Thursday, October 3, 2019

Books Read - September 2019

Alabaster, Stacey
  • Bitten on the Beach ***
Fiction.  Eighth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Alyson wants to run for mayor, but a misguided accusation can spell her downfall. When two people are supposedly killed by a shark, the town reacts out of fear and sets out to cull the sharks.  Alyson wants to prove the victims were murdered, but not by a shark.

  • Bodies on the Beach ***
Fiction.  First in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series set in Australia.  Claire returns to her hometown to figure out what she wants to do with the bookshop her grandmother has left her, but she knows she’s only in town for a few days then will return to her high-profile life in Sydney.  Alyson has missed her old best friend since she moved away, and when she finds a dead body, she turns to Claire to help her.

  • A Deadly Development ***
Fiction.  Second in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  A real estate developer plans on building a mall and cinema in Eden Bay, and Alyson attends a protest at the construction site when a fellow protester is killed.  Alyson once again recruits Claire to help her solve the crime.

  • Dying for an Education ***
Fiction.  Tenth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Alyson spends a week at university trying out different classes to see if she really wants to enroll the next semester, but when a well-liked professor is killed, she is determined to find the murderer.

  • Homicide on the Hunt ****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  A treasure hunt is being held, and Alyson teas up with Toby, while Claire and Matt form a team.  But when last year’s winner is found dead at the first clue, the women are torn between following the hunt clues, and following the clues to the murderer.

  • Marriage and Murder ****
Fiction.  Eleventh in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Claire agrees to host a wedding in her bookstore, but the bride disappears, then the groom is found dead in the alley.  The ladies are determined to find the killer, and Claire and Matt have some talking to do about their own impending wedding.

  • Milkshake Murder ***
Fiction.  Ninth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Matt serves a customer a milkshake that kills him, and the ladies join forces to find the truth and save Matt’s job.

  • Murder and Manuscripts ***
Fiction.  Fifth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  When a member of Claire’s book club is found dead in her shop, she begs Alyson for help in finding the culprit.

  • Slaying at Sea ***
Fiction.  Third in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Alyson finds the survivor of a shipwreck the day after she finds part of the boat in the water.  When Claire finds a dead body who turns out to have been on the same boat, they begin to wonder if it was actually a crime instead of an accident.

  • Slaying in Sydney ****
Fiction.  Seventh in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Alyson is entered in an international surfing competition in Sydney, and Claire goes along for the trip, but when the woman in the next room is found dead, the women are pressed into discovering the murderer.

  • Surfboards and Suspects ****
Fiction.  Twelfth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  Alyson is getting ready for her wedding, but a cruise ship is stranded in town to have a gas leak fixed and the passengers are rooming with the townsfolk.  When one of them steals one of her surfboards, Alyson and Claire chase him onto the cruise ship, only for him to be killed and the ladies are suspected of his murder.

- A Time for Murder ***
Fiction.  Fourth in the Hang Ten cozy mystery series.  A time capsule is dug up that contains a threatening letter addressed to Alyson claiming that someone she knows will die within a week.  Fearing for Claire and for her family, Alyson is determined to find out who wrote that note before someone gets killed.

Collins, Danielle
  • A Body Below Ground ***
Fiction.  Fourth in the Hearts Grove cozy mystery series.  Henrietta visits a friend who is having trouble and receiving threats in the mail. She works for the Port Angeles Underground Museum and Tunnels, and when a worker is found murdered, Henrietta has to save her friend from jail.

  • Break-ins and Bloodshed ***
Fiction.  Second in the Hearts Grove cozy mystery series.  People are breaking into wealthy home and robbing them, and Henrietta and Ralph go in search of the robbers.

  • Heirlooms and Homicide **
Fiction.  First in the Hearts Grove cozy mystery series.  Henrietta and Ralph find a missing girl and open a puzzle box.

  • Lights Out at the Lighthouse ***
Fiction.  Third in the Hearts Grove cozy mystery series.  A lighthouse owner is killed, and his daughter seeks out Henrietta and Ralph to solve the mystery.

Cromer, T.M.
  • Summer Magic ***
Fiction.  First in the Thorne Witches paranormal romance series.  Summer has been in love with the sheriff since they were children, but after he rejected her in high school she vows to never let him hurt her again. 

