Review: One Book in The Grave by: Kate Carlisle

Title: One Book in the Grave

Author: Kate Carlisle

Publisher: Berkley 

Series: Bibliophile Mystery #5

Format: Paperback (280 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

There may be grave consequences for bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright as she attempts to solve two murders tied to one book...

Brooklyn's chance to restore a rare first edition of Beauty and the Beast seems a fairy tale come true—until she realizes the book belonged to an old friend of hers. Ten years ago, Max Adams, a brawny renowned papermaker, fell in love with a stunning beauty, Emily, and gave her the copy of Beauty and the Beast as a symbol of their love. Soon afterward, he died in a car crash, and Brooklyn has always suspected his possessive ex-girlfriend and her jealous beau.

Now she decides to find out who sold the book and return it to its rightful owner—Emily. She believes a rare book dealer can assist her, but when she arrives at his shop, she finds him murdered. Is it possible that the same couple who may have killed Max are now after his edition of Beauty and the Beast? With the help of her handsome boyfriend, Derek Stone, Brooklyn must unravel the murder plot—before she ends up in a plot herself....

My Thoughts:

When Broolyn gets a copy of Beauty and The Beast to restore she is stunned to find it's a copy of the book she gave to her friend Max Adams and his fiancé Emily.  Max Adams has been dead for three years so why is Brooklyn wondering what is going on?  Is there something sinister going on?  The more she digs the more questions she has who found the book that Brooklyn has and what does this have to do with Max when he's been dead for 3 years?

I love this series and the writing style really pulls you and takes you from Brooklyn's apartment to her parent's house and Guru Bob to get to the bottom of everything!  Definitely a great adventure in California with everyone! 

Read More

Review: Doom with A View by: Victoria Laurie

Title: Doom with a View

Author: Victoria Laurie

Series: Psychic Eye Mystery #7

Publisher: Berkley

Source: e-book ( 314 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

Business has been frustratingly slow for Abby who needs any new commission she can get, even if it means agreeing to a job with the FBI that puts her at the center of an internal political struggle between two powerful agents, one of whom is the flinty lead investigator and confirmed skeptic Brice Harrison.  Abby's skills are continually tested – along with her patience – as she works to convince Harrison that she's not only the real deal, but can help him locate three college teens who've mysteriously disappeared.

Abby's intuition tells her these are no random abductions—and foresees another victim being kidnapped. To get to the bottom of the case, she and Harrison will have to put their differences aside and work together to find the connection between the missing kids. And to do that, Abby will have to win Harrison over, while keeping her psychic eye wide open.

My Thoughts: 

Abby and Candice find themselves up against a hard skeptic who doesn't believe in intuitives regardless of how good they are. Abby finds herself getting flustered trying to prove that she is the real deal. Candice finds an instant dislike to Harrison. They spend most of their time being threatened with going to jail. And on four separate occasions being sent back to Michigan which apparently becomes a running gag. As every time you think they are going home they turn around and go back. In the end Abby ends up saving both Candice and Harrison when they need it the most, which turns the hard skeptic to her side.

Read More

Review: What The Cat Dragged In by: Miranda James

Title: What The Cat Dragged In

Author: Miranda James

Publisher: Berkley 

Series: Cat In The Stacks #14

Format: e-book (297 p.) NetGalley ARC

Description:

Librarian Charlie Harris and his faithful feline companion, Diesel, have inherited Charlie’s grandfather’s house, along with a deadly legacy: a decades-old crime scene, in this all-new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks series.

Charlie has always believed that his grandfather had sold his house to his longtime tenant, Martin Hale. So when Martin dies, Charlie is surprised to discover the house was not left to Martin but instead belongs to Charlie. As he and Diesel check out the house he remembers fondly from his childhood, he is pleasantly surprised that it is in better condition than expected. That is, until they find a literal skeleton in a closet.

While the sheriff’s department investigates the mysterious remains, Charlie digs deeper into the past for clues to the identity of the bones and why they are there. But the cold case heats up quickly when Martin’s grandson is found dead on the farm.

As Charlie delves into his own family history, he encounters many people who might have been motivated to take a life. But Charlie and Diesel know that things are not always what they seem, and that secrets seemingly lost to time have a way of finding their way back to haunt the present.

