Bert and Norah: The Nickel Dime Murders by Bernard Burgess

Murder sets the stage for a mystery woven around the undying love between a husband and wife private investigation team. Set under the wide open skies of the upper Mid-west, the beauty and serenity of this expansive country is in stark contrast to the dark side of humanity being pursued by B and N Investigations. Norah's psychic abilities are combined with Bert's intuitive logic and the nose of their exceptional tracking animal, a coyote-wolf hybrid named Missy. Their combined skills make them unusually gifted at finding missing people. However, unusual circumstances draw them into the wake of a cunning and brutal killer. They begin to realize that they alone possess the unique skills to bring this case to a final and suspenseful conclusion. Don't be surprised if you say, "Wow, I did not see that coming!"   (Summary via Goodreads)

At the end of the summary of The Nickel Dime Murders by Bernard Burgess on Goodreads it states ... Don't be surprised if you say, "Wow, I did not see that coming."  When readers get to the last page that is EXACTLY what they are going to say !!!  I am still in shock !!

I have to be very careful with what I share about this book in my review because I really do not want to indicate anything that will potentially ruin the explosive ending ..... 

The Nickel Dime Murders is the first book in the Bert and Norah Mystery series and I was hooked when I opened the book to start reading it and the first chapter is titled "Missy".... seeing as that is my first name I was excited....yeah, I know what a dork !!!  Anyway Bert and his wife Norah have started a private investigative company with 2 unique qualities.  First is Missy... Missy is a coywolf that Bert rescued when she was a newborn and he took her home and raised and trained her and now she helps track missing people by using her great sense of smell.  The second unique quality is that Norah is a psychic and gets visions that help solve cases.

The Nickel Dime Murders starts a multipy states manhunt for 1 or 2 killers, it is unclear the number involved in the killings.  Bert and Norah are hired to find a woman's parents who have been missing for a couple of weeks and the police aren't taking the case seriously.  There is no evidence of foul play, it just looks like the couple got in their vehicle and drove away but the daughter knows that they would not do that for that long of a time.  Bert and Norah take the case and with Norah's visions and Missy's tracking skills, they locate the couple but unfortunately they are too late and it is obvious that they were murdered.  Bert searches the house and the only thing that he finds odd is that there two dimes and a nickel lined up on a dresser and Norah is having visions of the coins.  When the next case they are hired for is very similar to that case, this leads them down a very strange path.......and with Norah's vision and the use of Missy's tracking skills, it is very difficult to involve the local police.  

I strongly encourage, and cannot stress it enough, to readers to go grab your copy of The Nickel Dime Murders by Bernard Burgess.  This book will blow your mind in so many ways !!!  I cannot wait until I open up the second book in this series to see where the road leads Bert, Norah and Missy....wherever it goes, I plan to be along for the ride.

Review by Missi M.

Priced to Kill (Second Treasures Mysteries #2) by Margaret Evans

Laura Keene’s adventures in Raging Ford, Minnesota, continue as she struggles to pull her life together and find the truth behind the deaths of her parents. In Volume 2 of the Second Treasures Mysteries, “Priced to Kill,” Laura digs into the history of a beautiful hand-made quilt and discovers it may have been an instrument of death in the past. What she uncovers puts lives in danger, and she is faced with how far the killer is willing to go to keep a perfect crime secret.   (Summary via Goodreads)

I fell in love with the Second Treasures Mystery series by Margaret Evans when I read the first book, Twice Sold Murder.  Evans set the stage beautifully providing the reader with a sturdy background on main character Laura Keene, the town she grew up in, why she moved away in high school after her parents murder and her return to town 11 years later....and, of course, how she got involved in a murder case and helped her longtime friend, Sergeant Connor Fitzpatrick.

