Rum and Choke (A Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mystery #4)

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496734389

Kensington Cozies

320 Pages

$8.99; $6.99 Amazon

December 27, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Florida Panhandle Barback Games are coming up and Chloe's been drafted to represent the Sea Glass Saloon -- competing in various obstacle-course events that conclude with rolling an empty keg up a hill.  The rivalries are so fierce that some of the participating bars even stoop to bringing in ringers.

Meanwhile, Chloe's friend Ann -- a descendant of the famed pirate Jean Lafitte -- asks her to come along for a boat ride as Ann dives into the Gulf of Mexico.  She's found some old papers that may identify the location of sunken treasure.  Instead, she finds a sunken body -- one of the ringers hired for the Barback Games.  Now that murder is in the mix, Chloe has to figure out whether one of the competitors went overboard...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chloe Jackson goes to work one morning and discovers that her boss, Vivi, and her coworker Joaquin have signed her up for the Barback Games.  It's a competitive game, so much so that some of the other bars in the area have hired ringers -- professional athletes -- for the competition.  This doesn't sit well with Vivi, and she wants Chloe to go undercover and check them out.  But instead one of them, Enrique, seems to be checking out Chloe.

Once the three she's been visiting discover who she is, they come to the Sea Glass to confront her.  But her friend Ann Williams is there also -- and she recognizes Enrique from a long time ago when he assaulted her.  Things don't look good for either of them, so Ann leaves.  But later Ann asks Chloe if she'll come with her as support when she plans a dive to find an old shipwreck of her ancestor, pirate Jean Lafitte.  Instead of finding sunken treasure, she finds a sunken body, and now both Chloe and Ann are persons of interest in death.

Trying not to make things worse for herself, she continues to help Ann on her personal quest and finds not only murder, but intrigue, suspicions, secrets, and break-ins along with adventure and excitement.  Wanting to stay above the law, but caught in the web of Ann's life, she wants to be part of this exploration also.

Then there's also the fact that she's falling for Rip, and hard.  Does she tell him or allow things to go as slow as they have been?  Not wanting to keep her involvement in the shipwreck from him, but not wanting to break a promise to Ann has her warring with herself.  Which one will win out in the end?  And will she finally be charged in the murder?...

This is the fourth book in the series, and I have read them all.  This just might be the best one of the group.  I was as drawn to the action as Chloe was herself.  Watching her try to juggle her relationship, her involvement in the Barback Games and the lure of the excitement of finding a pirate ship was enough in itself, but the murder only added to it.  She's determined to find the killer, because if she doesn't, she could be sent away for complicity in the crime.  

There's so much going on, but it's all easy enough to keep straight; nothing overlaps so much that you can't follow the action.  And there's plenty of that.  My favorite, of course, would be looking for the pirate ship (who wouldn't want to?) but we must solve the murder first.  Who would want to kill this person?  It turns out that plenty of people would.  Their past seemed to follow them, and they left unhappy people behind (I will say no more as to not spoil the book for others as to whom the dead person might be).

We learn slightly more about Ann in this book, and I have always found her an intriguing character, so of course I was interested; but not enough to give us everything, leaving her with her secrets.  This is as it should be.

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, it's both sad and understandable; while there is no excuse for killing, sometimes we need to think things out.  And yet -- the ending gives us something very good to look forward to, and makes us want to read the next in the series now.  If you haven't read this series before, you can start with this book, but it would be better if you read the first in the series, From Beer To Eternity.  Highly recommended.

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

https://smile.amazon.com/Choke-Chloe-Jackson-Saloon-Mystery/dp/1496734386/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4943963687

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

Three Shots to the Wind (A Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mystery #3)

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496734365

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$8.99; $6.99 Amazon

March 29, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Saloon owner Chloe Jackson appears to have a secret admirer.  She's pouring drinks at the Sea Glass Saloon in Emerald Cove when an airplane flies by above the beach with a banner reading I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON.  She immediately rules out Rip Barnett.  They are in the early stages of dating and no one has said the L word.  Then a bouquet of lilacs -- her favorite flower -- is delivered to the bar, followed by an expensive bottle of her favorite sparkling wine.  It couldn't be...

