Review of Corned Beef and Casualties

Corned Beef and Casualties
A Tourist Trap Mystery, Book #10
Lynn Cahoon
5 Stars

Synopsis:

South Cove, California, is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day—and there’s going to be a parade of suspects . . .

Jill Gardner’s store, Coffee, Books, and More, is raking in the green as her little coastal town holds a big festival for St. Patrick’s Day. But the locals aren’t exactly feeling the luck of the Irish, thanks to the rowdy behavior of some of the tourists who are pouring in.

Then a woman who just visited Jill’s shop is found dead near the shore. The fireworks display on the beach may have already happened, but the real fireworks have just begun . . .

Praise for The Tourist Trap Mysteries

“I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly . . . [A] wonderfully appealing series.”—Dru’s Book Musings

“Light, fun, and kept me thoroughly engaged.”—The Young Folks (Goodreads)

 

Review:

The characters are well wounded and well developed. Any time I get to spend with Jill and her family and friends is time well spent. Her Aunt Jackie is not the mostly friendliest of people and sometimes she drives me nuts (maybe that was the author’s intention). I really like the other characters and think they add a lot to the story.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and throughout the novella I felt like I was right there in South Cove, California, watching all the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The mystery was well plotted and moved along at a great pace. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider that I was kept guessing the identity of the killer until the reveal.

I would recommend this novella (and series) to anyone who enjoys well crafted cozies. I have read all the books and they just keep getting better.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

 

New Releases For The Week Of February 24th, 2019–Part 2

Here is a list of some of the new releases for the week of February 24th, 2019. I am going to divide the list into 5 days because there are so very many of them for this week. Today is the second day of my list for this week. Hope you find some selections for your weekly reading. Enjoy and happy reading.

 

 

When competing card sharps stir up Siobhán O’Sullivan’s quiet Irish village, a poker tournament turns into a game of Hangman . . .
 
In the small village of Kilbane in County Cork, for a cuppa tea or a slice of brown bread, you go to Naomi’s Bistro, managed by the many siblings of the lively O’Sullivan brood. For a pint or a game of darts—or for the poker tournament that’s just come to town—it’s the pub you want.

One player’s reputation precedes him: Eamon Foley, a tinker out of Dublin, called the Octopus for playing like he has eight hands under the table. But when Foley is found at the end of a rope, swinging from the rafters of Rory Mack’s pub, it’s time for the garda to take matters into their own hands. Macdara Flannery would lay odds it’s a simple suicide—after all, there’s a note and the room was locked. But Siobhán suspects foul play, as does Foley’s very pregnant widow. Perhaps one of Foley’s fellow finalists just raised the stakes to life and death.

With conflicting theories on the crime—not to mention the possibility of a proposal—tensions are running high between Siobhán and Macdara. Soon it’s up to Siobhán to call a killer’s bluff, but if she doesn’t play her cards right, she may be the next one taken out of the game . . .  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A game of charades ends in coldblooded murder in this entertaining cozy mystery, third in the Crime with the Classics series. Having finished transforming Windy Corner, the grand Victorian mansion she inherited from her great aunt, into a writers’ retreat, widowed literature professor Emily Cavanaugh is ready to receive her first set of guests. But her careful planning is thrown into disarray by the unexpected arrival of outrageous true-crime writer, Cruella Crime, whose unpardonably rude behaviour is causing great offence. As a ferocious ice storm rages outside, the guests entertain one another with a game of charades. But their revelries are brought to a sudden halt by the discovery of a body in one of the guest bedrooms. When it transpires the victim was poisoned, Emily decides to take a leaf out of the book of her favourite detective writer, Agatha Christie, and investigate. But as she pursues her enquiries, it becomes chillingly clear that she herself may have been the intended victim…  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh from solving her third mystery–and saving Dunmullach’s firstborn males from a vengeful ghost–Gethsemane Brown’s ready to relax and enjoy her summer. Her plans include nothing more dangerous than performing in the opening ceremony of the annual rose and garden show and cheering on Frankie Grennan, who’s entered his hybrid rose into the competition.

But when a mysterious stalker starts leaving Frankie floral bouquets as coded messages, Gethsemane fears a copy-cat may be planning to recreate the still-unsolved murders of the infamous Flower Shop Killer. Then Frankie’s main competitor in the rose show–and the reason his marriage failed–turns up dead in Frankie’s rose garden. Frankie takes first prize in the category “prime suspect.”

So much for a relaxing summer.

As bodies start dropping like rose petals, Gethsemane must judge the other suspects and find the real killer. Or rose bushes won’t be the only things dead-headed in Dunmullach.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

FATALITY IN F by Alexia Gordon A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piper and Samantha are in heaven. Well, close. After winning a contest to raise the most money for human trafficking awareness and prevention, Piper and Sam are rewarded with a long weekend at the O Heavenly Day Spa. When mysterious notes start appearing everywhere, things get uncomfortable. When spa treatments go awry it is starting to get dangerous. A threatening message in Piper’s closet convinces Piper and Sam that they have to find out who is behind all of these disasters before someone gets hurt. Is it Broussard the stuffy concierge? Gladys, the sweet old lady who decided to join them for the weekend? When the smoke alarms go off and the spa erupts into panic, the chaos separates the friends and Piper stumbles into trouble. Will her friends be able to help her in time?  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you solve the murder of a ghost with dementia?

