Fatal Break (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries #15) by Beth Prentice

Samantha Reynolds' life in Aloha Lagoon feels like it's finally smooth sailing. She’s settled into her job as the resorts' surf instructor for children, things are looking good with her boyfriend Casey, and she has an amazing BFF in the local surf shop owner, Alani.

But when a storm hits Aloha Lagoon, Alani’s past comes back to haunt her, and Sam finds her bestie standing over the dead body of her wayward ex-boyfriend. While Sam knows Alani is innocent, the local
police aren't so easily convinced, and Sam realizes it's up to her to clear Alani's name and find the real killer before her friend ends up behind bars. Why was Alani's ex back in town? What was he doing in Alani’s shop after hours? And who is the mysterious raven-haired woman in his life and what does she have to do with it all? Sam is determined to find out...only can she do it before the real killer catches her? Or will Sam’s time in Aloha Lagoon come to a sticky end?   (Summary via Goodreads)

The Aloha Lagoon Mysteries:
Ukulele Murder (book #1)
Murder on the Aloha Express (book #2)
Deadly Wipeout (book #3)
Deadly Bubbles in the Wine (book #4)
Mele Kalikimaka Murder (book #5)
Death of the Big Kahuna (book #6)
Ukulele Deadly (book #7)
Bikinis Bloodshed (book #8)
Death of the Kona Man (book #9)
Lethal Tide (book #10)
Beachboy Murder (book #11)
Handbags & Homicide (book #12)
Tiaras & Terror (book #13)
Photo Finished(book #14)
Fatal Break (book #15)

About Aloha Lagoon:

There's trouble in paradise...
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!

I LOVE any time I can escape into the Aloha Lagoon Mystery series published by Gemma Halliday Publishing.  This series is unique in that the books are written by several different authors but they all focus on the Aloha Lagoon Resort which is located on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.  The books center around the resort but focus on different employees or friends and always have a murder that needs to be solved....sooner than later !!!

Fatal Break by Beth Prentice is the fifteenth book in this series and this is the third book that Prentice has written for the series so hopefully you are already familiar with Sam, her twin brother Luke and their friends.  If not, that's okay because once you start reading Fatal Break, you will become a fan instantly.

Sam lives with her twin brother, Luke, and their mother on the island.  Sam has her dream job at the resort teaching surfing lessons to children.  Luke works at The Lava Pot where he is the head cook and Sam's boyfriend, Casey, is the sexiest bartender around !!  Sam's best friend Alani whose family owns a surf shop is also Luke's girlfriend.

One night while hanging out at The Lava Pot Alani gets a shock...someone is there looking for her ex-boyfriend.  Her ex-boyfriend, Nathan, had conned her and her family out of a lot of money saying that he planned to take Alani on a dream vacation.  Unfortunately he took the money and left the island.  When Alani found out he might be back, all she can think about is the money he stole from her family and wanting to get it back.  But when Sam finds Alani standing over his body holding a paddle in her surf shop, it is clear that her family will not be getting any money from him.  And when Alani is arrested for his murder, everyone has bigger worries to take care of.

Sam will do anything for her family and friends and tracking down a murderer is top of the list in Fatal Break.  Finding out why Nathan returned to the island may be difficult to uncover with him dead but when they find out that Alani wasn't the only woman on the island that he conned out of money, the list of suspects grows.  Also Alani's old best friend, Abigail, also shows back up on the island at the same time as Nathan and Sam cannot help but wonder if there is more to the story.

Sam knows that Detective Ray Kahoalani is always on "island time" and she wishes that she could be on it also but with Alani arrested for a murder that she knows she didn't commit, she needs to step it up and solve the case......sadly the suspect list gets longer and longer as she looks into Nathan's past.....

Readers will fall in love with this series instantly and no matter what book you pick up and start, you will be adding the rest on your to be read list.  Any time that you can escape to the Aloha Lagoon Resort and the island, you will do it....and the best part is that you don't have to pack a suitcase.  You can stay in your pj's if you wish....so grab a snack and a drink and sit back and get on island time.....

Review by Missi M.

A Death Long Overdue: A Lighthouse Library Mystery (Lighthouse Library Mystery #7) by Eva Gates

When her former director is found dead in the water, librarian Lucy Richardson will have to get to the bottom of the mystery before the killer ends her tale. 

