Tari Hann

Town in a Blueberry Jam–review

August 1, 2018August 1, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the fairly long-running Candy Holliday series, written by B.B. Haywood starting in 2010. There are eight books total so far, the most recent having been released in April 2017. I can’t wait to read more!

My Goodreads review:

Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is nothing as handy as belonging to a bunch of online book clubs! I’m always getting to start books that I wondered when I would ever get around to starting. I’m so glad the club chose this book! I really enjoyed reading about the small fictional town of Cape Willington, Maine and getting to know Candy Holliday, her dad Doc and Candy’s best friend, Maggie Tremont.

In the prologue, it described a man falling to his rocky death off a cliff in Cape Willington. As the book started, it was July and time for the annual Blueberry Festival in town. Everyone was excited, but there was a somberness in the air since the police had just reported the murder of Jock Larson, a local man who thought he was a celebrity since he was an ex-Olympic swimmer. He also thought he was God’s gift to women and a lot of people weren’t that sad to see him dead. When a local gossip column woman was crowned Blueberry Queen (instead of the usual younger high school girl), then the woman was found dead in her own home, all fingers pointed to Ray, a local handyman since it appeared that his hammer was found at the scene. Everyone had a soft spot for Ray who was the gentlest of souls, and Candy was not going to let him go down for a murder she and everyone else in town knew he didn’t commit.

Candy and Maggie made a great sleuthing team and when Maggie couldn’t go with her, sometimes Candy’s dad would add some insight to the case or go with her himself. I thought it was pretty cool that he didn’t try to discourage her from sleuthing. I loved that Candy and her dad had a close relationship, especially after he’d lost her mom and Candy had fairly recently gone through a bad divorce and the loss of a good friend she went to college with. They seemed to be helping one another heal while working on the blueberry farm and tending to the chickens.

This was a really well-written and plotted mystery with so many different angles and suspects that I didn’t even think of suspecting the person that it turned out to be. The showdown with the killer was really exciting–Candy and Maggie acted as each others’ heroes. Best of all, an innocent man was set free. Candy had started working for Ben, the editor of the Cape Crier newspaper, so I’m hoping that something will develop between them. She must like him because her first thoughts when he asked her to take over the gossip column were “Is he going to ask me out?” I think there’s potential! I got a kick out of Doc and his buddies hanging out at the diner.

I’ve been collecting this series as I find the various books and now I’m anxious to keep reading it!

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Against the Claw–review

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Lobster Shack series by Shari Randall. I read the first book when it came out and was excited to read this book, which I thought was just as good, maybe even better.

My Goodreads review:

Against the Claw by Shari Randall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was great returning to Mystic Bay to visit with Aunt Gully, Allie and Loren, who was home for the July 4th holiday to help at the Lazy Mermaid Shack. Loren had also taken back up with a guy named Patrick who ran the most popular bar/restaurant in town and who had a reputation of being a bad boy. Allie could never see what Loren saw in him, aside from his good looks.

While helping Bertha, known as Lobster Woman, Allie was on her lobstering boat when they pulled up a dead body. The young woman’s body remained unidentified for quite awhile, but in the meantime, the restaurant was hired to cater a party at a wealthy woman’s estate. Allie, Loren and Gully went over for it. Loren and Allie were to spend the night on the woman’s yacht along with a famous singer and her friend. When the body of Lorel’s ex-boyfriend Patrick was found in an inflatable boat that had been tied behind the yacht, Allie figured they were all suspects and was determined to find the real killer. With her friend Verity’s help sleuthing as well as the occasional help from her friend Bronwyn who was a police department intern, the case slowly came together.

Meanwhile, Allie was appearing in a show while her broken ankle was still healing and she had to make sure she got to rehearsals, worked at the restaurant and did some sleuthing. While the showdown wasn’t exactly with the main perp, it was still pretty awesome. Let’s just say it involved Bertha chucking a vacuum cleaner over a railing at someone. I really came to like Bertha in this book and now she’s another favorite character of mine, along with Aunt Gully, of course!