In Priced to Kill, the second book in the series, we get to witness Laura and Connor take their relationship to the next level.  They want to catch up on the 11 years that they were apart and move forward, however, with Connor's job and Laura's two jobs, there is never any time for the two to even have a cup of coffee together.  Laura is always looking for items to add to her merchandise and now that tax season is here, she is also using her CPA certifications.  And Connor is struggling to run his police department while his boss is always out of town and the force is already running with fewer employees than they require.

With it being winter and the weather is snowy and cold, Laura has added a makeshift fireplace and has arranged quilts around it to entice shoppers to buy them.  While looking over some quilts in the backroom, Isabella the cat that only Laura can see, refuses to let her get too close to one of the quilts.  This leads Laura to look into the history behind the quilt.

Laura has so much on her plate with running 2 businesses, getting reaquainted with her friends and towns people, taking her relationship with Connor to the next level, looking into the history behind her ancestors as well as her parents death, so looking into the mysterious death of the owner of the quilt shouldn't be any big deal.  Unfortunately when she starts to feel sick and her symptoms are the same as the previous owner of the quilt, Laura dives head first into trouble.......unfortunately this time she drags Connor down with her.

Evans provides readers with a great murder to follow as well as giving readers little bits and pieces of the puzzle behind the murder of Laura's parents.  With each new book in the series, we get to know everyone more and more and want to stay longer and longer in Raging Ford, Minnesota.  Personally I'm thinking about moving there........

Review by Missi M.

An Old-Fashioned Drowning: A Hal Johnson Adirondack Mystery by Richard H Nilsen

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The past few years, dozens of intrepid folks (ambulatory but with what I suspect are less than healthy mental faculties) rush into the water in the channel between East and West Caroga Lakes for "the Polar Plunge" on Jan. 1. They do this intentionally and with malice of forethought. I witness this event each year. Each year, even though I have Nordic genes and have been accused of preferring a roll in the snow to lying on a hot beach, I still marvel at the people voluntarily rushing into the ice water with screams of supposed delight and happiness. This particular year, the crazy ice water event connected to something sinister, and that's where it got sad, but interesting. Just the kind of thing they'd call me in on... and that's what they did.  (Summary via Goodreads)

I know that I am not alone when I say that I love reading books by local authors who write about the area that you live in.  Richard H. Nilsen is a local (to me) author and the main character in his Hal Johnson Adirondack Mystery series lives on Caroga Lake which is about 45 minutes from where I live.  Although the area that Nilsen writes about is real, the stories are not.

In An Old-Fashioned Drowning Hal and his girlfriend are enjoying the off season on the house they just had built on Caroga Lake.  Hal works in the mental health field as well as his own private investigative business and they both keep him busy.  It may not be exciting but it keeps Hal busy and out of trouble.....usually.  However when he gets a call to have dinner with a recent widow everything changes.

Janet White who is recently widowed because her husband went through some thin ice on the lake while riding his snowmobile insists that there is no way her husband would be anywhere near water or ice where there is a chance that he could drown.  He was very afraid of drowning.  She would like Hal to look into the death because it was ruled an accident.  Janet is friends with Zoe who is dating "The Don".  Don owns the local "gentlemen's club" and Hal knows him from doing work for him in the past.  It also appears that the deceased, Manuel, worked for Don as a collector of people who owed Don money.

While Hal is looking into Manuel's death, another body is found and even though it also looks as accidental, Hal and Don know otherwise.  Now they just have to prove it......

Hal is limited with what he can do and who he can involve seeing as Don's business and dealings can be questionable as to if they are legal and on the up and up......

An Old-Fashioned Drowning is the third book in the Hal Johnson Adirondack Mystery series and the first one that I have had the pleasure of reading.  I will be looking into Nilsen's other books as this book immediately caught my attention and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the area I live in ....and with a twist of murder and shady businesses it was exceptionally exciting !!!

Review by Missi M.

The Key Lime Crime (Key West Food Critic Mystery #10) by Lucy Burdette

National bestselling author Lucy Burdette's tenth Key West Food Critic mystery is piping hot with pie-enthusiasts and murder suspects.

When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef's murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied.

During the week between Christmas and New Year's, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn't help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it.

Meanwhile, Hayley's home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley's new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan's crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island's holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim--Au Citron Vert's controversial new pastry chef--was a frontrunner in Sloan's contest.

It's bad enough that Hayley's too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer's kitchen?   (Summary via Goodreads)

The Key Lime Crime is the tenth book in the Key West Food Critic Mystery series by Lucy Burdette and, boy, is it going to whisk you away on a great adventure and you don't even have to leave your living room.

The Key Lime Crime has a very strong main character in Hayley Snow.  Hayley lives in Key West, Florida on a house boat with her good friend Miss Gloria, her new husband, 2 cats and one dog..... Hayley's new husband, not Miss Gloria's.  And Hayley's husband Nathan is a police detective and this is the week between Christmas and New Year's and Key West is going to be busy with tourists flocking to their streets to party !!  And Hayley who works for a food magazine, Key Zest, as a food critic will be following a pie-baking contest where the contestants will be showcasing thier version of the best key lime pie.  So both Hayely and Nathan are going to be very busy during this week, her with the contest, Nathan with working to keep the streets and people safe....so to say they both have a full plate about sizes it up....so let's throw Nathan's mother coming to town to visit. into the mix  This, of course, puts a lot of pressure on Hayley seeing as Mrs. Bransford didn't come to the wedding !!!

Luckily Hayley and Nathan are still living with Miss Gloria since their houseboat is still being renovated so Nathan's mom cannot stay with them.  Also luckily Hayley's mother and step-father offer their guest room for her.  Unfortunately before Mrs. Bransford can unpack and get settled, Hayley and Miss Gloria take her on a tour of holiday decorations.....where they come across a dead body on a porch !!!

Adding a murder to the already chaotic week ahead for Hayley and Nathan is nothing they cannot handle....they have been through a lot already but now they have Nathan's mother to worry about.  

Burdette will have readers getting papercuts from turning the pages so quickly.  Adding Nathan's mother to story was an awesome twist and Burdette knows how to weave the story through so many mazes, twists and turns that you will get dizzy.....but it will be a good dizzy !!!  The atmosphere that is created will blow reader's minds and if you don't have a craving for key lime pie after reading this latest book, I'd be very surprised !!  

I love how the story has developed through this series and love the way that it is going.  I am looking forward to seeing where the road leads Hayley, Nathan and Miss Gloria....because you know even though Hayley and Nathan are newlyweds, Miss Gloria will be right there in the middle of them and things !!!

Review by Missi M.

15 Minutes of Flame (Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery #3) by Christin Brecher

As Stella Wright's Nantucket candle store thrives, her knack for solving mysteries burns equally bright--especially when a Halloween haunted house uncovers evidence of a centuries-old murder . . . 

When Stella's friend inherits a creaky, abandoned home in Nantucket, she knows it's the perfect setting for the town's annual Halloween fundraiser. A deserted, boarded-up building on the property--once used as a candle-making shop--adds to the creepy ambiance. But as Stella explores the shack's dilapidated walls, she discovers a terrible secret: the skeleton of a Quaker woman, wrapped in blood-soaked clothing and hidden deep within a stone hearth . . .

While police investigate, Stella wastes no time asking for help from friends with long ties to Nantucket's intricate history. The key to the murder may lie within a scorching 18th century love triangle that pit two best friends against one another over a dubious man. But before the case is solved, another life will be claimed--leaving Stella to wonder who in Nantucket is friend, and who is foe . . .

Praise for Murder's No Votive Confidence

"A charming mystery with believable, likeable characters. Check it out."
--Suspense Magazine    (Summary via Goodreads)

The Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series by Christin Brecher is such a fun read !!  The main character, Stella Wright, is a candle maker and has such a strong sense of smell that it helps her when she gets into tough places.  

