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Purrfect Cut by Nic Saint

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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I stayed up a tad late last night to finish reading Purrfect Cut by Nic Saint. It’s the 14th in the “Mysteries of Max” series of cozy cat mysteries. Lead characters are Max, the cat, and Odelia, his human.

When a famous fashion designer is found murdered in his bed with his live-in lover hovering over him and holding the knife, the case seems pretty clear. Nevertheless, Detective Chase Kingsley is tasked with investigating, and he’s accompanied to the designer’s home by Odelia and her four cats. The cats, however, are feeling neglected and decide to go on strike and not help Odelia investigate. Their decision has dire consequences when Max and Dooley are accidentally left behind, where they find themselves confronted by another “cat whisperer” and his nasty Siamese, Tank. It’s going to take all of their wits and a lot of luck for them to solve the case and get out alive.

This one took a slightly dark turn in some places, but it was fun and humorous for the most part. Odelia’s grandmother started out being her usual annoying self, although she redeemed herself by the end.

Favorite lines:
♦ I may not be strong or courageous, but what I lack in bravery I make up for in size.
♦ Taking care of one cat is one thing, or even two, but four? Not many humans were prepared to take their love of pets to such an extreme.Four? Amateurs. LOL!
♦ A cat, given the proper training, could run a company just as well as the next CEO. After all, a lot of Fortune 500 companies are run by jackals and hyenas, and some even by an ass.

Solid four stars

Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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I finished my work book at lunch today. It was Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley, and it’s the 7th part of the “Broken Heart” series of paranormal romance. The main character in this one is Elizabeth Bretton, who’s been turned into a vampire and now dwells in the para-friendly town of Broken Heart.

As if being a vampire isn’t bad enough, now Elizabeth has a vengeful ghost trying to kill her. Not long after, a handsome were-jaguar, Tez, arrives in Broken Heart and immediately gravitates to Elizabeth. As other established couples in town begin bickering, Elizabeth has reason to believe that the legendary curse of Broken Heart has been unleashed upon the residents once again. Worse, it may have been her own ancestor who put the curse in motion. Now it’s up to Elizabeth, with Tez at her side, to get to the bottom of the curse and break it once and for all.

I’ve read and enjoyed other books in this series. They’re mostly lighthearted fun, but there’s just enough of a creepy factor involved to prevent the stories from being all fluff. I enjoyed the pace of the plot and the pacing of the romance between Elizabeth and Tez.

Favorite lines:
♦ “Just thinking about how to solve this mystery.” // “Okay, Velma.”
♦ “I have no intention of bringing a donkey into our bedroom.”
♦ I was a vampire. I had speed, strength, the ability to control minds, and I could make beautiful jewelry.
♦ “Not even Oprah could fix this.”

Fun story, four stars

Batten Down the Belfry by Diane Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I've just completed the book Batten Down the Belfry by Diane Kelly. It's the fourth "House-Flipper" mystery, with main character Whitney Whitaker.

Whitney and Buck, her cousin and business partner, have just purchased an old church and parsonage for back taxes. Whitney envisions turning the church into an entertainment venue and repurposing the parsonage house as a restaurant. They don't even have a chance to begin work before the man who owns the surrounding acreage arrives to accuse them of trespassing on his property. He says he filed an adverse possession claim and that the five acres belong to him. Whitney and Buck turn the matter over to their title company and begin work, all the while hoping that Nolan Sibley's claim doesn't hold up. In the meantime, the man who delivered the replacement stained glass windows is found dead in the belfry. Local police determine he was murdered, casting another shadow over the property and the proceedings. Whitney can't resist getting involved in the investigation as she seeks to clear her name and get justice for the victim.

First things first: as someone who's spent the bulk of my employment years working real estate in one form or another, ( I had questions. )
I'm not saying the author didn't do her research, but she should have spoken to a friendly neighborhood title company to get some perspective.

