Elves and Embezzlement (A Presley Thurman Cozy Mystery Book 17)

Author:    L.C. Turner

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B0BL86CKVN

Independently Published

162 Pages

$2.99 Amazon

November 29, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Presley Thurman and Cooper Sands (and Bella, too!) have returned to Hunter's Hollow just in time for their Christmas Eve wedding.  But when Winston Rose is murdered in the parking lot of Sue Thurman's flower shop, the police peg Sue as their number one suspect.

Presley knows her mom is innocent but can she convince the police of that?

Presley and Cooper think maybe it's best they cancel their wedding and focus on Sue's legal troubles, but she won't hear of it.  She wants her daughter married on December 24 even if the mother-of-the-bride is in jail.

Can Presley find the real culprit AND get married to Cooper?  This just might take a Christmas miracle.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Presley Thurman and her fiancé Cooper Sands both live and work in Chicago.  They are returning to their hometown for Christmas and to have their Christmas Eve wedding.  But when Presley arrives at her mother's flower shop, she finds a dead body in a florist truck in the parking lot,  The police are not doing a very thorough job if investigating, because they think that Sue Thurman killed the man, even though she really didn't have a motive to do so.  Presley is more than ready to postpone her wedding to clear her mother's name, but she won't hear of it.  Therefore, Presley is determined to find the killer so there can be a happy Christmas all around. That is, if she can stay alive long enough to do so...

I am grateful the author took the opportunity and time to write this book, and I am just as sure that others are, too.  While it was interesting in the plot line, it seemed weaker than I would have expected, and personally I didn't feel that there was anything 'there' to see Sue as a murderer, but perhaps that's just me and I'm reading too much into it.

The writing was very good, and having known the characters, this is one more chapter in their lives, which makes it easy to read.  Speaking of the plot line, it all centers around Winston Rose's garden farm, and the reason for his murder.  There are a few real suspects at hand, but it's deciding which one is the killer that's forefront.  While I knew the murderer before Presley (only because I read mysteries more than anything else) it was still enjoyable watching her put everything together.  And the climax itself was done nicely.

In the end, everything comes together as it should, with a lovely Christmas Eve wedding, and a resolution of issues that everyone might have.  

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

https://www.amazon.com/Elves-Embezzlement-Presley-Thurman-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BL86CKVN

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5135313123

More on L.C. Turner's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/l-c-turner/

Death of a Wandering Wolf (A Hungarian Tea House Mystery #2)

Author:  Julia Buckley
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781984804846
Berkley Publishing
288 Pages
$7.99; $7.99 Amazon
June 30, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The only thing that Hana loves more than a good cuppa is finding a delicate porcelain treasure to add to her collection.  She's usually on the hunt for teacups but when she spots a rare wolf figuring at a local yard sale, she knows it's her lucky day.  Hana also knows the wolf is valuable and tells the seller that he's charging too little for it.  His reaction is peculiar -- he says he received the wolf from someone he doesn't trust and he just wants it out of his life.

Hana is inspecting her new prize when she finds a tiny microchip attached to the bottom of the porcelain wolf.  When she shows the figure to her police detective boyfriend, Erik, Hana is shocked to learn that the chip is actually a tracking device.  They decide to confront the seller about the sneaky sale but when they arrive at his house, they find him dead.  Erik and Hana now must hunt a calculating killer who has no intentions of crying wolf when it comes to murder...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Hana Keller helps run Maggie's Tea House, which her mother and grandmother own.  She also collects items by Hungarian artists - when she can afford them.  While shopping at a garage sale with her friend Katie, she comes across a beautiful rare wolf figurine made by a company in Hungary, and sees that it's only priced at $5, though she knows it to be worth much more.  Seeking out the owner of the home, she finds him sitting and sketching.  While speaking with him, he tells her that he just wants it out of his home, and refuses to charge more.  But she also finds that he himself is an artist - William Kodaly - and when she looks at one of the paintings he is about to sell it fills her with strong emotions that she can't name.  She also feels something when she touches Kodaly's hand, but blows it off.  Still, she buys two of the paintings and the wolf; yet when she pulls out of her parking spot, she sees a man looking at her and scratching his head, which bothers her.