Sure enough, her ex-fiancé from Chicago has flown down to Florida for an accountants' convention.  But is he trying to mix business with pleasure and win her back?  Unfortunately he's not in a hotel conference room, he's floating facedown in the lake next to her house, clutching a photo of Chloe.  Who murders an accountant on a business trip -- it just doesn't add up.  When Rip becomes the prime suspect, Chloe is determined to find the secret murderer.  But if she isn't careful, it may be closing time and lights out for her...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chloe Jackson has given up her life as a librarian back in Chicago and moved to Emerald Cove, Florida.  It's because of the will her late best friend Boone left, giving her all his worldly goods and part ownership in the bar he owned with his grandmother, Vivi.  Her new romance with firefighter Rip Barnett is also starting to heat up, and she's happy at last.

But one morning while at the bar, there's a commotion and her friend Joaquin tells her to come outside.  Above them is a plane with a banner reading 'I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON'; and soon after she receives a huge bouquet of her favorite flowers and a magnum of her favorite sparkling wine.  At first stumped that anyone would know about the flowers and the wine, she soon realizes that it might just be her ex-fiancé, Perry.

But then things go from bad to worse -- floating in the lake near her house is Perry's body -- and he's clutching a photo of her.  Stunned and horrified, Chloe has no idea who would want to kill nice, boring Perry.  But since there's a video of Perry and Rip having an altercation, Biffle has to list Rip and his number one suspect.  Chloe isn't having it, and decides to do some investigating on her own.

Then there are the surprises that come Chloe's way -- and I won't list them here because you need to read the book -- but it puts a wrench in Chloe's plans and brings frustration because of Vivi's -- yet Chloe carries on, determined to prove Rip innocent.

What follows is an intriguing tale of Chloe trying her best to find and eliminate suspects -- some who have good reason to want Perry dead -- surprises that aren't expected, and a few humorous situations that lighten the book quite a bit.  What Chloe also has is plenty of motives that could spur people to kill, including lies, secrets, and jealousy -- but what Chloe also discovers is that sometimes those closest to us can be someone we don't know at all..

In the end, I found the climax interesting and unusual, not to mention a bit unexpected; and it gives the book the final punch it needs to carry through.  Ms. Harris gives us a tale that keeps us reading throughout, and we learn more about Chloe and her past, which is a good thing, as it makes her more real than before.  I enjoyed this book immensely and await the next in the series (hopefully soon).  Highly recommended.

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

https://www.amazon.com/Three-Shots-Jackson-Saloon-Mystery/dp/149673436X/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4573268803

More on Sherry Harris's Books:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4573268803

A Time to Swill (A Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mystery #2)

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781496723048

Kensington Publishing

207 Pages

$7.69; $6.99 Amazon

July 27, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Chloe loves her new life pouring beers and mixing cocktails at the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle town of Emerald Cove.  But on the job, the only exercise she gets is walking from one end of the bar to the other, so in the mornings she loves to run on the beach.  On this morning's foggy run, she spots a sailboat washed up on a sandbar.  Hearing a cry, she climbs aboard the beached vessel to investigate and finds not only a mewling kitten -- but a human skeleton in the cabin.

The skeleton is tied back to Chloe's friend Ralph, whose wife disappeared on a sailboat with three other people twelve years ago.  Believing his wife was lost as sea, Ralph remarried.  Now he finds himself a murder suspect.  Chloe is determined to find out who's been up to some skullduggery, but her sleuthing will lead her into some rough waters and some bone-chilling revelations...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chloe Jackson moved from Chicago to Emerald Cove, Florida after her best friend Boone died in Afghanistan and left her everything -- which includes his home, boat, and 25% in the bar his grandmother Vivi owns.  After coming to a sort of truce with Vivi, Chloe is settling into her new life.  But while jogging on a foggy morning she hears what she thinks is a baby crying on a boat that seems to be stuck on a sandbar.  Swimming out to the boat, she finds it's not a child, but a cat, and while exploring she also finds a skeleton aboard.  When the boat catches fire, she dives off with the cat, hoping to make it to shore.  But a man with a boat rescues her, returns her to shore and disappears.

