Book Review: Saving the Guilty by Liz Milliron (Laurel Highlands Mysteries #7)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and a compelling mystery

Cons: No cons were saved

The Bottom Line:

Appeal, murder

In compelling seventh book

Love these characters

Favors for Friends Can Be Dangerous

I’m getting close to the end of Liz Milliron’s Laurel Highlands Mysteries, and I’m sad about it.  There are nine books in the series, and Saving the Guilty is book seven.  And it’s another page turner.

The series is set in Pennsylvania, and features defense attorney Sally Castle and State Trooper Jim Duncan.  At this point, Sally has opened her own practice and Jim has started working as a detective.  And yes, they are dating.  In fact, they are working on moving Sally into Jim’s house.

As this book opens, Sally has just accepted a new client from a friend.  All Sally has to do is present the appeal, and it’s a pretty easy appeal.  It’s a case of a man who is accused of killing his wife.  But Sally can’t help herself, and she starts digging into the case.  Can she find the truth?

Meanwhile, Jim has a new case as well.  The victim was killed in the home he was renting, but things take a turn when he learns the name the man was living under doesn’t exist.  Can Jim learn who the victim was and find the killer?

Okay, so I saw the first big twist of the book coming fairly early, but the book didn’t take longer than it needed to getting there.  And once it did, we were off to the races.  I couldn’t wait to get back to the book when I had to put it down to find out just what was going to happen next.  I might have even gasped a time or two.  Yet, when I reached the climax, everything made perfect sense.

Jim and Sally are the stars of this series.  They take turns being the third person view-point characters, and I always appreciate how that helps move the story forward.  They are very real characters, and I loved seeing how they and their relationship grown have.  The suspects were all strong and easy to keep straight.  There are a couple of strong supporting players in this book, and I loved spending more time with them.  But we don’t spend much time with the others we’ve met along the way.  I missed them, but it was a minor complaint.

On the other hand, fans of Annette Dashofy’s Zoe Chambers series will enjoy some fun appearances here.  For those who don’t know, Annette and Liz are good friends and critique partners.  Jim showed up in a couple of books in Annette’s series, so it’s fun to see the opposite happen.

My typical disclaimer comes into play here: these books aren’t the light cozy mysteries I often read.  However, it never goes any further than it needs to for the story, which I appreciate.

If you enjoy a solid mystery, you’ll be glad you gave the Laurel Highlands Mysteries a chance.  Just be sure to allow plenty of time when you sit down to read Saving the Guilty because you won’t want to stop reading.

Enjoy the rest of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries.

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.

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.

Book Review: My Father Always Finds Corpses by Lee Hollis (Father/Daughter Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The characters came to life; mystery was good overall

Cons: Pacing at the beginning; climax issue; some details seemed fluid

The Bottom Line:

Finding dead body

Makes Jarrod and Liv team up

Promise, but some flaws

Murder as Father-Daughter Bonding

Lee Hollis is a name I’ve long had in my list of authors to try.  I’ve bought some of Lee’s books when they were on sale, and I’ve read novella anthologies with Lee’s stories in them.  But I was determined to actually read a novel, so I sat down to read My Father Always Finds Corpses.  While it wasn’t bad, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.

For those who don’t know, half of the Lee Hollis pen name is author Rick Copp.  Years ago, Rick released three books starring Jarrod Jarvis, a child star now trying to navigate Hollywood as a young man.  And stumbling over dead bodies in the process.  Jarrod is back in this first in a new series.  At this point in his life, he’s left Hollywood behind and is living in Palm Springs, still grieving the death of his husband, Charlie, ten years ago.  While he’s still got his daughter, Liv, in his life, their relationship is distant.

For example, Liv hasn’t introduced her new boyfriend, Zel, to Jarrod yet.  But the chance for that to happen ends once and for all when someone kills Zel and Liv finds the body.  It’s been a number of years since Jarrod investigated a crime, but his old instincts kick in, especially when Liv decides she wants to figure out what happened to Zel.  Will solving this case bring them closer together?

I knew that Rick has released some books on his own before teaming up with his sister to write books as Lee Hollis, and I even knew he had one that featured an actor in Hollywood.  But I didn’t realize this series was a spin off/reboot of those books until I sat down to write the review.  So, if you are wondering if you need to track down those other books first or if you can jump in here, I didn’t have any trouble following the characters or their relationships in this book.  Are there some things I might have missed?  Sure.  But I would bet they are minor.  (But now I’m thinking some of the references to earlier events in his life we might have seen in those books.)

This book has a melancholy tone.  The grief Jarrod and Liv are still dealing with are very real.  We do see that start to break as the book goes along, but this isn’t as strongly comedic as I’ve heard Lee’s books can be.

But my issue really comes as we start looking at the plot.  It was a bit slow to get going.  Yes, there was quite a bit of stuff that had to be set up.  I get it.  But it still felt like it could have started faster.  The pacing did get better after we find the body.  Having said that, I had major issues with the climax.  There was a scene that seemed unnecessary.  Yes, it was fun, but it also made no sense.

We spend time with both Jarrod and Liv as they work to solve the case.  I enjoyed getting to know both of them better over the course of the story.  I feel it really worked in this case to truly understand where both of them are as the book begins.  I’m not sure that I completely bought their closer relationship at the end of the book, but I’m being a bit too nitpicky here.

And, speaking of being nitpicky, there were too many details I felt were fluid as the book went along, like how long Liv and Zel had been dating, for starters.  Either the book needed another edit to look for those details or I missed something as I was reading.

All the characters do come to life, not just Jarrod and Liv.  I loved some of them and loved to hate others.

One of the supporting characters is a former first lady.  When I saw that, my guard went up, expecting politics to come into the book.  While there are some moments, they are small.  Would the book have been better without them?  For me, yes.  But they were easy enough to ignore.

Will I give Lee Hollis another chance?  Yes, I’ll be willing to do that.  After all, I do already have some other of Lee’s books.  But My Father Always Finds Corpses didn’t make me want to rush out to read another one.

TV Show Review: Wild Cards - Season 3

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Case of the week and banter still fun

Cons: Low budget (still) and poor story arcs

The Bottom Line:

Case of the week? Good

But arcs are overall poor

Average season

“You’re the One Who Wanted a Badge.” “But I Didn’t Know It Came with Paperwork.”

I’ve been charmed by Wild Cards during the first two season, so I was looking forward to season three.  While I found the case of the week and the banter to be fun, the story arcs for the season were disappointing.

The premise isn’t exactly new.  It’s another unusual amateur/cop mystery show.  In this case, the cop is Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) and his partner is semi-reformed conwoman Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan).  Against all odds, their partnership has worked out.  And, naturally, there is a spark between them as well.  Not that true love comes easy in a show like this.

As expected, we start with the aftermath of the season two cliffhanger.  And what a cliffhanger it was.  Max was leaving to meet Cole to go to Mexico with him when she was interrupted at the door by her mother – her dead for years mother Vivienne (recurring guest star Tamara Taylor).  Turns out she faked her death in order to keep Max and her father George (recurring guest star Jason Priestley) safe from a crime boss Vivienne ran afoul of.  But, just as this happy reunion begins, the crime boss’s henchman shows up and demands they follow his orders or he will kill them all.

Meanwhile, Cole did take that vacation, but when Max didn’t show, he assumed she wasn’t interested in a romance, so he returned with a new girlfriend, reporter Jessica (recurring guest star Kaylah Zander).

But all this doesn’t keep Cole and Max from teaming up on new cases.  Over the course of this season, they investigate when a 90’s boy band reunites to murder.  They are called in when an ER doctor is stabbed in the middle of a busy shift.  They travel to a nearby town where a serial killer copycat is on the loose.  And they go undercover at a digital detox retreat to catch a killer.

As I said earlier, the cases of the week were still enjoyable.  They may not be the most twisty mysteries you’ve ever seen, but they are engaging and keep me entertained.  It helps that Max and Cole still have the banter I love.  Cole is less annoyed by Max, which makes sense if they’ve been working together for a while.  Well, and if they almost ran off on vacation together.

Unfortunately, the arcs for the season were very weak.  Admittedly, it’s never been the strongest part of the show, but season one and two had better arcs than this one.  I felt like they didn’t know what to do with Jessica once they introduced her.  She got one good episode, but other than that, they really under used her.

But that’s nothing compared to the storyline with Max’s mom.  The character development it brought about was good, and I appreciated it.  But they spend most of the season working on something to get the crime boss off their back.  Naturally, we get to see the plan go wrong in the final episode.  But the revelations we got in that episode underwhelmed at best and made no sense at worst.  Plus, the plan was just crazy even if…well I’m not going to spoil it.

