Tag: mystery

Book Review:  Public Anchovy #1, by Mindy Quigley    

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Public Anchovy #1
Author: Mindy Quigley   
Genre:  Mystery   
Rating:  4 out of 5

While Geneva Bay’s upper crust gets ready to party down at a Prohibition-themed fundraiser, pizza chef Delilah O’Leary is focused on seeing her struggling restaurant through the winter slow season. The temperature outside is plummeting, but Delilah’s love life might finally be heating up, as hunky police detective Calvin Capone seems poised to (finally) make a move.

But Delilah’s hopes of perfecting a new “free-from” pizza recipe for a charity bash are dashed when a dead body crashes the party. Soon, Capone, Delilah, and her entire staff are trapped in an isolated mansion and embroiled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

To catch an increasingly-desperate killer, Delilah will have to top all of her previous crime-solving accomplishments, and a few pizzas, too.

This is the first one of the Deep Dish Mysteries I’ve read, but I’d read the others. The descriptions of the food made me hungry! I loved the idea of a Prohibition-themed party—such vivid characters in that time period, and I love the fashion. I never truly figured out who the killer was, but to be honest, the secondary conflicts, like the Capone and Delilah interactions, interested me more. Great secondary characters here, making this a fun read, and the cats added another level of entertainment.

Mindy Quigley lives in Virginia. Public Anchovy #1 is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Curse of Penryth Hall, by Jess Armstrong

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  The Curse of Penryth Hall
Author:  Jess Armstrong   
Genre:  Mystery/thriller   
Rating:4.5 out of 5

After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and house mate in Exeter. She’s always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she’d never return. A more sensible soul would have delivered the package and left without rehashing old wounds. But no one has ever accused Ruby of being sensible. Thus begins her visit to Penryth Hall.

A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby’s once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It’s an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse. It also brings Ruan Kivell, the person whose books brought her to Cornwall, the one the locals call a Pellar, the man they believe can break the curse. Ruby doesn’t believe in curses―or Pellars―but this is Cornwall and to these villagers the curse is anything but lore, and they believe it will soon claim its next Tamsyn.

To protect her friend, Ruby must work alongside the Pellar to find out what really happened in the orchard that night.

I liked Ruby a lot in this novel. She’s mostly very sure of herself, confident, and capable. She’s spunky, and I like her attitude. I also enjoyed Ruan a lot, the inscrutable, enigmatic Pellar. There were a lot of layers in this novel:  old relationships, memories, current relationships, changed people and friendships, the local culture, the murder mystery…

The author did an excellent job of weaving all these layers together into a rich tapestry of story. I never figured out who the killer was, and the reveal surprised me. I enjoyed this read, and wondering how everything was going to work itself out kept me reading far too late into the night.

Jess Armstrong lives in New Orleans. The Curse of Penryth Hall is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Fiction Writer, by Jillian Cantor   

Image belongs to Harlequin/Park Row.

Title:  The Fiction Writer      
Author:  Jillian Cantor   
Genre: Fiction    
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Last night I dreamt I went to Malibu again…

The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel—a retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca—was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and she’s battling a bad case of writer’s block. So when her agent calls her with a high-paying ghostwriting opportunity, Olivia is all too willing to sign the NDA.

At first, the write-for-hire job seems too good to be true. All she has to do is interview Henry “Ash” Asherwood, a reclusive mega billionaire, twice named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, who wants her help in writing a book that reveals a shocking secret about his late grandmother and Daphne du Maurier. But when Olivia arrives at his Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. The more Olivia digs into his grandmother’s past, the more questions she has—and before she knows it, she’s trapped in a gothic mystery of her own.

This book was a little too meta for me. A re-telling of Rebecca about the initial telling of Rebecca—with questions about who told Rebecca first—and an extra helping of Rebecca thrown in for good measure. It just ended up being confusing. It was a quick read, so I kept reading, but Olivia wasn’t the brightest light, continually putting herself in chancy situations and letting people use and abuse her. So, an interesting concept, but in the end, not a good fit for me.

Jillian Cantor is a bestselling author. The Fiction Writer is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: When I’m Dead, by Hannah Morrissey   

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books.

Title:  When I’m Dead     
Author: Hannah Morrissey   
Genre: Thriller    
Rating: 3.0 out of 5

On a bone-chilling October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter’s best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery—her daughter, Chloe, is gone. But, not without a trace.