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Witching Bones *****
Fiction.  Second in the Witching Hour urban fantasy series.  Raven is still having problems with her neighbors, but there is also a land wight lurking in the park that she needs to get rid of.

Garratt, Charlie
  • A Shadowed Livery ****
Fiction.  First in the James Gavin crime series set in England.  A mother shot her son then shot herself.  The son’s fiancee commits suicide.  But all is not what it seems, and James has to finagle his way through all the clues to discover the culprit.

Hamilton, M.L.
  • Murder on Alcatraz *****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  Someone is killing child molesters, and when the team heads out to find the murderer, they put themselves in the crosshairs.

  • Murder in Chinatown *****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  A cold case in Florida might prove integral in a new murder in Chinatown, but Peyton has other things on her mind, foremost the growing distance between Marco and her.  She doesn’t understand what the problem is, and he is unwilling to acknowledge it.

  • Murder in the Painted Lady ****
Fiction.  First in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  A realtor is strangled at a listing, and Peyton and her partner, Marco, are assigned to the case.  They need to find the murderer before he kills again.

  • Murder on Potrero Hill ****
Fiction.  Second in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  A lawyer is killed in a hit and run.  A young woman dies supposedly with a ruptured aneurysm.  But when the woman’s husband becomes the prime suspect, he goes on the run, trying desperately to prove his innocence before he ends up in prison.

  • Murder in the Presidio *****
Fiction.  Seventh in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  Peyton and Marco are after a serial killer who keeps changing his method of killing.

  • Murder on Russian Hill *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  A rockstar is charged with killing his ex-wife, but he has no memory of it.  A videotape put him at the scene, but Peyton just cannot believe he’s guilty.

  • Murder in the Tenderloin ****
Fiction.  Third in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  A young girl is traumatized after killing a gangster, and the gang is still after her.  Peyton and Marco must find the head of the gang in order to save the girl’s life.

  • Murder on Treasure Island *****
Fiction.  Eighth in the Peyton Brooks crime series.  Peyton is suffering from PTSD after being kidnapped and almost killed.  They’re still looking for the Janitor, a serial killer who preys on child molesters and wife beaters.  But he has an ultimate target in mind.  He’s after Peyton.

King, Kerry Anne
  • Everything You Are ****
Fiction.  A cursed cello might be responsible for the deaths of a woman and her son, but the agony of the father and daughter to find themselves can only be mended by the music.

Maher, Tegan
  • Curses and Cauldrons ****
Fiction.  Anthology of Halloween-themed stories by various authors.

Marple, Mona
  • The Curse of Mystic Springs ****
Fiction.  Third in the Mystic Springs paranormal cozy mystery series.  A witch has put a curse on a haunted house, and when a despised real estate tycoon visits the house and ends up dead, everyone suspects the witch of his murder.

  • Santa Claus of Mystic Springs ****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Mystic Springs paranormal cozy mystery series.  Sage’s husband is back in town making Patton very nervous.  Connie is still fighting her attraction to Taylor’s babies.  But the sisters must join forces again when Connie’s friend is suspected of murder.

  • The Witches of Mystic Springs ****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Mystic Springs paranormal cozy mytstery series.  Violet and Ellie are invited to attend a gathering at their old witches’ school set on an island, but when the headmaster is found dead, the ladies prove they’re up to the task of solving the case.

May, W.J.
  • Dark Nebula ****
Fiction.  Second in the Chronicles of Kerrigan series.  Rae is back for her final year at Guilders, where she meets a strangely familiar boy who asks her to be his mentor.  Recognizing his feelings of “newness” to the school, she agrees.  But when she discovers what his tatu is, it might be too late to safe Devon.

  • End in Sight ****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Chronicles of Kerrigan series.  Rae is reunited with her mother, but when they return to Guilders, she needs to concentrate on finishing out her year before graduation rather than continuing the search for Cromfield.

  • House of Cards ****
Fiction.  Third in the Chronicles of Kerrigan series.  Rae is working for the Privy Council and is happy to be working with Devon, but when he breaks up with her, she is devastated.  She meets her new trainer, Jennifer, who begins training her fighting skills.  She fulfills her first assignment from the PC, but when it involves what she thinks is a picture of her mother in a 500-year-old document, she has no idea what is going on.

