence the woman, but who?  And for what reason?  With Olivia's friends seemingly distraught by her death, Missy's still sure one of them had a hand in it.  And when there's another death, she's sure of it.  But will she be able to find the killer?  And will she be able to resist the new cop or wait for her ex-boyfriend Tyler to return?...

This is the fourth book in the series, and since they are a short read, I have been reading them one after another.  It's a cute series.  This is not supposed to be high art, and the writing is not spectacular, but I think the story lines are decent.  Yes, I would like to see Missy stop carping about her weight and actually do something about it, but it seems she'd rather scrapbook, watch television and drink (which has a lot more calories than drinking coffee or iced tea.  Just sayin').

It's pretty obvious the new cop, Vinnie, is interested in Missy as well as her thoughts on the case, and some advice from Missy's mother comes in handy for her.  I do like her mother, who is not whining about grandkids every waking moment like some of these mothers in books, and the woman seems ot have a grasp on life.  

When the ending comes, the murderer is whom I suspected all along (no surprise, I read lots of these); but I felt it was done nicely and leaves the next book open for a new segment on Missy's life.  For those interested, there are a few teaser chapters in the back of the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Scrapbooking-Slaying-DeMeanor-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01B7870WE/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4805029263

More on Brianna Bates's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/

Diet Club Death (Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Book #3)

Author:    Brianna Bates

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B01AE3OXCB

Independently Published

182 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

January 22, 2016

⭐⭐⭐

Creepy meeting place aside, the last thing you'd expect to find at a ladies' diet club meeting would be a dead body, right?  And although voluptuous amateur sleuth Missy DeMeanor has seen more than one body, this is different.  This is one of her oldest friends.

Having tried almost everything -- she's exercising at the gym and she eats less than her petite best friend Noreen, but she seems to gain weight just standing still -- finally, Missy's decided to accept the invitation of her oldest friend Karen to join a secretive, ladies only, invitation only, contract required diet club.  But at Missy's first meeting, Karen, who is obviously ill, is discovered dead on the bathroom floor.  The police decide that death was caused by an extreme diet and quickly close the case.

As hard as it is to accpet her friend's death, Missy just cannot bring herself to believe that Karen would have put her health at risk with a weight-loss plan Karen herself described as "the craziest diet" she'd heard about.  Missy keeps insisting Karen would never knowingly have ingested a harmful substance -- so who gave it to her?  But her ex-boyfriend, Grove City's chief detective Tyler Brock, isn't listening.  And so, given Tyler's refusal to dig deeper, it's up to her to solve the mystery if anyone's going to.

Through the haze of her own grief, she bravely -- "recklessly," in Tyler's words -- probes the complicated turns Karen's life has taken over the years she and Missy remained close at heart, but geographically removed.  And, as in all good murder mysteries, secrets tumble out one after another, making Missy wonder if it's even possible to know another person.

Meanwhile, she still has feelings for Tyler that make her too uncomfortable to be around him, knowing that he's still trying to work things out with his estranged wife.  Yet he's alternately flirtatious and impatient with her endeavors to unmask a killer...almost as if he still cares about her and it trying to protect her.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

In this third book in the series, Missy is so frustrated with her weight that she agrees to go to a ladies' only diet club with her friend Karen.  But when she gets there it's apparent that not everyone likes Karen as much as she does.  Someone Karen works with hurls insults, albeit they are masked as comments, and she witnesses an altercation between Karen and another woman when Karen gets up to go to the restroom.  But when Karen doesn't return in a reasonable amount of time, Missy goes looking for her and finds her dead on the bathroom floor.

While the police deem it an infection that killed Karen, Missy refuses to believe it.  And without help from her friend Noreen or even Detective Tyler Brock, she's on her own in another city trying to solve Karen's death.  But she's stepping on toes and making enemies herself, and if she isn't careful, the killer just might go after her...

