Coached to Death

Title: Coached to Death
Author: Victoria Laurie
Published: November 1st 2019 by Kensington Books
Format: ebook, 352 pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Life Coach Mysteries #1

After reading this book, I realized that I have intertwined Victoria Laurie’s prior series (Psychic Eye and Ghost Hunter) into one gobbled mess leaving me confused as to where Gilley began. This isn’t all bad since the reader needs to be familiar with the characters in those books to understand a few in this one.

Fresh from a divorce and the sale of her business, Cat Cooper has taken up residence in the Hampton’s and planted Gilley in her guesthouse. With a new venture as a life coach what could possibly go wrong with these two involved. Well for starters, Cat’s next-door neighbor is found dead with Cat’s shattered punchbowl next to her head.

The police have no idea what to make of this situation, but with the new friend's Cat is making and a suspected hired killer on the loose, someone is going to end up in jail, with a new boyfriend, a new hobby, or even a new reputation. But either way, when one of the Cooper sisters are involved, you know that there is going to be a high level of humor, bumbling, and shenanigans.

The Angels' Share

Title: The Angels' Share
Author: Ellen Crosby
Published: November 5th 2019 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 368 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Wine Country Mysteries #10

Ellen Crosby’s wine country series isn’t just a murder mystery, but a lesson in history. Located in Loudoun County, Virginia, the Montgomery Estate Vineyard is situated in the perfect setting to bring American History to the forefront and place the wine industry smack dab in the middle.

The Thanksgiving to Christmas season took a different turn for Lucie Montgomery when her neighbor billionaire and philanthropist Preston Avery is murdered after revealing a secret to Lucie which has now put her in the crosshairs of an unscrupulous killer determined to lay claim to documents and a priceless Madeira that hold historic value.

Combining an elusive cast of characters from Jamestown to the founding fathers, to Shakespeare, to the Mason’s, the Declaration of Independence, and a First Folio, Ellen Crosby has managed to merge the right amount of truth with an author’s imagination resulting in an enthralling murder mystery.

About the Title: The Angels’ Share is the amount of distilled spirits lost to evaporation from the barrel or cask during the aging process.

Brownies and Broomsticks

Title: Brownies and Broomsticks
Author: Bailey Cates
Published: May 1st 2012 by Signet
Format: Paperback, 323 pages
Genre: Magical Cozy Mystery
Series: Magical Bakery Mystery #1

I stumbled across this book by chance and I think I have found a new series to follow. Both the people and the place of downtown Savannah are charming. Katie Lightfoot and her newly discovered talents are delightful and when the Honeybee Bakery, owned by Katie’s aunt and uncle, is the center of a murder, Katie and her newfound friends bring their special talents to the rescue.

When I say special talents, it turns out Katie’s family has been keeping a secret and now that Aunt Lucy is there to guide Katie, with the use of a few spells, the ladies and their friends will soon be able to clear her uncle’s name and the coven can return to their usual do-gooder activities.

Obviously, it wouldn’t be a traditional cozy mystery without a love interest, but this is where things get a little complicated for Katie since there are two men in her life. Not sure where either relationship will go, but along with Katie, I am interested in seeing the possibilities.

Next book in the series: Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti

About the Author: Bailey Cates also writes under the name Bailey Cattrell and is the author of the Enchanted Garden Mystery Series

The Guardians

Title: The Guardians
Author: John Grisham
Published: October 15th 2019 by Doubleday Books
Format: Hardcover, 375 pages
Genre: Legal Procedural

I must admit that as the book was gearing up, I managed to get a couple of the characters confused and had to go back a couple of times to straighten myself out. Two storylines are going on with different casts of characters and for some reason, I was beginning to confused the men and their backstories.

Cullen Post, ex-attorney and current Episcopal Priest, spends his days on the road meeting with men and women who the nonprofit Guardian Ministries (think The Innocence Project) believes have been wrongly condemned. The ministry has a good track record of gaining the release of the wrongly convicted, but they are still way behind when it comes to both time and money.

