Book Review: Reel Stuff by Don Bruns (Stuff Series #7)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Great mystery

Cons: James sidelined; Emily and Skip’s fight; series ending

The Bottom Line:

A clever murder

Miami to Hollywood

Average again

Did Skip Witness a Murder?

This is the day long in the making.  I started Don Bruns’s Stuff Series well over a decade ago (probably close to a decade and a half ago), but I let it just sit for a long time before finally getting back to it.  And now, I’ve finished it with Reel Stuff, the seventh entry in the series.  Sadly, it left me less satisfied than I’d hoped.

The series features best friends Skip Moore and James Lessor.  They are twenty-somethings just trying to survive.  Yes, they are dirt poor, but James has a habit of getting them involved in some side project to earn them a bunch of money.  Unfortunately, those side projects then turn deadly.  After a few of these situations, they became PIs, which has only made the danger quotient worse.

As this particular book opens, Skip and James have taken jobs as private security of a TV show that is filmed in Miami.  It’s an even bigger deal today since Academy Award winning actor Jason Londell is on set filming as a guest star.  Skip is on the set with Jason is filming a stunt he is insisting on doing himself that involves him jumping off a scaffolding.  However, he goes early and hits the ground instead.

Jason’s girlfriend, the star of the show, is certain that it was murder and wants to hire Skip and James to find the truth.  But Skip knows what he saw and doesn’t want to take the case.  However, a little poking around makes Skip question what he thought he saw.  When the trail leads to Hollywood, Skip and his girlfriend, Emily, head to Los Angeles, going undercover as a wannabe actress and her manager.  Can they figure out what happened to Jason?

I have a feeling this wasn’t written as a final book in a series.  But, since that’s what it was, I have to judge it as a series finale.  And, as such, it falls flat.

Usually, I do enjoy it when a book takes place in Los Angeles since I live here.  In this case, I found I missed Miami and the southern Florida vibe we usually get from the series.  Mind you, I might have felt the same way if the series didn’t end with much of the action taking place in LA, but it didn’t help that we didn’t spend much time in Miami for the final book of the series.  Granted, it’s not like we have a large cast of regulars or even locations they frequent that I missed.

What was worse was the ending of the book.  While not a true cliffhanger, it also didn’t wrap things up.  In fact, it left a few things dangling.  Since the book came out thirteen years ago, I don’t think we are going to get the next chapter in the character’s lives, but it would be nice to have something other than the non-resolution we got.

Then there’s Skip and Emily’s relationship.  While I’ve always rooted for them to make it work despite their differences, I really got frustrated with them in this book.  Yes, the conflict they were having made sense and I could see both sides.  But we just went round and round about it, which was frustrating.

Especially since James wasn’t really around in this book.  The series has always been about James and Skip and Emily, a bit more on the guys than on Emily at times.  As annoying as he can be, I did find I missed him.  And, again, it was a bit of an odd choice for the final book in the series.

So, what did I like?  The look behind the scenes in the entertainment industry is always fun.  Yes, I know what I said earlier about missing Miami.  Two things can be true, right?

And the mystery was great.  I was caught off guard by several of the twists, yet things made sense when we reached the climax.

Keep in mind that this isn’t a cozy, as the first few chapters will show you.

This series was never a favorite, and I’ve found it to be uneven.  Reel Stuff was another mixed bag.  Only pick up this book if you’ve read the others in the series and you want one last case with Skip, James, and Emily.

Here’s the rest of the Stuff Series.

October 2026's Reading Summary

Before we fully jump into November, it's time for my October reading summary.  And yes, I got the index updated again this month.

All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).  The links will take you to my full review.

 

Essentials of Homicide by Kim Davis (Aromatherapy Apothecary Mysteries #3) – 4

A movie production has come to Oak Creek Valley, but the star of the film in a horrible jerk.  And that’s putting it mildly.  He won’t stop harassing Carissa’s best friend, Ashley.  That is until someone kills him.  With rumors flying that Ashley did it, Carissa sets out to clear her friend.  Can she figure out who really killed the star?

I hadn’t realized how much I love these characters until I picked up this book.  It was great to spend time with them again.  And the new characters were strong and helped pull me into the story.  The plot started well, but it did faulter a little in the second half.  Even then, these are minor issues.  If you are looking for a charming cozy mystery, you’ll be glad you picked up this book.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

Art Attack by James Ponti (The Sherlock Society #3) – 4

The Sherlock Society is thrilled!  They’ve been hired for their first paying case.  A developer wants to have Funky Munky, graffiti artist (or graffiti writer, which is their preferred term), do a mural on their new building.  Just one problem – Funky Munky has kept their identity a secret for the year that they’ve been tagging buildings in Miami.  But it’s hard to turn down the money, so the society takes on the case.  Will they be able to piece together some clues?  Or will Funky Munky remain elusive?