Missy is so obsessed with being overweight that even the gym isn't helping her (and I'm wondering how often she goes); but she still drinks wine and beer.  Okay...  Does she not know how many calories are in there?  Perhaps she should go for sparkling water instead.  Just sayin'

Anyway, she refuses to believe that Karen's death is an accident, so she insists on finding out who killed her, even though all the evidence points to Karen doing it herself by using an extreme diet (which is really distasteful and I wish the author would not have kept on mentioning it.  It made me cringe more than once.  Sorry.)  So she questions outright people Karen knew, and discovers things about her friend that she wished she hadn't.

Still, Missy presses on until it's almost too late and then when she figures it out, it's only by luck that she's taken out of danger (which we know she will be).  This is a short mystery, and probably the weakest in the series so far; I really wish Missy would either stop carping about her weight or do something.  As I've said before, voluptuous is more like Sophia Loren; curvy, but attractive just the same.  Definitely not fat.  So if she's voluptuous, how can she consider herself fat?  It just means she's a larger, attractive woman.  Maybe Missy needs a dictionary.

At any rate, the entire book was Missy trying to find her friend's killer and worrying about her weight.  There were some issues with Tyler, but since he was practically nonexistent, none of it really mattered, in my opinion.  However, I am going to finish the series since I have gotten this far.  Three stars for keeping me entertained over an afternoon.

https://www.amazon.com/Diet-Club-Death-DeMeanor-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01AE3OXC8/ref

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4800899357 

More on Brianna Bates's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/

High Spirits (A Haunted Haven Mystery Book 2)

Author:    Carol J. Perry

Genre:     Mystery/Paranormal

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496731371

Kensington Publishing

320 Pages

$15.99; $9.99 Amazon

October 25, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Christmas lights on palm trees and Santa hats on plastic pink flamingoes are far from the snowy landscape Maureen and her beloved golden retriever, Finn, are used to.  But Maureen is determined to make this a holiday to remember -- which means finding a way to promote Haven House on a shoestring.  Fortunately, Haven's vintage movie theater, the Paramount, has come up with a great "Twelve Days of Christmas" idea.  They'll feature an impressive list of the best classic Christmas movies ever made -- shown by one-time movie actor-turned-projectionist Decklin Monroe.

But nobody bothered to tell Maureen that the Paramount is haunted by the ghost of a man who was murdered a few years back.  Haven's top cop Frank Hubbard doesn't believe in ghosts but, believing that Decklin Monroe was somehow involved, he wants a reluctant Maureen's help.

That plan is derailed when, on the first day of the festival, a fresh murder victim is found at the theater.  Now Maureen has to defend her staff and guests, while trying to keep her high-spirited resident ghosts out of the picture -- before they have company for the holidays...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Maureen Doherty lost her job and didn't no where to turn when she'd found that she'd inherited Haven House in Florida.  The inn is old, and needs plenty of work, but has a lack of funds due to the mismanagement of the previous manager.  But Maureen knows how to plan, and she's hoping to figure out a way to save it.

Then comes Decklin Monroe, an old actor who is now a projectionist of old two-reel movies at the Paramount, a theater also in need of repairs.  Maureen has come up with an idea: have a dinner and a movie night.  Purchase theater tickets, and include a dinner at the hotel's restaurant, giving them some proceeds -- which are better than none.  But Decklin's story of a murder in the theater, and the ghost who haunts it, bothers Maureen, even though she doesn't let it interfere with her idea.

But at the first showing, there is another murder, and now people are wondering who killed this person, and police officer Frank Hubbard is none too happy with Maureen right now, but still needs her help in finding the killer.  With a full house on board for Christmas, a ghost haunting her suite, and a murder to solve, it will be a wonder if Maureen can actually find a killer...

This is the second book in the series and I have to say that I enjoyed it quite as much as I did the first.  Ms. Perry weaves a story well, and it was full of plenty of goings-on and a few ghosts to boot.  Watching her try to keep the Haven House and keep it running is worth it, and her staff is fiercely loyal to her and the old inn as well.  What I found humorous was the fact that Finn loves to be read to -- books about dogs, of course!

