Thursday, August 3, 2017

Books Read - June 2017

Archer, Connie
A Clue in the Stew ****
Fiction.  Fifth book in the Soup Lover’s cozy mystery series set in Snowflake, Vermont.  Lucky hires a new waitress on a temporary basis, who starts cozying up to Lucky’s grandfather, Jack.  The soup shop is hosting an evening with a famous mystery writer, but when the author is found strangled, Lucky and her friends begin investigating.

Ash, Maureen
Sins of Inheritance *****
Fiction.  Ninth in the Templar Knight historical mystery series.  An emissary from Italy arrives with the news that Gianni is the son of an Italian nobleman, and he wants to take the boy back to Italy to his family.  Gianni doesn’t believe this is true and tells the castellan that he doesn’t want to go.  Meanwhile a draper has been murdered, and Nicholaa sends Miles and Gianni to discover who the murderer is.  When Gianni is kidnapped, Bascot de Marins chases his abductor, hoping to catch him before the boy is taken out to sea.

Ashley, Jennifer
Bodyguard *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Shifters Unbound series.  Elizabeth is being held up by a gunman in her novelty shop, when a huge Kodiak bear brushes past her to attack the man.  Ronan sees the woman in danger and reacts naturally, taking down the robber while suffering a bullet wound to his arm.  Their fates intertwine, and he becomes her Bodyguard.

Primal Bonds *****
Fiction.  Third in the Shifters Unbound urban fantasy series.  Sean and Andrea are dealing with their growing feelings for each other.  Sean is determined to let Andrea have the time and space she needs to decide whether she will go through with the mate blessing or reject his mate-claim.  Tension grows in Shiftertown when humans shoot up the bar, and they soon hear of another attack against shifters.  The can’t retaliate against humans, but when they learn that a group of shifters has hired the humans, Liam and Sean go after them.  Andrea is having nightmares that someone is calling to her, and they terrify her.  Sean wants to help but doesn’t know what to do.

Bassett, JoAnn
Hilo, Goodbye *****
Fiction.  Final book in the Islands of Aloha cozy mystery series.  Pali is hired to work on a reality show.  The star and her fiancé want to get married on the Big Island, but they’re being plagued by paparazzi.  The bridezilla flaked out on their previous wedding, but the groom is willing to give her another chance.  When she’s found dead in the park, he asks Pali to look into it.  Hatch has shown up to tell Pali he’s getting married, and she’s sad but relieved.

I’m Kona Love You Forever ****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Islands of Aloha series.  Pali is hired by two teenagers to plan their wedding, but when the girl’s birth certificate comes back as false, Pali travels to the Big Island to sort out the problem.

Kaua’i Me a River ****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Islands of Aloha cozy mystery series.  Pali Moon is a wedding planner living on Mau’i.  Her father had disappeared when she was a baby, and her mother died in her twenties, so Pali was raised by her Auntie Mana.  When she receives a letter from a lawyer on Kaua’i, she believes it has something to do with her mother but is shocked to find out that her father has left her something in his will.  When Pali begins researching her mother’s death, she unlocks secrets many wish she would forget.

Lana’i of the Tiger ****
Fiction.  Third in the Islands of Aloha cozy mystery series.  Pali is being held in the Witness Protection Program on Lana’i.  Bored, she gets a job working at a B&B while the owners are away on O’ahu having a baby.  A famous producer is staying at the inn, and he asks her to set up a small wedding for his fiancee and him in the greenhouse.  One evening he shows up disheveled, telling Pali that his fiancee is dead, and he’s being hunted as the main suspect.  Since he was with her at the time of the murder, Pali is left in a dilemma, does she tell the police what she knows, or does she remain incognito in the WITSEC program?

Lucky Beach **
Fiction.  Second in the Escape to Mau’i series.  Monica has recently won a fortune and moved to Mau’i to escape from all the media coverage.  Bored with no work, she spends time volunteering at a food bank.  When her realtor introduces her to a wealthy oil speculator, she falls for him.  He turns out to be mentally deranged and holds her captive.  But in the end she is saved and changes the focus of her life from spending money to caring for the poor.

- Mai Tai Lullaby ***
Fiction.  First in the Escape to Mau’i series.  Nola escapes to Mau’i after finding out her husband has been cheating on her, and she finds a ohana and a new life.

- Moloka’i Lullaby ****
Fiction.  Seventh book in the Islands of Aloha cozy mystery series.  Pali is hired by a spoiled young woman and her octogenarian fiancé to plan a wedding on Moloka’i.  The wedding is to be held at a wealthy man’s house on the beach, and when Pali goes to scope out the site, she meets Lono, the caretaker of the estate.  After the bride and groom arrive on the island, Lono is charged with the groom’s murder, and Pali is determined to solve the case.

