small town indiana – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Hounding a Killer review

May 6, 2025 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Bailey the Bloodhound Mysteries by Kallie E. Benjamin, better known to her cozy mystery fans as Valerie Burns or V.M. Burns who writes two of my other fave series, Baker Street Mysteries and Mystery Bookshop Mysteries, respectively. Bailey had me at the get-go when I borrowed the first book from the library, but I was thrilled to get approved this time to read and review an ARC of this second book. My review below says it all, and I can’t wait for the next book!

#NetGalley #BerkleyPublishing #KallieEBenjamin #ValerieBurns #VMBurns

My Goodreads review:

Hounding a Killer by Kallie E. Benjamin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just love Pris and all her friends’ characters! I really enjoyed that first book, but this one might just be even better. There was so much going on with Pris juggling a looming deadline, wanting to investigate but not let Gilbert know and being one of three adults watching over three tween-age girls, one of which was boyfriend police chief Gilbert’s own daughter. No pressure there, Pris, lol.

Bailey was at his sniffing best as he found clues and alerted when help was needed. The showdown was a good one and Pris’s pitching arm was still in great form. Everything that hadn’t been explained came out at the end as did Pris’s newest manuscript. I loved the title “The Case of the Dancing Dachshund” since I’ve got my own little dachshund who dances for food, lol. Very much hoping this series continues because I’ve definitely not read enough about Pris, Bailey and all their friends, I need more!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC provided via NetGalley by Berkley Publishing, and my opinions are my own.

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Scone Cold Dead review

March 23, 2025March 23, 2025 Tari Hann

This is the thirteenth book in the Country Store Mysteries by Maddie Day aka Edith Maxwell, a fave series of mine that I’ve enjoyed since it started. It’s been fun following Robbie’s story while seeing relationships grow and change over the years.

One good constant everyone can rely on is that police chief Buck Bird’s gonna come in the restaurant and say he’s hungrier than…something. The fun part’s finding out just what and how many things he’s hungrier than in the course of a book, lol. I really enjoy all these characters and feel that Robbie’s very blessed to have people in her life like these locals and her awesome hubby Abe and stepson Sean. Hoping the series continues with more sleuthing but maybe the less dangerous for momma Robbie kind. 😉

#NetGalley #MaddieDay #KensingtonCozies

My Goodreads review:

Scone Cold Dead by Maddie Day
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just love good old Buck Bird in this series which I’ve enjoyed since its beginning! He’s got about as many colorful, colloquial sayings as a certain campground manager in another of my fave series. Buck always cracks me up how he can put away so much food, lol. Adele’s a pretty cool character but for a while, she was having a hard time when the death of someone happened that she knew but wouldn’t admit to knowing.

Robbie had her sleuthing cut out for her but at least she wasn’t chasing down anyone. It was kinda cool how she and Lou got one last before-baby hurrah when they did a little snooping together. Lou’s an awesome friend and really came through when Robbie and the restaurant needed her. It’ll be interesting to see what directions Robbie’s investigations go now that her baby’s here. There were others who got some good news as well and one who had some bittersweet news, but even with baby on the brain, Robbie came up with a darn good solution.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

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Strangled Eggs and Ham review

June 27, 2019 Tari Hann

This is the sixth book in the Country Store series, another of my favorites by another favorite author, Maddie Day aka Edith Maxwell. I love the down home feeling in this series and how Robbie has taken to small town life in her little country store and restaurant. I may live in Ohio, but I love visiting Indiana and always feel at home there!

My Goodreads review:

Strangled Eggs and Ham by Maddie Day

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s like going home to friends every time I read a book in this series! This latest installment gave aunt Adele and her pal Vera a lot of storyline, and that was fun, since Adele is such a hoot and probably my favorite character. Vera is no slouch either. They both did great holding their own against a killer at the end of the book. I liked how Robbie has become even smarter when it comes to security and reporting everything to the police rather than taking off and winging it alone. Ok, well maybe she did the alone thing which was a bit nerve-wracking to read, but it was all good. I liked that Oscar Thompson and Buck’s cousin Wanda were back.

I was pretty close on who the killer was, but the chase was the best part and nailing this person. Robbie had a close encounter that she escaped from–as I said, she’s getting better at this. Abe was away for this story, but they at least kept in touch. Danna had a little more storyline as well. I love all Robbie’s employees. Each one of them has such an awesome personality and brings different and fun things happening when it’s their turn to work. As always, I’m anxious for the next book in the series!

