Mystery Thriller Week

May 13-23, 2019 will be the week to view all the different sub categories of Mystery. There is a slot where where I would like you to click and read my columns for Cozy Mysteries. It has taken me a long time to understand that I really like this sub genre of mystery.

I am a member of Sisters in Crime-National and Colorado. I am also a member of Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators. I have manucript started for both types of material for each organization.

My cozy mystery is about a former teacher who left teaching because of bad decisions, miscarriage and death. The first book is an introduction to form the backstory. After that the stories will incoporate the proganist’s Mom, Dad and the rest of the family. I hope it goes over big.

The manuscript for picture books has a working title of “Backyard Zoo”.

Stay tuned!!

Author: Lynn Cahoon

Lynn Cahoon is an author that I discovered via Netgally. (Netgally is a website that influence the sale of book by offering advanced copies of ebooks to book reviewers.) This author, Lynn Cahoon, has written three series that are published by Kensington/Lyrical Underground. She also writes contemporary romances set in a small town under the pen name Lynn Collins. I have not read any of the romances that Ms. Cahoon has written at all. I really don’t like romances.

This post is about what I know and read about Lynn Cahoon. Based on the information i have received she is a breast cancer survivor and it sounds like she reorganized her life by writing. I was very impressed with her profile, her output in the last few years I have read all of her books in the following three series:

TOURIST TRAP

CAT LATMINER

FARM TO FORK

I have really enjoyed each and every of the books. Since I haven’t posted all of the reviews for the books in the series. In this post and the series to follow I will post the reviews and also the links to Amazon, Good reads, in addition to sending copies to her and her publisher, which is standard

Look for all of this, as it will be coming soon.

Scrapbook of the Dead by Mollie Cox Byran

This book is the latest in the Cumberland Creek Mystery series by this author.  This book will be released September 29, 2017

Synopisis

Reporter Annie Chamovitz is a former investigative journalist who is now a stay at home Mom.  In order to get more adult communication and out of the house, she is part of Saturday night crop group called the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop.  They are making new scrapbooks for Halloween. However their new member is a little mysteries, the victims are sisters and there are gangs in the area who may have something to do with this crime.

Scrapbook of the DeadBook Review plus 4.3 stars

This is a very new read for me  because I was introduced to the author via her Cora Craft series.  However, I like cropping (don’t have a lot of time) and I like the fact that the main character has some experience.  Plus, this group of ladies is interesting.  I think it is a great read and a page turner.

 

Book Review: A Toast to Murder

Synopsis

As Milwaukee counts down to New Year’s Eve, bar owner Mackenzie “Mack” Dalton has but one resolution—unmask the dangerous mastermind who has been taunting her and killed bouncer Gary Gunderson. Mack and her fellow barflies have fleshed out a suspect and arranged an invite-only party to put a cork in the murderer’s game for good. But when the clock strikes midnight and their suspect is found cold and stiff on the basement stairs, it seems the celebration may have come too soon. Now Mack must rely on her special talents to find the real criminal among the crowd of revelers—or someone won’t survive until last call . . .

Book Review:  Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05

This book was an interesting read.  I don’t mean that in a good way.  I had a difficult time reading the book because the MC: Mack was very self-centered.  I mean every three chapters we heard about her background, how she got her gift and on and on. . . .I almost made it a three, but the author did such a nice time in writing the book and I did like her friend that help her solve the mystery.

 

Book Review: Black Sheep Mysteries

Black Sheep Mysteries by Anne Canadeo    

The Black Sheep Knitting shop of Plum Harbor, Massachusetts is owned by Maggie Screenshot 2017-09-06 14.34.41Messina who leads her fellow knitters in some amateur detecting. Each book contains a fun mystery solve among friends, recipes and a knitting pattern.  On this day, this blog will review the following books:

  • 1 .  A Stitch Before Dying (Gallery, 2010)
  • 2 .  Till Death Do Us Part (Gallery, 2012)
  • 3.    A Dark and Stormy Knit (Simon and Schuster, 2014)

A Stitch Before Dying

Synopsis:

The third mystery in Anne Canadeo’s winning Black Sheep Knitting series, featuring a group of  five friend who have a knack for knitting—and sScreenshot 2017-09-06 14.34.41olving crimes…

Maggie Messina, owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, has been invited to give knitting workshops at a Berkshires spa resort, she manages to negotiate a cottage that fits all five of the Black Sheep for what promises to be a weekend of knitting bliss. But while the friends are expert at counting stitches, they haven’t counted on murder.

