Thursday, December 31, 2020

Ropes, Riddles, & Robberies by Tonya Kappes ~ #CozyMystery ~ A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Series Book 15 #TonyaKappes


Solving murders come easy for Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies. Trying to solve a cold case is proving a bit challenging.

Mae has been having memories about the house fire that killed her family, leaving her orphaned.

As a child she couldn't do much to prove the fire wasn't an accident, but as an adult and with a group of friends to help, Mae is on the case to put the clues of the past together to bring out the truth.

Their investigation heats up making this cold case come to a rolling boil!


ASIN : B08CRYM8HJ
Publication date : December 31, 2020
Print length : 200 pages
Purchase Link: Amazon
Add to Goodreads

My Review:

Ropes, Riddles and Robberies is book #15 in Tonya Kappes' Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery series. While the series is set in Normal, Kentucky, this installment takes place mostly outside of Normal. Mae and her Laundry Club Ladies pile into an RV and make their way to Mae's hometown, Perrysburg, KY. Since a reiki-practicing chiropractor came into Mae's life, he's been slowly unlocking memories she boxed up tight. She's now sure the family that killed her entire family was set intentionally and she's fixing to figure out who and why. With the help of the Laundry Club, Mae just might be able to figure this case out so she can let her suspicions rest.

Ropes, Riddles and Robberies is another great book in the Campers & Criminals series. The mystery is exciting, intriguing, and kept me guessing. The author did a wonderful job introducing characters from Mae's past that may or may not have information pertaining to the events of the night that her family died. There were twists and turns that had me going in one direction only to have the mystery shift. The author did a great job building up the suspense until revealing whether or not the fire was an accident or intentional. As Mae and the Laundry Club unravel the circumstances surrounding the fire, shocking events are revealed, suspects are added, as well as removed, from the list, and danger abounds. 

The Camper and Criminal series is so much fun, despite the mysteries involved in each book. The mysteries are exciting, intriguing, and keep me guessing. The author does a wonderful job in each book introducing several potential suspects and providing the reader with means, motive, and opportunities for each. There are always twists and turns that have me going in one direction only to have the mystery shift. The author does a great job building up the suspense until the reveal of the murderer and motive. 

Fortunately, Mae has a wonderful network of caring people around her and they are especially needed in Ropes, Riddles, and Robberies. Her network includes her mom Mary Elizabeth, every single woman in the Laundry Club, and Hank her boyfriend. Hank is such a keeper he's always been right where Mae needs him to be and it's especially important and noticed in this book. I love how the author developed the characters and created such a fun and entertaining world. I felt like I was in Perrysburg, Kentucky with the characters, helping Mae and the Laundry Club figure out the mystery behind that fire that killed everyone in her family but Mae, herself.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

My Rating:

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

#CozyMystery #Review ~ Wedding Bear Blues by Meg Macy @megmims @KensingtonBooks ~ Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery, Book 4


In the fourth shamelessly adorable Teddy Bear Mystery, teddy bear shop manager and amateur sleuth Sasha Silverman vows to find out who killed the best man in a Valentine's Day wedding when a heartless, ice-pick wielding killer ruins the big day...

Always a bridesmaid, never a killer...

At the Silver Bear Shop and Factory, Sasha will be selling plenty of bride and groom teddy bears come springtime. But this Valentine's Day weekend, she'd take any of those silent, stuffed couples over the real thing. Sasha and her sister Maddie are bridesmaids at Cissy Davison's upcoming wedding in Silver Hollow. Cissy is fuming over the worst choice of best man--the jerk who broke her sister Debbie's heart--and the groom-to-be won't budge in his decision. At the rehearsal dinner you could cut the tension with a wedding cake knife.

That is, until best man Dylan is found dead, impaled with an ice pick. Although jilted Debbie is the most likely suspect--the blood on her dress doesn't help her case--the bride begs Sasha to prove her sister's innocence. If anyone's going to walk down the aisle, Sasha will first need to find the cold-hearted killer who iced Dylan...

ASIN : B086R75PC1
Publisher : Kensington Books
Publication date : December 29, 2020
Print length : 336 pages
Purchase Link: Amazon
Add to Goodreads

My Review:

Valentine's Day is coming up and the Silver Bear Shop and Factory in Michigan is quite busy. There are workshops, last minute gift purchasers, and both Sasha and her sister Maddie are in a wedding. The wedding of Cissy Davison has proven to be a lot more stressful than any event at the Silver Bear Shop and Factory. The groom's choice of best man has the bride and her sister, Debbie, incensed and all of the events leading up to Cissy's big day have been rife with tension. Things take a violent and deadly turn at the rehearsal dinner when Maddie and Sasha walk right into a murder scene. Dylan, the best man, has been killed by ice pick. As if Sasha isn't busy enough at the shop and factory, Cissy has asked her to help prove her sister's innocence, even if Debbie is the most likely suspect.

Actually, that's not true. Debbie is one of many, it seems, with an issue with Dylan. As Sasha puts her sleuthing cap on and begins her search, it appears that more than just Debbie had means, motive and opportunity. Dylan seems to have a long history of upsetting people. With everything going on at the shop and factory, additional side threads, Cissy, and the death of Dylan, Sasha has her hands full.

A clever who-done-it, Wedding Bear Blues kept me entertained and engaged in the story. Meg Macy delivered a well-written story with a unique setting in a fictional small town in southeast Michigan. As a lifelong Michigander I enjoy a good story, in any genre, that is based in my state. The author mentions places in Michigan I'm very familiar with, including Harrison. I always love it when I recognize locations in a book because I've been there, lived there, or worked in the town/city.

