A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus

A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus

by Carol2 Comments
In A Christmas Peril, Sully has her hands full. This year's Christmas Carol is turning into a disaster and her best friend is arrested for murder. One of the difficult parts of cozy mysteries is having a legitimate reason for the amateur detective to be investigating. Sully, however, is perfect. Yes, she's currently a theater manager, but she had years of experience as a cop and it's her best friend who is the chief suspect. She really has no choice but to get involved, and it certainly helps that the family has asked for her assistance. I liked her. She's funny, loyal, smart, strong, but she's also learned some lessons along the way. And she only manages to place herself in major danger once. The dead man was not overly-loved, even by his family, but he was important in the community. The suspect list could have been long, but the only people who could actually have done it had to be...
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Killer Holiday by Amy Korman

by Carol7 Comments
Killer Holiday is a fun, slightly silly romp of a mystery. Kristin and her friends are a hoot and I wish I had read the series in order, so I could feel like I knew them better. They're all introduced well here, but I felt like I was missing some insight into their relationships. It's a large cast, too, and knowing them better would have made it easier to keep track of who was who. As far as the mystery goes, it's pretty straightforward. Once the crew meets Eula's new boyfriend there's little doubt who stole the luggage, but who kidnapped Chip is still a question. It's actually nice to have a mystery that involves theft and kidnapping, but no murders. It's light-hearted and has enough Christmas cocktails, decorations and parties to make it a true holiday read.   Read an excerpt from Killer Holiday: Chapter One Bootsie McElvoy burst through the front door of The Striped Awning, a bag of ice in her right...
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Bones to Pick by Linda Lovely

by Carol8 Comments
Bones to Pick is a fun cozy mystery and I have to admit I love the goat farm setting. Goats are so cute as are their guard dogs. Brie, a vegan, is helping out her Aunt Eva who she adores, when the first skeleton is discovered on the property. I love Brie and her aunt is a hoot. She may be older, but she's competent with a gun, loved by (most of) her neighbors and has a good sense of humor. The other characters are well-drawn to, from the moonshiner, who is way sexier than you would picture, to the vet to the New Age best friend. Even Brie's parents get involved in proving Eva's innocence. The part I didn't like is the love triangle. Brie broke up with her cheating fiancé maybe a year ago and the minute she comes to town she got two attractive decent guys drooling over her. Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but there are...
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Thornhill by Pam Smy

by Carol1 Comment
Thornhill is spooky and heart-breaking. Ella is sad and lonely, but when she glimpses a girl in the window of the Thornhill Institute, she becomes obsessed with finding out who she was and what happened to her. Mary lived at the Institute in the 1980s, also a sad, lonely girl who is bullied and terrorized by the other girls. Thornhill is at heart a ghost story. We know from the beginning that Mary's a ghotst, but her diary entries made me cry. Her life at Thornhill was miserable, and few of the adults around her seemed competent or truly caring. Ella's story is just as sad. I assume her father loves her, but he's never home and her mom is gone, presumably dead. Her side of the story is depicted in black and white illustrations that are striking and add to the dark atmosphere of the novel. We know something happened to Mary, but not what. I think this is one of...
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Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner

by Carol2 Comments
Persons Unknown started out slow for me. I read the first in the series and knew Manon and Fly and how they can to be a family, but I guess I forgot how unlikeable Manon can be. I do like her, but she will rub just about everyone the wrong way at some point or other, including the reader. And now she's pregnant, which I'm not sure was the best decision with just recently adopting Fly, but there you have it. This time around the mystery hits very close to home for Manon. Manon and Fly are sharing a home with Manon's sister Ellie and her toddler son, Solly, when Solly's father turns up murdered. Once Fly is accused and sent to juvenile, the story picks up pace. Of course, Fly's innocent, we know that, but it's a complicated case, one Manon is not allowed to directly work on. With Davy's help, she does manage to get the right information to the right people. The dead...
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Thursday’s Tale: Brave Red, Smart Frog

by Carol1 Comment
I truly enjoyed these lovingly retold fairy tales. Jenkins has taken some favorite, familiar tales and while not adding anything new, has made them into charming tales. We have Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince, and Diamonds and Toads among others. While she keeps the traditional plots and characters. she gives some extra depth, like why the Frog Prince loved the princes or how Hansel and Gretel's father could have let them be left in the woods. She asks why the step-mother was so cruel and how Red could have been tricked by the wolf. I also love how the cold, frosty wood figures into the tales. The tales have touches of humor and amusing dialogue, especially in Three Wishes and the Frog Prince. I appreciate how the tales are connected in ways that make the book fit together well, rather than just a random collection. For example, the same huntsman who doesn't kill...
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