Book Review: Gone but Not Furgotten by Cate Conte (Cat Café Mysteries #6)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Book really gels in the second half

Cons: The first half wanders quite a bit

The Bottom Line:

When cat hoarder dies

Maddie rescues and questions

Sadly, uneven

Tail of Two Halves

Normally, I enjoy the Cat Café Mysteries.  The island setting is fun and the cats are cute.  So, I was looking forward to Gone but Not Furgotten when I sat down to read it.

It’s summer, so tourists are flooding Daybreak Island, and things are busy at JJ’s House of Purrs, the cat café that Maddie James has opened in part of her grandfather’s house.  However, when her friend Cass Hendricks mentions a potential cat hoarding situation in another part of the island, Maddie is quick to agree to go with him to figure out how to help.

When the two arrive, they discover Laurel’s body at the bottom of her stairs.  Naturally, the police assume that one of Laurel’s cats tripped her.  Maddie thinks there is something else going on, especially with a few things she doesn’t quite think are right at the crime scene.  Can she rescue the cats and figure out what is going on?

This book is easily divisible in half.  The first half is weak.  The focus here is on the rescuing the cats.  Yes, being in Laurel’s house does give Maddie a chance to collect a few clues, but they are few and far between.

There was a lot of talk about how horrible the hoarding situation was for the cats.  Now, I get that the author is a big advocate for animals.  And the situation was truly heartbreaking.   However, I felt like some of the characters went overboard in their reaction to things.  Honestly, it made some of them not very likeable.  This includes Maddie in a couple of scenes.

Fortunately, the book gets better as we head into the second half.  That’s when the mystery really kicks into high gear.  Yes, the little we learned in the first half comes into play here, although I’m not sure all of it paid off.  I can see a justification for what was found early on, but it wasn’t explicit in the book.  Still, I got caught in the action and the revelations that Maddie was uncovering.  The suspects kept me engaged as well.

We spent more time with some of the other regulars in the series in the second half, and I enjoyed that as always.  Grandpa Leo especially is a wonderful character, and he and Maddie make a fantastic team as they track down clues.  Unfortunately, I did feel like that a key bit of character development was rushed.

Based on what I am seeing, fans of the series loved this installment, so I am the outlier here.  If you’ve already met Maddie, pick up Gone but Not Furgotten.  If you haven’t started this series yet, I suggest you start with an earlier, stronger book in the series.

Make an appointment for the rest of the Cat Café Mysteries.

Movie Review: Campfire Christmas

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Charming, fun Christmas movie twist

Cons: Hallmark cheese, predictable

The Bottom Line:

Christmas during camp

Absolutely delightful

And predictable

This Summer Twist on a Christmas Movie Proves to be Fun

I have only watched a couple of Hallmark’s Christmas movies, and I rarely pay attention to these releases.  However, when I stumbled on an announcement about Campfire Christmas, premiering during Christmas in July last month, I knew I had to give it a try.  I’m so glad I did.

Peyton Baker (Tori Anderson) grew up at Camp Evergreen, the camp her family has owned in Montana for generations.  One of the highlights of the summer was the annual Christmas in July themed week.  Now an adult, she’s left to pursue her dream of writing, but when her parents announce their plans to sell the camp and retired, they also announce that they are going to host a reunion for all the counselors who can make it back.  Peyton immediately makes plans to attend.

While Peyton is excited to get to see some of her old friends again, this reunion takes a turn when Thomas (Corbin Bleu) shows up.  The two had a camp romance, but their breakup is something Peyton still hasn’t completely gotten over.  As she and her friend participate in the typical Christmas in July activities, she is reminded just how much she and Thomas click.  Will they try for romance a second time?

This movie was completely charming.  I was caught up in the story right away.  It absolutely helps that I loved the characters.  Peyton and all her friends get their own storylines, and they are all things that make us root for the characters to be happy.

