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Stabbed in the Baklava–secrets and more secrets
Stabbed in the Baklava
by Tina Kashian
Author Tina Kashian draws heavily on real life for background and details as she composes her Kitchen Kabab Mystery Series. Like Lucy, her heroine, Tina Kashian grew up working all the various necessary jobs in her parents’ Armenian restaurant on the New Jersey coast. She later worked as a lawyer honing her investigative expertise. Now she puts all of her skills together to create mouth-watering cozy mysteries.
In Stabbed in the Baklava, when Lucy Berberian and her staff cater a celebrity wedding reception, a murder victim is found. To save Lucy’s head chef, Lucy and her friend Katie work hard to find the perpetrator amidst a lot of possibilities. It seems everyone has a secret, and the secrets cause a lot of pain and misunderstandings. Lucy has to get to the bottom of the puzzle to save lives and satisfy justice.
This is a fast-moving cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Several times the author uses Lucy to clearly review the complicated plot as the events appear at that point in the story—not a bad technique of summary and clarification. The ending unravels in a surprising and satisfying conclusion.
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: This second book in the Kitchen Kabab Mystery Series works well as a standalone. The author fills the reader in on background from the first book in the series thoroughly but not tediously.
Publication: August 28, 2018—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
A chrome and black Harley-Davidson motorcycle was in the driveway, its engine purring like a large contented beast. A tall, good-looking, dark-haired man wearing faded jeans and a leather jacket walked out of the garage and halted by the Harley. Lucy couldn’t see his eyes from this distance, but she knew they were as bright blue as the sky on a sultry, summer day at the beach.
A knot tightened in Lucy’s stomach, and she struggled with an unexpected uncertainty. If she was getting better at misleading people in order to gather information, what did that say about her?
Lucy’s mind had seen what it expected to see rather than seeing the truth.
Picked Off–vegan running a goat dairy
Picked Off
by Linda Lovely
I enjoyed Picked Off, a cozy mystery by Linda Lovely, but I didn’t love it and I didn’t think it was as good as the first book in the series.
On the positive side, it has an interesting plot, likable characters and appropriate injections of humor. In fact, there is an exciting escape scene that is as funny as all get out! It’s worth reading the book just to experience that piece of writing. There are lots of fun, folksy figures of speech to roll off the tongue and stir the imagination.
On the negative side, Brie, who is helping her Aunt Eva with Udderly Kidding Dairy, is as enmeshed as ever in her attractions to Paint and Andy who are best friends to each other. The irony of a vegan who runs a dairy farm and engages in cheese and meat curses is lost on no one and remains amusing in the second book. The romantic triangle, however, is losing its appeal. Brie, along with the author, appears stuck on the fence. My other criticism is that there were a few loose ends that did not get tied up. I am especially interested in the missing backpack containing evidential video footage. It seems to have dropped off the radar.
The basic plot is interesting: Carol Strong is campaigning for South Carolina governor and her son, football star Zack, is attacked during a Halloween themed rally for her benefit. There is more mayhem, lots of entanglements, and plenty of folks to accuse. Imagine trying to identify suspects when most guests are wearing masks. Brie, her friend Mollye, and Aunt Eva find themselves overly and dangerously involved, but the reader benefits by enjoying the plot’s development.
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: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Brie Hooker Mystery Series
Publication: June 5, 2018—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
My nerves jangled. Who could blame me? Yesterday’s assault would have scared the beans out of a bowl of chili.
Eva returned around lunch time, exhausted. Airlines could assess a surcharge for the size of the bags under her eyes.
…we were more out of our depth than a vegan at a wienie roast.
Bad Neighbors–another fun ride with Agnes and Effie
Bad Neighbors
by Maia Chance
Grab your hat for a whirlwind ride with Agnes, a self-professed nerd, and her wacky Aunt Effie in Maia Chance’s new cozy mystery Bad Neighbors. Agnes, recovering from the breakup of a long term relationship, has still not unpacked her boxes as she continues to try to figure out her future. Meanwhile Agnes, Effie, and cousin Chester take on their first four guests at the Stagecoach Inn, which they have only barely begun to remodel. Their four nonpaying guests are part of a tour group who have come to small town Naneda to view the changing leaves. Unfortunately their bus broke down. The whole town scurries to accommodate the tour bus participants because the town is also hosting their Harvest Festival along with the obnoxious judge of a yearly contest among towns in the area.
With this autumnal backdrop, the plot thickens as one of the locals is found murdered and Agnes’ old high school flame Otis is a suspect. Along the way there is a lot of suspicion thrown on various characters, and Agnes picks up a lot of ridicule from various townspeople who resent her sleuthing. Her arch rival turns out to be the snarky cupcake queen Delilah who sets her eyes on Otis.
Agnes, Effie, and their gaggle of equally quirky guests engage in numerous adventures in the name of investigations. Agnes has some close brushes with death and seriously considers leaving the craziness of the Stagecoach Inn behind to return to graduate school. What will it take to discover the murderer and to invest Agnes fully in life in Naneda? The end of this fun and humorous cozy mystery will reveal all.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Agnes and Effie Mystery Series, but works as a standalone
Publication: April 6, 2018—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
…in my “new” car. This was a fifteen-year-old whitish minivan that looked like a cross between a handheld Dustbuster and the Space Shuttle. Its undercarriage was about two inches from the ground and bumped and scraped on every last pebble. At speeds over forty-five miles per hour, it felt in danger of disintegration.
To say I had butterflies in my stomach is an understatement. It felt as if I had pterodactyls swooping around in there.
