tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65328897245981133432024-03-13T23:18:46.188-07:00Cozy Mystery Book ReviewsAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09341344996253606881noreply@blogger.comBlogger917125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-17575325410649306522024-03-12T10:45:00.000-07:002024-03-12T10:45:54.458-07:00Chilled to the Dog Bone (A Samantha Davies Mystery series Book # 5) by S.A. Kazlo<span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWQJldsDFLnnhBhpQXyxLi_Lh0Jh9cgNm2MzSYOhwczwutNDkHAnyID1NT31Dd00sU4sL_msD1Nl_GGMb0u3V-0TSEK98ZS0aV_UdKaH_lZpvl06zp2z9_ka0k3aYtQb1k7z1xUoKt2kbAv32UcoKIgrY5yihGBp3fxhS3qpW2u7jW31e2TKVKiKoo5bj/s500/203010936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWQJldsDFLnnhBhpQXyxLi_Lh0Jh9cgNm2MzSYOhwczwutNDkHAnyID1NT31Dd00sU4sL_msD1Nl_GGMb0u3V-0TSEK98ZS0aV_UdKaH_lZpvl06zp2z9_ka0k3aYtQb1k7z1xUoKt2kbAv32UcoKIgrY5yihGBp3fxhS3qpW2u7jW31e2TKVKiKoo5bj/s320/203010936.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>It's Saint Patrick's Day weekend in chilly upstate New York, and Samantha Davies, children's picture book author and sometime sleuth, is excited to attend the annual outdoors games put on by the local Wings Falls fire company. It will be a weekend filled with fun activities such as a skillet toss, four-wheeler race, and the ever-popular decorated wooden outhouse race across the ice. Sam is looking forward to dancing the night away with her beau, police detective Hank Johnson at the Firefighter's Ball. Sam's rug hooking group, the Loopy Ladies is sponsoring one of the outhouses and their senior member, Gladys O'Malley, will have the honor of riding on the "throne" to the finish line.</span></i></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Only not all goes as planned when the neighboring fire company's chief is found in Gladys' place—frozen solid and dead as a doornail! To make matters worse, both Gladys' and Sam's fingerprints are all over the evidence at the murder scene, taking them from attendees to suspects. Now it's up to Sam to clear their names and get to the truth. The only problem is the victim had disagreements with almost everyone in town, from the Wings Falls fire chief to a sexy blonde named Sunny Foxx—with two xx's—and a slew of other suspects. Can Sam find the killer before the Luck of the Irish runs out for her? Or will she become chilled to the bone when the killer catches up to her...</span></i></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">"A doggone entertaining mystery filled with small town scandals! Funny and entertaining!"~ Fresh Fiction (Summary via Goodreads)</span></i></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chilled to the Dog Bone is the fifth book in the Samantha Davies Mystery series by S.A. Kazlo and boy is this series a HOOT !!! </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Samantha and her lovable dog, Porkchop, are just trying to enjoy life. Sam just published her first book, a children's book about Porkchop, titled Porkshop the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">W</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">onder Dog, and they are going to be doing their first appearance promoting the book at the local library. Sam is also enjoying her relationship with Police Detective Hank Johnson as well as her time hanging out with her cousin, Candie, and their friends in the Loopy Ladies rug hooking group. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately another murder is going to take time for her to try to solve when the outhouse races at the local Firemen's Convention are postponed when a neighboring fire department's chief is found dead in the Loopy Ladies outhouse .... and Sam and her neighbor (also Hank's aunt) Gladys are on the suspect list !!! And when Hank is taken off the case, Sam knows it's just a matter of time before her childhood enemy Joe "Sandy" Peters will try to put the cuffs on her whether she is innocent or guilty.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sam and Candie begin their investigation even though they have been warned off by Hank. They know that they have to do whatever they can to prove that Sam and Gladys are innocent, however, this will not be an easy case to solved as the suspect list is longer than they imagined. It seems like nobody liked Ivan Kline and the more they dig, the deeper they get ....</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Readers cannot help but fall in love with this series !! There is so much to love, even the murders are interesting !! You will love Wings Falls, the businesses, the people, and the relationships and friendships. There are plenty of times that I have read a book and wanted to jump into the story and live in the town and the Samantha Davies Mystery series is one on the top of that list !! I know you will love it as much as I did. The only sad part is when you close the book when you get to the end .... but hopefully a new one will be coming out soon and we will be happy again !!!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-9670970043254271822024-03-09T11:33:00.000-08:002024-03-09T11:33:30.355-08:00Cirque du Slay (Hayden & Friends Book # 2) by Rob Osler<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxPQZ1vWuT8gQwZOGXqsQJcbpgFgyyYdHF_Y69BvwG-lKNt_TIUxirCjc9SbUZVTTOsSOnm7Eb1Rj9mQj6Cx66PpGsFrqxXevnGJo5QQ62e5YAfATeyP8OATjMK7ZmoUiaeKcC_vGECUKPPpOJEtfhC5XZfryZGtrXHIXIxnzXfQDZKh-P3KupcbfYWzf/s2475/186491462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="1650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxPQZ1vWuT8gQwZOGXqsQJcbpgFgyyYdHF_Y69BvwG-lKNt_TIUxirCjc9SbUZVTTOsSOnm7Eb1Rj9mQj6Cx66PpGsFrqxXevnGJo5QQ62e5YAfATeyP8OATjMK7ZmoUiaeKcC_vGECUKPPpOJEtfhC5XZfryZGtrXHIXIxnzXfQDZKh-P3KupcbfYWzf/s320/186491462.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">In the rollicking mystery, perfect for fans of Steven Rowley and Elle Cosimano, the circus becomes the stage for a high-profile murder investigation.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">With quirky LGBTQ+ amateur sleuths, Cirque du Slay will delight readers looking for a madcap mystery with high-flying excitement!</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Pint-sized Seattle middle school teacher and gay dating blogger Hayden McCall and his best friend Hollister are invited to a fundraiser for Bakers Without Borders. The celebrity performer, Kennedy Osaka, is the artistic director of Mysterium, an upscale circus arts show combining magic, acrobatics, and a Michelin-star dinner. But Kennedy is a no-show—until she’s found dead in her hotel suite.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">When frenemy Sarah Lee is discovered in the room with the body, Hayden and Hollister are on the case to find the real culprit before Sarah Lee is charged with the crime.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">The suspects for the murder are as unique as Mysterium a Russian trapeze artist, a cowgirl comedian sharp-shooter, an over-cologned operations director, a feisty, green-haired costume manager, and Adrenalin!, a sexy troop of Romanian male acrobats...If Hayden and Hollister are to clear Sarah Lee of suspicion, they’ll have to outsmart a killer for whom trickery is art. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will love the Hayden & Friends Mystery series by Rob Osler. This is a very unique series and with the second book just released, you have plenty of time to catch up if you aren't already a huge fan !!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cirque du Slay has main character Hayden and his best friend Hollister again working to solve a murder and uncover the truth ... except this time Hayden has to struggle with the fact that Sarah Lee is not one of his favorite people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In Cirque du Slay a circus like show, Mysterium is in town and Sarah Lee grew up with one of the performers so she asks her to come perform at a fundraiser being held at a friends bakery. When Kennedy does not show up or return her calls, Sarah Lee storms out saying that Kennedy is a dead woman. Kennedy goes to the hotel where a number of the performers are staying and is found by the police standing over Kennedy's body holding the murder weapon. Unfortunately Kennedy does not remember entering the room or the events until the police arrived. Because Kennedy works for Hayden and Hollister's other close friend, Burley, the group know they must look into the murder and clear Sarah Lee's name. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hayden and Hollister begin investigating at the big tent and surrounding trailers of where Mysterium is set for a month-long performance. In order to get in and have access to everyone, they have to go undercover. This is all well and good until they get in hot water and need to rethink everything !! </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will love this series. It is a fresh look at cozy mysteries in a lot of ways !! First the main character is a male, a gay male. His best friend is a black woman who wears black, has a mohawk hairstyle and is as sweet as can be. Hayden often seeks the help of his aunt's neighbor who is an elderly man. Throughout the story Hayden shares posts from his Mates on Dates blog. And there are a lot of other unique things regarding this series but I will leave some of the mystery for you to uncover as you dig into this amazing series !!!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-70219677756604777482024-02-23T12:03:00.000-08:002024-02-23T12:03:02.566-08:00 Crime and Cherry Pits (Farm to Table Mysteries Book # 4) by Amanda Flower<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_N0INt7qx_4dt66Bf7nGnDcRzrySCa6bKHVHdlgI6YX3HKlCwJLMP8oQJyGqLf2jI4we0hcEInlxMgkB6Qg5p9j5npD9S_l-ftm88aa46gfSaW5-oFzeMXJiOSJn2yaxkLShEVrUaDFVik7jFQbtTL1122_Jh46TZrBU-m1j1tdie6JrbKJjlHYliua3/s376/136281165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_N0INt7qx_4dt66Bf7nGnDcRzrySCa6bKHVHdlgI6YX3HKlCwJLMP8oQJyGqLf2jI4we0hcEInlxMgkB6Qg5p9j5npD9S_l-ftm88aa46gfSaW5-oFzeMXJiOSJn2yaxkLShEVrUaDFVik7jFQbtTL1122_Jh46TZrBU-m1j1tdie6JrbKJjlHYliua3/s320/136281165.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Head back to snowy Michigan just in time for the annual cherry pit spitting contest. It's all fun and games until the local drama professor chokes on more than just his pride.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Shiloh Bellamy can hardly believe it—for the first time in her family farm's seventy-year history, she has managed to score a highly-coveted booth at the Cherry Farm Market in Traverse City, Michigan. It's a huge win in her master plan to bring the rundown farm back to life… and the fact that her coup has sent her next-door neighbor and organic farming competitor into fits of jealousy doesn't hurt, either. But the festive atmosphere at the farm market takes a dark turn when a man entered in the famous cherry pit-spitting competition chokes and dies right in front of Shiloh, who is standing near the sidelines as a spectator.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">When the death turns out to be more suspicious than a cherry pit down the wrong pipe, Shiloh finds herself under local law enforcement's microscope—she has developed something of a reputation for being unwittingly involved in local murders. And when they discover her cousin Stacey had been secretly dating the man in question—and that he was married to someone else—Shiloh begins to worry that everything she has worked so hard to accomplish with her family's farm is about to be taken away. It will take all her investigative skills, a tenuous friendship (or is it something more?) with the local sheriff, and some help from Shiloh's trusty pug, Huckleberry, to prove the cops are barking up the wrong cherry tree and put the real killer behind bars for good. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Crime and Cherry Pits is the fourth book in the Farm to Table Mystery series by Amanda Flower and it will make you hungry, feel tired, and determined to find a murderer !!!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Crime and Cherry Pits has main character Shiloh and her assistant, Chesney, manning their booth at the annual Cherry Farm Market in neighboring Traverse City. Shiloh moved back home to Michigan to turn her family's farm organic and participating in the Cherry Farm Market will help get the word out about the farm. Unfortunately at the first cherry pit-spitting competition, one of the male contestants looks like he's choking on a pit so Shiloh jumps in to save him .... only to find out he was poisoned !! And to make matters worse Shiloh's cousin, Stacey, turns to her to find out who killed him to clear her name. Turns out Stacey was dating the deceased, Dane Fullbright, but had just found out he was married !!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Even though Shiloh has a lot on her plate with still doing chores at the farm morning and night, baking for the Market every night, and working the Market all day, she still finds time to snoop and question people. Even though everyone tries to warn her to leave it alone, she will do whatever she can to help her cousin, even though there is family drama going on as well. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Shiloh will have readers tired and wishing they were as energetic and focused as her. Plus reading about all the cherry related foods as well as other foods will have you hungry. I know at the mention of tacos, I was hooked !! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Flower knows how to grab the readers attention immediately and you will be hooked until the end !! And Flower also knows how to end a story teasing readers with the possibilities of what is to come ....</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-68774987729999608432024-02-20T06:36:00.000-08:002024-02-20T06:36:35.718-08:00Double Grudge Donuts (Deputy Donut Mystery Book # 8) by Ginger Bolton<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh704BmK7WRK1WKEDk8i833PoDLu9xaO2PUSsp3dRPKyTBknQbeaLmcYsDZTQ2ZcWHf03Vwhq68SiKftvauomQO7pPIqQsrl8acy0GcAKHIwFRyMPApdMS0iCyZxGJYv7iRlReNGTa8Nc43nNCCT7jsxQbg_G3dppLLkn2CrnWKSefEVl_7OpHME4ofP84a/s400/157995309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh704BmK7WRK1WKEDk8i833PoDLu9xaO2PUSsp3dRPKyTBknQbeaLmcYsDZTQ2ZcWHf03Vwhq68SiKftvauomQO7pPIqQsrl8acy0GcAKHIwFRyMPApdMS0iCyZxGJYv7iRlReNGTa8Nc43nNCCT7jsxQbg_G3dppLLkn2CrnWKSefEVl_7OpHME4ofP84a/s320/157995309.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">The countdown is on as Deputy Donut Café owner Emily Westhill gets ready for married life. But before she takes the plunge, she’ll need to poke a hole in a deadly criminal’s plans . . .</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">When the Fallingbrook Arts Festival rolls into town weeks before she’s set to tie the knot, Emily expects talent and friendly competition at the week-long summer series to go together like coffee and double fudge. But the fun crumbles fast after a lively bagpiper takes first place on day one and turns heads for the wrong reasons—all before Emily and her tabby cat find him dead in a clear case of murder. Along with a distinctive weapon at the crime scene, several strategically placed items leave disturbing clues about the killer’s identity, including a broken piece of a Deputy Donut mug . . .