This movie is completely predictable.  I had things figured out within the first ten minutes.  Well, there was one thing that surprised me, but it was minor overall.  Yes, some of the beats were unexpected, but they overall plot was obvious early on.

But you know what?  I didn’t care.  I was having a blast watching these characters have a blast reconnecting and enjoying teenage memories.  I was grinning as I watched.

The acting is solid.  The writing on the other hand?  Let’s just say that it includes the typical Hallmark cheese, including some dialogue I have to give the actors credit for making sound almost normal.  Still, this is a minor issue and completely expected.

I especially enjoyed some of the Christmas twists on typical camp activities that the characters participated in.  It just added to the fun.

If you are looking for a light, fun film that offers a different take on the typical Christmas movie, Campfire Christmas is the movie for you.  It does exactly what it sets out to do – offer us a lightweight, fun time.

Disney Pin Review: Pirates of the Caribbean - Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction #2 - 2022 Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Good detail and a fun pin

Cons: Would be nice if Mickey changed position

The Bottom Line:

Mickey turns pirate

And having fun doing it

Good second entry

Mickey is Having Fun as a Pirate

While I wasn’t impressed with the first release in the Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction series, I’m happy to say that the second pin is much better.

The series is hitting the same classic Disney Park attractions in the same order that Minnie Mouse did a couple years ago.  That means that the second release finds Mickey traveling from Space Mountain across the park to Pirates of the Caribbean.  And he’s clearly having fun with his new destination.

The pin releases for this series are one giant pin, and they feature Mickey in the same basic pose.  He’s standing with one leg sticking out toward us, but looking out in the distance with a smile on his face.  It’s his costume that changes.  And they’ve really dressed him up well.  He looks like a pirate in his formal best.  You know, with a few skulls on his clothes because – pirate.  But still, I love the pattern on there and how fancy he looks.  We have a pin on pin detail for the hat on Mickey’s head.

As I said at the start, this pin looks wonderful.  It quickly and easily captures the spirit of the ride.  If you saw it without any context, you’d know exactly what is going on.  Some of Mickey’s coloring is gold to go with the theme of the ride, and it is subtle and works as well.

If this pin hadn’t been good, I probably would have stopped with the series, but I am happy I gave it a second chance.  Any fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride will be happy to have it as well.

August 14th's Sunday/Monday Post

 Welcome to another Sunday/Monday post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

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

It's was a quiet week in some ways and not in others.

On the one hand, I didn't do much out of the ordinary.  Work, reading, and watching TV.  I'm still in the middle of season 2 of Quantum Leap.  I've moved into the second third of the season.

On the other hand, I did some training with my co-worker who is moving to a different department.  And I'm stressing about all the added work that is coming my way starting on Monday.  I just don't know how I am going to get everything done.

I did have to get a new battery for my car this week.  It was barely starting when I went to get my allergy shots on Tuesday.  I went with the battery at the car repair place I can literally walk to from my condo so I could keep working, but I'm questioning if it was really the best thing to do.  I think I would have gotten a better battery if I'd gone back to the dealer.  Especially since there was still warranty left on my old battery.  Oh well.  I can't dwell on that.

Saturday morning, I went out paddle boarding.  In addition to the friend who introduced me to it, we were joined by another friend, who also happens to be our pastor's wife.  That was fun.

Then this afternoon into evening was my monthly game time hosted by my former roommate and his wife.  Played one game I had played one time before.  But was introduced to several other games.  My head was spinning by the time I left trying to figure out all these rules and strategies.  And I was the first to leave after about 6 hours or so.  But I really liked one of the new games I learned.  Hoping to play it again.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - TV Show Review: Survivor Borneo

Monday - Ornament Review: Happy 100th, Charles M. Schultz

Tuesday - Book Review: A Dish to Die For by Lucy Burdette

Wednesday - Movie Review: Joker

Thursday - Book Review: Murder on Trinity Place by Victoria Thompson

Friday - Friday Post featuring Salt Water Wounds
Friday - Novella Review: "Haunted House Murder" by Leslie Meier
Friday - Novella Review: "Death by Haunted House" by Lee Hollis
Friday - Novella Review: "Hallowed Out" by Barbara Ross