But who killed the latest victim?  I had my own insights, and I read a lot of mysteries, so I had the culprit halfway through the book.  I just didn't know how.  That was all explained carefully, believably, and capably.  This series is a delightful entry to the cozy genre, and the characters are becoming more defined, which I know will continue with each book.  

The ending does have a nice epilogue, and it ties everything together in a brightly colored Christmas bow, and gives us something to look forward to in the next in the series.  There are also a few yummy recipes in the back.  Highly recommended.

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

https://www.amazon.com/High-Spirits-Haunted-Haven-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09RGBJJ1V/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4802637947

More on Carol J. Perry's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/carol-j-perry/

Book Club Bloodshed (A Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mystery Book 2)

Author:    Brianna Bates

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B019XDXDEY

Independently Published

190 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

January 15, 2016

⭐⭐⭐

Oh, no!  Not a self-published cozy as a book club selection!  So thinks snarky Anne, the snottiest member of the contentious book club author Brianna Bates has so slyly created.  Member Noreen feels -- really strongly! -- that Anne's a big old rich-witch snob.  But seriously -- is that a motive for murder?

It has to be asked!  Because Anne's lying dead in the library parking lot, only minutes after she and Noreen nearly come to blows over the value of "literature" over "genre."  A nasty catfight if you were there -- but as yummy as the club's favorite Pinot Grigio if you're lucky enough to be reading about it!

The timing's unfortunate, but maybe it's not the only motive for murder.  It seems Anne had more or less gone out of her way to offend every single woman in the book club.  She had stolen someone's boyfriend and married him, bought land another wanted, and fired a third member's brother.  The kind of woman whose every cashmere sweater has a target on it.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

All Missy DeMeanor wants to do is get through the book club's choice of book and have a nice discussion.  Unfortunately, that's not going to be possible.  Member Anne Baxter is having a nasty argument with Missy's best friend Noreen, and neither one is willing to give an inch.  Finally, a time-out is called, and the two go their separate ways.  But when book club once again resumes, Anne is nowhere to be found...until one of her own friends finds her dead behind the library.  Now, Noreen doesn't have a solid alibi, and when she's arrested for the murder of the woman, Missy has no choice but to find the real killer...

This is the second book in the series, and since these are easy, quick reads, I wanted to continue.  What I was bothered with was the fact that after Missy finds out Noreen slept with Ty -- even though the two were broken up at the time -- Missy just forgave her.  Didn't Noreen know how Missy felt about Ty?  Of course she did -- and still made the decision to date him.  Really?  Best friends do NOT do that to each other.  I would have not helped Noreen, ghosted Ty, and written them both off.  No one needs friends like this.  A good friend cares about your feelings.  Sorry, but that seemed off.

The second thing was I really didn't think that the police had enough to charge Noreen, and trials don't work that fast.  Sometimes it takes months to get into a courtroom.  So she still should have been sitting in jail.  Sorry, that didn't ring true, either.  (I know it's a book, but please, do research).

The fact that Missy would just leave her job to look for a killer was not right.  She had the responsibility after Brett asked her, and she should have taken it seriously.  It seems that she's looking at the bookstore as just a hobby instead of a job.  Either you have responsibility or you don't.  Period.

If Missy is bothered by her weight, she needs to stop complaining and do something about it.  "Get out of the way, you whale!"  Really?  How big is Missy?  'Voluptuous' implies Sophia Loren, who is far from fat.  So which is it?  It got old after awhile.

So you can see that this was not a popular entry to the series for me.  However, as the book touted repeatedly, an independently published book does have value (and I do read as many of them as those by the big name publishers) and none should be panned without thinking about it.  So I have rated this accordingly.

I did like the plot line, I liked the fact that Missy is fiercely loyal to her friends, and has a good relationship with her mother.  I knew who the killer was before she did, but then again, I read a lot of mysteries, so there's that.  I liked the ending, and since I've started the series, I will continue to finish it.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Club-Bloodshed-DeMeanor-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B019XDXDEY/ref

Goodreads:      https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4796575244

More on Brianna Bates's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/

Flea Market Fatal (Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

Author:    Brianna Bates

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B019M34ALK

Independently Published

189 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

January 8, 2016

⭐⭐⭐

Not even a sighting of  Missy's hot ex-boyfriend at the bookstore where she works can deter her from her flea market quest.  It's a perfect September Saturday for garage sale shopping in tiny Grove City, Pennsylvania -- blue skies, seventy-five degrees -- and Missy DeMeanor is set on scoring that cabinet she's had her eye on.  Driving a hard bargain is one thing, but now the seller is dead -- and the so-handsome investigating officer says it's murder!

