Emerald Cove, Book One

Five of five stars given

Cindy’s husband  of many years has run off with his young assistant.  He’s left her drowning in debt and possibly going to lose the café she’d inherited from her parents.  When Sarah receives her mother’s call to help her save the café, it comes at an opportune moment.  Sarah herself needs a fresh start.

I thoroughly enjoyed Emerald Cove and the people Mirren has filled the small seaside town with.  You’ll be introduced to the main characters while becoming immersed in their stories.  In the skillful way Mirren pulls all the seemingly loose threads together, you’ll begin to see how each person has an impact – however small – on the lives of the others.  This is definitely a romance, but there’s an edge of mystery as well.  I’ve already preordered Book Two, and can hardly wait to receive it!

Highly recommend!

[Many thanks to AXP and the author for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

A Jane Larson Mystery

Five of five stars given [if i could have given more, I would have!]

In the midst of fighting an eviction from her office and her home, Jane is dealing with the amorous advances of a good-looking but too young member of her local Y.  The moment he ducks into her store front office to avoid a process server, is when their lives become entangled.  Next up is a case of lawyer fraud – another lawyer, not Jane, you understand.  Before long that lawyer turns up dead, and his 18yo daughter wants Jane to prove he was murdered.

The Hicks’ have fashioned an intriguing tale here.  Lots of truly wonderful characters – some you don’t like so much – their stories are fascinating and engrossing and, in some cases, amusing too.  I laughed out loud.  I cried into my sleeve.  And I obsessively turned page after page.  Jane reminds me of other sleuths I have loved – a bit of Kinsey, a touch of Plum, but with a difference too.  I was pleasantly surprised by this book, I think you will be too!

I’m off in search of this series’ back list, I want to know more about Jane Larson; I hope her adventures keep coming!!!

[Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.]

A Mystic Springs Paranormal Cozy

Five of five stars given

Traveling – with some trepidation – to spend New Year with Taylor’s family, Connie isn’t sure if his warnings come from a place of his own nervousness, or if she really should be worried.

Although Mystic Springs Paranormal Cozies are a series, each book stands alone.  The thread joining them is the town that is home to many of the recurring personalities.  Marple has given each of the citizens of Mystic their own story.  This one is Connie’s story. 

When she finds herself in the midst of the backstabbing venom of the Thomson family, Connie tries to keep to herself as much as possible so as not to be caught in the crossfire.  A strategy which works to a point.  Until there’s a dead body.  And what purports to be a suicide.  Except that Connie just knows it’s not.  While Taylor can’t investigate his own family, Connie has no such reluctance and sets out immediately to find the truth.  Not any easy task; and filled with wrong turns and misdirection.  And maybe a little danger too?

New Year is an interesting tale.  Family conflicts, resentments, long held grudges and fears; all play their part in the drama Marple skillfully unfolds.  As with all of her work, I enjoyed this immensely and was sad when I reached the end.  Highly recommend!

Preorder link – for those interested – is here: mybook.to/NYIMS

[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

Five of five stars given

When Kate receives a call from a hospital  on the other side of the country that her estranged daughter has been admitted and is asking for her, she drops everything and immediately flies out to San Francisco.  There’s no denying that she hopes to finally heal the rift between them.

Unfortunately, Kate arrives at her daughter’s bedside just moments before she dies, her last word “Glory”.

With the irrevocable loss of her daughter, Kate finds a troubled granddaughter.  Picking up the meagre pieces of the life Glory and her mother shared, Kate is faced with more questions than than answers.  But the indisputable truth is that perhaps Kate needs Glory as much as or maybe more than, Glory needs her grandmother.

Interestingly, the picture Shook paints of Kate isn’t one that’s sympathetic to me.  Much as I’m usually predisposed to like the main character in a novel, liking Kate didn’t come automatically.  She doesn’t quite trust her best friend and business partner to run their shop well without her.  Twenty years later, she still has no real friends in the town she moved herself and Ally to in her bid to start fresh after a divorce. 

But, faced with the death of her estranged only daughter, and finding herself with a four year old granddaughter, Kate is determined to find out where Ally was and what happened to her in the ten years between leaving her home in anger, and Kate finding herself with a troubled four year old who needs her now.

Shook’s story is engrossing.  As Kate sets out to find the truth, she is determined to help her granddaughter.  It is perhaps a chance to redeem herself for what she sees as her failure with her own daughter.

I spent the day in company of this book.  I simply could not stop reading till I too knew Ally’s story and that Glory would be safe.  I found the ending a bit open though.  There are many unanswered questions still, though the bigger mystery is resolved.  I’m not sure I’m happy with the way the story simply stopped.  I’m hoping there will be a sequel. 

[Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.]

Movie Club Mysteries, Book Six

Five of five stars given

Clients are rather thin on the ground for Maggie these days.   She’s been reduced to finding lost felines.  Hence when a not-so-pleasant food truck owner says she’s been receiving threatening letters and doesn’t trust the Gardaí, Maggie is already planning the investigation.  Till they get back to her office and find a dead body.

Turns out it was Lenny.  He’d thought it a good practical joke.  And the would-be client wants nothing to do with either of them!

It’s not long though, before Movie Reel Investigations are involved in a case that will put them well into the black.  Maggie’s sister Beth is in town with a production company, shooting her first movie.  But there’s a saboteur on set, and it looks like Beth could be the intended victim.  They want Maggie to find the culprit.

This fast paced, edge-of-your-seat tale will keep you guessing right till the moment the villain is unveiled!  The characters have by now become friends, and I can’t wait to see what Maggie and Lenny get into next!