This is a low-budget Canadian show, so keep that in mind when you go to watch it.  The acting and production values can reflect that, but I don’t find it bothers me too much.

There are ten episodes in season three, which matches the previous seasons of the show.

I’m hoping season four bounces back from the disappointments I had in season three.  Fans will still want to watch it, but it should have been better.

Book Review: ‘Tis the Season to be Scary by Vicki Delany (Year-Round Christmas Mysteries #9)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Enjoy the characters and the setting

Cons: Uneven pacing, paranormal element too strong

The Bottom Line:

A gala murder

With some supernatural

Only average

Murder is Always Spooky

I’ve been a bit disappointed with the last couple of books in the Year-Round Christmas series from Vicki Delany, so I was debating about picking up ‘Tis the Season to be Scary, the newly released book nine.  I finally decided to get it from the library.  Sadly, while this one wasn’t bad, it wasn’t any better than the last couple.

If you are a newcomer to the series, it features Merry Wilkinson, who lives in the town of Rudolph, New York.  Yes, the town has decided to trade on their name and bills itself as the destination for Christmas.  They go big for other holidays as well, which is a good thing since this book is set around Halloween.

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?

The mystery started out well, but, as often happens with this series, it stalled in the middle.  Honestly, I didn’t find that much was happening to move the story forward.  Instead, we have some subplots that take over.  I did enjoy them, but I wanted to feel like the mystery was moving forward, too.  Merry was a bit more active than she was in the previous book, but she still could have driven more of the story.  The suspects were good, but we could have seen more of them to better flesh them out.

Having said all of that, I did enjoy how the book ended.  Mostly.  (More about that in a minute.)  There were some good twists and a surprising resolution.

I do like the characters in this series.  There are family and friends we’ve gotten to know, and, if they don’t make me smile because I love them they make me smile because of their antics.  But I don’t feel like we are learning much more about them or that their relationships are moving forward.  Yes, it was fun to spend time with them, but it would be nice to feel like something new was happening in their lives.

This book includes a paranormal element.  On the one hand – I get it.  This is a Halloween book.  But the story relied too much on it a couple of times, which I didn’t appreciate at all.

Since this book is set around Halloween, we don’t have the Christmas vibes I usually love so much in this series, but that’s completely understandable.

With all the talk about Vicky’s cookbook, I wasn’t surprised to find three recipes at the end of this novel.  They do sound delicious.

‘Tis the Season to be Scary is another average book in this series.  I’m not sorry I read it, but I wish it were better.  We’ll see if I decide to continue or not.

Here are the rest of the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries.

Book Review: Death in Luxor by M. A. Monnin (Intrepid Traveler Mysteries #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun characters and travel with a good mystery

Cons: Pacing slows down a couple of times

The Bottom Line:

Some threatening notes

Start intriguing Egypt trip

Kept me entertained

Are Thieves Targeting the New Museum?

I’ve enjoyed the arm chair travel and adventure of the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, so when I found out that M. A. Monnin was writing a fourth, I couldn’t wait for it.  As expected, I enjoyed Death in Luxor.

If you haven’t found this fun series yet, it features Stefanie Adams and Thomas Burkhardt.  When we first met Stefanie, she was taking a long await vacation to Greece.  But her plans went sideways when she found herself pulled into a case involving an art heist.  That’s how her path crossed with Thomas.  The two are now partners in life and working for Interpol trying to recover stolen artifacts or prevent them from being stolen in the first place.

Which is what takes the pair to Egypt.  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?  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 part travelogue, part mystery, and part caper.  It’s a juggling act, but it’s rewarding.

Having said that, the plot was a little uneven since Stefanie and Thomas were spinning their wheels a couple of times.  Fortunately, it wasn’t for very long.  I did find the resolution satisfying, and there were some truly exciting moments as the story progressed.

The travel was wonderful.  We got to visit so many fantastic places all without leaving our armchair.  Of course, the travel doesn’t slow down the story, which always amazes me.  We get some great scenes in some iconic locations.  It makes me want to go visit Egypt.  Also, I enjoyed the reference to some pop culture related to Egypt.

The series doesn’t feature a large cast of recurring characters.  It’s pretty much just Stefanie and Thomas.  While they are both equally involved in the case, we get it from Stefanie’s third person point of view.  I enjoyed seeing how their relationship is continuing to grow.  They are a fantastic duo.  We get quite a collection of suspects here, and I also enjoyed getting to know them as well.