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Disney Pin Review: Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction - Pirates of the Caribbean
Monday - Movie Review: Campfire Christmas
Tuesday - Book Review: Gone by Not Furgotten by Cate Conte
Wednesday - Ornament Review: Hades
Thursday - Book Review: Salt Water Wounds by C. Michele Dorsey
Friday - Friday Post
Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

This week I got...you guess it...three books!  (That seems to be my magic number, although I got more than that last week.)

The first I got was from author Dana Mentink.  She was offering a free book to her newsletter subscribers.  While it was more romance with a little bit of mystery, I figured I'd download it for free.  However, it looks like I actually got a different book.  Not that I'm complaining.  Free is free, right?  The title I actually got was Return to Pelican Inn.

I also got two ARCs from Kensington Cozies this week.  The Plot Thickets by Julia Henry is fifth in her Garden Squad Mysteries series.  It comes out at the end of October.  Meanwhile, Bake Offed is the eighth in Maya Corrigan's Five Ingredient Mysteries.  It will be out at the end of November.  I won't get to either one until closer to release date, but I enjoy both series, so I'm looking forward to both of them.

What I'm Currently Reading:

As I write this Saturday night, I'm working on Death on the Set by Rose Kerr.  Not that I've made any progress in it today.  I was too busy doing things with people to sit and read.  It's good to be out with others, so I'm not complaining.  Depending on how much of the book I get read on Sunday, I might finish it or not.  It's at the stage where it could easily go either way.

Next on my reading list is Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews.  Her books are always such fun, so I'm really looking forward to it.  I'll start it either Monday or Tuesday.

Have a good week, everyone!

August 13th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Family Game Fight – I was expecting the firefighters to win, but it wasn’t quite the blowout I was expecting.  Honestly, I was rooting for both teams equally, usually I have a favorite.  And I’m impressed with how the firefighters pulled things together at the end of spin cycle to win.  Such a fun show.

American Ninja Warrior – I think James McGrath was the biggest shock of the night for me.  That and the fact that it seemed getting to the back half was enough to get you to Vegas.  Yes, also a shock there on the power tower, but that was a great race between the roommates.

The Challenge USA – So the Tyson/Sarah & Ben thing turned out to be a non-issue this week.  I would have laughed if Sarah’s mistake had made them the last team.  It does look like they were the only ones who finished it who didn’t get it in their first try, so it must not have been quite as hard to count the stuff as I thought it would be.  With my fear of heights, I definitely felt for the people who couldn’t get the rope swing to work.

Press Your Luck – What a roller coaster.  The winner had three whammies in the first part and whammied out in the second half.  Not that I can blame him.  He never really built up a big enough bank to make it much of a gamble to keep playing.

Novella Review: Hallowed Out by Barbara Ross (Maine Clambake Mysteries #7.5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun Halloween themed novella

Cons: None, as long as you remember it’s a novella

The Bottom Line:

Reenactor shot

Makes for a fun novella

You’ll enjoy reading

Haunted Tour Ends in Mystery

I love the Maine Clambake Mysteries, so I am always thrilled to take any visit I can get.  That’s why I grab the holiday novella anthologies that include stories in this series.  “Hallowed Out” originally appeared in one of them, and if you’ve missed it, you are in for a treat.

Julia Snowden has gotten roped into an effort to bring some tourists to town during October via a haunted homes tour.  One of the stops is Gus’s restaurant where a rumrunner was killed by gangsters during Prohibition.  An actor has been brought in to help with the reenactment, but the night of the first tour, he is shot when the lights go out.  Who did it?

