My Fair Latte (A Cafe Cinema Mystery #1)

Author:  Vickie Fee
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback: Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781635115826; 9781635115796
Henery Press Publishing
258 Pages
$31.95; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
March 3, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Broke, unemployed barista Halley Greer is shocked when she inherits an Art Deco movie palace from the great uncle she remembers meeting once as a child.  She moves to the charming tourist town of Utopia Springs, Arkansas to claim her legacy.

In addition to the timeworn theater, she discovers she's also inherited a trash-heaped apartment, family secrets, her uncle's friends, a stealthy calico kitty -- and an adversary.

With a whole latte  help from her new friends, the feisty barista fixes up and re-opens the theater as a coffee and wine bar, showing classic films.  She generates some steam with a hunky local -- and risks getting burned.  The opening night of My Fair Lady looks like a big hit, and her new life feels like a bit of movie magic, until a customer turns up dead during intermission.

With the cops eyeing her as a suspect, Halley digs into the victim's life and runs into a tangle of blackmail and secrets.  Can Hailey and her friends unmask a killer before the curtain comes down for keeps?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Halley Greer didn't even know her great-uncle Leon - but he's left her everything he had, which includes not only an old Art Doc movie palace, his apartment, boxes of his belongings, and a calico cat named Eartha Kitty.  Now she's moved to Utopia Springs, Arkansas to see if she can make a go of it.

Luckily, she's also inherited his best friends, George and Trudy Mayfield, who have made her feel welcome and introduced her to others, especially Kendra, who's Halley's age and owns Escape Rooms across the street.  While she and Kendra have become fast friends, Halley's decided to make the movie theater her own by offering a coffee and wine bar (and of course, movie snacks) along with the classic movies she intends to show, beginning with My Fair Lady.

What she doesn't count on is a dead body on opening night.  Or the fact that she's seen the man before, peeking in her windows.  Or the fact that the police think she's the main suspect.  So she and Kendra, along with a bit of help from Trudy and George, decide to hunt down the killer on their own- discreetly, of course.  But when Halley realizes that the police are onto them, they realize they need to up their game..but then again, so does the killer...

This is the first in a new series by Vicki Fee, who is a talented writer.  Even if you're not interested in classic movies (as I am), you should find this interesting.  Halley has a troubled past and is slightly broken emotionally, which makes her eager to reach out to the new people around her who want to become part of her new life.  It's subtle but lovely to watch.

The mystery itself is shrouded not only in the present, but the past also and comes off as completely believable.  Old stories and legends surround many areas of the country, and this one could be part of that.  I do love old legends and read about them frequently.

Much of the book is about Halley establishing her new life; deciding what will work in her theater as she meets the people of Utopia Springs; but it also brings her in contact with those same people who could, just as well, have one of them as the murderer.  While we aren't given a lot of background on many of those, we do learn about both Halley and Kendra's past, and it explains a lot about the people they are.  George and Trudy are a hoot, and I love the fact that they're playing major roles in the book.

When Halley discovers the murderer, it comes as a bit of a surprise, but the clues are there if you look for them.  I do like how the climax came about, and the reason for the murder was, while as old as time, thoroughly convincing.  This is a delightful start to a new series and I wait eagerly for the next.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Fair-Latte-Caf%C3%A9-Cinema-Mystery/dp/1635115795/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3186349302

More on Vickie Fee's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/vickie-fee/

It's Your Party, Die If You Want To (A Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery #2)

Author:  Vickie Fee
Genre:    Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496700643
Kensington Publishing
329 Pages
$7.99; $4.99 Amazon
September 27, 2016

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Between a riverboat gambler-theme engagement party and a murder mystery dinner for charity, Dixie, Tennessee, party planner Liv McKay is far too frenzied to feel festive.  Add to the mix her duties at the annual businesswomen's retreat and the antics of a celebrity ghost-hunting diva, and Liv's schedule is turning out to be the scariest thing about this Halloween - especially when the ladies stumble across a dead body in a cemetery...

Morgan Robison was a party girl with a penchant for married men and stirring up a cauldron of drama.  Any number of scorned wives or frightened philanderers could be behind her death.  As Liv and her best friend, Di, set out to dig up the truth, they'll face the unexpected and find their efforts hampered by a killer with one seriously haunting vendetta...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Liv McKay is an event planner in Dixie, Tennessee.  She's got her hands full with planning a riverboat-themed engagement party, a Halloween bash with three separate parties for children, teens, and adults; and is a member of a women's business association, which is giving her the most grief.

