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.

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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?

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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/

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.

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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.

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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/