eARC – Carol's Notebook

Fondue or Die by Korina Moss

July 26, 2024July 26, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

This time around, Willa and her cheese shop employees are spending the weekend in the neighboring town of Lockwood, which is holding its annual Dairy Days festival. Curds & Whey has a booth there, and both Archie and Mrs. Schultz have been roped into helping with the Miss Dairy beauty pageant. The pageant director, Nadine, has has been running the show for years, ends up dead, and Willa and her friends don't think the local cops are doing a good job with the investigation. The mystery was good. We have several potential suspects with a variety of motives. There were a couple if twists I didn't see coming and I didn't guess who the killer turned out to be. As always, I enjoy the friendship and banter between Willa, Archie, Baz, and Mrs. Schultz. It was also nice to see Willa working with Detective Heath again. He's not officially on this case, it's not his town, but that doesn't mean he's not...

A Killer Clue by Victoria Gilbert

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

We first met Jane Hunter and her boss, millionaire Cameron Clew in the first book of the series, A Cryptic Clue. Jane is a retired librarian hired by Cam to catalog his collection of mystery books, but the two of them have also started doing small investigations for people. In this second of the series, Eloise Anderson, a bookseller Cam deals with occasionally, has approached them about her mother's case. Her mother, now dead, was convicted of killing Eloise's father, but Eloise believes she was innocent and wants Cam to find out who the real killer was. Things become more complicated when another murder occurs and Eloise is the prime suspect. Jane and Cam make a good team. They have a Holmes and Watson vibe, but Jane is a more motherly figure than the usual sidekick. Jane is smart and good at talking to people, while Cam is not great at social situations and strongly prefers not to leave his home,...

Sounds Like a Plan by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith

March 25, 2024April 10, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

Mackenzie and Jackson are private investigators hired to investigate a missing person case. The first person to find the missing woman gets the reward. The two end up working together, a partnership with tension and plenty of sparks. The book alternates between Jackson's and Mackenzie's point of view, allowing us to know how each is thinking and feeling about the case and about each other. Jackson is determined and can be charming, but is a bit sexist. He also makes at least one offensive joke, if nor more. A joke that could have been left out without any harming the plot or character development at all. Mackenzie is smart and headstrong. They make a good team. The plot is a little over the top. We've got top-notch hackers, hired killers and a kidnapper, but it's fun in an action movie kind of way. The wrap-up to the mystery is a bit quick, but I honestly didn't see it coming. ...

Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke

February 16, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol1 Comment

Rhythm and Clues is the third Record Shop Mystery, featuring sisters Tansey, Maggie, and Juni, owners of Sip and Spin Records, a coffee and record shop in a small town near Austin, Texas. The shop is barely making a profit, but the sisters have been approached by a potential investor. The investor, Zach, and his partner invite Juni and Beau, a local cop to a hockey game, but later that night, Zach is killed during a major storm, found dead in a car that wrecked outside of the record shop. Juni, of course, can't help getting involved in the case. I enjoy spending time with Juni and her sisters. They each have their own personalities and they work together well. The setup worked well. The storm flooded parts of town, made some roads impassable, and knocked out the power. The killer is stuck in town. Juni has several suspects, with clues that point in different directions. The plot flows well and...

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

February 10, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

I read the first book featuring Ernest Cunningham, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, last year but apparently never wrote a review. I totally enjoyed it and its gimmick worked well, which is why I picked up #2, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. I don't typically like meta elements in mysteries, but I like how aware Ernest, our first-person narrator is. He knows the rules of his genre and often references us as the reader and what we might be expecting from his sequel. This time around, Ernest is a guest speaker at the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival, which is taking place on a train. Of course, one of the authors is murdered and Ernest decides to investigate - and write his second book. This book is funny and almost too clever. The characters are an interesting bunch, with plenty of secrets and more history than one might expect. Ernest is still witty and self-conscious. The plot...

You’ve Been Summoned by Lindsey Lamar

February 6, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol1 Comment

You've Been Summoned's setup reminded me a lot of the board game, Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated, mixed with Clue. It's designed to be interactive, casting you, the reader, as the newest employee at PI, Inc. Apparently they're a bit short-staffed, so you're assigned a case right from the top. You have all the files regarding the incident at Sophomore Manor at your disposal - to be read in the suggested order. You also have several historical items from the 1940s when Mary Sophomore and her twin sister also went missing. You do receive some helpful pointers from the boss along the way. The case you've been asked to look at involves Sillian Parks. She was throwing a party with several friends and her twin sister, Jane, at the Sophomore Manor, when she went missing. She was eventually found, but comatose, and foul play was suspected. It's up to you, the reader, to put all the information and clues together to present...