The book took a bit of time to fully set up graffiti culture.  I was glad to see the fact that it is a crime was eventually brought up, even if in passing.  I was impressed with how the characters followed a logical set of clues, and there were some good twists along the way.  Unfortunately, the climax was a bit rushed, including a plot point left dangling.  On the other hand, I continue to love the characters.  Their friendship is great to watch, and I love the fact that the adults are responsible as well.  Overall, I enjoyed it, and I’m sure the target audience will as well.

 

The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich by P.J. Fitzsimmons (Anty Boisjoly #6) – 5

Anty is off to Scotland to be one of the judges in a once a decade contest to determine which of the two villages in the region gets to sell their whiskey under the official label.  But he arrives to the news that one of the distillers has just blown himself up in his still.  Naturally, this peaks Anty’s interest, and he starts investigating.  Did the centuries old rivalry turn deadly?  Does the world’s toughest golf course play a role?  Can Anty investigate while being followed by an increasingly large flock of sheep?

This series is equal parts locked room mystery and laugh-out-loud comedy.  Sometimes, the book can get too witty for its own good, but the balance is perfect here.  I was confused by the case until Anty figured it out, but it made sense when he did.  I thought I was going to struggle to keep the similar names straight, but I found I was able to follow all the key players just fine.  And the wit and banter were clever and fun without being overdone.  Plus, the absurd just added to the fun.  These books work well as standalones.  Don’t hesitate to pick up any book when you are in the mood for a funny mystery.

 

The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories by Gigi Pandian (A Jaya Jones Short Story Collection) – 5

This is a collection of short stories and novellas that feature Jaya Jones as she finds herself involved in some locked room mysteries.  The title story was originally written for this collection and involves a murder and theft at a local art museum.  In another, after being stranded in Denver due to snow, Jaya must figure out who killed an author in the hotel’s library.  She also gets involved in a theft and disappearance at a conference.  A couple of stories star Jaya’s friend Sanjay, and one of Sanjay’s stories finds him trying to solve a murder on an island off the coast of San Franciscos.  There’s also a story featuring Tempest, the main character of the author’s Secret Staircase Mysteries.  In the final story, Jaya must figure out who stole a valuable chess set.

All told there are nine stories in this collection.  I might have been ahead of Jaya a couple of times, but for the most part, I was kept guessing until the end.  And the stories are all fun.  The collection jumps around in Jaya’s life, but there aren’t spoilers for the novels, so anyone new to her world could use this as an introduction.  It’s fun to see many of the characters from the series pop in and out, and the new characters serve the stories well.  I’m glad I’m up to date on Jaya’s adventures and look forward to seeing what she gets up to when the series continues next year.

 

Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival by Traci Hall (Macki Smith Mysteries #1) – 2

Macki Smith has moved back home to Cider Falls and is helping out at her family’s apple orchard.  She’s gotten talked into participating in the apple pie baking contest that happens during the town festival every year.  But the contest winds up getting canceled at the last minute when one of the contestants is found dead in her tent.  Since the murder weapon was Macki’s knife, she becomes the prime suspect.  Can she prove she didn’t do it?

I’ve heard lots of good things about this author over the years, so I decided to give this first book in a new series a try.  I absolutely loved the late summer vibes, and the characters were charming.  I’m sure I’d enjoy the visit to Cider Falls. But the plotting was way off.  It started slowly, too little happened, and the ending was weak.  Plus, there’s a second storyline that takes up a lot of page time before ending unsatisfactorily as well.  The writing was also weak, with too much repetition and detail at times.  While I did love the character and vibes, it won’t be enough to get me to come back for the next book in the series.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

 

Death in Luxor by M. A. Monnin (Intrepid Traveler Mysteries #4) – 4

The brand new Grand Egyptian Museum is set to open, but they’ve been getting notes threatening one of their exhibits.  Is someone planning a theft for opening night?  Stefanie Adams and Thomas Burkhardt are heading to Egypt to figure things out.  The suspects are a group of Egyptian history enthusiasts who have the wealth to buy their way out of close inspection when leaving the country.  As theft and murder swirl around them, can Stefanie and Thomas figure out what is truly going on?