15 Minutes of Flame, the third book in this series, really tests Stella when she gets permission to use a friend's empty house to use as a haunted house for the Girl Scouts to raise money and in a boarded up shack in the back she finds a skeleton hidden in the wall...... oh the smells that are there !!  

When Stella goes to research the skeleton she finds out that one of the ladies that is in her candle making class, Agnes, is a distant relative to the skeleton, Patience Cooper.  After further digging they find out that Patience was murdered and her best friend Nancy committed suicide after some cash went missing and Patience and her husband disappeared.  Nancy committed suicide by jumping down into a well that her family has left alone and consider it her burial site.  In order to solve Patience's murder and be sure that Nancy did indeed jump down into the well, local police, Andy, invites 2 forensic anthropologists to come to Nantucket to go down the well.  And the owner of the property where the well is located calls in a filmmaker who specializes in this kind of story......

Stella will do anything to solve a murder.....even move into the abandoned house where the first skeleton was found.  Even though she is a candle maker and has to put that first and foremost, she cannot help but want to make her town as safe as possible.

Readers will love this unique way that Stella is able to use her craft for more than making tantalizing smelling candles....and her town and friends don't hurt the appeal !!!  I highly recommend getting lost in this series and maybe light your favorite candle while you get lost in Nantucket with Stella......

Review by Missi M.

Thread and Dead: The Apron Shop Series (Apron Shop #2) by Elizabeth Penney

Tragedy strikes in Thread and Dead, the second book in Elizabeth Penney's cozy mystery series—and now everyone in Blueberry Cove, Maine, is on pins and needles. . .

Iris Buckley is busier than ever this July, with the town’s annual Lobster Festival fast approaching. In just a matter of days her apron shop Ruffles & Bows, will be jam-packed with tourists eager to lay eyes on its world-class collection of aprons and linens—and Iris’s inventory is running low. Then, just when all hope seems lost, Iris gets a call from Eleanor Brady, a wealthy, reclusive spinster who just happens to have trunks full of vintage fabrics. Would Iris like to come down to Eleanor’s cottage estate Shorehaven and have a look? 

Before long Iris is on the scene—and on the case. Turns out that Eleanor has rented Shorehaven to the handsome, charismatic environmentalist Dr. Lukas de Wilde and his flock of students. What begins as an apron-scouting endeavor soon morphs into a full-blown murder investigation when Dr. de Wilde’s beautiful young teaching assistant turns up dead. Now it’s up to Iris—along with her partner-in-love-and-crime Ian Stewart—to unravel the mystery before the Blueberry Cove killer strikes again.


Praise for The Apron Shop series

“Quirky-meets-fun.”—Woman's World on Hems & Homicide

“Penney knows the recipe for delivering just what cozy readers are looking for.” —Reviewing the Evidence    (Summary via Goodreads)



I would love to live in Blueberry Cove in Maine but it would have to be exactly like it is in the Apron Shop Mystery series by Elizabeth Penney.  I would want to hang out with Iris Buckley and her group of girlfriends and work either with Iris and her grandmother in the Apron Shop or at the Belgian Bean with Sophie.  And I would totally want to have a cool boyfriend like they do.....or their friend Madison.

In Thread and Dead, the second book in the Apron Shop Mystery series, Blueberry Cove is gearing up for the week long lobster festival so everyone is busy !!  And Iris is extra busy.  She co-owns the Apron Shop with her grandmother and gets a phone call from the owner of Shorehaven Cottage looking to sell some vintage linens and other items.  While at Shorehaven Cottage she meets Dr. Lukas de Wilde who is staying there for business.  Little do they know how exciting the week is going to be and they are going to get to know each other quite well. 

