77) Dirty Little Secret by Liliana Hart

The Blurb :

J.J. Graves has seen a lot of dead bodies in her line of work...

She's not only in the mortuary business, but she's also the coroner for King George County, Virginia. When a grisly murder is discovered in the small town of Bloody Mary, it's up to J.J. and her best friend, Detective Jack Lawson, to bring the victim justice.

The murders are piling up...

The residents of Blood Mary are dropping like flies, and when a popular mystery writer shows up on J.J.'s doorstep with plans of writing his new book about the Bloody Mary Serial Killer, J.J. has to decide if he might be going above and beyond the call of duty to create the spine tinglers he's so well known for. It only clouds the issue and puts her reputation on the line when the attraction between them spirals out of control.

And passions are rising...

J.J and Jack are in a race against time. They discover each victim had a shocking secret, and the very foundation of J.J.'s life is in danger of crumbling when it turns out she’s harboring secrets of her own—secrets that make her the perfect victim in a deadly game

My Thoughts :

I had already listened to Liliana Hart's Addison Holmes Mysteries and picked this first in the series book up sometime while it was on sale at Audible.  After it taking up space for quite some time I finally got around to listening to it and found myself getting hooked pretty quickly.  Which was good because the audio version was quite short compared to the usual length of books I listen to.

This wasn't very cozy, there was some romance but this was mostly mystery.  The plot was interesting and compelling and I liked the characters too.  There is obviously still a lot to learn about them, the town and everything else but this start was good enough to keep me intrigued and putting the second installment on my wishlist.

However I do think this one had a couple of minor flaws.  One thing was the self-confessed nearly a virgin again J.J jumping into bed with a guy so easily and falling so hard for him.  Also her wild exploits, while thankfully not shared in any length, sounded a little too over the top for someone so unexperienced as she kept saying she was.   Also what bugged me was her casual mention of vital evidence whenever needed.  Seeing as the story was being told by her I would have thought she would have mentioned some of the findings much sooner.

Anyway, despite those little weak areas I really liked this debut in the series and will definitely be checking out the second installment.  Maybe not for everyone due to the violence mentioned but definitely a great mystery with a good plot.

70) A Story To Kill by Lynn Cahoon

The Blurb :

Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder…
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.

Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat…some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?

My Thoughts :

I have been enjoying the Tourist Trap Mysteries a lot so when I saw that the author, Lynn Cahoon, had another series coming out I couldn't wait to try it.  A Story To Kill may have a not so spectacular cover but the contents definitely make up for it.  It seems that the author has managed to come up with another interesting and unique cozy series with another set of great characters to get to know.

At first, I will admit, things didn't seem like they were going to be that good.  The couple of chapters were a little off and while I can see what the author was trying to do, it just left me a little confused.  If I hadn't already read her Tourist Trap Mysteries, I may have just given up on this one within the first few chapters.  The jumbled information, leaving important information for later and the general mystery about Cat's circumstances was not welcoming.  Luckily I kept going because the rest of the book was worth it.

Now the plot was a little twisty but the story was well thought out and I managed to follow it with no problems.  I have to say I had a inkling who the murderer was but it was fun to go through the paces and get to know Cat, her friends and the other characters.  Also there was always a hint of a much bigger mystery which actually turned out to be a cliffhanger.  Even though I was already interested in more from this series I have to say this sealed the deal for me and I knew I would be back for more.

It is a shame that this book didn't get a nicer cover,  I don't usually focus on covers when I write reviews but this one really doesn't do the book justice and doesn't even give you a feel for the great story hidden inside.  This was a great cozy mystery and it deserved a better cover with more effort.  This looks like some kind of stock photo off the internet.

Anyway, well worth checking out.  Great debut in the new series and I am looking forward to more.  The author manages to change her style a little and make A Story To Kill feel completely different to her other series.  Actually it felt like she has evolved her style which made this book feel more mature and somehow better than her other series.  Can't wait for more!

55) A Hiss-tory of Magi by Harper Lin

The Blurb :

Cath Greenstone, her cousin Bea, and her hippie aunt Astrid live in Wonder Falls, a small town near the mystical Niagara Falls. They run the Brew-Ha-Ha café, and naturally, they’re witches hiding in plain sight along with their three magical cats, Treacle, Peanut Butter, and Marshmallow.

When Brew-Ha-Ha's baker is burnt to a crisp, along with their beloved café, Aunt Astrid lets out a big family secret: a powerful spell book, a Greenstone heirloom from the Salem days, has been stolen from its secret hiding spot in the café. If it’s fallen into the wrong hands, black magic could destroy not only Wonder Falls but the world.

A secret society… A new detective with a shady past… A once-bullied local returning to town as a multimillionaire.

Who in town could know Cath’s family secret? Cath, Bea, and Astrid must use their witch powers to uncover the deadly truth. Cath communicates with their cats, also magically inclined, and they help uncover more than one secret lurking in wonderful Wonder Falls.