I didn’t guess the actual killer but it didn’t surprise me when I found out who did it. There were a lot of secrets being kept by different people and a few twists along the way that kept this plot moving along and so interesting that I had trouble putting the book down. I’m anxious to see what happens in the next book. Allie doesn’t have a guy interest but I think she could be interested in Hayden, her old classmate, if he showed any interest in her. It’ll also be interesting to see how soon her ankle becomes able to fully dance ballet again. Will she travel back and forth to Boston to dance an occasional show or will she decide that Mystic Bay is too much of a home for her to leave Aunt Gully and the Lazy Mermaid? I hope we don’t have to wait too long to find out!

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Hark the Herald Angels Slay–review

July 27, 2018July 27, 2018 Tari Hann

I had read the first two of this series last year before Christmas (prior to starting this blog) and boy, was it hard to resist reading this one since it came out not too terribly long afterwards. I purposely saved it for July and as it turned out, one of the Facebook book clubs picked it for the July discussion this weekend.

This is the third book in the Year-Round Christmas series by well-known author Vicki Delaney. She also writes the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series that I’ve reviewed on the blog, all first three of them. I love the idea of Christmas anytime but the proverbial Christmas in July is well-celebrated in the town of Rudolph, NY in the series.

My Goodreads review:

Hark the Herald Angels Slay by Vicki Delany

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an awesome book to read for a July book club discussion, perfect for Christmas in July, which is exactly what the town of Rudolph, NY was celebrating, only to have it interrupted by a murder that takes place (again) in Merry’s shop, Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. This time she definitely has an alibi, the detective on the case personally saw her at the beach when Santa arrived by boat (her dad, Noel).

Merry’s ex-fiance, Max Folger, was in town with some of the employees from the magazine where Merry used to work. Max has another agenda though–he wanted to talk Merry into getting back with him despite the fact that his fiancee, Erica Johnstone, who happened to be granddaughter to the magazine owner, Jennifer, was planning the wedding of the season. After finding Max in her shop, Merry could only think that someone from the magazine must have had it in for him, and she actually got to eventually work a little with Detective Diane Simmonds, who unlike the local police officer, Candy Campbell, respected Merry’s thoughts on the case. Merry’s main employee went missing at the time of the murder, which was a big reason why Merry wanted to be on the case.

I had my suspicions about the killer but there was a good twist and I was off base quite a bit. Everything worked out and Erica honestly became somewhat likable. She and her grandmother came to an understanding about the magazine as well. I love how Merry could feel kindness toward the woman who had stolen Max from her, but possibly she thought of it as Erica doing her a favor, seeing how things turned out. I was glad that Merry finally felt she could move on and allowed Alan into her life more. I’m anxious to see what the next book brings! This series just continues to get better and better.

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Shelved Under Murder–review

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 Tari Hann

I really loved this second book in the Blue Ridge Library series by Victoria Gilbert. I really enjoy her writing style of combining the past with the present. I highly recommend reading the first book first–if you’ve read this one, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I think most people will be happier if they read the first book then this one.

My Goodreads review:

Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book might just be better than the first book, which I also loved. I do recommend that anyone who hasn’t read the first book yet, read it before this one. You will be much happier if you do!

Amy and Sunny were getting ready for the Heritage Festival where the library would have a table of products to sell, most of which were donations. Amy and Richard stumbled onto the body of a dead local artist, the same artist they were going to talk to about donating a couple of her paintings. A local drug dealer was suspected but he swore he saw someone else running from the scene. While helping the police with the investigation–yes, Brad actually asked Amy to help since she has art history as a background–Amy found some unsettling information that may or may not have involved her uncle in the world of art forgery. Maybe this murder was something bigger than what it looked? Amy and Richard must be careful investigating this case or they could both end up dead.

I liked how both of these books so far have used an older case which ties in with the contemporary case being worked on. A new character, Hugh Chen, was introduced as an art forensics expert from the state of Virginia and Lydia may just have found herself a new male companion. Knowing Lydia, she will take it slowly since she adored her husband, Andrew. Someone else had adored him as well and closure for that ties in, in sort of a bittersweet way. I love that Amy and Richard are getting closer in their relationship. The regular characters, Walt and Zelda, were more comfortable and open with their relationship as well. I just love those two! The temporary characters weren’t especially memorable, only Hugh and I do hope he comes back for a visit or tries to make a distance friendship with Lydia work out.

