Book Review: A Killer Retreat by Tracy Weber

When Kate Davidson gets an offer to teach yoga classes at the Elysian Springs resort, she jumps at the opportunity—even if it means enduring the wedding ceremony of the center’s two caretakers. But avoiding the M-word turns out to be the least of Kate’s problems when a wedding guest is found floating face-down in the resort’s hot tub, shortly after a loud, public fight with Kate.

The police pick Kate as their number-one suspect, so she teams up with her boyfriend Michael, best friend Rene, and German shepherd sidekick Bella to find the real killer. They must solve the crime before the police arrest Kate, or her next gig may last a lifetime—behind bars.[summary via Amazon]

I know that a 5-star rating means the best rating possible in these categories, however, sometimes it doesnt seem like enough.

This second book by Tracy Weber is as expected a terrific book !! If you didn't fall in love with Kate and Bella in the first book, Murder Strikes a Pose, you definitely will in A Killer's Retreat.

Even though you are reading a book about a murder and its investigation, with Kate's fingerprints all over the evidence, you will find yourself completely relaxed when you read the yoga sections. You will feel like you are there on the mat with Kate as she relaxes and breathes through the yoga moves.

Add her best friend, Renee, her husband Sam, and Kate's boyfriend Michael in a one bedroom cabin, the employees at the Retreat resort and the crazy family of the owners and you will forget that you are sitting on your couch all alone.

Weber has a unique talent of pulling you into the story that your own life seems to be on hold, surroundings forgotten and you are right next to Kate trying to clear her name.....yet again.

Check out A Killer Retreat on Amazon.

Kindle eBook Giveaway (1)

Today we are kicking off a regular, weekly giveaway. Each Monday we will be posting a new giveaway to win up to $10 in Kindle eBooks. Want to buy a new release? Or perhaps you're looking to grab a couple of indie mysteries? The choices are endless!

Here's how to enter:

1. Enter with the rafflecopter below.

2. If you don't want to use the rafflecopter you can also leave a comment. We will add the entries together on Friday morning, and draw a winner.

3. The winner will be announced on Friday, just in time for you to get some weekend reading done!

4. The winner can select any ebook/s under $10, any genre.
5. Giveaway is open international. Books will be electronically delivered via Amazon.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Assault & Pepper by Leslie Budewitz

Today we're giving away Assault & Pepper, a new series by Leslie Budewitz. Check out our review here.

GIVEAWAY:

To enter: 

1. Leave a comment below. 

2. Giveaway is open to US only (sorry international folks, but we will have a international giveaway soon!) and ends on March 11, 2015 at midnight EST. 

3. The winner will be posted on the sidebar on Thursday March 12, 2015 and announced on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review: Assault & Pepper by Leslie Budewitz

In Leslie Budewitz's new series, she's spicing up the Seattle scene with a delectable culinary mystery to appeal to all the senses!

After a corporate crash leaves Pepper Reece jobless, she opens up a spice shop, called Seattle Spice Shop. All is going well with her somewhat relationship with local restaurant owner, Alex Howard, and running her store. That is until she finds a dead body on her front step, and the dead person looks to be connected to one of her employees. With her nose to the ground, she's soon trying to catch the scent of a killer, that is if she can stay out of the way of her ex-husband, police officer, Tag Buhner.

I really enjoyed the first book in Leslie Budewitz's debut series, the Food Lovers' Village Mysteries with Death Al Dente, and I was excited to hear that she was also releasing a second series, surrounding a spice store.

Assault and Pepper is certainly a book for all the senses! Right from the first chapter I felt like I could almost smell the delicious scents that must waft in and out of the Seattle Spice Shop. The way the different spices, and recipes, are described I was practically racing to my local stores to try out lots of new spices!! With an atmosphere like this to begin with, the mystery that followed could have only made this debut novel better.

I found it interesting that Pepper starts off with a boyfriend of sorts, especially as in in most cozy mystery debuts we see the sleuth as single and looking for the love of her life. I won't spoil this story line for readers, but I thoroughly enjoyed the direction that Leslie Budewitz takes Pepper, in both her business and her personal life, and I absolutely can't wait to see what kind of adventure she has in store for her next.

The mystery was first class and it kept me guessing until the end. Leslie Budewitz certainly delivers in this new series: a first class mystery, delightful characters and when the mystery is all finished, there are mouth-watering recipes for the reader to try.

Check out Assault & Pepper at Amazon.