Who should the investigating officer turn out to be but Tyler Brock, the boy Missy dated in high school, recently returned to Grove City after a decade in Philadelphia, with an undetermined marital status.  And he's acting like he still has feelings for her -- when he's not asking pointed questions and scribbling in his notebook.  Surely Tyler doesn't think she's a killer!

But the who town seems in on family secrets Missy's just learning that could be a strong motive -- secrets about a business deal gone bad between the murdered man and Missy's own father, and about a violent incident involving her mother, whom even Tyler acknowledges to be "the sweetest woman on earth."  Even worse than being suspected of murder?  Missy's mother being suspected of murder.  Things have gotten so out of hand that Missy deduces her friend Noreen, the avid mystery reader, is right: it's up to Missy to find the killer!  And like that a talented amateur sleuth is born.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Missy DeMeanor works at a used bookstore and in her spare time sells items she's refurbished and found at garage sales, at a local flea market.  One morning she's determined to purchase a cabinet from an elderly friend, and they strike a deal.  The cabinet is in the yard with the rest of his garage sale items, but when she needs change to pay him, she finds his dog Cody barking like crazy and his door open.  When she steps into the home she discovers him dead, and immediately calls 911.

The arriving officer is her ex-boyfriend Tyler Brock, recently returned from Philadelphia and now a detective with the local force.  After questioning her, she's allowed to leave, taking Cody with her.  Somehow, she's acquired a dog, when she never knew she wanted one.  But when she discovers that not only she, but her mother is also a suspect, her best friend Noreen convinces her to investigate the murder, they start making a list of suspects.  Unfortunately, every time she questions someone, Tyler finds out and warns her to stay out of it.  But Missy isn't going down without a fight -- in fact, she's not going down at all...

This is the first book in the series, and new to me.  The blurb sounded interesting, so I thought I would read the book.  There are pluses to this book, and negatives as well.  What I didn't like was the fact that Missy knew what she was doing was wrong -- or she would apologize to Tyler every time she saw him -- but she kept on doing it.  Why investigate if you're going to be wishy-washy about it?  I also didn't like Noreen pushing her to be someone she wasn't.  And I really didn't like the fact that Missy kept on thinking she was fat.  Low self-esteem, anyone?  I also didn't understand why, since she's obviously in her late thirties, her mother was keeping secrets from her.  How can they have a close relationship like that?

But I did like the plot, even if I knew who the killer was the moment that person stepped onto the page.  It was pretty obvious even if Missy didn't get it.  I would have liked her to explore this area more, but she never did.  The story was entertaining enough to keep me reading in one sitting, and I did like the ending, even if it leaves a loose end or two (not cliffhangers, at least!).  When the murderer is discovered, the climax is believable enough, and it gives us something to look forward to in the next book.

https://www.amazon.com/Flea-Market-Fatal-DeMeanor-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B019M34ALK/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4796158809

More on Brianna Bates's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/brianna-bates/

With a Spirit of Vengeance (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #7)

Author:    Lena Gregory

Genre:     Mystery/Paranormal

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781958384046

Beyond the Page Publishing

199 Pages

$13.99; $4.99 Amazon

June 28, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When the spirit of Ophelia Wilson turned to clairvoyant Cass Donovan for help, Cass was able to prove Ophelia's innocence in the century-old murders of her family members -- and solve a contemporary murder in the process.  But Ophelia's spirit has returned, this time angrily demanding that Cass expose the identity of whoever did kill her family.  And then eerily, two descendants from the Wilson family tree are murdered, suggesting that Ophelia has the power to meddle in modern-day events to satisfy her rage.

