My Fatal Valentine by Leighann Dobbs

My Fatal Valentine by Leighann Dobbs

by Carol2 Comments
It's Valentine's Day and, of course, Juniper Holiday is throwing another of her over the top holiday parties. This time there's a raffle and the grand prize is an all-expense paid date with one of the hottest guys in town. But of course, there's a murder - the grand prize winner is found dead in the bathroom. It's a fun little mystery. Juni is determined to solve the case, but she also needs to step carefully because Detective Mallard's job might be on the line. As much as the two bicker, she doesn't want to ruin his career, especially because her goddaughter and he have a bit of an attraction going. The story moves along quickly. At first we have a couple of suspects, but little else to go on. Juni tries a bit of magic and talks to the ghosts, but it takes some old-fashioned detective work to get to the solution. I listened to the audio and I must have gotten...
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Who Slayed The Santas? by Leighann Dobbs

Who Slayed The Santas? by Leighann Dobbs

by CarolNo Comments
Who Slayed the Santas? is fun, short, quirky and a little silly, just like the rest of the Juniper holiday series. This time around Juniper is getting ready for her over-the-top Christmas party and hires a Santa and his troupe for entertainment. The next day, one of the resident ghosts finds Santa dead under the Christmas tree. And that's just the first dead Santa. Detective Mallard and Juniper are both intent on solving the case. I like Juni. She's exuberant and caring, but she can be a little too mean to people sometimes. This is a totally Christmas mystery - decorations, food, music, it's all there. The mystery itself was fine if rushed. I did listen to the audio version. At least this time I knew in advance that the narrator wouldn't be my favorite....
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Thanksgiving Dinner Death by Leighann Dobbs

Thanksgiving Dinner Death by Leighann Dobbs

by CarolNo Comments
I love a good holiday cozy mystery. I did read the first in this series a couple of years ago, but it's an easy one to just pick up. Juniper Holiday has invited lots of people to her Thanksgiving dinner, including the local police detective, Desmond Mallard. But when someone is poisoned, Juni somehow ends up both the prime suspect and potentially the intended victim. She of course decides she has to figure out what's going on. Juniper is funny and eccentric and not afraid to speak her mind. There’s a touch of paranormal: a few helpful ghosts, and a friendly neighborhood potions master. The whodunnit was a little obvious, but I don't typically mind that too much as long as the rest of the story is enjoyable, which it was. I listened to the audio and my one complaint is that the narrator was awful. Her inflections were over-the-top and didn't always seem to fit the story. This is one...
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The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

by CarolNo Comments
The Justice of Kings is a compelling mix of fantasy, mystery and legal thriller. The novel follows Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an itinerant Justice of the Empire of the Wolf. His job, and life's purpose, is to fairly uphold the empire's laws and mete out justice as appropriate. He is accompanied by his taskman and friend, former soldier Dubine Bressinger, and his clerk, Helena Sedanka, a 19 year old woman who was essentially rescued by Vonvalt from a life on the streets. The three travel to Galen’s Vale where Vonvalt takes on an investigation into the murder of a noblewoman, but the case has Empire-wide ramifications. The story  is told through the first-person perspective of Helena. We’re hearing, since I listened to the audiobook, Helena’s recounting of the past, which worked well. It showed us Vonvalt's actions and his reasoning as he discusses things with Helena, but also lets us know that he's not infallible, that Helena can't always agree with him. Vonvalt protects...
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Ithaca by Claire North

Ithaca by Claire North

by CarolNo Comments
I have loved everything I've read by Claire North, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick up Ithaca. Maybe the mythology/ Ancient Greece setting just didn't grab my attention and seemed so different from the others I've read by North. But I ended up loving it. It has been seventeen years since Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, leaving Penelope and their son, Telemachus, behind in Ithaca. Penelope is left to fend for herself and her son and to run the kingdom with the help of her advisors, men who of course think they are both more competent and powerful than Penelope. They're wrong. Penelope is intelligent and cunning and she and her maids wield their power subtly and behind the scenes. Hera, goddess of women, marriage and childbirth, is our narrator and is perfect for the part. She's sarcastic and funny and allows us to see all that's going on, but from her own...
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A Canadian Werewolf in New York by Mark Leslie

A Canadian Werewolf in New York by Mark Leslie

by CarolNo Comments
A Canadian Werewolf in New York is a fun book. Michael Andrews is a best-selling author living in New York who is also a werewolf. He's just back from a night roaming the city as a wolf when his ex-girlfriend shows up at his apartment, asking him to help find out what her fiancé is involved in. Michael has heightened smell and strength, thanks to his wolf half, which is helpful when it comes to tracking down the fiancé and the bad guys he's dealing with. This is a light book - some adventure, some humor, some bad guys, a potential love interest that knows he's a werewolf and is okay with that. I was looking for a werewolf book that wasn't a romance or horror and maybe had a bit of a mystery. This was a perfect pick....
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