Quincy Miller, a black man, is one such wrongly imprisoned. As you learn his story and the corruption of small-town white America, you cannot help but wonder, to question our legal system, and to exhale heavily in the frustration of it all.

John Grisham brings Post’s and Miller’s plight to the forefront and with time running out and evidence missing, you are right there in the front seat of Cullen’s car as he races from one witness to the next, from one courthouse to the next, and from one judge to the next until all the pieces finally fall into place and the Guardian’s can help another innocent man regain his freedom.

You know that there are more stories to tell and begin to hope Grisham will bring Cullen and Frankie back. You want to know the rest of their layers and that of the people The Guardian Ministries are working to save.

The Vanished Bride

Title: The Vanished Bride
Author: Bella Ellis
Published: September 10th 2019 by Berkley Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 293 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Bronte Sister Mystery #1

So. Many. Words. Yet, very few that moved the plot forward. If it was not for sheer determination, I would have wall-banged this disappointing attempt to recreate the Bronte style with a murder mystery on the side.

With overactive imaginations, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne invent a factitious solicitor’s agency and set off in 1845 Yorkshire to solve the disappearance of a young mother. Wandering over much of the countryside, and then some, the trio bumble and discover, in an anticlimactic way, what became of Elizabeth Chester.

Bella Ellis, a pen name for Rowan Coleman author of The Accidental Mother, which I enjoyed, does her best to throw in red-herrings, and additional characters, all to no avail. I found the first book in the Bronte Sisters Mystery series to be lackluster and will not be picking up any further offerings.

The 19th Christmas

Title: The 19th Christmas
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Published: October 7th 2019 by Little, Brown and Company
Format: Hardcover, 339 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: *Women's Murder Club #19

Once again, the writing team of James Patterson and Maxine Paetro wait until the middle of the book to give the reader that little bit of needed information to enable them to pull together the disjointed parts. Then lets the book run too long with a little side note that will either be a teaser for the next book, or a need to hit the obligatory page count.

19th Christmas is a giant guess as to who Mr. Loman is and what his grand plan entails. Is this a wordplay from “Death of a Salesman” or is there more to it, because as the book says, there are “lots of moving parts”. So begins the long drawn out mindless adventure into Christmas Women’s Murder Club style. As the ladies each track down their men, suspects, and stories, their narratives slowly unfold with a cold and blustery San Francisco as a backdrop.

It was disheartening that the author felt a need to clarify the previous book, the 18th Abduction, before this current book began. If the reader was paying attention, it was clear from the start that the book took place before the birth of Julie and therefore she would not have been mentioned.

Not sure where the next book, 20th Victim will go, but with Joe’s first-born daughter, am I the only one that either forgot about her or didn’t know she existed, making an appearance, one does wonder if she will be a central figure.

Beating About the Bush

Title: Beating About the Bush
Author: M. C. Beaton
Published: December 3rd 2019 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 256 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Agatha Raisin #30

How M. C. Beaton has managed to get to book thirty without Agatha aging or figuring out her life, is beyond me, yet, I continue to check-in to see what this village sleuth is up to.

Having been called in to investigate industrial espionage, Agatha and assistant Toni Gilmour soon begin to wonder if it is all a set up when strange happenings trigger a deeper look and in doing so, Agatha befriends a bad-tempered donkey, is left contending with a group that have killed to keep their secrets, and to top it off, she realizes Sir Charles Fraith’s upcoming nuptials have put her into an emotional tailspin which is soon relieved by the arrival of a new man -- Chris Firkin.

Every time I finish a book in this series, I find myself exhaling and mumbling “Oh, Agatha”. Not because the case study is all that difficult, or that her bumbling has once again almost cost her her life, but rather when it comes to men, this educated professional woman, will never learn.