As Cass struggles to solve the two recent murders and unravel the sparse clues about murders from a hundred years ago, she and those around her begin to suffer Ophelia's wrath -- including an attempt on the life of one of Cass's closest friends.  Relying on all of her own psychic powers, CAss has to confront the spirit's hunger for vengeance and track down a merciless killer before she becomes the next victim of both...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Cass Donovan is a clairvoyant who lives peacefully in the home she grew up in on Bay Island.  Most of the time, that is.  She has a full life, with a best friend named Bee, her dog Beast, and a romantic relationship with Luke, a police detective.  But one morning she walks into her shop and sees a vision that shakes her to her core.  She knows she needs to decipher what it means, but then she learns that a new tour group is coming to the island, and they want to keep the old insane asylum standing -- the one where Cass recently had a bad experience, and both she and the owner want it torn down.

But how far will these people go to keep it standing?  When there are two murders -- and Cass discovers that they are descendants of Ophelia Wilson, whom she proved innocent of killing her family members a century ago, she has to wonder if both are connected, and how.  Now it seems Ophelia has a new mission for her -- find out who killed her family members or more people might die...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have read them all.  I love the characters and how they interact with one another,  I do love that in this book Bee shows his love, in more ways than one, for Cass.  There are heartwarming scenes between the two of them that are worth the read alone.  

When Cass and Bee decide to visit relatives of Ophelia's they get a huge surprise, and in Bee's research he discovers things that neither he nor Cass do, and can completely change everything.  But in learning this, they have to figure something else out, too; it is this that brings the meat of the story into play and kept me reading this in one session.  Finding a killer is difficult; but when the killer is keeping secrets of their own, it proves nearly impossible.

The book was wonderful; the story highly intriguing, and the secrets well-kept.  It is only the purposefulness of both Cass and Bee that finally brings everything to light.  In the end, when the killer is revealed, we come across a ruthless person who has their own line of vengeance to follow.  Murder is never pretty, never worth it, never understood.  But the story is told well, and I cannot wait to read 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/Spirit-Vengeance-Island-Psychic-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B3GG5P68/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4795546409

More on Lena Gregory's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/

Mixing Up Murder (Little Dog Diner Book 1)

Author:    Emmie Lyn

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781644510469

Sweet Promise Press

298 Pages

$28.60; $2.99 Amazon

August 3, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Murder wasn't supposed to be on the menu at the Little Dog Diner, but that's exactly what we got served anyway.

Hi, I'm Dani Mackenzie and I'm the unfortunate soul who owns said diner.  Looks like business is going to be slow for a little while as the who town scrambles to find whodunnit.

At first I just needed something to keep me busy while on my forced vacation, but now as the clues stack up, I'm caught in the middle of this crazy mixed-up murder.  And I'll do anything to get to the bottom of what really happened and why it happened in my kitchen.

Too bad the only known witness to the crime is the victim's terrier, Pip, and no one believes she bludgeoned her owner to death.  But if not her...then who?  And, perhaps more importantly, who's next?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Dani Mackenzie is attending the funeral of her best friend Lily's husband when suddenly, Ray sits up in the casket...it turns out the entire thing was planned in order for Ray to convince his soon-to-be ex-wife that she really loved him and not to divorce him.  Stunned, Dani hurries herself and Lily out the door back to their restaurant, the Little Dog Diner.  Dani lives above the restaurant, and while they're changing clothes, she starts to get some of the story from Lily -- such as, Lily knew about the fake funeral beforehand.  Lily also might still be in love with her cheating spouse.  

When Ray wants to meet Lily, she convinces him to come to the diner.  But when they go downstairs and find the body of Ray sprawled on the floor, everything changes.  Lily bolts, and Detective AJ Crenshaw now has her in his sights as a suspect.  But that's not all -- Dani's high school boyfriend, Luke, has returned from California and he was also in the diner and might be a suspect.  What can a girl do except try to prove the innocence of friends?...