It's summertime in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Bertie James's college class is having their 40th anniversary reunion. The opening night reception is held at the Lighthouse Library and Lucy and her colleagues have assembled an exhibit of library artifacts showing how libraries have changed over the years. After the reception, some of the women take a walk down the boardwalk to the pier, using flashlights to illuminate the dark path, but what's scarier than the dark is finding the former director of the Lighthouse Library floating lifeless in the water.

Helena Sanchez, the former director, wasn't much loved and spent the party being rude to almost everyone there. As a result, Lucy finds herself in deep water as she rocks the boat, questioning several suspects. But she'll have to batten down the hatches and fast before she's left high and dry...and right in the killer's crosshairs.  (Summary via Goodreads)

A Death Long Overdue by Eva Gates is the seventh book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series and after reading any of the books in this series, you will want to live in a lighthouse. 

Main character Lucy Richardson is lucky in that she lives on the top floor of a lighthouse and she works in the library that is on the three lower levels in the lighthouse.  She lives in Nags Head in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where her aunt and uncle and cousin live and where she spent her summers when she was younger.  She is also dating the Mayor of Nags Head and she takes care of the library cat, Charles.....and she somehow gets in the middle of murder cases in the area and helps the police solve them.

In A Death Long Overdue Lucy and her co-workers are getting the library ready for a fortieth reunion of the first day of undergrad studies for their boss, Bertie, and her classmates.  They have planned an entire weekend of events with it kicking off at the lighthouse library with drinks and snacks and they are unveiling a display of items showing the history of libraries.  Besides members of her undergrad class Bertie decided to invite Helena who was the library director before she took it over and who she found out was going to be in the area during the weekend.  Unfortunately after some of the group decided to take a walk through the marsh and down the boardwalk by the library at the end of the welcome event, Helena, ends up floating in the water.  It is soon concluded that she was murdered but who would have killed her ? No one really knew her and those that did hadn't seen her in years.....

No matter how much Lucy protests she ends up getting involved in the investigation.  And when an old book that was taken out of circulation years ago but Lucy brought back to the library to show the old way of keeping track of who took the book out and when, ends up missing, a cold case is brought into the mix.  It seems that years ago an expensive necklace was stolen from a house during a wild party and the person rumored to have stolen it, also took out this book around the same time and when Helena looked at the book during the party she showed emotion when she read his name..... this leads Lucy to look into that case as well as try to find out who killed Helena.  Could the two cases somehow be connected ??  Well if they are, readers know that Lucy will be able to figure it all out !!!

The Lighthouse Library Mystery series will give you goosebumps !!!  In this seventh book readers will experience good and spooky goosebumps !!  If you are a fan of this series, I don't have to say much to convince you to continue reading it.  However if you haven't read any of the books in this series, I highly encourage you to start !!  Once you open a book in this series, Gates will open your imagination and you will feel like you are right there in the lighthouse...... you will develop a clear picture of what it all looks like .....just don't read the Author's Note in the back where she admits that the real Bodie Island Lighthouse isn't big enough to house everything she writes about......let the image in your mind stay the way you imagined !!!

Review by Missi M.

Fire, Fog and Water (Sgt. Windflower Mysteries #8) by Mike Martin

 Sergeant Winston Windflower and his trusty crew at the Grand Bank detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have more than a few mysteries on their hands. Windflower suspects that the three cases—a homicide, a near-homicide and a fire on Coronation Street—are somehow connected, but how is proving difficult to determine, especially now that he must battle his unusually cranky mood, the never-ending winter that has gripped the coastal region of Newfoundland and his new, power-hungry boss.

In Fire, Fog and Water, award-winning author Mike Martin is true to form, retaining the light crime genre for which he is known while delving into the most perplexing social issues of our time, including mental health, addictions and workplace harassment. Windflower must not only solve the drug-and-death crimes that threaten the otherwise tranquil lives of Grand Bank’s residents, he must resolve his own internal conflicts before they consume him as surely as the blaze that engulfed the house on Coronation Street.  (Summary via Goodreads)

The only thing you won't like about the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries is the weather.....but that's okay, the characters in the book don't like it very much either.

