The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page

by Carol13 Comments
The Body in the Casket is the first in the Faith Fairchild mystery I've read. On the one hand that doesn't matter because it stands on its own well. On the other hand, it means I didn't care as much about Faith's family and friends as I might have if I had started the series at the beginning. I enjoyed the mystery portion of the book a lot. I'm a sucker for a good old-fashioned manor house mystery, which this was at heart, although with a New England touch. I love the addition of the theater folk and the whole Heaven and Hell theme of the weekend. I was not entirely surprised by the who dunnit, partly because it was reminiscent of a mystery I read earlier last month. Faith didn't really shine as a detective here though. I don't know I that's standard for this series or not, but she never really put any clues together or seemed to have...
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Slay Bells Ring by Karen Rose Smith

Slay Bells Ring by Karen Rose Smith

by Carol6 Comments
Just a note, Slay Bells Ring is the second mystery I've read this year where the victim was killed with a decorative, wooden candy cane. I don't know if that means I should be hyper alert when out and about somewhere with wooden candy canes or that authors should choose another Christmas decoration to kill people off with. Slay Bells Ring is the first I've read in this series. Festive Christmas covers always suck me right in. It stands alone well, though. You get to know Caprice and her whole family well and understand what's important to her: her family, her friends, and animals. I liked Caprice for the most part, but she is just so good and wholesome and in love that she's a bit hard to relate to. I do love that when she knows she's going into a potentially dangerous situation, she makes sure she has back-up, too many amateur female detectives don't take their own safety seriously...
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Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

by Carol4 Comments
Mistletoe, Maine, the setting of Twelve Slays of Christmas, is a wonderful little town, the perfect place for Holly to head home to after her wedding is called off. Her family and the town welcome her back with open arms and working at the family Christmas tree farm keeps her busy. In all reality, though she's not too heartbroken over her fiancé; he was a jerk anyway, and good riddance. Then she finds one of the townspeople dead at the farm, killed by one of the candy cane shaped markers. It throws her for a loop, which is understandable, and she feels the need to investigate, both to keep the people she loves out of suspicion and to find justice for the victim. Twelve Slays of Christmas is the first in the series and I think Holly will make a good lead character. She's curious and smart, prone to doing what she wants regardless of others telling her to stay out. I...
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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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Death at Breakfast by Beth Gutcheon

by Carol8 Comments
I expected to enjoy Death at Breakfast. It seemed right up my alley. Recently retired Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, Hope Babbin, are staying at an inn in Maine and attending a week-long (I think) cooking class held by the chef. A great setting, two intelligent but quirky amateur detectives and food - a promising set-up. Quick review: Fine, but not outstanding. It's not exactly a waste of time, but if you have something you're dying to read, skip this and pick that one up instead. On the other hand, the choice of murder weapons is semi-unique. I guess my main problem with the book is that the character I found most interesting is the one who ends up dead. And he was interesting because of his thoughts, his way of seeing the world, things that we no longer see once he's dead. Maggie and Hope are nice and smart, but I didn't connect with either of them. There are a lot of...
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All Signs Point to Murder by Connie di Marco

by Carol7 Comments
First off, I did not read the first in the series, but I'm pretty sure I know what happened in it based on some of the conversations Julia has in this one. Second, I'm not a believer in astrology, but you really don't have to be to enjoy this book. Yes, Julia's an astrologer, and yes that plays into how she goes about solving the mystery, but she would have found the same solution eventually even without consulting her charts. I like Julia. She cares about people, she's smart, and she's definitely persistent. She has some great friends too. I'd like to hang out with them. And maybe have her read my chart. As far as the mystery goes, I though overall it was well-done. I thought I knew who the killer was, then I wasn't sure, then I thought I knew. It turned out that I was right but hadn't guessed the whole motive. There were plenty of suspects and...
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