This series has quickly become one of my favorite new series and I’m so anxious for the next book to come out. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

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Murder at the Breakers–review

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 Tari Hann

This was the first book in the historical cozy mystery series called A Gilded Newport Mystery by Alyssa Maxwell. I had been wanting to read it for awhile and finally got my kick start to read it when a Facebook group decided to discuss it. Alyssa herself was the guest and she was so interesting! She said this was the very first mystery book she’d written. She also informed us that she’s working on the seventh in this series. I better get to reading so I can get more caught up! I didn’t think I’d like a historical cozy as much as I liked reading this one! I think I’m addicted, at least to this series.

My Goodreads review:

Murder at the Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Newport, Rhode Island when my family and I visited several years ago, especially the Cliff Walk with all the gorgeous mansions, so I was excited to read a mystery series based on the various mansions.

Emma Vanderbilt Cross feels like she’s just a shirttail relation to the famous Vanderbilts, Cornelius and Aunt Agnes that built The Breakers. But to her cousins, she was an equal when they were kids. Her cousin Niely (Cornelius III) was always good to her even as adults. When her uncle’s financial secretary is killed on the grounds and Emma’s half-brother Brady is accused of the murder, Emma will stop at nothing to find the real killer, even if it means risking her own life.

Emma was such an awesome and strong character! I loved how she was kind to everyone, no matter what their class. She befriended a teen-aged maid who had come to her and her Nanny looking for work when the maid became pregnant. Nanny was such a sweetheart. She was much more than a servant–she was more like a grandmother to Emma since Emma had never felt any real affection from her own parents. They always seemed to be away and Emma always seemed to be the one to go to Brady’s assistance when he was in trouble.

Despite some threats on her life, Emma kept on investigating and along with a new friend, Derrick, they got to the bottom of the murder as well as a couple more killings done by that same person. I really never suspected this person!

This was so well-written I could picture myself in the 1800s Newport summer (not as a character, I don’t think I’d be able to stand those suffocating outfits lol). There were some great red herrings. Now there are two men who seem interested in Emma. My first thought was to be Team Derrick but now I’m not sure–Jesse is a policeman and would be a lot more of a steady person. Derrick is exciting and likes to investigate. I think I’ll just have to read the next book to make a proper decision! 😉

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A Murder for the Books–review

July 22, 2018July 22, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Blue Ridge Library series by Victoria Gilbert. It looks like she’s new to writing, at least from what I saw of her Amazon page, but her writing sounds like she’s been at it for many years. She spins a great mystery and has some fun characters that you will come to love as much as I have! This series had me from the library setting. 😉

Since I’m currently far enough into the second book to confidently be able to tell you this: PLEASE be sure you read THIS book first, then the second! It’s really advisable.

My Goodreads:

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a well-written and well-plotted mystery! There were some twists and turns, memorable characters that I already can’t wait to visit again and an awesome side mystery along with the murders that occurred. I definitely didn’t guess the killer!

Amy Webber was the library director at the Taylorsford Public Library in Taylorsford, VA. Her best frieind, Sunny Fields, was her assistant and the only other paid help. After a nasty breakup with her fiance’, Amy came back to live there with her Aunt Lydia in the old family house. The town was fairly uneventful aside from a very old few cases of questionable deaths. That is until a couple of new murders happened. Did they have anything to do with the old cases or could they possibly be linked to the new housing development that was in the works. Amy being a trained researcher as a librarian couldn’t help but start looking into the cases. Her new interest, choreography and dancer Richard Muir, only wanted to protect her in case the killer was still around, but he had to admit it was interesting investigating, especially the parts involving the older cases and seeing how the new cases could be related.

