Tag: mystery

REVIEW: The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

This is book two in the Fixer series. The Fixer was my favorite book of 2015. The Long Game is shaping up to be my favorite book of 2016!

Tess Kendrick is back, ready to stick up for the little guy. Still trying to figure out her place in her family. Wondering who to trust in Washington – and even at her own school.

I’d love to tell you more but this story is so twisty, it’s hard to share but not spoil. Just trust me. This was amazing. Mystery. Suspense.  All kinds of awesome.

the-long-game

Review

I adore Tess Kendrick. Her dry humor and snark are fun. I love her commitment to take up for the underdog, even if it puts her against very powerful people. I love her friends, especially Asher who is a delight. He is one of my favorite characters in all of literature. So sarcastic and funny!

When I started this book, I loved it because it was some of my favorite characters doing things I loved to read about. It was fun. It was comfortable in the best possible way. A smooth transition from book one to book two.

Then BAM! Everything – action, betrayal, danger – amps up to 11. Suddenly I found myself reading a very different sort of story. It was tense. It was unbelieveable. And it was awesome! I am hoping to have time to read it again over Thanksgiving or Christmas break. I can’t wait to sink into that story again!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of my go-to authors. If you’ve never read her stuff, start with The Fixer and then The Long Game. Then, if you love her work like I do, try her series, The Naturals. The final book in that series came out earlier this month, so you can read them all, back to back, without waiting.

 

REVIEW: The Calamity Cafe by Gayle Leeson

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A new culinary mystery series. Amy wants so much more for her life than waitressing at Lou’s Joint. She has culinary training. She has ideas about decorations, ambiance, and food far above what she serves at Lou’s. Amy offers to buy out the restaurant so she can build her dream. But Lou Lou, the owner, won’t have it. Unfortunately when Amy later finds Lou Lou dead, she is suspect number one!

Calamity Cafe

Review

This is the first book in the series, and I really enjoyed it. Amy’s community is well-defined and likable. I’d be happy to enjoy more stories with this crew.  Amy’s sleuthing evolves naturally from her fear of being arrested, even though law enforcement says they are following other leads. The solution is logical and I predicted the killer, although there were a couple other possibilities that seemed legit.

For me, if the solution to the mystery is sound, I’m satisfied with the book. But if the characters are enjoyable, too, I become a fan and will keep following the series. I am a fan of the Down South Cafe series! I can’t wait for book 2!!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Book two, Silence of the Jams, is expected to release on April 4, 2017. (Release days subject to change)

Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent who also writes the Embroidery Mysteries under the name Amanda Lee. I’m looking forward to reading her other books after seeing how great this book was.

 

REVIEW: A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Cat Latimer, published author, inherits a house from her ex-husband and decides to turn it into a writer’s retreat. With her best friend managing the kitchen and the face-to-face details with her guests, they are read for their first group. Cat is NOT, however, ready for her hunky high school sweetheart to be the town handyman. Or for the dead author in her house.

A Story to Kill By Lynn Cahoon

Review

I feel like I am still getting a sense for the main characters in this one, but the mystery was top notch. But I didn’t feel like I had a good sense of the relationship between Cat and her best friend. I wanted to like them and their relationship, but I am not quite there yet. Hopefully that will come in book two.

There were lots of great options in the story for a culprit. None of them felt plunked in just to be a red-herring. They were all well-developed. I guessed the murderer but the motive took longer to puzzle out. The author did a great job of laying the ground work for future books in the series. I can’t wait to read the next one! I’ve included a picture of book two at the bottom of this post. It is scheduled to publish in February of 2017.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Fatality by Firelight by Lynn Cahoon Book 2, Fatality by Firelight, is scheduled to release on February 28, 2017. (Release dates subject to change)

REVIEW: Howard Wallace, PI by Casey Lyall

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Howard Wallace is a middle school detective, ready to solve your mystery! Sure, his “office” is a hodgepodge of discarded school equipment. And he looks really weird in that bathrobe he thinks works as a trench coat. But he’s a good detective. Then a black-mailing case comes to his desk. Even with his “junior partner,” Ivy, helping, Howard might be in over his head on this one.

Howard Wallace PI by Casey Lyall

Review

I love mysteries. They’ve been my favorite genre since I was a kid. So I thought this would be a perfect middle grade mystery for me, even before I started reading.

And then I read the first paragraph.

Immediately, I pictured a black and white scene, and the voice over of a seasoned old detective who had seen everything. I expected him to use the word “dame.” The image fell apart when Howard’s mother called him by his full name, as all moms do when their kids are in trouble. By then, though, I was sold!!

Howard’s “voice” is exceptional. I loved his commentary on things and his perspective on his middle school world. The pacing of his partnership with Ivy was terrific, too. There’s a pretty big cast of characters in this book, but they were all easy to track. Howard’s parents are a great part of the story, too.

The mystery was fantastic! Howard was even better. This would be a great story to read out loud to a class or as a family. I hope there will be many more books staring Howard Wallace, PI!

Rating:♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: A Deadly Row by Casey Mayes

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Savannah Stone and her husband are living out “retirement” in relative peace and quiet. Zach Stone is retired from the Charlotte Police Department after a significant injury. Savannah is a puzzle maker, building math and logic puzzles for newspaper syndication. But Zach’s consulting work draws them back to Charlotte to investigate two murders. Savannah tags along to spend time with Zach and visit their old home. She goes expecting to work on puzzles and maybe visit family and old friends. But she finds herself directly involved in helping find a murderer!

A Deadly Row by Casey Mayes

Review

Lots of mysteries to enjoy with this one! I liked the change to the usual cozy formula of single amateur sleuth and date-able law enforcement character. The married couple working the case was a nice change of pace. Savannah’s fear that something else will happen to Zach makes her abrasive at times, but I was enjoying everything else so much, I was able to ignore that. I loved that there were more things going on in the story than just the murder. Those other pieces were logical and added to the story and the character development rather than being a distraction. The “puzzles” in the story are vaguely described and not provided in the story. That surprised me; I expected a puzzle maker mystery to include puzzles for the reader to solve.

I was able to solve the mysteries before the end of the book, which always makes be feel triumphant. I’ll happily read more in this series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

You can see the covers for the other books in the series below:

Other Books by Casey Mayes