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Dearly Beloved Departed–danger for Christmas Eve grooms
Dearly Beloved Departed
by Nancy Lynn Jarvis
Pat, a former law librarian, is beginning work as an independent Private Investigator. She is engaged to marry Tim, a Sargent in the Sheriff’s office. She is hired to do background checks on the fiancé of a lawyer’s daughter. He had gang affiliations and certainly seems to be trouble. Before Pat can finish her investigation, the young man is shot and killed. There are a number of people with motivations to kill him. More shootings follow, all injuring grooms with Christmas Eve wedding plans. What an odd assemblage for serial killings except the only victim who actually died was the first one. Finding a motivation that would include all the victims is difficult. When you add opportunity to the sorting process, the puzzle is even more contorted.
This is an interesting cozy mystery and would make a good casual read. Two of my favorite characters are Dot, Pat’s Dalmatian, and Whimsey, her cat with an attraction to Christmas trees. On several occasions, Pat tricks suspects to determine their innocence or guilt. Her shenanigans with her best friend Syda who is always ready for a creative adventure keep the reader engaged as do her methodical and logical efforts to sort out the facts and ferret out the murderer.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #4 in the PIP Inc. Mystery Series, but it worked quite well for me as a standalone.
Publication: March 2023—Good Reader Publishers
Memorable Lines:
“Syda, how would you feel about doing an undercover operation with me?” “Will we be pretending we’re old ladies, or jewel smugglers, or ooh, ooh hookers? I have fishnet stockings I’ve never worn, a padded pushup bra…and black leather hot pants.” Syda gushed.
Ashley used a remote on the table to turn on the television and the twins quieted down as the first stanza of the Sesame Street theme music began. Ashley took a deep breath and sighed, “Ahh. I love Big Bird almost as much as I love my husband.”
“I’m so frustrated. There’s something that I almost know right there on the edge of my consciousness, but I can’t reach it.”
Strike Out 4 Murder–softball themed cozy
Strike Out 4 Murder
by J.C. Eaton
The husband and wife team who write the Sophie Kimball Mysteries, as well as several other cozy mystery series, are on their eleventh book in this series with Strike Out 4 Murder. If you have read other books in this series you will find this one fits into the comfortable, predictable pattern of the rest. Sophie Kimball is a bookkeeper/accountant for a private detective agency in Sun City West, Arizona, where her retired mother, Harriet, lives. Newly married to one of the detectives in the agency, Sophie continues to get involved in investigations. Over time she has gotten more comfortable with searching for clues and putting together the pieces of a mystery puzzle. Sometimes she disregards the questionable legality of her actions.
The reader knows only too well Sophie’s eating habits and her need for caffeine and a good swim. Despite being a little too predictable, this cozy mystery does offer up a good plot—very complicated. It is actually too involved for even the most astute reader to be able to predict the outcome. Several times Sophie thinks she can solve the crime only to discover a missing piece of information that changes everything. Her mother’s dog Streetman, a Chiweenie, and the inclusion of a new dog character Thor, a Great Dane, both add humor, interest, and excitement. Harriet’s book club friends and the men’s pinocle club have major roles in Strike Out 4 Murder with some amusing threads involving Paul and his passion for fishing and Herb who takes up softball.
At this point in the series, I think I enjoy the books more as a reunion with characters than as a captivating mystery. It is fun and well written, but the series probably needs to draw to a close soon.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #11 in the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series and probably should not be read as a standalone.
Publication: March 21, 2023—Beyond the Page Publishing
Memorable Lines:
“I can’t be deciphering initials all day long. I blame it on texting. No one can write a full word anymore that’s longer than four letters.”
Intelligence information? Is that the new euphemism for gossip-mongering?
“She can pick up gossip faster than a Hoover vacuum on full speed.”
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