Sunday, October 1, 2017

Books Read - September 2017

Abbott, Adele
Witch Is When It All Began ***
Fiction.  First in the Witch P.I. paranormal cozy mystery series.  Jill is a P.I. living an ordinary sort of life, when she receives a call from a nursing home telling her that her birth mother is about to die and wants to see her.  She knew she was adopted and had tried to contact her birth mother years before but had been rejected.  When she sees her birth mother, the only thing she  says to Jill is, “You’re a witch!” Jill thinks she has been insulted, but in fact the words are true.

Baldacci, David
The Winner *****
Fiction.  LuAnn Tyler is a single mother raising her baby in a trailer she shares with her deadbeat boyfriend.  She is contacted by a stranger and offered the chance of a lifetime, to win the lottery, guaranteed.  She is planning on refusing the offer, as it just doesn’t sit right with her, but when her boyfriend is murdered and the killer comes after her, she takes the one chance she has and agrees to the deal.  She was right to be suspicious, because her life from now on is owned by a psychopath who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Blake, Deborah 
Wickedly Spirited ****
Fiction.  Sixth book in the Baba Yaga series.  Jazz is impatient.  She wants to prove to Bella that she’s ready to learn higher spells, but Bella doesn’t agree.  One thing Jazz really wants to do is get back the Riders’ immortality, so she sets about designing a spell, and with Koshka’s help she gets the ingredients and begins the spell.  Unfortunately, it has unforeseen consequences.

Campbell, Glynnis
Lady Danger ***
Fiction.  Scottish romance between a Scottish Lady and a Norman Lord.  She’s a Warrior Maid, and he’s not sure he can tame her.

Charles, Ann
Make No Bones About It *****
Fiction.  Second in the Dig Site mystery series.  Angélica waits on Quint to return from his trip to the North Pole, while she busies herself and her team in beginning the recovery of a dig site in Mexico.  The site is the same one her mother died at years ago, and Angélica is determined to figure out the mystery of what her mother uncovered there.

Galenorn, Yasmine
Blood Vengeance ****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Bewitching Bedlam urban fantasy series.  Maddy and Aegis are at an alpine chalet for a week, during with Aegis’ band will be performing.  Aegis receives a note to meet someone outside, and when he’s gone for an hour, Maddy rounds up the band to start searching for him.

Tiger Tails ****
Fiction.  Novella in the Bewitching Bedlam urban fantasy series.  Sandy meets a new and intriguing weretiger, but her attention is drawn away when her ward gets lost on a mountain hike in a blizzard.  Max accompanies her on her search for the girl.

Hanna, H.Y.
A Scone to Die For ****
Fiction.  First in the Oxford Mystery series.  Gemma has left a top corporate job in Sydney to return to England and open a teashop in a village near Oxford.  A rude American tourist begins to complain about the service and takes liberties with Cassie, Gemma’s assistant.  They see him that night arguing with a drunk in the bar, where the owner forces them both to  leave.  The next morning Gemma goes to work and is dismayed to see the rude American sitting at one of her outdoor tables.  When she walks over to ask him if she could help him, she realizes he’s beyond any help.

Harman, Dianne
Murder on Bainbridge Island ***
Fiction.  First in the Bainbridge Island cozy mystery series.  DeeDee moves to Bainbridge Island after her divorce and begins a catering company.  At her first dinner, one of the guests is murdered, and at first the rumor is that she was poisoned.

Hoffman, Alice
The Ice Queen ****
Fiction.  A girl wishes her mother dead, and she learns that wishes can come true.  When she is struck by lightning as an adult, she goes in search of a man who died and has risen from death.  With his help she finds redemption.

King, Stephen
Different Seasons ****
Fiction.  Four novellas, three of which have been made into movies, Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and Stand By Me>

MacInerney, Karen
Deadly Brew ****
Fiction.  Third in the Dewberry Farm cozy mystery series.  Lucy and her friends attend a Halloween party at the Honeyed Moon Mead Winery, but when the owner of a game farm dies at the party, Lucy’s friend finds herself in jail, and Lucy must solve the case and prove her friend 
innocent.

Mother’s Little Helper *****
Fiction.  Third in the Margie Peterson cozy mystery series.  Margie is undercover at a genital waxing salon to figure out why the business isn’t doing very well.  She’s also been hired by the president of the PTA to help her hide a body and keep the president out of jail.  Elsie is still channeling a Pekingese, and Margie’s soon-to-be ex-husband is moving in with his partner, a Madonna impersonator.

Mugavero, Liz
A Biscuit, A Casket *****
Fiction.  Second in the Pawsitively Organic cozy  mystery series.  Stan now has a business selling pet treats, and she volunteers to cater a doggie birthday party at the Happy Cow Dairy Farm Halloween party, which features a large corn maze.  As the party is getting started and people are venturing into the maze, one of them finds the body of the farmer stabbed with a sickle.  When his wife is taken in for questioning, Stan goes out of her way to try to prove her innocence.

Custom Baked Murder *****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Pawsitively Organic cozy mystery series.  Stan’s mother and Tony Falco, the mayor of Frog Ledge are having an engagement party, but when Stan’s sister finds a dead woman in the bathroom and Stan’s ex-boyfriend  is arrested for murder, Stan is determined to find the real culprit.

The Icing on the Corpse *****
Fiction.  Third in the Pawsitively Organic cozy  mystery series.  Town historian, Helga, is found dead at the foot of the stairs in the museum, and Stan finds out that everyone is hiding secrets that go back decades to another death that took place in Izzy and Jake’s building under renovation.  Stan’s questions get her into trouble, as nobody is happy about her digging into the past.