A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions…details that threaten to tear them apart.

Amidst the noise of navigating her newfound grief and reconciling the sins of her past, an undeniable fact rings true for Rowan: karma has finally come to collect.

I’m not sure why I decided to read this after I DNFed the first book in the series, but I did. I wanted to DNF this for the first third of the book, and probably should have, as I just didn’t care for the characters. Man, the setting here is so absolutely bleak and depressing and the characters are, too. This was an okay read, but I wasn’t a fan of the characters.

Hannah Morrissey lives near Milwaukee.  When I’m Dead is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Case of the Bleus, by Korina Moss

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Press.

Title:  Case of the Bleus      
Author:  Korina Moss   
Genre: Mystery    
Rating: 4 out of 5 

What in the bleu blazes is happening in Yarrow Glen now?

Cheesemongers from across the Northwest have come to the Sonoma Valley for the Northwest Cheese Invitational. As owner of the local cheese shop, Curds & Whey, Willa Bauer loves it. The event showcases custom cheese creations, and it’s the perfect time to gather with old colleagues to honor her former boss, the late and grate cheese legend, Max Dumas. He was famous for journeying into the wild bleu yonder to where he aged his award-winning custom Church Bleu. Only Max knew the recipe and location to his beloved cheese, and many are eager to have these revealed at his will reading.

But instead of naming someone to inherit his cheese and its secrets, Max stuns everyone with one cryptic clue. When a fellow cheesemonger dies under mysterious circumstances––the woman they all thought would get the secrets to Max’s prized possession––everyone falls under suspicion. Willa adores Church Bleu as much as the next cheese connoisseur, but it’s not to die for. Is a killer trying to get away with murder…and the cheese?

I would not recommend reading this while hungry…especially if you’re a cheese-lover. The cheeses and other foods in this book sounded wonderful! This is the first book I’ve read in this series, but that wasn’t a problem. I had no problem telling the characters apart or following what was going on. I thought this was a fun little cozy mystery, and I’d be interested to read more.

Korina Moss is an award-winning author and lives in New England. Case of the Bleus is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Bone Hacker, by Kathy Reichs  

Image belongs to Scribner.

Title: The Bone Hacker    
Author: Kathy Reichs   
Genre:  Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Called in to examine what is left of a body struck by lightning, Tempe traces an unusual tattoo to its source and is soon embroiled in a much larger case. Young men – tourists – have been disappearing on the islands of Turks and Caicos for years. Seven years ago, the first victim was found in a strange location with both hands cut off; the other visitors vanished without a trace. But, recently, tantalizing leads have emerged and only Tempe can unravel them.

Maddeningly, the victims seem to have nothing in common – other than the strange locations where their bodies are eventually found, and the fact that the young men all seem to be the least likely to be involved in foul play. Do these attacks have something to do with the islands’ seething culture of gang violence? Tempe isn’t so sure. And then she turns up disturbing clues that what’s at stake may actually have global significance.

It isn’t long before the sound of a ticking clock grows menacingly loud, and then Temper herself becomes a target.

This was a solid thriller read, as the Temperance Brennan books usually are. The opening scene was quite dramatic and hooked me in, although it had very little to do with the rest of the story. I enjoyed the setting of Turks and Caicos, although I felt the setting was left pretty hazy, and I didn’t get a feel for it or the culture there, which would have been fascinating. All in all, a solid read, and I finished the book in one sitting.

Kathy Reichs is a bestselling author. The Bone Hacker is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Scribner in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Fateful Words, by Paige Shelton   

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Fateful Words       
Author: Paige Shelton     
Genre: Cozy mystery   
Rating:  4 out of 5

When Edwin, Delaney’s boss at the Cracked Spine bookstore, leaves town on secret business, Delaney is called upon to guide his yearly literary tour around Edinburgh. But on the first night of the tour, at the inn where the tour group is staying, the inn manager falls—or is pushed—off the roof of the inn, and killed. Then, one of the tour members disappears, leaving a trail of puzzles in her wake.

In a race against the clock, Delaney sets out on the expedition of her life, following clues around Edinburgh to get to the bottom of this mystery. Exploring sights from Greyfriars Bobby to the Royal Mile to the Sir Walter Scott Monument, she’ll have to put the pieces together quickly, or the bookstore’s survival could be on the line…as well as her own.