Over the past weeks, our new relationship had felt like a fragile, enhanced bubble. I had made sure not to get too comfortable, because if I got comfortable, settled in, made myself at home, it would hurt that much more when the bubble inevitably popped.
Double Dog Dare–humorous cozy mystery
Double Dog Dare
by Gretchen Archer
I was surprised to see that Double Dog Dare, a cozy mystery, is also classified by the publisher as humor…until I read it. It is hilarious; all the way through from one complication to another. The storyline starts out simply enough as Davis Way, who is part of the security team at a Biloxi, Mississippi, casino anticipates the arrival of her sister Meredith and Meredith’s friend Vree, a nonstop, stream of consciousness talker with her dog who will be competing in a canine competition at the casino.
From the moment Davis opens the door to the early arriving Vree instead of Meredith, absolutely nothing goes as planned. Author Gretchen Archer creates fun characters and really amusing dialogue. The plot is intricate and when you are not laughing, you will be saying “What???” over the latest development. There are a variety of crimes including kidnappings, impersonations, and thefts. Meredith has a moral dilemma and in trying to help her, Davis also explores ethical and legal boundaries.
While all of these complications are occurring, Davis has to role play the wife of the casino’s owner, care for her twin 20-month old daughters, manage several dogs, and not tell her husband what is going on at home while he is attending a conference in Nashville.
If you want a nonstop mystery that will keep you smiling, laughing, and shaking your head, you’ll want to grab Double Dog Dare. It is now available in Kindle format.
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, Humor
Notes: #7 in the Davis Way Crime Capers series, but works well as a standalone
Publication: March 20, 2018 —Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
Vree could talk the stars out of the sky. I believed she talked so she wouldn’t have to listen; there was always something Vree didn’t want to hear.
We’d wasted the half hour before that racking our brains for a doctor, a medical examiner, an EMT, a mortician, or even a Girl Scout with her Corpse Badge who owed us a favor…
“It was our constellation prize to them since our dog drew blood.”
I always thought she was just mean, as opposed to otherworldly. As it turns out, she’s neither. She wants what everyone else wants. Someone to love who loves her back. That’s it.
Queen of Flowers–so many elements
Queen of Flowers
by Kerry Greenwood
Queen of Flowers opens with Phryne Fisher’s extensive fitting for a dress to be worn in a Melbourne parade as the chosen Queen of Flowers based on her charitable support. The whole household is turned on end for the fitting, an elephant makes an appearance in her yard, and that day turns out to be the most tranquil in the book.
Queen of Flowers is a masterpiece of complex plot. The carnival and circus are in town along with a violin player from Phryne’s past. Adopted daughter Ruth begins to wonder about her parents. Phryne takes her four flower girls (young ladies) in hand and discovers interesting aspects of their backgrounds. As usual, Phryne shows herself as a force to be reckoned with in dealing with some of St. Kilda’s shadiest characters. My one problem with the book was that when one of her daughters goes missing, Phryne is much calmer than one would expect.
All of Phryne’s “minions” are called in to help with the various mysteries that are amazingly connected. I felt like standing up and clapping with a loud “Well done!” as Greenwood tied up the plot threads successfully and delivered justice as deserved.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Notes: #14 of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries; could be a standalone but better if you have some background on the characters
Publication: November 7, 2017—Poisoned Pen Press
Memorable Lines:
Phryne, the fiddler remembered, always existed as a still, self-possessed point in a maelstrom. Usually she had created the maelstrom herself.
Phryne…climbed the stairs in search of copious hot water to wash the Weston house off her skin. She had been in houses which ran black with fleas. She had been in rural cottages where the soot gloved the beams and the vulcanized grease on the kitchen walls had been classified by the National Trust. But she had never felt quite this grimy, and she didn’t like it.
He was a slick, hard-faced man with a chin on which one could break rocks, and thin red lips. His eyes were as compassionate and kind as chips of flint.
Cold As Ice–trying to cover mistakes
Cold As Ice
by Julie Mulhern
At 6:30 on a Friday evening, Ellison Russell sensed Disaster, but what about her daughter going on a date to see Benji with a handsome, polite young man from their social group or her attending a cocktail party with her best friend Libba? Who could have foretold the disastrous sequence of events that would occur over the next several days?
As expected, Cold As Ice, Julie Mulhern’s sixth novel in the Country Club Mystery Series is a winner. It jumps right into the current story while catching up readers who are new to the series. With a lot of legitimate suspects, Ellison stays busy following leads as she tries to save a failing bank which is her daughter’s inheritance from Ellison’s licentious, now dead, husband and negotiate landmines in her relationships with her domineering mother and her teenage daughter. Meanwhile two love interests, a lawyer and a detective, provide aid in her investigations while vying for her affections.
All of the investigation occurs in the midst of family chaos and is delivered with a heavy dose of wry humor. Mr. Coffee continues to be the only man Ellison can truly depend on. The setting is decorated with multiple authentic touches of the seventies. It is a book I didn’t want to put down, but I didn’t want it to end either.
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: # 6 in The Country Club Murders; works fine as a standalone
Publication: October 17, 2017—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
“How was your date?” A silly question, since animated songbirds perched on her shoulders and whistled.
Perhaps the expression I allowed into my eyes stilled his tongue. It was one of Mother’s best. It spoke of impending pain and suffering and icy fury.
“Hi.” His voice was as delicious as s’mores made in the fireplace on a snow day. Melty and warm and addictive.
We need to talk. Has anything good ever followed those four words?
education pathways 