Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

All Bark and No White Knight–review

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 Tari Hann

I finished this book on January 9. Amazon wouldn’t let me post a review there even though I’ve not made any rule infractions so I guess here and Goodreads will have to do. In fact, Amazon has totally wiped away ALL my reviews, even the non-book ones. I have no clue why. If anyone knows how to get those back, please let me know too!

I’ve been reading the Happy Tails Dog Walking mysteries from the beginning so these characters are always like coming back to old friends.

My Goodreads review:
All Bark and No White Knight by Stella St. Claire

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Olivia Rickard and her boyfriend Andrew are back together but lately he’s been a little distant and not talking much as well as postponing or cancelling their dates all together. Olivia follows him to one of these meetings since she eavesdropped on his conversation when they were together and he took the call. She sees him with a blonde and a rose. When the blonde ends up dead, Olivia is worried that Andrew would be the main suspect since he was probably the last to see her alive so of course she can’t have that and starts investigating.

In the meantime, Janelle hasn’t been in a great mood since she’s wanting to expand into catering which also means needing to expand her bakery. As if two things weren’t bad enough, Jackie tells Olivia she’s had a vandal in her book store. Soon after that, Olivia’s office is trashed and a warning note is found. Despite Nick’s warnings to stay off his investigation, Olivia feels the need to keep on but has to keep watching her back because she is afraid she could be the next murder victim.

Like the other three books, this books was fun and quick read and had plenty of great clues and suspects. I really didn’t see it coming as to the killers identity. Andrew’s secret was revealed and all was right with the world after the killer was caught. The vandal was never caught so I’m guessing that story line will continue into the next book which I will actually be reading…next!

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Murder with Peacocks review

January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 Tari Hann

I borrowed this one from Overdrive and managed to finish in a day. This is definitely a good series for laughs and comedy along with murder. I knew that from when I borrowed the audio book for #15 in the series, Hen of the Baskervilles. This one is the first in the Meg Langslow series.

Here’s my Goodreads review:

Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had borrowed an audio book in this same series earlier this fall and really enjoyed it so I got curious as to how Meg’s story started out, was she always married, when did the little boys come along, etc. So I borrowed this first book from Overdrive and found out!

Meg Langslow is a blacksmith by trade but this particular summer she is juggling the planning of three weddings: one of a good friend (who will not be such a good friend if said friend doesn’t choose a wedding gown soon), her mother and her brother, Rob. She’s home in Yorktown, VA for all three weddings since Meg is currently unattached.

After a body is discovered, a crazy chain of accidents starts occurring, all seemingly aimed at Meg’s dad, who is a doctor and who is investigating the murder along with the local sheriff. Meg and her new friend whose mom owns the wedding dress shop but he’s watching it for her while she recovers from a broken leg out of town, set off to figure out what’s going on and to see if they can avoid any more mishaps or murders.

I didn’t think it was possible to have so much murder, mayhem and hilarity in one book but this book was so funny in places then murderously exciting in others. It’s actually the first book I’ve read that’s had three bodies show up. The fact that it was always around a wedding was what made it so funny because I could just picture all the chaos happening in a funny TV mystery movie, peacocks included! If you’re really a huge fan of peacocks (which I’m not) you might want to know that they are only decorations for two of the weddings.

Meg has to be the most patient person in all of mystery land. I think her mom would drive me bonkers even as well-meaning as she is. There were so many good characters/suspects, leads and clues that it was kind of possible to figure it out but I wasn’t really sure about it until the author chose to start revealing the killer. I’m going to continue this series in order (unless I get an itch to listen to another one lol) so I can see just how Meg’s current married status came about. I’ve heard the whole series is just as funny and fun to read so it’ll be a good adventure!

Not sure why Amazon won’t let me post a review about this book there. I haven’t tried to review it before today, I didn’t have a previous review of this product and I have no interaction with the author or anyone that it would be looked at as not the right kind of review. Yes, I did borrow this from Overdrive but that’s never been an issue before. I can’t even get beyond giving it stars when the message comes up, so if Donna Andrews happens to see this review, I really tried to post it on Amazon but they won’t let me.

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Better Dead–review

January 7, 2018 Tari Hann

This was a really awesome paranormal cozy. It wasn’t the scary type at all (trust me, I’m a chicken and can’t read anything seriously scary) but just a cozy that happened to have the ghost of a woman’s husband or had he lived he would have become her ex-husband–she’d caught him cheating on her and she wanted a divorce. He couldn’t get to heaven until he got his wife to help him with some unfinished business. She finds out you just can’t divorce a ghost!