I enjoyed the personalities of each character introduced to us in the book. The book was descriptive well developed, allowing me to visualize the elements of the story, characters, and locations. The characters and situations were believable and the pacing of the story was steady. I enjoyed Wedding Bear Blues, found the mystery interesting, the characters likable, and the story's pacing to be on target. I love the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series by Meg Macy and I look forward to the next book.

I was provided a copy of this book to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Rating:


Review ~ Absence of Alice (Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery #9) by Sherry Harris #CozyMystery

 


For bargain hunter extraordinaire Sarah Winston, starting life over in Ellington, Massachusetts, has been a true trash-to-treasure success story, except when there's a run on dead bodies...

Sarah's latest client, Alice Krandle, is sure she has a fortune in antiques on her hands. She's already gotten a generous offer for the whole lot before her garage sale has even begun, but she thinks she can earn more with Sarah's expert help. The problem is that while Sarah's sorting through items from decades past, her landlady, Stella, faces a clear and present danger.

Stella's kidnapper has contacted Sarah with a set of instructions, and "Don't call the police" is at the top of the list. But they didn't say anything about Sarah's friend Harriet--who happens to be a former F.B.I. hostage negotiator...

Mass Market Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1496722539
ISBN-10 : 1496722531
Publisher : Kensington
Publish Date: December 29, 2020
Purchase Link: Amazon

My Review:

Absence of Alice is another spectacular book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series by Sherry Harris.

Sarah and her friend Harriet are preparing an indoor garage sale for Alice Krandle, a new client. After spending hours pricing the knickknacks, artwork, and expensive figurines, Sarah wants to wind down for the day. Unfortunately, a random phone call, revelation of a kidnapping, and strict instructions has Sarah running across town. Stella, her landlady, has been kidnapped and her kidnapper is using Sarah to complete bizarre tasks in order to gain, or lose, precious time to locate Stella. At a loss for what to do or where to turn, Sarah realizes the kidnapper didn't include Harriet in his list of no-nos. Harriet is former FBI with contacts all over the place. With some strategy and hiding things from her friends, including her boyfriend Seth, maybe Sarah will be able to locate Stella before any harm comes to her - even if it means losing the trust of everyone around her. Stella's life is more valuable and Sarah hopes to find her alive. It's better to ask for forgiveness sometimes, at least Sarah hopes so.

I really enjoy the Garage Sale Mysteries by Sherry Harris. As a lover of garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, etc., a cozy setting of this nature makes me happy. Sarah is a great protagonist and has been in such a way that I feel like I know her personally. She has very realistic characteristics and the author really brings Sarah to life. I love all the secondary characters the author has created for this series, too. Seth, Pelltner, Mike “the big cheese” Titone, Stella, Awesome, and all the rest compliment this series so well. I’m glad Sarah’s love life doesn’t overpower the stories, providing a nice balance and sense of realism to her.

As I said about the rest of the books in the series, Absence of Alice is a fantastic cozy mystery full of twists, turns, distractions, and multiple storylines. There are suspenseful, humorous, and heartbreaking moments that are sure to keep the reader engaged. The author provides a few characters as the potential suspects and expertly pulls the tablecloth out from underneath them without spilling the truth. The ending was a complete shocker! The Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries are one of my favorite cozy series'. The author keeps the stories fresh and entertaining. The characters are wonderful, and I love the setting.

I read an early copy of this book and I purchased a paperback for my bookshelf.

My Review:

Saturday, December 12, 2020

#Review ~ Little Bookshop of Murder: A Beach Reads Mystery by Maggie Blackburn #CozyMystery

 

Book Details:

A Beach Reads Mystery Cozy Mystery
1st in Series 
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books 
Publish Date: September 8, 2020
Hardcover ISBN-10: 1643854380 
ISBN-13: 978-1643854380 
Digital ASIN: B0818ZX2NY

About the Book:

A Shakespearean scholar inherits a beachside bookshop--and a murder mystery--in this delightful new cozy series for fans of Kate Carlisle and Ellery Adams.

Summer Merriweather's career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder's thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper's pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, shuffles off her mortal coil from an apparent heart attack.

Returning to Brigid's Island, NC, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell her mom's embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore, Beach Reads, and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: "Sell the bookstore or die."

Clearly, something is rotten on Brigid's Island. What method is behind the madness? Was Hildy murdered? The police insist there's not enough evidence to launch a murder investigation. Instead, Summer and her Aunt Agatha screw their courage to the sticking place and start sleuthing, with the help of Hildy's beloved book club. But there are more suspects on Brigid's Island than are dreamt of in the Bard's darkest philosophizing. And if Summer can't find the villain, the town will be littered with a Shakespearean tragedy's worth of corpses--including her own.

My Review:

Little Bookshop of Murder is an interesting read. Summer comes home to attend her mother Hildy's funeral, laden with guilt. When evidence comes to light indicating Hildy's death may not have been medical in nature. The mystery behind Hildy's death and Summer's insistence in finding out the truth provide for an interesting story. I was glad Summer doesn't just take Hildy's death at face value. So much evidence turns up that she could hardly do otherwise. When Summer becomes the next target, she knows she can't let this go.

Summer has a huge issue with books she considers beach reads and fluff. She's constantly reminding everyone she's a scholar of "real" literature. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about book genres and certain genres aren't for everyone. Summer could have been a bit less condescending about her education but for the most part she was quite friendly. The secondary characters were well-written and compliment Summer and the mystery. 


I enjoyed the story, the mystery kept me engaged, and the characters were interesting. The author tossed in red herrings that will keep the reader guessing. The book is fast- paced and I can't wait to read the next one.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

My Rating: