Valentine’s Day – Carol's Notebook

My Fatal Valentine by Leighann Dobbs

February 12, 2025February 12, 2025 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...

A Victim at Valentine’s by Ellie Alexander

February 6, 2025February 6, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

The Secret Bookcase Mysteries is one of those series with an overarching plot that hasn't been resolved yet. That is both my least favorite thing about the series and why this one doesn't work well as a stand-alone. Annie's best friend, Scarlet, was killed over a decade ago, but Annie has some new information and is working on solving the cold case. I'm just not a fan of those overarching mysteries. Annie's works full-time at a bookstore, where part of her job is coordinating events. For Valentine's Day, the store has teamed up with a matchmaker for a weekend of books and romantic events. Early the morning of the second day, a well-liked member of the community is found dead near the store. While the event continues as planned, Annie is determined to help the local detective, Dr. Caldwell, discover who the killer is. The mystery is fine. The plot moves along well. We have three potential suspects and a few...

A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn

February 11, 2024February 22, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

A Killer Romance is the third book in the Beach Read series, but the first I've read. Summer Merriweather owns the Beach Reads bookstore which she inherited along with her cottage from her mother, Hildy. A Killer Romance begins with Summer tripping and twisting her ankle. Because of this, she does not even get to meet the guest speaker for the Valentine's Day Festival before the woman is murdered. The mystery, the characters, and the dialogue are all good. Summer's parrot is adorable. For me though, there was just too much talk about the covid pandemic and how life on the island was changed. Also, I understand that Summer was in pain from her ankle, but there was too much emphasis on pain relief pills for me. I just got annoyed. And there were several characters' reactions that just didn't feel realistic. And I felt like the whodunnit relied too much on stereotypes. Overall, I was disappointed. I listened to the audio....

The St. Valentine’s Day Cookie Massacre by Elisabeth Crabtree

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

If I've learned anything from cozy mysteries, it's that holidays go perfect with dead bodies. So, instead of reading a romance for today, I went with The St. Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Kat has must moved back home from a stint in Miami and is working at a small local paper. The staff is small and while her heart is in investigative journalism, mostly she's covering community events and doing the food critic column. She covers a local bakery opening where a fight breaks out. Later that evening, an anonymous caller asks her to meet him behind the bakery - he has information for her. When she shows up, she finds a dead body, a bakery employee who also happens to be one of the men who was in the fight earlier. Of course, she starts investigating. And ends up almost dead herself before she tracks down the killer(s). So, ...