To make matters worse, Boone's father returns -- and claims he has a new will of Boone's that leaves him everything, including being half-owner of the bar.  But everyone knows Boone would never do that, but the problem lies in trying to find out proof, which Chloe intends to do.

Chloe finds herself in another murder this time -- but discovers that it might be one from long ago.  When she gives the police a ring she also discovered before bailing, she finds that it belonged to her friend Ralph's late wife -- and he might be a suspect.  Now she's looking for the good Samaritan that saved her, and the person who might have killed Ralph's wife.  Could they be one and the same?  Or is something else afoot?  And is someone trying to make sure she doesn't find anything else out?

This is the second book in the series and it is quite as good as the first.  Chloe is coming to love her new life, and Vivi is changing in her feelings toward Chloe.  There's also a hint of change in the air for Chloe with a new relationship, but it doesn't get in way of the mystery.  We also have the enigmatic Ann Williams around again, and Joaquin, of course; all of these people make for a very interesting book.

I loved the mystery -- which was more a mystery within one; and there's a subplot that is quite intriguing as well.  Watching Chloe try to navigate her new life and the things going on around her are worth the read; and the reappearance of Boone's father Steven brings angst to the group at the Sea Glass.  Vivi can't figure out a way to get rid of him, but Chloe is determined to do so.

But it's the backstory that is the most interesting -- of what went on twelve years ago and how it ties into things that are occurring today.  It's suspenseful and fun, and when the ending comes it's all worth the wait.  I truly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next in the series.  Recommended.

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

https://www.amazon.com/Swill-Chloe-Jackson-Saloon-Myster-ebook/dp/B08MBFK131/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4569384294

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

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

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496722539

Kensington Publishing

288 Pages

$6.96; $6.61 Amazon

December 29, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

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

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496722515

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$7.99; $5.99 Amazon

December 31, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ONE WOMAN's TRASH...

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

...IS ANOTHER WOMAN'S TROUBLE

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

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Author:    Sherry Harris

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496716989

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$7.99; $5.99 Amazon

July 30, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SHE'S GOT THE GOODS...

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

BUT SARAH'S PROBLEMS ARE JUST BEGINNING

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

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Gun Also Rises (A Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery Book 6)

Author:  Sherry Harris

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audio CD Available)

ISBN #:  9781496716965

Kensington Publishing

288 Pages

$7.88; $4.99 Amazon

January 29, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A wealthy widow has asked Sarah Winston to sell her massive collection of mysteries through her garage sale business.  While sorting through piles of books stashed in the woman's attic, Sarah is amazed to discover a case of lost Hemingway stories, stolen from a train in Paris back in 1922.  How did they end up in Bell Winthrop Granville's attic in Ellington, Massachusetts, almost one hundred years later?

Before Sarah can get any answers, Belle is assaulted, the case is stolen, a maid is killed, and Sarah herself is dodging bullets.  And when rumors spread that Belle has a limited edition of The Sun Also Rises in her house, Sarah is soon mixed up with a mobster, the fanatical League of Literary Treasure Hunters, and a hard-to-read rare book dealer.  With someone willing to kill for the Hemingway, Sarah has to race to catch the culprit -- or the bell may toll for her...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sarah Winston is surprised when wealthy Belle Winthrop Granville wants her to sort and sell her collection of mystery books for a sale to benefit the local library.  But Sarah is determined to dig right in and do her best.  But then Sarah discovers a briefcase of what appears to be the early writings of Ernest Hemingway, still bound with the original carbon copies.  She takes it to Belle, explaining where she found it and what it might be.  Not long after, she hears Belle scream and runs to her, finding her injured and telling her that the maid stole the case.  Chasing after the woman isn't easy when you're going through a wooded area.  Then she finds the maid dead, the briefcase missing, and herself being shot at.