I love libraries to begin with and any mystery concerning someone who works in one has my interest. I enjoyed all the characters and their interactions with each other and with Amy. It was like she’d never been gone as far as the older people were concerned. Richard was a sweetheart and I can’t wait to see how their budding relationship develops. I hope that Sunny can eventually bring herself to dating Brad, the chief deputy who obviously had it pretty bad for her all those years, even after she rejected him in high school. As abrasive as Brad started out in the story, I wasn’t sure I was going to like him, but he did have a good side and finally came around. At least he wasn’t constantly warning Amy off the case or telling her he’d toss her in jail for interfering.

I’m really anxious to read the next book, in fact I had started it but since there was only one book ahead of it, I thought I’d be happier if I read book one first. But that’s just me. 😉

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Ditched 4 Murder–review

July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Sophie Kimball series by J.C. Eaton aka Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp, a husband and wife writing team. I had such fun reading the first one and if it’s possible, this one was more fun than that book was. I love humor in cozies and this book has plenty–and it’s so easy and fun to picture it!

My Goodreads review:

Ditched 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was even funnier than the first one, especially the ending with the showdown and wedding reception. I could really picture this happening in a funny mystery movie!

Phee Kimball was settled in, living in Arizona and working for Nate Williams, a retired police detective, who had opened his own investigations company in Arizona. Life was never dull in the first book with Phee’s mom Harriet around. Now toss in Harriet’s sister, Ina, who was getting married to a guy named Louis. It was one madcap thing after another with the crazy wedding plans that Ina had dreamed up. Add two murders to this mixture, and you end up with a great mystery that has a fun twist at the end, as well as a very different but funny wedding reception. Shake well after adding a bat for extra hilarity.

It was fun and different to get to a certain point in the book and be fairly sure of who was doing what. All that needed to be done was go after the perp and hope that all the puzzle pieces fell into place and that the sheriff arrived in time. Nate has to be a saint to put up with Harriet causing Phee to need to leave the office or hysterically call him at all hours. He seems like a great guy to work for. I like the new character of Augusta, the office assistant too. Ina was Harriet…on steroids. Even Harriet got fed up with her phone calls and worrying about the wedding details.

This series is just so good that I will be moving along to book 3 next.

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Souffle of Suspicion–review

July 17, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the French Bistro series by well-known cozy author, Daryl Wood Gerber. Daryl writes the Cookbook Nook series (another series that I love!) and also the Cheese Shop series under the name of Avery Aames. I really love it when a series is new and I’ve actually read the first book and was familiar with the characters. This book could definitely stand alone, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll do whatever you can to try and read things in order. It doesn’t always happen that way, mostly because I like getting advance reader’s copies of books from NetGalley, which is where this one came from. Enjoy and bon appetit!

My Goodreads review:

A Soufflé of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was another awesome addition to the French Bistro series! I enjoyed reconnecting with the characters I’d grown very fond of from the first book, and I’m happy that Mimi and Nash’s relationship is growing, as well as (finally) Jo and Tyson’s. Mimi’s mom and Stefan’s dad seemed really happy together too.

When Chef Camille’s sister Renee took over the Sweet Treats Festival from the previous owner, then Renee was found dead at Camille’s house, it may have looked a little like her sister had something to do with it. Mimi had a feeling she knew who it was, but the problem was, she may have possibly just hired that person as help for Camille when she came back. With the Sweet Treats Festival and Crush Week going on, the bistro and inn were enjoying some major success, and Camille had definitely needed the extra help. Mimi was worried that she was getting a little too close to the truth when a couple of things happened that could have been taken to mean someone was trying to scare her. But of course, she didn’t give up and the real killer was found. I liked this showdown for a change, it was safe and a lot calmer (to me the reader lol) than I usually find in my cozies. I hadn’t guessed the killer until it was supposed to be known.

It was fun visiting with some of my favorite characters in the Napa Valley and I’m looking forward to the next book!

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed it.

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A Riesling to Die–review

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018 Tari Hann

I had read this five days ago (July 10) but somehow must have forgotten to do a blog post about it. Like the book I just finished, this one is also written by J.C. Eaton, the husband and wife team of Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp. This is the first in their newer series, Wine Trail Mysteries.

