Back when I was a kid, Ellery Queen was all the rage. So I figured I should check him out. I dunno, this didn't do much for me. The main character is an idler who thinks he's better than everyone else because he doesn't appear to have to work for a living, and because he's able to do arcane feats of logical thinking. But with all the logical thinking, this story didn't much hold together or make sense. So, a stupid story with an unlikeable protagonist doesn't entice me to continue reading Queen.

The story revolves around a faded matinee idol from old cowboy movies, Buck Horne, who is taking a turn at Wild Bill Grant's wild west show in a huge arena in New York City. Buck appears to have been shot dead during one rip-roaring run around the arena. He was shot by a .25 caliber bullet, but all the people in the show, and all the people in the audience were carrying only .45s. Something like that. After a few weeks of investigation, the show starts up again, this time featuring another idol of the old oaters, one-armed Woody. Well, same rip-roaring ride around the arena and Woody gets toppled at the same point in the same fashion. So we have lots of red herrings and overdoses of smug pomposity by Ellery Queen, the main character. The final verdict only vaguely hangs true.

If I could give +s or -s, this book would be ***-. It's not terrible, but it isn't really much worth anyone's time. I won't likely revisit Ellery Queen any time soon.

What fun! Three of the most clever and entertaining cozy mystery writers working today have teamed up to put together 3 stories, each using their signature sleuth, set in the same setting but not overlapping. The cozy reader’s dream.

 

All three stories are set in the Heartache Motel in Memphis, TN at Christmas time. In Diners Keepers, Loser’s Weepers the crew from Diner Impossible by Terri L. Austin gets in the middle of an Elvis impersonator contest complete with dead bodies. In Quick Sketch by Larissa Reinhart, Cherry Tucker and her boyfriend Todd try to help Todd’s cousin with an illegal poker game and, of course, that’s sure to turn out well! In Dateline Memphis, Richmond Telegraph reporter Nichelle Clarke gets a lot more than she bargained for when she takes a tour of Graceland to get a souvenir for her mom. This last one is my personal favorite. I really love the Nichelle Clarke series.

 

All three of these are fun, smart and well-written. If you are a fan of any of these authors or a fan of cozies that are just slightly on the sharper edge of cozy, I can definitely recommend this.

 

Provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

Admittedly, this is the first book in this series, which is now stands at 23, that I have read. This book is number 21 in the series. I realize that will color my view since I don’t have background with this series but I have to wonder if this book is representative of the series. If it is, I’m thrilled that I haven’t wasted my time. If it’s not, then it was a particularly bad introduction. It is a complete miss to me as a mystery lover.

 

If you want to know all the ills that have been visited on the Virginia Indian tribes, and I’m sure they are have indeed been mistreated in the past, then this is the book for you. If you need to know what there is to know about organic farming methods, then this is the book for you. If you want to know how evil capitalists are, then this is the book for you. If you want a good mystery, move along.

 

It has a promising start. The first murder victim is found hung up as a scarecrow, shortly before Halloween. Of course, our MC Harry is one of the people that find him and is determined to solve the case even though she is repeatedly warned by others to stop or be careful. The mystery just really doesn’t go anywhere and we’re certainly not given the clues to solve the case. It seems as if the mystery is just a reason for the author to state her worldviews. I don’t like being hit over the head with a hammer when I’m just looking for some entertainment.

 

I suspect that if I had read the other books in this series, I might be quite fond of these characters. Meeting them brand new, not so much. They come across as self-righteous and self-important.

 

By the way, the title has nothing to do with the story. There is no litter of anything. I assumed there might be kittens or something but there isn’t. Just 2 full grown cats and a dog.

There are obviously a lot of fans of this series or there wouldn’t be so many books. So, is it worth my time to go back and try an earlier book or should I just move along?

 

I received this through Netgalley and appreciated the opportunity to read and review it.

Our third visit to South Cove is as fun as the first two. Jill and her fun cast of friends and family are back and it's time for the holidays. South Cove is set to begin its holiday festivities when two things intervene. The mayor and a murder.

The mayor has made two decisions that don't sit well with everyone. He's given his wife the job of coordinating the festivities, which Darla from the winery has always done, and he's agreed for the town to participate in a program of giving work experience to clients of a social service agency. Neither of these sit well with the business owners, including Jill. When murder is the result of this second decision, of course Jill gets pulled right into the middle of it.

I love holiday settings. This one covers both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love a romance that isn't filled with angst. Jill and Greg provide this. I like a good mystery that isn't immediately apparent but does have clues. The location is fun and the cast of characters are interesting and fairly realistic. This is just fun escapist reading and I think this one reads a little quicker than the other two have. I have to say I do love the covers for this series.  I'm a sucker for a good cover.

I do hope the resident psychic stays extremely minor (which she has so far) or goes away and I do think Greg, who is the police detective, needs to quit sharing quite so much with Jill. Those two issues are minor and don't affect my enjoyment of the story. I'll be very excited when a fourth book in this series comes out.

I received this book from Netgalley and appreciated the opportunity to read and review it.

This is the good kind of American cozy mysterye. The kind that's light but not fluffy. The kind that has romance but it doesn't overwhelm the story.  The kind that gives you clues but doesn't give up all its secrets right away. It has fun and friendship and family and bad guys and unexpected good guys. 

I met this cast of characters in Guidebook to Murder, the first in this series.  They've come along nicely in this second book.  Jill, the owner of Coffee, Books and More is has started dating Greg, the chief detective of South Cover, a tourist town on the California coast.  Her kooky aunt, her best friend Amy, and Toby, the part-time cop, part-time barrista are all back in good form.

As Jill is attempting to verify that the old wall found in her back yard is the original Spanish mission to the area, she runs into opposition from Craig who is the manager of The Castle, the biggest historical attraction in town.  He doesn't want business or tourism dollars diverted away from his site.  When he's found dead, Jill looks like a pretty good suspect. As with all good cozy heroines, she must set out to prove her innocence.

The only nit-pick I have with this book is that I do think the cop-boyfriend lets her into the case a bit too much.  Just didn't ring true sometimes.  And as with most cozy heroines, she gets warned by said cop-boyfriend to stay out of the case but just can't do it.  If she didn't pursue it, there wouldn't be a book I guess so there's probably no way around that one. These are my only complaints with a book that gave me much enjoyment to read and I'm ready to start book number 3.

I received this book from Netgalley and appreciate opportunity to give it an honest review.