It truly is wonderful to revisit the characters, no matter how briefly it might be.  The plot is strong, and the characters we meet along the way are just as strong.  I didn’t see the twists of the mystery coming, and the ending caught me by surprise.  There is a delightful sub-plot as well that kept me grinning.  And there’s a recipe or two at the end.

This story was originally part of the Haunted House Murder anthology.  It’s only about 100 pages, so it’s a quick read.  If you’ve already read the original collection, there’s no need to buy the story again, but if you’ve missed it, you’ll definitely want to pick it up.

I can’t get enough visits with Julia.  If you are like me and you haven’t read this story yet, you’ll be happy to pick up “Hallowed Out.”

Enjoy the rest of the Maine Clambake Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of the original anthology.

Novella Review: Death by Haunted House by Lee Hollis

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun story and characters

Cons: The characters behave stupidly at times

The Bottom Line:

Mystery next door

What are the neighbors hiding?

A fun novella

A Haunted Flashback

I have yet to read any of the full novels by Lee Hollis, although I have read several of the novellas from their popular Hayley Powell series.  “Death by Haunted House,” which originally appeared in the anthology Haunted House Murder, is one of those, and it’s fun.

This novella flashes back ten years to 2009 and a time when series protagonist Hayley Powell was still married.  A new family has moved to town and moved in next door to Hayley and her young family into a long-abandoned house that is rumored to be haunted.  When they move in, they are unfriendly and obviously keeping secrets, and Hayley’s husband, Danny, is certain that they are hiding something.  When a dead body turns up in the woods behind their neighborhood, Danny is certain they are involved.  Is he right?

I found the story here very entertaining, although I did guess a couple plot points early.  Still, the solution to the mystery was a surprise, and I had to laugh at some of the events along the way.  On the other hand, I found Danny extremely selfish and annoying, and Hayley does something extremely stupid, with is ironic since she complains about Danny’s behavior at times.

As always with this series, you’ll find recipes to enjoy after you are done.  Overall, this story is about 100 pages, so it is a quick read.

If you’ve already read the anthology, there’s not reason to read this book.  But if you have missed “Death by Haunted House,” you’ll enjoy this short visit to Bar Harbor.

NOTE: I received an ARC of the original collection.

Novella Review: Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: A few moments are enjoyable

Cons: Weak story overall

The Bottom Line:

Who bought the old house?

Makes for a weak novella

It’s for fans only

Weak Novella

I don’t normally read Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone series, but I have read a number of the novellas featuring the character since they’ve been in anthologies with authors I enjoy.  That’s how I can to read “Haunted House Murder.”

Halloween is coming, but everyone in Tinker’s Cove is talking about the old, abandoned house in town.  While it looks run down from the outside, someone has bought it and moved in during the middle of the night.  However, they aren’t very friendly, rebuffing Lucy’s and other’s attempts to welcome them to town.  Then the rumors start flying and strange events start happening.  What is really going on in this house?

I know that the Lucy Stone series is extremely popular, but I struggle to get through the stories I have read.  Part of it is Lucy’s family.  I haven’t spent enough time with them to look past their faults and love them, I guess.  And, let’s face it, that is often what we have to do with people in real life.  In this case, I found the story to be better suited to a short story than even a novella.  It’s not bad, but it felt drawn out and a little forced.

As I said, this is a novella, and it’s roughly 100 pages long.  As such, it is a quick read.  If you already have the anthology, released with the same name, where the story originated, there’s no need to buy it again here.

If you are a fan of Lucy’s and haven’t read “Haunted House Murder” yet, now’s the time to pick it up.  But if you aren’t already a fan of the series, I recommend you walk right on by.

NOTE: I received an ARC of the original collection.

August 12th's Friday Post

Welcome to another Friday and this week's Friday post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

This week's snippets will be coming from Salt Water Wounds, the fourth Sabrina Salter Mystery from C. Michele Dorsey.

This book is set on the island of St. John two months after Hurricane Irma hit the island in 2017.  Which provides a little background to understand the opening:

Sabrina had never wanted a chicken badly enough to kill.  Until now.