This series is a fun meshing of travelogue and mystery.  While the pacing did slow down a time or two, we also got some great scenes on the way to the satisfying conclusion.  And we still hit many major spots in Egypt over the course of the story, making me wish I could travel there.  I also enjoyed the references to Egypt in pop culture.  Stefanie and Thomas continue to be great leads, and I loved seeing them grow again here.  Plus the suspects proved plenty entertaining.  If you wish you could travel more, you’ll be glad you picked up this series.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

‘Tis the Season to be Scary by Vicki Delany (Year-Round Christmas Mysteries #9) – 3

Merry’s best friend, Vicky Casey, has been working on a cookbook for the last couple of entries in this series, and it is finally coming out.  But the night before the official book launch, the annual fundraiser for the local hospital is happening.  It’s a big gala at the Yuletide Inn, and everyone is there, including people from out of town.  One of those out-of-town guests is Cynthia, an online reviewer (those evil people!) who has panned Vicky’s new book.  As the evening is winding down, Cynthia falls over and then dies on the way to the hospital.  If Cynthia didn’t die of natural causes, what happened to her?

I debated about continuing the series before ultimately deciding to continue via the library.  Sadly, I once again found it average.  The pacing was off, especially in the middle when some subplots took over.  While I like the series regulars, I want to see some character growth.  I feel like things are staying too much the same.  While I wasn’t bothered by the fact that the cozy Christmas vibes weren’t as plentiful due to it being a Halloween set book, I didn’t like the paranormal element the book introduced, especially since the book relied on it too much.  We do have three delicious sounding recipes at the end.  I’m debating if I want to read any more books in this series.

 

My Father Always Finds Corpses by Lee Hollis (Father/Daughter Mysteries #1) – 3

Former child star Jarrod Jarvis has retired from Hollywood and is now living in Palm Spring.  He’s still morning the death of his husband, Charlie, and their grief has driven a wedge between Jarrod and his daughter, Liv.  But when Liv’s boyfriend is murdered, the two start to investigate.  Will working on the murder bring them closer together?

I’ve wanted to read one of this author’s books for a while, and I settled on this one.  It was a bit more melancholy than I was expecting, but the tone made sense given where the characters start the book.  The plot took a bit to get going, but once it did, the pacing was better.  Still, the climax felt a bit much while still being enjoyable.  I also felt like some of the details weren’t consistent across the book, although that might have been me.  I did like Jarrod and Liv who felt real, and the rest of the cast was just as entertaining.  I will consider picking up another Lee Hollis book, but I won’t be rushing to do so.

 

Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart (Death on Demand #18) – 4

It’s February, and Max hasn’t taken on any clients since what happened to him last summer.  Instead, he’s poured all his focus on restoring the Franklin House to its former glory so he and Annie can move in.  So, when a woman calls Max’s office saying she hid something in Franklin House, Max isn’t interested in hearing more.  Annie, on the other hand, goes to visit the woman only to find her dying.  Is there really something hidden in Franklin House?  Who killed the caller?

It was nice to see this book pick up on a few threads from the previous one, although you don’t need to read the books in order.  Max actually got some growth, which I appreciated.  I did miss most of the regulars, although the main supporting trio still managed to make their usual fun contributions.  I am very frustrated with the lengths we go through to continue having an adversarial relationship with the police, but the mystery itself was solid with a logical climax that I only partially figured out.  It’s always fun to pop over to Broward’s Rock, and this book is no exception.

 

#TreatYourself to Murder by Sarah E. Burr (Trending Topic Mysteries #5) – 5

There has been a string of fires in Central Shores that started around Halloween, and the investigation doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.  But things take a tragic turn in early December when a body is found in the latest fire.  The victim is a young woman who had been living in her car, but had recently gone missing.  Social media influencer Coco Cline was already trying to help find the victim, but when she is asked to help figure out what happened, she doesn’t hesitate.  With the help of her friends and fiancé, she finds that sleuthing and Christmas shopping make a good pairing.  But can she find another killer?

This author has become a favorite, and this book is a great example of why.  We don’t waste any time getting to the plot, and the story never lags on the way to the logical and suspenseful climax.  Coco and her friends are a great team, and I always enjoy spending more time with them.  Given the Christmas setting, I was a bit surprised we didn’t see more of Coco’s family, but they would have slowed things down.  The Christmas vibes are great, and I had fun seeing how those elements helped further the story.  If you haven’t tried one of Sarah’s books, you need to fix that.  Fans of this series are in for a Christmas treat.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

Death Down the Aisle by Colleen Cambridge (Phyllida Bright Mysteries #6) – 4

Dr. John Bhatt is getting married to Emily, a woman he met while home visiting in India.  Emily’s family, such as it is, live in Coatesworth Manor, not too far from Mallowan Hall, and the entire staff has been given time off to attend if they wish.  Of course, Phyllida Bright has been involved with helping to plan it, which is why she is on hand to witness some of the dynamics in Emily’s extended family.  While things have been tense, Phyllida doesn’t expect murder, but after the happy couple depart, someone turns up dead.  Can Phyllida figure out what happened?

