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Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Since I have the day off, I finished reading Snow Place for Murder this morning. It’s the third “Mountain Lodge” mystery by author Diane Kelly. The main character is Misty Murphy, owner/operator of the Mountain Lodge in North Carolina.

Nigel Goodwin, a property developer from England, has booked the Mountain Lodge for a week as he attempts to woo investors for a proposed ski resort not far from Misty’s lodge. While she’s pleased with the full booking, Misty is somewhat concerned about how a new resort may affect her business. She’s not the only one—several locals have voiced opposition as well. In the meantime, Misty’s sons have joined her at the lodge while on college break. They’re there to help their mother and get in some runs down the local ski hill. When they go sledding down a small slope in back of the lodge, the boys discover the frozen body of Nigel Goodwin. Now the pressure is on to find a killer before the guests check out of the lodge at the end of the week.

A likable story. It was set around Christmas, but the holiday wasn’t mentioned much so I didn’t feel off for reading it in February. I enjoy Misty’s brand of sleuthing, which typically amounts to doing some research online and reporting her finds to local law enforcement. She also reports anything she overhears that may have relevance. The investors were an interesting, diverse group of characters, and the familiar characters are all people you’d like to know. The plot didn’t pelt along, but it unfolded at a steady pace that made sense as it went along. There was, however, one horrific editing error:( SPOILER )

Favorite lines:
♦ “Can I get you a cup of coffee before you ruin my day?”
♦ I was straining so hard to hear their conversation it was a wonder I didn’t suffer an aneurysm.

Very good (for the most part!). Four stars.

Fiddling with Fate by Diane Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I finally finished another book: Fiddling with Fate by Diane Kelly. It's the third book in her "Southern Homebrew" mystery series. Main character is moonshiner Hattie Hayes.

Hattie is pleased to be expanding her moonshine business via savvy marketing ideas. She's collaborated with a local bluegrass band, the Bootlegging Brothers, to compose and record a jingle for her shop, and she's also teamed up with a local winery to host a Wine and 'Shine event. The Bootlegging Brothers provide the musical entertainment for the evening. When one of the brothers disappears afterward, everyone is shocked. Hattie is even more shocked when he's found dead--murdered by being bashed over the head with one of her moonshine jugs. Hattie knows she should leave the investigation to the police, but she's desperate to restore her brand's good name. She launches her own investigation, cozying up to the suspects and putting clues together in an effort to find a killer.

The story was interesting, although not engrossing. I thought Hattie was a little foolhardy in her amateur investigation. I was also mildly annoyed that the underlying theme was that, once again, her moonshine business was implicated in a murder. That's been the case now with all three books I've read in the series, and it's becoming passé.

Favorite lines:
♦ "Brody's a bluegrasshole."
♦ A woman's got to make her priorities, after all, and housework was pretty far down on my list. I can relate.
♦ "All's fair in love, war, and murder investigations."
♦ If not for some miracle, I would be squashed to death. So this is how I go. I might not be able to have an open casket, but at least my death would be memorable.

This deserves 3.5 stars. I'll be kind and round it up to 4.

Paw and Order by Diane Kelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I had very little left to read of my work book; therefore, I brought it home yesterday and finished it last night. The book was Paw and Order by Diane Kelly, and it's the second in her "Paw Enforcement" series.

Police officer Megan Luz and her canine partner, Brigit, have achieved some notoriety after catching a bomber. For that reason, the police chief assigns Megan and Brigit to patrol the grounds at a rodeo--both to provide a police presence and to provide PR for the department. It should be a simple enough assignment, but a series of purse snatchings soon has Megan on the trail of a thief. Since she aspires to be a detective some day, Megan puts in a lot of leg work on her own in an effort to stop the crimes and catch the thief. In the meantime, her love life is a jumble as Seth, the firefighter she's been on again off again wants to be on again, and Megan also meets mounted police officer Clint at the rodeo. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, Megan may just catch a crook...and her man.

Hm. Not sure how I feel about this story. I haven't read the first in the series, and the author unfortunately spoiled quite a bit of that book in this one. Megan is likeable. I appreciated that she has a minor stutter; it made her more personable. I didn't like that the point-of-view vacillated between Megan (1st person), Brigit (3rd person), and the thief (3rd person). I don't think Brigit's pov added anything to the story at all. Aside from that, she's surprisingly ill-behaved for a (supposedly) well-trained police dog. I will acknowledge that reading part of this in the thief's pov offered insight the reader wouldn't otherwise have. And that's another thing I liked. This wasn't a murder mystery at all. Megan was investigating thefts. Plus, since she's an actual police officer she had a reason to investigate, unlike the main characters in many other cozies. I would have liked to see Megan enjoying some down time. However, she was either patrolling at the rodeo, following up on her investigation, or spending time with Seth or Clint. One aspect I truly enjoyed was how the victims (women) offered up descriptions that only a woman would have noticed, and how Megan (a woman) followed up. It was the clue that ultimately broke the case wide open, but I doubt a male police officer would have even made note of the clue, and he certainly wouldn't have chased down the lead like Megan did.

Favorite lines:
♦ If a rodeo groupie throws herself at a bareback rider at two hundred miles an hour, how long until their genitals meet?
♦ I've got a story for you. It starts with a dark and stormy night and ends with a house crushing you flat, you witch.
♦ Partnering with another bitch definitely had its benefits.
♦ I'd do my best. Give that 110 percent. Maybe I'd even go for 111 percent this time.

I'm waffling on this one. It was interesting and different, but there was a lot of unnecessary bogging down of the narrative. I'll award it three stars.