Real estate rant aside, the story was fast-paced and entertaining. Whitney was depicted working and relaxing in equal measure to investigating. I like that in a cozy mystery. In prior books in the series, I found her to be impetuous to the point of stupidity, and this one was no departure. I am also dismayed that this is their fourth flip (fourth book, fourth flip) and each of their projects has involved someone being murdered on site. Egad! I'd quit the business after the second incident, I think. I can only hope that future books in the series have some poor sod getting murdered at the lumberyard or the thrift mall. Eesh. Finally, since I'm in a ranty mood:
( SPOILERS )

Favorite line: What is family for if not to tease relentlessly?

The book was entertaining, filled with twists and turns and things that did not seem at all related at first, and it kept my attention. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars. Since I can't, I'll round up to 4.

Flakes by Lucy Lennox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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It was after midnight when I began reading the novella Flakes by May Archer and Lucy Lennox, and I finished it in less than two hours. This is billed as a prequel to the authors' "Licking Thicket" series of humorous male/male romance. The main characters are interior designer Colin Kearns and contractor Ryder Richards.

It's New Year's Eve, and Colin just wants to finish up some last minute details on a house that he's working on with Ryder's crew. Ryder, however, has sent his crew home early and has no sense of urgency, unlike Colin does. And really, sexy Ryder has been a thorn in Colin's side on every project they've ever worked on together. By the time he's had enough of Ryder's chicanery for one night, the forecasted bad weather has hit, stranding Colin with Ryder.

Ryder has long been attracted to the fussy, sassy Colin, but he's kept his distance. Tonight, however, with just the two of them stuck here on New Year's Eve, Ryder breaks out the moonshine and ropes Colin into a game of Truth or Dare. Turns out, Colin isn't as remote and unaffected as he seems, and when things get a bit heated between them, it may just be the start of not only a new year, but something good.

I know this was only a novella, but it seemed super rushed. The guys went from "you annoy the shit out of me" to "I'm in love with you" over the course of NYE. Okaaaaay. The story had all the hallmarks of what I enjoy from these authors: bickering, bantering, humor and heat, but I wish it would have been a tad more realistic, such as the two of them admitting to a mutual attraction with a promise to see how it plays out.

Favorite lines:
♦ I'd stared so long and hard at his ass, I'd been shocked not to get a subpoena from the perv police.
♦ "I wonder if PornHub has a selection of videos of sexy men simply checking off items on their task list with authority."
♦ "My mom's attained her final form, in which she can literally be everywhere in the Thicket at once."

Fun and funny story, but I'm knocking a star off for how rushed it was. Four stars.

Murder Unmentionable by Meg London

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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At lunch today, I finished the book I'd taken to work. It was Murder Unmentionable by Meg London. This is the first in her "Sweet Nothings" cozy mystery series. The main character is Emma Taylor.

After finding her boyfriend has cheated on her, Emma leaves her fast-paced life in New York and returns home to Paris, TN to help her Aunt Arabella revamp her lingerie shop, called Sweet Nothings. When she learns that Arabella has amassed a collection of vintage lingerie, Emma encourages her to rebrand as a vintage shop. The renovations are going well, and Emma is enjoying spending time with family and friends, but her happiness is short-lived when Guy, her cheating boyfriend, shows up in a bid to win her back. Emma resolves to remain firm, but the choice to reconcile is taken from her hands when Guy is murdered in Sweet Nothings. Now the police and locals are looking at Emma. Needing to clear her name and salvage the reputation of the shop, Emma starts looking into the crime herself.

Although this contained a lot of cozy mystery tropes, it was an enjoyable story. Characters are portrayed well, and I really liked Arabella's feisty friend, Sylvia. I sussed out the killer rather quickly, but it was fun to read along and see how it all played out. I could have done without the jackass police officer, but at least he wasn't a romantic interest for Emma.

Favorite lines:
♦ She'd rather sit alone in front of the television eating ice cream out of the carton.
♦ "Looks like a body. We got ourselves a real, live dead body."
♦ "It's what the French call the piece of least resistance."

Fun story, four stars

( Trope Test )

Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman by Traci Wilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I finished reading Mrs Morris and the Wolfman by Traci Wilton last night. This is the 7th "Salem B&B" mystery, starring widow Charlene Morris.