While the book took a bit of time with the setup, the mystery delivered in spades.  I was turning pages as quickly as possible at one point, and I was surprised by the climax.  This ode to romantic triangles in Agatha Christie’s books did inflict Phyllida’s personal life, which I found annoying.  The returning characters continue to entertain, and I really hope we see something come from what was set up here.  And the suspects developed as the book went along, which made it easy to keep them straight.  Now that I’ve caught up on this series, I am going to have to wait to see what happens next to Phyllida and the rest of the regulars.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

November 1st's Weekend Catch-Up

Welcome to this week's Weekend Catch-Up.  I'll be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

After all the fun from last week, I had a very quiet week this week.  Work.  I did go out to a singer/songwriter spotlight a local church hosted Wednesday night.  A local artist I follow on social media was there, so it was nice to get to meet him.

Other than that, it really was work.

As I'm typing this on Saturday evening, I have yet to get any trick or treaters.  We have finally gotten a little bit of rain.  It's a quarter to 8, so I doubt I'm going to get any this year.  Definitely no more than six if someone does come by a bit later.

Pun-Official Holiday of the Week:

November 6 – Just in queso you did not know, Nachos Day is today.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Weekend Catch-Up

Monday - Book Review: Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart

Tuesday - Book Review: #TreatYourself to Murder by Sarah E. Burr

Wednesday - Book Review: Death Down the Aisle by Colleen Cambridge

Thursday - Movie Review: The Fate of the Furious

Friday - Friday Fun featuring Reel Stuff

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Weekend Catch-Up

Monday - October Reading Summary

Tuesday - Book Review: Reel Stuff by Don Bruns

Wednesday - TV Show Review: The Gilded Age - Season 1

Thursday - Book Review: Saving the Guilty by Liz Milliron

Friday - Friday Fun featuring Death of a Bad Penny

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I'm back with three books to tell you about.

Up first is Murder 101 by Maggie Barbieri.  This is an older book.  In fact, I'd swear I have a copy.  Maybe I do have a paperback somewhere around the condo.  But the ebook was free, so I didn't hesitate to snag it when I saw it.  And it's still free as of Saturday evening.

I also got a hankering for another audiobook.  I'm behind on my audiobook goals for the year, after all.  I was lucky that one of the libraries has Coyote Waits, the next Tony Hillerman book I need, available, so I checked it out.

Finally, my preorder of Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley arrived.

What I'm Currently Reading:

Did my book haul section seem a little shorter than normal?  It's all about to make sense.

You see, I'm currently listening to Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman.  This book finds Leaphorn and Chee investigating the murder of a fellow police officer.  Chee arrested someone for the crime right away, but neither of them thinks it feels right.  Not that they are officially working together on it yet.  I'm only about a third of the way into the book, but I'm looking forward to hearing more.

I'm also about a third of the way into Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley.  Yes, I got my reading time in this afternoon.  Actually, I've been pleasantly productive most of the day.  Anyway, this is book six in the Deep Dish Mysteries.  The main character has found herself stepping in as a last minute caterer for a wellness retreat.  Naturally, one of the guests has died.  That's about as far as I've gotten so far, but I'm intrigued.

Have a great week!

Halloween's Weekly TV Thoughts

Two season finales on the list.  One I was expecting, but one was a surprise.  I really hate short seasons, at least short seasons when I wasn't expecting them.

Dancing with the Stars – I thought I might have seen one of the movies they were using, but that didn’t happen.  But I did like the Scream inspired opening skit.  After that first number, I thought Shirley was going to be completely off the rains.  Someone must have talked to her.  Or people were smart and they had fewer dances she could judge as harshly this week.  Either way, I felt sorry for those who got the ultra low scores from her.  On the other hand, we got a perfect score tonight!  Some very creative dances.  I do feel for those eliminated, but it wasn’t super surprising.

RJ Decker – Just seven episodes?  I’m not used to that with a network show.  This was definitely a darker episode, but I get the reasoning behind it.  I still enjoyed it.  But that ending?  They’d better come back, and not wait too super long for season three.  I need to know what happens next.

