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.

Last Resort

Title: Last Resort
Author: Jeff Shelby
Published: August 29th 2014 by Mission Bay Publishing
Format: eBook, 298 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Moose River Mystery #2

It had been so long since I had read the first book in the series, “The Murder Pit” that I am glad Jeff Shelby did a little rehashing to click my old brain cells into place. It is not necessary to have read that book first, but it was a nice reminder of where Daisy and Jake started out.

Windy Vista Resort on Lenzen Lake is north of Duluth, Minnesota and looks like an ideal vacation spot for Daisy and Jake Savage, or at least that is what the brochure said after they had won an all-expense paid vacation that they two of them greatly need. After finding a body in their coal chute and repairs to a house that are never-ending, they desperately needed to leave their four children in the hands of trusting grandparents and head out of town. The brochure was geared more to a the vision of the future then the rundown trailer park full of wacky people and a dead body with a much-coveted medallion around his neck that they found.

Delilah, the owner of Windy Vista does her best, but times are tough and now with her business partner dead and money missing from their accounts, the park is in peril of closing. While Jake cannot get away fast enough, Daisy has taken a liking to this group of misfits and is determined to solve yet another murder mystery.

This is a fun series, the Daisy and Jake relationship is funny and the situations that they find themselves in are over the top. They complement each other well and their banter is what holds the books together for me. Funny story – I had actually stumbled across this series by accident. I had been looking for another book in the “Stay at Home Dad” series by Jeffrey Allen and somehow my searches lead me to Jeff Shelby. Come to find out, they are the same person. Who Knew? Now if we could only convince him to write more Deuce Winter’s books.

Grave Peril

Title: Grave Peril
Author: Jim Butcher
Published: November 4th 2008 by Roc
Format: Hardcover, 348 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Series: Dresden Files #3

I do not know why it took me so long to find this series. Granted the spooky world is not my usual go to, yet I find myself transfixed each time I pick up these books. To be fair, I am not sure that it is the ghoul factor that keeps me coming back, but I do know that if Jim Butcher ever removed the humor, I would not enjoy them as much as I do.

Since Harry Dresden is the only Wizard in the phonebook, he receives call for the strange things happening in the Windy City, yet when Harry and his friend Michael are called to the hospital to battle a ghost that is terrorizing babies in the maternity ward, how can they say no. What they did not know at the time was that the veil between this world and the “nevernever” is thinning thus allowing all sorts of creepy things through.

Harry and Michael seem to be the targets of a gang of demons. Being what demons are, they do not play fair and when they go after those closest to Harry and Michael, all rules are thrown to the side and using whatever is at their disposal, this team of two, plus a couple of vampires are ready to take on those that are bent to destroy our world.

Hearts are broken, souls are shattered, yet Harry, Michael, and Bob will continue to protect those that they love and those that are completely unaware of what is going on around them. Jim Butcher packs this volume with many memorable characters and I, as the reader, hope to see a few of them again.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Title: Love and Other Consolation Prizes
Author: Jamie Ford
Published: September 12th 2017 by Ballantine Books
Format: eBook and Hardcove; 320 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I do not know where to begin with this book. Jaime Ford has such a way with his descriptions and heartbreaking characters that it is always a disservice to try to relay the depth and emotions that he puts into his writing and the lives of his characters.

Beginning in 1902 when five year Yung Kun-ai is placed on a freighter by a starving mother after he witnesses her smothering his infant sister, this sad young boy learn quickly that the world does not treat everyone fairly especially if you are an orphan and have mixed blood. Being the product of a Chinese mother and a white missionary father, he lives in two worlds and realizes that neither world wants him.

Arriving in Seattle, he becomes a ward of the state and with a wealthy benefactress, he is sent to a boarding school, but once again is treated like a second class citizen. Gathering courage, he informs his sponsor that he no longer wants what is offered and being the horrible person that she is, she has the brilliant idea of auctioning him at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific World’s Fair.

Madam Flora and the Gibson Girls of the Tenderloin bordello take him in and create a home for him. To the outside world this is a disaster, but to Ernest, his prayers have been answered especially when he is reunited with Fahn, a young Japanese girl that was on the freighter with him and had, in his youthful way, told her on their first week at sea, that he was going to marry her.

Of course there are conflicts especially when Maisie, the daughter of Madam Flora, has staked her claim on Ernest, but the three come to terms with their arrangement. Life in a brothel is both exhilarating and terrifying. There are prices to be paid and lasting realties must be faced.

Now in 1962, Ernest is trying desperately to keep control over Gracie’s memories. She has slipped away from him and with moments of clarity, and an investigative journalist daughter that is asking questions about their past, Ernest is trying to keep the most scandalous parts hidden and his family together.

Every chapter has a breathless moment as their story is revealed. The reader is trying to keep a step ahead and when the realities are voiced, you are both relieved as to what has been exposed and terrified as to what will be laid bare next.

Death in Dark Blue

Title: Death in Dark Blue
Author: Julia Buckley
Published: May 2nd 2017 by Berkley
Format: Paperback; 304 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: A Writer's Apprentice Mystery Book Series #2

Running parallel to quotes at the beginning of each chapter from the fictional novel Death on the Danube written, I believe, by the main characters of the book - Camille Graham and her personal assistant and collaborator, Lena London. The reader is given a slight taste as to what will unfold in the subsequent pages and will open the door to the body that is found and the upheaval that is brought to them all.

Continuing from the last book ‘A Dark and Stormy Murder’, Sam West, their semi reclusive next door neighbor, continues to be under suspicion since his once thought to be dead wife has been spotted and Lena is using her research talents to find her.

