Tag: california

The Trouble with Talent review

Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Gourmet Cat series by Kathy Krevat, and the series has quickly become one of my favorites. It’s honestly more enjoyable if you read these in order. That way, you’ll see the character development and how Colbie got to this point in her gourmet cat food business.

My Goodreads review:

The Trouble with Talent (Gourmet Cat Mystery #3)The Trouble with Talent by Kathy Krevat

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was so good to return to Sunnyside, CA and catch up with Colbie, Elliott, her dad and all her friends. Little did she know that the death of a talented oboe teacher would lead her down a slippery and shady road searching for the killer, not to mention the danger her own life was in as some unknown person had been tracking her every move.

I loved that Colbie and Joss overcame some hurdles in this book and are at a good place right now. (Please just stay there lol). Her dad and his lady Annie were happily dating, Elliott was involved in another amazing play, and one of the coolest things was Colbie’s friend Tod who previously wouldn’t even let her in his apartment due to a psychological condition he had, had come such a long way. He was really helpful in getting information in this case too. I really loved that an abused mom was able to get revenge on her abusive ex. And little Trouble cat continued to love cuddles and seemed able to detect electronic bugs. All in a cat’s day’s work, right? This is a great series, and I’m very much looking forward to the next book!

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Murder at the Mushroom Festival–review

Tari Hann

This is the fourth book in the Kelly Jackson series by Janet Finsilver. Kelly is the new and now permanent manager of the Redwood Cove Inn and is enjoying her inn family and small seacoast town when another murder comes her way. With her friends, the Silver Sentinels, they now have another case to work on.

My Goodreads review:

Murder at the Mushroom Festival (A Kelly Jackson Mystery #4)Murder at the Mushroom Festival by Janet Finsilver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had only read the first book in this series but when this one was released I couldn’t resist jumping ahead. Just like the first, this mystery was well-written and plotted out. I did somewhat guess the killer (although I was second guessing myself at one point) but there were a couple of smaller mysteries going on that I didn’t really have any idea who was behind those.

Kelly jackson was still sort of new at her job as manager of the Redwood Cove inn and she was looking forward to the upcoming Mushroom Festival featuring a mushroom hunt and other outdoor activities. The meals at the inn were being put together by a woman named Elise running a class on mushrooms. Everything was going great until a local reporter (who a couple of people had had issues with) covering the event turned up murdered and someone else in the group was nearly poisoned. Kelly was worried that her friend Daniel who worked at a neighboring inn was going to be charged with the murder.

This was another job for the Silver Sentinels, a group of senior citizens who had formed in the first book to look into crime in the area and help the police with many extra sets of eyes. Kelly was an honorary member since her inn provided their meeting space. In fact, her boss had even named the conference room after them since he was so impressed by their previous crime solving attempts. I really enjoy each and every one of this special group. They all have their own special talents to contribute to the group and everyone discusses what they find out and assigns themselves to another aspect of the case.

I remembered the main characters from the first book and it was fun to go back and visit with Daniel, Helen and her son Tommy. A cute side story in this had Tommy trying to teach Fred the basset hound how to roll over. I really love that there were a couple of little side mysteries along with the extra real life touches such as the veterans with PTSD that were receiving service dogs trained at the community center that Scott ran, or just receiving a home at the community center. There was a nice shout-out to diabetes trained dogs as well as those dealing with their own diabetes. It was refreshing that Deputy Stanton wasn’t one of the grumpy cops I read about so much in these mysteries. He was kind, hard-working and genuinely interested in having the Silver Sentinels help with cases. He gave them respect and I really respected him for that.

I do want to go back and read the books that I missed. Redwood Cove is such a fun place to visit!

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