Book Review: Death in Perspective by Larissa Reinhart

Since Larissa Reinhart introduced the world to Cherry Tucker in Portrait of a Dead Guy she has been tantalizing and enthralling readers with this sweet and sassy heroine. Her latest installment is no different. Cherry is back and ready to take on the world, by solving a mystery and keep her own love life out of trouble!

I’ve enjoyed watching Cherry not just solve mysteries, but the interactions in her personal life as well, both with Deputy Luke and also the ups and downs of each of their families. With Cherry’s brother missing there is sure a lot going on with Cherry’s family and I glued to each page wondering how it would all play out.

I always enjoy the mystery elements of the Cherry Tucker mysteries. As someone that reads a lot of mysteries I find it easy to solve my fair share of mysteries. However Larissa Reinhart has me stumped every time!! In the case of this one I liked the realism Larissa Reinhart adds with the real world elements of cyber bullying and suicide. While this is a fictional story readers will recognize elements of life that we hear about on the news, far too often.

Death in Perspective is another thrilling adventure in this series and I’m sure, like myself, readers will fall in love with Cherry Tucker all over again, reminding us all why she is one of our favourite sleuths!

Check out Death in Perspective by Larissa Reinhart on Amazon.

Book Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile is a short story featuring Parker Pyne. Parker is on holidays and even though his holiday has been previously interrupted by clients, he's hoping that it won't be interrupted even further. However the other occupants on his cruise have other ideas. One Lady Grayle asks him to find out if she is being slowly poisoned by her husband. He sets out to investigate but before he can uncover the truth Lady Grayle ends up dead.

I find the title of this short story amusing because Agatha Christie has a full length novel under the same title. The full-length Death on the Nile is of course widely popular, having been made into several movies, featuring Hercule Poirot. This short story was unknown to me until I picked it up. The short story was published three years before the novel. I do wonder if perhaps the short story was inspiration for the novel.

In any case it was a good, little story. Parker Pyne doesn't usually solve murders, so it was interesting watching him try his hand at this one. With limited suspects and evidence aplenty, Parker managed to solve it in time.

Another good Parker Pyne mystery.

Check out Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie at Amazon.

Audiobook Review: Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance by M.C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin, amateur sleuth extraordinaire, has decided to start up her own detective agency. At first things are slow going with lost cats. However soon she hires her new neighbour, Emma Comfrey, as her secretary and her friend, Sir Charles, refers a case to her. A Mrs Laggart-Brown wants her to investigate the death threats her daughter has received. As Agatha and her detectives investigate they discover a tangle of relationships and murder, as they try to get to the bottom of it.

I’m smitten with Agatha Raisin. She’s sassy, funny and I love that she is now a detective – officially! Cozy mystery series with their amateur detectives poking their nose into things can sometimes get very long-winded, so it’s refreshing to see a series that has gone from amateur to official detective and thus gives Agatha a reason to poke her nose into things!!

I enjoyed the mystery a lot, but perhaps what I enjoyed more was Sir Charles Fraith being around, and James Lacey not. James Lacey is Agatha’s ex-husband, who went off to be a monk and then disappeared. He’s barely even mentioned in Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance and as I’m firmly on Team Charles I was completely fine with this! I have a feeling that M.C. Beaton will be making him pop up sooner or later though.

Penelope Keith is the voice of Agatha Raisin for me. I really enjoyed Penelope’s acting career, being such a big fan of british tv, and I’m glad she’s voicing these audiobooks. I love the voices she provides, especially the caring tones she puts in her voice for Mrs Bloxby, who is perhaps Agatha’s greatest friend. I hope Penelope Keith continues to provide the voice for these audiobooks for many years to come, because both Penelope and Agatha herself are the reason I keep coming back to listen to more.

Purchase Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance by M.C. Beaton at Audible, Amazon.

Book Review: Organized for Murder by Ritter Ames

Kate McKenzie is a organizing expert. With 6-year-old twin girls and her ex-goalie and now sports anchor husband, she has plenty of time to put her organization skills to good use. Now she is starting a new business helping others organize. Her latest client requires her to organize and inventory her late husband’s many collections. All is going well until her client ends up dead, poisoned to death. With all the heirs pointing their fingers at her, Kate and her friend, Meg, must try and clear her name.

I related to this book so much. I’m a mom to twin boys and a hockey-loving sports fan. It certainly was right up my alley from the start. Add in the organizational tips and the suspenseful mystery and I was completely sold on my first Ritter Ames mystery.

I liked how competent Kate is. Some air-head sleuth, who blindly stumbles through a murder she is not. I like how she was constantly writing lists to keep herself organized and enable her to solve the mystery. At her side was her new friend, Meg. With the history of snarky hockey wives she’s not used to having a lot of friends, and it was enjoyable to see her friendship with Meg blossom and grow. I’m definitely looking forward to watching these two solve another mystery together.