When Emily Curtis helps a donor move into Stoneybrook Acres Retirement Village, she encounters a new ghost. The poor man isn’t just suffering from death, he’s burdened with dementia. That must be why he keeps insisting his name is Frederick Wilmott, a resident of the home who’s still very much alive.

With her new pal fluttering around her, Emily must solve a decade’s old mystery if she’s to sleep without a male ghost staring at her every night. The problem is, with no name or clues to go on, she doesn’t have an idea of where to start. Even her not-so-psychic friend Crystal is stumped.

What a terrible time for an old friend from her past to visit. With Mrs Pettigrew on hand to offer her distinct brand of barbed comments, Emily’s task just got a dozen times harder.

Mr Wilmott Gets Old School is the second book in a haunting paranormal mystery series. It contains ghosts and murderers but is free of the following evil spirits:

No Swearing
No Gore
No Graphic Scenes

Scroll up and one-click to solve the mystery today!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latest in the popular Midwest Cozy Mystery Series by a two-time USA Today Bestselling Author.

Kat only wanted to be part of the convention on how to write successful books, not solve a murder that took place there – the murder of a beloved “tell-all” author. Was that the motive?

Greed, revenge, and hatred are also reasons to murder, at least to people who live on the slippery edge of sanity. Parsons who gamble, women who blackmail, and a number of people with outsized egos make for most interesting characters.

And yet, even with the worst of human nature, miracles can happen.

If you like to feel good at the end of a book, with maybe a tear or two and a smile, don’t miss this inspirational story with plenty of dogs, food, and recipes.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senator Morgan Maxwell’s fiancée is dead and it’s not the first time.

Boston reporter, Ali Loukas, has her sights set on advancing from radio newscaster to TV correspondent, so when the Maxwell story practically drops into her lap, she seizes the opportunity to solve the murder, scoop her competitors, and move up the broadcasting ladder.

But gaining access to evidence and witnesses without stepping on the toes of family friend, Detective Ryan McGuire, could be tricky.

Despite a knife wedged in her front door and opposition from the police, Ali is determined to prove that she can find the answers, solve the crime and earn the dream job–if she can stay alive to make it all happen.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not even Lake Eden’s nosiest residents suspected Hannah Swensen would go from idealistic newlywed to betrayed wife in a matter of weeks. But as a deadly mystery unfolds in town, the proof is in the pudding . . .

When The Cookie Jar becomes the setting of a star-studded TV special about movies filmed in Minnesota, Hannah hopes to shine the spotlight on her bakery—not the unsavory scandal swirling around her personal life. But that’s practically impossible with a disturbing visit from the shifty character she once believed was her one and only love, a group of bodyguards following her every move, and a murder victim in her bedroom. Now, swapping the crime scene in her condo for her mother Delores’s penthouse, Hannah and an old flame team up to solve a case that’s messier than an upended chocolate cream pie. As suspects emerge and secrets hit close to home, Hannah must serve a hefty helping of justice to an unnamed killer prowling around Lake Eden . . . before someone takes a slice out of her!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A gator hunting bayou family all hear the cry of a banshee while on their lucky boat–who will be the next to die?

Deanna Oscar and friends are back to solve the spooky and paranormal problems in the Big Easy. A banshee returns every five years and kills at least one (or as many as five) members of a particular family. The family asks Deanna to help them end the curse or stop the wrath of this vengeful spirit.

Newly married and juggling a lot of upheaval in her social circles, De is happy to help but the banshee isn’t cooperating or communicating. Is it a vengeful dead woman or a demon playing tricks?

Tortured souls, obsessive priests, Death, and gator hunters plus a very loud banshee make up just another case in the Big Easy–if De can only avoid any dead bodies this time…

Grab book 10 in this paranormal cozy mystery series: A Boat, a Banshee, and a Breakdown– full of humor, quirks, and characters who care!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winters in Sorenson, Wisconsin, can be unforgiving. But it’s murder that keeps Mattie and her family from settling into their new home . . .
 
A new home, a new marriage, a new family. It’s a lot to sort out. But before medicolegal death investigator Mattie can smooth out the unexpected chaos of her new life, duty calls. At the local ER, a battered and bruised teenage girl has been brought in by a mysterious man who claimed she’d fallen out of a car. The staff is suspicious, but while they attend to the teenager, the unidentified man slips out. Then the girl dies, but not before informing social worker Hildy Schneider that the man had her little sister as well.

Mattie’s exam reveals forensic evidence of long-term IV drug use and physical abuse, findings consistent with Hildy’s suspicion that the girl was a victim of human trafficking. They are able to confirm her identity as a teen who went missing six months ago, along with her sister—facts that are deeply unsettling to Mattie who now shares a home with her husband’s teenaged daughter.

Working closely with Hildy and Sorenson homicide detectives, including her husband Steve Hurley, Mattie must delve into a dark underworld to stop the ruthless trafficking of human lives—before it’s too late for another young girl . . .  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook