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The following reviews are by Dawn Dowdle - mysterybks@yahoo.com Take a look at her website www.mysteryloverscorner.com
The Alpine Pursuit The Alpine Council Dramatic Club is presenting a melodrama that will climax with the fatal shooting of the villain. On opening night the cast and audience are quite surprised to find that the bullets were real and not blanks. Who could have switched them? Emma Lord, editor and publisher of the weekly Alpine Advocate, is in the audience and quickly begins investigating the murder. Hans Berenger was the dean of students at the local community college. He wasn't well liked. There is a plethora of suspects. Emma gets assistance from Vida Runkel, the Advocate's House and Home Editor. Can they discover the identity of the real killer before Emma finds herself the next victim. I really enjoy this series. Emma is a great character. Sheriff Milo Dodge and Vida Runkel are great as well. I like the small-town setting in Washington state. I recognize many of the mentioned landmarks. Plus having the protagonist be the weekly newspaper editor really lends itself to some interesting possibilities in this cozy series. The author has done a good job of creating a small town I'd like to visit and of plotting a mystery that kept me guessing.
The Alpine Quilt When Genevieve Bayard dies while having dinner with a friend, Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the local newspaper, The Alpine Advocate, arrives on the scene to report the incident. Gen had recently returned to Alpine, Washington, and the members of the Burl Creek Thimble Club had thrown her a welcome back party. Although not everyone adored Gen, her death was still a shock.. Normally Vida Runkel, the Advocate's House and Home editor, would have been all over such an event and helped Emma discover the killer's identity. Instead, Vida seems unwilling to get involved or even discuss it. At the same time, there has been a rash of burglaries in town. Even Emma's cabin is vandalized. Could these be related to the murder? As Emma digs into Gen's past, she uncovers a shocking scandal. Can she find the killer? Could it be her dear friend? I always enjoy books in this series. Emma is a fun character and Vida really makes me laugh. Emma and Milo 's relationship has grown throughout the books, but I like the uncertainty of it. Having Emma's brother Ben in town really enhanced the story and gave her a real reason to get involved with solving the murder. Plus I thought it made me like her even more. I am especially partial to the location of the book as I grew up in Washington State and went over the passes frequently. I feel as if I know Alpine, even though it isn't a real town.. If you haven't read this series, I recommend you give it a whirl.
The Alpine Scandal An obituary is received at the office of The Alpine Advocate, weekly newspaper in Alpine, Washington , of resident Elmer Nystrom. When Emma Lord, publisher, and Vida Runkel, House and Home editor, go to call on Elmer's wife, she tells them he's alive and well. When they go out to the henhouse to talk to him, they find his dead body lying on the floor half covered with straw. It is soon discovered that he was murdered. Strangest part was that his obituary was mailed before he died. It appears Elmer was well liked, although that can't be said of his wife or his son, the new orthodontist in town. Sheriff Milo Dodge ends up in the hospital. So Emma and Vida strive to find out who killed Elmer and why. As they start investigating, they uncover a few suspects and motives. Since Elmer was killed, there has to be at least one person out there who didn't like him. Can Emma and Vida uncover the identity of that person without putting themselves in danger? This was one of my favorite books in this series. Emma and Vida working together to uncover the killer is enjoyable. I love Emma and her family and her interactions with her staff as well as the sheriff bring a good feel to the series.
Chili Con Corpses Librarian James Henry and his friends in the The Flab Five supper club decide to join a Mexican cooking class at the suggestion of Lindy, a local schoolteacher. Class heats up when a Murphy, a local reporter, and her friends, gorgeous twin sisters, enroll. When people start turning up dead, the evidence appears to point toward Lindy. Things don't seem to be going too well for James and Lucy as Lucy works harder and harder to pass the sheriff's test. As they continue to drift apart, Murphy steps in. James is unsure as to his feelings but isn't willing to just sit around either. Knowing Lindy can't be the killer, The Flab Five step in. Can they find the killer before anyone else dies? I thoroughly enjoy this series. James and The Flab Five are fabulous. I really like the dieting tips and hearing how they struggle with it. I especially like the Fitzgerald twins at the library. They are so ingenious and engaging. The small-town setting in Virginia is great as well. I recognize a lot of the area landmarks.
