Ghost on the Case

Title: Ghost on the Case
Author: Carolyn Hart
Expected Publication Date: October 3rd 2017 by Berkley Books
Format: eBook; Hardcover 272 pages
Genre: Cozy Supernatural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Bailey Ruth #8

This series is getting more ridiculous with each book. Easily three-quarters of the reiteration could be removed and you would be left with a decent, though not great, novella. Granted, the multiple outfit changes have been reduced, but to take its place, Carolyn Hart is under the belief that her readers cannot retain plot points and characters and needs to re-explain each every other chapter.

Since excessive detail goes into informing the reader who Bailey Ruth Raeburn is and her job as an emissary, there is no reason that you have to read this series in order. Each book follows the same tired format of a good person caught in a bad situation needing help and Paul Wiggins from ‘Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions’ picks Bailey Ruth to return to earth to help but she must follow the ‘Precepts for Earthy Visitation’ or the “Rescue Express” will come smoking in and pick her up before her task can be completed.

Yet again, using various disguises, identities, and outfit changes, Bailey Ruth saves the day. The case is solved, the outfit is on point and those bumbling around the Adelaide, Oklahoma police department would not be able to save their town or citizenry without the help of the perpetually twenty-seven year old that always knows where to find passwords, extra handfuls of candy, or the perfect booth at Lulu’s.

Legal Tender

Title: Legal Tender
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Published: October 1st 1996 by HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardcover; 291 pages
Genre: Suspense
Series: Rosato and Associates #2

I need to make the Rosato and Associates series more prevalent in my reading choices since I enjoyed this book and the previous “Everywhere that Mary Went”, so much. Lisa Scottoline keeps the guessing and the developments on track so the reader is never bored and there is no lag time between events.

Bennie Rosato is a six-foot blonde that is hard to miss either in the courtroom or walking down the street. She is one of two partners in a growing law firm and is knocked for a loop when her partner and ex-lover announces that he is dissolving the partnership. Not to worry, she can keep her clients involving police misconduct and excessive-force cases and the good guy that he is has rented new office space for her and anyone that wants to go with her. When she had initially called the meeting, where this announcement was made, it was only to verify rumors that some of her associates where floating their resumes. Little did she know that she would be blindsided and her world would implode.

Since everyone heard the argument with Mark that followed their showdown, it is no surprise that when his body was found the next morning Bennie would be the first and to some the only suspect but Lisa Scottoline would not make it that easy for the readers. What follows is a well-braided tale with planted evidence, a corporate CEO that is also murdered, running around NYC in various outfits and identities, a mysterious meeting in a boathouse, a lawyer posing as a lawyer, all the while still making it to a doctor’s appointment for her mother.

How the ending was pulled off sounded more like a slapstick vignette with suspect and police alike stumbling into a courtroom. There are characters that you will adore, there are characters that you do not trust and are hoping that Bennie’s radar is working and there is humor, lots of humor, and hope, which is exactly what Bennie needs as she faces her next escapade and life with her mother.

Death on Tap

Title: Death on Tap
Author: Ellie Alexander
Expected Publication: October 3rd 2017 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Sloan Kraus #1

I should have known that if the murder did not happen in the first twenty five percent of the book, that this was not a “who-done-it” and that the body floating in the fermenter was only an incidental part of the bigger picture.

Leavenworth, Washington is a Pacific Northwest destination town centered on beer with its Bavarian architecture and Oktoberfest banners. Sloan Krause and her husband Mac are brew masters for his family’s business Das Keller. All that came to a crashing halt when Sloan finds her husband in a compromising position with a barmaid and she wastes no time in heading off to the newest nanobrewery in town - Nitro.

All would have been fine and dandy if it was not for the body that they found floating in the tank at Nitro and fingers being pointed at Mac since he has a bit of a temper and a business on a downhill slide. Sloan wants to clear his name, if not for him, but for his aging parents that have been disappointed by Mac’s most recent antics and bad business deals.

This is where the book takes off in all sorts of directions and the idea of this being called a mystery left completely in the dust. This is a book about family, about beer and hops, about coming to terms with life in foster care and how people can take you in and make you one of their own. Plus, a murder that needed to be tied up since it was mention earlier in the book.

This is the first book in the Sloan Krause Mystery series that comes across as flat. The ending offers some interest in the next planned book, but as of now, I do not see myself waiting for its arrival.

Sleep Like A Baby

Title: Sleep Like a Baby
Author: Charlaine Harris
Expected Publication: September 26th 2017 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBooks; Hardcover: 272 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #10

I have to admit that I am not reading this series in order. Sometimes I read a book, sometimes I catch the Hallmark version so when I picked up “Sleep Like a Baby”, I was somewhat taken aback by where Aurora’s life is but at the same time, I was grateful that Charlaine Harris did a little bit of catching the reader up with what had been happening.

Just as Robin is getting ready to jump on a plane for his big night at the awards ceremony, Aurora comes down with a horrible case of the flu. With a new baby to care for, and a stepbrother that is helpful but has his own life, Aurora cannot be left alone. Robin decides to call Virginia, a local caregiver that can come in nights to help with both Aurora and two-month-old Sofie.

Turns out that there is a whole mess brewing when Aurora wakes to find her daughter crying and the caregiver nowhere in sight and a dead body in the backyard. Thankfully, it is not Virginia but a woman that had been stalking Robin. This case just got a whole lot stranger for the local Lawrenceton police department and now Robin is in panic mode since he was not there to protect his family.

With her head swimming in germs and a crying infant that needs nursing every two hours, Aurora does her best to find answers but at the same time, she needs to be there for her mother when adversity strikes Aida’s life.

This book did get a bit silly from time to time, for instance, Aurora’s sentimentality to a diaper bag because a dear friend gave it to her, made me shake my head at her. I know that this series is kinder and gentler than others out there are, but sometimes Aurora’s gosh-golly-gee outlook irritates me.