Motion for Murder by Kelly Rey

Motion for Murder is a cute, light mystery. Jamie has a lousy job, but gets even worse when one of the partners in the law firm she works at is killed. One of her co-workers is probably the killer, the question is who? I like Jamie. She's funny, but she lets people take advantage of her. The reason for her investigating is a bit weak, though. Hilary, the widow, who she doesn't like, has insisted that she look into one of her co-workers and her natural curiosity and/or worry that she might be next, keeps her digging around. I will say the killer's identity caught me totally off-guard. It made sense, just wasn't someone who was on my radar at all. The secondary characters are a mixed bag. I like Curtis, Jamie's landlord and love interest. He's a good guy, but he rides the line between trying to keep Jamie safe and semi-encouraging her to investigate, which is a little odd. Her...
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Cozy Christmas Shorts from Gemma Halliday Publishing

This was my last Christmas read for the season. Like most anthologies, it has its ups and downs. Each of these short stories fits into a series, but the only series I had read before is the Southern Pasta Shop mysteries. I will say that each story gave a good feeling for the main character and style of mystery and I'd like to read more of a few of them. Most of the mysteries were cute and fun, but I did have a few favorites. I didn't really hate any of them, but there were a couple that I wasn't fond of. Favorites: "Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas" by Leslie Langtry - The Bombay family may be assassins, but they are funny, pragmatic, inventive and really care about each other. And I loved the spin they took with And Then There Were None. "A (Gingerbread) Diorama of Death" by Gin Jones - Helen, the main character, seems like an interesting lady, even though...
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Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Brash Blonde by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey

I do love a Holmes remake. Sherlock Holmes doesn't exist here, either as a fictional character or a real person, as he does in so many other stories. Marty and Irene make him up to explain their investigating to the cops (Lastrade) and coroner (Watson). The names are familiar, but only bear a passing resemblance to the originals. This is a fun mystery. The aunt who was murdered was not a nice old lady. There were plenty of people who may have been happy to see her dead. As a mystery it was okay, plenty of clues and suspects. I did guess who the killer was, but that didn't make the mystery any less enjoyable. Marty is our detective and Irene is her sidekick - her rich, smart sidekick. I like that this re-imaging puts the women in charge. Marty is observant and interested in a variety of topics. Irene is a bit over-enthusiastic, she's the one who kind of instigates the whole Holmes...
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Murder al Dente by Jennifer L. Hart

I am amazed at how well Murder al Dente combined two of my favorite things - pasta and mystery. The romance was nice too, kind of like cheesecake for dessert after spaghetti and sauce. And parts are laugh out loud funny - no wonder I liked it. Looking at Murder al Dente solely as a mystery, it doesn't fare that well. There aren't really enough clues and not that much actual sleuthing goes on. The whodunnit was a bit of a surprise, mostly because we don't have enough background to have even come close to guessing. Thankfully, the killer gives the requisite speech so we know why things happened like they did, while our female amateur sleuth's life is in danger because she went out on her own without making sure someone knew where she was going and who she was meeting. Why do they all do that? But, overall I really enjoyed it. The characters are great. Andy is fun and...
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