Then she goes to meet her new boyfriend for breakfast, detective Erik Wolf.  When she shows him the wolf, he sees that it has a tracking device and immediately goes into cop mode.  Going back to Kodaly's home, they find him dead - murdered.  Now Hana has to wonder why there was a tracking device on the wolf, and if it was meant for her, since Kodaly had talked to her about knowing of her family.

But then things descend into chaos.  She has a spat with Wolf that obviously causes him pain; she meets his ebullient sisters; and there's been an attack on her.  Now she's moving from place to place while Wolf tries to keep her alive - and find out who wants her dead...

This is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it just as much as the first.  Hana is an intelligent woman who doesn't go around getting herself into dangerous situations, nor asking people inquisitive questions and accusing everyone of murder.  Her detective boyfriend actually does his job, while listening to her input and praising her when something she remembers turns out to be important to the situation.  Their relationship is growing in this book, and they seem to have a nice fit together; it blends.

I also like the fact that both of them have strong family ties.  (It does become annoying at times when a protagonist is estranged from their parents for some reason or another).  Wolf's sisters are delightful; they own their own booming business and immediately upon meeting Hana quiz her, then decide they want to use her as one of their models, even though she'd rather not.  It's quite fun to watch them manipulate her (in a nice way, of course).  Even her brother Domo shows his protective side, which is wonderful.

Yes, I know I've been praising this book, but there's a reason for that.  It's very good.  You don't have a brooding hero, nor an angry woman who broke up with her boyfriend beforehand.  These are two people who found each other, and the backstory is fascinating:  her family is Hungarian, and the women have "the gift," with Hana just discovering hers.  I love this.  Her grandmother hates wolves, thinking they're bad, so here comes Detective Wolf, and she wants to hate him but doesn't.  She knows he's good for her granddaughter.  Everything moves in sync, and it's interesting.

The mystery itself was intriguing: the wolf figurine played a key role, but even though we eventually find out why, it takes some time to find out the who.  The reason Mr. Kodaly was murdered comes from an unlikely source early on, but it's watching the pieces being put together that's the compelling part.  They come together slowly, and later in the book Hana starts to figure it out and passes the information to Wolf to complete.  They're a team, with her providing key information.

The motive for Kodaly's murder is as age-old as time itself, but still happens to this very day.  Life doesn't always follow the lines we expect it to, just as people will react to situations the way they want, regardless of the end result.  When we discover the murderer it comes to a fascinating conclusion that is actually rather funny, and was entertaining in the extreme.  I look forward to the next in the series, and hope that I don't have to wait too long.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Wandering-HUNGARIAN-HOUSE-MYSTERY/dp/1984804847/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3293383404

More on Julia Buckley's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/julia-buckley/

Death in a Budapest Butterfly (A Hungarian Tea House Mystery #1)

Author:  Julia Buckley
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781984804822
Berkley Publishing
288 Pages
$5.99; $7.99 Amazon
July 30, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'
Hana Keller and her family run Maggie's Tea House, an establishment heavily influenced by the family's Hungarian heritage and specializing in a European-style traditional tea service.  But one of the shop's largest draws is Hana's eccentric grandmother, Juliana, renowned for her ability to read the future in the leaves of the bottom of customers' cups.  Lately, however, her readings have become alarmingly ominous and seemingly related to old Hungarian legends...

When a guest is poisoned at a tea event, Juliana's dire predictions appear to have come true.  Things are brough to a boil when Hana's beloved Anna Weatherley butterfly teacup -- which carried the poisoned tea -- becomes the center of the murder investigation.  The cup is claimed as evidence by a handsome police detective, and the beloved Tea House is suddenly endangered.  Hana and her family must catch the killer to save their business and bring the beautiful Budapest Butterfly back home where it belongs.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Hana Keller helps run Maggie's Tea House, her family's establishment in Illinois.  She's helping her mother and grandmother get ready for a meeting of the Maygar Women, a group of Hungarian women who meet there every month.  Hana knows about Hungarian women, since she is half-Hungarian on her mother's side. 

