Tag: cozy mystery

Scene of the Climb–review

Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Pacific Northwest series by Kate Dyer-Seeley (most will recognize her as Ellie Alexander, author of the Bakeshop series and her new Sloan Krause series). I wasn’t sure just by reading the description or seeing the cover if I’d like it since I’m not a bit athletically inclined and definitely not a sports fan of any kind. But I was pleasantly surprised and plan to keep reading the series.

For anyone actually interested in the sport of climbing or trails, there is some information after the story about the different sites in Oregon used in the book. There are also some tips for beginners (like Meg!) to get started in the sport.

My Goodreads review:

Scene of the Climb (Pacific Northwest Mystery #1)Scene of the Climb by Kate E. Dyer-Seeley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though I’m about as far from being the outdoors type as you can get, once I got into this book, I really enjoyed it. I liked that it wasn’t overwhelmed with outdoor facts, just enough to describe the area in Oregon where this was taking place.

Meg Reed, daughter of famed journalist Charlie Reed has finally landed a journalism job, one her dad would have been proud of at Northwest Extreme magazine. One tiny little thing though, Meg is a total novice when it comes to outdoor adventures, only having hiked with her dad when she was younger. When her handsome boss Greg assigns her a primo assignment to cover Race the States, a first time adventure race which is ending in Oregon, Meg hopes she can live up to his expectations.

When Meg is on the trail and one of the contestants’ bodies comes sailing over the cliff, she’s sure it has to be murder and despite Greg, Sheriff Davis’s and even her good friend Matt’s warnings to not investigate, she just can’t help it. She’s her father’s child after all!

Her dad had died in a bike accident which had seemed odd at the time since he was always so careful. There is reason to believe it may not have been an accident, so I an going to enjoy seeing this little mystery spread out over the books, as I read in someone’s blog recently.

The regular characters were all well-developed and likable, um maybe not so much Jill’s boyfriend but he’s tolerable just kind of snooty. I think my favorites were Matt and Gam (Meg’s grandma). Matt is loyal to a fault and clearly adores Meg but she can’t bring herself to think of him in that way. Gam practices Reiki healing and is always wanting to help Meg.

I had slightly suspected the killer but the twist and reasoning came as a total surprise to me. It was definitely an exciting journey to the finish of this book! I’m reading the next one right away since we’re discussing it in a Facebook book club later this month.

This book may not have turned me into an outdoor adventures fan any more than I already was, but it did tell a great story!

View all my reviews

Dead in the Water–review

Tari Hann

Here’s the first book in what I think is already a great new series and I haven’t even read the other two books yet. The series is Scarlet Cove and one of the authors is Agatha Frost, well-known for her Peridale series along with her friend Evelyn Amber. I love that the main sleuth is just a little bit older than the usual 20s-30 somethings, she’s 42, a retired police officer and yes that’s a beagle picture up above because she gets to adopt a sweet beagle.

My Goodreads review:
Dead in the Water (Scarlet Cove #1)Dead in the Water by Agatha Frost

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an awesome, well-written beginning for a new series! I really enjoyed this story of a retired (well, a young retiree at age 42) police officer named Liz Jones who had recently lost her husband and decided to start her life over in Scarlet Cove on England’s south coast.

I knew I was going to love her new friend Nancy the moment they met. Nancy was just the type of person anyone would like to have for a friend: happy, always matchmaking and as everyone else in Scarlet Cove, loved gossip.

When the town’s head fisherman was found dead by Liz one day, Liz got a gut feeling it wasn’t just an accident like everyone had said. Frank had liked drinking a little to much so it was easy to put off as an accident. Liz’s detective training just can’t help but kick in.

Along the way she met some new and interesting people, asked a lot of questions, had some fun in the meantime. After finding yet another body, the cases were eventually cracked. Oh, and I loved how she adopted the fisherman’s little beagle, Paddy, that was going to be sent to a shelter.

This had a good and happy ending for most of the people in the story and I am so anxious to read the next installment!

View all my reviews

The Christie Curse–review

Tari Hann

This book is the first in the Book Collector series written by Victoria Abbott, a mom and daughter team (mom being Mary Jane Maffini who has also written the Charlotte Adams organizing series). I could hardly put this book down and I wished it didn’t have to end!

