chez_jae: (Archer book)
A Frosty Mug of Murder (The Grumpy Chicken Irish Pub, #1)A Frosty Mug of Murder by Constance Barker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

I finished reading A Frosty Mug of Murder last night. It’s the first book in Constance Barker’s “Grumpy Chicken Irish Pub” series of cozy mysteries. The main character is Ginger O’Mallory.

Ginger and her father own and run the Grumpy Chicken Irish Pub. The pub got its name because it’s allegedly haunted by an angry chicken. Ginger tries to downplay that aspect of the pub, but she has bigger fish to fry when she pays a visit to the town’s resident black widow and finds the woman dead in her home. Ginger dutifully calls the police, one of whom is her Aunt Mae. Aunt Mae assures Ginger they’ll get to the bottom of things, but Ginger is compelled to get involved in the investigation. Soon several of her regulars are involved, too, leading to mayhem. Will the pub’s patrons be able to solve the murder before the police do?

This was a fun story, but it was somewhat vexing to read. Grammar was okay, but the punctuation was a hot mess. There were times I’d have to reread a line to give it the proper inflection in my mind, because it should have ended with a question mark instead of a period. Commas were missing or misused, and it really did lessen my enjoyment of the book. In addition, Ginger spent virtually the entire story haring off to “investigate”. I give kudos to her employee, Dixie, who called her out on her bullsh*t because they needed her at the pub. Characters were portrayed well and included an eclectic mix. There were also the dozens of cats that the victim had in and around her home to add some comic relief.

Favorite lines:
♦ Juicy news gets around a small town faster than a cold in a classroom full of kindergartners.
♦ “You know what they say, the murderer always goes to get a sandwich and then sit in front of the bank after committing the crime.”
♦ “Are you nuts! We’re talking about breaking into a crime scene and picking a team name is your concern?”
♦ “I might need some help here. There is a big black cat chasing me. Oh holy feline hell, there are more of them.”
♦ I wasn’t looking where I was going and tripped over Harry Potter.


Likable enough for a score of four, but poor editing and Ginger’s near-constant sleuthing knock it down to a three.
chez_jae: (Books)
Hoodoo and Just Desserts (Witch Sisters of Stillwater #1)Hoodoo and Just Desserts by Constance Barker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Finished another ebook last night. I read Hoodoo and Just Desserts by Constance Barker. This is the first book in the "Witch Sisters of Stillwater" series of cozy paranormal mysteries. The main character is Mazie.

Mazie loves life in her small hometown of Stillwater. She and her sister share a house with their talking cat, Moody. The peace of Stillwater is threatened, however, by a real estate developer who plans to turn a large parcel of ground adjacent to the historic Civil War battlefield into a water park. Everyone in town is against the project, which means there's no shortage of suspects when the developer ends up dead, skewered on the sword of a statue on the battleground. Mazie's sister, Fern, works in the sheriff's office, and she is burning the candle at both ends in an effort to solve the case. Concerned for her sister, Mazie starts asking some questions of her own. Mazie has the ability to speak to ghosts, and she hopes the three ghosts haunting the battlefield will have some information. Unfortunately, they aren't talking.

An okay story. Not a lot of character development or back story. The plot wasn't smooth; it was somewhat disjointed. Mazie and Moody were fun characters, but Fern was a tad too solemn for my liking.

Favorite lines:
♦ I already had the crazy cat lady down.
♦ "I'm not here to argue with the two of you about liver snacks and sardines."
♦ "She's getting a little pudgy, everyone can see that muffin top. Heck, it's not just a muffin top--it's a pound cake."


Cute read, but lacking substance. Three stars.
chez_jae: (Books)
Last night, I read the rest of A Sinister Slice of Murder by Constance Barker and AJ DeBellis. It's the first ebook in the "Jessie Delacroix" mystery series.

Jessie Delacroix dumps her boyfriend and quits her job in one fell swoop and returns home to the haunted bed and breakfast she inherited from her grandmother and her mom. The people she left in charge of the B&B are becoming afraid of the spooks. Jessie soon learns her grandmother is causing the most ruckus, as she feuds with Carlo, the cook, over how he's running her kitchen. Jessie's mother's spirit tries to tame the tensions, but she isn't having any luck, either. Fortunately, Jessie comes up with a working solution to let the chef and the spirit compromise.

Business is good, especially when a famous fashion designer rents the third-floor suite. His second wife wants to hold a seance in the B&B to contact the spirit of their deceased little boy. During the event, the designer is murdered, and Jessie is determined to find out who wanted the man dead enough to lop off his head.

Well, as murders go, this one was certainly unique. Not only was the victim beheaded, but his head was missing. That was rather macabre for a cozy, but it actually worked. The story was cute and light. Very few characters were fleshed out, but I have hopes for the future. The narrative was a tad trite, but there were no major editing issues.

Favorite line: Let's get this going; I've got a big night with Netflix lined up.

Nothing remarkable about the story, neither good nor bad. Well, except for the method of murder.

Three stars:

***
chez_jae: (Books)
I just polished off a short, cozy ebook mystery. It was A Frozen Scoop of Murder by Constance Barker, and it's the first in a series.

Tara opens her own ice cream shoppe, The Frozen Scoop, and her friends Stormi and Paige help her run it. One of her regular customers, Miss Greta, is the town harridan. When Greta is murdered via peanut dust (everyone in town knew of her allergy to peanuts), Tara can't resist speculating on who may have wanted the woman dead. Was it her nephew, who stood to inherit? Her bff, whom Greta had a falling out with? One of the two men that Greta was allegedly seeing? Or was it someone else?

The story was light and short--perfect for a quick read. It was average at best. There was nothing remarkably good, nor remarkably bad about it. I thought the ending was rushed, but oh well. I don't believe I'll bother reading more in this series, but if you like short cozies, give it a try.

Favorite line: I wouldn't win a foot race with her if the finish line were rimmed with bakery goodies.

Three of five:

♦♦♦

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