She's also a collector of Hungarian items, and she's found a beautiful teacup, a Budapest Butterfly, that is going to be used as a centerpiece for today's tea.  Everything is ready and the three women are prepared for the tea service; including a French pastry chef who works for them preparing the delicious food.  Hana's grandmother Juliana has even agreed to read the tea leaves for the women after they've finished.  It's been said that the females in the family have "the gift," but Hana's never put too much stock in it.

But Hana notices a woman she's never seen before, sitting by herself.  When she mentions to one of the ladies that the woman - Ava Novak, is beautiful, she's rebuffed; and no one will talk about her.  The afternoon is indeed busy, with the three women milling about making sure everyone has enough to drink and cleaning up the empty cups.  But then, while her grandmother is reading tea leaves on the table that is supposed to hold the Butterfly, Hana notices something -- her beautiful cup is missing, and it is being used by Ava!  Hana vows to get her cup back the first chance she can, without being rude, and wondering how she got hold of it.  Then Ava excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and Hana goes to her table to retrieve her cup but sees that there are things that shouldn't be, and goes to check on Ava.  Unfortunately, she finds her -- lying dead in front of the bathroom.

The police are called immediately, and two detectives -- Wolf and Benton -- are going to ask questions.  Hana's grandmother believes that wolves are bad, and doesn't want anything to do with him, but since he's the lead detective, she doesn't have a choice.  When everything is completed, Hana wonders who Ava Novak was and why one of these little old ladies wanted her dead.  She also doesn't like the fact that she's attracted to the tall, blond detective, but that will have to wait while she 'helps' him sniff out a killer...

This is the first book in a new series and I have to say that I was surprised.  I read another of Ms. Buckley's series and it just didn't draw me in, so the fact that I liked this book should say something in itself.  (I always try to give authors a second chance, as it were).

Anyway, I do like the characters in the book.  The women are interesting people, and even Hana's brother Domo has his qualities.  He comes off as being your typical male, if there is such a thing; yet it's apparent he's protective of Hana, which is a good thing.  Hana's grandmother is a comical character; she 'knows' things that her daughter (Hana's mom) would rather not believe in, yet she's strong and funny at the same time.  Hana, for her part, is not one of those idiots that goes around asking people inquisitive questions and accusing them of murder one after the other.  It's a breath of fresh air.

I also like the fact that both Hana's mother Maggie and her grandmother are married, and the men aren't just wallpaper.  They have parts in the book that matter, and Hana didn't return home because of a broken relationship, lost her job, etc.  She actually likes what she does and makes enough money to have her own apartment.  The one thing I will say is the fact that you don't have to 'feed' cats.  They aren't dogs.  I've owned animals my entire life, (mostly cats), and you can leave food out all day and unlike dogs, they won't eat everything in the bowl.  They'll eat until they're full and walk away.  It doesn't make them fat or lazy.  (I give mine one can of wet food in the morning and leave the hard food out the rest of the day - it's fine).

But back to the book: the mystery was well drawn, and while we knew one of the ladies was a murderer, there were three women who came to the forefront.  Finding the reason behind the murder was a different story, and it brought out a Hungarian legend that seemed to come to life, but of course, didn't; leaving it, while not a full-on deep mystery, still believable enough to carry the book.

Hana and Wolf faced their attraction to each other and while there were misunderstandings, it didn't overshadow the mystery.  I did like the fact that when Hana found something out or remembered something, she went to Wolf immediately instead of keeping it to herself or going off to find out more, which made their relationship more realistic because they kept spending time together.