Explaining what happened to her police officer friends is easy.  What's not easy is that soon after Sarah finds herself the center of attention as treasure hunters come to town to stalk her, keeping Belle safe, and a rare book dealer who seems sketchy.  Soon Sarah is on the hunt for a killer and a thief, but doesn't know who to trust, since it could be any number of people.  When help comes from an unlikely source, it keeps Sarah safe temporarily, but it will take everything she has to stay out of the eye of a killer...

This is the sixth book in the series and is probably my favorite so far.  These is plenty of action, so much so that Sarah can't even find time to breathe normally.  The cast of characters is extensive, but not so much that you can't keep track of who's who.  I especially like the gritty Belle, and I do love the fact that Sarah's brother Luke turns up again.  I read about him in a previous book and grew to like his character, so seeing him here was pleasant.

While Sarah's trying to keep away from a killer, (whom she doesn't know who it might be), she's also trying to avoid a group of tweedy treasure hunters and reporters who have camped out at her favorite spots, leaving her nowhere to go.  But her police officer friend finds her refuge at at unlikely place which also forces her to face certain fears she has.  It also brings her an unlikely surprise visitor, one she's happy to see.

As things become more complicated, Sarah's life coincides with it.  She can't find the killer nor the Hemingway, and she starts to become both frustrated and upset with herself.  But what makes it worse is the fact that she has no clue as to where it is, and she starts to think she's following the wrong person.

When Sarah starts to put it all together, she tells her officer friends, and even explains what is going on.  When the ending comes and the murderer is found, it's done nicely and is believable.  Sarah uses her wits to figure it all out, and everything comes out just as it's supposed to.  This book was easy to read in one sitting, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Also-Rises-Sarah-Garage-Mystery/dp/1496716965/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3853558585

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

From Beer to Eternity (A Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery #1)

Author:  Sherry Harris

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781496723031; [9781662017599]

Kensington Publishing; [Dreamscape Media]

320 Pages

$7.99; [$22.99]; $6.89 Amazon

July 28, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐

With Chicago winters in the rearview mirror, Chloe Jackson is making good on a promise: help her late friend's grandmother run the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle.  To Chloe's surprise, feisty Vivi Slidell isn't the frail retiree Chloe expects.  Nor is Emerald Cove.  It's less a sleepy fishing village than a panhandle hotspot overrun with land developers and tourists.  But it's a Sea Glass regular who's mysteriously crossed the cranky Vivi.  When their bitter argument comes to a head and he's found dead behind the bar, guess who's the number one suspect?

In trying to clear Vivi's name, Chloe discovers the old woman isn't the only one in Emerald Cove with secrets.  Under the laidback attitude, sparkling white beaches, and small town ways something terrible is brewing.  And the sure way a killer can keep those secrets bottled up is to finish off one murder with a double shot: aimed at Chloe and Vivi.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chloe Jackson went to Florida for the funeral of her best friend Boone, who was killed in Afghanistan.  He made her promise if anything happened to him that she would stay and help his grandmother Vivi run her bar, the Sea Glass Saloon.  But Chloe finds out that Vivi is perfectly capable of running the bar on her own, yet her promise to Boone is important, so with her leave of absence from her job in Chicago, she makes up an excuse to get a job at the Saloon, and is now their waitress.  It's also apparent that Vivi doesn't really care for Chloe and doesn't trust her; but at the urging of the bartender Joaquin she allows her to stay.

At first, Chloe's been sleeping in her car but now while spending the night on Boone's boat, she's discovered by a local named Rhett, who promises to keep her secret.  The next morning, while running on the beach, Chloe discovers the body of a local man who's been murdered.  With Vivi as the main suspect, she knows the woman didn't do it and wants to find the killer.

But there's more in store for Chloe, and she's in for a big surprise of her own, along with surprises from the locals that keep her on her toes...and running from a killer...

This is the first book in a new series, and I must say that in the beginning I almost put it down and walked away.  It began that slowly, and I didn't get the fact that she'd been sleeping in her car for days yet went to work and no one noticed the 'human scent' that must have been there, and I began wondering where she was changing her clothes and showering.  But I continued on, and then the story line began to grab me, and I kept reading to the end (as I've said often, I pay attention to details, and these are details that bothered me).

