Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink

Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink

by CarolNo Comments
I didn't love Murders in the Marquee. The setting had potential, a fancy hotel in San Francisco in the early 1900s. The ducks, who paraded through the lobby on a daily basis, were cute. The rest of the book was kind of dumb. Our three amateur sleuths, Kitty, a hotel guest, Saul, the man who takes care of the ducks, and Henry, the elevator boy, were an unlikely team, given the era and Kitty's social class. Kitty herself is a bit annoying. Her clearly well-off and all she does is whine. I never really cared about Saul or Henry and felt like their personalities were rather superficial. The mystery was slow. All the clues added up in the end, but they're doled out one at a time and it's like the three have to deal with each clue before they're allowed to have the next. I will say I didn't pay attention to who the publisher was. This would definitely fall...
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Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley

Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley

by CarolNo Comments
I love a good foodie cozy mystery and Delilah's pizzas sound delicious. This time around, she has reluctantly agreed to cater a wellness retreat led by an overly demanding mindfulness influencer. When a guest is found dead in her zen tent, it’s up to Delilah and her usual crew to track down the killer. There's a new police chief in town and she was quirky, I guess. I like it when the police and our amateur sleuths can get along and both are competent, but the way the chief brough Delilah into the case and setting up Capone undercover as a bartender in a town where literally everyone knows him, even if the retreat attendees don't, seemed odd. The mystery itself was put together well. We had several suspicious people, and a couple of motives floating around. I felt like Delilah could have put together a few pieces quicker than she did. I also don't love that her ex owns...
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Split Screen by Lee Goldberg

Split Screen by Lee Goldberg

by CarolNo Comments
Split Screen is the 7th in the Eve Ronin series and I've read most of them. Eve is a homicide detective with the LASD. She's not universally like, to say the least. She got her promotion thanks to a video that went viral, uncovered some cops dirty secrets, and now has a tv show based loosely on her life. Her partner, Duncan, who she actually listens to and trusts is stuck behind a desk. There's a lot going on in this one. First, we've got a murdered doctor with an ex-wife whose new boyfriend swears he didn't do it and an actress dead of an overdose. Then, Erin, the actress playing Eve in the tv series, is shot in broad daylight, apparently mistaken for Eve. Add in a half-sister Eve didn't know she had who is in to something shady. And finally, we've got a crossover with Goldberg's Sharpe and Walker series, when a firearms training trailer explodes. It's fast-paced,...
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Probable Caws by Donna Andrews

Probable Caws by Donna Andrews

by CarolNo Comments
The Meg Lanslow series is one I dip in and out of. I always enjoy them, but it never quite makes it to my must-read list. I think I actually liked this one more than the last couple, even if the solution was a little unbelievable. I actually thought we were going to get to see Meg doing some blacksmithing at the beginning of this one, but no. Hoof and Hearth, a horse rescue, has temporarily lost the pasture they'd been using for their horses due to a legal battle and have to move the whole herd to Ragnar's estate, so it's all hands on deck. The horses have barely got settled in on the first night, when a storm blows in. And Meg and her husband find a dead man in the barn. We've got several potential suspects and some good clues, but really it's the horses that stand out in this one. Several of them have clear personalities...
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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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