The Challenge – Once again, that looked brutal.  I might enjoy watching the show, but I would never want to be on it.  They made us doubt a bit, but I wasn’t too surprised with the outcome.  I’m with Adrienne’s split for the gray team.  She won that money by going into the sand.  Yet, I was impressed by Tori splitting things evenly.  Well, except for her exorbitant captain tax.  I laughed so hard at that.  ($1 each from the other team members, in case you weren’t watching.)

Survivor – So, we’ve got one tribe that is constantly losing again.  I am tired of this on Survivor.  Been a long time since we had a tribe of two.  Are we near the merge?  Are they going to farm them out to other tribes?  So many questions.  The first helicopter alliance went home, however.  I’ll be curious to see how far the others can make it.  And this is one of the two people connected to the idol gone already without Kristen having to do anything.  I wonder if it will wind up being for her or not.  And what did she tell her tribemates when she got back?

The Amazing Race – The last of the express passes were used.  No one caught on to the front runners still having theirs.  They got lucky with that with the other team using theirs on the other side of the detour.  The grandfather/grandson team dodged yet another bullet.  It will be interesting to see if they can make up ground next week.  Will the other teams U-turn them plus their penalty?  Or will they managed to squeak through again?

The Traitors – Victor is so annoying.  I wanted him banished for that reason.  I was bummed he got saved.  And then he got Tamica banished.  He’s going to be even worse tomorrow.  It will be interesting to see how things shake out since Joe is on the hot seat.  Katie doesn’t seem to be on the radar at the moment, but maybe that’s just the editing.  But I would be surprised if Joe survives the next episode whether Victor stays or not.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test – After last week where no one left, we had three drop out.  Okay, so drop out isn’t exactly accurate for the skater who got pulled for medical reasons.  But wow, that was a brutal episode.  I would have had a tough time with the tunnel myself.  I haven’t enjoyed some of those type of obstacles when I’ve done mud runs.  The fighting one could have gone either way for me.  Only two episodes left, so I hope everyone left can hang in there.

Happy’s Place – A bit of a serious main story overall, which is usually what happens when Happy comes up.  I did like where it ended up.  But I loved the prank storyline.  Lots of great laughs there.  There was supposedly a picture of Dolly on the display in the episode, but I didn’t spot it.  Did like the tribute at the end.  From what I read, this was filmed on the day she passed.

Newlyweds – Fairly predictable (I mean seriously, which place do you think they were going to pick?), but lots of fun.  I was laughing quite a bit.  Still has some room to grow, but this is a good sign as far as I’m concerned.

October 30th's Friday Fun

It's Friday, and we have a holiday coming tomorrow, so let's kick things off with some Friday Fun.  I'll be linking up to:

First Line Friday
Friday Book Snippets
Book Blogger Hop

My teasers for the first two will be coming from Reel Stuff by Don Bruns.

This is the seventh and final book in the Stuff Series, aka the Lessor and Moore Mysteries.  It's not a cozy, but it does feature two fledging PIs.

Here's how this book begins:

“Sometimes it’s just stupid to do your own stunts.”

As someone who isn't very athletic, you won't find me arguing this that assessment.

I read these books in an ebook collection that included all seven books, so I couldn't really pick a typical 56, so I haven't use these books for a Friday post.  But with the new rules, I could now.  And since this is the last book in the series, I didn't want to miss the chance.

With all that said, here's my second teaser from somewhere in the book (I don't remember how far into the book):

I heard suspicion in her voice, and I wondered what she was thinking about me.

My review will be up on Tuesday, so I hope you'll come back to see what I thought of it.

Meanwhile, shall we jump over to this week's Book Blogger Hop?  The question of the week is:

If you could retell a Halloween story or trope from a fresh angle, what would you choose and why?

For some reason, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the first story that popped into my mind.  But I'm not familiar enough with it to be able to pick something.  With my second choice, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I don't feel like there are enough other characters to pick one that would be meaningful.  I don't read enough Halloween type books to really have a good answer to this one, I guess.

Have a spooky weekend!

Movie Review: The Fate of the Furious

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Plenty of action

Cons: Action gets so over the top I had a hard time believing it

The Bottom Line:

Dom turns on the team

Action went too far for me

Even for franchise

“Dominic Toretto Just Went Rogue.”

Anyone who watches The Fast and the Furious movies looking for realism is sitting down to watch the wrong franchise.  Even for action movies, these go outside the realm of believability.  So when I tell you that The Fate of the Furious jumped the … submarine for me, that’s really saying something.  Ironically, it was something far less spectacular than the climax that threw me out of the film.