After I started to get into the story, I enjoyed it quite a bit.  You have a twenty-eight year old woman from Chicago who's found herself in strange waters in Florida, trying to fulfill the wish of her deceased best friend without his grandmother knowing about it.  I do like Chloe quite a bit, even if she does take risks she shouldn't, but not so many of them that I'd call her stupid.

Vivi is another story.  I don't get why she's cranky at all: she has a thriving business and plenty of money, so she pretty much has the freedom to live the way she wants.  What's to be cranky about?  You'd think she'd have a nicer personality, but I guess we'll see in future books if she's warmed up at all as a person.

Watching Chloe try to figure out who killed the man brings her in contact with many of the locals, and they're starting to warm up to Chloe while spilling their own pasts to help her in her quest to help Vivi.  It seems everyone likes the woman and no one believes she's guilty.  When the stakes are raised and Chloe becomes a target of the killer, she knows she must be getting closer to the truth.  When it finally dawns on her who the killer must be, she ignore the danger to herself to help the woman.

It's an interesting climax and I do like how the story played out.  I enjoyed this one so much that I look forward to the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Eternity-Chloe-Jackson-Saloon-Mystery/dp/1496723031/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3561345889

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

I Know What You Bid Last Summer (A Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery #5)

Author:  Sherry Harris
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  978149677536; [9781974953493]
Kensington Publishing; [Dreamscape Media]
304 Pages
$7.99; [$20.97]; $6.89 Amazon
February 27, 2018

⭐⭐⭐⭐

When it comes to running a successful garage sale, Sarah Winston believes in doing her homework.  She also believes in giving back.  But when she agrees to manage an athletic equipment swap, she doesn't bargain on an uncharitable killer.  The day of the event, the school superintendent is found dead in the gymnasium.

Suddenly the murder suspects are the school board members -- including the husband of a very difficult client who's hired Sarah to run a high-end sale and demands she do her bidding.  Between tagging and haggling, Sarah studies the clues to see who wanted to teach the superintendent a lesson.  But as she closes in on the truth, the killer intends to give her a crash course on minding her own business...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sarah Winston lives in a small town in Massachusetts and runs a garage sale business.  Currently she's managing an athletic equipment swap at one of the schools, and while she's in the gymnasium one evening, the lights go off and she's attacked, with someone shoving her into a utility closet and pushing something up against the door.  When she finally frees herself, she sees that everything has been thrown around, and notices that many of the items in the silent auction are missing, those that could bring top dollar.

After she notifies the police and has been to the hospital to get checked out, she wants nothing more than to get back to her life.  But then during the actual swap and auction, she needs to go into the utility room to get something, and finds the dead body of the school superintendent - who's been stabbed with a vintage ski pole.  Now Sarah's involved with the investigation, even if she doesn't want it.  When the attacks on her escalate, and even the DA Seth is attacked, she becomes worried.  But when a school board member shows up on her doorstep claiming he's been framed for murder and asks for her help, Sarah wants to walk away.  But already involved, she knows she can't.  And finding the murderer might be more difficult than she thinks, and could get her killed...

Since I wasn't really enthralled by the other books in this series, I didn't know what to expect, although I've been warming up to it the more I read it.  Maybe I just didn't like the relationship between CJ and Sarah.  Who knows.  Anyway, the plot was quite interesting, and we really didn't find out the truth of the matter until toward the end of the book, which is a nice touch in itself.

There was a cute subplot of Angelo enlisting Sarah to go to his rivals' shops and taste their lasagna to see if it was better than his.  But once they got wind of what Sarah was doing, it really became kind of funny -- especially when poor Ryne had no idea whatsoever of what was going on but got dragged into it anyway.

There were only a handful of suspects which made it a lot easier to sift through them; although they all seemed to have a motive to kill the woman, none of them seemed strong enough for it to be one to want her dead, which made it more difficult for Sarah to figure it out.  Speaking of which, Sarah is also starting to figure her own life out with CJ gone (not a spoiler, since we find out right away that he's left).  Not a lot of time is spent on this, but enough to give us a picture of what she's decided.