In the end, when we discover the murderer, as I stated above, it might not have been deep, but people have been known to carry things close to them for years, so it was conceivable.  While it was rather sad at the same time, and things could have been avoided, it was still interesting enough to keep me reading in one sitting.  I've also decided I might have to find a Hungarian restaurant somewhere around me.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Budapest-Butterfly-HUNGARIAN-MYSTERY/dp/1984804820/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3291373580

More on Julia Buckley's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/julia-buckley/

Midsummer Night's Mischief (A Wiccan Wheel Mystery #1)

Author:  Jennifer David Hesse
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496704924
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
Various Prices; $2.99 Amazon
July 26, 2016

⭐

As the Summer Solstice approaches in idyllic Edindale, Illinois, attorney Kelli Milanni isn't feeling the magic.  She's about to land in a cauldron of hot water at work.  Good thing she has her private practice to fall back on -- as a Wiccan.  She'll just have to summon her inner Goddess and set the world to rights...

Midsummer Eve is meant for gratitude and celebration, but Kelli is not in the typically upbeat mood.  The family of a recently deceased client is blaming her for the loss of a Shakespearean heirloom worth millions, and Kelli's career may be on the line.  With both a Renaissance Faire and a literary convention in town, Edindale is rife with suspicious characters, and the intrepid attorney decides to tap into her unique skills and crack the case...

But Kelli weaves a tangled web when her investigation brings her up-close and personal with her suspects -- including sexy Wes Callahan, her client's grandson.  The tattooed bartender could be the man she's been looking for in more ways than one.  As the sun sets on the mystical holiday, Kelli will need just a touch of the divine to ferret out the real villain and return Edindale, and her heart, to a stte of perfect harmony...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

I gave up on this book after the first chapter.  Sorry, but she's an attorney who's also a Wiccan who's also a vegan.  Somehow I don't think the attorney thing would fit in with the way she describes the air around her.  The Goddess thing (instead of God) really started to get to me.  I won't be reading any more in this series and I'm actually sorry I spent any money on this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Midsummer-Nights-Mischief-Wiccan-Mystery/dp/1496704924/ref

Goodreads:

More on Jennifer David Hesse's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/jennifer-david-hesse/

Mad as Helen

Author:  Susan McBride
Genre:  Mystery

Four Stars

When tiny River Bend, Illinois, is hit by a string of burglaries even Sheriff Frank Biddle can't solve, the clients of LaVyrle's Cut 'n' Curl can hardly talk of anything but. There are no signs of forced entry and no fingerprints, and valuables are missing from secret hiding places, as if the thief knew what he wanted and just where to look.

Helen Evans wonders what the world has come to if even their once-quiet town isn't safe anymore. Then Grace Simpson, a big-city psychotherapist who had opened up shop in River Bend, is found dead on her bedroom floor, and Helen's granddaughter is caught with the murder weapon in hand.

Sure of the girl's innocence, Helen embarks on a little investigation of her own and turns up plenty of folks who aren't grieving a bit now that Grace is dead...

********

Grace Simpson is a psychoanalyst who practices in River Bend, with plenty of clients from among the townspeople.  She also has an assistant, Nancy, who just happens to be Helen Evans' granddaughter.  Grace is not only a demanding boss, she is also a very nasty one.  She berates Nancy constantly, and expects her to do everything for her, including waiting at her house while the carpenter does work.

But Grace has now decided to write a non-fiction book about her clients.  She figures as long as she changes the names and some of the details, she's good to go.  So when she finishes her book, she's under the impression tha Nancy has shredded all of the pages she hand-wrote out (not trusting computers and refusing to own one).  But when Nancy bumps into a local while in front of the beauty salon, the notebooks fall out and one of them falls into the hands of Mrs. Beamer, who is none too happy to hear what is included in the book.  A nasty scene follows between the townspeople and Grace, with the culmination of Nancy being fired.

When Grace doesn't show up for a scheduled meeting with her publisher, the sheriff and the publisher go to Grace's house the next day and find Nancy exiting, with a bloody bat in her hand, hysterical.  The sheriff assumes that Nancy is guilty, but Helen, tenacious as she is, is having none of it, and if the sheriff won't look for the guilty party, she will.