</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">While detectives aren’t sure who silenced the bagpiper’s music, they don’t trust Emily or her family to tell the truth. With her nuptials and career on the line, Emily launches an unsettling investigation to save herself from trouble and bring a dangerous figure to justice. The search not only brings too many suspects into the picture, but also leads to a strange discovery on Deputy Donut’s rooftop. A discovery that tells Emily she better get cooking, because someone may be watching her every move . . . and carefully plotting to turn a wedding into a funeral! (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When you start reading Double Grudge Donuts, the eighth book in the Deputy Donut Mystery series, by Ginger Bolton you are going to have a HUGE suspect list. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In Double Grudge Donuts the Fallingbrook Arts Festival is starting and it will go on for a week. During the festival entertainers will first walk around town stopping at specific businesses to perform their acts. Then they will perform at night and get judged. During one of the performances, Kirk MacLean will interrupt playing his bagpipes. Kirk will continue playing his bagpipes throughout town for the next couple on days until he is found dead by Emily Westhill on her way to her shop, Deputy Donuts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Before Kirk was murdered Emily learned that no one liked him and all of them had reason to murder him .... including Emily's parents who are staying with her for the week to attend the festival and help her get ready for her upcoming wedding. Unfortunately with this new murder, Emily's fiance Brent, who is a detective, is going to be very busy solving the case.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will love that Bolton allows you to get to know Emily, her parents, friends and the town before throwing the murder into the mix. This also provides you with a long list of suspects to weed through. And when you learn of one very vital part of how part of the murder was handled, you will be amazed and most likely, never would have thought of it. Bolton has a very creative mind that will have you loving this series and counting down the days until the next book. </span></p><p><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-81879334941196681142024-02-15T07:24:00.000-08:002024-02-15T07:24:08.906-08:00Sprites and Scuttlebutt (Magical Mystery Book Club Book # 6) by Elizabeth Pantley<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5y87UWs5LhxTpKz636X1r0fQ3eeWCg7sBOQCe6AXURVlcwFdJAtv_yC6LoyTwvs2DoMknszgDpFDOa1jQ2LhMaXur8_aCljVt_hGP0SkD34XeVdEEytHcUpGnNg-_RDqMVLazviE68v7Pe3NCYCk0FIanSALojjSQcIBmwpNQRCCjMIEQ2toG-8xrDFbl/s500/200994118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5y87UWs5LhxTpKz636X1r0fQ3eeWCg7sBOQCe6AXURVlcwFdJAtv_yC6LoyTwvs2DoMknszgDpFDOa1jQ2LhMaXur8_aCljVt_hGP0SkD34XeVdEEytHcUpGnNg-_RDqMVLazviE68v7Pe3NCYCk0FIanSALojjSQcIBmwpNQRCCjMIEQ2toG-8xrDFbl/s320/200994118.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">This book club is hooked on traveling into books to become the amateur sleuths! In this journey, the club travels to the Kingdom of Everglow.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">The royal family is rocked to the core when a key staff member falls dead at a community event. In the turmoil that follows, any evidence of what happened is destroyed, so they must go by the recollection of witnesses who were too busy enjoying the celebration to offer any valuable testimony.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">The royal family is further distressed when they return to the castle to see signs of a break in that somehow defied their complex security system. They wake the next day to discover that one member of the royal family has fallen into a deep, deathlike sleep.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Can the Snapdragon Inn Book Club uncover the plot behind this attack on the royal family? Can they find the antidote to wake the sleeping royal from a supernatural slumber? Can they bring peace back to the worried royal family and the frightened community?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Let’s hope they can, since they must solve the mystery and reach The End to get out of the book and back to their home in Colorado.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">"You can’t enough of this series! It will blow you away!"… Cozy Mystery Book Reviews</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">“One of my go-to series. The quality and enjoyment are guaranteed.”… All and Any Books</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">“I adore this series, and it just keeps getting better with each book!”… Fiction Vixen</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">“I guarantee you will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it !!!!”… Goodreads (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you have a favorite author and/or series, you cannot wait for the latest book to be released ... you may even do a countdown of days until it will be in your hands. That is something I do with the Magical Mystery Book Club series by Elizabeth Pantley. I am sure that I am not the only one either !!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sprites and Scuttlebutt is the sixth book in the series and it lives up to the hype of this series. In the Magical Mystery Book Club series Paige and her select members of the magical book club get together every so often and have a "magical" meeting. They grab snacks and venture down to the library in the basement of the Snapdragon Inn and scatter and pick out a book for their next jounrey. Once they have picked out and agreed upon the book, one of the members starts reading the book out loud. After a few minutes the room gets foggy, the globe in the library starts spinning ... when the room clears and settles down, the group finds themselves characters in the book and have to solve the case and write "The End" on the whiteboard in order to return to the original Snapdragon Inn in Colorado.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Luckily for the group the Inn always travels with them and is filled with whatever they need to make their time there as comfortable as possible and with Sprites and Scuttlebutt, the sixth book, they will need to have some normalcy and calm.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In Sprites and Scuttlebutt right before the group picks their journey book, they uncover a huge secret .... Frank the Inn's feline resident was a King in a previous life but a spell was cast upon him turning him into a talking cat. This will help the group as they will be traveling to Everglow and solving a murder within the Royal Kingdom.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once the fog settles they find themselves in a very colorful area that is full of sprites who are mythical fairy like creatures with coloful hair and small wings. At an outdoor concert someone from the Royal family, the Queen's advisor, is killed. Then one of the Queen's daughter becomes ill !!! Luckily for the book club members the Snapdragon Inn has become a suite in the castle allowing them complete access to the castle and all the people that could possibly be involved in the crimes.....</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I could go on and on and on about this series and everything in the books but I think this is a good spot to stop and encourage you to go grab your copy, if you are caught up in the series or go grab all the books, so that you can get lost and enjoy everything that Pantley shares. The Magical Mystery Book Club series is guaranteed to become one of your favorites !!! Mark my words !!! </span></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-51733017647326650492024-02-09T11:48:00.000-08:002024-02-09T11:48:53.384-08:00Easter Basket Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, & Barbara Ross<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINuZd2riv8nNLgKqKxUrRaGawsoamChvL9cIAVfRF-nUOdz-ePzLiIn0d__e6NgWhRPlSJuR3rahYYTRwd0gtVxLqPfVIf-8ZIznYIg_NH-fg6kC4zybevmvZeWQ1uuFzRqxru5KpUQch8gYVTOxM6Zr6wMt-CQGlN6hU_2bQAhyZbPfhpft8OriUAcav/s400/138378644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINuZd2riv8nNLgKqKxUrRaGawsoamChvL9cIAVfRF-nUOdz-ePzLiIn0d__e6NgWhRPlSJuR3rahYYTRwd0gtVxLqPfVIf-8ZIznYIg_NH-fg6kC4zybevmvZeWQ1uuFzRqxru5KpUQch8gYVTOxM6Zr6wMt-CQGlN6hU_2bQAhyZbPfhpft8OriUAcav/s320/138378644.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Put on your springtime best and grab a basket, because Easter egg hunting is to dye for in this delightful new collection of Easter-themed capers set in coastal Maine and featuring fan-favorite sleuths from the long-running, bestselling cozy mystery series by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Barbara Ross!</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">EASTER BASKET MURDER by LESLIE MEIER</span></span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Tinker’s Cove businesses are clashing over a new Easter Basket–themed promotion to boost in-store sales, with tensions boiling over the grand prize—a mysterious golden egg crafted by a reclusive Maine artist. When the one-of-a-kind art piece is stolen, it’s up to part-time reporter Lucy Stone to investigate three struggling entrepreneurs who stick out in the local scene. But a huge town scandal comes into focus when a harmless shopping spree turns deadly, leaving Lucy to stop a murderer from springing back into action . . .</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">DEATH BY EASTER EGG by LEE HOLLIS</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As Bar Harbor’s annual egg hunt approaches, Island Food & Spirits columnist and restauranteur Hayley Powell is thrilled to introduce her grandson, Eli, to local springtime traditions. Turns out, keeping up with a rambunctious toddler isn’t always sunshine and rainbows—especially when a decadent peanut butter treat kills the Easter bunny himself during the festivities! Now, with a clear-as-cellophane case of murder on her hands, it’s up to Hayley to crack the clues and scramble deadly plans before it’s too late . . .</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">HOPPED ALONG by BARBARA ROSS</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Julia Snowden’s Easter Sunday at Windsholme, a sprawling mansion tucked away on a remote Maine island, looks like it’s been borrowed from the pages of a lifestyle magazine. But when a dead body is discovered in the garden—then vanishes soon after without any explanation—an innocent hunt for eggs becomes a dangerous hunt for answers. With no clues beyond a copy of The Adventures of Peter Rabbit , Julia must find out if April Fool’s Day came early or if she’s caught in a killer’s twisted game . . . (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I love reading novellas ... it's like an entire story written within a hundred pages or so. And Kensington Publishing publishes a few books a year with three novellas in one book. This is great when you don't have a lot of time but still want to feel like you accomplished reading a story. And Easter Basket Murder not only will help with your book reading but get you into the Easter and Spring seasons. And another thing I like about this concept is that it allows you to maybe read authors that you haven't read before and allows you a glimpse into their books. The only times I have read books or stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis are in other three novella books, however, I am a huge fan of Barbara Ross.</span></span></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">EASTER BASKET MURDER by LESLIE MEIER</span></span></i></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Easter Basket Murder says it all !! It is just before Easter in Tinker Cove and the Chamber of Commerce is trying to get more business to the local businesses during the off season. They decide to host a shopping spree to get more locals shopping and the prize is a huge Easter basket full of goodies with a golden egg sculptured by local artiist Karl Klaus donated. Unfortunately while on displayed at the bank, the egg is stolen. Main character of this series, Lucy Stone, who is a reporter for the local newspaper, jumps on the case. But everyone that she interviews points the finger at someone else so the suspect list is longer than Santa's naughty list. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">At another local fundraiser the egg is uncovered but the person who is arrested is the last person you would suspect !! Lucy, who is always on the case, keeps digging. But her investigating and digging digs up more secrets and one turns deadly.....</span></span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">DEATH BY EASTER EGG by LEE HOLLIS</span></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hayley Powell has a very hectic life and that is exactly how she likes it but this Easter may be just a little more than she bargained for. Hayley's son, Dustin, his girlfriend MacKenzie and their son Eli are in town to spend Easter with her and her husband Bruce. But Hayley did not know that there was going to be a theft at the bank and the Easter Bunny dying during the annual Easter egg hunt. The gentlemen dressed up as the Easter Bunny, Raymond Dobbs, is also the security guard at the bank and has been since Hayley can remember and everyone knows that Raymond was allergic to peanuts so when it is discovered that he died from eating chocolate eggs stuffed with peanut butter and his basket was switched so he didn't have his epiPen, it is ruled a murder. Hayley needs to find out who killed Ray because she found Eli with the switched basket, Ray's real one. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">HOPPED ALONG by Barbara Ross</span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I just love the Maine Clambake Mystery series and anytime I can escape to Busman's Harbor or Morrow Island and the Windsholme estate, I will go in a heartbeat !! Julia Snowden is the main character in this series and in Hopped Along the Snowden family and friends are having their first Easter celebration at the newly renovated Windsholme estate. Things get a little wierd when Julia's nephew Jack finds an unconscious man dressed in a suit laying in the garden. But when Julia goes back with her boyfriend Tom who is a detective, the man is gone !! </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Julia being Julia cannot get the wierd encounter out of her mind and when she goes to check on her friend Quentin's house while he is vacationing elsewhere, she finds the man from the island making soup in Quentin's kitchen. Things turn even wierder when she goes back to the house after confirming with Quentin that the gentlemen should not be there and she finds a dead body. It looks like the same man from the island but something doesn't feel right to Julia.....