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, it's a bit of a surprise, but the reasoning behind the death is age-old.  The ending also gives us a hint of what might be to come in the next book, but it's not a cliff-hanger, so no worries there.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Know-Summer-Sarah-Garage-Mystery/dp/1496707532/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3284404579

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

A Good Day to Buy (A Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery #4)

Author:  Sherry Harris
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496707512
Kensington Mystery
310 Pages
[Various Prices]; $6.89 Amazon
April 25, 2017

⭐⭐

When Sarah Winston's estranged brother Luke shows up on her doorstep, asking her not to tell anyone he's in town -- especially her ex, the chief of police -- the timing is strange, to say the least.  Hours earlier, Sarah's latest garage sale was taped off as a crime scene following the discovering of a murdered Vietnam vet and his gravely injured wife -- her clients, the Spencers.

All Luke will tell Sarah is that he's undercover, investigating a story.  Before she can learn more, he vanishes as suddenly as he appeared.  Rummaging through his things for a clue to his whereabouts, Sarah comes upon a list of veterans and realizes that to find her brother, she'll have to figure out who killed Mr. Spencer.  And all without telling her ex...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sarah Winston makes a living by running garage sales for other people.  She's also the ex-wife of the current chief of police, CJ.  So things get complicated when she's running a garage sale for an older couple and when someone pulls down a sheet to see what's under it, they find the battered body of Mr. Spencer, with his wife nearby, unconscious.

Then, making everything more complicated is the sudden appearance of her younger brother, Luke, whom she hasn't heard from in years.  When he arrives bedraggled and tired at her door, she can't turn him away.  But she finds herself having to keep his appearance a secret from CJ, and while she wants to know why Luke is there, she doesn't want to drive him away by asking too many questions.  Then, when he's suspected in Mr. Spencer's death, she needs to clear his name...

I really wanted to like this book, and I liked the part about her brother coming back.  But, unfortunately, I didn't.  I was disappointed in the mystery surrounding Luke, and I didn't see why he needed to leave to do what he does.  With the advent of the Internet, he could have used it to his advantage and kept a home base near Sarah.  But he didn't.

Then, CJ makes a major decision about the future of himself and his life with Sarah -- without even consulting her.  But he didn't.  He just expected her to jump at it without question.  What a tool.  I can't say that I like him anymore.  Who makes a life decision without consulting their partner first?

Speaking of which, she used the reasoning that she "loves her job" which is setting up garage sales and running them.  Really?  She can't do this somewhere else?  I always thought it was weird anyway why you'd hire someone to do that instead of doing it yourself and keeping all the money.  How lazy are people?  I also don't see how she can run a part-time business (living in Massachusetts, she sure can't run it in inclement weather and winter) and still have enough money to live on/  Is she only paying $100 a month for her apartment?  She's never had a full-time job and will have no retirement whatsoever (unless she takes half of CJ's military retirement), but for some reason everyone in this town is having garage sales and paying someone else to run them; and if in reality there were that many garage sales, everyone's home would be filled with someone else's cast-offs.

Yet the worst was the ending -- I absolutely detest it when we're left with cliff-hangers.  I call it "holding the reader hostage," because you have to buy the next book to find out what happens.  This isn't television, where you can tune in the following week; and if a movie did that, you'd be ticked.  So why do authors think it's okay to do this?  I've stopped reading many authors because of this, and I'm not sure if I'll even read the next in the series, because what if it happens in the ensuing book?  No thank you.  Sorry, but the reasons above tempered my enjoyment of the book and I felt as if I'd wasted my time reading it.

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Sarah-Garage-Sale-Mystery/dp/1496707516/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3262676037

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

All Murders Final! (A Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery)

Author:  Sherry Harris
Genre:  Mystery

Paperback, Ebook
ISBN #:  9781617730214
Kensington Publishing
288 Pages
$7.99, $5.99 Amazon
April 26, 2016

Five Stars

When Sarah Winston started the virtual garage sale, it seemed like a keystroke of genius and the next logical step in her business.  No more collapsing card tables and rainy-day washouts.  But what began as a fun way to run garage sales during the long New England winter has become a nightmare of managing people and putting out fires.  Online, she can avoid the crowds--but not the crazies.