Charlene is always happy to see new businesses thrive in Salem; therefore, she's excited to attend a double-feature at the newly reopened theater. The showing is the classic Wolfman movies. It's a chance for owners Darren and Elise Shultz to have a soft opening of the theater and showcase the specialty seasoning salts that Darren built his fortune on. However, when Elise chokes on her popcorn and dies at the hospital, it's determined she was poisoned. The police gravitate to her spouse as the primary suspect, but Charlene can't believe Darren would kill her; he loved his wife. With the help of her resident ghost, Jack, Charlene starts to dig into Darren and Elise's lives, in an effort to find who would have wanted to murder Elise and frame Darren for the crime.

Charlene was pleasantly UNodious in this one. She wasn't quite as over the top with her investigation, and she even dug her heels in when someone wanted her to go to the theater after it had been closed down. Jack continues to be a spectral sphincter. New characters were introduced, and we got to reconnect with familiar ones. The plot kept me engaged.

Favorite line: "I can't wait to get back to Pittsburgh. Go, Penguins!"

A marked improvement over recent books in the series--four stars.

Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Since I had New Year's Day off, I spent a good chunk of it reading Madrigals and Mayhem, which is the fourth book in author Elizabeth Penney's "Cambridge Bookshop" cozy mystery series. The main character is Molly Kimball.

Molly is excited to experience Christmas in England for the first time. She's especially pleased when she learns the toyshop not far from her family's bookshop is reopening. Molly is even more delighted to find out the new owner, Charlotte Pemberly, is around her age. When Charlotte offers to give Molly and her friend, Daisy, a quick tour, they come across Charlotte's cousin, Barnaby, who is deathly ill. Later, it's determined that Barnaby was poisoned by fairy cakes, and Molly can't help but wonder if Charlotte was the intended victim. After all, the family of her recently-deceased grandfather's widow are angry that Charlotte inherited everything, including the toyshop, Arthur's house, and a very valuable doll. Not even Charlotte knows where the doll is. After a series of break-ins, it becomes apparent that someone besides Charlotte is searching for the doll. Molly soon finds herself in the thick of things as she strives to clear Charlotte of any wrong doing and help her find the doll.

The story was delightful. I enjoyed the setting, both the physical location and the season. Characters are superb, even the odious ones. Once again, we get a book-within-a-book, as Molly spends some time reading a children's book that may hold clues to the doll's whereabouts. However, like previous books in the series, the narrative is almost fully taken up with Molly's investigation. Even when she's out having fun, she often pauses to eavesdrop on a pertinent conversation or ask some questions. Let the girl enjoy some down time! I was somewhat disappointed that a few items were never resolved. For instance, it was never explained why the poisoned cakes were made to look like they'd come from Daisy's tea shop.

Favorite lines:
♦ No one could resist a toy shop, not even a hardened police officer.
♦ When it came to favorite childhood toys, it wasn't about the actual toy. It was all the memories it invoked.
♦ These old colleges had quite a high level of security, instituted to preserve the sanctity of studying scholars--or to protect them from impromptu attacks by barbarians.
♦ The things we ended up cherishing the most were not always the most valuable.

Lovely book, solid four. Best of all, I'm now on track to read 365 books this year. LOL!

Rebel Without a Claus : A Little Tombstone Novelette by Celia Kinsey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I knocked back Rebel Without a Claus over the course of two evenings. It's the second book in Celia Kinsey's "Little Tombstone" series. The main character is Emma.

At Christmas in Little Tombstone, a local named Edgar Martinez always dresses up as Santa, to the delight of the children. This year, however, Edgar is a no-show, which is very much out of character for him. He never even notified anyone he wouldn't make it. Emma finds a substitute, but she can't help worrying about Edgar. When she goes to check on him, she gets differing stories from his various family members. Is Edgar safe, or has he fallen victim to foul play?

The story was cute and fun and perfect for the season. Characters were portrayed well, including Earp, the ancient pug that Emma inherited from her great aunt. I also adored her nephew, Maxwell, who was determined to celebrate a medieval Christmas. YE OLDE Christmas, as he called it. It was more of a holiday story than a mystery, but that suited me just fine. I often think that not all mysteries need to involve a murder.