Kneading to Die *****
Fiction.  First in the Pawsitively Organic cozy mystery series.  Stan’s job has been eliminated through no fault of her own, and she visits a small town, spies a lovely Victorian house, and on the spur of the moment purchases it.  While out jogging, she meets her neighbor, a homeopathic veterinarian.  The local “traditional” vet sees them chatting and appears on Stan’s doorstep and coerces her to make an appointment the next day for her cat.  When Stan arrives for the appointment, she finds the vet dead, and she becomes the main suspect.

Murder Most Finicky *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Pawsitively Organic cozy mystery series.  Stan is spending the weekend in Rhode Island helping Sheldon with a special dinner.  Her co-chefs have all gathered at the mansion, but one of them is missing.  When she walks out back to see the ocean, Stan finds the missing chef with his throat cut, and the weekend gets even worse when one of the other chefs goes missing.

Purring Around the Christmas Tree *****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Pawsitively Organic cozy mystery series.  Christmas is just around the corner, and Stan is getting ready for her grand opening the next day.  But trouble comes when Santa is found dead in the sleigh at the town’s Christmas Festival, however Stan thinks it’s a case of mistaken identity.

Rescued ****
Non-fiction.  12 stories of rescued cats written from the POV of the cats themselves.

Murphy, J.J.
A Friendly Game of Murder *****
Fiction.  An Algonquin Round Table mystery.  The Algonquin is under quarantine on New Years Eve, and as Douglas Fairbanks and his wife were throwing a party, Dorothy and her friends head up to the penthouse to have some fun.  A precocious starlet, Bibi Bibelot, interrupts the party, as she strolls naked into the bathroom and into a tub of champagne.  When she is later found dead and wearing a stolen necklace, Dorothy has the help of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to assist her in finding the murderer.

Hair of the Dog ***
Fiction.  Short story in the Algonquin Round Table mysteries.  The chef has lost some veal, and while he suspects Dorothy’s dog, Woody, the manager of the hotel suspects Pietro, one of the waiters.  Dorothy discovers the truth at a birthday party

Murder Your Darlings ****
Fiction.  First in the Algonquin Hotel cozy mystery series.  Dorothy Parker enters the famed dining room at the Algonquin Hotel and finds a body tucked under the Round Table.  The police have already been called, and while she waits in the lobby, a young William Faulkner approaches her asking if she’ll read some of his writing.  When her friend Robert Benchley arrives, he’s called  in to identify the body and learns that the man had been stabbed to death with a fountain pen.  There are many suspects to interview.

Stage Fright ***
Fiction.  Short story in the Algonquin Round Table mysteries.  Dorothy is watching Aleck Woolcott performing in Uncle Vanya, but when the gun he fires proves to be real, she assists the police in discovering the culprit.

You Might as Well Die ****
Fiction.  Third book in the Algonquin Round Table mystery series.  An acquaintance of Dorothy’s, Ernie MacGuffin, meets her at the Round Table and hands her an envelope, asking that she not open it until midnight.  Her curiosity is aroused, and when she does read the contents, she and Robert dash across town with the police to try and stop Ernie’s suicide.

Neal, Toby
Nightbird ****
Fiction.  JET Kindle World novella.  Maya’s estranged older sister Lila is a neurobiologist who speaks seven languages.  When she sees her little sister on TV after thirteen years apart, she rushes to do whatever she can to help Maya, even if it means spying for the Mossad.

Rough Road *****
Fiction.  Sydney Rye Kindle World novella.  Lei and Amy are on vacation and traveling to Cabo.  On the way there, their car gets stuck off the road, and the two men who offer to help them turn out to be predators.  Amy is taken, and Lei finds her way to an RV parked at the beach. Sydney lives there and agrees to help Lei get Amy back.  

Wired Dark *****
Fiction.  Fourth book in the Sophie Ang crime series.  Sophie and Jake are still on the security job at rocker Shank Miller’s estate on Mau’i.  A crazed fan has been sending disturbing items to Miller, and the threat is escalating.  Sophie’s ex, Assan Ang, has plans for Sophie.  Plans she will never live through, but when her lover is caught in the crossfire, Sophie goes on the offensive.

Odell, Terry
Deadly Bones ****
Fiction.  Second in the Mapleton mystery series.  Megan as quit her job and returned to Mapleton.  Human bones are found on the Kretzer’s property, and Gordon has to find out who they belong to and what their connection is to the Kretzers.

Deadly Places ****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Mapleton mystery series.  Gordon is on a leave of absence, and Ed Solomon has stepped up as acting Chief of Police.  Ed has been working on the Deadbeat Dad Killer case for months, and it finally seems to  be coming to an end.

Deadly Production *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Mapleton mystery series.  There’s a movie crew in town, and Gordon has to supply them with security.  When one of the production crew is found dead, Gordon investigates.

Deadly Puzzles *****
Fiction.  Third in the Mapleton mystery series.  Gordon is forced to take some time off and heads to a secluded B&B in the mountains just as a winter storm arrives.  A man stumbles to the inn saying that his car had stalled and his wife was waiting for him.  Gordon agrees to drive him back to the car, but when they find it, it had gone off the road and down a ravine.  The man’s wife was nowhere to be seen.

Deadly Secrets ****
Fiction.  First in the Mapleton mysteries series.  Megan flies home to visit with her elderly guardians, the couple who raised her  from a small child.  Their grandson, Justin, is also visiting.  A stranger has a car  accident, and when a file is found in the car containing pictures of Megan and information about Rose and Sam, the police chief tries to find out who the man was and what’s going on.

Welling, ReGina
Witch or Treat ****

Fiction.  15 novellas written by paranormal cozy authors with the theme of Halloween.