This is the first book in the series and I must say that it was quite entertaining.  I do like Dani, and the fact that she shares clues with the police as soon as she finds them.  This is a plus in itself.  She can also cook (there are so many cozies out there where the protagonist doesn't know what a spatula is for).  And the big plus is she takes in the poor terrier whose owner was killed.

When Dani starts looking for clues, she comes across them quite naturally, without having to probe people too much, so conversations don't get uncomfortable; and her friend Lily (we should call her weak Lily) gives up information sporadically.  While I'd like to spend time with Dani, Lily seems too wishy-washy for me.  Ah, well.

The plot is well done and the writing is done well, so this makes for a good first book in the series.  The clues are there (I knew the murderer before Dani, but then again, I read a lot of mysteries) and it was still fun watching her put everything together and get that final clue in an 'aha' moment.

In the end, the reason for the murder seemed a little sad, but murder is still what it is; everything else came together nicely, and I will definitely read the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Murder-Little-Diner-Book-ebook/dp/B0B1VQSTR6/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4788330536

More on Emmie Lyn's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/emmie-lyn/

Kicked the Bucket (A Chelsea Lawson Cozy Mystery Book 3)

 Author:    CeeCee James

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9798662761469

Independently Published

212 Pages

$12.99; $2.99 Amazon

July 1, 2020

⭐⭐⭐

Chelsea Lawson is a magnet for trouble. 

Sure, she's making a life for herself on her best friend's farm.  But feeding pets and milking the cows doesn't prepare you for finding a dead body floating in the pond.

Even stranger?  The bucket of flowers left on the shore.  Flowers that then seem to show up everywhere.

The more Chelsea learns about the dead man, the more she suspects he's tied up in her own knotted past.  And as the clues pile up, she starts to wonder if she's better off leaving this one to the police.

Then a letter arrives, threatening everything she's ever loved, and Chelsea realizes she can't stop now or someone close to her will pay the ultimate price.  Can she figure out how all the pieces fit together before it's too late?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chelsea Lawson has given up her old life to begin a new one living with her best friend Tilly and Tilly's daughter Emma on their farm.  She watches Emma whenever Tilly needs to go out of town, and Chelsea has her own job that she loves.  What she doesn't love is taking care of the farm animals, but she's learning.

One morning Tilly finds a body in a pond and it turns out to be a man who has ties to Chelsea's younger sister Nikki.  After learning what she can from the police, Chelsea finds it odd that someone is leaving her flowers with notes.  Notes that become ever threatening -- and leaves her wondering where Nikki is.  Her father has also disappeared, and she wants to know their whereabouts so she can help them.  But when she starts asking questions, it seems the wrong person overhears, and now Chelsea's admirer turns into a stalker.  If she doesn't figure things out soon, she might just be the next one to die...

This is the final installment in the mystery.  I did enjoy it for the most part, but like the other two, it left questions without answers.  Answers we'll probably never get.  I was disappointed in the ending because of this.  Others might have enjoyed the ending, but I found it lacking.  Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/Kicked-Bucket-Spilled-Mystery-Chelsea-ebook/dp/B084YS3CVZ/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4786484901

More on CeeCee James's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/ceecee-james/

Peril at Pennington Manor (An Avery Ayers Antique Mystery #2)

Author:    Tracy Gardner

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781643859064

Crooked Lane Books

304 Pages

$26.52; $13.99 Amazon

June 7, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to Aunt Midge's unlikely friendship with Nicholas Pennington, The Duke of Valle Charme, Avery Ayers and her associates at Antiques and Artifacts Appraised head off to their most glamorous assignment yet -- cataloguing and appraising the contents of a castle-like mansion on the Hudson River.  But regal splendor becomes a backdrop to mayhem when the precious Viktor Petrova timepiece disappears -- and housekeeper Suzanne Vick plummets from a parapet to her death.

Avery, her dad William, and colleagues Micah Abbott and Sir Robert Lane soon learn that Suzanne's predecessor also met with an untimely end.  Further, the housekeeper's suspicious demise coincides with Avery's discovery that many of the Duke's most priceless heirlooms have been replaced by fakes.

