Review of A Geek Thing

A Geek Thing

Cottage on Gooseberry Bay, Book #7

Kathi Daley

5 Stars

USA Today Bestselling author Kathi Daley brings you a heartwarming mystery series about finding answers and fostering hope while building friendships and embracing the magic of life by the sea and small town holidays.

Ainsley Holloway had come to Gooseberry Bay to find answers about her past. She’d come to find an explanation for the dreams that haunted her after the death of the cop who’d both rescued and raised her. And she’d come to identify the family she couldn’t remember but knew in her heart she’d once belonged to.

Ainsley hoped that by finding these answers, she’d also find healing. She hoped that once she’d resurrected the memories buried deep in her mind, she’d find peace.

The Cottage at Gooseberry Bay is a series about, not only finding answers, but finding hope.

It’s a series about family and friendship.

It’s a series about shared holidays, festivals, and celebrations.

It’s a series about shared heartbreak and hardship.

And it’s a series about the bond that can be forged amongst strangers when tragedy binds two or more individuals with a common goal.

In book 7 in the series, Ainsley is approached by representatives from The Geek Squad who hope to hire her to find a missing physicist who they believe has met with foul play although they have no evidence to support this assumption. The cops won’t help given the lack of evidence so Ainsley agrees to look into things in exchange for their help with the annual haunted house for which she’d been recruited to line up volunteers.

Meanwhile, Parker, Josie, and Jemma, are all involved in the annual Halloween festivities, Ainsley continues to look for Avery, and Adam begins making plans for changes in his own routine.

Review of Here Comes The Fudge

Here Comes The Fudge

A Candy-Coated Mystery, Book #9

Nancy Coco

5 Stars

Synopsis: 

Fudge shop owner Allie McMurphy never expected her maid of honor duties to include clearing the groom of murder . . .

THE BODY OF A CRIME

It’s late spring on picturesque Mackinac Island, Michigan.  Allie is prepping her Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop for the start of the tourist season and her best friend Jenn’s wedding. But when Jenn’s fiancé Shane, a crime scene investigator on the island, misses a dinner date, the two friends go looking for him. Led by Allie’s bichonpoo Mal into an alley, they come upon Shane standing over a body with a bloody knife in his hand. Shane won’t say what’s happened, just tells them to call 911. As the CSI is taken into custody by his colleagues, including Allie’s beau Rex Manning, the fudge maker vows to prove her friend’s fiancé is not a killer—before the ceremony turns into a jailhouse wedding . . .

Praise for Nancy Coco and the Candy-Coated Mysteries

“An easy romantic read complete with fudge recipes that make it even sweeter.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Full of disguises, danger, and one determined amateur sleuth.”

 —Fresh Fiction 

“A fun and fast-paced cozy mystery.”

—Criminal Element

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Review:

The characters are well developed and well crafted.  They are all getting ready for Jenn’s wedding, Allie’s best friend.  But someone is stabbed to death and Jenn’s fiance is found standing over the dead body, with a bloody knife in his hand.  Now Allie and her friends have to figure out who the real killer is or else there may not be a wedding.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning.  The writing style flows smoothly and the book was an easy read.  The mystery was well plotted and there were plenty of clues to sift through and plenty of suspects to consider.  I really had no idea who the killer was until it was revealed at the end.

I would recommend this book (and series) to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy.  I really enjoyed spending time with Allie and her friends.

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