Yep, it's that time again. Time for a reading summary. Here's what I read in May.
And yes, the index got updated as well this month.
All ratings are on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great). The links will take you to my full review.
#Throwback for Murder by Sarah E. Burr
(Trending Topic Mysteries #4) – 5
It’s been a quiet nine months for Coco Cline and her
friends. In that time, the new government office building in Central Shores has
been finished, and the city is holding a festival to celebrate. However, Coco’s
friend, Charlotte, is shocked when her ex shows up during the festival. She came
to town to get away from him. A few minutes after a tense standoff ends, he
dies under the suspicious circumstances. With all the evidence pointing to
Charolette, can Coco clear her friend?
Once again, Coco is surrounded by a good group of friends,
and I enjoyed spending time with them and watching their relationships grow.
There isn’t too much with her family this time. The plot started quickly and
the pacing never lagged, with several sub-plots to keep us engaged. I did have
a couple of niggles with the ending, but they are minor. There are a few laughs
as well. If you haven’t read this series yet, do yourself a favor and pick it
up today.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
A Killing Way by J. R. Sanders (Nate Ross #4) –
5
When famed silent film cowboy William S. Hart hires Nate
Ross, he is looking for a portrait that was recently stolen from his home. He
even knows who stole it. The catch? The thief was killed in a suspicious
accident that has deeply divided the community of cowboy actors. Can Nate
navigate the controversy and find the painting?
Since I live in the town that William S. Hart called home, I
got a kick out of seeing a couple places I know well show in this historical
mystery. The plot and pacing were great, and I had a hard time putting down
this PI novel. Speaking of being a PI novel, there is a little more content
than I might normally read, but it was a small amount. The characters are good
overall. A few could be stronger, but fans will be happy to spend more time
with everyone. If you haven’t started this fun series yet, fix that
today.
A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette
(Hollywood Treasures Mysteries #1) – 4
Jay and Cindy were on their way to a successful career in
Hollywood until their marriage ended when they both realized they were gay.
Now, a couple of decades later, they are opening a Hollywood memorabilia shop
in Palm Springs. Things are off to a slow start until aging actress Yana Tosh
contacts them about selling her collection of Hollywood costumes. She’s talking
to a larger auction house as well, and when Cindy and Jay’s competition dies,
they quickly find themselves suspects. Can they clear their names?
This book has been on my radar for a while, and I’m glad I
finally picked it up. The writing did make it hard to get into the story
originally, but soon I was hooked on the mystery. There were several good
twists and surprises on the way to the logical climax. Jay and Cindy share lead
character duties, and they lead a cast of characters I enjoyed getting to know.
And I smiled at the many references to classic movies, tv shows, and stars of
the screen. We also get talk about classic musicians. At this point, this is
looking like a standalone novel, but if a sequel does pop up, I’d be happy to
visit Cindy and Jay again.
Bait and Swiss by Korina Moss (Cheese Shop
Mysteries #6) – 5
Willa Bauer is excited to be celebrating the second
anniversary of opening her shop. But her excitement is tampered when her former
fiancé and former best friend show up in town to open a new location for their
chocolate shop. However, when someone appears to have been poisoned by one of
their chocolates, Willa can’t help but poke around. Can she figure out what
happened?
I was glad to have this part of Willa’s back story show up
in town, and I liked the growth it gave Willa. We also saw a couple characters
we haven’t seen in the last two books, which was great. The cast of both old
and new characters kept me engaged, as did the story, which had plenty of
complications on the way to an ultimately logical climax. I did feel that
Willa’s actions at one point early on didn’t really make sense. Once again, we
get some delicious sounding recipes at the end. Fans of the series will be
delighted. If you enjoy culinary cozies and haven’t started this series yet,
you need to fix that today.
The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine by P.J.
Fitzsimmons (Anty Boisjoly Mysteries #3) – 5
Anty is developing a reputation for solving sticky problems,
so a friend reaches out to him when two relatives die in a duel. Since a family
fortune is on the line, who dies first is important. However, Anty has hardly
looked at the scene before he realizes it was murder. Considering the victims
were found in a locked room, how did the killer pull it off?
I’ve got to make time to read this series faster, because
this was another wonderful entry. The mystery was sufficiently puzzling with
plenty to keep me engaged. And we reached a logical climax that explained the
how and the who. The characters are a little thin, but that is in service to
the comedy. The laughs come from a very dry British wit and plenty of sarcasm.
I was laughing on page one, and smiling or laughing the rest of the way through
the book. If that’s what you are in the mood for, you’ll be glad you picked up
this book.
What Comes Around by Annette Dashofy (Zoe
Chambers #13) – 5
This book opens just days after book twelve ended, which
makes sense. Helpless ended with
Zoe deciding to finally stand up to Dr. Charles Davis publicly. But before she can line everything up to fire
him, Pete and Zoe are called to scene of a homicide. A woman has been brutally murdered in a hotel
room. The surprise is that the victim
was Davis’s ex-wife who came to the area to tell Zoe something. What was it?