I have had the pleasure of reading all the books in this series and I can honestly say that I am a HUGE fan of the series and author Mike Martin.  Now when I open one of the books, it's more than just reading a books, it's taking a vacation and visiting with family and friends.... and with every new book in the series you grow with them.

In Fire, Fog and Water, the eighth book in this series, not only does Sgt. Winston Windflower have a lot on his plate at work but his Corporal and good friend, Edward Tizzard is dealing with a lot of things as well.  Windflower and Tizzard have both grown a lot throughout this series but in Fire, Fog and Water, their inner strength will be tested to the limit.

As with the other books in this series, Windflower has a lot going on with work...being in charge of the Grand Bank detachment of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) is a job he takes very seriously.  Keeping his town and people safe is what he lives for.  However, his wife, Sheila and their daughter, Amelia Louise, is what he breathes for.

In Fire, Fog and Water while out for a run on a trail with his dog Lady, Windflower stumbles, falls and lands next to a rolled up carpet with a dead body in it.  This will take him and his employees down a twisted road involving drugs, more death, fire and bad decisions.  All of this is nothing that Windflower and his detachment cannot handle but when a huge problem develops within the RCMP involving Tizzard and his fiance Carrie Evanchuk, this may be the straw that breaks the camels back !!!

I have probably said this before but it rings true with every book I read in this series but I can sit and read about Windflower shuffling paperwork around at work and going home to his wife, daughter and pets and having dinner and walking around town.  I don't need all the excitement that the RCMP brings to the table.....don't get me wrong, I'm not going to turn away when reading about it.  It's just that the way Martin writes allowing your mind to open, you can see everything clearer than some of Windflowers dreams.  And the picture you see is one you will want to hold on to as long as you can.......

Review by Missi M.

A Caterer's Guide to Love and Murder by Jessica Thompson

 

A wedding caterer, a florist…and a dash of poison.

“Wow, this dough is sexy!”

As their wedded bliss starts to show signs of serious strain, Violet and her new husband, Jake, put their feelings aside to focus on catering a wedding that could make or break her career.

When murder ruins the rehearsal dinner, and her sister, Greta, the florist, becomes the prime suspect, Violet risks everything to clear her – and still deliver the beautiful wedding her new friend deserves.

But will she be in time before the killer dishes out seconds?

A Caterer’s Guide to Love & Murder takes you on a culinary journey you won’t forget!  (Summary via Goodreads)

I couldn't put A Caterer's Guide to Love and Murder by Jessica Thompson down !!  You start reading and you're getting to know main character Violet and her husband Jake while they are preparing food in their studio apartment for an upcoming weekend long wedding event.  Violet is working on making a name for herself with her catering business and this job can put her name on the right lists.  Her sister, Greta, is also working the wedding by providing all the flowers through her floral business.  Both sisters have a lot riding on this event and the death of a family member during the rehearsal dinner party doesn't fit into those plans.

With Jake being a military-themed mystery writer and his best friend, "Don" newly promoted to detective, it just makes sense that Violet act as a spy during the rest of the scheduled weekend celebrations.  Little does she know that she has her work cut out for her.  She will do whatever it takes especially when her sister gets arrested for the murder.  Violet knows that her sister would not kill anyone and she vows to find the killer.  

A Caterer's Guide to Love and Murder has a great main character in Violet, her OCD with neatness and her quirkiness with messes and cleaning up will amuse readers as she struggles to catch a murderer.  Readers will get lost in the story immediately and will not want to stop reading until you know who the killer is....and you will be shocked when you realize that they were right there under Violet's nose all along !!!

I look forward to where Thompson takes this series.  She has set the stage beautifully with so many possibilities on where things will go for Violet, Jake and even Don and I'm sure Violet's catering business is going to blossom after this wedding experience !!!

Review by Missi M.

  

Cotton Candy Killer by Mary Holt

 Only Raven knows her missing and estranged husband is, in fact, dead. She knows because she killed him. Another murdered body has landed at her feet, and she must uncover the killer before the police investigation stumbles across her crime. Raven cannot allow her significant disability to interfere but must use it to her advantage before her prey turns the tables.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Cotton Candy Killer by Mary Holt is the second book in the Raven series.  In the first book in this series, Reclaiming Raven, the only way Raven can get out of an abusive marriage is by killing her husband Cole.  Unfortunately Cole's death will continue to follow and haunt Raven.

