Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

“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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I had read the first book in this series and wanted to see what TJ was up to. I had a little difficulty in synching up with the series and, because of that, I recommend that the books in this series be read in order. Whole relationships had come and gone. I will certainly go back and purchase the five books in between as I was really engrossed in this story.

TJ and her entourage have left Paradise to mind a resort in South Carolina. She is helping out an old friend and allowing her father and his fiancee some time on their own. Family members, friends and pets are all along for the ride. Little did they know that they would happen upon a dead body almost immediately.

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This is the second book in the Kenni Lowry Mystery series by Tonya Kappes. It picks up right where the last book left off and takes off with a bang. The action continued throughout the book with lots of red herrings and quirky Southern manners and mannerisms along the way.

Kenni is the sheriff of Cottonwood, Kentucky. She is ably assisted not only by her hunky deputy Finn but also by the ghost of her dear Poppa. Poppa was Cottonwood’s sheriff for years and he is on the case to give her guidance and some sass as well.

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I really like cozy mystery series and the new Kenni Lowry Mysteries are a fun addition for me to enjoy. This is the first book in the series and spends a little time setting the back story for the characters and the town’s history.

In this series, Kenni Lowry is the sheriff in Cottonwood, Kentucky. She ran (and won) the office after her grandfather (Poppa) passed away unexpectedly. She’s halfway through her first term of office with a stellar record – primarily because the crime rate has dropped to zero during the past two years.

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In “No Way Home”, Zoe Chambers ventures far from home and travels to New Mexico. She is on the trail of her best friend’s missing teenage son, Logan. Logan has gone missing after a murder and he’s been pegged as a possible suspect.

Back home in Pennsylvania, Zoe’s boyfriend and Chief of Police, Pete Adams, is on the trail of a drug dealer whose mix of products has resulted in the deaths of some young people. Pete is torn between the work he has to do locally and his worry about Zoe.

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Angie Curtis is back as “sleuth” in a mystery set in Maine. Angie is running the Mainely Needlepoint group but this time the story is less involved with needlework and more involved with paintings.

Sarah Byrnes is the local antique dealer and Angie’s best friend. Sarah has moved from Australia and has spent the last few years tracking down what might be left of her family after disturbing information about her father’s move, as a child, from England to Australia. She’s found a local man, Ted Lawrence, who is her uncle and who is thrilled to find her as well. His children are definitely less than thrilled as it makes a huge difference in their inheritance.

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