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Secrets in the Stacks–supporting friends
Secrets in the Stacks
by Lynn Cahoon
The Survivor’s Book Club is for women who are currently undergoing or have finished treatment for breast cancer. It was founded by Rarity, a local bookstore owner and cancer survivor. The group does not actually read books about cancer, but their background gives them an unspoken bond and perspective. When one of the club members discovers her grandmother murdered in their home, the group shifts into high gear to support their friend, clear her of suspicion, and help discover the real murderer.
As is usual with a Lynn Cahoon book, Secrets in the Stacks has an intricate plot, great characters, and a lot of surprises. Cahoon actually discovered cozy mysteries when she was going through breast cancer treatments herself and realized that writing is what she really wanted to do. She has been very successful with several popular series to her credit, but this is the first one that draws on her experiences with cancer treatment and survival.
Rarity is supported by a group of friends who are Sedona, Arizona, locals. She is close friends with Drew, a detective, but the romantic interest in the story is Archer, an athletic man who leads group hikes in the surrounding area. Rarity has her dog Killer, a Pomeranian, with her almost constantly. As the boss, she can even take her well-trained dog, who has a great instinct about people, to work with her.
The murdered grandmother was well-loved in the community, but no one seemed to know anything about her life before she and her teenaged son moved to Sedona. The group decides that something from her past could be a motivation for the crime. The deeper they delve, the more complications arise.
The ending is dramatic, action-packed, and surprising. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #2 in the Survivors’ Book Club Mystery Series, but could be read as a standalone as Cahoon provides any background information needed.
2. Sedona is often associated with new-age beliefs so there are several references to tarot cards as well as one to crystals and sending out good wishes through the universe. Some of the characters believe in the “mystical part” of the tarot card reading and others don’t. As a Christian, I avoid the occult, but there are few enough references and enough skepticism on the part of the characters that I am able to read this book. It is not a predominant theme.
3. Includes a recipe for Hamburger Stew.
Publication: November 1, 2022—Kensington Books (Lyrical Press)
Memorable Lines:
“…running my own business is harder than I thought it would be. Every time I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be a train.”
She’d worked out her negative feelings about what Shirley had said without confronting the woman. Sometimes you just needed to realize it was you and not them.
The book club was more than just a bunch of women reading books. Or even poking their noses into an investigation, or now, two. They were there for each other.
Hooked on You–Riley and Hayden’s story
Hooked on You
by Kathleen Fuller
Riley and Hayden went to the same high school, but barely knew each other. She went off to New York City hoping to find success as an artist while he pursued a career in baseball. Both find themselves helping out at family businesses—a yarn shop and a hardware store in the dying little town of Maple Falls. Author Kathleen Fuller has created damaged, but likable characters and surrounded them with loving, supportive people. Will the pair overcome their pasts? Can they save the businesses and the little town?
Join the BB’s (Bosom Buddies) who are Riley’s grandmother’s friends, and the Three Musketeers, an unlikely group of three young women as they welcome the loner Riley with the friendship she never had.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance
Notes: 1. #1 in the Maple Falls Romance Series which should be read in order.
2. Includes a map of Maple Falls and Discussion Questions
Publication: 5/11/2021—Thomas Nelson
Memorable Lines:
A riot of colors, textures, and fibers filled the canvas in front of Riley McAllister. She tilted her head to the right. To the left. Then, with careful precision and pointed tweezers, she started to apply a hair-thin golden thread to the narrow bead of glue on the peacock feather in the center, the final touch to a project that had taken over three months to complete.
Mimi’s lilting Southern drawl filled Riley’s ear, triggering the tiniest spark of homesickness, which always surprised her. After nine years of living in New York City, she should be over it, but every time she heard Mimi’s voice, it came back again. Riley’s life in Maple Falls had been a big disappointment, but that wasn’t Mimi’s fault.