The book was a nice, quick read.  But a couple of things bothered me.  Even if the sheriff assumed (erroneously, of course) that Nancy was guilty, how could her fingerprints on the bat make her guilty if there was no blood on her or her clothes?  Blood spatter, people.  Plus, it was obvious she was only there for a few minutes.  If she's pounding on the door to ask Grace to let her in, and no people were around, if she was guilty, what was the point of that?  Why not just go in if she knew she was dead?  Why didn't the sheriff ask the neighbors if they saw anything?  (One did, and knew she had knocked on the door - surely she wouldn't lie just to make it seem the girl was guilty).  And Sheriff Biddle wasn't really looking at any of the other people, even though they, as being in the book, would have had a much better reason to kill Grace.  In my mind, Sheriff Biddle is inept or lazy, plus his wife talks a lot about his cases and really shouldn't.  That could sink a conviction one day.  Sorry.

Aside from that, I liked the book.  As I said, it was a nice, quick read.  It had enough of the mystery element to keep me interested, and the secondary plot of the burglaries was done nicely, and tied in well.  I did feel that more about the people of the town would have been nice, but maybe in later books we'll learn more so that the town becomes 'real.'  When all was revealed, it made sense, and came together nicely.  So, in the final analysis, four stars, which would have been five if it weren't for the problems with the sheriff.

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Helen-River-Road-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00IRCZJY0/

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1024618645

To Helen Back: A River Road Mystery

Author:  Susan McBride
Genre:  Mystery

Four Stars

In this fun and sassy new mystery, USA Today bestselling author Susan McBride introduces us to Helen Evans, a modern-day Miss Marple who must expose a murderer in a town full of suspects!

When Milton Grone turns up dead in tiny River Bend, Illinois, nearly all the would-be suspects have the perfect alibi: attending Thursday night's town meeting. And as Milton was hardly beloved, plenty of folks had a reason to do him in ...

Grone's next-door neighbor was furious about a fence that encroached on her property, among other wicked deeds. A pair of zealous tree huggers wanted Grone's hide for selling a parcel of pristine land to a water park. Grone's current and ex-wife both wanted a cut of the profits, which Grone seemed unwilling to share. Even the town preacher knew Grone's soul was beyond saving.

Though most of River Bend would rather reward the killer than hang him, Sheriff Biddle's not about to let this one go … and neither is Helen Evans. With a penchant for puzzles and an ear for innuendo, Helen quickly fingers the culprit before Biddle puts the wrong suspect in jail.

********

Milton Grone is not well-liked in River Bend; in fact, he's pretty much hated by everyone in the town.  He's shot at his neighbor's cat and yells at the elderly woman; he mistreats his present wife and refuses to have anything to do with his ex-wife and children; and he's rich, but makes both live like paupers because of his cheapness.

He has sold some acreage to a company that wants to build a waterpark, and the townspeople are upset because it will destroy the environment in that area, yet no one knows how to stop him.  So, one night while everyone is at a town meeting, Milton is killed.  At first the sheriff and doctor thinks it might have been an accident, that Milton merely had a heart attack, fell, and hit his head on a rock, because the doctor knows that Milton had a bad heart.  Yet not too soon after, the doctor discovers something that shows Milton was murdered:  he was struck on the head with something heavy, and it was staged to make it look like an accident.

In steps widow Helen Evans.  With a mind that operates much like Christie's Miss Marple (as the sheriff says), she is trying to keep her friend Felicity, Milton's next door neighbor and the owner of the shot-at cat, from being taken in as the murderer,  and find the real killer herself.

I liked this mystery:  It was fast, detailed, and a good beginning to a series.  Helen is unassuming, yet she notices things and has a way of putting herself in the middle of the action without seeming pushy.  There wasn't a lot of character development as of yet, but since this is the first book in the series, I am hoping to see more in the next.

The only thing I didn't care for was the fact that Helen bemoans the fact that someone might injure a bird in a tree, yet sees nothing wrong with allowing her own cat to roam outdoors and kill small creatures.  I would like to see her opt to keep her pet indoors, where it would be safer and have a much longer lifespan (yes, I am a huge animal lover!).

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a light mystery with likeable characters, and look forward to the next in the series.

http://www.amazon.com/To-Helen-Back-River-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00IRCZIPA/