Month: July 2015

From Susan Bernhardt

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From Susan Bernhardt:

I received the nicest compliment the other day on a FB cozy group that I belong to. A sweet reader wrote, “Reading a Kay Driscoll mystery is like visiting a good friend….grab an iced tea and pastry(of course!) and enjoy!”

Thank you so much!

http://amzn.to/1oPTsiw

Susan Bernhardt's photo.

If The Shoe Kills by Lynn Cahoon

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If the Shoe Kills is on a Book Bub sale today – $1.99. Tired of the heat – check out this fall set cozy. http://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Kills-Tourist-Trap…/…/B00KM9O6SQ…

If the Shoe Kills (A Tourist Trap Mystery Book 3)
The tourist town of South Cove, California, is a lovely place to spend the holidays. But this year, shop owner Jill Gardner discovers there’s no place like home for homicide. . .As owner of Coffee, Books, and More, Jill Gardner looks forward to…
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Review of Life Is Sweet

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Synopsis:

Elizabeth Bass—author of Miss You Most of All, Wherever Grace is Needed, and The Way Back to Happiness—weaves an emotionally rich and layered new novel about a former child star rebuilding her life…

20257115 Becca Hudson has come a long way since she was a tween starring in the sitcom Me Minus You, but as far as she’s concerned, she finally has her act together. She’s relocated to Leesburg, Virginia, owns a successful bakery, and has a great set of friends—even a friendly ex-husband. She ignores “Whatever Happened To?” speculation and the occasional overly obsessed fan, and flatly turns down a lucrative offer to appear on a reality show called Celebrities in Peril: Child Star Edition. She has an uncomfortable relationship with her Hollywood past, preferring to think of herself as more than a 1990s trivia question. Then one day a mysterious man appears and stirs up her past—all of it—in ways she never imagined…(Goodreads)

Review:

Becca Hudson is a former child star.  As an adult she wants to pursue her love of baking and opens her own bakery.  She is living her dream but the past continues to intrude on the present.  She wants people to visit the bakery because of the delicious treats she bakes, not because of who she used to be.  She wants people to see her as an adult and like her because of who she has become.  It is very frustrating for her when that does not seems to be happening.  When she is asked to appear on a reality television show, her initial reaction is to say “no”.  But she meets a few people that see her for who she is and learns some facts about her life that have her reconsidering her answer.

The characters are well developed and three dimensional.  At times Becca is frustrated and not as pleasant as she should be.  But does that not happen to all of us sometimes?  There are times when I did not like her very much and then other times when I felt sorry for her.  I think that is a sign of a good author when the readers feelings toward a character change while reading the book.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy, although at times I felt like it was a little long.  Sometimes I felt a little too much description was given concerning things that were not that interesting.  That is my opinion, though, and other readers may disagree.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading women’s fiction.  If you love bakeries or baked good, and who doesn’t, give this book a try.  I plan on seeing if this author has written any more books and checking them out.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.  I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Review of The Kill Shot

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Jamie Sinclair is a private investigator and a security specialist.  When her father, who is a retired two-star general, asks her for help, she agrees to help him.  Little does she know that when she agrees, her lives, both her physical and love, will be in  23165205serious danger.

I did not feel like I was reading a book but rather listening to a friend tell me a story.  I do not know how the author did that, but the whole book felt personal and that is an awesome experience for a reader to have.  The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read.  The author is very talented in creating tension and suspense with just the written word. I could not turn the pages fast enough to see what would happen next.  There is more than one secret to unravel in this book and my attention never wavered.   There are many twists and turns that had me second guessing throughout the entire book.

The characters are well developed and three dimensional.  Jamie is one tough woman and she knows how to take care of herself.  But she also has a vulnerable side which made her seem more human to me.  The way she tries to win her father’s approval and her relationship woes made for some very touching moments.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted mystery suspense with lots of twists and turns.  This is the second book I have read by this author and I really liked them both.  Do yourself a favor and check them out.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.  I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Alibi for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Review of Cluttered Attic Secrets

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Tina Shaw gets a phone call from her best friend, Leslie, late one night, asking Tina to come to her house.  Leslie is sure she has seen a ghostly image in the old house that she now lives in.  To say that Leslie is freaked out would be an   25753332 understatement.  When Tina gets to her friend’s house, she does not see any ghosts but she does hear ghostly noises. Although neither of the girls believe in ghosts, they are having a hard time coming up with any other explanation.  And when a dead body is found next door to Leslie’s house,  the girls become even more anxious.  They decide they need to investigate the murder and the ghostly happenings before something terrible happens to them or their friends.

The writing style flows easily and this is an easy read.  The suspense and mystery kept pulling me along, and I found myself having to read “just a few” more pages until, before I knew it, I was done.  This book seems to be dialogue driven as much as action driven and this combination worked nicely together.  The ending was a surprise for me and I did not see it coming.  I think this author is very talented in creating mystery and suspense with the written word.

The characters are well developed, well rounded and three dimensional.  Tina has her share of problems to deal with: solving the ghostly mystery and the murdered body, dealing with mother, who loves to butt in to her business, and working on her relationship with Hank.  These difficulties made her seem more real to me and I enjoyed that.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery.   Although this is the third book in the Tina Tales series, it can be read as a stand alone.  But why not grab the first two books in the series and give yourself a treat.  All of the books that I have read by Jan Christensen have been great reads.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.  I would like to thank NetGalley and Victory Editing for the opportunity to read and review this book.