Organized for Murder is a very enjoyable first in a new series. Ritter Ames really hit it out the park with this debut, and with her organizational tips included (throughout the book and at the end), I know this is one book I will be hanging onto. Not just for a re-read, but also to refer to the organizational tips. If you haven’t discovered this series yet, I highly recommend picking it up.

Check out Organized for Murder by Ritter Ames at Amazon.

Book Review: The Pearl of Price by Agatha Christie

The Pearl of Price is a short story featuring Parker Pyne. Parker is on holidays and the last thing he expects is to get involved in a mystery. However this is exactly what happens when one of the tourist’s pearl earring goes missing and she asks him to solve the mystery.

Given her background in archaeology a lot of Agatha Christie’s stories featured digs, tombs or tourists visiting such places. This is another one in this setting. I haven’t got bored with this setting, so I was glad to another story featuring this. This time it is Parker Pyne visiting and getting involved in a mystery with a wealthy tourist.

I easily picked up the clues and solved this one before Parker. From my experience with the short stories they are a lot easier to solve than the full-length novels, which I rarely am able to solve. There is no murder, as Parker Pyne is more about “finding things” and “making people happy” then a actual murder investigation. It was a fun mystery though and I plan to read more mysteries featuring Parker Pyne.

Check out The Pearl of Price by Agatha Christie at Amazon.

Audiobook Review: Tarnished & Torn by Juliet Blackwell

Lily Ivory is a witch and owner of a vintage store called Aunt Cora’s Closet. In her time in San Francisco she’s gotten into plenty of trouble. However trouble is heading her way like never before. This time in the form of her father and what could likely be a fire demon!! It all starts innocently enough when she goes to a fair and meets a German lady selling antique jewellery. She’s interested in what she has to offer and suspects that she might also be a witch. Her suspicions are confirmed when the lady turns up dead, pressed between wood with cinder blocks on top. The “pressing” is a old form of torture against witches, which Lily has only heard of. Due to the nature of her death, Detective Carlos calls on Lily to help out and this starts one adventure that Lily nor her friends will forget in a hurry.

I fell in love with this series when I first read Secondhand Spirits. I love Lily as she not just tries to solve mysteries, but also learns what it is like to live in San Francisco and have friends nearby. She was shunned from her own mother and her hometown for being a witch. However her life in San Francisco is pretty great… well except for the murders and the fact that her one-time lover, Sailor, has disappeared.

What I love the most about Tarnished and Torn and this series as a whole, is it is never dull and boring. There is always a lot happening but Juliet Blackwell doesn’t leave readers lost and unable to connect the dots. It is more than just a cozy mystery, with the paranormal elements and more-than-meets-the-eye characters. In Tarnished and Torn we finally meet Lily’s father, who abandoned her as a baby. We discover more about their relationship (or lack there of) and perhaps more about how Aidan feels about Lily. Fans of this series will definitely enjoy some of the sub-plots that have continued on from the previous books.

For me, Xe Sands is the voice of this series. Her portrayal of the characters is beyond amazing. I particularly love the depth she gives to Lily’s familiar, Oscar. Oscar is part gargoyle, part goblin and appears a pot-bellied pig. His suggestion on how to solve the case was to hire Miss Marple, and is aghast to find out that she doesn’t exist and is made up! This scene alone had my laughing until I cried!! After having experienced the previous books as audiobooks I know I will definitely be continuing on with the series in audiobook format only. I wouldn’t hesitate recommend this series to mystery fans and also paranormal fans. It’s not one to be missed!

Check out Tarnished & Torn by Juliet Blackwell on Audible, Amazon.

Listen to a Sample of Tarnished & Torn by Juliet Blackwell, narrated by Xe Sands:

Book Review: Drizzled with Death by Jessie Crockett

Welcome to Sugar Grove, New Hampshire. Dani Greene is a fourth-generation maple syrup maker. Her family has always made maple syrup and she’s trying to take the family business even further – with not just maple syrup, but organic maple syrup and other products. Her grand plans are disrupted when at a pancake breakfast, Alanza Speedwell falls dead in her pancakes. When Dani learns that the syrup, supplied by her farm, was poisoned, suspicion falls onto her family. With her ex-boyfriend investigating the case, Dani is determined to clear her family’s name.

Being an Australian-Canadian I love maple syrup. In Canada, we put it on everything! A cozy mystery series featuring maple syrup… well I’m all over that!!! I lapped up Drizzled with Death like a tall stack flowing with syrup! It was sweet, enjoyable and I loved every minute of it.

Dani Greene is the youngest, and her older brother and sister sure don’t think she has it in her to grow the family business, and she’s determined to prove them wrong! Even if it means finding a killer first! I love her dogged determined attitude and how quirky she is!! She certainly gets into some funny situations…. including wrestling camels, cassowaries and kangaroos!!

The mystery was well put together and had my inner amateur sleuth working overtime, trying to solve it before Dani. I was in suspense, right up until the end, while I watched the mystery unravel before me.

I’m really looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Maple Mayhem. Dani and her family were a hoot and I can’t wait to see what trouble Dani is going to get into next!

Check out Drizzled with Death by Jessie Crockett on Amazon.