If you wish you could travel more than your budget allows, you’ll love the virtual trips you get with the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.  Death in Luxor is sure to please fans of this series.

Book more trips with the rest of the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Author Bio:

M. A. Monnin writes the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, including Agatha Best First Novel finalist DEATH IN THE AEGEAN. The fourth in the series, DEATH IN LUXOR, released in Aug 2026. Like her heroine Stefanie Adams, Mary loves the adventure of foreign travel. If there’s the chance to check out an archaeological site, so much the better for this avocational archaeologist and Air Force veteran. Mary’s short stories have appeared in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and numerous anthologies. She is the current President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Catch Up With M. A. Monnin:

www.MAMonnin.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub - @monninma
Instagram - @m.a.monnin
X - @mamonnin1
Facebook - @ma.monnin.2025

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DEATH IN LUXOR by M. A. Monnin | Gift Cards

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

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: I loved the characters and the cozy vibes

Cons: The writing was weak and the plotting was poor

The Bottom Line:

Fall setting; cozy

Really enjoy the main cast

But plot, writing weak

Come for the Vibes Only

I’ve long had Traci Hall on my radar.  I’ve heard lots of buzz about her books and how fun and cozy they are.  When I saw she was starting a new series with Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival, I was anxious to give it a try.

This series debut takes us to Cider Falls in Washington State where Macki Smith’s family has had an apple orchard for several generations.  Macki herself has recently returned after spending several years in Seattle.  But a breakup from her jerk of a fiancé has led her back while she figures out what her life might look like next.

Every year as fall begins, her town puts on a festival.  One highlight of that is the apple pie contest, which Macki won for several years as a teen.  She’s been talked into rejoining again this year against her better judgement.  But the contest gets called when Macki finds one of the other contestants dead in her tent.  Worse yet, the murder weapon was Macki’s knife.  The police are quick to zero in on her as a suspect.  Can she prove she didn’t do it?

When I picked up the book, I felt the cozy fall vibes immediately.  Okay, so it’s technically late summer for most of the book, but that’s a minor difference.  I liked Macki and her quite large family.  Cider Falls is charming.  These are the characters and the setting I love in a cozy series and ones I look forward to visiting again and again.

However, I won’t be revisiting this series.

Let’s talk plot.  There’s the storyline I teased, but it doesn’t really get started in any meaningful way until we are a third of the way into the book.  Even then, the story moves forward in fits and starts.  There’s a massive plot hole I kept hoping would be brought up or addressed, and it never was.  And all of that ends with a weak climax.

Not to mention that the police officer that was supposed to be pulled off the case (according to the book at one point) never was.  He wasn’t the lead, but he was still very much involved.

There’s another storyline going on.  It starts before the murder and involves Macki’s parents.  I’m guessing it is going to be a continuing storyline in the series, or maybe it’s the setup for book two.  Either way, it got way too much page time here and left me unsatisfied.

Then there’s the writing in general.  It felt more like a first draft than a finished product.  We had sentences that belonged in other paragraphs, lots of repetition, and way too much detail at times.  Yes, I know I’m the one who complains when an author summarizes a conversation, but in this case, the conversations were among the things that needed some streamlining.

But the vibes.  As I say, I did enjoy the characters and the setting.  I’m sure if I could really visit Cider Falls and meet the characters, I’d enjoy my time spent with them.

That won’t be enough to bring me back for any other books in this series, and I’m not inclined to give the author another try.  Looks like others seem to be enjoying this book, but it didn’t work for me at all.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Book Review: The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories by Gigi Pandian (A Jaya Jones Short Story Collection)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Nine great locked room short stories

Cons: All cons locked behind closed doors

The Bottom Line:

Crime behind locked doors

Jaya and friends work to solve

These stories are fun

Get Ready for an Impossible Crime or Nine

Gigi Pandian’s first series was her Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries.  But the character has appeared in several short stories and novellas over the years, including some award-winning stories.  The Cambodian Curse & Other Stories collects nine of them into one volume for us.  And each story also features one of Gigi’s favorite things – a locked room mystery.

The book focuses on Jaya Jones, art history professor and finder of treasures lost to time.  While she is the star of the most of the stories, a couple do focus on her best friend, magician Sanjay.  Other characters from the series pop into some of the stories, too.  But we are introduced to everyone as they appear, so you can pick this book up to get a taste of the series.

