Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

I’ve read all of the books in this series and recommend that you do the same rather than read them out of order. The reason being that the true plot of the story is on-going. There is action and murders throughout but not anything that specifically needs to have a whodunnit type solution.

You are generally presented with a crime that one or more individuals from Laurel Beacham’s past (our sleuth) and have to figure out which may be responsible.

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It’s been a number of years since I have read a mystery by Sheila Connolly (I read the Orchard mystery series.) I wasn’t sure how she had progressed as an author in the intervening years but was happy to find that she has grown into her craft. Considering that those earlier books were excellent, it meant that her plot lines and characters have gotten even better than before.

In the debut to this series, Kathleen Hamilton is brought back home again to help save the old hometown. She isn’t the type to look backward but is drawn to both the plight of the town and to the actual project involved.

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The Country Club Murder series is focused on the 1970’s with country club living at its core. Ellison Russell was born with the silver spoon in her mouth and has been spending the last several years trying get beyond it. Ellison is an up and coming artist whose work regularly sells out, so she has learned the value of money earned for work she has done – something that was missing from her earlier years.

In this series, Ellison keeps coming across dead bodies. It is happening with such regularity that her mother (who is country club to the core) is finding life embarrassing. It appears that finding murder victims is not the thing at all in their crowd.

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This is the second book in the Brie Hooker series. Brie is a vegan chef who has returned back to her home farm roots. None of her family and friends are vegans and, while she stays true to her foodstuff, she still has to be able to work and live with those who eat meat.

Brie is now living with and working with her aunt at Udderly Kidding Dairy, a goat farm. She has decided to stay put for a while and even start working on her special plan of a vegan bed and breakfast establishment.

The only problem is that murders keep happening and she keeps stumbling over them. She tries to keep her distance but then, a sleuth has to do what a sleuth has to do.

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This series is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. While there is a paranormal twist to the books (and that is something I generally do not care for), the charm of the relationship between the real and paranormal is a fun one to read.

Liz Talbot and her husband Nate are private investigators. They have been hired to prove someone innocent of killing an individual. There is a twist in the hiring and it sets up a more full-blown investigation than usual.

The paranormal part of this story is on back burner and more hard-hitting investigation takes over. I really appreciated reading how an investigation would take place. The ways of changing ones look and how to take photographs without seeming to be doing so.

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This is a fun new series for me. It is the cozy mystery genre that I enjoy. In this series, Tallulah Jones is a fairly new divorcee. As part of her divorce settlement, she has purchased an older house in town (complete with many necessary rehab projects) as well as starting a new handmade ice scream shop.

I must admit, though I am severely lactose intolerant and ice scream a no-no, the flavors of ice referenced in the book had my mouth watering. I wish the author had included recipes as well.

The story starts as Tally is hired to do the desserts at her ex-husband’s annual all-holds barred company picnic. Tally is getting over the oddness of being hired by her ex but needs the money to keep house and home together.

Seeing her ex with his new squeeze Brittney (just about young enough to be her daughter) is not too unsettling, that is, until the next day, when Brittney turns up dead.

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There are only a few mystery series that I return to time and time again. The Kenni Lowry mysteries by Tonya Kappes is one of those. The author has a knack of taking a slightly ridiculous plot line and not only making it realistic but also making it fun and funny at the same time.

I’m generally not a fan of paranormal stories; however, Kenni’s Poppa is not only the ghost of her grandfather but is also the old and long-standing Sheriff who prefaced Kenni in her job in Cottonwood Kentucky.

Poppa shows up whenever there is a murder in Kenni’s jurisdiction and stays until the mystery is solved. So, when a citizen passes away from what looks like natural causes, Kenni is surprised when Poppa pops up.

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I started this series with the second book (“The Whispering Room”) and was blown away by both the story and author Dean Koontz’ writing style. When I received this book, “The Crooked Staircase”, I was a tad bit afraid that it would not live up to the predecessor. It is even better.

I think it can be read standalone but reading the whole series lets you grow alone with Jane and to meet individuals who might not make it to the next book.

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Guilia Driscoll is back on a case, this time involving a small group of nuns who are being harassed into selling their home to property developer. When a nun is found dead on the street while walking her dog and then the developer is found dead in basement of the nun’s home home, Guilia has to help solve the crime.

In the meantime, Guilia is pregnant and is starting to show. Her clothes aren’t fitting and the baby is beginning to make himself known.

The book progresses the story from the last as far as Guilia’s personal life. She is pulled back into her brother’s orbit when he is injured at work and is in a coma. She takes his kids in so they won’t be left alone.

There are some funny scenes involving the nuns. The book also takes an unexpected dip in paranormal. While I generally don’t read paranormal books, this one was not something that overwhelmed the rest of the story.

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I’ve enjoyed this series by Annette Dashofy. In this book (which is the sixth in the series), paramedic and deputy coroner, Zoe Chambers, is once again in the thick of a murder mystery.

There is someone preying on the elderly in their town. They are posing as water department employees and are busy casing homes for burglaries. After a woman dies, the hunt is on. Zoe’s boyfriend, Police Chief, Pete Adams, is called in and is busy hunting down the murderers.

Zoe gets in involved when her elderly friend appears to be the next target. Zoe moves in to help keep both Mr. and Mrs. Kroll safe from the unscrupulous criminals. With Zoe now in danger as well, Peter goes into overdrive to keep both Zoe and the elderly in their town safe.

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