Guests and staff at the Crystal Lake Inn are as varied as a mixed bag of yarn, but most colorful is certainly the owner, charismatic self-help guru and former psychiatrist Dr. Max Flemming. The doctor may have told all in a revealing autobiography, but from his ex-wife to the widow of his former business partner—both employees at the inn—Max seems mired in shad­ows from his past. And when a killer strikes during a mountaintop retreat, the Black Sheep wonder what the good doctor might be hiding. Now who is going to be the victim of the third murder?

Book Review: Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05

This book was a good read!  Although I have to admit I don’t how they (five women) shared one cottage during this time.  Yes they are friends but really?  The book was my favorite to date. I enjoyed the storyline, the location, the familiar characters mixed with the new ones and it was a good solid story.
The Hotel is owned by a former Psychiatrist, Dr. Max Flemming. His is a sad story indeed. He wrote a book about his trials and re-birth as a holistic follower. Maggie finds she is teaching classes such as ‘Random Knitting” and “Mindful Knitting”, which were actually very interesting concepts.  In addition New Age knitting there were other’ practices that the women found good for their body, by going on various hikes and receiving body treatments. Maggie finds herself liking the classes.

The only glitch is Dr. Max is murdered!

Till Death Due Us PurlScreenshot 2017-09-07 15.44.13

Synopsis

The fourth in this wonderful knitting mystery series that  features Maggie Messina and her close circle of knitting-club friends, who must unravel another murder in their cozy coastal town of Plum Harbor, Massachusetts.

The Black Sheep Knitters new project is helping a bride-to-be knit shawls for her upcoming wedding. Days after the ceremony, the groom dies in a freak accident. As the knitters comfort the family, many secrets and betrayals—both business and romantic—are revealed. When the groom’s body turns up after the funeral in a motel room, dead again, the newlywed widow is the prime suspect, The Black Sheep must prove her innocence and find the real killer among a large circle of family, friends, and foes.  

Book Review Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05

I have read a majority of the black sheep knitting mysteries. Some I have really enjoyed and other not as much, but all the books are well written.  I really like the bond that the women have together. That bond is what really makes this series come together.  They are all different except that they love to knit.

A Dark & Stormy Knit

Synopsis

In the sixth novel in the series the Black Sheep Knitters must work to solve the mystery of the disappearance of their friend—and figure out who is trying to kill her before it’s too late.

Curiosity Killed the Cat 

Knitting graffiti, in Plum Harbor? Maggie Messina doubts it could ever happen in her quiet village. Until the new parking meters on Main Street are found covered with cat-faced cozies. In the dark of night, the mysterious Knit Kats have struck again! The infamous gang of stitching graffiti artists are totally harmless, and their pranks all in good fun. Or so Maggie and her friends think. Until a yarn-covered corpse is discovered a few days later—the tangles identical to Knit Kat handiwork.

These threads of evidence should be easy to follow. But the clever Knit Kats hide behind a website and secret identities. The murderer could be anyone. A familiar face in town, even a copy Kat.

Book Review Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05

This book is the sixth in the Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series. The series features the support and friendship of members of the knitting group, with Maggie Messina as owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, and plots with plenty of suspense and satisfying conclusions. A Dark and Stormy Night lives up to its title: it’s a bit “dark,” owing to the phantom group of “graffiti knitters” who appear initially to be involved in the crime. It’s quite a contemporary theme for a knitting mystery, and in this way it is quite original.