The title story was originally written for this collection.  It 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.  One of Sanjay’s stories finds him trying to solve a murder on an island off the coast of San Francisco.  And in the final story, Jaya must figure out who stole a valuable chess set.

Fans of Gigi’s Secret Staircase Mysteries will be interested to learn that Tempest, the main character of that series, stars in one of the stories as well.

I do promise that each story does involve those locked doors that make for the fun impossible crimes for Jaya to solve.  While I did pickup on one or two of them a little early, I still enjoyed watching Jaya figure out what was going on.  Several of them kept me guessing until the end.

Those familiar with the series will quickly pick up on the fact that these stories are not collected in chronological order.  We jump around in the series timeline.  It’s not an issue, and there aren’t any spoilers for the novels here.

I do love the characters, and it’s fun to spend time with them again.  The new characters don’t get much time to be fully developed, but they all work for the stories they are in.  My only complaint with the characters (and I’ve seen this in other collections) is that, if we met a character in a previous story, they are still fully introduced when we meet up with them again in a different story.  It’s a minor complaint but still something that bothers me.

My goal this year was to catch up on the Jaya Jones books in print so I could wrap up another series.  Then Gigi Pandian announced that she’d found a new home for Jaya’s further adventures, which makes me even happier that I caught up this year.

Whether you have read all of Jaya’s novel length adventures or haven’t yet jumped into her world, you’ll be glad you picked up this collection of stories.

Do check out more of the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries.

Book Review: The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich by P.J. Fitzsimmons (Anty Boisjoly #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Laughs and a solid mystery

Cons: I didn’t find any cons in this case

The Bottom Line:

Next case in Scotland

Plenty wacky and twisty

Grab whisky; enjoy

Whiskey, Golf, and Sheep in Scotland

It really is hard to describe the Anty Boisjoly series for the uninitiated.  They are part comedy and part locked room mystery set in the late 1920’s Europe.  But it’s a mix that works for me, and I enjoyed the sixth book, The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich.

The main character is Anty, a young man who has recently inherited from his father.  He has no need to work, which is a good thing because it means he can travel around getting involved in the most puzzling of locked room mysteries.  The only other returning character in this book is Vickers, his elderly manservant who has been serving the Boisjolys for generations.

This book finds Anty heading to Scotland where two neighboring villages compete every ten years to determine which produces the best whiskey.  The winner is the official whiskey for the next decade, so the stakes are high.  It all involves which peat is used and where the water is drawn from, you see.  Anty’s father used to be on the judging panel, so Anty is there taking his place.

But when he arrives, he learns that one of the two competing distillers has just blown himself up while attempting to make this year’s batch.  The detective assigned to the case is quick to blame the outsiders, but Anty is more focused on how the crime could have been committed.  How does the world’s hardest golf course play into things?  Can Anty get any investigating done with the flock of sheep he has following him?

I will admit, when I first started this book, I was certain that I was going to find it frustrating.  The two villages have very similar names.  The two families most involved in the feud have similar names.  Heck, the two bartenders have similar names.  I was beginning to worry that I’d need a score sheet to keep everyone straight.  Yet, as I read, I found I was able to keep the main suspects and their relationships to each other straight.  It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  Okay, so I never could remember which side of the divide a couple of the characters were on, but it didn’t wind up mattering.

As a mystery, this is a good book.  There is plenty happening to keep me engaged, which some nice red herrings and twists until I reached the logical climax.  As usual for this series, I really had no clue where things were going to wind up, but the clues had been there.

As a comedy, this is a good book.  This series has been a bit too gimmicky at times, with too much word play, not only slowing the book down but making me roll my eyes.  And, given my love of puns, that’s really saying something.  Here’s, the word play was used in the perfect amount.  It never stood out in an obnoxious way, but it did make me smile and laugh multiple times.  And there are plenty of other things to laugh at in this book.  Yes, they might be a bit out there, but somehow it works in the context of this series.  I think it does help if you are in the right mood when you pick up a book in this series.

Speaking of series, each book really does work as a standalone.  Certainly, it helps that we only have two returning characters.  So if this book appeals to you, can you jump in here.

I do think there is a continuity error, but it didn’t impact the story, and I wasn’t bothered enough to go back and double check.  I was caught up enough in the story that I didn’t care.

If you are looking to laugh while solving a puzzling mystery, you need to check out this series.  The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich is another delightfully wacky case anyone will enjoy.