That certainly grabbed my attention.

Meanwhile, on page 56, we find this:

Neil didn't hold back.  He had spent all of his patience and composure waiting to make sure the body in the rubble wasn't [Spoiler].  He had nothing left.  He didn't care that Hodge wore a badge.  And carried a gun.

Yes, I did remove a character's name to remove any hit of a spoiler (not that I was surprised by that plot point when I was reading the book).

This was a great book that fans of the series will enjoy.  I'll be posting my full review next Thursday.

Meanwhile, let's look at this week's Book Blogger Hop question, shall we?

What are some of your favorite books?

Why do I suddenly have "These are a few of my favorite things" from The Sound of Music running through my head?

I hate questions like this.  I always blank on favorites, or think of something I'm leaving off the list later

I do have to give a shout out to The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax.  I love that series.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you check it out.  You might even figure out where I took my Carstairs user name.

I'm going to also list a couple of books where I have cameos - Hide and Snoop by Sue Ann Jaffarian and Death of a Russian Doll by Barbara Early.

The links on all three will take you to my review here on my blog.

Are these absolute favorite books?  I don't know.  But they are books I really enjoyed and make me smile when I think about them.

Book Review: Murder on Trinity Place by Victoria Thompson (Gaslight Mysteries #22)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in a strong mystery

Cons: No cons for me

The Bottom Line:

A New Year’s murder

Case filled with plenty of twists

Characters we love

Starting the New Year (or is that Century?) with Murder

When I think about the lead up to the year 2000, I remember the worry that our computers would all crash.  But I do also remember some discussions about whether we were starting the new century that year or not.  That came back to me as I sat down to read Murder on Trinity Place.

You see, this book opens in the final week of 1899, and Sarah and Frank Malloy have been invited to dinner party given by their neighbors the Ellsworths.  Also attending are the Pritchards, Nelson Ellsworths’ new in-laws.  Mr. Pritchard owns a dairy in New York City, and Sarah and Frank have been warned that he likes to ramble on about milk.  However, on this evening, he starts pontificating on 1900 being the turn of the century and how important it is to recognize that fact.

Sarah and Frank see Mr. Pritchard again on New Year’s Eve when they go down to Trinity Church to listen to the concert the church’s bells will put on to ring in the new year.  What they don’t expect is to hear the news the next day that Mr. Pritchard’s body was found on the church’s property.  Frank is hired to find out what happened.  Mr. Pritchard was a stubborn man, but how could that have led to his murder?

I’d noticed that the last couple of books in the series delved into some darker subjects.  I’m happy to say that this book doesn’t go nearly as dark.  Since the client is someone Sarah (and we) have known for years, she also gets a more active role in the investigation, which I enjoyed seeing.  Not to worry, Gino is just as much involved as he’s been recently, too, and he and Maeve still have some fun scenes together.

As the investigation progresses, Sarah and Frank find plenty of red herrings to keep us guessing.  I am often about half a chapter ahead of the characters, but in this case, I didn’t put things together until they did.  And I was surprised by a few of the twists the book took along the way, which I really enjoyed.

It’s always a pleasure to spend time with the large cast of characters in this series, and this book was no exception.  Their relationships are such fun, and I enjoyed seeing them interacting.  The new characters fit perfectly into the world.

Over the last few books, Sarah has started a clinic to help unwed mothers.  There’s a sub-plot involving that clinic that also brings in a character we first met a couple of books ago.  I enjoyed seeing him again, although his appearance does include mild spoilers for some of what happened in Murder in the Bowery.  Then again, I’m always going to prompt you to read any series in order, even one as long as this one.

Murder on Trinity Place is a strong entry in the long running series and proves why the series is still so popular.  If you are a fan who hasn’t read this entry yet, you are in for a treat.

Enjoy the rest of the Gaslight Mysteries.