Here’s my review from Goodreads:

Better Dead by Pamela Kopfler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holly Davis owns a bed and breakfast in Delta Ridge LA. She’d just been getting ready to serve her husband with divorce papers when he was killed in a plane crash. Easy out? Think again. Burl appears to her now as a ghost with a favor. If she can’t help him out then he’s doomed to stay in the B&B forever.

Holly figures she should make the best of it while she tries to come up with a way to help Burl. He had been involved with drug smuggling and she figures if she can bust their operation, Burl will be free and clear to go to heaven like St. Peter had told him. She convinces Burl that if he learns how to haunt the house, her B&B will become popular and she’ll get the reservations she needs to make ends meet.

In the meantime, Holly’s former boyfriend, Jake McCann is in town working at the Gazette and he needs to stay at the B&B for awhile. This could get interesting with her dead husband’s ghost and her very real current interest. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, Holly still has feelings for Jake. Can Jake help her help Burl without Holly having to tell her about Burl and risk Jake thinking she’s nuts? Read it and find out!

Oh my goodness, I haven’t read a good fun ghost story in awhile so this is just what I needed! It was funny, a little sad, very exciting and hard to put down. Once the action started I just kept on reading and boy what a good twist. This cozy was a little bit different in that there was no murder, well aside from Burl dying before his time.

The main characters were all so real (aside from the Burl being a ghost thing) and likable and yes, even Burl grew on me. I can’t wait to visit Delta Ridge again. I’m kind of hoping that Burl turns up in the next book, but since I’m not familiar with ghost protocol, and it’s all in the hands of the author anyway.

There was plenty of suspense along with plenty of suspects, a very satisfying take down and ending that was a touch sad. I just about devoured the first chapter provided for the next book. I pre-ordered that book but yikes, I have to wait until September to read it!

This book was a paperback ARC provided by the author. I was thrilled to read and review, which I did voluntarily.

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Assault and Pepper review

January 6, 2018 Tari Hann

Hmm, maybe I made up for missing a book-a-day because I finished another one today. Here’s what I wrote on Goodreads about it:

Assault and Pepper by Leslie Budewitz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pepper Reece has found her place in life after her divorce and losing her job in the corporate world due to a corporate crash. She’s running the Seattle Spice shop at the Pike’s Place Market and couldn’t be happier. She’s got some great employees, at least she thought she did until one of them, Tory, is arrested for the murder of a seemingly homeless man who just showed up to set up in the market. Tory has some secrets of her own but Pepper is determined to get to the bottom of all this. She also can’t figure out what another local homeless man, Sam, may or may not have had to do with the dead man’s murder since Sam’s beret was found on the deceased. Someone knows Pepper is investigating so she had better be careful or she may be the next one killed!

The side story involving Pepper and a new guy she hopes to date was interesting. Her ex, Tag, is part of the bike police in town and he can’t seem to be able to stop wanting to protect her, as well as get back together with her. I like how the dating thing ends, she’s not really committed to anyone at this point but knows she can rely on Tag to do his job.

This was an enjoyable and fairly quick read. I’ve never been to Seattle so it was interesting to hear about the market and the area. I could picture all the little shops along the way. I didn’t guess the killer at all, it was completely a surprise. I hadn’t even considered that person. The twists and turns were great and really keep the reader wanting to read on and keep us guessing. The take down was pretty awesome and I could picture that happening on TV.

Sam and his dog Arf were a couple of my favorite characters. I just knew Sam was much too sweet of a person to have had anything to do with the murder. I like how his little story resolves too.

Seattle may not be a small city but I definitely want to return and spend more time with my new friends at the Seattle Spice shop.

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Death by Eggnog by Alex Erickson

January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 Tari Hann

Ok, so I kind of got off my book-a-day thing but my website needed some attention and it still does. But I still finished this in not quite 2 days. It was another fun Christmas read. Here’s what I wrote about it on Goodreads:

Death by Eggnog by Alex Erickson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Krissy Hancock has somehow gotten herself volunteered to be an elf in the local Christmas play so there goes her two week vacation from the book store/coffee shop that she co-owns with her best friend Vicki. In true Krissy fashion, a body is discovered, one of the actors in the play and her ex, Robert, is jailed for the murder. Krissy still thinks Robert is a jerk but she knows he’s not a killer so she feels compelled to investigate despite having to come to practices that are doing a real number on her body as far as aches and pains go.