</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I LOVE when you can read three short stories and feel like it is an entire book. Even though these stories are around one hundred pages each, you can enjoy them in one sitting if you wanted to. I am always amazed when I read novella's and marvel at the author's ability to write such a captivating story in a novella size .... especially when a murder needs to be solved.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></i></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-85732807340279454022024-02-07T12:10:00.000-08:002024-02-07T12:10:05.309-08:00Murder She Meowed (Bookshop Kitties Mystery Book # 2) by Ruth J. Hartman<p><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">From author Ruth J. Hartman comes the next purrrrfectly fun Bookshop Kitties Mystery...</span></span></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMw-ktC431KsKJa1f180yOLmSgMSTij2Th6k2mjWCdH9jzXiELTVZv6UFlK-u_SpeN82Mw1XsqHlgMk6b3Lx1BH6qW43wmx4njAj8G-OHVwqbV_x4ni9LWCRw6X4dYFCNveGdNlkE8_1w-Va0xLL64J3d3u2A911rlPCwYSOxmU24WoaV4OGXbOtXuBLrp/s500/199662779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMw-ktC431KsKJa1f180yOLmSgMSTij2Th6k2mjWCdH9jzXiELTVZv6UFlK-u_SpeN82Mw1XsqHlgMk6b3Lx1BH6qW43wmx4njAj8G-OHVwqbV_x4ni9LWCRw6X4dYFCNveGdNlkE8_1w-Va0xLL64J3d3u2A911rlPCwYSOxmU24WoaV4OGXbOtXuBLrp/s320/199662779.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Children's book author Christy Bailey is thrilled that her aunt Betty is finally marrying the man of her dreams! The small wedding is a family event, right down to Christy’s cats and subjects of her books, Milton and Pearl, who are dressed in wedding attire and pulled down the aisle in a wagon. After the reception, Christy and her boyfriend-hopeful, Micah, agree to help her friend and wedding caterer, Janie, clean up at her pastry shop. But when they arrive at the shop, they're not greeted by Janie but Janie’s ex-husband—who’s dead on the floor, cold as a frozen muffin!</span></span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Suddenly the murder is all anyone is talking about in the small town of Green Meadow, Indiana, and it's clear the local police detectives have Janie squarely in their sights. But Christy believes in her friend’s innocence and with Milton and Pearl pawing for answers, Christy will stop at nothing to give Janie a happy ending.</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Meow-velous! Ruth Hartman has penned an engaging mystery. Compelling & Clever!"~ Kings River Life Magazine</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Readers will wish Green Meadow and the people and animals were real so that you could visit!"~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Head on back to Green Meadows for a ton of fun and excitement in the second book in the Bookshop Kitties Mystery series by Ruh J. Hartman. Murder She Meowed follows Dial M For Murder which set the stage beautifully for readers making them devoted fans instantly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Murder She Meowed opens with Christy's Aunt Betty wedding to her boyfriend Wallace and after the reception, the newlyweds going away for their honeymoon. Christy and Micah, who Christy is crushing on, help their friend Janie clean up after the reception and help her return things back to her shop, Dreamy Sweets. Unfortunately when they get to Dreamy Sweets, they find a dead body .... and things get worse when it is discovered to be an unwanted guest at the wedding and Janie's ex-husband Tad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Everyone in Green Meadows knows that Janie wouldn't hurt a fly let alone kill a human, even if it was her ex-husband. And Christy will do whatever she can to prove that. While Christy is looking into Tad's murder, she finds the suspect list continually growing as she learns more about Tad and his life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Not only does Christy have her hands full with working at the bookstore, Words to Read By, while Aunt Betty is on her honeymoon and looking into Tad's murder but she ends up finding some torn up papers in the backyard that warrants the police to start digging up the yard ... stories about an ex-con having buried a pile of money years ago just might have been right ? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There is so much to love about the Bookshop Kitties Mystery series that a few paragraphs cannot even touch the surface. I can guarantee that you will fall in love with Green Meadows, the shops, the people and the history. I know that if I could I would be taking vacation there, and I hate traveling but I would to go there, so that I can hang out at Dreamy Sweets and Words to Read By and venture around town !! </span></p><p><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-56437397451919414112024-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:002024-02-06T09:28:30.123-08:00A Pie to Die For (Lucky Pie Mystery Book # 1) by Gretchen Rue<p><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5htVRKW7RMnEPe24qL6qWDwBOIt8pXla1cR5f_GANIfvA85BaCgjRhM1644b0n9ylWA1i1fshqFagUFpEhkZqoz90xUS9JLhY3bML2CXmSb7aZRnlonEFaY4CdkRo70dFMLzDMPOwsdGJEJ66bf2FfXIUxvLyP0QYZPCizQig7c875IhDUanijoejlUd/s2100/150244742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5htVRKW7RMnEPe24qL6qWDwBOIt8pXla1cR5f_GANIfvA85BaCgjRhM1644b0n9ylWA1i1fshqFagUFpEhkZqoz90xUS9JLhY3bML2CXmSb7aZRnlonEFaY4CdkRo70dFMLzDMPOwsdGJEJ66bf2FfXIUxvLyP0QYZPCizQig7c875IhDUanijoejlUd/s320/150244742.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">For fans of Sofie Kelly and Joanne Fluke, it’s the end of the tourist season in Split Pine– but a murder at the Lucky Pie Diner stirs up trouble for the sleepy town in this series debut. </span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Este March runs the family-owned Lucky Pie Diner on Split Pine Island in Northern Michigan. The pies at Lucky Pie aren’t just good, they’re magical, with a family recipe that grants certain customers their greatest hopes and dreams when they eat the pie. The remote island is closed to outsiders over the winter months, but on the last day of the season, the unpopular new produce vendor, Jeff, turns up dead on his boat, and Split Pine Island’s peace goes up in smoke. </span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tom Cunningham, the local sheriff, casts suspicion onto Este, who may have been the last person to see Jeff alive. Not to mention several people witnessed her getting into an argument with the rude vendor in some of his final hours. Este decides to clear her name and her diner’s reputation by launching her own investigation, which means she must turn suspicion on her friends and neighbors, because only a local could have murdered the victim.</span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As Este investigates, she uncovers a deeper web of secrets, finding that many of the locals had reason to either frame her, or kill the victim. The clock is ticking to figure out the killer, and the clues in the case are flakier than an apple pie. Este will have to uncover the killer before her future crumbles. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Lucky Pie Mystery series by Gretchen Rue is going to be a HUGE success !!! It is apparent when you read the first book in the series A Pie to Die For.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Lucky Pie Mystery series takes place on a island on Michigan Lake called Split Pine Island. The island pretty much closes on November first to only locals until the spring. Luckily, even though, it is a slower time for the businesses, some are able to remain open throughout the winter months ... one of them is the Lucky Pie Diner. The Lucky Pine Diner is a family run diner which is currently being run by Este March, after her mother and grandmother. The only family member still on the island is Este's grandfather, Grampy. Este lives in a small cottage on Grampy's property and she has full control over the diner. This includes making the pies and knowing which ones are magical.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Iin the first book in this adorable series, A Pie to Die For, Este meets Jeff who informs her that he is the new produce supplier and he has increased the prices out of this world as well as shorted her planned order ..... and shortly after this encounter, Jeff is found dead gripping Este's emourmously overpriced invoice.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tom the local Sheriff who is also the owner of a local bar and Este's best friend's brother has his sights on Este and not in a good way. Unfortunately Este needs to know who killed Jeff and why ... and she thinks she knows who but trying to prove that will be dangerous. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Lucky Pie Mystery series is going to be one of your favorite series to keep track of. Everything in this series is lovable and addicting that you will want more and more. Come on, the island people have a dog as the mayor and his name is Mayor !! And if you could eat a piece of pie that might be magical, wouldn't you be there to buy one daily ??</span></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-74343068301368979052024-01-26T10:23:00.000-08:002024-01-26T10:23:34.657-08:00Murder at the Blarney Bash (Beacon Bakeshop Book # 5) by Darci Hannah<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpCReQcV8IYCzjnL2cmG0xQQ-RNKGKt0XxsHyvzOB_TE2oQwdUTliTPjRoV5MLtM6LQVS3MoGc-__B2NpkzkzfTcrHMp-doNbPAXOg52sn4mddzOmJ5xui1cgRxqZVTSzw-laipYJgd_NmICv0FalJ-LMzU2_QW6dQsj6lCS61qMS8_jjpITx7fKAkUXE/s400/138378655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpCReQcV8IYCzjnL2cmG0xQQ-RNKGKt0XxsHyvzOB_TE2oQwdUTliTPjRoV5MLtM6LQVS3MoGc-__B2NpkzkzfTcrHMp-doNbPAXOg52sn4mddzOmJ5xui1cgRxqZVTSzw-laipYJgd_NmICv0FalJ-LMzU2_QW6dQsj6lCS61qMS8_jjpITx7fKAkUXE/s320/138378655.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Follow the aroma of shamrock sugar cookies to the Beacon Bakeshop, a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan where amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell is busy preparing for Beacon Harbor’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities – with a little help from her adorable Newfoundland, Wellington, of course!</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Lindsey is baking up a storm—shamrock sugar cookies, Guinness chocolate cupcakes, Irish soda bread—for the well-timed grand opening of the Irish import gift shop, the Blarney Stone, owned by her boyfriend’s uncle, Finnigan O’Connor, recently relocated from the Emerald Isle.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">But it’s Uncle Finn himself who seems full of blarney when he gleefully reveals a pot of real gold he claims he stole from an actual leprechaun. And Finn’s fortune takes a turn for the worse when he’s arrested for the bludgeoning of a small unidentified man dressed as a leprechaun—the murder weapon alleged to be his now-missing shillelagh.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Eccentric Uncle Finn may enjoy believing he’s outwitted a leprechaun, but he would never be so deluded as to clobber one with his walking stick. Now Lindsey will need more than the luck of the Irish to seize a golden opportunity to catch the real killer . . . (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I admit that I am quick to say that a book is fun to read, which I'm not lying when I say it, but with Murder at the Blarney Bash everyone is going to agree with me !! How can you not think it's fun .... it has St. Patrick's Day, green beer, a group of great friends, a bakery, and leprechauns !!!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Murder at the Blarney Bash is the fifth book in the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah and even though I have only read this one and the first book in the series, Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, I was able to catch on real quick and immediately start enjoying the story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Beacon Harbor is a little village in Michigan right on the shores of Lake Michigan and main character Lindsey Bakewell's lighthouse bakery is perfectly located there. And new to the little village is The Blarney Stone which is set for its grand opening on St. Patrick's Day. Lindsey's boyfriend's uncle and cousin are the owners, Uncle Finn will be manning the bar section while cousin Colleen will be working in the gift shop portion. Rory, Lindsey's boyfriend, is very excited to have them living and owning a business in town .... as well as most of the residents and store owners in Beacon Harbor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately the day before the grand opening Fred Landry, who works at City Hall, is attacked and eye witnesses say it was by a leprechaun !!! Lindsey can't even dispute that when she has one run into the side of her car by City Hall. That thought is pushed aside very quickly as there is no such thing as leprechauns and it was during the time of the grade school kids Leprechaun Parade.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Everything changes when Uncle Finn starts telling everyone that he trapped a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day evening and followed him and stole his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow .... and when that "leprechaun" is found murdered shortly after and Uncle Finn's walking stick could have been the murder weapon, everyone is dumbfounded to say the least....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Everyone in Lindsey's circle of friends get together to discuss the case and put their heads together to figure out what is going on and to prove Uncle Finn's innocence. Unfortunately Uncle Finn is not helping his case as he refused to turn in the gold or tell anyone where he hide it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers cannot help but love this story and the way thatr Hannah has crafted this tale is amazing !! You will want to drink green beer and have a plate of corned beef and cabbage at the ready. The story, the characters, the shops and the village will make readers instant fans !! I cannot say enough good things about this series !!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-71728230345019352062024-01-22T07:47:00.000-08:002024-01-22T07:47:27.893-08:00Showdown at the Saloon (A Ghost Town Mystery Book # 3) by Jamie L. Adams<p><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">From author Jamie L. Adams comes a cozy mystery that fans of Yellowstone will fall in love with! </span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9_ja3_8grTylTCEYCVsHgyYIzafBUEPkEIwZkqyNIZp_w3TzAez2hjGhj-YD-BR6NH3r1Wg9lVirc3QN016TEcaStxruyjHX06VXGZKlxaWj3l021SmRoD77K31QRpxmixxo0G_MFLImuG_K_gYO6qwazJOJ6bIyc0AFpRTqFrjbqhALMgVzwmqK7hIq/s500/199403329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9_ja3_8grTylTCEYCVsHgyYIzafBUEPkEIwZkqyNIZp_w3TzAez2hjGhj-YD-BR6NH3r1Wg9lVirc3QN016TEcaStxruyjHX06VXGZKlxaWj3l021SmRoD77K31QRpxmixxo0G_MFLImuG_K_gYO6qwazJOJ6bIyc0AFpRTqFrjbqhALMgVzwmqK7hIq/s320/199403329.