Taylor Branch, the best friend of the missing Victoria has used her blog to disparage Sam at every turn, but had sent a message that she would like to meet up with him and apologize in person. When her body is found on his property, the tabloids are after him once again to prove that he is a murderer. It might not have been his wife Victoria, but with Taylor’s body being discovered on his property, he obviously had a hand in this one.

Many characters are thrown in throughout this book and the reader needs to analyze each and decided if they are important or just thrown in for distraction. I cannot understand why a few of them were mentioned, but then again, that is what a mystery is about. The infamous red herrings that keep the reader engaged. Then there is Grace Palmer who throws this whole thing wide open.

Winter in Blue Lake, Indiana, gives a very heavy hand to this pseudo-gothic novel. The atmosphere is heavy, gray, and oppressive, yet at the same time, there are modern day features such as the determined paparazzi and cozy mystery features using the ever present German Sheppards named Rochester and Heathcliff and a cat named Lestrade. Of course, Julia Buckley throws in touches of romance so when it comes to classifying this genre, it is all over the place.

The end of the book leads to a very large opening for the next book in the series with an orchestrated abduction and Sam ever present in the center of the drama.

Doom With A View

Title: Doom With a View
Author: Kate Kingsbury
Published: September 12th 2017 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover 244 pgs
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Merry Ghost Inn #2

I almost put this book down after the first chapter. Innkeeper Melanie West finds a body on her driveway, calling emergency dispatch she says, “I think he is dead”, but is rather indifferent and returns to the house since she has piecrusts in the oven and is too worried about bad reviews of her new inn, than an actual human being.

With a group of elderly booklovers taking over the Merry Ghost Inn for their grand opening weekend, Melanie and her grandmother Liza have their hands full when the investigation drags on and no one is allowed to leave town. As to who could have tampered with the balcony and killed Walter, they each have their own speculations but it is not until Beatrice mentions the man in the skeleton mask that they sit up and take notice.

With the grumpy town detective interviewing everyone and getting nowhere, Melanie and Liza decide to start asking a couple of questions on their own. Apparently, Walter was barely tolerated by the members of his book group and after Gloria had accused him of breaking up her most recent relationship, others started turning their backs on him too.

With only a couple of days before their next group of visitors descends on the Merry Ghost Inn, Melanie and Liza are running out of time. The grumpy detective is making no headway so why not set a trap of their own considering their entire guest list are possible suspects.

This book is a good weekend read, if you remember the previous book, you would be familiar with Melanie’s backstory and though it is not a dominate part of this story, hopefully one day soon, she will have all her questions answered.

The Keepsake

Title: The Keepsake
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Published: September 9th 2008 by Ballantine Books
Format: Hardcover, 349 pages
Genre: Suspense
Series: Rizzoli and Isles #7

I think that I am actually surprised by how much I liked this book. The previous books were hit or miss and I was preparing myself for yet another miss.

Medical Examiner Maura Isles is called into the Crispin Museum in Boston to help with the dating process of Madam X, a recently discovered Egyptian mummy. As she looks closer at the x-rays, it becomes obvious that this is not an ancient relic but a recent murder victim that someone has tried to pass off as a relic.

Tess Gerritsen goes into in depth detail on how mummies are created and how bodies are preserved in bogs, and surprising to me, this part was rather fascinating.

Dr. Josephine Pulcillo, a young archeologist and a central character in this book, is not who she claims to be. Her credentials are genuine, but who she really is has been kept secret and her lineage is what keeps her on the run.

As Detective Jane Rizzoli tries to unravel this tightly coiled story, as more parts and more bodies reveal themselves, leaving everyone involved more confused than when they started. The reader will have to hold on until the end when that last, but most intricate, part is exposed.

Shunning Sarah

Title: Shunning Sarah
Author: Julie Kramer
Published: August 7th 2012 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Mystery
Series: Riley Spartz #5

I have a love hate relationship with this series. There are certain parts that I love – Riley’s bumbling. Yet at the same time, I really dislike Riley’s bumbling. Some parts seem to take too long to conclude, yet other parts are over much too quickly. There is only one more book in this series, and hopefully, Julie Kramer will be able to draw all the parts of Riley’s life together and maybe see a happily ever after for her.

You have to go with what mom says and if she is pointing you towards the body of an Amish girl and you are a news reporter, you had better grab your camera and go. Oh, and do not get distracted by a bear. Apparently, there is one in the woods that has others grabbing their guns.

When a local boy falls into a sinkhole, no one expected that hole to be hiding the dead body of a woman wrapped in a quilt, but that is exactly what happened when Josh Kueppers falls in and comes face to face with her. Doing what any other panicked child with a shotgun would do, he blows off her face. Now with no way of identifying the woman, the local police and Channel 3 reporter Riley Spartz set out to find out who this woman could be.

Come to find out that the dead woman is Sarah Yoder from the nearby town of Harmony. Since this is technical outside of the broadcast area that her market audience is from, Riley has to battle the new news director. He is a disgusting sort, but this story is too interesting and Riley is willing to put up with just about anything to keep her news followers up-to-date on her findings.

The Amish are a quiet self-contained community and they have no need of the devil in the form of television or its reporters, but that does not stop Riley. As she digs further into Sarah’s life and shunning, Riley’s life, if not her hair, is in danger. Being slow on the uptake, she eventually figures out most of the parts, but not before she is running for her life and needs to climb into a bear’s den to get the help that she needs.

By the end, Sarah’s tormented life is revealed, yet Riley is not comfortable sharing it all. She will make sure that those that need to be protected will be. She will see a grieving mother, yet not feel sorry for her. Riley will do what she can, but right now, she needs to go home, to the farm and her parents. Her own personal life is in turmoil, but that can wait for another day. Today she just needs her family.