O’ahu Lonesome Tonight? ***
Fiction.  Fifth in the Islands of Aloha cozy mystery series.  Pali is in Honolulu visiting with her brother, Jeff, who flew over from the mainland for a week.  While on O’ahu, Pali’s half-brothers Stuart and Moku invite her to tea and to get to know them.  A few days later Pali gets a phone call from Moku saying that Stuart is in the hospital with a bad bacteria infection caused by a fall into the Ala Wai Canal.  Pali has to find out whether it was an accident or murder.

Battista, Jeanette
Fox Hunt ***
Fiction.  Fifth in the Moon shapeshifter urban fantasy.  Finn travels to New Orleans to meet her parents and is feeling a case of the nerves.  But first she wants to introduce him to her sensei, Master Toshi, an ancient kitsune.  When they arrive at the dojo, they find the place in a shambles, and Toshi is not there.  Finn picks up his scent, along with a strange sulphur smell and traces it to a cemetery.

Hunter Moon *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Moon shapeshifter urban fantasy series set in Florida.  A hunter is on the loose and looking for the ultimate trophy...weres.  He sets his sites on Kess, and it will take all of her friends to keep her safe.

Hyena Moon ****
Fiction.  Third in the Moon shapeshifter urban fantasy series.  Kess is head of the leopard clan and trying to hold onto the Miami territory against the larger hyena clan led by Samara.  Samara has left her son, Rafe, at Kess’ mansion, angering Cormac, who doesn’t trust him.  Kess keeps an open mind about the boy.  Rafe is torn between craving acknowledgment from his mother and trying to prove his worth to Kess.  When Mac’s sister, Lenore, arrives, Rafe makes his choice.

Boneham, Sheila Webster
Catwalk ***
Fiction.  Third in the Animals in Focus cozy mystery series set in Indiana.  When a friend asks for Janet’s help in finding a stray cat who has disappeared, Janet is happy to help.  Using her dog’s tracking skills, they find the cat with a litter of newborn kittens in a shed in the backyard of a nearby house.  The owner confronts them and threatens to kill the kittens, but the two women are able to save the cats.  When the house owner is later found murdered, Janet is looked at as a potential murderer.

Cahoon, Lynn
Guidebook to Murder ****
Fiction.  First in the Tourist Trap cozy mystery series.  Jill owns a coffee/book shop in a small California coastal town.  A close elderly friend of her dies, and she suspects murder.  Jill is surprised to find that her friend, Emily, has left her almost everything she owns, and Jill becomes the new owner of Emily’s house.  With all of the funeral preparations and house renovations to deal with, Jill invites her aunt to come run the store for her.  Jill is determined to find out who killed her friend, but when she begins receiving death threats of her own, she turns to the local police detective for help.

If the Shoe Kills ****
Fiction.  Third in the Tourist Trap cozy mystery series set in South Cove, California.  The town is getting ready for the holiday season, and Jill has been roped in to help the mayor’s wife with the preparations, but she’s busy dealing with some new temporary workers assigned to work in several of the businesses in town.  The man in charge of the work program is rude and obnoxious, and soon he and Jill cross paths.  After they argue, Jill finds him dead in his car, a bullet through his head.

Mission to Murder ****
Fiction.  Second in the Tourist Trap cozy mystery series.  Jill is trying to get the stone wall behind her house declared a historic site, but two men in town are opposing her.  She and one of the men have an acrimonious confrontation, and when he is found dead, Jill becomes a suspect in his murder.

Child, Lee
MatchUp *****
Fiction.  ITW anthology of female vs. male co-authoring short stories in the thriller genre.

Dobbs, Delia
The Color of a Ghost *
Fiction.  First in the Secret Coloring Book for Adults Cozy Mystery series.  Anita works for a private investigation firm in New York, but she’s in Illinois hunting a serial killer whose crimes occurred 40 years ago.  With the help of an elderly farmer, she nabs the criminal.

Dobbs, Leighann
Dead Wrong ***
Fiction.  First in the Blackmoore Sisters cozy mystery series.  The Blackmoore sisters are trying to live a peaceful life, but when the sheriff fingers Morgan as a murderer, they all band together to prove him wrong.

Ghostly Paws ****
Fiction  First in the Mystic Notch paranormal cozy mystery series set in New Hampshire.  Willa Chance is on her way to her bookstore when she spies the front door of the library open.  Since it’s much too early in the day for library hours, she crosses the street to investigate and finds the librarian dead at the bottom of the stairs.