Detective Art Smith lends his expertise, but the suspect list encompasses the Duke's entire retinue -- including his family.  Could the killer be someone intimately familiar with the Pennington estate, such as caretaker couple Ira and Lynn Hoffman, the Penningtons' chauffeur Roderick, or even one of the heirs to the Pennington fortune?

Then the duke himself is injured in an inexplicable accident, and the clock swiftly ticks toward a reckoning with a cold-blooded killer.  A criminal mastermind is making a desperate bid for ill-gotten riches...can Avery bring the culprit to justice before her time is up?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Avery Ayers is an antique appraiser, along with her father William, and partners Micah Abbott and Sir Robert Lane.  They've been given the opportunity to appraise and inventory items throughout Pennington Manor, one of the duke's homes.  During the appraisals, Avery and Micah discover that there are fakes among them.  But before she can bring the duke this news, housekeeper Suzanne Vick falls to her death from the top of the manor.

Now there is a murder investigation, and Avery realizes that it could be any one of the household who pushed her.  Joining the group as part of their team is Detective Art Smith -- one time boyfriend of Avery's who wants to be so again -- and Avery is beginning to realize that she wants that, also.  But their relationship issues are on the back burner as they work to discover a killer -- any way they can -- before the murderer does so again.

Now they're wondering if the death is tied into the thefts, and if the previous housekeeper was part of it, too.  But with a household of disgruntled employees, and the duke's sons not happy, either, who is the killer?  Time is not on their side, but a killer lurks close by, and Avery may find herself in a permanent time out...

This is the second book in the series and I must say that I enjoyed it quite as much as the first.  It had a mystery that began almost at the beginning, which gave us time to garner clues and look for the killer.  But with the appraisers finding that many of the items have been stolen and replaced with fakes, they also have to find out who the originals were sold to, and who the party was who sold them,  This is going to take time, and in the meanwhile, Art and Avery are paired to quietly check out the household for clues.

In the subplots, Avery's sister Tilly is home from England with a secret to tell and a big decision to make; neither of which she is willing to come forward with as yet.  Avery is training for a 26 mile marathon, the longest she's ever done; and her relationship with Art is one again moving forward after he decides to open up to her.  Then there is a very cute addition, and one I love.

But I do love learning about antiques.  If I could afford it, I would have them in every room instead of just the ones my parents left me.  They have so much history to tell, and I love hearing about it as they go.  (Others might not, but I do).

When it gets toward the end, Avery and Art are close to finding the killer, but then an incident occurs that almost stops them until it is finally all put together and why.  One may never know what pushes a killer to do what they do, but it is sad in a way, yet a deranged mind will never be able to reason.  I did love this book as much as the first.  Ms. Gardner is indeed a talented writer and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

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

https://www.amazon.com/Peril-Pennington-Manor-Antique-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09FNYW6WZ/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4787769170

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

Farmer In The Dead (A Chelsea Lawson Cozy Mystery Book 2)

Author:    CeeCee James

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9798623464859

Independently Published

230 Pages

$12.99; $2.99 Amazon

March 10, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mayhem follows Chelsea Lawson like baby ducks chase their mama.

Chelsea's thrilled when her best friend, Tilly, returns home from overseas.  The joy's short-lived, though, because before she's even settled back in, the police show up, and they're full of questions.  Turns out Tilly's ex has turned up dead, and she's the last one to see him alive.

Now, it's up to Chelsea to find the real killer and clear her friend's name.  But that's not the only mystery on her plate.  Chelsea's digging into her own past, and the more she learns about it, the less sure she is of the future.

Has everything in her life been a lie?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chelsea Lawson moved back home to take care of her friend Tilly's daughter and home while Tilly was on a work assignment.  But the day Tilly arrives back, she needs to go see her ex-boyfriend about another photography job.  When she calls Chelsea to pick her up, she seems angry.  And when the police show up at Tilly's farm, they have her as a suspect in the man's death, since she was the last one to see him alive.  Now Chelsea's made a promise to find out the truth, and she intends to do so.

But Chelsea's also wondering about a strange man who showed up at her place of work.  And wonders what her mother has been keeping from her.  With two mysteries she needs to solve, she doesn't know which one is more important...