Enjoy the rest of the Anty Boisjoly Mysteries.

Book Review: Art Attack by James Ponti (The Sherlock Society #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Wonderful characters, good mystery overall

Cons: Pacing could have been better

The Bottom Line:

Tracking a “writer”

Can these kids find any clues?

Kids will devour it

Hunting for a Graffiti Artist

While I seem to have dropped most of the middle grade authors I was reading for a while, I’ve stuck with James Ponti.  It helps that my nephew loves his books.  The Sherlock Society isn’t my favorite of his series, but I do still enjoy checking in with the characters, and book three, Art Attack, just dropped.

The main characters in this series are all in middle school.  Alex Sherlock is our narrator.  The Sherlock Society is made up of his older sister, Zoe, and their friends Yadi and Lina.  Rounding out the society is Alex and Zoe’s grandfather.

As this book opens, the friends have just been hired for their first 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?

This series uses one of my least favorite literary devices, which is to start with something exciting or surprising and then flashback to how we got there, leaving us hanging until the very end.  I find it makes me impatient waiting for the story to catch up to that moment.  It doesn’t help that this book has quite a bit of information about graffiti culture in the early chapters.

Speaking of graffiti, that was an issue I had with the book in general.  Yes, we do eventually hear that it is bad, but that seems like an afterthought.  When, guess what, it’s vandalism.

Anyway, I was impressed with how the plot unfolded.  The kids piece together some genuine clues to figure out what is going on, and there are some entertaining twists along the way.  Unfortunately, I think one plot point was left dangling, which bugged me but might not bug the target audience.

One thing I love in all of James Ponti’s books is the relationship between the characters.  We can feel the friendship between the kids, which has grown since the first book.  And the parents are responsible parents, too, not just people who let their kids do whatever.  Oh, the kids still find danger, but it’s treated appropriately.

Overall, I did enjoy Art Attack.  And I’m sure the middle grade audience will devour it.

Book Review: Essentials of Homicide by Kim Davis (Aromatherapy Apothecary Mysteries #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Carissa and the rest of the characters in a mostly strong mystery

Cons: A couple of niggles with the plot, but nothing too major

The Bottom Line:

Hollywood murder

Complicates Carissa’s life

In charming cozy

Mystery Movie Leads to Real Life Murder

When I find an author I enjoy, I follow them to a new series even if the hook isn’t one I would normally go for.  That’s the case with the Aromatherapy Apothecary Mysteries.  I’m not into aromatherapy, but since I’ve enjoyed Kim Davis’s Cupcake Caterer Mysteries, I dove head first into this second series and never looked back.  I’m glad I did since Essentials of Homicide, book three in the series, was another fun entry.

The books are set in Oak Creek Valley, a fictionalized Ojai, California, and feature Carissa Carmichael, the owner of Aromatherapy Apothecary, an essential oils store in the middle of the town’s downtown/tourist area.  She’s found herself involved in a couple of previous murders since returning to town and opening her shop, much to the dismay of her father, the town’s chief of police.

As this book opens, Hollywood has come to town, not too surprising for a community an hour and a half from Los Angeles.  Hidden Crimes is going to be shot there, a murder mystery movie.  They are even paying Ashley, Carissa’s best friend and employee, for the use of her house as a location in the movie.

However, trouble has also arrived in the form of Nigel Hollister, the star of the film.  He’s handsome, and he knows it, and assumes that all women will want to spend time with him.  Ashley turns him down several times but the man refuses to take no for an answer.  Until Carissa finds him floating in the pool at Ashley’s house, dead.  With her best friend in the hot seat as a murder suspect, Carissa once again jumps into an investigation.  Can she sort through the myriad of suspects to find the killer?

The plot started out strongly.  Nigel was a jerk, and we got to see that before he splashed down.  That only intensifies as Carissa starts her investigating, and we learn even more.  The pacing was a little off in the second half, but not too bad, and the climax is weaker than I like, but those are minor issues overall.  Everything did make sense when I put the book down.

And the reason those are minor issues is the characters.  I hadn’t realized just how much I’d gotten to like the characters in the series until I picked up this book and started reading about them again.  I was smiling as I watched them interact here.  They are delightful, and their relationships are wonderful.

Of course, that wasn’t true of all of the suspects, although I did like a few of the new characters we met along the way.  Others fell into the love to hate category.  But they were developed enough to keep me guessing until the end.