My Goodreads review:

The Christie Curse (Book Collector Mystery #1)The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, why I waited so long to read this amazing book is beyond me! I could barely put it down, it was that good. I’m so glad one of the Facebook book clubs I’m in decided on this book or it would still be sitting in my TBR stack, I’m afraid. So many books, so little time as we all say!

Jordan Bingham has gotten a job with grumpy old Vera Van Alt as her personal researcher of a possibly non-existent Agatha Christie manuscript that was supposedly written when the author was missing for over a week in 1926. With her well-connected and skating-under-the-radar Irish uncles looking out for her, she starts to investigate the mysterious death of her predecessor who was researching this same thing. She found it hard to believe that he hadn’t left any notes on what he was doing.

This book just had such a great overall tone to it. No one was who they seemed to be, or were they? I was suspecting everyone at one point! And I was very surprised at the reveal although part of it I had had suspicions.

It was so classic in so many ways from the big spooky mansion Jordan was now living in to all the characters, which could have been right out of Clue or an actual Agatha Christie book. Jordan’s shining hope through all her sessions with her cranky boss and investigations was her good friend Tiff, who was a nurse working in Alaska. Her local friend, handsome librarian Lance was there to help her as well. A local police officer, Tyler Dekker, always seemed to be around but Jordan who because of who her family was, was always a little wary of the police– was he friend or foe, posing as police or really a protector?

I got such a kick out of her various uncles and how she could call on them to do just about anything for her. They really doted on her and I thought it was sweet that the main two uncles she visited had taken in a Pug that belonged to a book seller who had ended up in the hospital. They were enjoying spoiling that little guy whose name was Walter.

Now I can’t wait for the discussion on this book and to hear what my book friends all have to say about it. I also can’t wait to read the next one in line.

View all my reviews

Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake–review

Tari Hann

This is the first book in a brand new series that released on January 30, the Death by Chocolate series by Sarah Graves. I’m a little late reviewing this but better late than never, right? I think it’s a fun start to the series, I love this little town and hope the author decides to write about Halloween and Christmas eventually!

My Goodreads review:

Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake (A Death by Chocolate Mystery #1)Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake by Sarah Graves

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a whirlwind of a mystery! I definitely never saw the solution coming, lots of clever plot twists and schemes too as well as murder.

Jacobia better known as Jake, owns a specialty bakery with her friend Ellie. Imagine her surprise at finding a dead guy in her shop with his face planted in melted chocolate, chocolate that had been melted to use on the dozens of chocolate cherry cheesecakes she and Ellie had promised the 4th of July fireworks committee for their annual auction. All fingers point to Ellie, especially when she was there and did have the motive that the dead guy, who turned out to be health inspector Muldoon, was harrassing her about fake health code infractions.

Jake knows she has to clear her friend’s name, there’s a big hurricane storm coming, she’s not heard from her grown son in days and there are all these cheesecakes that need baking. Everything of course works out in the end but boy was it a fun ride getting there.

I loved the humor and banter between Jake and Ellie as well as their friend Bob, the police chief who always managed to look the other way when they were investigating but still gave them his usual “don’t go around snooping” line. It was awesome that there were a couple of abandoned dogs that found homes, one with Jake and her family (its owner was in the hospital) and another with a local challenged man who picked up odd jobs here and there.

It was pretty fun reading about the fourth of July in the middle of winter! I’m anxious to see what the next installment brings!

NOTE: Image used was listed on Google as licensed for reuse.

View all my reviews

Texas Troubles–review

Tari Hann

I’ve had this in my TBR for awhile now and thought it was time to give it a read. It was a nice change to have an almost-50-year-old main character. This was first in the Ollie Stratford series by N.C. Lewis. Ollis is a widowed professor who finds herself the owner of a Texas homestead so she goes ahead and relocates.

Goodreads review:

Texas Troubles (An Ollie Stratford Mystery Book 1)Texas Troubles by N.C. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an intriguing mystery that kept me guessing! I kind of had an idea of who did it but not really why so I kept thinking maybe it was someone else.

