Installment two in the Italian Chef series is out and it is a sweet read like the cannolis in the story! Tessa Esposito returns in book two with a grand opening for her new restaurant looming. Even with the pressure of a restaurant launch, Tessa agrees to provide the sweets for her cousin Gabby’s bookstore. … Read more
Every teenage girl’s nightmare is to be attacked while babysitting young children. Deja vous Scream! Jamie Whelan is drifting through existence. She’s a substitute teacher with a teenage daughter named Harley. Jamie awakens one night to the sound of her mother’s voice saying Come home. Her daughter Harley hears the same words. A call comes … Read more
I recommend this first installment in the Seaside Cottage Books cozy mystery series with a disclaimer. The series has potential, but some editing errors distracted me. For some people, it isn’t a problem, but for me, it disrupted the flow of the story. One was a timeline error — on one page it was after … Read more
I’m still knee-deep in beach series and hungry for more, so I was thrilled to discover the Maine Clambake series by Barbara Ross. I read three out of the eight book series this past week. A well-written mystery series with a unique setting and delicious recipes to boot. Clammed Up introduces us to Julia Snowden. … Read more
I discovered this series when the gloomy weather we’ve experienced here in Virginia gripped me in its rainy grasp and made me long for beaches and sunshine. I went on a mission to discover mysteries set in island locations and discovered the Seaside Cafe Mysteries by Bree Baker. The newest release–A Call for Kelp–hits the … Read more
This mystery combines two of my great loves– the 1920s and Egypt. American Jane Wunderly accompanies her wealthy Aunt Millie on a trip to Cairo. Aunt Millie is a trial and is thrilled that she now has access to quality liquor rather than the bathtub rotgut produced in America. They’ve settled at the Mena House … Read more
A cozy mystery set in the beautiful location of Galway, Ireland, Murder in Galway by Carlene O’Connor delivers a strong sense of place and character. This is a first in a new series by the author of the Irish Village Mystery series. Tara Meehan arrives in Galway to complete a sad mission – spread her … Read more
Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger is fast-paced crime fiction taut with murder, family drama, police corruption, and human trafficking. If you think that’s too much to pack into a 276-page novel, you’d be wrong. Alger weaves all the threads together in this novel. Thank goodness it rained today, so I could read it in … Read more
I was going to review a gritty suspense novel this week, but the rainy weather and isolation made me set it aside to pick up some lighter fare. This week, I review Gemma Halliday’s first book in her Wine and Dine series, A Sip Before Dying. I am so happy I changed my tune and … Read more
Like the proverbial fish, Andrew Mayne hooked me with the opening chapter of this first novel in his Underwater Investigation Unit series. Sloan McPherson, part-time cop and archaeology student, is diving alone – something she knows she should never do – when she hears a splash. Thinking it’s an alligator, she’s on her guard. It’s … Read more
