Category Archives: Book Reviews

I must admit that I was expecting either a mystery or a police procedural at least from a book that identifies itself as a mystery. This is the first book I have read by this author and in this series, so this may be par for the course or unusual, I would not know.

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While this is the fourth in the Rose Strickland series, “Diner Knock Out” is the first book I have read by Terri L. Austin. I have now purchased the three earlier books in the series and I plan to have fun reading them in the near future. You certainly did not have to read all of the books to enjoy this one. The author gave enough information to provide the reader a background without giving away the plots of the earlier works. I really appreciate that as a reader because now those books will be, for the most part, fresh and new for me.

In this story, Rose Strickland is a young woman who has turned her back on her well-to-do roots and is currently working two jobs: first and foremost, as a waitress in an older diner and her second job is assisting at a private investigator’s office. At first glance, you would think that these two jobs have nothing in common, but the author skillfully meshes the two together in this very funny book.

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This is the first of the Lady Emily series that I have read, though there are a number of books in the series. I often read a book out of order to see if it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone book. In this case, “The Adventuress” does rely considerably on the prior books for the basis of many of the key characters and a number of references were not understandable without having read the prior books. Even so, I was able to read and enjoy this book without having read the rest of the series.

The story is set in two time periods for part of the book and from two different perspectives throughout the book. As a plot device, that worked well for me as it gave me back history without having to read through many pages. Unfortunately, it also gave me enough clues for me to figure out the whodunnit very early on. While the whydunnit remained a mystery until the end (and could not be solved without information provided in the latter part of the book), solving the mystery early made some of the book a little tedious to read.

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This is the first book I have read by Leslie Meier though it is the latest in a long standing series. The series features Lucy Stone who is a reporter for a local weekly newspaper, a wife, mother, and grandmother.

The town is getting ready for a Halloween Pumpkin festive that is being expanded from what has happened in years past. With many added features, including a giant pumpkin weigh-in, a pumpkin catapult, and other fall happenings, there seems to be a secret and concerted effort to bring the festival to a halt.

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I loved “The Deep End” and was a little concerned that the second book in the series “Guaranteed To Bleed” might not live up to it (as is the case with so many sophomore efforts by new authors. I was really happy to discover that that was not the case with Julie Mulhern’s latest. It is also great that the humor is there and that I read most of the book with a smile on my face for so long, it made it ache a bit.

The story picks up (in 1974) a few months after the events in “The Deep End”. Ellison Russell and her daughter Grace have just returned from a trip abroad and are trying to settle into their home after the life-changing events that had recently happened to them.

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I don’t know what kind of person can conceive of a mash-up musical play of Cabaret and The Sound of Music, but all I know is she can write a very funny book. That Cindy Brown continued the theme throughout the book literally had me howling with laughter at several points. By the way, this is the first book I have read by this author but it will by no means be the last one. I have already purchased the first book in this series to enjoy but you don’t really need to read it to enjoy this one.

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