The president of the association is banker's daughter Morgan Robison, and she's nothing if not trouble.  She's enlisted Liv to be chauffeur/gofer for a local who's become a worldwide celebrity due to her ghost hunting show.  The diva, Lucinda Grable, treats everyone the same - like they're beneath her, so Liv, while annoyed, doesn't feel singled out.

But the first night of the retreat Morgan is murdered, and Liv is pretty sure it's poison from the horrific look on Morgan's face.  When another member is accused and arrested, Liv's friends try their hardest to convince her that the woman can't be guilty.  Now it's up to Liv and her best friend Di to try and find a killer who has no remorse and may not be done killing...

I really like this series, even though I haven't read them in order.  I was saddened to discover that it appears there isn't another available, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the author will keep writing them. 

Morgan was thoroughly unlikable with a penchant for married men and controlling everyone around her, so it's no surprise to anyone when she's murdered.  It seems nearly everyone had a reason, but finding the guilty party isn't an easy task, and not one Liv is happy about. 

The mystery was done very well, and I will say that while Liv's character is fully fleshed out, along with her family members, I just honestly don't care all that much for Di.  I get that she has a past she's not happy about, but she's a little too closed off to be interesting.  Basically all she does is work and drink, and help Liv in her 'escapades' (although to be fair, she does instigate one or two).  I would like to see her take control of her life and refuse to allow her past to define who she is right now.

Anyway, while there's plenty of suspects abounding, I was surprised at finding out the murderer.  We weren't privy to the truth until it actually came out, and that's always a good thing.  Liv's mother is a hoot and seems like the kind of woman you'd actually have fun with.  Liv herself has a happy marriage, is good at her job and with people, and her friends are interesting, to say the least.

When all is said and done, I've read every one of these, and I loved them all.  My only hope is that Ms. Fee continues with this series.  I'll be the first to buy the new book.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Party-Want-Dixie-Mystery/dp/1496700643/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2884244655

More on Vickie Fee's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/vickie-fee/

Til Death Do Us Party (A Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery)

Author:  Vickie Fee
Genre:  Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496715982
Kensington Publishing
288 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
March 27, 2018

✮✮✮✮✮

Las Vegas knows how to party, and for once, event planner Liv McKay won’t be entirely behind the scenes. The Dixie gang is in Sin City to celebrate Mama and Earl’s rockin’ Elvis-themed wedding. And between juggling the botched bachelorette party and a problem-plagued soirée back home, Liv’s ready to double down on some fun.

Mama & Earl’s happily-ever-after seems like a sure thing, but all bets (and nuptials) are off when they get to the Burning Love Wedding Chapel. Their Elvis-impersonating minister has left the building . . . permanently. And even worse, Liv’s cousin, Little Junior, is suspected of his murder.

With Mama’s happy ending on the table and Little Junior about to lose it all, the stakes are higher than ever. Liv and her best friend, Di, must hit the Strip to find the real killer before he finally plays his ace...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Liv McKay is on her way to Las Vegas with her mama, her mama's fiancé Earl, husband Larry Joe, his parents, and best friend Di and her boyfriend Dave.  They're traveling because her mama wants to get married there by an Elvis impersonator, and since Earl is paying for almost everything, they couldn't say no.

But no sooner do they arrive when Di sees her ex-husband at the hotel where they're staying, and it puts her and Dave on the outs when she starts spending time with Jimmy Souther.  Then Liv sees someone she also knows who moved to Las Vegas several years ago - Jana - who wasn't such a nice person but has volunteered to get a nice venue for Liv to have a bachelorette dinner for her mama.

They've also managed to meet up with Liv's cousin Little Junior, who lives in Vegas and is a cab driver and Elvis impersonator.  He offers to drive them anywhere they want to go, and when they wind up at the chapel where mama and Earl are getting married, he has a sort-of run-in with the chapel's resident Elvis.

While the dinner isn't exactly what Liv had planned, her mama and mother-in-law both seemed to enjoy it, and so with that behind them they arrive at the chapel for the wedding.  But during the middle of the ceremony, 'Elvis' drops dead, and the wedding is off.  But when it's found out that he was murdered, the only suspect is Little Junior and he's arrested.

While Dave, a sheriff back in Tennessee, is using what connections he has to keep abreast of the case, mama begs Liv and Di to find the real killer, since they know it just couldn't be Little Junior.  But while they're subtly investigating, his daddy Junior hightails it from Phoenix to be near his son, and it causes health problems for him.

