“A Day in Mossy Creek”          

by Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, 

Virginia Ellis and Debra Dixon       

 

        Review #182  

        The fifth book in the Mossy Creek Series

You won't want to leave Mossy Creek!  These pages offer readers a taste of country charm with some characters that feel like family.  You may not want to have a couple of them as actual relatives, but you will feel closely connected to them!


A Day in Mossy Creek is a southern soap opera with heart.  Each chapter features a different character and is written by a different author.  Surprisingly, all of these individual units come together to form an overall look at this small town and its people.  This unique style of writing actually makes the stories more realistic, as readers seem to go from house to house collecting tantalizing tidbits of gossip.


The events in this small town are both fun and fascinating.  From yard sales to years-old yearnings, there is something in these pages that touch a chord of familiarity.  The mundane appears more meaningful when the characters are loved.  And that's where this book shines.  The people that walk through these pages are similar to those we know in real life, only better.  There is a wonderful emotional connection to them, causing the pages to turn with a steady rhythm.


I loved this book!

“Agatha Raisin and 
the Day the Floods Came”           

             by  M.C. Beaton

 

Review #181

Tetchy Agatha Raisin's attempt at a little R&R in the wake of her beloved husband's defection to a French monastery gets her revved up for another mystery.  During her getaway, she notices a newlywed couple; within days, the groom drowns the bride. 

But, the real story takes place upon Agatha's return to her Cotswold home. During a dramatic flash flood, Agatha sees another dead bride, wearing a white gown and clutching a bridal bouquet, sweeping past on the river, an apparent suicide.  Agatha decides to investigate with the aid of her new neighbor, the dashing, cultured and vaguely lascivious mystery writer, John Armitage.  She also, discovers her own surprising flair for deceit and disguise.

Funny book!

"Twelve Sharp"     by  Janet Evanovich

             Review #180

             A Stephanie Plum Mystery.

Stephanie Plum, the not terribly competent bounty hunter tries to bring in some small-time criminals to lower the number of outstanding cases.  She gets us up to speed on her life as a bounty hunter in Trenton, NJ; her ever-eccentric family; and her co-workers in her cousin's bail-bond office. It doesn't take more than a few pages.

The main focus of this mystery is the disappearance of Ranger’s daughter.  Ranger, one of the two men in and out of Stephanie's life (the other is Morelli the cop), is accused of kidnapping his daughter.  He has disappeared and a woman who says she is Ranger’s wife stalks Stephanie.  Uncertain of what’s going on and certain that Ranger didn't kidnap the girl, Stephanie tries to help solve the crime.

As usual, Evanovich uses all of her considerable arsenal here, wisecracking humor and set pieces about cars, neighborhoods, family matters, and the funeral parlor (now with new directors). However, she has added celebrity stalking and identity theft to sketch a scary bad guy, and she creates in Ranger's daughter, Julie, a spirited 10-year-old version of her mesmerizing father. The ending is downright terrifying,

This book has humor, but, I must admit it scared me too!  Good read!   

“Resort To Murder”  

        by Carolyn Hart

         Review #179

         A Henrie O Mystery

In this highly entertaining puzzle, 70-ish sleuth Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins (aka Henrie O) is in a somber, reflective mode, as befits her age and her life experiences. Recovering from pneumonia, Henrie O isn't sure she feels up to the task of dealing with the emotional maelstrom stewing around the Bermuda wedding of her son-in-law, Lloyd Drake, and beautiful Connor Bailey, a wealthy widow.

A granddaughter, unhappy about her father's marriage, is bent on making mischief, while the bride-to-be can't seem to stop herself from attracting the attentions of any male within eyeshot. Lloyd doesn't cope well with his fiancé’s penchant for flirtation, and Connor's lawyer, Steve Jennings, appears to have more than Connor's financial interests at heart.

The hotel where the party has gathered witnessed tragedy the year before, when Roddy Worrell, the manager's husband, plunged to his death from a tower. According to rumor, Roddy had been infatuated with Connor, who spurned his advances. When a ghost is sighted at the tower, word spreads that Roddy has come back to haunt Connor.

The subsequent death of a hotel employee who knew more than he should about the apparition puts Henrie O on the murder scent once again.

This series has a deeper and darker emotional texture than Hart's more lively and lighthearted ‘Death on Demand’ series, but her fans will enjoy the complex plot, local color and vivid characters. 

I love Henie O books!