Face Time TV reporter Charlotte "Charlie" McNally has been given a tape proving Dorinda Sweeney, dubbed "Deadly Dorie," could not have killed her husband four years ago because she was nowhere near her home during the killing. Looking for a Nielsen rating victory, Charlie and her producer Franklin set out to prove Dorie's innocence. Problem is that Dorie maintains her guilt and refuses to talk to anyone. The Attorney General has just announced his candidacy for governor and is applying pressure to Charlie's station to drop the story. He built his career on her conviction and doesn't want to see her go free. In the meantime, things with Josh are a bit rocky. His eight-year-old daughter refuses to warm up to Charlie. And if that weren't enough, her mother is in the area to recover from some cosmetic work and she's a bit demanding of Charlie's time. People associated with Dorie's case keep dying. Charlie believes this proves the real killer is still out there. Can Charlie find the killer before they put their sites on Charlie? I really enjoy this series. Charlie is a fun character. I like the fact that she's a TV investigative reporter and that we get a glimpse into her life. It shows just how much work goes into the various stories we see on TV. Plus I like the various characters she encounters and works with. I think the author did a great job of creating the setting and characters in this book. The sub-plots were expertly weaved together with the main plot and never took over. It is a quick read but yet has a good mystery to keep the reader engaged.
Fifty-Seven Heaven Kitty and Jack Bloodworth discover the body of Kitty's unpopular cousin Will Ann Lloyd in the truck of their restored '57 Chevy at a local car show. Right before she was stuffed into their trunk, Will Ann had confronted them at an antique car club meeting and called Jack and Kitty's daughter Sunny a tramp. I really enjoyed this book. Kitty is such a likeable character and I thought the author did an outstanding job in the description of Kitty's accident and recovery. I couldn't put the book down through those chapters. Matter of fact, I had a hard time putting the book down, period. Metropolis, IL, is a great setting and the plot is well written with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing.
Hand Of Evil Ali Reynolds has had a tough year. She's struggling with grief and depression. In the midst of this, she has to help her friend Dave Homan locate his missing teen daughter, Crystal. She assists in bringing Crystal home and finds herself babysitting more often than not. She soon learns that Crystal has been sexually active. Ali also realizes Crystal witnessed an attack and someone is after her. The person who was attacked was a good friend of Ali's dad.
The Lighthouse Keeper Grace Marsden and her brother Marty both need to get away so they accept an invitation from a childhood friend for an off-season trip to Christian Island . Her friend has invited some other couples to join them. A fluke snowstorm isolates and traps them on the island. When an island Elder is found dead of mysterious causes, they are soon the prime suspects. Grace is a female version of Monk and her OCD often gets her into interesting situations. Plus she can see ghosts. She soon finds out that everything is not as it seems with the people she is staying with. Could one of them be a killer? Can she put the pieces together to unmask the killer before anyone else is killed? I enjoy Grace. She is a great character with plenty of quirks. But the author does a great job of not letting the quirks take over and dominate the story. And I like that even though there are ghosts, that isn't the main focus of the story. She has done a great job of creating a cast of characters that provide plenty of red herrings and misdirected suspicions without seeming shallow. I like the island setting with the snowstorm. The fact that the islanders don't like outsiders really assisted with the story line.