The film opens in Cuba, where Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are on their honeymoon.  After an extended opening street race (got to remember our roots, after all), Dom is approached by a stranger.  The woman is the terrorist known as Cipher (Charlize Theron) and she blackmails Dom into betraying his team and joining her.  So, when they set out on a mission, teamed again with Hobbes (Dwayne Johnson), Dom takes something and disappears.  What is Cipher holding over him?  And which side is he really on?

So what scene went too far for me?  It’s a scene in New York City involving terrorists taking over parked cars to cause havoc.  Now, do I think that cars can be taken over by others?  Yes.  But that many?  Remotely?  So conveniently?  Sorry, I just wasn’t buying it.

Which is ironic since I didn’t have nearly as big an issue with the climax, which really did involve racing a submarine and jumping over it at one point.  Oh, and a team of bad guys who learned how to aim from storm troopers.  Okay, so maybe I didn’t buy in after that.  Or maybe they’ve just gone too far.

This is the first movie in the franchise since Paul Walker’s passing.  The movie has a couple of nice nods to him and his character of Brian O’Conner.  Jordana Brewster’s Mia doesn’t show up, which makes sense.  She hasn’t had much of a presence in the last couple of films outside a few scenes with Brian.

I will give the actors credit.  What is happening might be ridiculous, but they do their best to make it believable.  I appreciate their efforts.

And the stunts are often fun as always.  Unbelievable?  Absolutely, but the team behind them does a good job of making the impossible look possible.  It’s hard not to get caught up in the climax, especially.

The plot, which is just an excuse for the stunts, mostly holds together.  It’s as believable as the rest of the franchise, anyway.

If you are a fan, you’ll find much to like here.  Just turn off your brain or you’ll be nitpicking The Fate of the Furious.

Book Review: Death Down the Aisle by Colleen Cambridge (Phyllida Bright Mysteries #6)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters and an intriguing mystery

Cons: Romantic triangle in the subplot annoyed

The Bottom Line:

Murder at wedding

Killer among family?

This book delivers

Family Drama and Murder

Early in the Phyllida Bright series, I thought we were going to have a love triangle, so I was happy to see that being resolved.  In fact, one of the people involved in the love triangle is getting married in Death Down the Aisle.  No, it isn’t Phyllida, but she is still on hand for the drama and murder.

If you haven’t met her yet, Phyllida Bright is the housekeeper to Max and Agatha Mallowan.  Of course, you might know Agatha better as Agatha Christie.  Phyllida and Agatha became friends while working for the war effort during the Great War, and now it is the 1920’s and Phyllida has taken a job from her friend.  It gives me a bit more of a friendly relationship than many servants would have with their bosses.  Phyllida has found herself involved in some murders recently, this is book six in the series, and they are proving inspiration for her boss.

Dr. John Bhatt is getting married to Emily, a woman he met while home visiting in India.  Emily’s family, such as it is, live in Coatesworth Manor, not too far from Mallowan Hall, and the entire staff has been given time off to attend if they wish.  Of course, Phyllida has been involved with helping to plan it, which is why she is on hand to witness some of the dynamics in Emily’s extended family.  While things have been tense, Phyllida doesn’t expect murder, but after the happy couple depart, someone turns up dead.  Can Phyllida figure out what happened?

The book takes it time getting to the murder, but it is setting up suspects and motives.  I was intrigued by the twists we got along the way to the logical climax I didn’t see coming.  In fact, there were a couple of places that had me racing through the pages to find out what would happen next.

Each book in the series is an ode to an Agatha Christie story.  While I certainly found some similarities in the set up to Death on the Nile, the author says it is also a nod to the many romantic triangles in Christie’s books in general.  Unfortunately, that spread to the subplot involving Phyllida’s personal life.  The way it unfolded here is one of my least favorite story telling devices.  It definitely made me frustrated as I read, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

While Phyllida is our viewpoint character most of the book, we do get some passages from other character’s points of view, which help flesh out the story.

The characters themselves are entertaining.  We’ve gotten to know a few of the other servants, and I enjoyed seeing them here again.  There’s something introduced here I hope to see followed up on in the next entry.  The suspects come to life as the book progresses, so I didn’t have an issue remembering how they were all related.

I’ve been working hard on catching up on this series this year, and now that I’ve done it, it’s going to be a little hard to wait to find out what case Phyllida finds herself caught up in next.  Fans of the series will enjoy their time reading Death Down the Aisle.

Enjoy the rest of the Phyllida Bright Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: #TreatYourself to Murder by Sarah E. Burr (Trending Topic Mysteries #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Coco and crew solving a Christmas mystery

Cons: No cons in this treat

The Bottom Line:

Arson and murder

Are harshing the Christmas vibes

All fan will enjoy

This Christmas Cozy is a Treat

It’s October, which means we are in the heart of this year’s Christmas cozy releases.  Yes, I hear the argument that it is too early, but people do need time to get to the books to read in December.  And, for those of us who love Christmas, it’s always fun to slip into that time of the year.  So, I had no qualms about picking up #TreatYourself to Murder, the fifth Trending Topic Mystery from Sarah E. Burr, and settling in for some good old fashioned Christmas mayhem.

If you haven’t started the series yet, it features Coco Cline, influencer and social media maven.  She’s recently rebranded and is now using her platform to highlight unsolved mysteries, both old and new, in hopes of bringing attention to these cases.  But she’s going to jump in when crime hits close to her home in Central Shores, Delaware, which is what is happening this Christmas.

There has been a string of fires that started around Halloween, and the investigation doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.  But things take a tragic turn in early December when a body is found in the latest fire.  The victim is a young woman who had been living in her car, but had recently gone missing.  Coco was already trying to help find the victim, but when she is asked to help figure out what happened, she doesn’t hesitate.  With the help of her friends and fiancé, she finds that sleuthing and Christmas shopping make a good pairing.  But can she find another killer?

It’s no surprise to me that I enjoyed this book.  Sarah E. Burr has become a favorite author over the past few years.  Her books are cozy and fun while not forgetting they are mysteries, and this is another perfect example.

The plot jumps right in, and it isn’t long before we’ve found the body.  I had no idea where the story was going until we got to the ending, but it all made perfect sense when we did.  I was proud of myself for solving things at the same time Coco did.  The climax was suspenseful and logical.

The cozy comes from the characters.  Coco has some loyal friends, and I love getting to spend time with the entire gang.  Yes, the circle is ever growing, and that may mean it is hard for everyone to get the page time I would like, but I don’t mind too much.  I think, given the Christmas setting, I was a bit surprised to find that Coco’s family took a back seat in this book.  But, if they had a bigger presence, they would have just slowed down the story.  The suspects don’t get a ton of page time, but it works in this case, and I didn’t really think about it until just now.

And the Christmas touches are fun.  I’m not quite ready to start decorating yet (although I do decorate early), but this book made me want to do that.  And maybe listen to a Christmas carol or two.

Fans of the series are in for a Christmas treat.  If you are a cozy mystery fan who hasn’t found Sarah E. Burr yet, you really need to fix that.  Now that I’ve finished #TreatYourself to Murder, I’ll be waiting for Coco’s next adventure.

Enjoy the rest of the Treating Topic Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart (Death on Demand #18)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Growth for Max, fun mystery

Cons: Missing some regulars, relationship with police

The Bottom Line:

A hidden fortune

Was it motive for murder?

Some growth this entry

Is a Treasure Hidden in Annie and Max’s New House?

While Annie and Max, the main characters in Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series, have had their life change over the previous books in the series, it’s rare that a book builds on the previous book in the series.  But that’s what we get with Death Walked In, book 18 in this beloved series.

If you are unfamiliar with the series, it is set on Broward’s Rock, an island off the coast of South Carolina.  Annie Darling owns Death on Demand, the finest mystery bookstore north of Miami, while Max runs a consulting business that helps people with problems.  It’s not officially a PI business since Max doesn’t have a license.  Between the two of them, they find plenty of murder and mayhem on their island.

You don’t have to have read the previous book (Dead Days of Summer) to fully appreciate what happens here.  There are some references to it, and Max gets some character growth as a result, but everything you need to know is included here.  And all that happens without any spoilers.

As this book opens, it’s February, and Max hasn’t taken on any clients since what happened to him last summer.  Instead, he’s poured all his focus on restoring the Franklin House to its former glory so he and Annie can move in.  So, when a woman calls Max’s office saying she hid something in Franklin House, Max isn’t interested in hearing more.  Annie, on the other hand, goes to visit the woman only to find her dying.  Is there really something hidden in Franklin House?  Who killed the caller?

In the last few books, I’ve started to notice how little character development we are getting, so I appreciate that Max got some in this book.  And it made sense given what he went through in the previous book.  It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this arc or if he is back to his usual jolly self for the rest of the series.  Annie also showed a different side in this book, which was appreciated.

On the other hand, most of the regulars were off the island.  The main trio of supporting characters still found ways to connect, adding their fun to the story.  Annie’s family wasn’t even mentioned, which took me by surprise.  (Or did they move off island and I forgot?)