This was a solid read. I love the bookstore setting—and the family of employees there. I feel like the people on the tour, and Delaney herself, were willfully overlooking some obvious tells and warning signs here, and I really didn’t find it believable about her calling the inspector every other second, but this was a fun read, with a lot of cool details about Edinburgh.

Paige Shelton lives in Arizona. Fateful Words is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Every Missing Girl, by Leanne Kale Sparks   

Image belongs to Crooked Lane Books.

Title:  Every Missing Girl      
Author: Leanne Kale Sparks     
Genre: mystery/thriller    
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

The stunning landscape of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are among our greatest natural treasures. But there are deadly secrets lurking in the craggy heights. FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver Homicide Detective Adam Taylor team up to investigate a kidnapping crime, but the case quickly turns cold. When Taylor’s niece, Frankie, suddenly vanishes at a local hockey rink, it’s clear that there’s a predator on the loose—and now, the case has turned personal.

One discovery after another leads Beck and Taylor closer to the truth, as they close in on the devastating truth about the fates of the missing girls—and the many who came before them. Will they be able to find Frankie before it’s too late?

I liked the beginning of this story, but I feel like the second half got a bit choppy and left some important thing unresolved. There were so many possible suspects for Frankie’s disappearance—among other things—but not all of these suspects’ stories were resolved…and that bothered me quite a bit. I feel like they got away with something. I liked the camaraderie between Kendall and Adam and the rest of their team, but the whole story felt unresolved to me, so I probably wouldn’t read more.

Leanne Kale Sparks lives in Texas. Every Missing Girl is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Against the Currant, by Olivia Matthews   

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Against the Currant     
Author:  Olivia Matthews   
Genre: Mystery    
Rating:  4 out of 5

Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York: Lyndsay Murray is opening Spice Isle Bakery with her family, and it’s everything she’s ever wanted. The West Indian bakery is her way to give back to the community she loves, stay connected to her Grenadian roots, and work side-by-side with her family. The only thing getting a rise out of Lyndsay is Claudio Fabrizi, a disgruntled fellow bakery owner who does not want any competition.

On opening day, he comes into the bakery threatening to shut them down. Fed up, Lyndsay takes him to task in front of what seems to be the whole neighborhood. So when Claudio turns up dead a day later—murdered—Lyndsay is unfortunately the prime suspect. To get the scent of suspicion off her and her bakery, Lyndsay has to prove she’s innocent—under the watchful eyes of her overprotective brother, anxious parents, and meddlesome extended family—what could go wrong?

I really liked the cultural aspects in this book! They absolutely fascinated me. I found myself looking up soca music and some of the foods—which sounded amazing—just to settle myself a little more deeply into the characters’ culture. I think Lyndsay is a great character:  she’s grown a lot from childhood, but she’s still fighting not to go back to old habits. And this isn’t a romance—unusual for a cozy mystery—although the potential is there for the future. The vibrant characters kept me engaged, and there was never a dull moment while reading this.

Olivia Matthews is a bestselling author. Against the Currant is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Treachery on Tenth Street, by Kate Belli

Image belongs to Crooked Lane Books.

Title:  Treachery on Tenth Street     
Author: Kate Belli   
Genre: historical fiction   
Rating:  4 out of 5

As a heat wave engulfs New York in the summer of 1888, the city’s top models begin turning up dead, one by one, suggesting the work of a single killer. Society girl turned investigative journalist Genevieve Stewart is drawn into the case when Beatrice Holler, one of her friend Callie’s fellow models, is found with her throat cut.

Genevieve and her compatriot, wealthy Daniel McCaffrey, are joined by Callie to seek out the suspects, which leads them to search for answers from the members of the elite, notorious gangsters, and the city’s most prominent painters.

In an era when London’s Jack the Ripper murders have everyone on edge, the police want to keep the killings quiet. But the bodies are piling up as fast as the suspects—and unless the killer is found, the simmering New York summer could boil over into madness.

I haven’t read any of the other Gilded Gotham mysteries, but that wasn’t a problem. This was a solid read. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I liked Genevieve’s independence in a time when that wasn’t a common thing. Even Daniel had depths, with his street punk background and shady friends. This was a fun read, and I’d definitely read more of the series.

Kate Belli lives in Pennsylvania. Treachery on Tenth Street is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)