Home » Posts tagged 'affairs'
Tag Archives: affairs
Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody–cliques in a 55+ community?
Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody
by Barbara Ross
Shortly after I reviewed the second book in the Jane Darrowfield Mystery Series as an ARC, the first book became available in my local library. Since I was reading a very intense, nonfiction book at that time, I decided to make Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody my nighttime reading. I find cozy mysteries help me unwind.
I stand by my recommendation that the second book in the series makes a good standalone. Although I enjoyed reading about Jane’s adventures in this book, I did not learn anything critical to my understanding of the second book. It was amusing, however, to learn how Jane met Harry, her love interest in this series. I was disappointed that there was not more information on her estrangement from her son whom she raised as a single mom. I’m hoping there will be a third book in the series that will address that issue which is quite painful for Jane.
In Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, Jane is hired to find out what is going on at Walden Spring, a senior living community where some of the residents’ antics are more appropriate to high school cliques. At the request of the manager, she is temporarily living on the property when a murder occurs. She may even have witnessed the murderer walking across the golf course in the darkness of night. What could have motivated the murder? What is the real identity of the murder victim and who is his supposed wife who is living in the Alzheimer’s floor of the longterm care unit? There are lots of characters and entanglements along with suspicions and motives. Even Detective Alvarez from her hometown of Cambridge is on the scene acting in a limited capacity. So many puzzles and surprises! Just when the case seems solved, Jane brings up continuing suspicions and the action ramps back up.
I enjoyed this cozy mystery for a relaxing read. It won’t change your life, but it can provide a great escape.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Jane Darrowfield Mystery Series
Publication: 2019—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
Marge took another hit of the Ben & Jerry’s…Jane left her on the couch in an eighty-four percent butterfat haze. That afternoon she’d seen three stages of grief—anger, denial, and ice cream.
The silver tea service and tiered china dishes were elaborate; they obviously hadn’t come from the Walden Spring corporate catering service….Why did we keep these things, Jane wondered. So appropriate to our Victorian grandmothers’ grandmothers, so out of place in a room that looked like a teachers’ lounge in an upscale high school.
Jane had observed this phenomenon before. If one called out “Mary!” or “Joseph!” in certain neighborhoods around Boston—in doctors’ offices, diners, grocery stores—half the people would turn their heads.
Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea–returning home
Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea
by Liz Eeles
Called home from her life in sunny Spain by her mother’s sudden death, Rosie returns to the chilly English coast and Driftwood House, her family home. Rosie never felt like she fit in when she was in high school where the popular kids called her Weirdo Rosie Merchant.
In Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea, we learn that some of her former classmates have matured and some remain bullies. Liam, the high school lothario was dumped at the altar. Belinda is the local center of information, i.e. the town gossip. Nessa, formerly called Loch Nessa Monster, was rarely seen during her high school years because her mum was terminally ill. Nessa is the survivor of a bad marriage with a little girl and is employed at a hardware store. The little town is full of characters who all want to know of Rosie’s travels and when she will be leaving again.
Most of the plot centers around secrets her mother had kept from her. It seems she didn’t know her mother as well as she thought she did. There were many life changing repercussions from these secrets. To delve into the plot further would disclose too many spoilers.
Rosie is a hard-working, determined, likable character. She changes and grows in the story. Liam is a reluctant love interest. What would be the point? Rosie will be retuning to Andalusia, her two jobs, and her boyfriend as soon as she sorts out her mother’s affairs.
Of course, the author has other plans for Rosie. I think you’ll enjoy watching the story unfold. There are several major plot and character surprises. Even the antagonists experience turn arounds that will have readers smiling happily at a very satisfactory conclusion.
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Women’s Fiction
Notes: #1 in the Heaven’s Cove Series
Publication: February 18, 2021—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
Tea, the British answer to everything from disappointment to grief to crashing guilt.
…it would be good to feel…something. Something positive, rather than the sadness, humiliation, anger and anxiety that had become the four horsemen of his personal apocalypse.
The village was still shrouded but higher up, on the cliffs, the fog had been burned away by the sun, and Driftwood House was now an island in a sea of mist that swirled far below her.
Into the Frying Pan–medical mayhem
Into the Frying Pan
by Sarah Osborne
If my opinion of this book were based on the likability of the characters the plot centers around in Into the Frying Pan, it would get a low rating. Fortunately the main characters, pediatrician Ditie Brown and her detective boyfriend Mason, along with Ditie’s adopted daughter Lucie and Ditie’s close friends Lurleen and Danny, do not like these people either. Sadly they were an odd group of former friends from Ditie’s medical school days.
The tale is full of suspicions and secrets when one of the group is killed during a Civil War reenactment. Ugly motives and complicated relationships emerge. Will Ditie be able to protect herself and her children while interviewing former friends to discover the murderer?
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Lyrical Underground (Kensington Press) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Ditie Brown Mystery Series but great as a standalone.
Publication: May 28, 2019— Lyrical Underground (Kensington Press)
Memorable Lines:
I hung up not sure what I was feeling. I’d put Phil in a category of lousy human being and now he was trying to ease his way out of that box.
Agatha Christie would have loved this gathering. A small clutch of people with one murderer in the mix.
“You see, I learned the hard way that some people get broken by their past and don’t recover from it—that was Carl. I did everything I could not to be like my mother, but Carl became his father. He ran around, had schemes to get money, and always wanted more than he had. I thought I could love him into being a better man, but you can’t do that for another person. They have to do it for themselves.”