This also brings me to my biggest frustration with this book.  A trope of cozies in general and this series in particular is an antagonistic relationship with the police since the amateur is getting in the way of the police when it comes to solving the case.  (Of course, if the police were smarter in these books….)  At this point, the hoops that the author is having to jump through to keep that in place is getting a little crazy.  It made me roll my eyes a little, but at least we didn’t have characters flipping personalities to get this trope, which we’ve had in previous books.

The mystery itself was good.  I figured one part out early, but I didn’t have everything figured out, which is always nice.

This series is known for its references to other mystery novels.  There were more than the previous book, but not the overabundance we had early in the series.  I am recognizing more and more of them since this book came out in 2008, so I was reading some of the authors being mentioned.

As usual for this series, I was able to get the audio from the library.  Kate Reading continues to go a great job as the narrator.

It’s always fun to visit Annie and Max, and Death Walked In is no exception.

Demand the rest of the Death on Demand Mysteries.

October 25th's Weekend Catch-Up

Welcome to this week's weekend catch-up.  As always, I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

You know how some weeks, I say I don't have much to talk about?  This isn't one of those weeks.

It started on Tuesday.  I took the day off to go to a sitcom taping.  Yes, I said after I went to see Happy's Place last year I didn't need to do it again.  But I decided I wanted to do it again.  This time I went to see Shifting Gears, which stars Tim Allen and Kat Dennings.  And, I must confess, one of the draws was that it films on the Disney lot.  This DisNerd couldn't pass that up.  Not that this lot was that different; I was on a lot with a bunch of sound stages.  As to the taping, they have four sets from the show set up in front of the audience.  And the one I was sitting directly in front of wasn't used.  But it was still fun, especially with a few mess ups, which is something I didn't get last year.  And this time I mean it, I don't think I need to do it again.

Which brings us to Saturday.  Up first was a play.  The local theater company is doing Dial "M" for Murder, which I've wanted to see as a play ever since I saw the movie.  Of course, I saw the movie back 20 years ago or so, so I don't really remember it.  Now, I need to see the movie again to see how it compares.  Especially since what I thought was a hook to the movie wasn't part of the play.  But maybe that's just me misremembering something or it got changed for the movie.  Anyway, I went with a couple of friends.  We all enjoyed it, although it was a little longer than we were expecting.

Then, my church was hosting the annual Harvest Festival, so I went over there and hung out for an hour or so.  It's really aimed at kids, but I did play a couple of the games that are a little more all ages, and I voted in the pumpkin carving, cake decorating, and chili cook-off.

See, it's been a full week!

Joke of the Week:

Why did the skeleton go trick-or-treating alone?

Because he had no body to go with.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Weekend Catch-Up

Monday - Movie Review: The Marvels

Tuesday - Book Review: 'Tis the Season to be Scary by Vicki Delany

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Wild Cards - Season 3

Thursday - Book Review: My Father Always Finds Corpses by Lee Hollis

Friday - Friday Fun featuring #TreatYourself to Murder

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Weekend Catch-Up

Monday - Book Review: Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart

Tuesday - Book Review: #TreatYourself to Murder by Sarah E. Burr

Wednesday - Book Review: Death Down the Aisle by Colleen Cambridge

Thursday - Movie Review: The Fate of the Furious

Friday - Friday Fun

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I'm back in the land of the book acquirers with three books to talk about this week.

Up first, No One Sleeps on the Orient Express crossed my radar in the last couple of months.  It's the debut mystery from Irene Hagan, and it sounds like it could be lots of fun.  The Kindle version went on sale for $2.99, so I went ahead and snagged it.  It's still on sale as I'm typing this on Saturday night, but no idea how long it will stay on sale.

I've enjoyed previous books I've read by A. M. Loweecey when she was writing as Alice Loweecey, so when I saw she was starting a new cozy mystery series, I was looking forward to reading it.  Then I got a chance to sign up for the blog tour for Death of a Bad Penny, so I jumped on that.  I got the ARC this week, and I'll be starting it next week since the tour is the second week of November.

But first...

Remember that book I teased last week that was on the way?  It did indeed arrive this week.  That book is Split Screen, the newest Eve Ronnin Mystery from Lee Goldberg.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm currently reading Split Screen by Lee Goldberg.  I feel like I'm cheating a little claiming that since I am only one chapter in at the moment.  Go back and look at what I did today to understand why I haven't gotten more reading time.  But I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I get time to really dive in.

Have a great week!