Category Archives: Book Reviews

I have read all of the books in The Country Club Murders series and have enjoyed each and every one. Julie Mulhern places her sleuth in humorous situations and has a knack for dialog which makes her characters come alive. In “Watching the Detectives”, the humor is still evident but a serious issue is addressed and it is done in a very serious way. To say more about the issue would be somewhat of a spoiler, so I won’t do so.

Ellison Randall seems to be a magnet for finding dead people. The entire town is beginning to talk about it. Really, she almost seems to trip over them. That the murders take on the aspect of a Clue game right in her own home is making her a bit leery of being at home with teenage daughter Grace.

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I’ve read all of the books in this series and each one is as great as the last. The series is set in the 1970’s with Ellison Russell as the reluctant sleuth. It isn’t that she wants to keep finding dead bodies, it just keeps happening.

Ellison, who is not quite 40, is one of the privileged country club set. She wants to break out of the mold and has become a successful painter. She is also being actively pursued by two different men, one who is part of her set (and a lawyer) and the other is from a different class which makes him even more appealing (not to mention he is the homicide detective who keeps popping up to assist with those dead bodies.)

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The Ivy Meadows Mystery series by Cindy Brown has rapidly become one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I have so much fun reading the books, that I end up laughing out loud.

In this story, actress/private detective (in training) Ivy Meadows (aka Olive Zweigwart) has a gig on a Get Lit (as in Literature, people) which involves both of her areas of expertise. She and her uncle are undercover looking for the gang that is responsible for the series of thefts that have been plaguing the cruise line. As part of the deal, Ivy has also been cast as Nancy in their adaptation of “Oliver” which is called “Oliver! At Sea!”).

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This is a fun new cozy mystery series featuring Penelope Sutherland who is a movie caterer. This book was originally published as “Murder On the Red Carpet” but underwent a name change when it was re-published.

In addition to her catering, Penelope also works as a live-in chef to up-and-coming movie star, Arlena Madison. Penny and Arlena are out in a snow storm looking for their adorable dog, Zazoo, who has, during a storm related power outage, gotten out of the house and past the electronic fence. What they find is murder.

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“Your Killin’ Heart” was a fun and fast mystery read. It is set in Nashville and has country music as its basis. Campbell Hall has a travel agency that takes up much of her time. When she’s not at work, she loves to listen to live music (mostly country) and lives in a city, Nashville, that is known for exactly her type of live music.

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I didn’t realize when I starting reading this book that it was the latest in a long series of Savannah Reid mysteries. It was the first one that I read and I found it both fun and an engaging mystery. I have since found out that Savannah is a plus-size detective. While the book mentions her curves and her enjoyment of food, it doesn’t stress her size at all.

There is a group of individuals who make up the detective agency as well as Savannah’s husband, Dirk, who is a police detective and who was Savannah’s partner in prior years. Each of the characters has a distinct personality and apart from Savannah (who is quite sassy), my favorite is her Granny.

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This is a fast-paced mystery in a series about Carol Childs. Carol is the news reporter for the now chick-lite radio station KCHC Talk Radio. Carol is chaffing at the bit because of the new format which has her reporting on fluff instead of hard news.

She, and her excellent friend Sherri, are doing a taste-test competition for charity which features various famous chocolatiers in Beverly Hills (about as hard hitting as her news stories are these days.) Things are going sweet until, right in front of them, a personal bomb goes off in Carol’s life shortly followed by an actual bomb going off at the prestigious Westin’s jewelry store.

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This is one of my favorites cozy mystery series. With the fourth entry in the series, “The Decorator Who Knew Too Much”, author Diane Vallere takes her mid-century modern obsessed sleuth out of Dallas for a visit to Palm Springs.

Madison Night is an interior decorator who loves all things Doris Day. They not only share a birthday but also a love of pets. Madison has had some rough patches recently and likes to look to Ms. Day’s experiences for life lessons… not to mention clothing style as well.

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This is the fourth in a series of mystery books about Faith Hunter. Faith is an ex-Army vet who is now working in her grandmothers scrapbook shop.

I often read books in series out of order to see if they stand up well as a stand-alone book. I recommend that, for this book, the series be read in order. There are many characters with back history, relationships and occurrences which would be much clearer with the knowledge you would have from the prior books.

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