Book Review: Lease on the Beach by Jennifer L. Hart

Jackie Parker, with her Damaged Goods Property Management crew, are back for another adventure. Reeling after the near death events in Final Notice, things aren't going smoothly for Jackie and her ex-marines husband, Luke. Especially not with the sexy Logan, Luke's brother and Jackie's one-time fling many years ago. However business is business and together they are off to evict to another dead beat in their jobs as property managers.  What begins with evictions leads to "furries", drug labs and murderers on the loose for the Damaged Goods team.

I simply can't get enough of the Damaged Goods Mysteries. I really enjoyed the first book, Final Notice, and when I finished it I was eager for a second story. I patiently waited for a sequel and I was rewarded with "Lease on the Beach". 

Lease on the Beach was definitely worth the wait. Jennifer L. Hart has created a very intense relationship with Jackie and Luke, throw in the mix the sexy brother, Logan, and there is definitely drama aplenty. Jackie is not the usual airhead running into situations without warning, and I like that she does think about the situations before diving in. She is definitely a amateur sleuth worth following!

Lease on the Beach was full of adventure on every page, and I loved every second of it. This is not a series that you will be bored with, and one that you will get thoroughly addicted to. 

I give Lease on the Beach five sparkling stars (if I could give it a trillion stars I would!) and I am very eager to visit with Jackie and the Parker boys again to find out what is in store for them next.

Purchase Lease on the Beach from Amazon.

Feature & Giveaway: Murder Ties the Knot by Christy Fifield

Christy Fifield is back with a new mystery in her Haunted Souvenir Shop Mysteries.

A Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery from the author of Murder Sends a Postcard--featuring Down-Home Dinner Menus.

It’s winter in Keyhole Bay, Florida, and while the tourist trade is slow, souvenir shop owner Glory Martine is busy with her best friend’s wedding. But between managing preparations, the bride’s in-laws, and a haunted parrot named Bluebeard, Glory makes plans to catch a killer.

As her friends Karen and Riley approach their wedding day, Glory could use a break from the nuptial madness. She takes a peaceful drive to Alabama’s piney woods to pick up the wedding quilt she ordered from a supplier. But the supplier, Beth, has disappeared along with the quilt and her husband, Everett.

Glory learns that two men were found murdered near Beth and Everett’s home and that the couple is wanted for questioning. Believing they are innocent, Glory convinces them to cooperate with authorities. But when they’re thrown in jail, Glory vows to catch the real killer before one happy couple walks down the aisle and another gets sent up the river.

Check out all of Christy Fifield's books at Amazon. 

Check back into our blog later this month as we will be sharing a review for Murder Ties the Knot. In the meantime, we have a chance for one lucky reader to win a copy. 

GIVEAWAY 

To enter: 

1. Leave a comment below. 

2, Giveaway is open to US only (sorry international folks, but we will have a international giveaway soon!) and ends on March 9, 2015 at midnight EST. 

3. The winner will be posted on the sidebar on Monday March 10, 2015 and announced on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Feature & Giveaway: A First Date with Death by Diana Orgain

Diana Orgain has a brand new series, the Love or Money Mysteries, and the first book is A First Date with Death.

Reality TV meets murder in the first in a new mystery series from the author of the Maternal Instincts Mysteries and co-author the New York Times bestselling Scrapbooking Mysteries.

When brokenhearted Georgia Thornton goes looking for romance on reality TV, she has nothing to lose—apart from a good man, a cash prize, and maybe her life…

What was Georgia thinking? Sure, some cad ditched her at the altar, but can she really find love on TV? Her best friend—and producer of the reality show Love or Money—thinks so. Ten men. Ten adventure-filled dates. What can go wrong? For starters, a faulty bungee cord that hurls Georgia’s first date into a tragic spiral off the Golden Gate Bridge.

He’s replaced by Paul Sanders, Georgia’s former fiancé. But the cop isn’t looking for a TV gig. Suspecting that the lover’s leap was no accident, Paul’s going undercover. When another bachelor gets a fatal kiss-off, the reality is that someone has killer new plans for the show—and for Georgia herself. Now, under the threat of permanent cancellation, Georgia fears that the only man on the set she can trust is the one man she just can’t count on…

Check out all of Diana Orgain's books at Amazon.

Check back into our blog later this month as we will be sharing a review for A First Date with Death. In the meantime, we have a chance for one lucky reader to win a copy.

GIVEAWAY

To enter:

1. Leave a comment below.

2, Giveaway is open to US only (sorry international folks, but we will have a international giveaway soon!) and ends on March 8, 2015 at midnight EST.

3. The winner will be posted on the sidebar on Monday March 9, 2015 and announced on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.