“Lethal in Old Lace” by Duffy Brown reminds me of why I always enjoy visiting Savannah with this series but wince at the complicated yet hilarious situations Reagan gets herself into. I think this is my favorite thus far. I adore Walker Boo...
4½ StarsEJ Copperman’s engaging series about a woman who runs a guesthouse that has otherworldly residents in addition to mortal guests is back for another instalment! This adventure starts out with Alison Kerby's ghost in residence, Paul, off to s...
5 StarsArtist Maggie Crozat loves Pelican, Louisiana, especially at Christmastime! The whole town is beautifully decorated and the bonfires on the Mississippi levee are a sight to behold! Maggie enjoys helping out at Crozat Plantation, her family’...
5 StarsA fast-paced read from beginning to the end. This book is in a series, but does well as a standalone. The characters are well established and fully developed. Murder and mayhem abound in this novel. The chapters are tightly packed with deta...
4 StarsThe story within the pages of “Shallow Grave” may be a bit too real for some. The author shows how one man is trying to keep control in an urban environment. But he is slowly falling apart. This is the third installment in the Detective Mat...
4 StarsD. M. Quincy has written a series debut novel. “Murder in Mayfair” is an Atlas Catesby Mystery and the first one in the series. The story takes place in 1814 in England, where Atlas and friend have stopped at an inn for some sustenance. Aft...
4 Stars"One by One", by Sarah Cain, is a sequel to The 8th Circle. I was a little disappointed when I found that out before reading the story. I don't like to read a series out of order. I am a bit ocd about it. Anyways, I found that Danny Ryan wa...
5 StarsDon't turn out the lights, close the curtains, lock the door because this book will have your arm hairs standing on end. The author has a twisted plot that is like a web, twisting and turning here and there. You will be turning the pages as...
5 StarsThis is a fun read and is well written and put together well. A mystery that is a little naughty on the side. The author gives characters that are off the beaten path and parts of the book will make you star with wide open eyes wondering if...
4 Stars"Bad Housekeeping" is the first book in a new cozy mystery series! It’s about Agnes, a woman who stumbles upon the dead body of a woman she recently had a harsh altercation with. She must clear her name before she gets charged for murder. T...
5 Stars"Kale to the Queen" is the first book in the Kensington Palace Chef Mystery series. It's about Carrie Ann, a chef who relocates to London to become the private chef to the duke and duchess, but while working, she stumbles upon the dead body...
5 StarsE.J. Cooperman brings us the second entry in his “Mysterious Detective” series. This time out, Mystery author Rachel Goldman is just about getting used to the idea that her fictional creation Duffy Madison has somehow taken flesh-and-blood...
4½ StarsIf you love cozy mysteries, than you're sure to enjoy this debut. The book is well written and has you leaving each page anticipating more. As the pages turn the tension and suspense grows. From the start you will know you have found a winn...
4½ StarsA.R. Ashworth shows some real promise with his debut British mystery featuring Detective Inspector, Elaine Hope, but will need to make a few improvements in order for this to be a successful, long running series. When a young girl is beaten...
3¼ Stars“Cat Got Your Cash” is the second book in the Kitty Couture series! We meet up again with Lacy Crocker, months after solving her last murder, and she’s on her way to a business meeting with her fashion idol, Annie Lane. But what was suppose...
5 Stars"Dead and Breakfast" is a cozy mystery about Melanie West, a thirty-two divorcee who opens up a bed-and-breakfast with her grandmother. While they’re renovating a bedroom, they stumble upon a skeleton—the murdered body of the last owner’s w...
4½ Stars"A Measure of Murder" is the second book in the Sally Solari Mystery series. Sally, now juggling her time between two restaurants, decides to join her ex-boyfriend’s choir. While at rehearsal, a mean tenor drops dead and his girlfriend thin...
4½ Stars“Elementary, She Read” is a great first addition in a promising new series by Vicki Delany. Gemma Doyle has moved to the Cape Cod town, West London, to run the bookstore started by her uncle. The store is located at 222 Baker Street and is...
5 StarsMaura Donovan inherited Sullivan's, a local pub in County Cork. She's been in Ireland for nine months and this is home to her. Maura never had any friends nor family and now she feels that she's finally got both. Just a small Irish village...
3 StarsCat Got Your Diamonds is a cozy mystery about Lacy Crocker, a pet boutique and organic treat bakery owner who stumbles upon a murder in her own store and must solve it before her store loses funding. This was a very cute and fun read! I tru...
5 Stars"Purr M for Murder" is about Sydney McCall, a woman who found her ex-fiancée cheating on her with her secretary. For a fresh start after the break up, she decides to move back to her hometown of Deer Park, North Carolina from NYC to help he...
4½ StarsThe author gives the reader, families with loads of problems, violence and scandal. That about covers it. That is everyday life, isn't it. Dysfunctional families, they're everywhere these days.It brings you into a possible reality situation...
4 Stars“Ill Met by Murder” is the second book in the Shakespeare in the Catskills mystery series. During the production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, a murder is committed and Charlotte Fairfax once again finds herself entangled in a murder case...