Favorite line: She looked like she'd sucked a sack of lemons.

Four stars

Murder A La Mode by Lena Gregory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Finished reading Murder a la Mode, by Lena Gregory, last night. It's the first in her "Coffee & Cream Café" cozy mystery series. The main character is Danika "Dani" Delaney.

Dani leaves her less than glamorous life in NYC to return to her home in Long Island to take over her Uncle Jimmie's ice cream shop. It's not how she envisioned her homecoming, but after breaking up with her boyfriend and being unable to land a job in her chosen field, it's better than nothing. Dani enjoys reconnecting with family and old friends, until her first encounter with her ex-boyfriend from high school. Luca broke her heart when he kissed Heather at the prom, which is the main reason Dani hightailed it to NYC afterwards. Things only get worse when Dani finds Luca's estranged wife, Heather, dead in the basement of Jimmie's. Now everyone in town is convinced she bumped Heather off so she could reclaim Luca. Dani isn't one to sit back and let things unfold; therefore, she begins asking questions and doing some of her own sleuthing. If she's not careful, however, she may end up as dead as Heather.

This was an entertaining story that kept my attention. There were layers of subplots going on, most of which involved Heather's clique. It was annoying to read how the local gossip mill could weave an entire sordid story out of one small thing. Characterizations were good, and the plot made sense. A few things bugged me:
SPOILERS!!!
- Was Harry Luca's father or his uncle? At various times, Heather was referred to as his daughter-in-law.
- If Dani is still carrying a torch for Luca, why does Detective Barlowe set her lady bits tingling?
- If Heather was the catalyst for breaking Luca and Dani up, lo those many years ago, why did he marry the bitch?!

Favorite lines:
♦ I don't know what I ever did to Karma, but that witch sure had it in for me.
♦ My day was steadily going downhill, and that's pretty hard to do when you start out at the bottom.
♦ "Maybe they got a midnight hankering for ice cream and brawled over vanilla or rocky road."
♦ My idea of ghost hunting involved a bucket of popcorn, Josh Gates, and an Expedition Unknown marathon. Hell yeah!
♦ I went from feeling all righteous Magnum PI to blundering Shaggy and his sidekick Scooby Doo.

Very good, and I'd read more in the series. Four stars.

( Trope Test )

Wow, 9 out of 10 yeses. Eesh.

Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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After running my monthly errands and putting groceries away (not to mention stowing 175 pounds of cat litter and cat food in the basement/garage), I finished reading Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs. It's the first book in her "Cackleberry Club" cozy mystery series, featuring recent widow Suzanne Dietz. I'd previously read the second book in the series, but nothing here seemed to have been spoiled.

Suzanne and her friends, Toni and Petra, have all lost their husbands in one way or another (death, divorce, dementia) and they've banded together for companionship and to launch a business enterprise--a diner called the Cackleberry Club. Things are going well, but when Suzanne discovers a local attorney shot to death in his vehicle behind the diner, their small town suddenly seems more sinister. Suzanne is as curious as everyone else, but it's not until her deceased husband is implicated in a scheme in which millions of dollars have gone unaccounted for in the building of a local prison that Suzanne starts to do some investigating of her own. She can't help but feel that the attorney's murder is somehow tied into the missing millions, and she's determined to clear her husband's name.

The plot premise was interesting, and the story included a couple subplots that were also intriguing. Characters were portrayed well, and Suzanne spent plenty of time at work rather than constantly haring off to investigate. There were some minor editing errors that were aggravating more than anything. The biggest drawback for me is that there was no way for the reader or Suzanne to piece together any clues until the very end at the "Aha!" moment. Give me a chance!

Favorite lines:
♦ Now that she was on the far side of forty, she didn't have much trouble spotting an asshole from a mile away.
♦ "Most people just pay for their eggs versus financing them."
♦ Suzanne crept down the stairs in the dark. Baxter padded softly behind her. No way did he want to be left behind. After all, the dog ghoulies might grab him.
♦ "I'll be happy when my work is done. When women no longer need a safe place to run to."

Good start to the series. Four stars.

( Trope Test )