Ollie Stratford accidentally won a Texas homestead so she decided to make the best of it. Widowed and between college professor jobs, she found the place to be really run-down but had a great idea for it, an event center. At first everyone in the town seemed friendly and eager to help but after the murder of a good friend she was planning to meet back up with, someone seemed to be telling her to leave the investigation alone.

I really liked the regular characters of this town, especially Ollie’s friend Tanner’s uncle even though he wasn’t in it a whole lot. They mostly seemed like people I’d want to be friends with. I loved that the homestead came with a dog and at the end, he helped save the day along with a resident homeless guy, Simpkins. Things ended well for Ollie and I’m assuming those at fault were getting their due punishment.

There was definitely a diverse mixture of personalities and I’m anxious to return to the next book and see how Ollie is progressing with her plans for the homestead.

View all my reviews

The Secret, Book & Scone Society–review

Tari Hann

This book is the first in a new series by the same name as the book by well-established author, Ellery Adams (Book Retreat, Charmed Pie Shoppe, Supper Club). It’s a little different from a typical cozy mystery and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, in fact it did take me a little longer to really get into the story but I am so glad I stuck with it! It was worth every minute reading! I’m usually not a fan of personal feelings types of books but the mystery was really good and it wasn’t super-saturated with the personal damages or hurts that the characters had once gone through. It was awesome how they became friends and were able to trust someone again–books played a big role in that. I can’t wait to see what the author has in mind for my new friends in Miracle Springs, NC in her next book!

Goodreads review:

The Secret, Book and Scone SocietyThe Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow this was an intense book but in a good way! It was definitely not like a typical cozy that I usually read but as always, this author doesn’t disappoint! There were murders and mysteries to solve which, I have to admit, got me a little more interested in the book. By the time it got close to the end, I didn’t want it to end!

Nora Pennington was badly injured with extensive burns but until she met with three other women who also had secrets to share, she never thought she’d trust anyone again. She came to Miracle Springs for healing of her spirit more than anything. An out of town man that she’d been talking to earlier ends up killed by a train and she can’t let it rest that this man could have committed suicide. So she starts talking to some local ladies about it.

The three of them, Nora, Estella, June and Hester start out as unlikely friends but they soon become a strong alliance even when investigating a couple of murders which may be the result of something shady going on at local subdivision building site. Nora volunteers to be the guinea pig who wants to build a new home in the subdivision and she soon finds a lot of weird things that don’t add up.

With a crooked sheriff they can’t turn to, at least they have the help of a couple of honest first responders, EMT Jed and Deputy Andrews, so with their help, the criminals are brought to justice. Nora finally feels the trust she has been looking for and tells her story and secret to her new friends.

This story was really incredible and I totally see what everyone has been raving about. I’m so glad now that my book club chose this one for February! I cannot wait to see what the author has in store for this unique group of friends.

View all my reviews

Double Whammy–review

Tari Hann

This is the first book in the series Davis Way Crime Caper by Gretchen Archer. It was selected as an online book club selection for February so I was able to borrow it through Overdrive and thought I better get it read and some notes made. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d be that crazy about it (to me casinos = snoozeville) but found that it was really funny and didn’t focus as much on the casino as the main character’s various undercover jobs, most of which turned out hilarious.

As of this writing, Amazon has once again taken down my reviews so I’ll have to wait till they are back to post my review on Amazon. Here’s my Goodreads review:

Double Whammy (Davis Way Crime Caper, #1)Double Whammy by Gretchen Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was really a hilarious, fast-paced thrilling ride of a read. Davis Way, a former police officer, has had it with job rejections. She keeps going after the same one and finally lands a job in Biloxi, MS with a casino as security. Most of what she does is undercover and definitely with a different identity. But there’s more to meet the eye than just video slots cheating, someone may have tampered with the software along the way.

When Davis is trying to figure that out, she ends up in prison, accused of shooting the main boss so it’s interesting to see how in the world she manages to come out of this alive herself!

There were a lot of fun characters in this story. I think my favorite was the cabbie, George. He seemed to be up on everything and knew Davis’s every move. I think George was my favorite since I could tell of all the characters, he really had Davis’s back.

The book was hilarious in a lot of parts, serious in some but the ending was so satisfying. The real shooter was caught and everything was wrapped up nicely with a great ending.