My Review: 

As we go back to Athena, Mississippi we visit with Charlie, Diesel and their friends and family.  In this book we learn that Charlie has inherited a farm away from the busy city that belonged to his grandparents and he learns this because the previous renter had died.  This was all pretty normal in the book until Diesel finds bones in the house then everything gets all sorts of crazy.   There are land disputes and people who want to own the farm and all sorts of crazy stuff but the real question is who are the bones and what happened to a family member of the deceased who winds up dead during a bad rain story,  So much going on it was great to see Charlie step back in some areas and let others work on the case.

I love the Cat in Stacks I have been a huge fan since book on and keeps on getting better all the time.  This one definitely didn't disappoint in the least.  We get to go back and see what everyone is up to and what craziness is beginning.  Loved it!

Read More

Review: The Last Collection by:Jeanne Mackin

Title: The Last Collection
Author: Jeanne Mackin Publisher: Berkley Books
Format: Paperback ( 352 p.)

Description:

An American woman becomes entangled in the intense rivalry between iconic fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in this captivating novel from the acclaimed author of The Beautiful American.

Paris, 1938. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are fighting for recognition as the most successful and influential fashion designer in France, and their rivalry is already legendary. They oppose each other at every turn, in both their politics and their designs: Chanel's are classic, elegant, and practical; Schiaparelli's bold, experimental, and surreal.

When Lily Sutter, a recently widowed young American teacher, visits her brother, Charlie, in Paris, he insists on buying her a couture dress--a Chanel. Lily, however, prefers a Schiaparelli. Charlie's beautiful and socially prominent girlfriend soon begins wearing Schiaparelli's designs as well, and much of Paris follows in her footsteps.

Schiaparelli offers budding artist Lily a job at her store, and Lily finds herself increasingly involved with Schiaparelli and Chanel's personal war. Their fierce competition reaches new and dangerous heights as the Nazis and the looming threat of World War II bear down on Paris.

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Lily and both Coco Channel and Elsa Schiaparelli as they are at the hight of their career selling clothing to women.  They fight with each other every time you turn around add to that the war is stating to really rage on and you wonder how Paris will fair with it.  Lily and her brother Charlie are visiting Paris and Charlie offers to buy her a dress and she picks on designer over another.  

As the book goes on we see how Lily does and what she does with her life after loosing her husband.  This book was insane the way you walked with Lily and saw what she saw and what she learned from both designers about love and life.

Definitely a great historical fiction book that takes place in Paris while German's are getting closer and what mattered to women back then!

Read More

Review: The Ghost and The Haunted Portrait by: Cleo Coyle

Title: The Ghost and The Haunted Portrait

Author: Cleo Coyle

Publisher: Berkley 

Series: Haunted Bookshop Mystery #7

Format: Paperback ( 336 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her gumshoe ghost team up to solve the stunning mystery at the heart of a madwoman's self-portrait in this all new installment from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop, Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman, one who supposedly went mad, according to town gossip. Seymour, the local mailman, falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture, refusing to part with it, even as fatal accidents befall those around it. Is the canvas cursed? Or is something more sinister at work?

For answers, Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard, PI. Back in the 1940s, Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist, and (to Pen's relief) his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery, even if he and his license did expire decades ago.

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Penelope Thornton-McClure and her friends who are traveling to someone selling alot of classic noir stuff.  Before you know it though the seller winds up dead, the pressure is on in Pen's case to figure out who killed the seller and why?  Seymour also finds himself in ownership of a classic painting of a past McClure.  Who killed and why?

This book has so much going on between traveling back and time with Jack to figure out more about the painting and why it's so mysterious.  Then there is the murder going on around town and whose to blame with it.  

It's a good read and keeps the reader well informed of the ins and outs of the mystery while adding history with Jack to the mix such a fantastic story!

Read More

Review: Little Black Book by: Kate Carlisle

Title: Little Black Book
Author: Kate Carlisle

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Series: Biblophile Mystery #15

Format: e-book ARC ( 384 p.) 

Source: NetGalley

Description:

San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is on the case when a rare edition of Rebecca leads to murder in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.

Brooklyn and her hunky husband, security expert Derek Stone, have just returned from a delightful trip to Dharma, where the construction of their new home away from home is well underway, when a little black book arrives in the mail from Scotland. The book is a rare British first edition of Rebecca, and there’s no return address on the package. The day after the book arrives, Claire Quinn shows up at Brooklyn and Derek’s home. Brooklyn met Claire when the two women worked as expert appraisers on the television show This Old Attic. Brooklyn appraised books on the show and Claire’s expertise was in antique British weaponry, but they bonded over their shared love of gothic novels.