The Marathon Murders Greg and Jill McKenzie, owners of McKenzie Investigations, feel obligated to help when Colonel Warren Jarvis asks them to take on the case of his good friend Kelli Kane. Kelli needs the McKenzies to help clear the name of her great-great-grandfather Sydney Liggett. Back in 1914 he was accused of embezzling funds from Marathon Motor Works. Pierce Bradley, a construction supervisor at the former Marathon Motors building, found papers belonging to Sydney Liggett which would have exonerated him, but he disappeared before the papers could be turned over to the DA. Bradley called Kelli's grandfather and set up a meeting to hand over the papers. Unfortunately Bradley can't be located now. Not long after the McKenzies being to investigate, Bradley's body is found submerged in a lake. The papers he claimed he found are still missing. To make matters worse, more people connected to the investigate end up dead. There aren't many clues to go on, but the McKenzies are committed to do everything they can to find those papers. Can they find them before more people die? Can they find them without putting themselves in danger? I love this series. Jill and Greg are such lovable characters. The plot is well constructed, and the setting is terrific. Such a great cozy mystery series. The author has done a fabulous job of setting up the story and creating characters that are believable. I enjoyed learning about the Marathon cars as well. I found myself having trouble putting it down.
Pushing Up Daisies Paula Holliday started her gardening business, PH Factors, Garden Solutions, after the production company she worked for was bought out. She is hired to restore the gardens at Halcyon. When Dorothy Peacock died, her estate was left to the Historical Society. Imagine her surprise and horror when she unearths a box containing a mummified baby. One of Paula's friends and workers is arrested when a body is impaled on a garden tool. Paula decides that she has to help prove her friend didn't commit murder. In her sleuthing, she discovers that a young female Mexican worked nearby decades ago and mysteriously vanished. Most people just assumed she went home. Paula is not so certain. Can she help her friend and find the real killer? Can she discover the parents of the baby? Can she do this without putting herself in danger? This is Rosemary Harris' first cozy mystery, and it's a keeper. Great characters and setting. There are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing as to the killer's identity. The gardening tidbits are educational, and the Springfield , CT. , setting readily lent itself to the cozy. I look forward to reading many more books in this series and hope the author writes fast!
String Of Lies Jo McAllister, owner of Jo's Craft Corner, discovers that Parker Holt has been buying up some of the neighboring buildings and putting her friends' businesses out of business. Fearing for the future of her new business, she tries to contact her landlord Max. Not being able to reach him, she decides to talk to Parker himself. Easier said than done. So she finds out from Dan, her friend Carries' husband, when Parker will be home and heads over to confront him in person. Unfortunately he is dead. Someone set up an electrical trap, and the police are pointing the finger at Dan's construction crew, especially Xavier. Xavier's wife, Sylvia, had worked for Parker Holt. Parker had made unsavory advances, and Xavier was not happy. Jo and her friends set out to help clear Xavier before his first child is born. Plus Dan's business is suffering from the bad press. But can they pin down the killer's identity without the killer targeting them? I really enjoy this series. Jo and Carrie, Dan's wife and Jo's friend, are such great characters. The author has done such a great job of creating a small town you would want to go visit and especially a crafting store many women would like to frequent. The various customers really add to the story and provide a lot of great sub-stories in each book. There are a crafting tip and directions at the back of the book as well.
Unscrewed L. A. homicide detective Jack Rivera is under suspicion of murder. Cocktail-waitress-turned-psychologist Christina McMullen can't believe he did it. But it might be her libido talking. When it comes to Rivera, she has a bad case of irresistible attraction. To add insult to injury, the dead woman was his beautiful ex-girlfriend now engaged to his father. And Christina thought she had family problems! As Christina investigates, she suspects his mother or his father the senator may have killed her. She also knows that she'd better be sure before she tells Rivera of her suspicions. The dead woman had quite a past. Can Christina uncover the real killer without putting herself in danger? Will Rivera be there to save her once again? I really enjoy this series. The sexual tension between Rivera and Christina is well written. I thought this book was well crafted and that the various characters interacted well and gave the story a lot of twists and turns in identifying the killer. The writer has done a great job in creating a cast of characters that engage the reader and intensify the mystery.