Not to mention that now Di and Dave are on the outs because of Jimmy, and Di won't talk about it or have anything to do with Dave.  This is not the wedding/vacation that Liv planned for, but it's the one she's got, and if she doesn't figure things out, not only will her mama not be married, she may be visiting her cousin in a Nevada prison doing his own jailhouse rock...

First off, let me state that I live in Las Vegas and as such was really looking forward to reading this book.  I will also say that while I was preparing myself for a little fantasy - since a lot of authors take way too much liberty with our lovely town - I was pleasantly surprised (aside from the fact that there are no 'early bird specials' at buffets - it's a set price; those specials are at the cafés and restaurants, but no big deal).  This was nice to see and made me enjoy the book more.

Liv and Di are again involved in a murder, and this one hits close to home again when Liv's cousin, who wouldn't hurt a fly and is nice as can be, is accused of the crime.  (Even I will say the evidence was flimsy, and he probably would have been let out on bail because of it, but it makes for a nice story anyway).

It doesn't help that back home Liv's assistant Holly is having trouble with a fiftieth class reunion group that also includes a group of Elvis and Priscilla lookalikes for a contest, and things don't look good, then they do, then they don't...well, you get the picture.

What ensues is poor Liv completely out of her element in Las Vegas trying to stay under the radar of the LVMPD (which she doesn't completely succeed in doing but is lucky that Dave is there to help her out) questioning people who don't take kindly to her intrusion, and hope she can figure things out before she has to catch a plane back home.

It's a delightful ride into the vision most people have of our town, and is more fun than the roller coaster at New York-New York hotel.  Liv manages to do what she does best, which is putting everything together before it all falls apart - which is also why she's so good at her job.

This is the fourth book in the series but can be read as a stand alone.  We are given enough information to garner the background of everyone involved, and an engaging group of people they are; from her laid-back husband Larry Joe (who manages to have a small adventure of his own) to her stubborn friend Di, to her determined Mama.  These are people who are genuinely fond of each other and accept each others' quirks without judgment.

In the end, the plot was written well and when the murderer was found out it was a bit of a surprise but believable.  A truly fun read that is well worth the time to do so.  Highly recommended and I look forward to the next in the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Til-Death-Party-Dixie-Mystery/dp/1496715985/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2319918453

More on Vickie Fee's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/vickie-fee/

One Fete in the Grave (A Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery)

Author:  Vickie Fee
Genre:  Mystery

Mass Market Paperback, Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496700667
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
May 30, 2017

✮✮✮✮✮

Party planner Liv McKay has outdone herself this time.  She's put together an unforgettable Fourth of July celebration for the town of Dixie, Tennessee - including breathtaking fireworks and an exciting Miss Dixie Beauty Pageant.  Maybe a little too exciting.

As the party is winding down, Liv's sense of triumph fizzles when the body of councilman Bubba Rowland is discovered on the festival grounds.  And now the prime suspect in his murder is Liv's mother's fiancé, Earl, who had a flare-up recently with Bubba.  To clear Earl's name, Liv and her best friend Di burst into action to smoke out the real killer before another life is extinguished...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Liv McKay is a party planner in the small town of Dixie, Tennessee.  She's very pleased with the way her Fourth of July celebration has been going - everyone seems to be having a good time, and enjoying the day.  Well, almost everyone - town councilman Bubba Rowland has just been found dead in a porta-potty, shot through the rear of the receptacle, and with so many people attending the event, it seems Sheriff Dave Davidson has his work cut out for him trying to find a killer.

Liv McKay has a habit of finding bodies.  Well, not really, but they sure have a habit of finding her, and this time is no different.  While she didn't technically find the body of Bubba Rowland, she's thick in the middle of it, because the day after his murder, Liv's mother Virginia announces her engagement to Earl Daniels, who's been Bubba's business rival and a thorn in his side for years.  When it's discovered that Bubba was killed with Earl's shotgun, which was in his locked truck, it looks as if the sheriff has the crime locked up as well.  But with Liv's Mama pleading for her help to free Earl, Liv enlists the aid of her best friend Di Souther, and while the Fourth ended with a bigger bang than was what originally intended, their plan to unearth Bubba's real killer could send them both permanently underground if they're not careful...