Sconed to Death–another fun writers’ retreat
Sconed to Death
by Lynn Cahoon
It’s hard not to want to be Cat Latimer. Who wouldn’t enjoy living in a small Colorado college town far enough from Denver to avoid the big city traffic but close enough for occasional trips for shopping and dining? Oh, to completely own a large Victorian house where you can write in a third floor turret and host periodic writers’ retreats! What satisfaction in sharing your business with your best friend who manages the household and cooks gourmet foods for you on a daily basis. She also feeds breakfast to the retreat guests while keeping the retreat stocked with drinks and homemade goodies. The only thing better would be to reconnect with your handsome, very nice, high school heartthrob who can landscape, perform handyman jobs, and chauffeur guests to the airport. Cat has it all!
In this engaging mystery, Cat’s guests are a group of cozy mystery writers from Chicago. They thoroughly enjoy their week at the retreat with an additional day devoted to cooking lessons by resident chef Shauna who is also writing a cookbook. I think I gained ten pounds just reading about all the delicious cookies they consumed.
The murder of a famous Denver chef is the central focus of Lynn Cahoon’s Sconed to Death. What is he even doing in little Aspen Hills and who would want to kill him? Despite Uncle Pete’s warning to stay out of the investigation, Cat finds herself asking questions and using her online research skills to assess motives and alibis. Look out for a dramatic surprise ending to this page turner that’s sure to appeal to mystery lovers and especially cozy aficionados.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #5 in the Cat Latimer Mystery Series, but works quite well as a standalone as Lynn Cahoon has a talent for bringing the reader up to date without boring.
2. Includes a recipe for Cranberry Scones.
Publication: May 28, 2019—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“So, cozy mysteries? What are those?” Seth had finished the paper and pushed it into the center of the table as he finished his breakfast. “Low on gore, low on sex, high on fun.”
The trees were just starting to drop leaves and the crunch of dried leaves under her feet made her think about all things autumn. Chilly nights with a bonfire. Hot chocolate in the evening by the fire. More time to read. All these memories made her happy.
She took a big bite of the pasta. This was one of her favorite dishes that Shauna made, and yet, today, it tasted like sawdust. She kept her head down and willed away the tears.
Back Stabbers–families, investments, and murder
Back Stabbers
by Julie Mulhern
If you are part of the Country Club set in Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1970’s, certain things are expected of you—the right clothes, the right committees, and the right friends. In Ellison Russell’s case, expectations are that she will find yet another dead body. Ellison really doesn’t want to be involved in murder investigations. She wants a simple life with her teenage daughter Grace, her art work, her country club friends, and her blossoming romance with Detective Anarchy Jones. Between being in the wrong place at the wrong time and having friends who expect her to help when they have a crisis (especially of the criminal type), Ellison’s life is anything but simple and uncomplicated.
When she discovers her investment advisor murdered in a compromising position and in an office where secretaries are treated like sex objects, Ellison is drawn into an investigation in which this is just the first of several crimes to be discovered. As always in the Country Club Murder series, Back Stabbers is set in shades of harvest gold and avocado with shag rugs making an appearance. Mr. Coffee with his liquid ambrosia makes multiple appearances.
Ellison’s half-sister Karma (from the “wrong side of the blankets”) pays a visit to meet her sister, and they have more in common than they would have thought. Lots of other interesting characters populate this book. The plot has humor, multiple threads, and a surprise ending. Fans of Julie Mulhern’s cozy mysteries will not be disappointed.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #8 in the Country Club Murders. It will work as a standalone, but is perhaps more enjoyable with nuances provided by more background.
2. A minor criticism for one of my favorite cozy mystery writers: the humorous Mr. Coffee references were overdone in this book. I’m not suggesting they be deleted entirely, just that there should be fewer of them.
Publication: October 23, 2018—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
The squirrels stopped their chittering and stared at me. A robin leveled a most serious gaze my way. The other birds (there were many) silenced their tweeting. It was as if I was Snow White, the envelope was a poisoned apple, and the park animals were telling me not to bite.
If Mr. Coffee had a fault, it was that he couldn’t steam milk. Not that I’d ever tell him such a thing. I wouldn’t hurt his feelings for all the steamed milk in the world.
“Daddy, this is a really bad idea.” It was an epically terrible, bring-about-the-apocalypse bad idea. Rivers would run backward. The locusts would descend. Mother’s face would melt.
Seeds of Revenge–perfect title for this book
Seeds of Revenge
by Wendy Tyson
Let’s just put it right out there: I am a Wendy Tyson fan and her latest book Seeds of Revenge lived up to my expectations. This is a well-crafted mystery with enough suspects to be interesting, but not so many that they overwhelm. Once more Tyson injects her legal and psychology backgrounds, along with a love of books, into this story creating a page turner.
Megan Sawyer, a former lawyer who is working toward organic certification for her greenhouse and farm and also owns a café in small town Winsome, becomes involved in solving a murder that focuses on one local family but reaches out to encompass Megan and her family as well.
Megan uses her connections with locals and the police chief, her brains, and her persistence to unravel the many threads of Seeds of Revenge. In the process she has to confront some of her own relationship issues, past and present.
Set in a wintery Christmas season near Philadelphia, the holidays play a minor role as eye candy for the story. It is not a Christmas story by any means. That is just the backdrop for a very good mystery.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, General Fiction (Adult)
Notes: #3 in The Greenhouse Mystery Series; works well as a standalone
Publication: November 14, 2017—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
The historic buildings, with their brick and stone fascia, were done up in holiday finery, and the tall streetlights wore caps of white over streams of plaid ribbon. The street was deserted at this time of night, and the snow remained untouched except for a semi-cleared path carved by the plow.
A teakettle whistled. Megan pulled it off the stove with an oversized Christmas mitt and began filling a china teapot, her mind on all the ways people could destroy the very things they loved in another person.
King was looking at her with something akin to warmth. After the traumas of last fall they’d developed a bond. She’d come to respect his abilities and toughness as a new police chief, and he seemed to appreciate her insights. It was a relationship that worked…
education pathways 