Wash And Die Charlotte LaRue owns Maid for a Day cleaning service in New Orleans . When she returns home from a hard day of cleaning, she finds Joyce Thibodeaux waiting on her porch. Joyce begs Charlotte to let her stay with her for a few days. Joyce is a known liar and con artist and has just gotten out of rehab. Against her better judgment, Charlotte says yes. Joyce was once married to Charlotte 's tenant Louis Thibodeaux. It doesn't take long for Charlotte to regret letting Joyce stay. Joyce can't keep her room clean, lies about why a San Francisco inspector shows up looking for her, and steals Charlotte's father's gold watch and pawns it. Charlotte tries to recover her watch, but the pawn shop denies who pawned it and says it is sold. Charlotte comes home to find her house has been trashed and Sweety Boy, her parakeet, is missing. Since Charlotte fought with Joyce and kicked her out, she is a prime suspect. She and Louis, also a suspect, talk about the facts they each know and decide on avenues they will each pursue. When Charlotte goes sleuthing at the hospital where Joyce last stayed, she find herself in danger. If she's not careful, she might just find herself face-to-face with a murderer. I love this series. Charlotte is a great character and New Orleans is a wonderful setting. I like the fact that Charlotte is a maid. So many times people talk in front of the maid, helping her to find answers. This book has plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the page.
Reviewed By Joe DeMarco
Deadly Vision Serial killers, a psychic, and a missing child are just some of the elements in this novel of suspense by Rick Reed. Written at a break neck pace which mirrors the frantic nature of the mother's search for her son, this book will undoubtedly keep you in your favorite reading space until you've turned the last page. Serial killers are stalking the young girls of a rural Pennsylvania community. Two have gone missing so far. Cass and her son Max live in this community and when Max wanders off and Cass goes in search of him they begin a series of cascading events which lead to a desperate chase and horrific revelations. While searching for her son, Cass gets caught in a storm and is knocked out by a falling tree branch. After that she begins to have visions; girls who she does not know appear to her. And, it seems to Cass, that these girls are in serious trouble. Identifying these girls impels Cass to approach their parents and see what she can find out about them. Maybe even help if needed. But at first she meets resistance. Unfortunately she also alerts the serial killers that she in onto something and they, especially the leader of the killing duo, can't let Cass interfere or stop them. Cass knows, through her newfound power, that something is not right, that her son is in danger. And sure enough, he goes missing. And that begins a desperate search for Max and the killers who have taken him. Written from multiple points of view, this book keeps your attention by placing you inside the minds of a worried mother, a reporter, a serial killer, and more. There is never a dull moment, there isn't time for one in this novel. You won't be sorry you've spent some time in Rick Reed's world.
Reviews by Vero Caravette
St. Barts Breakdown Where does a reviewer begin with a book like this? It's not a mystery, that's for sure. It's supposed to be a novel of suspense. But it's just a flaccid attempt at a work of fiction so filled with stereotypes and clichés that it just doesn't work. The protagonist is not to be believed. The villain, Murtz, is even more fantastic. Anyone with a personality and behavior like his would never get as far as that madman. Aside from the fact that he is loaded with enough cocaine, alcohol, and goodness knows what else to floor a mastodon (and yet he keeps moving and, incredibly, thinking!), he's also monumentally stupid and so paranoid that it's laughable. This is the villain everyone would love to have because he'd trip himself up and literally put the cuffs on his own wrists before anyone would really get hurt. Sure, he's a billionaire and his lawyer takes care of hiding the bodies for him (literally) but no one, not even Phil Spector (upon whom this character was supposedly modeled), is that stupid. Enter the protagonist, a rock journalist who seems more like a backroom corporate lawyer, who wants to interview Murtz and maybe get the real story of all his dastardly crimes. Unfortunately it takes place on St. Barts which, if this portrayal is true, is the place to go if you want to murder someone. They never, but never have had a murder on the island and never will. They are far and away more interested in tourism than in justice. At least according to the author. There are also, it turns out, others on the island looking for a piece of Murtz. That's a real surprise. There are lots more negative features to this work. But there's a story here and the author often keeps you wondering what will happen next. A good editor and a lot of solid advice would have helped.