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Lily Cranston couldn’t be happier with the way her life has turned out thus far. Managing the Calico Rock Mine and Ghost Town in her hometown of Grady, California is a dream come true. Employed by the city she and her sisters grew up in gives her a sense of belonging and stability. Like a well-oiled machine, the work of her faithful and dedicated staff allows her to spend more time with her hunky boyfriend, CSI Cody West. Life is finally looking up...until the night she finds the body of an apparent hitman on the side of the road! As if that weren’t bad enough, in his pocket is her sister’s name and address.Has someone really put a hit out on sweet, lovable Ava? To keep her sister safe, Lily must once again use her sleuthing skills to unlock the mystery. Her search for answers takes her on a journey filled with family secrets, ghost seekers, organized crime, and more suspects than she can count. As the possibilities mount without any clear answers, time may be running out for more than just one of the Cranston sisters. </span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"The Ghost Town Mystery book series is going to be a favorite of mine!"~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews "</span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Murder at the Mine Earns 5/5 Calico Bonnets … Clever Cozy Fun!"~ Kings River Life Magazine. </span></i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">(Summary via Goodreads)</span></i></span></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Showdown at the Saloon is the third book in the Ghost Town Mystery series written by Jamie L. Adams. The Ghost Town Mystery series is such a treat to read that it will become one of your favorite series to keep track of.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the Ghost Town Mystery series readers are introduced to the Cranston sisters .... Lily, Ava, and Pat. Lily and Ava live together in the family farmhouse while Pat who is married lives with her husband Jack, who is the local Sheriff and their two kids. Lily is dating Cody who is also in law enforcement and Ava who is widowed recently started dating Parker who works at the Calico Rock Mine and Ghost Town with Lily and Ava.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the Showdown at the Saloon Lily comes across a dead body on the side of the road on her way home from work one night. The deceased man does not have any identifaction on him but does have Ava's name and address on a sheet of paper in his pocket. Once the man is identified it is learned that he is a hitman. This puts everyone on high alert with Pat, Jack and the kids moving into the farmhouse to look after Ava.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even though Jack and Cody tell Lily to leave the investigation alone and let the professionals do their jobs, there is no way she can ignore the fact that her sister could be in danger. Lily, Ava and Pat do one of the things they do best and stay up late into the night discussing the case after Lily has done her own investigation and talking to people they suspect.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The police determine that the hit and run accident was just that an accident and Ava is not in any danger so everyone lets down their guard .... until it is almost too late for Ava and Lily.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Ghost Town Mystery series will become a favorite for readers !! You will love everything about this series and be on the look out for the next installment so that you can dig in as soon as it is published !! </span></span></p><p><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-17365562187682621932024-01-18T10:15:00.000-08:002024-01-18T10:15:57.853-08:00My Old Kentucky Homicide (A Bourbon B&B Mystery ) by Gin Jones<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDkF2NEMcgoT2DEIcFu8tG1MnseCbOF4YGDvGtZOFb7GzCtvK5PLJ_wmc7BhCWHRIMKEKB4IFm-OdFctVuHz_0KJZ4j_AT2kfloE3VQ3R1qVoGlbfo9PYAo5fO_p2Q6pQsnHuEdSCnoWrFzooimDV75xFoQUbq1I4oyIb71UnyMMUexxTEIp5M529BNim/s529/200055363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="353" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDkF2NEMcgoT2DEIcFu8tG1MnseCbOF4YGDvGtZOFb7GzCtvK5PLJ_wmc7BhCWHRIMKEKB4IFm-OdFctVuHz_0KJZ4j_AT2kfloE3VQ3R1qVoGlbfo9PYAo5fO_p2Q6pQsnHuEdSCnoWrFzooimDV75xFoQUbq1I4oyIb71UnyMMUexxTEIp5M529BNim/s320/200055363.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"><i>From USA Today bestselling author Gin Jones comes three sisters, one corpse, and a whole lot of trouble...</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i>Kentucky native Jess Walker's big-city career has kept her too busy to visit her sisters and hometown. However, she relents when she's invited to celebrate her nephew's third birthday at the newly established Three Sisters B&B in the heart of bourbon country. The nostalgic bubble is quickly popped however when Jess realizes her family hasn't been entirely honest with her. She was invited not so much for a family reunion, but to help them impress some VIP guests for inclusion in a tourism co-op on the bourbon trail. Old resentments arise, and the sisters are at loggerheads immediately. But when one of the VIP guests is found dead, things only get worse. The sheriff is intent on treating the death as an accident, blaming it on unsafe conditions at the B&B. But the sisters know this was murder. Jess has always been the fixer of the family, so she jumps in to protect her sisters and their B&B's reputation. With the remaining guests and the attractive—and single—owner of the nearby whiskey barrel factory all suspects, Jess has her work cut out for her. And it turns out, she can't do it alone. All three sisters will need to work in perfect harmony in order to find the perpetrator of the Old Kentucky Homicide."Gin’s writing style and wonderful characters made an entertaining page-turner."~ Kings River Life Magazine. (Summary via Goodreads)<br /></i><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Gemma Halliday Publishing has a new amazing series out .... A Bourbon B&B Mystery series by author Gin Jones with the first book, My Old Kentucky Homicide, out now....</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In My Old Kentucky Homicide Jess Walker is returning to her home state to help her two sisters out with their new B&B. Jess has not been home in ten years as she was building her career in Washington DC. But when her sisters, CJ and Em, reach out that they need her, she gets in the car to go help them ... with none of them knowing just how much help they will need.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CJ and Em have opened up the Three Sisters B&B and are trying to get into the local tourism co-op and have found out that members of that group are going to be staying at the B&B and doing a surprise inspection and they need Jess to be there so that the Three Sisters image is true. Little did they know that one of the members of the group was going to die and the cause of death means that any one of the rest of the group could have killed him.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The three sisters have to come together to find out who killed Mark Pleasant and save the B&B's reputation. Unfortunately while they get to know the other members of the group, they soon learn that everyone disliked Mark and all of they could have killed him. This does not make it easy for the sisters as they try to work together to solve Mark's murder as well as work out their own family issues.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will thoroughly love reading My Old Kentucky Homicide. You will want to move into the B&B so that you can be a part of the experience. Jones knows how to paint the picture for readers so that you will feel like you are right there with the guests sitting on the front porch or the veranda ... you will also be able to picture the barn where the three sisters are camping in style. And I can almost bet that you will not believe who the guilty party ends up being. I'm sure you will have your own ideas on who killed Mark and why and I'm almost certain you will just as shocked as I was when they are discovered !!!</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-75205050765595670562024-01-15T10:44:00.000-08:002024-01-15T10:49:10.248-08:00Dogged Pursuit (A Veronica Kildare K-9 Mystery) by Tracy Carter<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPO8CHURH-uy4tpjuR02Cv-Kf90YQWIUWwxJqf2Hw5uQPMZh_Qm1_40lfSPe66gcMPy5gwEVvrmF9Gh5SvKYzTK9ji_wcaFQ_viuoYyNmwf-HtPseBPnF-KW2yCwPeg4rSjNxzFotIwTgmNdayfP3u1rnzPU7V1-cBu4VdoVYrtgyxXRSh9kqf0QmME4k/s2560/60899179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1706" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPO8CHURH-uy4tpjuR02Cv-Kf90YQWIUWwxJqf2Hw5uQPMZh_Qm1_40lfSPe66gcMPy5gwEVvrmF9Gh5SvKYzTK9ji_wcaFQ_viuoYyNmwf-HtPseBPnF-KW2yCwPeg4rSjNxzFotIwTgmNdayfP3u1rnzPU7V1-cBu4VdoVYrtgyxXRSh9kqf0QmME4k/s320/60899179.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Gold Medal winner in the 2023 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest in the Fiction-Animals genre! The debut book in the Veronica Kildare K-9 Mystery series opens with escalating suspense and intensifies into a resilient fight for survival. With its engaging combination of canine and human personalities, thrilling plot, and gorgeous Colorado backdrop, "Dogged Pursuit" will appeal to dog lovers, outdoors enthusiasts, and mystery lovers alike.Veronica Kildare cannot believe her luck – being shot at, again, by the bad guys. The sound, the feel of the bullet, and the hatred resonate for more than just the transitory moment of impact. She has relocated to a new state, but brutality has rampaged into this life as well. As the survivor of a senseless act of violence in her former life, Veronica struggles to recover from the lingering physical and emotional scars by working as a dog handler near Boulder, Colorado. Empowered by her intense bond with her search and rescue and drug detection dog, Leda, she finally begins to shake off the pain of her past. Then Veronica is drawn into the puzzling search for a scientist who has vanished near Rocky Mountain National Park. Dr. Randy Jeffers has inexplicably disappeared on the eve of his testimony in the high profile murder trial of a pro basketball player and the police are baffled. As Veronica and Leda traverse rugged Roosevelt National Forest in a desperate search testing the limits of their abilities, it is not initially clear who has targeted Dr. Jeffers, or why. But it becomes shockingly obvious that someone will stop at nothing to silence him forever. The kidnappers with murder on their mind have guns, but Veronica has Leda and her own blossoming resilience as her weapons in their struggle for survival. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Dogged Pursuit by Tracy Carter will have readers on the edge of their seats. I very seldom want to jump ahead to the end of the story to see what happens, I like to enjoy everythng the story and author have to give, but boy, was I tested with this story !!!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In Dogged Pursuit readers are introduced to main character Veronica Kildare. Veronica had a very traumatic experience in Ohio so her father moves them to Colorado and helps her set up their new lives. Veronica starts her own dog handling and obedience training business and is doing real well. Her and her dog, Leda, are being called for more and more cases and their latest will test them to their limits !!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Veronica's friend Tim, who works for the Boulder County Sheriff's Department asks Veronica and Leda to assist in a missing person's case. A scientist, Dr. Randy Jeffers, has gone missing after talking to his wife and telling her he is going for a hike in the Rocky Mountain Natonal Park. Dr. Jeffers is scheduled to be a witness in a high profile case regarding a famous basketball player who is accused of murdering his wife. Veronica and Leda are asked to try to locate him in the park.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Not only does Veronica have her own business to run, dogs to train, but she has also taken on a new employee. Michael came into her life when she saw a dog being attacked and he helped save the dog. When Veronica learns that Michael is sleeping in a cot in the back of a business because he aged out of foster care, she immediately takes him home and sets him up in the apartment in the training building. Michael becomes a great asset for Veronica so that she can focus on the Jeffers case. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will fall in love instantly with everything in this book and story !! You will love the relationships, Veronica's business and what she and Leda do. You will also love the suspense of the story and will be shocked at the outcome of parts !!! I highly recommend grabbing your copy and getting lost in this book ... I also recommend having a mug of hot cocoa on the table next to you and a furry companion by your side.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-6507741009560182162024-01-10T13:12:00.000-08:002024-01-10T13:12:33.644-08:00The Sign of Four Spirits (Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Book # 9) by Vicki Delany<p></p><div class="BookPageMetadataSection__genres" data-testid="genresList" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.8rem 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><p></p><div class="BookPageMetadataSection__description" data-testid="description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.37; margin: 0.8rem 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="TruncatedContent" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;" tabindex="-1"><div class="TruncatedContent__text TruncatedContent__text--large TruncatedContent__text--expanded" data-testid="contentContainer" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: none; overflow: hidden visible; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="-1"><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: grid; gap: 1.7%; grid-template-columns: repeat(var(--num-right-col), minmax(0, 1fr)); margin-left: calc(-1 * var(--right-col-left-offset)); padding-left: var(--right-col-left-offset);"><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span class="Formatted" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJMcL_-J6oNVkLXF6dL6uPs-oiYCPzyQyVJFwMlbJSLHmOXhofga-BVdiQ8Gfiv6NcxXZyPTDGRFuHoy0haNMViyqxFzNl885DQZChp3hqFw4P8ylNy2BkKk1DAM6MplMMiQvw71O01BjM1w4TS8PdC5VXFQLF2WUWxx_IWIBjEcwRnDDCpkzTLP1DsTZ/s346/127462500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJMcL_-J6oNVkLXF6dL6uPs-oiYCPzyQyVJFwMlbJSLHmOXhofga-BVdiQ8Gfiv6NcxXZyPTDGRFuHoy0haNMViyqxFzNl885DQZChp3hqFw4P8ylNy2BkKk1DAM6MplMMiQvw71O01BjM1w4TS8PdC5VXFQLF2WUWxx_IWIBjEcwRnDDCpkzTLP1DsTZ/s320/127462500.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Gemma Doyle won’t be spooked when a body shows up at the psychic fair in bestselling author Vicki Delany’s ninth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" />When a psychic fair arrives in West London, Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, wants nothing to do with it. But somehow, at the urging of Donald Morris, an enthusiastic Sherlockian, she finds herself talked into attending a séance, along with baker and best friend Jayne Wilson, store assistant, Ashleigh, and former pop star Bunny Leigh.