[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

The Jade Dragon, Book One

Five of five stars given

Shanghai in 1935.  Rough around the edges.  Divided into sectors and factions that operated independently of each other, and seemingly independently of any real legal oversight.   The Koreans are lower than third class citizens.   The Japanese think they run the show.   The Americans and Brits like to think they’re on top of it, but they aren’t.  At the underside of everything, with their fingers at the pulse of anything official – the Chinese Mafia.

This is the Shanghai Doug Bainbridge arrives from San Francisco to find.   Where he runs into an old school chum and reconnects.  Where they visit a well known Chinese nightclub for an evening on the town.  Which Tim pays for with his life.

Catapulted into something he really doesn’t understand, Doug is nonetheless compelled to find out what happened; why his friend was killed.  In the process Doug learns a few unexpected, perhaps even unpleasant things about himself.

Hutson has an engaging way of weaving a story filled with unexpected twists that simply keeps you riveted.  His characters are interesting . . . beguiling . . . fascinating.  Notwithstanding that you neither like nor trust some of them . . . much . . . you are drawn to their stories.

I could not put this one down.  I venture to say you won’t either.   Highly recommend!

[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read a copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own. ]

Five of five stars given

Ann Fitzgerald’s new life started when her mam sent her away from their tiny town to find her fortune in Dublin.  Years later, after her marriages has crumbled, she returns, hoping to find the missing pieces of her story and herself.

This is Cuffe’s debut novel.  But if the calibre of this work is anything to judge by, this will in no way be her last.  She has populated a poignant, gripping story with characters that have substance.  I loved Fliss.  I could see myself easily having a matter over a pout of tea with Tess.  I cried when young Felicity hurt.  And I somehow knew that Ann’s future wasn’t with Dom. 

The tale runs back and forth through several different life stories, at several different points in their lives.  Honestly at first I had no idea how they might intertwine, though I knew that they must.   But that’s the mastery that Cuffe brings to this sometimes sordid, sometimes wonderful, always gripping saga.  When she begins weaving her threads into that tapestry, it all falls into place.

To say I could not put this book down does not even begin to cover it.  I was thoroughly invested in every character’s story, needing to know what was next.

An absolutely brilliant debut novel, I cannot wait to read more from this author!

[Many thanks to Booksirens and the author for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

Mitzy Moon Mysteries, Book Six

Five of five stars given [wish I could give it at least twice as many!]

Bars & Boxcars releases 1st May, 2020, but you can pre order it here so you don’t miss out: https://readerlinks.com/l/1033908

On the night that Jacob’s foundation finally has its inaugural launch, there’s a warrant being issued to search a line of boxcars and the depot.  Boxcars owned by Jacob’s railway.  And Deputy Paulson is at the bottom of it.  Mitzy isn’t about to let that go without her own investigation.  Especially since Amaryllis – Jacob’s main squeeze – has asked for her help.

This has GOT to be the BEST Mitzy Moon yet!  Silvertale’s characters have become family, and every adventure just makes me want to move to Pin Cherry Harbor more.  Bars & Boxcars keeps the action popping as Mitzy goes undercover – against Ghost-ma’s advice – to ferret out the bad guys.  There’s plenty of nail-biting action, a couple of really too close calls; but in the end Mitzy and Sheriff Too-Hot-to-Handle save the day!

Took me just a few hours to race through this one, and it left me with that familiar “oh no, now what?” when it was done.  But I know Book Seven is in the works, and based on events in Book Six, it is going to be a doozie!   Don’t miss out!

[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

Riley Cooper Mysteries, Book Four

Five of five stars given

Rylie asks herself “what have I done to deserve this?” when her newest assignment for the Ranger service is to babysit a group of sullen teens with community service hours to complete.  When they’re out cleaning up litter from the trail and they find part of a body, things get interesting.   Turns out it’s a prosthetic.   Turns out it’s connected to a missing person / murder case that was never resolved.

Rylie knows Luke and his colleagues are hiding something and she’s determined to find out just what that is.

Bixby’s ranger-sleuth has a nose for trouble, and though she’s warned off the case – several times – she just can’t help but ask a few questions.   That lead her into danger.  Can she find her way out of it before it’s too late?

I enjoy reading about Riley’s adventures.  She’s quirky.  She’s determined.  She’s a little mixed up too.  But it all combines into a fun package that delivers suspense, a bit of romance and chuckles.  Rylie Cooper Mysteries is a series I’m sure you’ll enjoy; I’m looking forward to the next installment!

[Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]

Veronica Lee Thrillers, Book One

Five of five stars given

A great start to a new series, by a new-to me author!

The story starts out with a dead body, and identifies both the victim and the murderer.  I like an author who gets that out of the way first.  There’s no trying to outguess our sleuth on the whodunnit side.  The excitement will come from whether the villain can outsmart the investigators.  Or will they get too cocky?

This villain is a little different.  This villain has left too many loose ends.  This villain is running scared.  And when you’re running scared, you make mistakes.  Mistakes that can give you away.  Mistakes that can put you behind bars . . . or worse.

Woodall has an intriguing premise here, and crafts her story well. Suspense runs rampant.  What’s next?   Who’s next?   Her characters are interesting and engaging – even those who are only around for a chapter or two.   The villain too has your curiosity piqued; there’s more to their story!  The tale is filled with road blocks and twists, you’ll be hanging on to the edge of your chair with one hand while you flip pages with the other.

Don’t miss this exciting first volume!  And set your Kindle alerts to let you know each time the next in the series is ready!  Trust me on this!

[Many thanks to Booksirens and the author for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.   This is my honest review, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]