My Goodreads review:

A Riesling to Die by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book I’ve read by this author, also known as husband and wife writing team of Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp, but it definitely won’t be my last. I’m going to start their other series very soon! I really loved this book and all the diverse and sometimes quirky characters. There were twists and turns throughout and I definitely didn’t guess this killer.

Norrie Ellington was part owner of a winery in the Finger Lakes region of NY, but her day job was living in the city and writing screenplays. Her sister Francine and Francine’s husband, Jason needed to go to Costa Rica for Jason’s entomology research, and they needed her to oversee management of the Two Witches Winery for a year. Norrie expected to simply sit on the sidelines, run a meeting every so often and possibly help with hiring summer temp employees. What she hadn’t banked on was the murder of one of the community’s most disliked person, Elsbeth Waters, who owned the local B&B. Since Norrie herself was a person of interest, she was determined to find the real killer. With the help of two new friends, Theo and Don, the couple who ran a neighboring winery, she was able to eventually figure things out and bring the real killer to justice. Alvin, the dwarf goat even had a hand, or should I say hoof, in catching the killer.

I think Theo and Don had to be my favorite characters! They were just all-round, textbook good friends to have. They listened, they had Norrie over for meals and they gave her their full support, not to mention loaning some employees if needed. Cammy seemed like a nice person too since Norrie had decided she was going to the one of the few people she told about her sleuthing. I got a kick out of Lizzie, a retired CPA who worked for the winery and had a super-charged interest in sleuthing like Nancy Drew. She didn’t really help or hinder, but she made for an interesting character.

The book was well-written and I was actually glad it didn’t get into the wine-making processes or anything technical because while I like the whole idea of a winery (setting, cool building etc) I’m not real interested in the processes. Maybe the tasting, though, lol. 😉

I’m really anxious for the next book to come out since there was a description at the end of the book telling briefly what will happen in it.

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Booked 4 Murder–review

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018 Tari Hann

This was such a fun book! It’s the first book in the Sophie Kimball series, written by husband and wife team of Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp aka J.C. Eaton. I just the first in their new Wine Trail series and already knew I loved their writing style. This book starts with Minnesota and Arizona in September, a super warm month yet for Arizona and Phee at times probably wondered what she was thinking when she told her mom she’d look into her book club problem for her by coming out for a visit.

I loved the idea of Phee’s mom having a little chiweenie as her companion–this is the best unlicensed picture I could come up with. I wish Phee liked little Streetman better than she currently does!

My Goodreads review:

Booked 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book! I was sucked in from the very beginning and could barely put it down. Phee and her mom were such great characters together, yeah maybe her mom is a tad annoying but isn’t everyone’s a little that way? The person I guessed was not the perp, and I even went for a kind of obscure person.

Sophia “Phee” Kimball got a call from her mom, frantically saying that the book their book club was reading was cursed since three people had already died after reading it. Phee tried to reason with her mom but she knew early on she’d end up down in Arizona from Minnesota. Phee’s good friend, Nate, a detective with the police department where she was in accounts receivable, encouraged her to go. He said she always did such a good job of tracking down receipts and things like that, she’d be a natural for investigating. Phee didn’t really know where to begin, but with Nate’s guidance, she soon had a lot of good information, including what her mother had written down for her before she got there.

I loved how Nate and Phee would share info and how he’d get the tech guy helping her. It was kind of refreshing not to have the main character worrying about which guy she likes, and instead have the male character she’s interacting with be 20 years older and more her mentor. That gave her time to be more concerned with finding out the answer to what ended up being a whole trail of secrets and puzzles that led to the senior ladies’ deaths. Was it murder or was someone using the supposed-curse to their advantage? Who would want to off these sweet old ladies? You’ll have to read and find out. You’ll be surprised and pleased with the ending. Phee somewhat got to Miss Marple and Poirot her findings, but that final book meeting/reveal was pretty hilarious at times.

I really like what happened at the very end of the book when she returned to her office job. You’ll know if you read book blurbs, but I don’t want to be responsible for spoiling it for someone. All I know is, book 2 here I come.

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