Because this storyline has been brewing in the background
for multiple books now, I was hooked from the moment I picked up this one,
always have a hard time putting it down.
I didn’t expect the ending, but it made perfect sense when Zoe figured
it out. As always, the characters are
entertaining, new and old alike. Zoe and
Pete split the point of view character duties, and the shifts are always
clear. This series is darker than the
cozies I often read, but don’t let that stop you from reading these books. Sadly, this is the final book (sob!), at
least for now. Fortunately, the author
is working on other things to entertain us.
If you are already a fan of Zoe and Pete, you’ll love this book. If you aren’t yet a fan, dive in today. You’ll be hooked in no time.
Root of All Evil by Liz Milliron (Laurel
Highlands Mysteries #1) – 4
State Trooper Jim Duncan is concerned when he hears a
notorious drug dealer has been spotted in Fayette County again. He’s determined to catch the man this
time. Meanwhile, his friend Sally
Castle, an ADA, is shocked to find a coworker murdered in his office one Monday
morning. Sally can’t stay on the
sidelines with the case hitting so close to home. The pair quickly see a connection between
events. But can they figure out what
happened?
I’ve been meaning to pick up this series for a while since
I’ve enjoyed other books from this author.
While this is her debut novel, it’s not the first story with these
characters. I do wish this book had more
introduction to the characters, but we did get to know them pretty well over
the course of the story. Jim and Sally
share point of view duties, which helps.
The pacing seemed a little uneven in the middle, but that’s a minor
complaint. I did feel one of the
characters could have been smarter as the climax neared, but the wrap up did
answer all of my questions. Since this
is a police procedural, it will have more content than the lighter books I
often read. Now that I’ve started this
series, I’m hoping to get to visit the characters again soon.
Night of the Living Bread by Mary Lee Ashford
(Sugar and Spice Mysteries #4) – 4
Sugar Calloway and Dixie Spicer are working on a new project
for the Jameson County Historical Society.
It’s a cook book focused on various breads. It may sound a little narrow, but they
already have several ideas for subcategories, and the pair are excited about
it. Their contact for the project is
Marla Mercer. But Sugar’s appointment
one morning never happens since she finds Marla dead on the office floor, a
bread knife in her back. Everyone seems
shocked by the murder, insisting that Marla was well loved. So who would want to kill her?
It’s been a few years (and a publisher change) since we got
the previous book in this series. I was
glad to see it back and was easily able to slip back into Sugar and Dixie’s
world. It was great to reconnect with
the characters, and spending time with them made me smile. The suspects seemed nice as well, at least at
first. I did figure parts of the mystery
out early, but I didn’t have it all put together until the climax. There are a couple of subplots that helped
kept me engaged. We also get five recipes
at the end of the book. Fans will be
just as happy as I am to revisit these characters.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly (Harry
Bosch #20) – 4
When two pharmacists are killed in San Fernando, it’s all
hands on deck, including reserve officer Harry Bosch. It quickly looks like the
motive might not be robbery but something to do with the drug trade. But
Bosch’s attention is being split since an almost 30-year-old case is being
questioned thanks to fresh DNA evidence. If these new test results are right, it
looks like Bosch sent the wrong man to prison back then. Can he figure out what
is happening to keep a killer behind bars?
Bosch having two cases he is juggling has become a staple of
the series, and there’s usually one I care about more than the others. This
time, I found the modern story just okay. It was too straightforward and felt
written to bring in real life topics for 2017. The old case, however, was
compelling, and when that was the focus, I had a hard time putting the book
down. We see some Lincoln Lawyer characters and a few faces from Bosch’s past,
which is great, and all the characters were engaging. As usual, these books
incorporate a little more of the real world into the stories, but as long as
you know going in, you will be fine. Overall, I did enjoy book twenty in this
long running series.
There’s No Murder Like Show Murder by M. S.
Greene (Backstage Mysteries #1) – 5
Tasha Weaver is the head of the costume shop at the regional
theater in Eastbrook, Connecticut.
They’ve been struggling financially, so they are hoping that bringing in
a couple of Broadway stars for their latest production will help the theater
return to black. But Kurt Mozer, the
male lead, is being very difficult.
Still, it’s a surprise when someone shots him center stage when the
theater is mostly empty. Who would want
to kill the star?
Since I love theater, this book caught my attention, and I’m
so glad it did. The story is strong with
plenty of suspects, motives, and twists to keep me engaged until we reach the
logical ending. There were a couple of
leaps of logic, but they were minor overall.
Tasha is a wonderful lead, and the rest of the cast was
entertaining. A few have room to grow,
but they work for the amount of page time they get. And the suspects were strong. Plus I enjoyed this look at life behind the
scenes in a theater. Well, behind the
scenes when a murder is thrown into the mix.
This is a strong debut that cozy mystery fans will devour. I’m hopeful that we will get another book
from this author soon.