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" />But to her surprise, Gemma finds herself banned from the séance and shown the door. Curious, she listens in from outside the room. The medium informs a disappointed Donald that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will not be able to make it tonight. Then, Gemma hears a voice cut off, a cry for help, a scream. Gemma bursts into the library to see that someone has collapsed on the table--dead. The windows are all locked, and Gemma was guarding the only door. Someone in this room is a murderer. But who?<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" />The game is once again afoot for Gemma Doyle, as she hunts a killer. But, this time, is the killer of flesh and blood or had the medium summoned doom from beyond the veil? (Summary via Goodreads)</span></i></span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span class="Formatted" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I am a huge fan of Gemma Doyle and would love to be her best friend !! She knows how to lead a fun life ... unfortunately she is not real. Gemma Doyle is the main character in Vicki Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. This series is such an entertaining series to read and you cannot help but fall in love with Gemma and everything else within the books.</span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Sign of Four Spirits is the ninth book in this series and Gemma and her best friend Jayne are roped into attending a seance by Gemma's employee, Ashleigh. Ashleigh is going with her mother, Bunny, but wants reinforcements there to help. Unfortunately Madame Lavalier has Gemma leave the room before starting because of Gemma's bad energy. So Gemma being Gemma sits right outside the room so that she can hear as much as she can. </span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Even though Gemma was not present when Madame Lavalier was murdered, she is able to help piece together some things for her boyfriend, Detective Ryan Ashburton and his partner Detective Louise Estrada. Considering someone inside that room killed Madame Lavalier and then sat back down and acted like they didn't know or see anything takes a lot of guts !! Unfortunately Gemma doesn't know most of the members that were at the seance so this case may be difficult for her, I mean the police, to solve. </span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If there is one thing you know about Gemma is that she loves to solve cases and loves a challenge ... and this case will be a challenge .... especially when someone else from the group ends up dead also.</span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Readers will love this series and everything there is within the books. You will love the characters, the shops, the town, and the murders and the way that Gemma can work through the cases. She can walk into her shop, Sherlock Holmes Bookshop after having tea with Jayne at Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room and look around the store and know what was missing off the shelves and sold. I highly encourage you to dive into this series if you haven't already started .....</span></div><div class="DetailsLayoutRightParagraph__widthConstrained" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; grid-column: span 7 / auto;"> </div></div></div><div class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;"></div></div></div>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-37865557584722951332023-12-30T10:37:00.000-08:002023-12-30T10:37:01.826-08:00Isabella in the Kitchen (Mistletoe Inn Mysteries Novella # 3) by Margaret Evans, Julie Hatton (illustrator)<p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeFpakqHhESGkx_zt2e5uzRGamNOjPpQRYKnY8e1_DL3DeC7BRWbTKLamUWK3p71vOMYQPKFOIpO4s4u0qEWXqlyzpO7skPwQFeET_axAilIJNIhINvpYuMNSb6BQlhBHYlLX_p8VlKheVLjkgXe7Qj0bZ7L7UHvI4u5_TmCwj2G77M0Un533OakqI-QC/s500/204487228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeFpakqHhESGkx_zt2e5uzRGamNOjPpQRYKnY8e1_DL3DeC7BRWbTKLamUWK3p71vOMYQPKFOIpO4s4u0qEWXqlyzpO7skPwQFeET_axAilIJNIhINvpYuMNSb6BQlhBHYlLX_p8VlKheVLjkgXe7Qj0bZ7L7UHvI4u5_TmCwj2G77M0Un533OakqI-QC/s320/204487228.jpg" width="227" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">When Laura Keene and her husband Connor are invited to spend Christmas with the sixty-five-year-old Kovacs triplets at Mistletoe Inn, mystery abounds. Laura's mostly invisible cat, Empress Isabella, tags along, so you can't guess what will happen! Join the mysteries and the wacky fun as Charlie, Harry, and Will Kovacs each search for something in their family history, but what they find may not be what they expect. In this final Volume 3, Will searches fruitlessly for his favorite quiche and other family recipes in the Mistletoe Inn kitchen. Laura helps out and locates a secret cache of information that changes the direction of all their plans, including Will’s…in <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-weight: 600;">Isabella in the Kitchen. </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"> (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Margaret Evans has a new mystery series called Mistletoe Inn Mysteries and Isabella in the Kichen is the third novella in this series following Isabella in the Attic and Isabella in the Cellar.</span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial; font-weight: 600;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">I feel that in order for you to understand this series you need a brief summary of the Second Treasures Mystery series Evans has written. In that series you are introduced to Laura Rage Keene who owns a second hand thrift shop and lives above it. Her family, the Rage's, were one of the founding families of Raging Ford, Minnesota. The Second Treasures Mystery follows Laura as she falls in love with the Lieutenant of the Police force as she helps solve murders that she gets involved in. In this series you are also introduced to her friends and other business owners. There is also a gray cat that lives there, however, only Laura and Connor can see her .... until.....</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">In this new series, Mistletoe Inn Mysteries Laura and her new husband Connor are invited to spend Christmas and New's Year with the Kovacs triplets at the Inn. The Kovacs triples are very important to the town of Raging Ford and they know all about the town, the people and what goes on. The Inn has been in the Kovacs family for a long time and it holds lots of history. In the first novella in this series, Isabella in the Attic, Charlie, one of the triples is continuing his family's history. With the help of Laura he finds the answers he is seeking and they are to his favor. In the second novella, Isabella in the Cellar, Harry is looking for his grandfather's cravat in the boxes in the cellar. In addition to finding the cravat, Harry and Laura find some documents that will change the dynamics of the triplets lives.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">Now in Isabella in the Kitchen, Will is searching high and low for his quiche recipe. He really wants to make it for New Year's. Everyone rallies in the kitchen to find the Kovacs' grandmother's recipe. Instead Laura and Connor discover some secret holes with paperwork, books, and money that their parents must have hidden years ago !!! </span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span face="Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif">There are also a lot of other life changing things happening within these three novellas but I feel that if I share them, they will ruin the way readers experience them when they are reading. I can tell you that you will be shocked and surprised and happy and excited. I cannot even begin to imagine where Evans will take us next ... and I cannot wait !!!</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif">Evans knows how to weave a captivating story and hook readers immediately ... and who wouldn't love a "magical" cat that is getting bold with letting more people see and love her ? And Evans really makes readers love this series with this third installment of the Mistletoe Inn Mysteries. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif">You can read about Isabella, Laura and Raging Ford with all it's amazing characters in the Second Treasures Mystery series as well as A Trilogy of Holiday Mysteries Starring Empress Isabella. I high encourage you to read the first novella, Isabella in the Attic and be on the look out for Isabella in the Kitchen.</span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-9513789921423843462023-12-27T12:48:00.000-08:002023-12-27T12:48:10.308-08:00 Deep Fried Death (Country Store Mystery Book # 12) by Maddie Day<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LWSaidoot5mW3QWieIlX9gu7IYESrCmBUWvTL9fUw8zg_sZF1LHQ_krjwaQ8oCQ2L0MMQwcUvJuC1wOtV25OkMpTea_AMqHGyBdactaorvAD7D8TkWmgksOY9N4kei11jMYfWj-0gI3tHBEK37BaBbeWuOfhyOpjzOUxnOfj70dPJATuedzqsZTmLwIg/s400/124950534.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LWSaidoot5mW3QWieIlX9gu7IYESrCmBUWvTL9fUw8zg_sZF1LHQ_krjwaQ8oCQ2L0MMQwcUvJuC1wOtV25OkMpTea_AMqHGyBdactaorvAD7D8TkWmgksOY9N4kei11jMYfWj-0gI3tHBEK37BaBbeWuOfhyOpjzOUxnOfj70dPJATuedzqsZTmLwIg/s320/124950534.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">In the latest Country Store Mystery by Agatha and Macavity Award-winning author Maddie Day, a killer strikes - with a cast iron skillet - during South Lick, Indiana's annual Outhouse Race festivities, landing Pans 'N Pancakes-owner Robbie Jordan on the suspect list...</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Many residents of South Lick, Indiana, claim the Outhouse Race, in which competitors push old-timey outhouse replicas on wheels at the annual Abe Martin Festival on Memorial Day, is the best thing since indoor plumbing. Just because country store and restaurant owner Robbie Jordan has too much to do managing her new deep fryer as well as an old lover reappearing, she’s not going to miss out on the fun. Plus, it’s good for business.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">But when a dead body and a cast-iron skillet tumble out of the Pans ’N Pancakes outhouse entry on the race route, it seems someone is trying to frame Robbie—in a most unconventional way. Now she’ll need to be privy to the townsfolks’ secrets as she races to flush out a killer . . . (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">I am so in love with the Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day .... and I'm sure you are also but if you aren't yet, you have lots to catch up ... especially seeing as the twelfth book in the series, Deep Fried Death, has been released. No worries though because once you start reading you will not want to put the books down and you will breeze through them in no time.<br /></span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">In Deep Fried Death Robbie and her two employees are competing in the outhouse race at the Abe Martin Festival during the Memorial Day weekend. Robbie is the owner of Pans 'N Pancakes and the outhouse is decked out with advertising for the restaurant. Unfortunately while they are walking the outhouse to the start line, they hit a bump and a body and a skillet fall out. Needless to say they do not compete in the race and instead are all taken to the police station and questioned. And seeing as the race was taking place in Nashville and not South Lick, Robbie doesn't have an "in" with any of the officers.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Robbie and the deceased, Evermina Martin, didn't have much of a relationship even though they both owned restaurants and could have been in competition with each other. Whereas Robbie felt they could both survive running their businesses, Evermina wanted to put Robbie out of business. So being on the suspect list didn't work for Robbie so she started asking questions and when she learns that her brother-in-law, Don, was also on the list, she went full steam ahead .... or as much as she could while running the restaurant and taking care of herself during the early stages of her pregnancy and dealing with morning sickness.</span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">Lucky, or unlucky, for Robbie a lot of the people on the suspect list come into Pans 'N Pancakes to eat so she is able to try to talk to them when she can. Some of her police friends frequent the restaurant as well but they aren't helpful at all. And when she fiqures out who the killer is, she has to think smart and put herself and her unborn baby first ... which we all know is going to be hard for her to do !!</span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">Readers will love this series just as much as I do. You will immediately feel like you are right there along side Robbie as she goes about things and you will love it !!! I cannot tell you how awesome this series is ... well I can but you need to read it all yourself ... and then you can agree with me !!</span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-74032985744025118672023-12-24T11:52:00.000-08:002023-12-24T11:52:03.424-08:00Hallo-waiian Murder Mystery (Aloha Lagoon Mystery series Book # 20) by Rosalie Spielman<i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzj1qIELfW2XCob04iRLsuinVXZAtpk36wN-5oQzPWdcdwW5WMpU_W4hkYNPbhZe21ZfYfD8kIQFHIoraQ7mulcVBHn_zuG6p1yWfvAZ8vhnb7hcYr5cGCtkDdY4AONOc1vA_Jn3-b_IlU2gsh4D2Ytfg95hU1_TFxB8dEGFRyZO5lFOcAHBlJ3YnwhmL/s270/180558846.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="180" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzj1qIELfW2XCob04iRLsuinVXZAtpk36wN-5oQzPWdcdwW5WMpU_W4hkYNPbhZe21ZfYfD8kIQFHIoraQ7mulcVBHn_zuG6p1yWfvAZ8vhnb7hcYr5cGCtkDdY4AONOc1vA_Jn3-b_IlU2gsh4D2Ytfg95hU1_TFxB8dEGFRyZO5lFOcAHBlJ3YnwhmL/s1600/180558846.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />From author Rosalie Spielman comes a Halloween homicide in paradise...</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">It's Kiki Hepburn's first Halloween in Aloha Lagoon, and she doesn't know exactly what to expect. Between working at the busy Aloha Lagoon Dive Shop and living with the eccentric Auntie Akamai, life is always unpredictable. But one thing Kiki definitely didn't expect to find is the dead body of Auntie Akamai's life-long friend, Celine Suzuki! And when the island's Homicide Detective Ray shows up, Kiki knows the death is not an accident—it's murder.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Now Auntie Akamai's friends are all suspects in the death. Was it Oliana Harris, the Pineapple Princess, and heiress to a pineapple fortune? Margaux La Roux, a transplant from New Orleans? Or Stella Keawe, Akamai's gossipy goose of a neighbor? They're all acting suspiciously. And each is hiding something. But is what they're hiding worth killing over?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">To complicate matters even more, Kiki's parents want her to bring her hot diver boyfriend Dex home for the holidays, and Kiki's not sure how she feels about the whole situation—let alone how Dex feels. Instead of enjoying her first Hawaiian Autumn under the waves, Kiki's investigation takes her to gardens of flowering poisonous plants, an over-the-top animal shelter, a prickly pineapple plantation, and a zombie theme "Hallo-wedding." With time running out and "something" stalking her every move, will Kiki live to see her Halloween treats? Or will this year end in a "trick" Kiki won't come back from?