Anne Canadeo is a wonderful writer. She consistently comes up with very original and unique themes for her stories.

 

 

Book Review: Cirak’s Daughter

Cirak’s Daughter by Charlotte MacLeod

Synopsis

Nineteen year old Jenny Cirak has moved  into her DAd’s house under an assumed name. However, she didn’t really know her Dad, which is one of the reasons she has moved to Meldrum, Rhode Island to figure out her Dad.  Why did he leave her everything ?  Why is he dead?

Unfortunately one person does not want her to know the answers to these questions.

Book Review: Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05Screenshot 2017-07-02 19.36.05

I do like Charlotte MacLeod as an author.  I had thought it would be a little better, but I can’t say it was bad.  I think you should read it an decide for yourself.

 

 

 

Room for Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman

Synopsisroom without a doubt

Reporter Carol Childs is called to a crime scene in the Hollywood Hills at five thirty in the morning, and she’s convinced this is a  publicity stunt to promote a new movie. The police are quick to rule it a suicide, but something doesn’t add up for Carol, espcially since someone named Mustang Sally confesses to the murder on the air and threatens to kill again.

Book Review and 4.0 rating

This book was not as good as the previous one because it seemed as if she was following a trend that I have seen in other cozy mysteries.  The idea of the psychic was okay, because this is her friend.  This book however seemed to follow along with her job as a reporter.  This was cool!

A New Book in the Tourist Trap Series

killer partyKiller Party by Lynn Cahoon

Synopsis

A gang of old high school friends meet in South Cove, California for bachelor party.  Jill Gardner is attending as the guest of her boyfriend Greg, her new live in boyfriend and roommate.

After a few months of living with her boyfriend Greg, Jill is still getting used to sharing such close quarters, and now she is getting to know a group of his high school friends. Greg and his college pals celebrate their buddy’s upcoming wedding, right up until the time the groom to be is found floating facedown in the pool,  Jill is getting to know her boyfriend’s friends better than she thought she would as she investigates who killed Greg’s friends.

Meanwhile, Jill’s aunt is acting a bit strange, especially since the doctors want her to come in for some tests.  Not to mention Aunt Jackie isn’t sure about the new employee, either.  So much going on and you won’t guess who the killer is!  I”m not going to tell, either

Book Review  and 4.8 stars

I liked the story!  I think the whole series is great!  This story seems to be more about tying up some loose ends and setting us up for some interesting happenings in the future.  Check it out, you will love it!!

Let’s Salute the Week!

It is memorial weekend!  Please take a moment and thank the veterans and those who died to protect our rights to agree and disagree. All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Some stood through for the red, white and blueScreenshot 2017-05-28 22.26.23
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some Gave All

Read more: Billy Ray Cyrus – Some Gave All Lyrics | MetroLyrics

 

Mysteries, Mysteries and More

I have been reading a lot of books lately.  I just need to get the reviews up and completed. However, I have learned a few things about some of the books I have been reading:

  1.  I am not crazy about reading the second or third book in a chapter, especially when the author constantly refers to the previous books.
  2. The books need to have a hook that sets this book apart from the others, while still keeping it in the series.
  3. Cliffhangers are okay, but I am not real crazy about the ending that book, and still have to read the next book to figure out the ending.

This creates somewhat of problem when I am reading a new book by a new author.  I find myself thinking about what happen where and especially if the story is not the beginning.  Now I have read books that have a back story, but that backstory is part of the ongoing series.  (I hope that makes sense.)

There are a couple of new characters that seem to be different and I have read a cozy mystery where the main character is a male.  This makes the second male in the many cozy mystery stories that I have read.

In addition, I have been asked to do some interviews, blog tours and few other different things.  I also have realized that my blog is not connecting to the different social media sites that I belong to so I will be correcting that as well.

Have a great Weekend and look for the new books!!

Mainly Needlepoint Series by Lea Wait

Screenshot 2017-05-20 23.09.26Lea Wait has four daughters and husband.  Her husband is a painter and she is a writer.  In addition, this series she writes both mysteries and historical novels.