 

Claire reveals that during a recent trip to Scotland she discovered her beloved aunt was missing and her home had been ransacked. Among her aunt’s belongings, Claire found the receipt for the package that wound up with Brooklyn and Derek. Claire believes both her own life and her aunt’s are in danger and worries that her past may be coming back to haunt her.

 

But just as Brooklyn and Derek begin to investigate, a man who Claire thinks was following her is found murdered, stabbed with a priceless jeweled dagger. With a death on their doorstep, Brooklyn and Derek page through the little black book, where they discover clues that will take them to the shadows of a medieval Scottish castle on the shores of Loch Ness. Under the watchful gaze of a mysterious laird and the irascible villagers who are suspicious of the strangers in their midst, Brooklyn and Derek must decode the secrets in Rebecca to keep their friend’s past from destroying their future....

My Thoughts: 

Derek and Brooklyn are back in San Francisco after their trip to Dharma.  They have barely unpacked when Derek receives a package from Scotland.  Why would someone send Derek a 1st edition book?  Who does Derek know in Scotland?  

Claire Quinn is in trouble and needs some help and quick which leads her from Scotland to San Francisco  and straight to  Derek and Brooklyn.  After explaining about her missing Aunt Gwen who send a book to Derek.  Some shady people are looking for Claire but no one knows why?

This book took our threesome from San Francisco to Dharma all the way to Scotland to find out what was going on and whose responsible?  This book had so much adventure and intrigue going on.  You found yourself wondering until you reached the end.  This book series is definitely worth the adventure to see how it all played out.

Read More

Review: Lavender Blue Murder by: Laura Childs

Title: Lavender Blue Murder

Author: Laura Childs

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Series: A Tea Shop Mystery #21

Format: Hardcover ( 320 p.) NetGalley

Description:

Tea Maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs, now in paperback

Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley are guests at a bird hunt styled in the precise manner of an English shooting party. Which means elevenses (sloe gin fizzes), gun loaders, the drawing of pegs, fine looking bird dogs, and shooting costumes of tweed, herringbone, and suede.

But as gunshots explode like a riff of Black Cat firecrackers, another shot sounds too close for comfort to Theodosia and Drayton. Intrigued but worried, Theodosia wanders into the neighbor's lavender field where she discovers their host, Reginald Doyle, bleeding to death.

His wife, Meredith, is beside herself with grief and begs Theodosia and Drayton to stay the night. But Theodosia awakens at 2:00 A.M. to find smoke in her room and the house on fire. As the fire department screams in and the investigating sheriff returns, Meredith again pleads with Theodosia for help.

As Theodosia investigates, fingers are pointed, secrets are uncovered, Reginald's daughter-in-law goes missing presumed drowned, and Meredith is determined to find answers via a seance. All the while Theodosia worries if she's made a mistake in inviting a prime suspect to her upscale Lavender Lady Tea.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

My Thoughts: 

In this book Theo and Drayton find themselves out with people they don't know the best at a bird hunt shooting   When they find their host Reginald Doyle bleeding to death they decide to try to go home but Meredith is so upset she pleads with them to stay unwillingly they stay for the night and find more questions than answers.

As they dig into the murder the pressure is on everyone to figure out who killed Doyle and why?  When Meredith's daughter-i-law goes missing off a boat in the water the pressure is on Meredith's son of having done something to his wife.    What happened to Fawn and why? And who burned down the Doyle house and killed Reginald Dyle?

I love this series it's a fun with tea being served and Theo running around hoping for a Bruce Wills moment that doesn't come.  It's fun being with her and Dayton as they try to solve this murder and find any and all clues!  

If you haven't read the series you are missing something you will definitely fall in love with these characters and have tons of fun on their many adventures!

Read More

Review: The Grim Reader by: Kate Carlisle

Title: The Grim Reader
Author: Kate Carlisle
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Bibliophile Mysteries #14
Format: Hardcover ( 319 p.)

Source: NetGalley

Description:

San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright was hoping for a fun, relaxing weekend at a local book fair, but a murderer made other plans in the latest in this New York Times bestselling series.

Brooklyn and her new hunky husband, Derek, are excited to be guests at Dharma's first annual Book Festival. The entire town is involved and Brooklyn’s mom Rebecca is taking charge. In addition to all of her other event related duties, she’s got Brooklyn doing rare book appraisals and is also staging Little Women, the musical to delight the festival goers. If that wasn’t enough, she and Meg, Derek’s mom, will have a booth where they read palms and conduct séances.

