At Death’s Dough by Mindy Quigley

At Death’s Dough by Mindy Quigley

by CarolNo Comments
I love pizza, but I will admit that my favorite is Ohio Valley-style, which is about as far from Delilah's gourmet deep-dish pies as you can get. My favorite pizzeria, does not take Valentine's Day reservations, mostly because it doesn't have tables, just a bench for you to sit on while you're waiting for your box. It's the slow season in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin and about all Delilah has on her plans is trying to drum up business for Valentine's Day so she can continue to make payroll and ice fishing with her great aunt. Then, she and Aunt Biz find a body in the ice. Delilah's boyfriends, Detective Calvin Capone (yes, he’s related to the mobster) is ordered to stay away from the case, so of course Delilah has to do the investigating. The murder mystery delves into past history and present events. Geneva Bay's history holds mob connections that the town is trying to use to promote tourism, but now...
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An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker

An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker

by Carol1 Comment
I've read a couple of the earlier books in the Bruno, Chief of Police series and enjoyed them. This one was boring. Bruno does a lot of riding and eating. We see a lot of his dog. The death takes place at the beginning of the book, but while Bruno talks to some people, the investigation doesn't really accomplish much until the last chapter or two, when it all falls in to place too quickly. In the meantime, we get a bunch of village life and some territorial disputes among the various police forces and some bad behavior among the gendarmes. Bruno is a likeable character. He truly cares about the people of his village and doing his job. The food descriptions were wonderful and tempting. I just need more from the plot. Maybe if I had read the series from the beginning and cared more about the characters I wouldn't have minded so much, but I kept asking when we...
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A Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang

A Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang

by Carol2 Comments
A Pretender's Murder is the second in the Eric Peterkin historical mystery series, but can certainly be read as a stand-alone. Eric Peterkin, our amateur sleuth is dealing with life post WWI. He carries guilt for decisions, and occasionally has flashbacks. He has recently been elected to the position of secretary of the Brittania Club, a result of the murder in the first book, and is relieved when the well-respected Colonel Hadrian Russell shows his support. When Russell is murdered in the club, Peterkin takes it upon himself to find the killer. The Colonel had four daughters-in-law, each of whose husbands died in the war. These women let us see how the war impacted women's lives, both during the fighting and afterward, but are potential suspects. We have one of the dead men's friends who has returned after convalescing abroad and has been getting quite close to one of the widows. It's also possible that some of the Colonel's activities during...
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A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander

A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander

by CarolNo Comments
This is the final installment of the Secret Bookcase Mysteries - although don't worry, we'll get a spin-off, The Novel Detectives series. This time around, Annie and Fletcher are in Santa Clara for a book fair and Liam and Pri are coming along too. It just so happens that the fair is near the company that Annie blames for her best friend, Scarlet's, death, ten years ago, and Annie has a plan to get the evidence she needs. While we do get some background info on the cold case, this one probably works better if you've read others in the series. Of course, there's also a murder at the book fair. One of the presenters is killed by his own VR device, and Annie is there when it happens. The book fair sounds amazing and makes me want to go to a bookish event soon. The two mystery plot are balanced well. We have several suspects for the current murder...
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Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines

Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines

by CarolNo Comments
I should probably not have started this series at #26. And probably not with the one dealing with dog thefts. Sara Booth and her partner at the Delaney Detective Agency, Tinkie, have been contacted about a dog that was stolen right out of someone's backyard. We had so many characters that it was hard to keep everyone straight. The author provided plenty of background, but I'm sure if I had read the previous books, I would have had a much better handle on who was who and how everyone is connected. Sara Booth has a good batch of friends, including her boyfriend sheriff, and several animals: dogs, horses, a cat and a crow. Oh, and she has a ghost haunting her house that often appears to her as historical figures. The mystery this time around involved several dogs who were stolen from homes, including Sara Booth's Sweetie Pie. There's rumors of a dog-fighting ring, but Sara's old nemesis, Gertrude, seems to...
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The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

by Carol2 Comments
It's always so weird saying I loved a book that's full of murder and torture, but The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre was fabulous. There's a serial killer stalking the residents of the Autumn Springs Retirement home, but the cops and the administrators seem to think that the deaths, at least the first couple, are just accidents. Old people die. Rose DuBois is convinced otherwise, and she and a few of her friends start investigating. Rose is a fabulous character. She's smart and tough. She has flaws, of course, but she makes a great final girl. All the residents we are introduced to are so well drawn, so full of life and character. I actually had to skip a chapter because I didn't want to read about that particular character's death. And a lot of them die. We get the requisite amount of blood and gore and terror for a slasher novel. It's funny and surprisingly emotional for me. We also...
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