Frozen Stiff Drink–perfect title
Frozen Stiff Drink
by James J. Cudney
Both clues and motives for murder abound in Frozen Stiff Drink, the latest addition to James J. Cudney’s Braxton Campus Mystery Series. With each book, I think the plot threads can’t get more tangled than in the previous books, but they do! With a cast of characters that will intrigue you, draw you in, and evoke strong reactions, this cozy mystery will provide you with all the distraction you need during this time of shelter in place.
Kellan has a history of finding dead bodies since he returned to Wharton County; but his girlfriend, Sheriff April Montague, has finally begun to accept that he doesn’t go looking for trouble. With the series’ usual large number of characters, this book holds a challenge when trying to sort through the many relationships, but the author helps out with a list of characters including their connections to other characters.
I enjoyed Frozen Stiff Drink all the way to the conclusion where my jaw dropped as the many plot threads were resolved, and several new issues dramatically appeared beckoning me into delightful anticipation of the next installment in the series.
I would like to extend my thanks to author James J. Cudney and to Gumshoe (Next Chapter) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #6 in the Braxton Campus Mystery Series—could be read as a standalone, but the reader would need to be ready to work a little at sorting characters and absorbing backgrounds.
Publication: March 18, 2019—Gumshoe (Next Chapter)
Memorable Lines:
Constance’s frightening premonition cracked holes in the perimeter of my skull like a determined woodpecker in search of its next meal.
“That girl is as useless as a pair of chopsticks scooping pebbles in a bowl of soup while riding a scooter on a high wire.”
“I am not the bread bowl. I am the dessert. The last thing you want and the only thing you need. The part you will remember for the rest of the night.”
Ripe for Vengeance–love for a pot-bellied pig
Ripe for Vengeance
by Wendy Tyson
Megan is a commercial organic gardener with an organic store and café in Winsome where it seems everybody has at least heard of everyone else. She has a handsome, charming boyfriend in Dr. Denver Finn, the local vet. When some of his friends come to town, however, it seems that a cloud of confusion and possibly evil has arrived with them as one of the group is murdered.
In Ripe for Vengeance, author Wendy Tyson has created yet another cozy mystery that is a page turner. The character of Dillon, a high IQ young man suffering from PTSD after witnessing family trauma, is an oxymoron. Is he a mild-mannered introvert as some believe or did he snap in response to an emotional trigger? This cozy is replete with twists and turns revolving around a special school for students like Dillon and drug trials for a startup pharmaceutical company. The introduction of a Pot-bellied pig into the story adds a little humor and softness. Tyson resolves the plot’s mysteries quite well, even picking up one tiny thread at the end that I had completely forgotten about. In doing so, she actually ties up three threads into a nice bow. As I finish each book in this series, I’m always looking forward to the next one.
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: #5 in the Greenhouse Mystery Series, but can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Publication: July 16, 2019—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
If hope were a season, it would be spring.
Despite working with the public at the café and farmers markets, and years of practicing law before that, she wasn’t particularly extroverted, and walking into a party that was already underway lived between root canal and scrubbing toilets on her favorites list.
“Rough neighborhood. Kid born there is already a few football fields behind their peers in the game of life.”
Mother’s Day Mayhem–fun novella
Mother’s Day Mayhem
by Lynn Cahoon
You don’t have to have a good relationship with your mother or your child to enjoy Lynn Cahoon’s Mother’s Day Mayhem. This novella provides a quick, enjoyable, themed read. Lynn Cahoon is a big proponent of “sometimes, the family you make is just as strong or stronger than blood.” Another nice feature of this book is that although there are mysteries (where ARE those missing garden gnomes?), there are no murders.
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: a novella in the Tourist Trap series
Publication: April 2, 2019—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
Life was good. Or it would have been if Greg hadn’t thrown a stone in the pond. Now, I had to deal with the ripples his request had caused.
“You’re never making a mistake by making yourself vulnerable. You’d regret it more if you didn’t take a chance.”
“Bite me,” the kid called back, speeding up even more. Greg sighed. “Not my circus, not my monkey. But if it was, that kid would be sitting in my office waiting for his folks to come and get him. Sometimes people need to know that respect is an important part of building a community.”
education pathways 