She certainly never bargained for dealing with frightening threats.  And when a client is murdered, it's time for Sarah to swallow her pride and seek the help of her ex--C. J. Hooker, chief of police.  Forging a tense alliance, they search--online and off--for the killer.  but solving this crime before someone else gets tagged seems virtually impossible.

********

Sarah Winston runs a virtual garage sale website (when she's not actually out running garage sales for people), a place where someone can advertise their wares and negotiate price and places to pick up the items.  At the moment she is slightly unhappy with one of the clients, Margaret More, who had advertised an antique tablecloth that Sarah wanted, and agreed on a price.  But before Sarah could acquire the tablecloth, she saw that Margaret had backed out of the deal and decided to sell it to someone else who offered a higher price.  Naturally Sarah was upset, because it should have been hers, and she had a few heated words online with the woman.  Once she had a chance to calm down, she realized that Margaret could sell the tablecloth to anyone she wanted, and she resolved to let it go.

However, when she arrives at Margaret's the next day to retrieve other items for sale, she sees Margaret sitting in her car - with the tablecloth stuffed down her throat.  The woman is obviously dead, and Sarah immediately calls the police.  It soon becomes apparent that there is more to the death than meets the eye, and when there is another death - someone who recently had been in contact with Sarah - she begins to wonder if the police think she might be the killer, and resolves to find out what exactly is going on.

But when Sarah also starts receiving threatening emails and photos of herself on PopIt - an app (fictional) that allows photos to be received and deleted within five seconds - Sarah starts getting scared.  The photos are all taken right where she happens to be, and then just as quickly gone.  Even though the police are aware of the photos, Sarah has no idea who is sending them or why.  She only knows that she's being followed, and whoever is doing it isn't happy about where she's been or where she's going...

Her stalker leaves small evidence behind, barely enough to convince others that there actually is one.  She believes that it's a real possibility it could be one of her group members, but unfortunately, with the Internet a haven for anonymity, Sarah doesn't know who she's looking for, or even where to look.  It becomes a nightmare in the extreme, and is a frightening reality in that it could be anyone of a horde of people.

To add to the confusion, she's still in a dilemma of what to do about CJ and Seth.  CJ, her ex-husband and police chief of Ellington, still wants her back, but she doesn't yet feel she can truly trust him; and she has burgeoning feelings for Seth, the district attorney, who wants more from her than she feels she can give right now.  Sarah has told them both she needs time to figure things out, but she keeps finding herself in close proximity to them both.  It is her changing relationships with them both that helps keep things interesting.  (Although I do have to admit I'm liking Seth more than CJ as the books go on).

What's causing more problems is the fact that her landlady Stella has allowed a probable mob member to "temporarily" move in next door, and even though it's helping Sarah sleep at night, she's not sure she's all that comfortable with the situation.

While this book began as your typical cozy - protagonist finds a dead body and decides to find the killer - it was somewhere after the first third of the book where things began to really pick up.  We realize that Sarah does indeed have a stalker, and it could be any number of people, either male or female.  She turns the possibilities over in her mind, trying to decide if it's just someone who found her site on the Internet or someone she knows.

We are given more insight into Seth and his life, which I found highly intriguing indeed, and can't wait to know more of; and the recent events that are surrounding Sarah's life are explained one by one as she gets closer to the killer, while giving no clues until near the end.  I can say that I was surprised by the ending, a twist I didn't see happening.  (Although I also like Mike Titone and definitely want to see more of him in later books). 

Ms. Harris certainly weaves a tale well.  I found myself engaging with the characters early on, trying to sift through the people one by one along with Sarah in order to find a murderer.  But just when we think we know the answers and how it all will come together, there is another surprise, and one that proves what a good story this is.  The story flows easily, and as things become more desperate for Sarah, you find yourself caught up in the somewhat shocking conclusion.  But please  do not peek to the end!  The ending is worth the wait.  I found this to be the best of the series so far, giving a taste of what it can become in the future, which is a very good series indeed.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Murders-Final-Garage-Mystery/dp/1617730211/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1629898271

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