Posts Categorized: Paperback

Oct 05 2021
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The Plot is Murder by V.M. Burns – Review

The Plot is Murder by V.M. Burns – Review

My Thoughts

When I requested this book from the library, I wasn’t even sure what it was about. I just knew it was the book chosen for the Cozy Escape Book Club. I started reading it and it was such an unexpected type of cozy. I absolutely loved the writing style. I really loved the inclusion of Sam’s historical mystery. I found myself just as invested in figuring out that mystery as the mystery that was actually taking place. In fact, I would love Sam’s stories to be published as a series on their own – they were that enjoyable in the little snippets throughout the book.

Sam, Nana Jo, and the girls were wonderful characters. It felt like the Golden Girls …

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 1,759 total views,  2 views today

Sep 08 2021
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An Untidy Affair by MB Dabney – Review & Giveaway

An Untidy Affair by MB Dabney – Review & Giveaway

My Thoughts

An Untidy Affair is a gritty, hard-boiled private eye novel that delivered. The story is set in the mid-1980s in Philadelphia. David Blaise is a PI with his own business and a former prostitute, Mae, as his secretary. Blaise finds himself wrapped up in more than he bargained for when two seemingly unrelated cases start having some common connections. And someone doesn’t want him connecting the dots…

The author has a wonderful writing style that kept me engaged and really brought the setting to life. The characters felt real as well. The suspense, humor, and relationships worked well to balance out the story.

If you’re looking for a suspenseful mystery that keeps you guessing, pick up An Untidy Affair. …

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 1,911 total views

May 18 2018
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Dangerous Mistakes by Susan Hunter

Dangerous Mistakes by Susan Hunter

Excerpt | Dangerous Mistakes by Susan Hunter

Chapter 1

“All of us are dying.”

“Well, yes, I guess I can’t argue with that, Betty,” I said to the slight, white-haired woman seated behind my desk in the newsroom. I had come barreling in to pick up a new notebook, late for my next assignment.

“Oops, sorry, if I could just get into that center desk drawer there.” I gently rolled her away from the desk, edged my drawer out a couple of inches, and stuck my arm into the depths until I felt cardboard. I tweezered out the spiral-bound notebook between two fingers.

“All of us. Dying. It’s not right.”

I slipped the notebook into my purse and moved to scoot Betty back into position, …

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 4,426 total views

Apr 09 2018
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Three Strikes, You’re Dead by Elena Hartwell – Eddie Shoes Character Guest Post

Three Strikes, You’re Dead by Elena Hartwell – Eddie Shoes Character Guest Post

A Private Eye, a Card-Counter, and a Giant Canine walk into a Resort…by Eddie Shoes, Private Eye (and Elena Hartwell, author).

Vacation with my mother. I can’t believe how excited I am about the prospect. Chava and I rarely went anywhere when I was a kid. Chava was a single mom and travel wasn’t something we could afford. When I left my hometown of Spokane, Washington, at eighteen, I traveled the entire west coast. It was the first time I’d left the state. I went all the way south to San Diego. I wanted to see Mexico. I even went over the border for an afternoon in Tijuana.

My father, Eduardo, is from Mexico. At least, I think that’s where …

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 5,411 total views

Jan 28 2018
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford – Review

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford – Review

My Thoughts

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a beautifully written historical fiction, set during World War II in Seattle. I’ve not read about the Japanese internment following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Jamie’s characters, Henry Lee, an American-born Chinese boy, and Keiko Okabe, an American-born Japanese girl, are so vividly brought to life. The story is told from Henry’s point of view and goes back and forth between the 1940s and the 1980s.

This story moved me to tears many times. The characters were incredibly developed, and even the secondary characters of Sheldon and Mrs. Beatty were some of my very favorites. The settings were so well-written that I truly felt as if I was there, smelling …

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 4,829 total views

Oct 15 2017
2

A Room with a Brew by Joyce Tremel

A Room with a Brew by Joyce Tremel

A Room with a Brew by Joyce Tremel is the third book in the Brewing Trouble Mystery series. This story is set in the fall in Pittsburgh and centers around Oktoberfest. I haven’t read the first two books in this series. However, I found myself quickly drawn into Max’s world and easily able to lose myself in the story. One of my favorite things about this story is the setting. I live in eastern Ohio, but the closest city to me is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I enjoyed all the “Pittsburghese” in the book: words you only hear in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. Yinz is a part of our vocabulary here as well. 🙂

Max’s intelligence, sincerity, and …

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 4,935 total views,  6 views today

Aug 11 2017
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A Margin of Lust by Greta Boris – Review

A Margin of Lust by Greta Boris – Review

A Margin of Lust – My Thoughts

A Margin of Lust by Greta Boris is the first book in the new Seven Deadly Sins suspense series. I was excited to pack this in my suitcase and take it on vacation. I thought it would make the perfect beach read and I was right. This suspenseful mystery is so well-written that you won’t want to put it down. Ms. Boris is an immensely talented writer who seamlessly weaves a plot that pulls you in from the start. The character development was a key part of how much I enjoyed the story. I will be anxiously awaiting more in this series.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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 2,023 total views

Jul 23 2017
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New Sins for Old Scores by Tj O’Connor – Guest Post

New Sins for Old Scores by Tj O’Connor – Guest Post

The Real Sins in New Sins for Old Scores
Tj O’Connor

Murder, like history, often repeats itself. And that, my friends, is the premise for my new murder mystery, New Sins for Old Scores from Black Opal Books.

My fourth mystery follows similar footsteps of my last series—a murder mystery with a paranormal twist that includes a historical subplot and a main character that is, well, living-challenged. Dead. Okay, yes, one of my main characters is dead.

Let me explain. Here’s the story’s summary:

Murder, like history, often repeats itself. And when it does, it’s the worst kind of murder.

Detective Richard Jax was never good at history. Now, after years as a cop, he was about to get the lesson of …

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 2,421 total views

May 28 2017
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Grilled, Chilled and Killed by Lesley A. Diehl

Grilled, Chilled and Killed by Lesley A. Diehl

My Thoughts

Grilled, Chilled and Killed by Lesley A. Diehl is the second cozy book in the Big Lake Murder Mysteries series featuring Emily Rhodes. This book is as enjoyable as the first in the series (Dumpster Dying). Emily unluckily finds herself caught up in another murder and investigation. Though Emily doesn’t want to use her sleuthing skills, she feels she has no choice to make sure the crime is solved correctly.

Emily is a character that is growing on me. I didn’t totally dislike her in the first book, but I was a bit ambivalent toward her. In this installment, I actually liked Emily more than I thought I would. Grilled, Chilled and Killed is a fun addition …

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 3,929 total views