The Proof Is in the Poison by Diane Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I've just now finished reading The Proof Is in the Poison by Diane Kelly. It's the second book in her "Southern Homebrew" mystery series, featuring moonshine maker Hattie Hayes.

Hattie is excited to promote her moonshine at a model train convention in the nearby convention center. She hands out fliers and hosts a moonshine mixer at the attached hotel. Hattie's marketing pays off when several convention goers visit her shop and buy moonshine. However, when one of the convention participants dies after drinking some of Hattie's shine, the police force her to close her shop while they determine the exact cause of death. With her livelihood on the line, Hattie does some snooping of her own, digging up several clues that she passes along to the detective in charge of the case. Hattie won't rest easy though until a killer is caught and her moonshine is exonerated.

The setting of a model train convention was certainly unique, and I enjoyed it. The participants/contestants were serious about their set ups and their vying for prizes, all of which meant there were a multitude of suspects. Hattie took some rather foolish risks, which exasperated her kinda-sorta boyfriend, Marlon. Characters were portrayed well and the plot flowed smoothly.

Favorite lines:
♥ Common sense was sometimes an oxymoron.
♥ "Too bad they don't make those pacifiers in adult sizes. I'd love to have one to stick in my mother's mouth the next time she nags me about my hair or clothes."
♥ "People trivialize OCD, even make jokes about it, but it's not a laughing matter. People with it have a hell of a time. It's not easy to live in an uncertain, imperfect world when you have a desperate need for things to be certain and perfect."
♥ "Be good while I'm gone. Don't be lazy. Maybe chase a bug or do some squats. It'll be good for you."
I have a similar conversation with my cats daily. Mine goes like this: "You be good cats while I'm gone. No fighting, no biting. Get your chores done." LOL!

Very good, four stars.

Getaway With Murder by Diane Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Last night, I powered through the rest of Getaway With Murder, which is the first book in author Diane Kelly's "Mountain Lodge" cozy mystery series. The story is told primarily in first person pov by the main character, Misty Murphy. A few short chapters are told in third purrson pov by Misty's cat, Yeti. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for that, but I did find it amusing.

Turning 50 brings about several major changes for Misty. She and her husband come to an amenable divorce, and she invests her settlement in an old lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Misty loved visiting there, and she wants to restore the lodge to its former glory. She's fortunate to come across handyman Rocky Crowder, who does the necessary renovations for a reasonable price and then offers to stay on for maintenance in exchange for room and board and the ability to work at his paying gig. Better yet, Misty manages to fill the 20-room lodge with a group on a yoga retreat. Things are going well until the yoga instructor is found dead just outside the lodge. Unwilling to see the reputation of her lodge tarnished, Misty helps with the investigation as much as she's able. She also does some minor sleuthing of her own, aided by Rocky. Will they be able to solve the murder, or will Misty's dreams for her future turn into a nightmare?

The story was enjoyable, if not remarkable. I appreciated that Misty was a more mature character, and that her investigation was subtle and comprised mainly of her trying to mentally puzzle things out and put clues together. She didn't ask indelicate questions or outright accuse anyone of killing Sasha. The budding romance between her and Rocky was sweet, in part because it's very slow building. There were many potential suspects, but I'm pleased that I figured it out long before Misty did.

A couple things niggled at me:( Spoilers! )

Favorite lines:
♥ I found myself again realizing that growing older had its benefits, a big one being that you no longer worried so much about other people's opinions. It was freeing.
♥ What if the killer had gone after Kendall, too? What if she was lying dead somewhere in a ditch? And why, when we worry that someone has died, do we always assume they end up in a ditch?

I'm giving this a score of four, but I'm still going to put it to my "Cozy Mystery Trope Test":

( Trope Test )

Good thing I wasn't basing the score on this! That's pretty even.

Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Last night I finished reading Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly. It's book 1 in the "House-Flipper" mystery series, featuring Whitney Whitaker and her cat, Sawdust.

Whitney works for a company that manages properties, and she also does construction and restoration. When a real estate mogul offers her a fixer-upper at a great price, Whitney pounces on the offer. She knows that she and her cousin, Buck, can turn the home into a showplace and sell it quickly and at a good profit. However, the very night she closes on the house, a fire breaks out in one of the smaller bedrooms. That's only the first thing to go wrong. Whitney begins to suspect she's been sold a lemon, and she confronts Rick Dunaway, the man who sold it to her. He agrees to cover the cost of her insurance deductible, but when Dunaway is later found dead outside Whitney's new house, she becomes a prime suspect in his murder. Now she has police detective Collin Flynn dogging her every move, an evicted tenant out for her blood, the media hounding her, and a real estate exam to study for. Whitney knows she'll never get this house fixed up and sold until Dunaway's murder is solved, and she takes it upon herself to launch her own investigation. What she turns up, however, may get her killed.

I'm on the fence about this one. Whitney was an engaging character, and other characters were done well. I liked the fact that she doesn't have a run-of-the-mill job, like so many heroines of cozies, but once again, the potential love interest is in law enforcement. Yawn. And, might I add, I am having trouble accepting Collin as a romantic interest for Whitney. He basically humiliated her and all but ruined her career, and she still gets all tingly around him? You can tell she's not Irish; we hold grudges for-ev-er. I also didn't like Whitney's "investigative" tactics, which amounted to confronting people. It's a wonder she didn't end up murdered. Sheesh. Another thing I disliked was that Collin was so forthcoming in sharing information with Whitney. Uh, no. The police aren't going to show their hand to a prime suspect.

Favorite line: "In a pickle, aren't you?"

The story was mildly interesting, but too much of it was implausible and difficult to accept. I might read the next one in the series, just to see if some of my suspicions about this one are correct. Average score.