  • Royal Tea ****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Chronicles of Kerrigan series.  Rae and Devon are on a mission to protect the future Princess of Wales by posing as her old friends.  Luke contacts Rae and tells her he has a special locked box that he believes belongs to her, so he travels to London to hand it over.  Inside they find Rae’s mother’s old PC files, and Rae senses a code in them.  But Luke is attacked, and Rae finds him holding a scrap of paper with an address in France written on it.  She believes she knows who is waiting there for her.

  • Under Fire ****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Chronicles of Kerrigan series.  Rae, Devon, and Carter head to France to find her mother, but she is horrified to find that her mother has no memory of her.

Muir, L.L.
  • The Gathering ****
Fiction.  First in the Culloden Ghosts series.  The Culloden 79 meet Soncerae and watch her grow into a young woman.  At sixteen, she returns to set them all free, but each warrior must perform a brave deed before he is free to either cast revenge on Bonnie Prince Charlie or move on into the unknown.

  • Jamie ****
Fiction.  Jamie is returned to his home where he frees the ghost of his love and walks off into the bright light with her at his side.

  • Lachlan ****
Fiction.  Lachlan is transported to Salt Lake City where he saves a young woman from a tyrannical step-father.  In the end, she offers herself to Soni to save Lachlan’s life, and her sacrifice allows Lachlan to spend the rest of his days with her.

  • Payton ****
Fiction.  Payton poses as an heiress’s boyfriend when she attends her sister’s wedding with her disapproving family.

Pearson, David
  • Murder on the Old Bog Road ***
Fiction.  First in the Hays Irish crime fiction series.  A woman is found dead in a ditch, and Hays and his sergeant must find the culprit.

Pope, Christine
  • Unquiet Souls ****
Fiction.  First in the Project Demon Hunters paranormal series.  Audrey is hired to be a co-host on a reality show that tours and clears demon-inhabited buildings, but on her first day, the demon targets her, and when it follows her home, she relies on Michael, the other host, to help save her.

Richey, Sheri
  • Welcome to Spicetown **
Fiction.  First in the Spicetown series. Stolen goods are recovered.

Smith, Luanne G.
  • The Vine Witch *****
Fiction.  Elena survives a curse and returns home only to find her beloved vineyard has been sold to someone who believes only in science.  Her status as a vine witch holds no interest for him until she proves once and for all that she has value.  But the vineyard is still under a curse, and when Elena is thrown in jail, Jean-Paul doesn’t know if he can save her.

Swift, Olivia
  • Almost Picture Perfect ****
Fiction.  Miller is dating Jules, but when his ex-girlfriend finds out, Miller loses her job and her house is trashed.  The two lovebirds decide to combine their two businesses but first they must deal with the mob.

- The Secret of Chestnut Hall ***
Fiction.  Jasmine Summer takes on the job of renovating a garden at Chestnut Hall and ends up in danger as a long ago mystery comes to a head.

  • The Secret of the Jewel Shop ****
Fiction.  Carly has opened a new shop selling her jeweled creations, and Dex has been very helpful.  The scent of lavender permeates throughout the shop, and Carly believes it is the ghost of a woman who used to live in the building when it was a hotel.  She can’t rest until she solves the mystery of what the ghosts wants.

  • The Secret of the Pendant ***
Fiction.  Corby inherits a house from her great-uncle, but it comes with a spirit who shows herself in the turquoise pendant also left to Corby.  Carlo is doing everything he can to help her work through her emotional issues and is on hand when Corby finds love.

  • The Secret of the Quilt ****
Fiction.  Kim wants to expand the nursery and Rob is more than willing to help her.  When she comes home with an old quilt, it has a strange effect on them.  It’s a love knot quilt with a message written into it, and Kim wants to mend it and recover the missing middle portion, and she gets a hand from the other side.

  • The Secret of the Stones ***
Fiction.  Ben is getting to build his house, and Kat decides to help him. When they come across some unusual stones, danger arrives in the guise of people trying to steal the stones.

Westover, Tim
  • The Winter Sisters ***

Fiction.  Three sisters and a doctor with differing modes of healing join forces to protect a town against rabies.

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