Raven is handicapped, partially paralyzed, and her friend, Kelsey, who was hit by a car driven by Cole will never be the same.  They are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives in Cotton Candy Killer and move forward in life.  Raven has a service dog Millie that helps her move around, she lives with Isaac, a gay ex-police officer, and she is friends with Lydia, Isaac's sister.  Raven use to work at the funeral home for Lydia but seeing as that is the place she fought for her life against Cole and killed him there, she does not want to ever step foot in there again.  

In Cotton Candy Killer Raven works for Kelsey who is a social worker.  Kelsey has Raven doing a lot of different sensitivity training exercises so that she can better understand life and those around her.  Raven does not like doing any of them and you will see these throughout the story.  Kelsey also claims to be a pet psychic and has conversations with Millie and has a house full of animal spirits.

While visiting with Kelsey at her office a waterlogged woman comes in looking for help.  She says she was on the ferry and was pushed off and she needs protection.  After finding out the woman's name, Kelsey doesn't know if they are capable of helping the woman.  The woman is the widow of a very powerful and important judge and her daughter is following in his footsteps.  Kelsey and Raven try to encourage her to seek legal help but she fears that whoever tried to kill her did so because her daughter told them to do it.

When Raven goes to work at the Georgetown Information Center to finish getting things ready for the summer festival, her and Millie find a dead body stuck in the cotton candy machine.  She is unable to see who it is because the head is covered in cotton candy but after the police show up and identify her, it turns out to be Eileen Edgewater, the woman looking for help at Kelsey's office.

To make matters worse, the detective assigned to previous situations involving Raven and her husband, is on this case and won't let up on Raven thinking she was the one who killed Eileen.  Then Raven loses her job which lands her working for Kelsey.

When Eileen's best friend Beth comes to her looking for her help as well, Raven cannot turn her away fearing for her life.  This will lead Raven and Millie down a dangerous road and she is going to take everyone on the ride with her.....

Cotton Candy Killer is a non-stop joy ride.  Readers will be on the edge of their seats at times and a few pages later they will find themselves laughing out loud at some of the sensitivity training antics that Raven has to go through.  And when readers get to a certain part of the book, they will be powerless to stop reading..... Holt will have taken that ability away from you.  So grab a snack and a drink, your comfy blanket and settle back on your couch and get ready for a nail biting, can't stop reading tale......

Review by Missi M.

 

Hanging Falls (Timber Creek K-9 Mystery #6) by Margaret Mizushima

 

Murder stalks the rugged Colorado high country--and sends Mattie Cobb on a quest to uncover the darkest secrets from her past in the sixth gripping installment of Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 mysteries

A deluge has flooded the high ground near Hanging Falls--but heavy rains aren't the only menace descending on Timber Creek. While on a scouting mission to pinpoint trail damage, officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo stumble upon a body floating at the edge of a lake. Robo catches human scent, which leads to an enigmatic forest-dweller who quickly becomes suspect number one.

With help from veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie identifies the victim, and discovers an odd religious cult whose dress and manners harken back to the 19th century. As the list of suspects grows, an unexpected visit from members of Mattie's long-lost family sheds new light on her childhood as they help Mattie piece together details of the fateful night when she was abducted at age two.

The tangled threads of the investigation and family dynamics begin to intertwine--but darkness threatens to claim a new victim before Mattie and Robo can track down the killers.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Captivating is too basic a word to describe Hanging Falls by Margaret Mizushima.  Hanging Falls is the sixth book in her Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series and it is so mezmerizing !!  Readers will find it hard to put it down as it will fascinate and lure you in !!!

Even though this is only the second book in this series that I have read I am still a huge fan !!  There is so much going on in this series that readers may think that they will be lost however Mizushima has a way with words and she gets readers up to date and caught up in the story by the time you've read the first chapter.

Readers will fall in love with main character Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, immediately.  Mattie is a Deputy in Timber Creek Colorado and her partner is Robo, a trained German Shepherd.  The two are quite a team and very popular in their town.  Mattie is also dating the local veterinarian Cole Walker.  Cole is pretty busy with his clinic as well as raising his two daughters and Mattie is busy with work and she recently reconnected with her sister and grandmother but when the two get together their love and devotion is quite evident.