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">"I cannot stress enough that you should get on board with this amazing series. You will love your time at the Aloha Lagoon!"</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">About Aloha</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">There's trouble in paradise...</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Welcome to Aloha Lagoon, one of Hawaii's hidden treasures. A little bit of tropical paradise nestled along the coast of Kauai, this resort town boasts luxurious accommodation, friendly island atmosphere...and only a slightly higher than normal murder rate. While mysterious circumstances may be the norm on our corner of the island, we're certain that our staff and Lagoon natives will make your stay in Aloha Lagoon one you will never forget! (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><div><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">Anytime I can travel to the Aloha Lagoon Resort in Hawaii I am going to do it !! And I don't even have to pack, go to the airport, and deal with jetlag. All I have to do is open a book ..... And the recent book I opened is Hallo-waiian Murder Mystery by Rosalie Spielman. This is the twentieth book in the series and the third written by Spielman for the series.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Aloha Lagoon Mystery series is a series that takes place in Kauai, a resort and tourist town, which multipy authors take turns writing a book for the series. They have some things in common, like the resort, murder and Detective Ray Kahoalani.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">In Hallo-waiian Murder Mystery Kiki Hepburn is enjoying life on Kauai. She works with her boyfriend, Dex, at his father's diving business. They take tourist out on diving excursions. She lives with Dex's Auntie Akamai and her pet parrot, Paulie. Unfortunately murder tends to follow her ..... and in Hallo-waiian Murder Mystery during a weekly game night with Auntie Akamai and her lifelong friends, one of the friends, Celine, drops to the floor after eating some food from their delivery order. A short time later the group finds out that Celine died. They think that it was a heart attack but when Detective Ray shows up, they realize they were wrong.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="background-color: white;">No one can think of why someone would target C</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">eline when another friend, Oliana, would have been a better victim. But Auntie Akamai needs to know the truth so even though Kiki wants to protest, she knows that she will do whatever she can to help Auntie Akamai ..... even though the last two attempts at solving murders left their marks.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You cannot help but love this series !! And to read books by different authors with different characters is so fun !! You will LOVE everything about this series and will want to return to Aloha Lagoon as often as possible .... even with murder in the mix !!!! </span></span></div>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-14999339630107812242023-12-23T09:38:00.000-08:002023-12-23T09:38:53.536-08:00Isabella in the Cellar (Mistletoe Inn Mysteries Novella # 2) by Margaret Evans , Julie Hatton (illustrator)<p><i><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XpIKT1pTpJwpcb-YBQL2JQljk6Bl01Qqgus5HVPko9Tdhah_ts89dyJ7jpYn1wE3LiLxiXZAiUFhJQ-mNs38ZuGI0JsbDxWXJfgR2gcTmo7x-fnEPPKe5KpSVc_Y8BaTRNsdBRnQMDkCzsbBE7TW1zNx8rAxzN3xIC6l3gncfanNcN7_-oiI51r8Z7cP/s500/204222426.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XpIKT1pTpJwpcb-YBQL2JQljk6Bl01Qqgus5HVPko9Tdhah_ts89dyJ7jpYn1wE3LiLxiXZAiUFhJQ-mNs38ZuGI0JsbDxWXJfgR2gcTmo7x-fnEPPKe5KpSVc_Y8BaTRNsdBRnQMDkCzsbBE7TW1zNx8rAxzN3xIC6l3gncfanNcN7_-oiI51r8Z7cP/s320/204222426.jpg" width="227" /></a></i></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />When Laura Keene and her husband Connor are invited to spend Christmas with the sixty-five-year-old Kovacs triplets at Mistletoe Inn, mystery abounds. Laura's mostly invisible cat, Empress Isabella, tags along, so you can't guess what will happen! Join the mysteries and the wacky fun as Charlie, Harry, and Will Kovacs each search for something in their family history, but what they find may not be what they expect.In this Volume 2, Harry searches for his grandfather’s red satin cravat to wear on Christmas day. But when Laura and Connor join the hunt in the Mistletoe Inn cellar, they uncover a family secret that Harry has been hiding. What happens next changes everyone’s lives…in <span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-weight: 600;">Isabella in the Cellar.</span><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"> (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial; font-weight: 600;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial; font-weight: 600;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">Margaret Evans has a new mystery series called Mistletoe Inn Mysteries and Isabella in the Cellar is the second novella in this series.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">I feel that in order for you to understand this series you need a brief summary of the Second Treasures Mystery series Evans has written. In that series you are introduced to Laura Rage Keene who owns a second hand thrift shop and lives above it. Her family, the Rage's, were one of the founding families of Raging Ford, Minnesota. The Second Treasures Mystery follows Laura as she falls in love with the Lieutenant of the Police force as she helps solve murders that she gets involved in. In this series you are also introduced to her friends and other business owners. There is also a gray cat that lives there, however, only Laura and Connor can see her .... until.....</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">In this new series, Mistletoe Inn Mysteries Laura and her new husband Connor are invited to spend Christmas and New's Year with the Kovacs triplets at the Inn. The Inn has been in the Kovacs family for a long time and it holds lots of history. In the first novella in this series, Isabella in the Attic, Charlie, one of the triples is continuing his family's history. With the help of Laura he finds the answers he is seeking and they are to his favor. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">Now in Isabella in the Cellar, Laura with the assistance of Isabella, helps Harry find their grandfather's cravat that he wanted to wear on Christrmas but couldn't so he really wants to wear it for New Year's. They also uncover some documents that will change the triples lives ... as well as others.</span></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif">Isabella is also continuing to wreck havoc when she can and so far two of the triples have seen and petted her ... but they don't understand where she came from and are more confused when she magically disappears.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">Evans knows how to weave a captivating story and hook readers immediately ... and who wouldn't love a "magical" cat that is getting bold with letting more people see and love her ? And Evans really makes readers love this series with this second installment of the Mistletoe Inn Mysteries. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">You can read about Isabella, Laura and Raging Ford with all it's amazing characters in the Second Treasures Mystery series as well as A Trilogy of Holiday Mysteries Starring Empress Isabella. I high encourage you to read the first novella, Isabella in the Attic and be on the look out for Isabella in the Kitchen.</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px;" /></span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-31838314950357258042023-12-22T10:14:00.000-08:002023-12-22T10:14:18.812-08:00Isabella in the Attic (Mistletoe Inn Mysteries Novella # 1 ) by Margaret Evans with Julie Hatton (illustrator)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGcbWQwvlPcX72dcDHzRG7dBVK_20yANVQE9QEBQXL1KF_3kHhIyeEOUSlDt7y1IllWFNQKJBMleysH9hNOdNnk4cKkOA-d2WeYk27QTSaLnJ5FsWlnlCIi6oo1ypCdfWpDll-oyJTcJyefuAa2L0fweK5AuHtZ96ZCHUP_sMWY9ULrXIsYMuv9gC-4n6/s500/203745333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGcbWQwvlPcX72dcDHzRG7dBVK_20yANVQE9QEBQXL1KF_3kHhIyeEOUSlDt7y1IllWFNQKJBMleysH9hNOdNnk4cKkOA-d2WeYk27QTSaLnJ5FsWlnlCIi6oo1ypCdfWpDll-oyJTcJyefuAa2L0fweK5AuHtZ96ZCHUP_sMWY9ULrXIsYMuv9gC-4n6/s320/203745333.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">When Laura Keene and her husband Connor are invited to spend Christmas with the sixty-five-year-old Kovacs triplets at Mistletoe Inn, mystery abounds. Laura's mostly invisible cat, Empress Isabella, tags along, so you can't guess what will happen! Join the mysteries and the wacky fun as Charlie, Harry, and Will Kovacs each search for something in their family history, but what they find may not be what they expect.In Volume 1, Charlie searches for the meaning of his family's history when they fled tyranny and finds more than he ever wanted to know. How will it turn out? Only Empress Isabella knows...in </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-weight: 600;">Isabella in the Attic</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Margaret Evans has a new mystery series called Mistletoe Inn Mysteries and Isabella in the Attic is the first novella in this series. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are a fan of Margaret Evans, hopefully, you have read her Second Treasures Mystery series. In that series you are introduced to Laura Rage Keene who owns a second hand thrift shop and lives above it. Her family, the Rage's, were one of the founding families of Raging Ford, Minnesota. The Second Treasures Mystery follows Laura as she falls in love with the Lieutenant of the Police force as she helps solve murders that she gets involved in. In this series you are also introduced to her friends and other business owners. There is also a gray cat that lives there, however, only Laura and Connor can see her .... until.....</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In this new series, Mistletoe Inn Mysteries Laura and her new husband Connor are invited to spend Christmas and New's Year with the Kovacs triplets at the Inn. The Inn has been in the Kovacs family for a long time and it holds lots of history.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">So Laura and Connor pack up and head to the town Rocking Chair where the Inn is located. They believe they are going to go celebrate the holidays and eat food and have fun with Harry, Charlie and Will and relax .... but Empress Isabella is going to throw a few wrenches in that.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">In Isabella in the Attic, while the triples wait for the arrival of their guests, Charlie decides to continue researching his family's history and how they came from Hungary to the Unites States, changing their names and everything. He has a very personal reason why this research has become so important but he is afraid to share it until he can figure it out for himself ... and he may have help from Isabella.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Evans knows how to weave a captivating story and hook readers immediately ... and who wouldn't love a "magical" cat that only allows certain people to see and love her ? And Isabella in the Attic is the first of three novella that you will want to dive into !!</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can read about Isabella, Laura and Raging Ford with all it's amazing characters in the Second Treasures Mystery series as well as A Trilogy of Holiday Mysteries Starring Empress Isabella. Also be on the look out for Isabella in the Cellar and then Isabella in the Kitchen.</span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: Proxima Nova, Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-5060693939236870232023-12-17T08:54:00.000-08:002023-12-17T08:54:40.505-08:00 Game Over at Guild Hall (Pret’ Near Perfect Mystery Book #3) by Patricia Meade<p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexg7WwAKCmP4UGRqVjyJzPy1pUO8x1GOxeUceglnLIUpkI5mOukYP37AIyUlLtTVtggiT39_OD1IwRCg0enC0CMxJDUtrGITyqgJtQ9rnVbh_BkSZm5v1N4SZytcfu9iWaeYIctdIRg_UM3Quul2nBn_rZU1Thjgq7MTWj81171a3MBubBSjyqeYU6edA/s383/200596134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexg7WwAKCmP4UGRqVjyJzPy1pUO8x1GOxeUceglnLIUpkI5mOukYP37AIyUlLtTVtggiT39_OD1IwRCg0enC0CMxJDUtrGITyqgJtQ9rnVbh_BkSZm5v1N4SZytcfu9iWaeYIctdIRg_UM3Quul2nBn_rZU1Thjgq7MTWj81171a3MBubBSjyqeYU6edA/s320/200596134.jpg" width="213" /></a></i></div><i><br />“It’s game on when the longtime organizer of the annual Game Supper is murdered right in front of the diners. Readers who enjoy mysteries set in colorful rural settings will love Game Over at Guild Hall.” —Sue Ann Jaffarian, author of the Odelia Grey and Ghost of Granny Apples mysteries </i><p></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In rural Vermont, where hunting and trapping are a way of life, nothing is bigger than the annual wild game supper at Guild Hall. Stella can’t wait to sample the exotic dishes prepared by her neighbors, but when the longtime organizer of the supper falls dead, a victim of poisoning, Stella’s appetite—along with a roomful of suspects—vanishes. Then that same night someone ransacks the hall’s kitchen, presumably to destroy any evidence, and spots Stella snooping. Now she fears she may be the next target.Certain the only way to save herself is to find the culprit, Stella digs into the victim’s life hoping to discover who might have wanted him dead. It turns out he’d made countless enemies over the years, as volunteers at the event were run ragged and hunters who wanted their food included were shunned. What’s more, Stella discovers the victim had unearthed a shameful and long-buried secret at the hall itself. With the list of possible suspects growing and her life in danger, Stella zeroes in on a clue that could break the case wide open—as long as she can stay out of the killer’s crosshairs . . .</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;">Praise for</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;">the Books of Amy Patricia</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The first in a new series for Meade features yet another set of bright young detectives . . .” —Kirkus Reviews</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;">“</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Quaint characters and settings abound in this outing by New Yorker-turned-Vermonter Amy Patricia Meade.” —Mystery Scene</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“Meade’s debut will strike a chord with fanciers of Dorothy Sayers’s Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.” —Publishers Weekly</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“If only Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart were still alive. They would be fabulous in the movie version of Meade’s debut Marjorie McClelland mystery . . . Meade’s kickoff mystery is a winner.” —Booklist</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“Meade successfully segues from her historicals (Black Moonlight) to this snappy yet traditional contemporary. She brings us pitch-perfect dialogue, original characters, and enormous potential for a fun series.” —Library Journal</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“A fairly straightforward plot with a neat twist at the end, good characters, and a well-drawn location make for a good read.” —The Bookbag</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;">About the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Author of the critically acclaimed Marjorie McClelland Mysteries, Amy Patricia Meade is a native of Long Island, New York, where she cut her teeth on classic films and books featuring Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown. After stints as an Operations Manager and a freelance technical writer, Amy relocated to southwest England, where she was a featured author at Agatha Christie’s Annual Greenway Literary Festival. Now residing in Upstate New York, Amy spends her time writing mysteries with a humorous or historical bent. When not writing—which is rare these days—Amy enjoys traveling, testing out new recipes, and classic films. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Game Over at Guild Hall is the third book in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Amy Patricia Meade's Pret' Near Perfect Mystery series and you will have a greater understanding for hunting and preparing the meat after reading this story ..... and you may come to enjoy it or look at it completely differently ... either way, you will have a great time reading it.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In Game Over at Guild Hall main characters Stella and Nick are excited to be attending their first game dinner. This game dinner is a very popular event at one of the local churches in their town of Teignmouth in Vermont. Stella and Nick recently moved there for Nick's job as a forest ranger and have met some awesome friends, one of which is the local Sheriff who Stella has assisted in a few murder cases. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This game dinner is a huge event that has multiple seating times with over 800 people attending. All of the dishes, except for the vegetables and desserts, are made with meats made by local residents with the meat that they have hunted. The main organizer, Warren Bessette, takes great pride in this event and is determined to have it grow every year. The money raised goes to the Samaritans Club and St. Timothy's, the church that they have the event is donated by Father Cartwright.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Unfortunately while Stella and Nick are attending their assigned seating for the dinner with their friends Sherriff Mills and his new fiance Alma, Warren collapses and dies almost instantly. Even thought the medical examiner rules it a heart attack, Stella and Mills do not agree ... and are not surprised when it is soon ruled a murder.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Sheriff Mills decides to deputize Stella so that she can assist in the investigation seeing as she has helped solve previous cases. Unfortunately the arrival of Stella's mother makes it a bit difficult as Stella doesn't want to upset or disappoint her mother now that her mother has come to visit with bad news of her own.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Readers cannot help but love this story and this series. The characters are people you would love to have in your life, you will want to move to Vermont and live in this adorable little town ... as long as you don't have to be involved with the murder cases ... or maybe you would want to be just like Stella. Me, personally, I would rather be like Alma and bake yummy treats ... and eat all of them !!! Regardless I am sure you will LOVE this series ... as well as everything else Meade has written or will write !!!!</span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-32778590214915612202023-12-08T13:32:00.000-08:002023-12-08T13:36:23.376-08:00The Turnbull Murders: A Historic Homes Mystery by R.J. Koreto<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgdhp2BurnH_5yEDjg5EY66rF51o03KyphyphenhyphenRQTAUuw86CJF2RKoPrMaUQYnTq1ysiYvZJrBQI7nBsgHiytIy1deC3W2VZ5CGKdeO8hev6FzzFb4Pz10B5jM4IJg4kOtOOdi9E-Vd5jE0_euL-v_FGKlt3YPadMqG-ojf5g-WbfrrQ_hIvv_5MUFp5dLWH/s2000/196956630.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgdhp2BurnH_5yEDjg5EY66rF51o03KyphyphenhyphenRQTAUuw86CJF2RKoPrMaUQYnTq1ysiYvZJrBQI7nBsgHiytIy1deC3W2VZ5CGKdeO8hev6FzzFb4Pz10B5jM4IJg4kOtOOdi9E-Vd5jE0_euL-v_FGKlt3YPadMqG-ojf5g-WbfrrQ_hIvv_5MUFp5dLWH/s320/196956630.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Movie star Nicky Tallon selects architect Wren Fontaine to renovate Turnbull House, where he'll be filming his next movie. Even to Wren, used to old homes, this one is a 200-year-old federal-style home on a private island in New York harbor, designed by the most celebrated architect of the day. But Turnbull House hides many secrets, such as the disappearance of the sea captain who built it. That's just a historical curiosity, until a studio executive no one likes is killed.<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Wren just wants to keep her worksite safe, but then another murder occurs, and she starts noting eerie connections between the mysteries surrounding the Turnbull family and Nicky and his entourage. The handsome star seems to have two girlfriends, a childlike folk singer and a cynical fashion model. Meanwhile, renowned actress Veronica Selwyn renews a friendship with Wren's father, which Wren finds more disturbing than she wants to admit. She concludes it's time she and her girlfriend Hadley take the next step and find a place together, an exciting but stressful change.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">As the attacks continue, Wren realizes she will have to solve the mysteries surrounding Captain Turnbull and Nicky Tallon. Turnbull House speaks of order and harmony, and Wren must dig deep to see how the house has affected its owners, old and new. Fortunately for her, the eminently practical Hadley is by her side, pepper spray at the ready—because a frighteningly clever killer is about to find that Wren is getting too close to the horrific truth. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></i></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">The book description for The Turnbull Murders explains the book perfectly but I'm going to try to give you that little push you may need to convince you to read it.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">The Turnbull Murders is the second book in R.J. Koreto's Historic Homes Mystery series and boy does he set the stage beautifully !!! You will become an instant fan as soon as you start reading.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">In The Turnbull Murders main character Wren Fontaine is an architect and her firm is hired to renovate the Turnbull Estate which happens to be on it's own island just outside New York City and is a short boat ride to get to. Nicky Tallon, a famous actor, has purchased the house so he can escape the California life and be somewhere away from it all with a few chosen friends.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">Luckily Nicky and a crew are going to be on the island filming for a movie so Wren will be able to talk to him whenever she needs to regarding the renovations. Wren and her girlfriend Hadley are also going to be working close together as Hadley has been hired to provide all the food for the movie crew as well as Wren and her crew.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">Wren loves to get to know the houses that she works on and the Turnbull history is most interesting as there was someone who was murdered and it doesn't look like the murderer was even brought to justice ... but it is hard to tell as they lived there over 200 years ago. Unfortunately when someone from the movie group ends up dead, Wren becomes more interested as does Saffron who is a young friend of Nicky's.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">So Wren, Hadley and Saffron become engrossed in the history of the house as they feel the house is what was the result of the murders, then and now. But before they can figure everything out someone else is murdered .... </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;">Readers will fall in love with this book and everything in it !!! Koreto knows how to draw readers into the story and you will not want to leave until you know everything about both cases.</span></p><p><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-21425346867296148372023-12-01T11:44:00.000-08:002023-12-01T11:44:50.068-08:00Stalking Around the Christmas Tree (Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Book # 4) by Jacqueline Frost<p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgSJX3so7tdmLQu4BRVDxuXdumudvwFInPMnUhczJVJP_Dcxc45YjG-zqnQPGEcCMHgzAHQ6jfvxeHmtgwwqDrbV_149O4by7QWFqrJa-4SzF5PZtvmQrh_QfaW8aB3172uGJechxWfP9o1tmdkyr2GGVtfIUyOh8IcQxF9mW28luzk1Fm9A0hX7q5C4_/s383/87441237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgSJX3so7tdmLQu4BRVDxuXdumudvwFInPMnUhczJVJP_Dcxc45YjG-zqnQPGEcCMHgzAHQ6jfvxeHmtgwwqDrbV_149O4by7QWFqrJa-4SzF5PZtvmQrh_QfaW8aB3172uGJechxWfP9o1tmdkyr2GGVtfIUyOh8IcQxF9mW28luzk1Fm9A0hX7q5C4_/s320/87441237.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Tis the season to solve a murder—and innkeeper Holly White knows she’ll have to make her list and check it twice if she wants to catch the killer in the fourth Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">For inn keeper Holly White, Christmas time in Mistletoe, Maine, is the ultimate holiday gift. Business at the Reindeer Games Inn is booming, her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray is nearly here, and the annual parade is about to begin. The town is lucky to have another gift this year with the state’s ballet company staying for several performances of The Nutcracker. But disaster strikes when Tiffany, the lead ballerina, shows up dead on a float during the parade, the Rat King’s mask nearby. Holly will have to spruce up her sleuthing skills if she wants to catch the killer before Christmas—and her wedding day.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Immediately, Holly discovers that Tiffany had more than a few secrets. She finds out that the star of the show had a super fan that no one knows anything about. And the show’s understudy slips some other intriguing information Holly’s way: not only was Tiffany secretly seeing someone romantically, but there seems to be more than one rat in this company. When Holly discovers a secret passage leading to Tiffany’s dressing room, with footprints leading out; she wonders if this is evidence of a secret lover—or a stalking killer.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">With an impending snowstorm and the ballet company on the way out of town, Holly must act quickly if she wants to find the person responsible for this terrible murder. Will she be able to save Christmas—or will her investigation turn cold like the weather? (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series by Jacqueline Frost is something for readers to look forward to every year ... like kids wait for Santa Claus. The latest book usually releases between September and November and it will get you in the holiday season faster than seeing holiday decorations in the stores before Thanksgiving.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Stalking Around the Christmas Tree is the fourth book in the series and this series follows the White family, their Reindeer Games Tree Farm, and their quaint town of Mistletoe in snowy Maine. In Stalking Around the Christmas Tree Holly White is planning her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray on Christmas Eve in one of the barns on the tree farm property. But before they can tie the knot they have a lot to do ..... and one of those things is solve a murder !!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the newest staples on the tree farm is the Inn that Holly oversees and the week before Christmas a ballet company is staying in town to perform The Nutcracker with many of the performers staying at the Inn. Unfortunately the top ballerina is found dead on the float of the Christmas parade. Holly knows that Evan is more than capable of solving the murder but everyone also knows that she cannot help but look into the murders. And this one needs to be solved so that her perfect wedding does not get ruined !!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not only will readers be drawn into the story for the murders but you cannot help but love the town and everything in it !! As you read you will feel like you are a part of the story and wish that you were sitting at the counter in the Hearth drinking a yummy hot cocoa and eating a Christmas cookie made by Holly's mom. You will also long for the friendships and relationships within the story and the LOVE between Holly and Evan is electric !!!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">I wanted to read Stalking Around the Christmas Tree as soon as I received it in October but also knew that I wanted to wait until we had our house decorated and I could have the Christmas tree lit while I read .... I highly encourage you to grab your copy and a hot cocoa and get lost in Mistletoe, Maine </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">......</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-83010444613301204202023-11-28T12:59:00.000-08:002023-11-28T12:59:32.178-08:00Death in a Nutshell: An Anthropology Whodunnit Roxanne Varzi<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8toesr_Ds6jehed9PDP5QJ1ZwTebENzQEOULifdU9UQC59C0dS0I07dhtfKYWOldEdUraqaqDEPvFF6-OHlAymoJ0HTRAYsSuYTGBybi_y5NYvV1c91aEzuOmmGoWJ8SK3l_7r3Qq7xf4pMVJpZTyN0LamVv7Z3l8fYr6Q8xw4K_wElsS1tCR_JE2d_s_/s500/199925929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8toesr_Ds6jehed9PDP5QJ1ZwTebENzQEOULifdU9UQC59C0dS0I07dhtfKYWOldEdUraqaqDEPvFF6-OHlAymoJ0HTRAYsSuYTGBybi_y5NYvV1c91aEzuOmmGoWJ8SK3l_7r3Qq7xf4pMVJpZTyN0LamVv7Z3l8fYr6Q8xw4K_wElsS1tCR_JE2d_s_/s320/199925929.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Alex is on the verge of dismissal from her anthropology doctoral program when her luck turns and she lands a fellowship with a dioramist at the Museum of the Rockies. Only problem is, Alex hasn’t a clue about dioramas or dinosaurs, and, as she will soon find out, she’s not the only one faking it in this frozen landscape.</span></span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">From New York City to Yellowstone National Park, we follow Alex, a whip-smart dyslexic-ADHD Margaret Meade cum Ms. Marple, and her friends—a Nature photographer, a Ranger, a Polish guest worker, paleontologists, poets and Iranian-elite dot-commers—as they explore friendship, identity, climate change, globalization, and a murder against the stunning backdrop of the Rockies in winter. An engaging read for adventurous mystery lovers. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Death in a Nutshell by Roxanne Varzi is an Anthropology Whodunnit and a very unique story. This is a first for me .... while you are reading a story about a murder, the author is also educating the reader in between chapters with her Field Notes. In the Disclaimer in the beginning of the story she tells readers that you can skip over the Field Notes as they have nothing to do with the story but offer the reader more insight in the field of Anthropology. I, however, read all of them as I wanted to make sure I was getting everything I could out of the story and understanding as much as I could .... I will admit some things were over my head but I was still able to enjoy the story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In Death in a Nutshell main character Alex is about the be kicked out of her doctural program. Luckily she is accepted into a grant in the Rockies for a project studying new residents in Bozeman where she will make a diorama of the people she interviews. She will make a little house in details after getting to know her subjects.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Alex's first diorama is going to be on Marta who is from Poland working at the Museum of the Rockies as an all around helper. This will be an easy starting point for Alex seeing as her and Marta are the only ones living on the property, each in their own cabin. Unfortunately before Alex can really get to know Marta, she finds her in another building on the property with a head injury.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Alex has also become friends with Will who is a Park Ranger and she tries to get his help in finding out who would want to hurt Marta. But when they are at an event at the Museum and a photographer, Pete, is found dead in the center of the exhibit, they have more questions that answers. Alex doesn't know who she can trust oer what to do but she knows she wants to stay and find out what is going on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will enjoy reading Death in a Nutshell and you may even come away having learned something also.</span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-74824561063040495112023-11-22T12:12:00.000-08:002023-11-22T12:12:59.559-08:00Beneath the Surface (Sam Lawson Book # 2) by David K. Wilson<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6t2w8WKSa69FzHF4vSxLXtUKeHzEwO7cEzTVmzlXDaPL-yOHvnFKVbxhg4EiZos4omg0c4999dlF_MkiEVcahxMNB_WkytrPolMeOvs0Zicx-BBD8MzMpKGDB8IAof3HMusgBRLUveAkjudSKmyVHZzxWuacnHeEcB-C4M6l_9uUG-4vBcjfsjpVWyzJ/s2560/53567443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6t2w8WKSa69FzHF4vSxLXtUKeHzEwO7cEzTVmzlXDaPL-yOHvnFKVbxhg4EiZos4omg0c4999dlF_MkiEVcahxMNB_WkytrPolMeOvs0Zicx-BBD8MzMpKGDB8IAof3HMusgBRLUveAkjudSKmyVHZzxWuacnHeEcB-C4M6l_9uUG-4vBcjfsjpVWyzJ/s320/53567443.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sam Lawson returns in a gripping mystery you won’t be able to put down.</span></span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">When Detective Sam Lawson arrives in a sleepy East Texas town to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, he soon discovers everyone has something to hide. And the more he digs, the more questions he uncovers.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Are the scratch marks on the face of the woman’s arrogant husband really from a construction accident? Why is the rich investor suddenly so interested in the investigation? Who had been hiding in the woods behind the woman’s house? Why did one of the woman’s friends leave town the same day she went missing, and what was their real relationship?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">With the help of a tough-as-nails sheriff’s sergeant, Liz Garcia, and his estranged girlfriend, medical examiner Carla Davenport, Sam must navigate the tangled relationships of this small community to find the truth before it’s too late.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Beneath the Surface is an exciting new addition to the Sam Lawson Mystery series. If you like colorful dialogue, surprising plot twists and page-turning suspense, then you’ll love this fast-paced whodunnit from David K. Wilson. (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I did not want Beneath the Surface to end !! Beneath the Surface is the second book in the Sam Lawson Mystery series by David K. Wilson and it is so good that as much as you love reading it, you will hate when you finish it and there is no more to read ... if that makes sense.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">In Beneath the Surface Detective Sam Lawson is sent to Big Creek in Hawkins County to assist on a missing person's case. Unfortunately the missing woman is the daughter of his old police chief who was forced into early retirement when he was involved in a case that Lawson uncovered and solved. Neither Lawson or Ed Kaster are happy about this but they put personal feelings aside in order to work together to look for Jamie.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Nothing is adding up on the case and everyone is very frustrated. Jamie's husband, Gary, being the spouse, is on the top of the suspect list but his alibi's for the day that Jamie went missing are tight. However the list of suspects starts to grow as Lawson and his partner on the case, Deputy Garcia, start talking to friends and business associates of Gary.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Once there is a BIG chance in the case, Sheriff Monroe tells Lawson he is no longer needed on the case and that he can return home. But when Jamie's father asks Lawson to stay on the case, there no way that he can say no. Unfortunately he is only allowed to work on it for a very short time period and the clock is ticking.....</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Readers will fall in love with Lawson and this series. You are instantly pulled into the story as soon as you open the book and will not want to stop until you get to the end. It feels like Wilson puts a magicla spell on you and you are powerless ..... all in a very good way !!!! </span></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-17370403819188122132023-11-17T12:23:00.000-08:002023-11-17T12:23:09.747-08:00Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock (Girl Friday Book # 3) by Emily J. Edwards<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoBE3nTD26FmhtqHWp_ozSScA1aB_0tDGwRsUlGuMoftNilwyo-b9nxwsRJ-VjfsYW-cZCB_WfrnTTp1grjNXOcX-RWDGAa5gH3jQqsTpEY8la3bALj4ts6BZzQ8f4KzrI0xkPGWnin8INLLuHw-_G1WOnqMGeJIKqGtBpvcOUGDz84HzrPQa6xcSyXsw/s400/112977319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoBE3nTD26FmhtqHWp_ozSScA1aB_0tDGwRsUlGuMoftNilwyo-b9nxwsRJ-VjfsYW-cZCB_WfrnTTp1grjNXOcX-RWDGAa5gH3jQqsTpEY8la3bALj4ts6BZzQ8f4KzrI0xkPGWnin8INLLuHw-_G1WOnqMGeJIKqGtBpvcOUGDz84HzrPQa6xcSyXsw/s320/112977319.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">New York City, 1950. Viviana Valentine and Tommy Fortuna have a lot of resolutions for the new year—whether it’s continuing to build up their detective agency or planning their wedding, the two are looking forward to the future. On their way to Times Square to celebrate, the two witness a brutal stabbing. When Tommy tries to chase down the culprit, Viviana tries her best to save the man. She’s unsuccessful, but Viviana hears his final words: a whispered apology to an unknown friend.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Clues are hard to come by, with the only leads being the fraught last words and a few nondescript matchbooks in the victim’s overcoat. Their investigation is halted when Detective Jack Lawson of the New York Police Department arrives, immediately ruffling Viviana’s feathers and bumping chests with Tommy, who he nearly arrested for murder just months earlier. The two know there’s more to the story, but there are other pressing matters at hand.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Clients are clamoring to get the detectives to work on their cases: a man is being blackmailed by a criminal who only writes in code, Tommy’s old friend needs his fiancée tailed, and an investment banker has mysteriously vanished. To add to their work load, Viviana knows something strange is happening at her boarding house. Will of all this—plus planning for a wedding—be too much for one Girl Friday? (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock is the third book in the Girl Friday Mystery series by Emily J. Edwards and Edwards knows how to whisk readers away to New York City in the 1950's with ease...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Viviana Valentine works with her fiance, Tommy, in his private investigation office. She started off as his secretary and worked her way up to private investigator then fiance. Betty, Viviana's one roommate at the woman's boarding house where they live is currently taking time off from being a nurse and is working for <br />Tommy and Viviana as their secretary.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock Viviana and Tommy are on their way to Time's Square on New's Year Eve to partake in the festivities but do not make it there when they witness a stabbing in an alley. Viviana stays to try to save the stabbed victim and Tommy takes off after the man who did the stabbing. Unfortunately Tommy loses the guy in the crowds and Viviana cannot save the victim. The victim has no identification and mumbles an apology to Frankie.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Even though this isn't their case, they know that they are going to look into the murder as it is a bit personal to them as they witnessed it. But they do have bills to pay so they take on other cases. Mr. Floristan has hired them because he received a message in code and he cannot figure it out....this will lead them down a crazy path that will require assistance from Dottie, another roommate at the boarding house. Then Mr. Bowen who works at a bank hires them to find an employee who hasn't shown up for work for a while and the outcome of that will be nothing that they could have imagined. And then the last case is a friend of Tommy's, Mort, who wants them to trail his fiance when she goes out to see who she is meeting as he thinks she is cheating on him ... this one will make readers laugh.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Viviana and Tommy have their hands full trampsing around New York City in the cold winter weather trying to solve the cases they are hired for as well as the stabbed victim they witnessed. And things at Mrs. K's boarding house are unsettling as well as they are working on the third floor apartment to turn it into something that Viviana and Tommy can live in once they are married and Mrs. K's brother is trying to get her and her son Olek to move somewhere safer. And Viviana is trying to figure out the wedding and meeting Tommy's family......</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will love this latest book in this series as well as the previous two books. Readers will totally want Viviana's energy and spunk !! And you cannot help but LOVE all of the relationships and even the cases are entertaining in their own way.</span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6532889724598113343.post-81564136104298521982023-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:002023-11-06T08:49:44.966-08:00 In the Shadow of the Bull (An Ancient Crete Mystery Book # 1) by Eleanor Kuhns<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xs2LxCYkhFgZxv-MsN2e52hyu8luJT6wYbdZ5aHbKiv0NaTZ68q6Gu2qY3xLAigz0K75p5z8gmK9_Gxda_LXiEhVxKxJImPctqOgLvMxmHPorXXbTMHhiHrm-DLMyau6YxdxqRZ5Si-t8-xibOr7k7sX1clloFCxDh4fMjXdILGNTufCzxBiQufvJlB7/s500/123444002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xs2LxCYkhFgZxv-MsN2e52hyu8luJT6wYbdZ5aHbKiv0NaTZ68q6Gu2qY3xLAigz0K75p5z8gmK9_Gxda_LXiEhVxKxJImPctqOgLvMxmHPorXXbTMHhiHrm-DLMyau6YxdxqRZ5Si-t8-xibOr7k7sX1clloFCxDh4fMjXdILGNTufCzxBiQufvJlB7/s320/123444002.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">In a world of Goddess worship, sacred snakes and sacrifice, human jealousy, resentment and betrayal still run wild . . .</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Ancient Crete, 1450 BC . When her sister Arge drops to the floor in convulsions and then dies at her wedding, fifteen-year-old Martis, a young poet and bull leaper in training, is certain she was murdered. The prime suspect is the groom, Saurus, a barbarian from the Greek mainland, but when Arge’s Shade visits Martis, swearing Saurus is not her murderer, Martis vows to uncover the truth.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">As Martis begins asking questions, she discovers that while her sweet sister Arge may have had no secrets, many of the people around Martis certainly do… but if the murderer is not Saurus, then who is it? The Egyptian lady who frequents the docks, one of Martis’s other sisters, her father, or someone entirely different?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Martis is in a battle against time to save her sister’s Shade from eternal unrest and uncover the killer before they strike again . . . (Summary via Goodreads)</span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">In the Shadow of the Bull is the first book in the Ancient Crete Mystery series by Eleanor Kuhns and it is centered around Ancient Crete in 1450 BC .... I have not read a book from that time period before and I was thoroughly surprised at how captivating it was !!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the Shadow of the Bulls follows Martis and her family. Martis is preparing to be a bull leaper and entertain the High Priestess as well as everyone in her town ... unfortunately things shift after her sister Arge dies right before she is to be wed. Arge is about to marry Saurus, a barbarian sailor, when Martis says a quick prayer to the Goddess trying to prevent the marriage from happening. Martis believes that her prayer to the Goddess is what caused her sister to die. Everything changes when Martis is visited by Arge's shade (ghost) insisting that she was poisoned and that Martis must find out who killed her.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even though Martis did not like Saurus, she doesn't think that he should be executed for Arge's murder if he is innocent. And after talking with him, she believes that he genuinely loved her sister and wouldn't harm her. But who would want to kill her and how did they do it ?</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When Martis finds out that Arge was poisoned, she has a lot to figure out. Then when another sister, Nuia, helps Saurus escape and they flee on his boat, Martis is left with more questions than answers.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Martis continues to be visited by Arge's shade insisting that she will haunt the family if her murder is not solved and the murderer dealt with. And when Nuia and Saurus are brought back and held in the caves until they will be executed, Martis knows her time is running out.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers will be on the edge of their seats reading this story. It is so different from any other stories I have read and it was so fun getting down and dirty with Martis and her life. Reading about how things were so different and difficult for her was quite a refreshing story. It was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in a new series and look forward to more books to follow to see what will happen next for Martis and her family.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Cozy Mystery Book Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17483914986843320962noreply@blogger.com0