Goodbye Cruller World (Deputy Donut Mystery #2) by Ginger Bolton

4 Stars

Published August 28th 2018 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

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Death Over Easy (Country Store Mysteries #5) by Maddie Day

5 Stars

Published July 31st 2018 by Kensington

 

Slay in Character (Cat Latimer Mystery #4) by Lynn Cahoon

4.5 Stars

Published November 27th 2018 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Scone Cold Killer (All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery #1) by Lena Gregory

4 Stars

Published January 23rd 2018 by Lyrical Underground

Oh Holy Fright (Pecan Bayou Mystery) by Teresa Trent Blog Tour and Giveaway

I am delighted to be part of the Blog Tour for Oh Holy )(Pecan Bayou Mystery, Book 8) by Teresa Trent. It is my pleasure to provide a review for you at my blog stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour.

About the Book

Oh Holy Fright (Pecan Bayou Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Self Published (October 31, 2018)
Number of Pages: 255
ASIN: B07JFNSC11

 

 

It’s Christmas in Pecan Bayou, Texas. Join Betsy (aka The Happy Hinter) for a good old small-town Christmas complete with Christmas carols, over the top light displays, delicious food, loving friends and…a Christmas Creeper. One of the residents of Pecan Bayou has a secret and you’d better lock the door because that isn’t Santa out there or even a stray elf. Enjoy spending Christmas with the town and family you’ve come to know in the Pecan Bayou Series.

Recipes and helpful hints included!

Slay Bells Ring (Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery #7) by Karen Rose Smith

4.5 Stars

Published October 31st 2017 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Slay Bells Ring is the 7th book in the Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery series. This is one of my favourite series and I look forward to each book. I absolutely loved the cover to this one. The dog, Blitz, plays a central role in this story. Other reviewers who have not read any of the series seem to have a problem with getting to know the characters, so it might be best to read the series from the beginning, but I don’t think it is necessary.

Caprice is hired to put stage a home using a holiday theme. The owner of the home and his wife are not of the same mind when it comes to selling. Chris Merriweather is a toy maker and has played Santa at the local park for years. Caprice notices that something is off about Chris, especially when he almost falls down leaving the sleigh at the local parade. He also has some injuries that he tries to brush off as an accident at the store, but Caprice is not buying that either. When Chris is found dead, murdered on Santa Lane of all places, Caprice and her family are once again on the case to find out what happened to the Vietnam vet who loved to play Santa. It turns out he had a lot of secrets.

This story touches on the subjects of PTSD and other after-effects of war, plus the pain of discovering dark secrets. It has a great plot with these subjects are woven into the story well. Once again the DeLuca family plays a large part in the story. Caprice’s dad is a good friend of Chris and is asked by his wife, Sara, to take his dog. He is involved in solving the mystery more than he has been in other stories. Her sisters and their families/friends are also part of her home-staging and volunteer life and I love how they all work together and flesh out the story. Even though there are some dark spots, the story has humor and brightness sprinkled throughout. I enjoy the pace of the relationship of Caprice and Grant and that they are remaining chaste until their wedding. The mystery moves at a great pace, and there are plenty of suspects and twists along the way. The ending wasn’t a huge surprise as I had my suspicions earlier in the story, but it was well executed and a good ending for the story. Once again, I enjoyed getting together with the residents of Kismet Pennsylvania and solving another mystery. The publisher, Kensington Publishing Corporation, generously provided me with a copy of this book upon my request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

Killalot (An Ivy Meadows Mystery) by Cindy Brown: Blog Tour and Giveaway

I am delighted to be part of the Blog Tour for Killalot by Cindy Brown. It is my pleasure to provide a review for you at my blog stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour.