Screenshot 2017-05-20 23.09.261

Twisted Threads

Synopsis

Screenshot 2017-05-20 23.30.45 After leaving a decade ago, Angie has been called back to Harbor Haven by her grandmother, Charlotte, who raised her following her mother’s disappearance when she was a child. Her mother has been found, and now the question of her whereabouts has sadly become the mystery of her murder.

The bright spot in Angie’s homecoming is reuniting with Charlotte, who has started her own needlepointing business with a group called Mainely Needlepointers. But when a shady business associate of the stitchers dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, case. . .

Book Reviews and 4.6 stars

This was a sad story.  Not only did Angie’s mother disappear when she was small, but she never knew her father.  Her Grandmother by all accounts was a wonderful person, but her Mom just disappeared.

Unfortunately, there is someone prying upon the Mainely Needlepointers and that is just awful.  I have serious issues with an individual who will steal from a poor, old people who are just trying to make a living.  Angie resolves it, read and find out how!

Threads and Evidence

thread of evidence

Synopsis

Angie Curtis and the Mainely Needlepointers are familiar with the Gardener estate. The crumbling Victorian mansion, known as “Aurora,” has been sitting vacant for nearly twenty-five years–and some say it’s haunted by the ghost of Jasmine Gardener, the teenage girl who died there in 1970 under mysterious circumstances…

Harbor Haven is abuzz with excitement when Hollywood actress Skye West decides to buy Aurora and sell off its furnishings.  Angie is intrigued when Skye asks her to appraise the estate’s sizable collection of needlepoint pictures.

Book Reviews

Not only did they find some interesting items in the Gardener estate. The ladies also find a mystery.  It is a very interesting book and well written. This book was better, much, better than the first one. I really enjoyed it and everyone who reads this book will as well. However, we got to get some outsiders or the population is going to go down quicker. Can’t wait for the wedding!

Thread and Gone

Synopsis

Angie Curtis and her fellow Mainely Needlepointers know how to enjoy their holidays. However, Mary Clough drops in on the group’s Fourth of July supper with a question about antique needlepoint she’s discovered in her family Colonial-era home, Angie and her revelers are happy to look into the matter.

Their best guess is that the mystery piece may have been stitched by Mary, Queen of Scots, famous not just for losing her head, but also for her needlepoint. If they’re right, the piece would be extremely valuable. For safekeeping, Angie turns the piece over to her family lawyer, who places it in her office safe.

Book Review and 4.5 stars

This was interesting to me, because I didn’t realize the Mary, Queen of Scots was famous for her needlepoint.  (I guess she had to do something while she was imprisoned.) Unfortunately has with everything else that has value, it pull all types of thieves to the piece.  What happens is awful, and the murder is someone who no one would suspect, but value is placed on the piece and the murder wants the piece of materials.

 

Tightening the Threads

Screenshot 2017-05-20 22.57.07

Synopsis

Sarah Byrne is an antique dealer who has never spoke about  the truth about her past to anyone—not even friend and fellow Mainely Needlepointer Angie Curtis. However now the Aussie finally has the one thing she’s searched for all her life—family. She has a  long-lost half-brother, Ted Lawrence, a wealthy old artist and gallery owner in town, are ready to reveal their secret connection . . .

Unfortunately, Ted’s adult children are suspicious of their newfound aunt Sarah—especially after Ted, in declining health, announces plans to leave her his museum-worthy heirloom paintings. So when Ted is poisoned to death during a lobster bake, everyone assumes she’s guilty.

Book Review and 4.5 stars

The writing is very sequential and I was totally unaware that the Ted was going to announce the fact that they were family.  Family is very important, but it is also very hurtful.  Non of the children have seen one another for over a decade and they have a new aunt to deal with, something that no one wants!  Especially since this new aunt will get a piece of the estate and it apparent that the children all want and need the original will to stand.

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