This is the second in a three-part series, and while I hate the fact that the author leaves us with another cliffhanger, I was going to read the book anyway, so there it is.  What I hate is the fact that Chelsea would rather avoid people than confront them when they treat her badly; and also am still wondering why she can't cook when she's almost thirty.  Sorry, but that's just lazy.  Even the busiest person should be able to cook eggs.

We also get some answers, but there are more questions.  I also thought the ending was done more as an afterthought, since there weren't any clues to the murderer throughout the book, just as the point toward the end where Chelsea was figuring it out -- and the police already had.  So the mystery itself seemed more of a subplot and the main plot was about Chelsea figuring out her past.  Other than that, it was an enjoyable read that can be read in an afternoon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0834DL5Q7?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4780537874

More on CeeCee James's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/ceecee-james/

Mooved to Murder: A Milk It For All It's Worth Mystery (A Chelsea Lawson Cozy Mystery Book 1)

Author:    CeeCee James

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781652876243

Independently Published

204 Pages

$12.99; $.99 Amazon

December 29, 2019

⭐⭐⭐

When Chelsea Lawson's best friend Tilly asks her to stay at her place to watch her six-year-old daughter and pets, Chelsea doesn't hesitate.  Turns out she agreed to manage a micro-farm and "a few pets" included a cow and two goats as well as a little girl too smart for her own good.

When the local community tries to run her out of town, Chelsea realizes something big and rotten hides under the surface of the idyllic small town.  The mayor makes it clear she's not wanted and the townspeople give her the cold shoulder, but that only makes Chelsea more determined to uncover their secrets.

No one expected the repercussions those secrets would have, or that murder would be the result.  Now life, the animals, and the farm, hangs in the balance.  Can Chelsea figure out who did the deed before she -- and her new home -- are the next victims?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chelsea Lawson left her job in Charlotte to take care of her friend Tilly's home and daughter while Tilly is in Australia on an assignment.  What she thought should be easy turned out not to be.  Chelsea discovered that there was a veritable mini-farm she'd be tending, and Emma turned out to be not much what she expected a six-year-old would be.  Not to mention the body in the barn, that turns out to be related to someone powerful in town.  Now almost the entire town wants to see her gone, and she can't even get her mail delivered.  It doesn't help that everyone is calling her Denise and thinks she's someone else.  How can Chelsea do what she came to do if she can't get any help?  Or if she might be the one everyone thinks murdered the dead man?

This is the first book in the series and I generally found it to be interesting.  The idea of a career woman totally out of her element with no help sounded fun.  But I did have to wonder about the main character, as I do in most cozies:  what are they doing with their money?  Are they not saving any of it?  Because they all seem to be in dead-end jobs and making barely anything at all; otherwise they wouldn't be struggling financially.  Saying that, I did find the way she interacted with the 'pets' amusing; although I really didn't buy that Emma was only six, the way she acted.  Ah, well.

Other than that I did like the story line.  I enjoyed the mystery a bit (although the clues came late in the book, and the police had figured it out, too).  I liked the descriptions of the animals and parts of the town.  I didn't like the fact Chelsea didn't stand up to those who insulted her.  She was timid and didn't strike me as the type of person who would be left to the care of one's livelihood and child.  She couldn't even cook!  Tell me, how many women in their thirties can't at least make eggs?  Or hamburgers?  These are basics anyone can cook.  Why would you leave your child in the care of someone who had to order in every night?

But what really turned me off was the fact that the author held me hostage, so to speak.  I absolutely hate cliffhangers.  Don't authors trust their writing to be enough to bring people to the next book?  It irks me that I didn't read reviews so I would know beforehand that I have to read the others in the series to get a resolution to Chelsea's problems.  I definitely took off a star because of this.  Hopefully the next in the series will give more answers than this book did.

https://www.amazon.com/Mooved-Murder-Mystery-Chelsea-Lawson-ebook/dp/B0838L3763/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4778057179

More on CeeCee James's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/ceecee-james/