Right before Mattie is scheduled to take some vacation so that she can visit her sister and grandmother and get reaquainted with them (her family life is something we are learning about with her every installment of this series), she is on a hike with her friend, Glenna, in Hanging Falls and they come across a dead body floating in the water.  So Mattie postpones her travel plans so that she and Robo can work the case.  Little do they know that this case is going to take them down a crazy path !!  

There is so much more that I could tell you about this book, this series, and this great story.....but that is only going to prolong you from going and picking up your own copy and getting lost in this amazing story.  Like I said I have only read 2 of the 6 books in this series and I really would have liked to have read all of them and who knows maybe I will read them, however, you do not have to read them all or in order.  You will immediately get lost in the book as soon as you start reading.  Believe me ...... you will want to thank me but you will not want to stop reading to do so !!!

Review by Missi M. 

Pumpkins, Paws & Murder (A Dickens & Christie Mystery #2) by Kathy Manos Penn

 

A Cotswolds village—a Fall Fête—TWO four-legged sleuths—and a murder!

Leta Parker is back with her talkative companions—Dickens the dog and Christie the cat.

Though Leta’s still haunted by her tragic loss, moving from Atlanta to the village of Astonbury has given her a new lease on life.

Leta’s days are filled with yoga, book club, walks with Dickens, naps with Christie, and outings with friends. Add preparations for the Astonbury Fall Fête—complete with scarecrows, pumpkins, and costumes—and she’s beyond busy.

All is well until a dead body is discovered on the riverbank, and once again, Leta and her sleuthing girlfriends are drawn into a search for a killer—a search that takes them to Dartmouth on the coast of England.

Will touring Agatha Christie’s summer home help them access their inner Miss Marples?

Will Dickens sniff out clues closer to home? Or will Christie the cat outthink them all?

Discover the answers—and a recipe—in Pumpkins, Paws, & Murder, book two in Kathy Manos Penn’s Cozy Animal Mystery Series.   (Summary via Goodreads)

I became a fan of the Dickens & Christie Mystery series by Kathy Manos Penn when I read the first book in the series, Bells, Tails, & Murder.  I mean how can readers not fall in love with a book where the main character can talk to and understand their cat and dog ???

Main character Leta moved from the United States across the pond to a little village, Astonbury in the Cotswolds in England after her husband Henry passed away.  Within a short time she has made a great circle of friends and seems to be adapting quite well.....that is until she gets involved with murder cases.

In Pumpkins, Paws, & Murder, the second book in this series, the village is getting ready for the Astonbury Fall Fete at The Olde Mill Inn.  A fete is a celebration or festival.  Leta is dressing up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and her dog, Dickens, is going to be Toto.  There is a lot going on the day of the Fete, as we can all imagine, and it seems like it went off without a hitch.....until the next morning when the body of the magician from the Fete is found behind the Inn on the riverbank.  You would think with Detective Sergeant Gemma living in the cottage behind the Inn that it would be an open and shut case but that is not the way it is.  

Leta and a few of her friends, mainly Wendy and her 90 year old mother Belle, "helped" Gemma solve a murder before so they decide to "help" again.  And when they find out that Trixie, the niece of their friend Beatrix, is on the suspect list, they jump in feet first.  They know that Trixie wouldn't harm anyone but they know that they cannot go on just their word and their impressions of people so they decide to do a little investigating.  And with the Fete having drawn in people from all over, they have their work cut out for them.  And surprisingly Gemma seems to have given in to allowing them to help.

Readers will thoroughly enjoy Pumpkins, Paws & Murder, as well as the first book, in this series.  The author makes it so easy to follow along and even provides a list of the cast of characters at the beginning of the story so that you can go back at any time to get to know someone.  And the fact that Leta can talk to her two pets as well as a few other area animals is such a delight especially if you own cats or dogs and you "talk" to them.  You wll see your animals within them.  I highly recommend getting these books and getting lost in this quaint little village and get ready for the next installment..... I know I am looking forward to November when the third book is being released.......

Review by Missi M.