Dr. de Wilde is staying at Shorehaven Cottage with a group of colleagues who are working on a project called Farming the Sea which is about farming sea animals and plants.....mainly seaweed.  Unfortunately when Iris, Madison and Ian (Iris' boyfriend) are out rock climbing the morning after the The Taste O'the Sea reception, the start of the lobster festival celebration, Iris sees one of the members of the project laying on a rock ledge dead.  When it is ruled a homicide Iris, Grammie and the girls decide to do their own investigating.

Along with running the store, looking into the homicide, and hanging with her friends, Iris is also looking into the background of Eleanor, the owner of Shorehaven Cottage, her parents and some vintage clothing and jewels.

Even though the two things have nothing to do with each Iris id determined to find answers for both situations......

I loved getting lost in Thread and Dead.  There is never a dull moment and even when Iris and her grandmother are hosting a girl's night, it is a good time !!!   And readers will love the determination Iris has when she wants answers.  And the girl has NO fear !!   Readers will be drawn to Blueberry Cove and will not want to leave.  Readers will love the town, the people and the relationships among the people....especially Iris and her group.  A part of me was left in Blueberry Cove and I intend to visit whenever Penney publishes a new book in this series.



Review by Missi M.

20 Questions with Authors : Gary Corbin

Gary Corbin is a novelist, playwright and editor.  His books are mainly thrillers and some of them you can get the audio version and he may actually be the person reading the story to you......how cool !!!

Here is a list of his books....

The Lying Injustice Thriller series has 2 books (so far)

Lying in Judgement

Lying in Vengeance

The Mountain Man Mystery series has 3 books (so far) 

The Mountain Man's Dog

The Mountain Man's Bride

The Mountain Man's Badge

The Valorie Dawes Thriller series has 3 books (so far)

In Search of Valor

A Woman of Valor

A Better Part of Valor

And he also wrote Write Better Right Now

Now let's get to know his personally.....

 

1.  What is your favorite color ?   The blue of my girlfriend’s eyes. And purple.

 

2.  Sunset or sunrise ?  Sunset. That means I can have wine!

 

3.  Coffee, tea or soda ?  Coffee. I roast my own and it makes rising in the morning a pleasure.

 

4.  What is your favorite movie ?  Whatever I get to see once the pandemic ends!

 

5.  What are your favorite toppings on pizza ?  Feta cheese, spinach, red onion, and sun-dried tomatoes. Red sauce, of course!

 

6.  Cake or pie? What is your favorite ?  Nothing beats warm apple pie and ice cream.

 

7.  Favorite author (besides yourself) ?  Toughest question of all! I’m going to go with John Irving. I might pick someone different tomorrow.

 

8.  Horror movie or chick flick ?  Ugh. Neither.

 

9.  Cat or dog person? Do you have any? If so, what and names please....  Dog! We have a pretty one-year-old Golden Retriever named Penelope, who believes she rules the universe. (She’s not far off.)

 

10.  Ideal vacation ?  Eating my way across Italy and Greece.

 

11.  Camping or 5 star hotel ?   Hotel. I hate being cold.

 

12.  Favorite season and why ?  Autumn. Love the changing leaves, the brisk breezes on sunny afternoons, harvesting from the garden…and football!

 

13.  Name ONE thing you are afraid of .....  Dying alone.

 

14.  Name ONE thing you cannot live without....  Pizza.

 

15.  What was your favorite subject in school ?  History.

16.  What was your least favorite subject in school ?  Trigonometry. I never quite understood it, or even why we have it.

 

17.  What movie have you seen more than once ?  It’s a Wonderful Life. We watch it every Christmas.

 

18.  What is your guilty pleasure?  (Can't be an answer already given...)  Dairy Queen’s hot fudge brownie with ice cream. So bad, but so good.

 

19.  Who is your celebrity crush ?  Jennifer Lawrence has charmed me in every role she’s ever played.

 

20.  Tell us something we don't know that you would like people to know about you ......  I came from a family of nine kids. We grew up in a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house. This is probably why I absolutely crave privacy…I never had it growing up.

To get to know Gary and his books, go to :  http://garycorbinwriting.com/