Murder New York Style What a delight this book is! Just when you thought you've read the best story in the book, you turn the page and you get treated to something wonderful again. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Put together by Sisters In Crime NY, this is a collection of twenty-one stories you won't want to miss. Each story takes place in New York , from Manhattan to all the other boroughs, to Westchester , and outlying environs. You'll find a definite East Coast flair in these pieces and each one hits as hard or as funny as a night on the town in New York can be. It's difficult to choose favorites here; all the stories will entertain and more. Readers will be able to imagine themselves in every corner of New York whether it's strolling by the Met on Ffith Avenue , shopping in Chinatown , rambling through restaurants, belly dancing at a Turkish night spot, or even moving back and forth in time with several historicals in the collection. Murder, theft, double crosses, even ghosts are collected here to satisfy your NY curiosity. The Stories and Authors are: Pick up Dry Cleaning, Commit the Perfect Murder by Cynthia Baxter, Name Tagging by Randy Kandel, Mister Right by Ronnie Klaskin, Death Will Clean Your Closet by Elizabeth Zelvin, La Bruha del Barrio by R.M. Peluso, I Love Alana by Marianna Heusler, The Knock-off by Chelle Martin, Strike Zone by Terri Farley Moran, A Voice to Remember by Margaret Mendel, Out in the Cold by Meredith Cole, NYPDaughter by Triss Stein, The House on Lake Place by Dorothy Mortman, Murder in the Aladdin¿s Cave by Lina Zeldovich, The Lie by Anita Page, A Day at a Time by Fran Brannigan Cox, Family Matters by Peggy Ehrhart, None of the Above by Deirdre Verne, What About Henry? by Pearl Wolf, Friendly Witness by Erica Harth, Casino Gamble by Nan Higginson, and Murder in the Mill by M.E. Kemp." It's impossible for me to choose a favorite. Thinking that one is better than the other is just a crime.
Who Killed Callaway John Rhodes, British born, American retired, has penned a great cozy mystery. You fall under its spell immediately upon reading the first chapter. You are hooked into a case where seemingly impossible murders happen. And a very clever, Chief Inspector Ford is sent into clear up the muddle. It's the 1920s and World War I is a recent bitter pill. Ford, a heroic veteran and alum of the school where the murders take place, comes up against the class-based barriers, bigotries, and sensibilities the British have still not shed. He must descend into a hell of noble mansions and arrogant attitudes in order to rake away all the muck and come up with a solution to the murder of two schoolboys. The setting is well done, most of the characters are well drawn, there are a lot of comforting stereotypes here but that's not a bad thing in a novel of this type. It's meant to be that way and it succeeds admirably. It's like going to a video store looking for one of the old black and white classics, filled with studio character actors, who, as soon as you see their faces, you know the type of character they will be. That's a good thing and this novel delivers on that score. The reader goes along for the ride but what a ride. Ugly secrets, sexy secrets, arrogant people and people who are the definition of humility, familiar settings, and an interesting puzzle. You won't regret it. And you'll be puzzling along with the detective to try and solve the murders. All that said, there are a few problems with the book. One is the fact that Rhodes, a fine writer, didn't want to wait to publish and so went with iUniverse before the book was entirely ready. I'm not a publishing snob if you want to self publish, that's fine. But either go with a venture that will do justice to the work you've put into your book or hire an editor to look it over before you hand it over to the folks at self-publishing houses who only care about getting product out the door and not about what that product looks like. Who Killed Callaway has typos (to be sure, you can find these in books published by the big boys) but it also has missing words so many missing words that a less careful reader might mistake the intent of some of the sentences. An outside editor or a second reader, would have found these flaws and fixed them. Other, even more important problems, come in the story one thing in particular kept bothering me. A statement by someone Ford interrogated contained some important information yet he never mentions that as a signal pointing to anyone until nearly the end of the book. In all the time he spends listing evidence, witnesses, suspects, motives, and other facts, he never mentions this one which is significant. Again, an astute editor would have picked up on this. However, Rhodes has nonetheless constructed a classic sort of mystery and you can very well imagine it having been written by someone of from the Golden Age of mystery. He has three other books: NUTCRACKER; HANK'S IDEA, and DESERT WIND and is at work on A PAINTED SHIP. |
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