Brooklyn couldn’t be prouder of her mom’s do-it-all attitude so when a greedy local businessman who seems intent on destroying Dharma starts harassing Rebecca, Brooklyn is ready to take him down. Rebecca is able to hold her own with the nasty jerk until one of her fellow festival committee members is brutally murdered and the money for the festival seems to have vanished into thin air.

Things get even more personal when one of Brooklyn’s nearest and dearest is nearly run down in cold blood. Brooklyn and Derek go into attack mode and the pressure is on to catch a spineless killer before they find themselves skipping the festival for a funeral.

My Thoughts: 

In this book Brooklyn and her husband Derek Stone are heading to Dharma's first book festival.  They hope to help out getting ready for the festival along with Brooklyn repairing a book about Little Women.

When they arrive and see what Rebecca Brooklyn's mom has been dealing with it's a wonder that the festival is still on track!  Brooklyn and Derek decide that Rebecca needs their help and will do everything they can to keep her safe and sound.

When murder starts up Brooklyn is determined to find out whose bringing horror to her hometown. The more they dig the more questions arise who would kill a fellow member of the committee for the festival and why?  Was it someone trying to buy up property in Dharma or is someone right in front of them causing them all sorts of grief?

I love this series it's fun and mysterious and you find yourself laughing at times totally worth the adventure.  We get to see what Brooklyn's family is up to and how things have been going.  I love how Ms. Carlisle weaves her stories so you feel like you are traveling along with Brooklyn and Derek and are in for a great ride with a great story!

Read More

Review: Carless Whiskers by: Miranda James

Title: Carless Whiskers
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Cat in The Stacks #12
Format: Hardcover ( 289 p.)
Source: Personal Purchase

Description:

When librarian Charlie Harris' daughter is falsely accused of murder, he and his faithful feline Diesel must leap forward to crack the case in this all-new installment in the New York Times bestselling series.

Charlie Harris has sworn off investigating murder and mayhem after a recent close call. Instead, he's delighted to cheer on his daughter, Laura, who's starring in a production of Careless Whispers. The theater department at Athena College is debuting the play written by a fledgling playwright with local connections and Charlie's son-in-law, Frank Salisbury, will be calling the directorial shots.

Laura is upset to learn that Luke Lombardi, an overbearing actor she knew from her time in Hollywood will also be taking part in the production as a guest artist. Lombardi arrives with an entourage in tow and promptly proceeds to annoy everyone involved with the production. When he collapses and dies on stage, after drinking from a glass Laura handed him, she becomes the chief suspect in his murder.

Charlie knows his daughter is innocent, and he's not going to let anyone railroad his little girl. So, despite his intentions to put his amateur sleuthing days behind him, Charlie has to take center stage, and with Diesel's help, shine a spotlight on the real killer. 

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Charlie Harris as his daughter is working with her husband showcasing a play at the University.  Of course like any book it isn't long before the craziness begins.  First it seems there are two play writers?  Who is the real author of Carless Whispers?  

As the play progress someone is deliberately sabotaging the play and driving Luke Lombardi crazy.  At the night of the opening the tricks have gone too far and someone is killed Luke and Laura Charlie's daughter could have been next!  Charlie is determined to try from afar to figure out what the heck is going on.  Who had it out for the actor and just how determined are they to end the actor's life?

Even though Charlie is warned a few times by Laura to but out he can't because it could have easily have been her.  

I love Charlie and Diesel since the first time I picked up a book.  It's like going to check on old friends and see what they are up to.  Of course the interaction with Azalea and the cats is so much fun to look forward to every time I pick up this author! 

 

Read More

Review: If Books Could Kill by: Kate Carlisle

Title: If Books Could Kill
Author: Kate Carlisle
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Series: Biblophile Mystery #2 

Format: e-book ( 280 p.) personal purchase

Description:

Book restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is attending the world-renowned Edinburgh Book Fair when her ex Kyle shows up with a bombshell. He has an original copy of a scandalous text that could change history—and humiliate the beloved British monarchy.

When Kyle turns up dead, the police are convinced Brooklyn's the culprit. But with an entire convention of suspects, Brooklyn's conducting her own investigation to find out if the motive for murder was a 200-year-old secret—or something much more personal.

My Review: 

This book follows Brooklyn whose in England attending a book fair when she stumbles on an ex of hers who has a book and ends up dead because of it will Brooklyn read her last book or while her time be cut short?

I love this series it's such fun to visit with Brooklyn and Derek and see what they are up to this time it seems Brooklyn has her hands full with her ex Kyle and what is going on with him.  This book was such a fun and exciting read!

