Of Books and Bagpipes by Paige Shelton

by Carol1 Comment
I liked Of Books and Bagpipes much more than the first in the series. Delaney has been in Scotland for a while now and has come to care about the people she works with and her friends. I felt like her reason for investigating felt more natural this time around, a combination of natural curiosity and wanting to help. As a mystery, it worked well. There were plenty of clues and suspects and secrets that went back decades. It takes a lot of unraveling and I was surpised by the whodunnit, although I felt the motive was bit weak. And of course, Delaney gets herself trapped, but I didn't feel like it was because of stupidity on her part, which was nice. Sometimes female amateur detectives annoy me by taking risks that no sane woman would. Delaney didn't do that here. She has someone with her when there's a potential for danger, and always lets someone know where she is going. I...
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Cozy Christmas Shorts from Gemma Halliday Publishing

by Carol3 Comments
This was my last Christmas read for the season. Like most anthologies, it has its ups and downs. Each of these short stories fits into a series, but the only series I had read before is the Southern Pasta Shop mysteries. I will say that each story gave a good feeling for the main character and style of mystery and I'd like to read more of a few of them. Most of the mysteries were cute and fun, but I did have a few favorites. I didn't really hate any of them, but there were a couple that I wasn't fond of. Favorites: "Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas" by Leslie Langtry - The Bombay family may be assassins, but they are funny, pragmatic, inventive and really care about each other. And I loved the spin they took with And Then There Were None. "A (Gingerbread) Diorama of Death" by Gin Jones - Helen, the main character, seems like an interesting lady, even though...
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Murder al Dente by Jennifer L. Hart

by Carol2 Comments
I am amazed at how well Murder al Dente combined two of my favorite things - pasta and mystery. The romance was nice too, kind of like cheesecake for dessert after spaghetti and sauce. And parts are laugh out loud funny - no wonder I liked it. Looking at Murder al Dente solely as a mystery, it doesn't fare that well. There aren't really enough clues and not that much actual sleuthing goes on. The whodunnit was a bit of a surprise, mostly because we don't have enough background to have even come close to guessing. Thankfully, the killer gives the requisite speech so we know why things happened like they did, while our female amateur sleuth's life is in danger because she went out on her own without making sure someone knew where she was going and who she was meeting. Why do they all do that? But, overall I really enjoyed it. The characters are great. Andy is fun and...
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Dead & Buried by Leighann Dobbs

by Carol3 Comments
Pirates and treasure hunts and cute guys with guns - an enjoyable read. It's light and short, a perfect in-between book for me. The Blackmoore sisters are a good group. They have close relationships with each other, but all have their own personalities, interests, and gifts. There's a touch of paranormal - a cat with way more than nine lives, healing crystals, visits with a dead grandma, but it doesn't take over the book. You could have the same story without the fantasy elements, but it wouldn't be as fun. I like the story, but a couple of things struck me as a bit odd. First of all, who exactly does Luke, Morgan's ex, work for. It was never explained quite well enough for me. Yes, he's on the Blackmoores' side, but I wish I could have been a little clearer on his motives. Second, I don't get the Sheriff's grudge against the sisters and why he is so outrageous in some...
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