A Mew to a Kill ****
Fiction.  Third in the Mystic Notch paranormal cozy mystery series.  Willa is on the judging panel for the upcoming art festival, but she is upset that Paisley has won a spot as an entrant.  When Paisley is killed, she comes to Willa to find out who killed her and bring her killer to justice.  With the cats’ help, Willa investigates.

Paws and Effect ***
Fiction.  Fourth in the Mystic Notch series.  The cats have taken over as Pandora leads the others on a quest to find a vial filled with a powerful elixir.  The evil forces in town seek to use its powers to take over, and poor Hope is in danger.  While the cats try to get their humans to understand, Pandora rushes to save Hope.

Probable Paws ****
Fiction. Fifth in the Mystic Notch series.  Willa attends the funeral of one of her grandmother’s old friends.  During the ceremony, the woman, Adelaide, appears and demands that Willa find a certain recipe book and keep it safe.  Willa remembers her own grandmother had wanted Elspeth to have that book, so Willa is determined to see that it gets to Elspeth.

A Spirited Tail ****
Fiction.  Second in the  Mystic Notch paranormal cozy  mystery series.  Willa has to appraise a collection of books at the Van Dorn mansion, but when she arrives and looks for Ophelia, who is handling the sale of the house, she finds her in the backyard lying next to a dead body.

Galenorn, Yasmine
Fury Awakened *****
Fiction.  Third in the Fury Unbound urban fantasy series.  Fury and her friends flee Seattle, as the city falls to ruins in the wake of the zombie invasion and the threat of a tsunami.  The Elder Gods have fled the peninsula, some of them heading back to Olympus and other realms, and some heading into the Wild Wood.  Hecate has another trial for Fury if she can survive it.

Hamilton, Lyn
The Celtic Riddle *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Lara McLintoch antiques mystery series.  Lara accompanies her friend Alex  to Ireland for the reading of a will, in which Alex inherits Rose Cottage.  The family of the deceased is upset when the videotaped last words announce he has set up a treasure hunt for them to attempt.  While the family refuses to participate, Lara and her friends set out to find the treasure, but when people along the way are murdered, Lara wonders if they should continue.

The Moche Warrior *****
Fiction.  Third in the Lara McLintoch antiques and antiquities mystery series.  Lara buys a box of junk at an auction just to get back at her ex-husband, but she finds three precious items inside.  Doing her research, she realizes that they are Moche antiquities, and she suspects they were smuggled out of Peru to be sold on the black market.  When the police come after her for the murder of a man in her store, she flees  to Peru to track down the robbery ring and do what she can to destroy it and gain back her freedom.

Hoffman, Alice
Conjure ***
Fiction.  Short story about two girls who meet a mysterious man.

The Story Sisters *****
Fiction.  Three young sisters living in New York live a lifetime of tragedy, happiness, despair, and hope.

Hunter, Maddy
From Bad to Wurst ****
Fiction.  10th book in the traveling cozy mystery series.  Emily and Etienne are traveling with her parents and the Iowan seniors as well as a group of oompah musicians.  They’re slotted to play at different venues throughout Bavaria, but when one of the accordian players ends up killed in a blast, things go from bad to worst.

James, M.R.
The Mezzotint
Fiction.  Short story 

O’Connor, Carlene
Murder in an Irish Village ****
Fiction.  First in the Irish Village cozy mystery series.  Siobhån O’Sullivan and her five siblings run the local bistro.  Their parents were killed in a car accident the year before.  The man who caused the accident is in jail, but his brother, Niall, has just come back to the village.  He wants to prove that his brother Billy didn’t cause the crash.  Siobhån’s brother, James, fights with Niall, but when Niall is found dead in the back room of the bistro, James is arrested for murder.

Reed, Hannah
Off Kilter ****
Fiction.  First in the Scottish Highlands mystery series.  Eden Elliott’s best friend has gifted her with a roundtrip ticket and a two-week stay at a bed and breakfast in Glenkillen, Scotland.  Eden’s never been to Scotland before, but she’s looking forward to a nice, quiet time to writer her romance novel.  Because she befriended a woman on the plane, her peaceful vacation turns into a dangerous journey leading to a car chase on a winding road.

Vance, Jack
Suldrun’s Garden ***

Fiction.  First in the Lyonesse fantasy series.  Suldrun is a princess of Lyonesse.  When she refuses a man her father the king has chosen to be her husband, King Casmir lockes her away in a garden.  One day she finds a man near death washed ashore at the foot of the garden and nurses him back to health.  They fall in love and marry.  In time, she gives birth to their son, but King Casmir has other plans for Ailles and throws him into an oubliette.  Suldrun, bereft at the loss of her husband and child, for the babe was taken away and hidden, kills herself.  Ailles escapes the oubliette and goes in search of his son.

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