3 Stars“Death Among Rubies” by R. J. Koreto is set in Edwardian England and spotlights Frances Ffolkes, the sister of a Marquis. She is very active in civic organizations and a suffragette, which dismays her brother tremendously. She is very indep...
4½ StarsIf you're a lover of cozy mysteries then this should be on your TBR list. The setting is northern Michigan. As with the first book, this is a curious mystery. The author gave characters that were fun and entertaining, and each character was...
4 StarsAs much as I tried, I could not get into this book . What really caught my attention was the cover and then the title. It’s a great concept but the book was a slow read for me. Frankie was a person who was really just trying to start over a...
3 StarsThe title was the first thing that caught my attention and then I read the cover and was hooked. "When She’s Gone" is a fast paced book that kept me on my toes. Right when you think you know what’s going on it changes. Ara is awesome but sh...
4½ StarsLittle Free Libraries have been popping up not just in America but all over the world. With their increase in popularity, it was only a matter of time before one was featured in a mystery novel. “A Most Curious Murder” by Elizabeth Kane Buz...
4 StarsThree gruesome murders and the only thing tying them together is each of the victims were affiliated with a gang, but all is not as it appears. All of the victims were cut with precision by someone who knew what he was doing. The question i...
4½ StarsR. J. Koreto has been a financial journalist and some of his work has appeared in mystery magazines. “Death on the Sapphire” is his first novel and highlights Frances Ffolkes, the sister of a Marquis. She is very active in civic organizatio...
4 StarsWorking for a law enforcement agency like Immigration and Customs Enforcement is no job for the faint hearted. This book is about dealing with terrorist threats of all kinds. The reader knows that these threats are not only real but the peo...
3½ Stars“The Stalking Ground” by Margaret Mizushima is the second novel in her Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series. Like the first novel, “Killing Trail”, Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are called on to solve the mystery of a missing woman. The w...
4½ StarsWendy Corsi Staub is back with the second offering in her Lily Dale series. After agreeing to stay in Lily Dale through the winter as caretakers of the Valley View Guesthouse and its feline residents, Bella Jordan and her son Max are lookin...
4½ StarsArtist Maggie Crozat is settling in at her family’s bed and breakfast, the Crozat Plantation, in Pelican, Louisiana. Just when life is returning to normal for the family, after the past murders at the B&B, Maggie ends up feeling sorry for v...
5 StarsI didn't read the first book of the “Matt Sinclair” mystery series. The author, Brian Thiem was once an Oakland homicide detective and so this book gets a personal touch of the life of a homicide detective. This book doesn't get bogged down...
4½ StarsWhat happens when tragedy strikes and justice isn't forthcoming? It gets put in the past, or at least it appears so. Gin (Virginia Sullivan) has lost her sister Lily, whose body after 20 years has just now been found. Gin has a strained rel...
4 StarsThis cozy mystery has a major flaw and some minor flaws. The major flaw is the overuse of “cuss words” (f*ck, b*tch, and godd *mn, and many more) that kept appearing every few pages at the start of this book. The minor flaws include: a writ...
3 StarsRachel Goldman writes mysteries in which Duffy Madison, consultant to the county prosecutor’s office, helps find missing persons. Rachel is busy working on her next book, when a man calls out of the blue asking for help in a missing persons...
4½ StarsThe 8th Circle by Sarah Cain is a novel labeled a thriller and it doesn't fall short there. There were many scenes and chapters that had me on the edge of my seat. However, I really could've done without the sappy, emotional and macho-laden...
4 StarsMargaret Mizushima has written a great action novel, “Killing Trail”. This is her debut novel and I hope the first in a long line of novels about Mattie Cobb and Robo. I liked the fact that Mattie is her own person and can stand up to the m...
4 StarsSetting: Minnesota. Chief of police, Katherine Sullivan has gone back home after retiring. Now instead of a gun she waves a paint brush. She's trying to establish herself as an artist. All changes when Katherine needs her previous job skill...
4 StarsHaving a special gift for seeing things that most people would miss can be a good and a bad thing. For Kate this can turn out to be a good thing. Her life was in total disarray having to deal with situations at home from her son's teenage t...
3¾ StarsYou're in for a real treat. What a novel! It takes your breath away and doesn't come back until the book (or case) is closed! Second thought: If this is his first novel, what is he going to write for the encore?! Dynamic action and suspense...
5 StarsElizabeth J. Duncan drew me into her story about Charlotte, a British costume mistress of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, who moved to a hotel in the Catskills in the USA after her affair with an actor went sour. I liked the fact that the Ch...
3¼ StarsRaisa is hearing things about her father that cannot be true, but deep down she has a feeling they are. If that’s the case then her job and maybe even her life are in jeopardy. Ben and his daughter are interesting characters but sometimes I...
4 StarsAfter her husband’s death, Bella Jordan decides that she and her son need a fresh start in Chicago; unfortunately, on their way there a storm strands them in the town of Lily Dale, NY. Lily Dale isn’t your average, ordinary town…it’s full o...
4½ StarsMaggie Crozat is an artist who was looking for a change and some much needed inspiration, after the breakup with her boyfriend of six years. So, she leaves New York and moves back home to Pelican, Louisiana, to help run her family’s bed and...
5 Stars