View all my reviews

Of Murder and Men–review

Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Cat Latimer series by Lynn Cahoon. I had just finished the second book and was really anxious to see how things progressed so I did something I usually don’t do which is read more than one book from a series, right after one another. I’m glad I did. This book was kind of like a conclusion to a trilogy although I still have a couple of things I’d love to ask the author but I’m hoping she’s saving them for the next book or books.

My Goodreads review:

Of Murder and Men (A Cat Latimer Mystery)Of Murder and Men by Lynn Cahoon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness was this a good book! I guess a book is really something when you read past the 20% warnings on your Kindle and the battery just dies on you. Luckily, I own a backup Kindle 😉

Cat Latimer has her January writers’ retreat people coming. Since we didn’t have a book for December, we find out that the retreat for that month actually went on without incident. Cat’s friend and business partner, Shauna, has fallen for a local landowner and isn’t going to be at the retreat much this time but she’s still got everything under control especially after Cat confesses to her that she forgot to turn the oven on to bake a breakfast casserole.

Shauna later gets the news that her boyfriend, recently turned fiance’ was found dead in his horse barn after having gotten up in the middle of the night to answer a text. Meanwhile Cat is still looking into Michael’s murder and now she feels like she needs to look into Kevin’s as well.

The stand out visiting character in this book was Shirley, a retired police detective who is on the retreat so she can write a police procedural. I just got the biggest kick out of her. On one hand she really likes Uncle Pete but she tries to brush it off as a professional friendship. She also grabs onto the whole Michael murder mess and won’t let go until she finds something useful. I really hope we do get to see more of Shirley.

I liked the little character cross-over that the author did from her Tourist Trap series. Cross-overs are fun, like introducing one set of your friends to another set. And that’s how I feel about the characters in this series as well as the Tourist Trap series. It’s always fun to go back to visit them.

I was glad to see some of the items that had not been resolved since the first book finally put to rest. I think Cat will always have questions about Michael but her main issues are at peace now. I’m anxious to see how the different things that Shauna, Shirley and Seth have suggested they do for the retreat turn out as well. Long live the writer’s retreat!

View all my reviews

Fatality by Firelight–review

Tari Hann

This is the second book by Lynn Cahoon in the Cat Latimer Mystery series. Just a quick backstory, Cat has inherited a huge Victorian house that she and her ex-husband bought and planned to fix up. In the meantime, she divorced him then found out he was killed. The house reverted to her, mortgage-free. Cat holds writers’ retreats and is starting the second retreat in this book. Lots of mystery and even mentions of the mob are happening in this book.

I would honestly recommend that anyone interested in this series read the first book first. I think you’ll enjoy this one a lot more if you do, and it will make a lot more sense even though the author does a great job of filling in some things that happened at the first retreat.

My review on Goodreads:

Fatality by Firelight (Cat Latimer Mystery, #2)Fatality by Firelight by Lynn Cahoon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cat Latimer and her friends Shauna and Seth (actually he’s her boyfriend now) are gearing up for another hopefully successful writer’s retreat. All Cat wants is a nice week with no murder or crazy excitement going on during the retreat. Apparently that was too much to hope for because while she and her guests are at the first day’s activity, skiing, a local man is found murdered in one of the ski resort’s rooms. Uncle Pete, Cat’s uncle who is with the police department seems very interested in one of the guests who was last seen with the dead man.

Meanwhile a couple of mysterious men are spotted around town, one of which seems to be most interested in Cat herself. She can’t help but think that this man could possibly have some connection to her deceased ex-husband, Michael.

This book was just as exciting as the first one was. Basically, it was one I didn’t want to put down. I do love the idea of Cat trying to move past Michael’s death by using his study more, and also that she’s now in a good place with Seth. He seems so perfect for her. Shauna was her usual fun self and I just love Uncle Pete! The guests were definitely a group of diverse and interesting characters. They will have you wondering (like I did) whether one of them is actually a killer. Or could it be someone from the outside?

I like that some things from the first book are continued through this one, some explained, some not but that’s kind of fun, like a nighttime serial drama. There were a couple of side mysteries and I was right about one of them. I wasn’t totally sure about the killer though but I’m glad it wasn’t the person I had suspected.

View all my reviews