On the Hook by Rae Keech

On the Hook by Rae Keech

by CarolNo Comments
I think this might be the first sailing cozy mystery I've read. Anne is a teacher at the elementary school in her hometown and is a member of the local boat club. Following the women laser regatta, one of the competitors is killed and Anne becomes a suspect. She and her friend, Tim, the dockmaster at the club, start to investigate. The mystery was good. We had several plausible suspects, good clues and a few red herrings. I do wish the author had trusted the reader a bit more, instead of repeating points over and over. I liked Anne, but I didn't quite understand her. She's been a widow for 18 years, her husband died suddenly when they were in their twenties. Why is she now, right when a murderer is loose in town, becoming interested in Tim, whom she has known for at least a couple of years. And the whole couple of chapters where he leaves town and somehow...
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The Dog Park Murders by Angela Barker

The Dog Park Murders by Angela Barker

by Carol2 Comments
I actually enjoyed The Dog Park Murders. Sometimes mysteries with too much romance make me roll my eyes, but I think it was balanced pretty well in this one. And the blurb made it clear what to expect. Yes, this book felt like a Hallmark movie, but in a good way. Labrador Falls is an adorable small, dog-obsessed town where Juliette has lived her whole life. It's not always an easy place to live - small towns can be tricky. Everyone knows everyone else and their backgrounds and families. When Juliette finds a dead body at the local dog park, with evidence pointing to her pet grooming shop, she immediately becomes the prime suspect, thanks in part to her family history. Joel owns the coffee shop, but is relatively new in town. However, he can't just stand aside and let Juliette get railroaded by a lazy, biased detective. The mystery was decent. The dead man was not nice, so we had several...
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Murder and Mayheim by Ronica Black and Toni Logan

Murder and Mayheim by Ronica Black and Toni Logan

by CarolNo Comments
Murder and Mayheim should have been one I thoroughly enjoyed. Our amateur sleuth, Cassie, is a bookstore owner on a murder mystery cruise in Alaska with her best friend. They team up with a pair of elderly sisters who are just hilarious. Cassie meets a potential love interest, Hannah, within seconds of boarding. It's Hannah's sister who ends up dead after falling down the stairs. Cassie and Hannah are convinced she was murdered and are determined to find the killer. The mystery was actually pretty decent. The clues tied together well and we had several potential suspects. The problem for me, which I didn't realize from the blurb, was just how much the growing relationship between the two women would overshadow the mystery. I didn't realize we would have full-fledged graphic sex scenes between these two people who just me. And that's probably my fault for not reading more reviews or knowing the author, but it took me out of the...
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Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney

Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney

by CarolNo Comments
Dungeons and Danger is the second in the Ravensea Castle mystery series, but I think it could be read as a standalone. The mystery is self-contained, and although we have several characters returning from the first, the author does a good job of introducing everyone. The Asquith family has turned their centuries old castle into a B&B, complete with resident ghosts. Their current guests include a professor specializing in Viking history who believes there's a treasure hidden on the grounds and a group of ghost hunters filming a show. And the castle is hosting a huge Viking festival. "Accidents" start piling up and it's no surprise when someone ends up murdered. The returning characters are all well-developed and interesting, without going over the line into quirky. I like Nora Asquith and her family. Their interactions feel genuine and they work together well. Nora is dating the local detective inspector, Finlay Cole, but they both act like adults and their relationship is...
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The Clock House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

The Clock House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

by CarolNo Comments
A group of paranormal investigators, mostly college students along with a medium and two magazine employees, have gone to a remote mansion called the Clock House that is supposedly haunted by a teenage girl who died 8 years ago. They're locked into the old part of the mansion and, of course, there's a murder. Note: Don't get locked in at remote mansions. At the same time, the series amateur sleuth/mystery writer, Shimada Kiyoshi, is visiting the house with another college student who wasn't able to make the trip originally. So, inside the house, people are being killed in locked rooms surrounded by hundreds of ticking clocks with no way to escape - and yes they do try, while on the outside, Kiyoshi is trying to solve the riddle of the house and what happened 10 years ago. This is the first I've read in the series and it worked fine as a stand alone. There were some references to previous cases,...
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Murder on the Rocks by T.E. Kinsey

Murder on the Rocks by T.E. Kinsey

by Carol2 Comments
I have to say I enjoyed Murder on the Rocks tons more than the other one in this series I've read. Lady Hardcastle and Florence are at a friend's island fort in Devonshire. JB McIntyre has recently converted the building into a hotel and has invited a group of people a kind of a pre-opening weekend. Of course, it turns into a less than relaxing weekend. First, some jewelry goes missing, then a guest is murdered with a narwhal tusk, and finally a storm rolls in, effectively cutting them off from the mainland. Lady Hardcastle and Flo are joined by an interesting group of JB's business associates and friends, all of whom are now suspects. Each of them, of course, has a secret that may or may not be known by the others and a reason for wanting the dead man gone. And they all seem to have alibis, no matter how often Emily and Flo review the timeline....
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