iiiiReader Book Reviews

It is such a pleasure to read the second book in this series, which is an off-shoot from the author’s Amish Candy Shop mysteries. In this series, an Amish matchmaker, Millie, and her Englischer friend, Lois, solve the whodunnits.

Millie is finally settled back in her old hometown of Harvest, Ohio. A young man, Ben, she knew from her years in Michigan has moved to town. He doesn’t have family, so Millie becomes his almost aunt.

Continue reading →

I’ve been a fan of this series from the very beginning (I recall Michael-what-waste fondly.) What drew me to the books was the author’s zany and ridiculous sense of humor.

This book is a good cozy mystery but it is missing the spark of that humor. I was glad to see Meg back at a Renaissance Fair and blacksmithing but, in the end, it didn’t compare well to other Fair books in the series. I still rank it four stars because it was still a good book. I enjoy cozy mysteries in general, so I recommend it for those who are likewise inclined.

Continue reading →

div class=”reviewText”>

Lowcountry Boughs of Holly (A Liz Talbot Mystery Book 10)

By: Susan M. Boyer

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderfully zany cosy mystery series. The Talbot family is Southern crazy with so many delightful characters. From Liz to her Mamma, life is pretty much a laugh a minute.

This is another pivotal book in the series, with new characters and favorite ones as well. In the last book, guardian angel, Colleen was removed from working with Liz and Nate because she intervened in human affairs. It was really sad to see her go.

Continue reading →

This is a series that I have enjoyed from book 1. Kate Burkholder is a former Amish who is now Chief of Police in the small town where she grew up. The crimes she solves both the Amish and the rest of the town. She can straddle the differences between the two communities and works hard to solve crimes, no matter who is responsible and who is the victim.

In this story, an Amish farmer comes across a car which is trapped in the snow. He then finds an almost dead woman, who turns out to be a link to Kate’s own past.

Continue reading →

This is the first book I have read in the author’s Monk series. While it is an offshoot and involves secondary characters in the series, it gave me a good idea of what the series might be like. I really liked it and will be reading the series from the beginning over time.

I enjoy Ms. Perry’s style of story-telling. She has an elegant way of turning a phrase and setting up a scene. This story does exactly that.

Celia Hooper is the wife of Detective John Hooper, who works for and with William Monk. Their marriage is fairly recent and they are still finding their way of living as a couple rather than the many years of being single.

Continue reading →

This is the first book in this series which is set in a small town in current day England. Penelope Parish is an American, who has unexpectedly written a best selling Gothic novel. She is having problems with writer’s block and looks for a change of venue to help with it. That is, not to mention getting away from family and friends who, simply, are not helping.

She applies and is accepted to be the author-in-residence at the Open Book bookstore in Upper-Chumley-On-Stoke. It seems to do the trick and gets her writing again.

She has made friends with people at work and has writer’s and book groups at the store. She gets involved in the local fest and someone turns up murdered. Penelope is pulled into helping solve the crime.

Continue reading →

I so enjoy these cute short stories which involve Cousin Charlotte. They are whodunnits but they do not involve murder.

Charlotte steps in to be in charge of a candy cane exchange when Bailey King has too much on her plate to do it. Charlotte takes it very seriously, indeed. It is the first time this sweet Amish young woman has done anything of this magnitude.

Continue reading →

This is the sixth book in this series. I enjoyed it so much, I have purchased the earlier books as well. It can easily be read stand-alone, as I had no problem in picking up the story line. I wanted the earlier books to get the back history and because I enjoyed the author’s writing so well.

Siobhán O’Sullivan is a Garda and she is engaged to a Detective Sergeant. She is taking time off at Christmas to spend with her siblings, as she and her older brother, James, have been responsible for raising them.

Continue reading →

While this is the fourth book in this series, it is the second one that I have read. I recently finished the third and jumped right into reading this book afterwards. It is a story which can be read stand-alone without any problems. While there is an overall progression of plot and characters, all of the whodunnits are self-contained in each novel.

Edwina Davenport is an English spinster in her forties. Beryl Helliwell is an American who is well known for her for her adventures. They became friends at school and Beryl is now living at Edwina’s home in a small and sleepy village called Walmsley Parva. They have started a private enquiry agent business to investigate various crimes that occur.

Continue reading →