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The Body in the Wetlands–review

May 3, 2019 Tari Hann

This is the second cozy mystery in the Jazzi Zanders series by Judi Lynn, who is usually a romance writer. It’s always interesting to see what kind of house flip that Jazzi and her cousin Jerod are working on, along with Jazzi’s hot boyfriend, Ansel who longs to be so much more than just a live-in boyfriend. The mystery again was very good and I hadn’t figured it out due to the great red herrings the author planted. I like Jazzi a lot. She’s a strong character, doesn’t take garbage from anyone–and she’s smart enough to always set her security system and lock doors. I’ve already preordered book 3! Oh, George the pug got a couple of tiny roommates in this book. No worries, he likes cats. 😉

My Goodreads review:

The Body in the Wetlands by Judi Lynn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jazzi Zanders had hoped that finding a body in the attic of their last renovation house was the last time that would happen, but of course, no such luck. When an elderly neighbor of her sister’s disappeared, his dog led Jazzi to a shallow grave of two other people, one of whom had been missing for a few weeks. It was only a guess as to what could have happened to the older man. Once again, Jazzi was called on by Det. Gaff to go with him and ask questions. He does seem like a detective who is easy to please, but he’s no slacker on his job and shows up promptly when Jazzi needs to talk to him. It was cute how he and his wife came to Jazzi’s pond to go swimming.

I hadn’t really guessed completely who the killer was, but by the near-showdown, I knew although I still didn’t know why. Thanks to a smart move by Jazzi, nothing happened. I kind of like when the arrest is made off-screen so to speak. It’s a little different. Everything was neatly wrapped up and the good detective once again thanked Jazzi, Ansel and Jerod. It seems odd that Gaff doesn’t have an actual police partner, but hey it’s fiction and it’s different and a little unique. These characters are becoming like old friends to return to. I especially like the Sunday meals that Jazzi and her family shares at her house. I’m looking forward to the next book!

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In the Dog House–review

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a brand new series releasing this Tuesday, August 21. It’s called the Dog Club Mysteries by somewhat newer cozy author V.M (Valerie) Burns, who is making a name for herself among cozy authors with her Mystery Bookshop series. I just loved the dogs in this book and the fact that they weren’t just pretty show dogs. They served an awesome purpose as well. I can’t wait for the next in series to come out!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this via NetGalley and the publisher, but would highly recommend it and will probably end up buying it (if I haven’t pre-ordered already–sometimes I pre-order and I forget!)

Update: I did pre-order this one and I found out the name of the next one and pre-ordered it too. The Puppy Who Knew Too Much comes out on February 12, 2019, my little dachsie’s third birthday!

My Goodreads review:

In the Dog House by V.M. Burns

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, this is such a great beginning for this new series! I absolutely loved this book. And those adorable dogs just added to how much I loved it, especially little Aggie! I hope there’s another one coming up soon!

Lilly Echosby had just found out her husband wanted a divorce. He was leaving her for a dumb bimbo named Bambi. The next minute he was found shot, found by said bimbo. Lilly of course was the obvious suspect. With her two grown kids in town for their dad’s funeral and her bestie Dixie by her side, they were determined they were going to find the real killer and clear Lilly’s name. When a second body turned up and she was blamed for that, she only became more determined to tie those two killings together. With the help of a K-9 officer named Joe and his dog Turbo, they cracked the case open and even got the mastermind of it.

This was a really exciting mystery since there was more than the murder going on. Lilly being a CPA had discovered the car dealership her husband had owned had something hinky going on. Officer Joe said he’d help, which I thought was good because he did genuinely want to clear her name, but he could also keep the civilians somewhat safe. I loved reading about the SING self-defense method. I had only read one other book where it was used to take down a bad guy. It was pretty important in nailing someone in this story.

I haven’t despised a character as much as I loathed Bambi in forever. There have only been a handful of characters throughout the books I’ve read that I have literally hated or was hoping they’d become the next victim. The author must have a special gift for being able to instill that, just as she has a gift for describing and telling about adorable dogs. In one scene, I literally had leaky eyes reading about something that happened to little Aggie, the toy poodle Lilly was adopting.

I liked Officer Joe an awful lot and almost hate to think about Lilly possibly leaving town. I hope that her pal Dixie stays in the story, she’s such a hoot, I love her to pieces! Lilly’s grown kids, Stephanie and David were amazing. They had a great relationship with their mom, but were able to show their dad the respect he needed when it was time for the funeral. I hope they make an appearance in future books too! The dogs were definitely stars as well. Poodles may not be attack dogs but just the scene of a grown man being scared when one had taken him down was so comical. What awesomely trained dogs!

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m very anxious for the next book in the series! I volunteered to read this one early via NetGalley and the publisher. Release date is August 21.

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