This is the first book in the series that I’ve read but the author does a good job of briefly telling who is who. I never felt confused just dropping in on book 5 but I do want to start at the beginning and read the rest of them. The characters are all very likable, and even the old lady next door who has always been spying on Krissy, comes around a little after her daughter comes to town and they have a meal together. The old lady just needed a friend and a purpose. That part seemed a little unrelated to the mystery but had I read the previous four books, I’m sure it would have seemed a little more relevant.

I never guessed the killer because the author did such a good job of spreading out red herrings along the way. Just as I’d suspect one person, they would be cleared. I like his writing style too, humorous at times and to the point as far as he’s not overdoing descriptions or anything. I felt like I could picture all the places that were talked about. This author gets more into the head of the main character and it worked out great. I loved the final scenes, very exciting and again, a little bit funny at times. The ending was awesome so once I’m caught up with this series, I’ll be anxious to read the 6th book!

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Dead and Ganache

January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 Tari Hann

So far this year I’ve been getting a book a day finished. Today I finished Dead and Ganache, #4 in the Chocolate Whisperer series by Colette London. It’s hard to read that book and not crave chocolate something! 😉 There are even recipes in the back of the book. Here’s what I wrote about it:

Dead and Ganache by Colette London

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first in this series that I’ve read since I volunteered to read and review an advance copy of it. I like how the author gets the reader up to speed with Hayden’s narrative in the beginning–I had to double check to see if I was in the first book, that’s how good of a job she did. I had never read about the two guys in her life, one bodyguard, one financial adviser but I sure felt like I knew them once I’d read only a little bit about them and said by them. Hayden’s own background of how she became a wealthy traveling chocolate whisperer was explained briefly but with enough detail that a person can read this book without having read the previous books.

The descriptions of provincial France were detailed and pretty amazing because I could just picture the little street and even the chateau where Hayden and Travis were staying. I’ve never been to France at all. I’ve only ever seen pictures or videos online but the descriptions in the book are vivid.

There was definitely a lot of potential killers to choose from and I didn’t guess who it was until I had read enough clues which I think the author tossed out there for us to find. The take down was pretty awesome. I wasn’t sure about the police detective, Melanie, at first but was glad that she ended up being one of the types that treats the sleuth with respect and actually asks for their help.

It was kind of a complex case in a way, and there was a little side mystery that I had no clue about so that was a fun surprise. Despite Hayden’s coming to be with her chocolatier mentor and having to be there while he was murdered, she was able to help out with the crime as well as make a few new friends and learn a thing or two about her previously mysterious voice-only financial adviser. I’m interested in reading the other three in this series now to see just how all this started. Hopefully I can get caught up with the series before the 5th book comes out!

As stated at the beginning, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book which I received via NetGalley and the publisher.

My goal of getting my NetGalley list all finished before I request anything else is getting closer!

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Dial Meow for Murder, a purring good time!

January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 Tari Hann

Dial Meow for Murder by Bethany Blake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s getting close to Halloween and the Fur-Ever Friends Pet Rescue gala event is underway. Daph Templeton is helping her sister and friends put the finishing touches on the evening. When she goes looking for the woman usually in charge of the event inside her mansion, she finds that her mother, Maeve, is also putting the final touches on selling the mansion. In trying to chase down the owner’s elusive cat, Tinkleston, Daph finds the body of his owner, Lillian Flynt, in the bathtub.

Evidence of course points to Maeve since she was with the deceased recently and trying to sell the house for her so Daph is not going to leave this case alone until she clears her mother’s name. To add even more mayhem to the situation, her detective friend Jonathan Black’s ex-wife is in town and is the person who wants to buy the mansion. It’s tense sailing for Daph and Jonathan who seem to be growing a tad closer but when they’re together it seems that Elyse is also there.

Daph’s good friend Dylan is also needing to speak to her in private so she’s a little on edge about that too. Since she’s doing a lot of investigating lately, Daph will need to watch her back especially when she stumbles onto a second murder victim!

This was another fun and exciting mystery in this series. There were tons of suspects and reasons so I really couldn’t decide who the killer was. I picked up on a clue the author left and thought maybe it was that but I wasn’t sure of why. As always I just enjoyed the excitement and humor that went along with the story.

Moxie is still my favorite secondary character, she’s such a hoot and Artie remains my favorite dog character but slow-moving Socrates actually plays a little bit bigger of a role in this book. I was glad for that because I have a special soft spot for basset hounds. Although Socrates wouldn’t like me very much because I would want to hug on him a lot!

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