At the end of the book, we get a recipe for an aromatherapy muscle rub and another one for a baked good.

It’s always nice to visit friends, and that’s just what Essentials of Homicide was.  If you are looking for a fun cozy, you’ll be glad you picked this one up.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding by Liz Ireland (Mrs. Claus Mysteries #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Charming characters and a good mystery

Cons: Pacing was off, but book was still entertaining

The Bottom Line:

Mystery baby

Plus poisoning on the stage

Series still charming

Unexpected Complications at Christmas

It is always a pleasure when the next Mrs. Claus Mystery lands at the top of my to be read pile.  The world author Liz Ireland has created is magical.  And I smiled my way through Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding, book seven in the series.

This series features the real Mrs. Claus.  And this version of the North Pole is exactly what you would imagine.  We’ve got elves, snowmen, and reindeer.  Everything you’d expect for life with Santa.  Of course, we also have murder and mayhem.  This is a cozy mystery series, after all.

While we have visited April Claus and the rest of the cast for various other holidays, for this book it is once again Christmas, and April has a full schedule as always.  That’s before someone leaves a baby elf on the doorstep of Castle Kringle asking April to care for her.  April is willing to take that on, but she also sets out to find out how the baby came to be left on her doorstep.

Meanwhile, April has also added being stage manager for this season’s production of A Christmas Carol to her already busy schedule.  But things take an unexpected turn when one of the elves in the cast dies after eating the figgy pudding April prepared for the rehearsal.  Can she figure out what happened to her pudding and why?

The dualling plots didn’t quite work here.  While I was invested in the mystery of the baby elf, it took a lot of time at the beginning of the book and that made the mystery surrounding the play take longer than it should have to really get cooking.  The stories do come to a logical climax, and I set the book down satisfied.

Of course, the characters are still charming as always, and they kept me engaged the entire time.  We’ve gotten to know quite a few supporting players over the course of the series, and they are all here and in fine form.  I enjoyed getting to see what’s new with them as their characters and lives continue to grow.  And the new characters were just as entertaining.

Plus there’s the humor.  I couldn’t help but laugh as I was reading the book, and when I wasn’t laughing, I was smiling.  Yes, this series is hyper cozy, so expect that when you pick it up, but it’s so warm and charming, it’s hard not to fall under the spell.

If you aren’t already enjoying these delightful mysteries, do yourself a favor and fix that right away.  Fans will be charmed once again with this latest entry in the series.

Check out the rest of the Mrs. Claus Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Book Review: Old Habits Die Hard by Melissa Westemeier with Mariana Damon (Nun the Wiser Mysteries #1)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: The two leads are nice

Cons: Pacing was way off

The Bottom Line:

Nun finds a body

I did like characters but

Pacing is way off

Sadly, I Don’t Think This Series Will Become a Habit

There are those series that sound promising, and Melissa Westemier’s Nun the Wiser was one of them. I couldn’t pass up the premise. But, sadly, I found the execution of the first book, Old Habits Die Hard, to be less than I’d hoped for. 

Sister Bernadette retired from teaching and her life as a nun, but she’s found herself living in The Abbey: Senior Living, the sight of the school where she taught for years now renovated into senior apartments. The residents are becoming a close-knit community, which is why, when the body of one of the residents is found, it upsets everyone. Especially since it doesn’t appear to be the obvious natural causes. The detective assigned to the case is AJ Lewis, one of Bernadette’s former students. Can the pair crack the case and figure out what really happened?

This book started out well. The body was found quickly and we got our first twist just as quickly. I settled in for a promising debut. 

And waited for the next big twist or revelation. 

Don’t get me wrong, we did still have a few things for the detectives to figure out along the way. But the clues and connections were slow in coming. The solution became obvious pretty early as well. Things made sense, but the plot needed some work. 

I was expecting Sister Bernadette to play a bigger role in the story. She shares viewpoint character duties with Detective AJ, but many of her scenes didn’t really advance the story. I liked her, but she didn’t contribute as much as I expected. She does provide a couple of pieces of the puzzle, but it was a small amount. 

Meanwhile, I also liked AJ. His scenes do add more to the story, which is good. I felt like he should have been the main character, which would have made the book stronger. 

There’s a bit of foul language in the book. It’s not excessive, but it’s certainly more than I expected for a book featuring a retired nun as one of the main characters. 

Plenty of people seem to enjoy this series, but Old Habits Die Hard just didn’t work for me.