 Killalot (An Ivy Meadows Mystery #6)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Henery Press (November 15, 2018)
Hardcover: 282 pages

ISBN-10: 1635114330
ISBN-13: 978-1635114331
Paperback: 282 pages
ISBN-10: 1635114306
ISBN-13: 978-1635114300
Digital ASIN: B07H3CH4RH

 

She Stopped for Death (A Little Library Mystery #2) by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

3.5 Stars

Published January 10th 2017 by Crooked Lane Books

She Stopped for Death by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli is the second book in A Little Library Mystery series and I enjoyed this one more than the first. Perhaps it was because I already knew the characters and what to expect from them. Jenny Weston lives with her mother, Dora in Bear Falls, Michigan after returning home due to a divorce. Jenny, Dora, and their neighbor, Zoe Zola have been spending their evenings on the screened in porch. One evening, someone stops at the Little Library boxes and they notice it is the reclusive poet, Emily Sutton. Dora calls out to Emily, but she quickly runs away. When they check the library boxes the next morning, they discover slips of paper with poems written on them. It seems that Emily has started writing again and wishes to share her work. Her only book of poetry was published twenty-five years earlier, and after a book tour, she did not venture out of her house again. She lived in the family home on Pewee Swamp with her sister Lorna, until Lorna packed up and left with a man. Her cousin, Althea did her shopping and stopped by to make sure she was okay. When Althea stopped coming by, Zoe volunteers to do the shopping for Emily. Jenny and Zoe also agree to visit Althea and see if she is okay. It turns out that she is dead, murdered quite viciously. When Alex Shipley shows up in town, she is hunting for her Uncle Walter who has been missing for a few years. The last she knew of her uncle, he was coming to visit Emily. What happened to Lorna, Althea, and Walter? Emily and Zoe set out to find the answers to these questions.

She Stopped for Death is a well written cozy mystery, with an interesting plot and some very odd and quirky characters. Jenny is still working through her issues, but she is much more likable than in the first book of the series. She is developing a friendship with handyman and retired cop Tony, but still has some serious trust issues. Zoe Zola, the neighbor, is a little person who writes fairy tales, and has fairy houses all over her yard, complete with inhabitants. The poet, Emily Sutton is very strange. She was responsible for some very uncomfortable moments in the story. I figured out the mystery before it was revealed, but I was still interested right to the end. This series does not seem to be for everyone. Many found it silly and nonsensical, but I enjoyed it and am going to give the next one a try as well. I listened to the audio book and must say that the narrator did a wonderful job with the voices. I loved listening to this story and think that may have added to my enjoyment over reading this story.

A Most Curious Murder (A Little Library Mystery #1) by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

3.5 Stars

Published July 12th 2016 by Crooked Lane Books

I picked up this book because the series is called Little Library Mysteries. There is references to Little Libraries, but there is more to the story than that. Jenny Weston has returned home to Bear Falls, Michigan for the first time in five years. She has come home to lick her wounds after a bitter divorce and the loss of her job. When she arrives home, she sees her mother’s little library, the one her father made for her before his death, broken to pieces and all the books destroyed. Jenny tries to clean up the mess before her mother sees it. Her mother’s neighbour, “little person” Zoe Zola, interrupts her job. Jenny is not impressed by this strange person who quotes Lewis Carroll and is rather rude to her. Zoe still helps to clean up the mess and offers to break the news to Jenny’s mom, Dora. Trying to figure out what happened, due to the police thinking it was probably just an accident, Zoe and Jenny end up finding dead bodies instead. Zoe is the main suspect in the first murder, as the body was found in her fairy garden. When Zoe’s dog is found with the second body that turns up, it seems that no one else is being considered. There are a lot of questions that Jenny and Zoe have to sort out such as: Why the two murdered brothers were living in poverty while their sister lives in a luxurious mansion? Who would want the two lonely men dead and why did they try to frame Zoe? What does the antique key taped to Fida’s collar open?

To be honest, I almost didn’t finish this book as I didn’t like protagonist, Jenny Weston at the beginning. She was abrasive, rude, short tempered and whiny. I kept reading because I really liked the quirky Zoe and wanted to find out more about her. I also enjoyed the writing and the plot. I had to find out what was going to happen. I am glad I stuck with it because I did like Jenny by the end. This was a well thought-out mystery that kept adding more bad situations along the way. I couldn’t believe so much bad luck could strike one family. As the story came together at the end, I couldn’t stop listening. It was tied together nicely and the culprit, although he had a good motive, was a surprise to me. That makes for a good mystery in my books. I listened to the audio book and must say that the narrator did a wonderful job with the voices. I loved listening to this story and as soon as it ended, I borrowed the next one. If you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, you will find an added dimension to enjoy.