Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder is the fifth in the series, but the first I've read. I never felt lost. The author did a good job of introducing the characters and giving me enough background to let me feel like I knew them well. At the same time, I might have cared more about the relationship between Lucy and her boyfriend, Azad, which took up a lot of the book.
The mystery itself was well-done. The victim was not a nice person and there were plenty of suspects in town. Lucy had a reasonable reason to be investigating - one of her friends is the prime suspect. The clues were placed well, along with a few red herrings. The story started off well, but the middle was a bit too slow and plodding. I did have a guess who the killer was, so that might have been a bit too obvious since I'm rarely right.
I think this is the last of...
The Snowden Family Clambake is gearing up for the season and Julia Snowden is busy preparing and hiring seasonal workers. Julia, as we know by now- this is the 9th in the series, is also a bit of a crime solver on the side. When her boyfriend, Chris, asks her to help one of his friends, of course she says yes. Andie is an oyster farmer. Someone assaulted her and stole two buckets of oyster seed, worth a lot of money. Andie, however, doesn't think robbery was the goal; she thinks someone is trying to sabotage her business. Before Julia can ask more than a few questions, Andie is murdered.
There are plenty of suspects, from other oyster farmers to lobstermen to summer people. The plot was well-done. There were plenty of clues pointing in different directions and the solution was complicated, in a good way. I didn't guess who the killer was.
This is maybe the third Clambake mystery I've...
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com.
I received a wonderful package from by Bookish Secret Santa, Adam at Roof Beam Reader.
I also picked up Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke.
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Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com.
I won Splintered Silence at a Kensington Facebook party.
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Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com.
I picked up a couple seasonal reads on NetGalley.
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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...
