book review

From the publisher of Dash Away All

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…Merry Winters is excited for her dream-come-true moment: Being an on-site crafter for a Christmas movie. The tidings of joy are short-lived as she finds herself becoming a referee, dealing with a raging Ebenezer, participating in a bucket brigade, and finding evidence in a “murder.”

Is someone trying to stop the production or is it tied to a secret someone has on Luna Carmichael, the star of the movie and the queen of Christmas?

When Marie, Luna’s assistant, stumbles away from a car accident and dies, Merry believes the accident wasn’t quite so accidental. Was Luna or Marie the target? Merry finds more questions than answers, but one thing is certain: Everyone has an ulterior motive for being part of the production—including Marie.

After another murder, Merry wonders if the deaths are tied to a baby born long ago and abandoned. And more importantly, will Merry live long enough to find out?

My review

Merry Winters is a likable protagonist with a very interesting job, a professional crafter. A crafting mystery centered around the set of a movie intrigued me. There was plenty of both in this well-plotted cozy. The storyline was logically laid out, beginning with Merry being hired to handle the Christmas crafts on the movie to her involvement in the investigation of her friends’ murder to the inevitable story resolution.

Dialogue flowed naturally between characters, even at those points where the author needed to provide backstory to move the things forward. Overall, I felt entertained from beginning to end with one exception based on a personal preference of mine. I’m not a fan of rhetorical questions in exposition, which is a popular tool used by many authors. Consequently, I sometimes skimmed through those sections to get to the next bit of action or dialogue.

From the publisher of Snowed Under

When professional organizer Maggie McDonald finds a body in a snowdrift outside her friend’s ski cabin, she must plow through the clues to find a cold-blooded killer . . .

Lake Tahoe in February is beautiful, but Maggie can’t see a thing as she drives through a blinding blizzard with her friend Tess Olmos and their dogs, golden retriever Belle and German shepherd Mozart. Maggie has offered her professional decluttering skills to help Tess tidy up her late husband’s cabin in preparation to sell. She also plans to get in some skiing when her husband Max and their boys join them later in the week.

What she doesn’t plan on is finding a boot in a snowdrift attached to a corpse. The frozen stiff turns out to be Tess’s neighbor, Dev Bailey, who disappeared two months ago. His widow Leslie expresses grief, but Maggie can’t help but wonder if it’s a snow job. As more suspects start to pile up, things go downhill fast, and Maggie must keep her cool to solve the murder before the killer takes a powder . . .

My review of Snowed Under

There were plenty of things to like about Snowed Under. It’s chock full of good tidbits about dealing with winter in snow country. There’s plenty of action to offset the feeling that this is, in a sense, a type of locked room mystery.

Unfortunately, something about the story didn’t quite mesh for me. I didn’t connecte with Maggie. She’s a likable character, and I felt like I knew what was in her head, but never what was in her heart.

As for why the police would accept an amateur sleuth into a police investigation—well, that’s just part of the territory for cozy mysteries. And, true admissions time, the story held my interest until the killer was exposed. Partially because I never figured out who the killer was until Maggie put the pieces together.

Learn more about Snowed Under or Mary Feliz at maryfeliz.com

From the publisher

LUCKY IN LOVE AND LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. UNTIL NOW.

Maizie’s mixing with international stars, spies, and her mother’s dark past in her sixth case in The Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

“Hollywood glitz meets backwoods grit in this fast-paced ride on D-list celeb Maizie Albright’s waning star. Sassy, Sexy, and Fun.” — Phoebe Fox, author of the Breakup Doctor series.

#WannabeDetectiving While ex-celebrity Maizie Albright’s dreams of becoming a for-real private investigator have not exactly been dashed, they have been slightly thwarted. Her ex-manager and still-mother, Vicki Albright, has taken the helm of Nash Security Services while rebuilding her entertainment management company. Sometimes with the same clients. Like Chinese action star, Lili Liang, who’s making the film Unlucky 18 in Georgia.

Thus far, Lili’s living up to her movie title. Her kung fu coach is missing. Her boyfriend’s disappeared. And her director, who gambled on her with the part, might be gambling with her life.