Read More

Review: Egg Shooters by: Laura Childs

Title: Egg Shooters
Author: Laura Childs
Publisher: Berkley Series: Cackleberry Club #9
Format: e-book ARC (304 p.)
Source: Publisher

Description:

A murder in the local hospital is raising everyone's temperature in the latest book in the New York Times bestselling Cackleberry Club series.

     

Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Café, is visiting her fiancé, Dr. Sam Hazelet, when a masked gunman bursts into the emergency room. He shoots two people and would probably have done more damage had Suzanne not brained him with a thermos full of chili. Still, the gunman manages to escape.

Now the ladies of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he finds them.

My Review:

This book was such a fun adventure following Suzanne and her co-workers at the Cackleberry Club as they are trying to solve an attack at the local hospital where Suzanne was bringing dinner to her soon to be husband.

With a murder going on plus people stealing major drugs all over the place the stakes are high as Suzanne and company try to figure out whose selling drugs and why.  Also Junior makes another wonderful appearance trying to help.

I love this series it's such fun to see what Suzanne and her co-workers are up to.  You never know what you are going to get especially when you add Junior to the mix!

Read More

Review: Mumbo Gumbo Murder by: Laura Childs & Terrie Farley Moran

Title: Mumbo Gumbo Murder
Author: Laura Childs & Terrie Farley Moran
Publisher: Berkley
Series: A Scrapbooking Mystery #16
Format: e-book ARC (308 p.)

Description:

A shocking murder strikes a sour note during Jazz Fest in the latest New Orleans Scrapbooking Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It's Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and the giant puppets from the Beastmaster Puppet Theatre are parading through the French Quarter. Some are very spooky and veiled, others are tall and gangly, like strange aliens.

    

As the parade proceeds, Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava, follow behind, down Royal Street and past the food booths. Suddenly, they hear a terrible crash from Devon Dowling's antiques shop. They rush inside to find Devon collapsed with blood streaming down the side of his face. Has he been shot? Stabbed? 911 is hastily called, and the police and EMTs show up. After the police examine Devon's body, they tell Carmela and Ava that their friend was murdered with an icepick. They're shocked beyond belief—and now Mimi, Devon's little pug, is left homeless.

Carmela and Ava are determined to catch the murderer, but the list of suspects is long. How long do they have before they find themselves on the killer's list?

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Carmela Bertrand and her bestie Ava as they are out one night in the glorious Crescent City and hear a glass shatter and find their friend Devon Dowling dead and his dog Mimi traumatized.  

Carmela ends up taking Mimi home thinking maybe Mimi can help identify Devon's murderer.  Of course they are so many suspects.  Could it be his heavy drinking assistant TJ?  Or could it be the owner of his building whose quick to build Condos? Or could it be Richard Drake from the vampire society?

This book had so much going on as Quigg was also involving Carmela with a new bar idea which created alot of friction with Babcock.  All this while also investigating a murder and getting a wedding dress and coming up with a wedding date!  I don't how these two do it but they manage to do it in style as well.

I love this series so much it has rich location of New Orleans along with alot of interesting and colorful characters!  Can't wait to see what this writing teams come up with next!

Read More

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by: Simone St. James

Title: The Haunting of Maddy Clare
Author: Simone St. James
Publisher: Berkley
Format: e-book (318 p.)
Source: Personal Purchase

Description:

Sarah Piper's lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis—rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts—has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide.

Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah's task to confront her in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in a deperate struggle. For Maddy's ghost is real, she's angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair's assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance—before she destroys them all?

My Thoughts:

Sarah Piper gets a new job as an assistant to a ghost hunter Alistair.  They travel to a small town and learn about Maddy Clare.  A girl who was scarred by something very badly and committed suicide.  she spends her time haunting a barn where a couple took her in when she showed up at their house.

Sarah finds herself contacting Maddy as she detests men,  She wants Maddy to find out the truth so she can seek her revenge.  Until she gets her way she hold's Alister in some sort of mental hostage, bringing him back to the war and his time in the war.  What happened to Maddie and will she ever release Alistair from her grip?

I loved this story it reminded me of Carolyn Haine's Pluto Detective Agency.  It brings you in wanting to learn more about Sarah, Maddy, Matthew and Alistair.  What they went through in this addictive book!  It hooks you in until the end and the ending was definitely worth it!  Can't wait to see what is next for this incredible author!

Read More