“Death of a Traveling Man” 
           by M.C. Beaton


Review #178


Scottish police constable Hamish MacBeth is every bit as charming, humorous, and clever as ever.  The slightly lethargic, tousle-haired village copper in the Scottish Highlands, has been promoted against his will. As Sergeant, he makes more money, but must suffer more work as well, not to mention the enthusiasm of his new helper, Police Constable Willie Lamont, who has less talent for police work than for cleaning, polishing, and scrubbing. His insistence on keeping the police station spotless is driving MacBeth mad.


Hamish rescues a young boy from the river and saves some stranded mountain climbers; he listens to a minister confess wavering faith, is plagued by a superior who resents his promotion and has repeated run-ins with a drifter who parks his van behind the minister's house.


The “devastatingly handsome” drifter, Sean, charms four women out of their money and harasses Hamish's ladylove, Priscilla. When Sean's body is found after a fatal bludgeoning, Hamish seeks out the young man's rock-singer girlfriend and unhappily discovers a blackmailing scheme that incriminates some locals. Hamish has a difficult task of finding Sean”s killer without upsetting Lochdubh's placid way of life or his police superiors in Strathbane.


The characters are wonderfully original; the plot is cleverly crafted and intriguing to the end. There's lots of laugh-aloud humor; and even the darker, bleaker parts of the story add to its overall appeal. Love when I can laugh through a mystery book!

 “Even Money”  
by Dick and Felix Francis

Review #177

Bookmaker, Ned Talbot is struggling with his wife's mental illness and the technology that threatens to give the big bookmaking outfits an insurmountable advantage over his small family business. Now he must contend with murder.

Soon after a man shows up at the Royal Ascot and identifies himself as Ned's father, Peter, (whom Ned believed long dead), a thug demanding money stabs Peter to death. Ned is in for even more shocks when he learns his father was the prime suspect in his mother's murder, and that Peter's killing, rather than a random act of violence, may be linked to a mysterious electronic device used in some horse-racing fraud. 

Ned must juggle his amateur investigations into past and present crimes along with his demanding family responsibilities.

Fans of Dick Francis books will find this book deals less with horse racing than with horse betting.  I liked it, but prefer the earlier books by him.

“Santa Fe Edge” by Stuart Woods


Review #176
The 4th in the Ed Eagle Mystery Series


Superstar lawyer Ed Eagle’s nefarious ex-wife, Barbara, manages to escape from a Mexican prison and head back to the States with murder on her mind. Her targets are Ed and his new wife, Susannah, a beautiful actress. Barbara isn't the only fugitive on the lam. 


Teddy Fay, the notorious ex-CIA operative, has arrived in Santa Fe, hoping to start a new life with his girlfriend, Lauren. But eager young CIA recruit, Todd Bacon, is hot on his trail. New to the mix is Ed's latest client, golf pro Tip Hanks, who is under suspicion for the murder of his wife.


Stuart’s Stone Barrington and Holly Barker series are my favorites of his books.
However, Ed Eagle is an interesting and sometimes, funny character. I enjoyed this book!

"The Seventeen Second Miracle" 
by Jason F. Wright

          Review #175

Rex Connor's life is perfect until one fateful afternoon in 1970 when, as a lifeguard, he diverts his gaze for 17 seconds and a life is lost.

Forty years later, the events of that day live on in his son, Cole, who has chosen to share the experience in a unique way. This fall, Cole has invited three struggling teens to learn about Rex and the Seventeen Second Miracle.

Slowly, the group learns how Rex turned those 17 seconds into little miracles. By choosing to live his life believing small instances could change the world, Rex did make it a better place.

The lessons are hard, and each of the students face their own secrets and trials, but over time, they begin to see how perspective and a few seconds can put a smile on even the grumpiest of faces.

Another great book by Jason Wright!

“Death of a Witch”   by M.C. Beaton

 

Review #174

A Hamish Macbeth Mystery

Police constable Hamish Macbeth (the Scottish Highlands' most stubborn and romantically challenged) bachelor returns to his home village of Lochdubh from a disappointing vacation to discover a witch stirring up trouble. To Macbeth's annoyance, the sex-starved local men have fallen under the spell of Catriona Beldame, who turns out to be a runaway bride with a shady past.

Hamish longs to prove she's selling illegal (and bogus) remedies for sexual dysfunction, and warns her to stop if she is. He gets a shock when someone murders Beldame and sets her house on fire...soon after Macbeth is overheard to say he'd like to kill her. Three more murders of other women quickly follow. Could a serial killer be loose in sleepy Lochdubh?

As usual, Beaton's crisp plotting and effervescent humor complement Macbeth's deft crime solving.