Maizie’s luck is also running out. Maizie and Nash find themselves struggling to balance a new partnership and new relationship between missing persons’ cases, wild goose chases, and tracking a bullet into dangerous places. Sometimes it’s enough to make a girl NOT want to put a ring on it. When it comes to facing an 18-caliber killer, what will Maizie put up as the target? Her heart or her life?

Review of 18 Caliber

18 Caliber was my first Maizie Albright Star Detective Mystery—I’m hoping it won’t be my last. I loved this former child star who’s trying to make a new life for herself as a detective. She’s spunky, but broken; beautiful, but insecure; and comes with an A-list cast of supporting characters. 

The dialogue is snappy with a nice blend of introspection, so the plot keeps moving. And speaking of plot, there are plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing who’s who and whodunwhat. I did find Maizie’s mother’s narcissism a bit over the top at times. But while I ranked her high on my dislikable character scale, I sadly found her behavior believable. After all, mothers come in all flavors and I could definitely see such a parent in a real-life setting. 

This was a fun read—a fast-paced caper that kept me entertained until the end.

FTC Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by its publisher.

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From the publisher

Quinn Bellandini is ready to get back to running her grandfather’s B&B in Savannah, Georgia, with her sister, Delilah—but first, she has to coordinate a fundraising event at the house of local philanthropists, with the help of her boyfriend, Tucker Heyward. Everything is running smoothly until Quinn’s friend, Pepper Fox, frantically calls her with the horrifying news that the lady of the house was found dead. Pepper’s brother, who was working as a caterer, is soon charged with her murder. Pepper knows her brother didn’t commit the crime and asks Quinn, now a veteran detective with two solved murders under her belt, to prove his innocence. Quinn can’t bear to see her friend upset and enlists Delilah and Tucker to help investigate. The invite list quickly turns into the suspect list as tensions mount and old feuds are brought to light. Could Quinn have hired the only catering company in Georgia that throws in a murder on the side?

My review of Southern Double Cross

Southern Double Cross has nicely developed characters and a likable main protagonist. Though there are multiple sleuths, the story focuses on Quinn Bellandini, the main protagonist, and doesn’t do a lot of unnecessary head hopping. The plot was well-thought out. And the icing on the cake was the ample amount of double-crossing going on. Quinn has a sweet-as-honey Southern persona that played well into the role of the reluctant sleuth. Her reasoning for tracking down a killer seemed reasonable, though the rationale for not going to the police began to feel a bit strained toward the end of the book. The writing was crisp and clean and felt as though the backstory was brought out on schedule and as needed. For the most part, there was a growing sense of tension as the mystery unfolded, which kept me interested until the end. All-in-all, I found plenty of things to like about Southern Double Cross. a Rafflecopter giveaway

From the publisher of Brewed Awakening

When coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi awakens on a bench in Washington Square Park, she has no idea she’s been missing for days, or that her friends and family have been frantic with worry. Now that she’s back, everyone is overjoyed, including a handsome NYPD detective who claims to be her fiancé. But to Mike Quinn’s crushing distress, Clare doesn’t remember him, or much of anything about the last fifteen years of her life.

Clare’s missing memory is tied to a crime she witnessed. An acquaintance of Clare’s elegant employer–and fellow member of an exclusive Gotham circle known as “The Ladies Who Brunch”–invited Clare to her posh hotel to sample gourmet wedding cakes. After their indulgent tasting, they headed to the parking garage, where a camera captured a masked figure with a gun confronting the hotel heiress with Clare looking on. Did the kidnapper take Clare, too? The camera went dark, just like Clare’s memory. Soon authorities grow suspicious. Is Clare really a victim? Or merely acting like one? Evidence is mounting that she set the woman up.

To clear her name, Clare must find a way to reclaim her memories and rescue the heiress before this high-stakes crime ends in tragedy. Otherwise, instead of walking down the aisle, Clare may find herself perp-walking to prison as an accomplice to kidnapping and murder.

My review

A well done blend of cozy mystery and suspense. In this case, the suspense comes from questions surrounding Clare’s loss of memory and what she will remember when and if she recovers her memory. The interplay between the characters and their competing priorities served to keep the story on an edge between success and failure. 

Kudos to the Cleo Coyle writing team for the way this installment was put together. Clare’s apprehension and fear, as well as that of those around her, dominate the story, but are woven into the mystery storyline. This one kept me on the edge all the way through.

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