Rosie recognizes a tourist who was killed and needs Charlie's help getting to the bottom of what happened. The characters are always fun and even though this one involves the FBI and CIA, it doesn't get too deep in the spy mire. And really how can you take a spy seriously with a name like Rex Thunder? And the FBI agents seem on the verge of incompetent. So the story is still fun and light and just over the top. Charlie figures out who the (unlikely, I thought) killer is and we get a nice show down. We also get a scene with Charlie and Jake making out, so hopefully their relationship will start moving in the right direction....
I love the concept behind this series. Cora and her friend, Jane, have renovated a Victorian house into a crafting paradise and are holding their first retreat weekend. Cora used to work as a counselor at a domestic violence shelter, but it became too stressful for her. Jane escaped an abusive relationship and has a school age daughter. It's all going well with their new venture until the school librarian is killed and Jane becomes a suspect.
We've got a nice cast of eccentric characters and a small town where gossip spreads quickly. I don't love Cora and Jane yet. Given their backgrounds, they make a few odd choices. And I wish the author didn't go on about how attractive they find the various men in the book - it just seemed strange. I know a lot of cozy mysteries have love interests, but we don't need them all the time.
The mystery was well done. There were enough clues...
I should probably not have started this series at #26. And probably not with the one dealing with dog thefts. Sara Booth and her partner at the Delaney Detective Agency, Tinkie, have been contacted about a dog that was stolen right out of someone's backyard.
We had so many characters that it was hard to keep everyone straight. The author provided plenty of background, but I'm sure if I had read the previous books, I would have had a much better handle on who was who and how everyone is connected. Sara Booth has a good batch of friends, including her boyfriend sheriff, and several animals: dogs, horses, a cat and a crow. Oh, and she has a ghost haunting her house that often appears to her as historical figures.
The mystery this time around involved several dogs who were stolen from homes, including Sara Booth's Sweetie Pie. There's rumors of a dog-fighting ring, but Sara's old nemesis, Gertrude, seems to...
The Cupcake Bakery Mysteries are typical cozies. This time around Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew have the truck set up at a local zombie walk. Of course, the event takes a horrible turn when one of the "zombies" is killed and left in their prop casket, a zombie whose outfit is strikingly similar to Angie's.
I've complained before about over-arching storylines taking over a series. This time, it's Joe's super-important, super-dangerous case against a mob boss. It came up in the book previous to this one, maybe, when Joe had to break up with Mel. (But don't worry, he's still spying on her.) Since Joe is Angie's brother, everyone's worried that she might have been the actual target.
The mystery is pretty obvious. And I'm tired of Angie and Mel's love lifes. Of course, next time I can't decide what to read, I'll probably borrow #8 from the library. The characters are decent and I love cupcakes....
Bea, Perry and their families are taking a much needed holiday on the beach in Portugal. There are three villas in the complex and the security is good, but the neighbors are famous Hollywood people, which is a little concerning. Bea certainly doesn't want the press showing up. But then the director ends up dead in the pool at a party Perry and Simon are attending and the press becomes the least of Bea's worries.
The man was not universally liked, but the police are focusing on the maid who Bea and her team are sure is innocent. To prove she's innocent, Bea, Perry, Rich, and Simon need to figure out who the real killer is. They definitely have their work cut out for them - turns out almost everyone is lying though and the clues point in different directions.
The characters are fun and I love how well our main group get along and work together. Even the kids...
I wasn't a fan of The Treasure Hunters Club, but the twist was surprising - even if it was more annoying than clever.
I listened to the audiobook and while the narrator was competent, I may have been a little spoiled by some of the fabulous readers I listened to lately. Or maybe it's tough to do three main characters make them all convincing. We forty year old Peter who is new to town, hoping to make a connection with the grandmother he never knew. Cass is house sitting and trying to write a new book. And finally, there's self-proclaimed teenage detective Dandy, who is grieving after the death of her grandfather. We got a couple murder, a lost treasure, and families keeping secrets.
The concept is great, but the story itself fell flat for me. Each of the characters, and half the town, had good backstories, but weren't fully developed as characters. I didn't really care about them. And the...