What a delightful mystery to unravel.  It appears that it's already solved, with no access to the murder weapon by anyone except Earl, and he's so forthcoming about that information that he's practically putting himself in the electric chair.  But Liv believes he's innocent, and isn't about to have her mother's heart broken, so once again she enlists the help of her best friend Di to find out who got his gun and framed him for the crime.

It could have been a number of people who were attending the celebration, but sorting through the suspects isn't going to be easy, since there were so many there.  And to top things off, her mama's now decided she wants Liv to plan her over-the-top wedding, complete with swans and a gondola.  It also doesn't help that her sister Emma is dead-set against the wedding, and her father-in-law is acting strange to everyone.  So will Liv be able to set Earl free or will Emma get her way and the wedding will be called off due to imprisonment?

What a delightful read this turned out to be.  While I have enjoyed the series from the beginning, I believe this one is my favorite.  The characters are rich and lively, their growth apparent as the series progresses.  The interaction between them is realistic, and with just enough brass on Liv's part to be convincing without being exaggerated.

When we find out who the murderer is (because we know it just can't be Earl), it's believable and deftly done; the ending is satisfying and even a hint of the next book is given.  Ms. Fee is a talented writer and in this book she serves up a real slice of southern charm, wit, and humor.  I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/One-Fete-Grave-Dixie-Mystery/dp/149670066X/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1965647711

More on Vickie Fee's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/vickie-fee/

Death Crashes the Party (A Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery)

Author:  Vickie Fee
Genre:  Mystery

Paperback; E-book
ISBN #:  9781496700629
Kensington Publishing
304 Pages
$7.99; $5.84 Kindle
December 29, 2015

Four Stars

In the quirky, close-knit town of Dixie, Tennessee, party planner Liv McKay has a knack for throwing Southern-style soirees, from diamonds-and-denim to black tie affairs, and her best friend Di Souther mixes a mean daiquiri.  While planning a Moonshine and Magnolias bash for high maintenance clients, Liv inconveniently discovers a corpse in the freezer and turns her attention from fabulous fetes to finding a murderer.  Together, Liv and Di follow a trail of sinister secrets in their sweet little town that leads them from drug smugglers to a Civil War battlefield, and just when they think they're whistling Dixie, Liv and Di will find themselves squarely in the crosshairs of the least likely killer of all...

********

Liv McKay is a party planner, the owner of Liv 4 Fun, and at the moment she's planning a fortieth wedding anniversary party for the wealthy Erdmans.  But when she checks the freezer in their shed to see if it will hold the requested ice sculptures, she finds a dead body...and backing up, trips over another one, dressed in a Confederate uniform.  With the Erdmans prostrate over the discovery, it is left to Liv to call the local sheriff, 'Dave' Davidson, and inform him of what has happened.  Dave is also seeing Liv's best friend, Di Souther, so what Dave knows, Di knows, or soon will. 

It also turns out that the dead men worked for Liv's husband, Larry Joe, at his (and his father Daddy Wayne's) trucking company.  With a personal stake in the murders and her husband and father-in-law being considered potential suspects, Liv does what any devoted wife would do:  she decides she's going to "help" the sheriff find the true killers.

But all is not what it seems.  It is soon also discovered that the dead men, Darrell and Duane Farrell, had a hand in something not so savory, drug trafficking and dealing in stolen goods.  And Liv, in her eagerness to clear her husband's family of any wrongdoing, could get herself killed also in the process.

For the most part, I enjoyed the book, and for a first effort it's pretty good.  Liv manages to juggle her business and her marriage easily, and her friendship with Di is worthwhile.  But I felt that she shouldn't have 'helped herself' to certain evidence, but told the sheriff about it instead, and I also thought it was odd that Dave just shared information regarding the murders with both Liv and Di.  It seemed to me that offering this info just basically told her it was alright for her to go ahead and 'help' with the investigation - given that two people were dead, why would she (or the sheriff) willingly put her in the way of a killer who was still on the loose?  It also seemed that with the FBI involved, she Wouldn't Want to Go There, but she did.  That bothered me.  

I also thought there were some things that didn't need to be added (do I really care if she chases a fly around her house?  No.) and I felt that the book needed more depth to it.  Although we meet the characters, we never really get to know them.  We do know that Liv and Larry Joe (that name!) love each other, but never really know why.  I'm hoping to learn more in later books.  However, the mystery was decent, and I think Ms. Fee could, in fleshing out the characters more in later books, continue this series for quite a while.   

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1496700627/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1483501483

More information on Vickie Fee:  http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/vickie-fee/