My Thoughts :

This book has been on my radar for a while and on my Kindle waiting for me.  As part of a challenge to read some of those older to be read books on the pile, this book was picked for me to read in the month of July and I managed to be pretty punctual about it!

A Hiss-tory in Magic is the debut book in the Wonder Cats Mysteries and I have to say I really enjoyed it.  There was a great combination of magic, cats and mystery to keep me hooked until the very end and I found myself reading this one really quickly.  Actually it was just one morning of curled up in bed with this one, it was that lovely.

Not a totally new concept, witches, cats and all but this series certainly has some nice little twists here and there to keep it feeling fresh.  Also the lovely characters and cats made this one even more enjoyable to read and I can't wait to read more in the series.

Well worth checking out if you love a good paranormal cozy mystery and also a nice quick read for your Summer reading pile.  I am sure I will be reading the next book in the series very soon!

43) Ink & Bone by Rachel Caine

The Blurb :

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…

My Thoughts :

I don't know what I expected from Ink & Bone but it definitely wasn't what I got.  A follower of Rachel Caine, I couldn't miss the beginning of a new series but the blurb was already slightly off putting.  However I got a copy and I finally got around to reading it this weekend.

Everything was confusing from the beginning.  It was hard to follow how the world that Caine has invented really works.  Books are good? Bad?  I wasn't sure what the point was but after about a fifth of the book I started to understand what this world was like but I still didn't quite understand everything.

There is a lot of new jargon that was lost on me for most of the book and I didn't feel like everything was explained to a high enough level to really enjoy the obviously brilliant concept that the author has come up with.  Despite my problems following every single piece of the puzzle I did find myself quite engrossed in the story and eager to see what happened.

You can tell when an author has put substantial effort and research into a book when you realise that one of her characters names actually translates to 'Writer' which fits to the story extremely well.  However it made me wonder if I should take things personally as a Welsh person living in Vienna when in this world the Welsh are hated (or loved? another thing I wasn't sure of) and Austria doesn't exist anymore.

All in all this was a nice strong start to a series that is more complicated than it is enjoyable.  I won't say I will not continue the series but I do know that this is definitely a series that needs to be read close together.  I think the longer you leave between installments, the harder it will be to keep the facts straight and understand everything that has happened and is happening.

41) A High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle

The Blurb :

Shannon’s home-renovation and repair business is booming, but her love life needs work. On a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxton, she has to whip out a pair of pliers to keep Jerry from getting too hands on. Shannon is happy to put her rotten date behind her, but when Jerry’s found dead in a run-down Victorian home that she’s been hired to restore, the town’s attractive new police chief suspects that her threats may have laid the foundation for murder.

Determined to clear her name, Shannon conducts her own investigation—with the help of her four best friends, her eccentric father, a nosy neighbor or two, and a handsome crime writer who’s just moved to town. But as they get closer to prying out the murderer’s identity, Shannon is viciously attacked. Now she’ll have to nail down the truth—or end up in permanent foreclosure.…

My Thoughts :

Let's start off by saying I really liked this one.  I don't know what I liked about it but I really enjoyed listening to this one and I found myself listening to the book as often as I possibly could.  Which meant I finished it pretty quick too, an achievement because lately I haven't been having much luck with Audios.

This first in a series has been on my radar for a while and I believe I was gifted the Kindle version by someone and then it popped up really cheap for me on Audible (always check Audible prices if you have the Kindle version.  Sometimes the book is a lot cheaper than the original price if you buy both).   I decided the chances of me getting to the book were higher if I listened to it and so I snapped this up and started listening.

I really liked the setting, the characters were nice and the mystery was good.  The main character was very likable and I enjoyed her chatter and observations.  The narrator had a nice voice so that helped too.  I didn't really put things together until the end although I had my suspicions of who the murderer was.  It was a nice easy plot to follow even though there were a few too many characters to keep track of at times (Shannon's friends).

All in all I really enjoyed this one and already used an Audible credit and got the second book in the series.  This was a great cozy and I am looking forward to see what happens next and get to know the other characters and the location better.  Although I could do without the really bad Scottish accent and the cliche character it belongs to I am really excited about listening to more of this series.

16) Graveyard Shift by Angela Roquet

The Blurb :

The Inferno has Evolved…

Lana Harvey is a reaper, and a lousy one at that. She resides in Limbo City, the modern capital of the collective afterlives, where she likes to stick it to the man (the legendary Grim Reaper himself) by harvesting the bare minimum of souls required of her. She’d much rather be hanging out with Gabriel, her favorite archangel, at Purgatory Lounge. But when a shocking promotion falls in her lap, Lana learns something that could unravel the very fabric of Eternity. If the job isn’t completed, there could be some real hell to pay.

My Thoughts :

This book has been on my Kindle for a long time and at some point I came across it cheap (if you own the Kindle version already...) on Audible and got that version too.  I hoped I would get to listen to it before I would get to read it.  Well I was right about listening to it but it still took me quite a while to get to the audio version.

I have to start by saying that Graveyard Shift wasn't what I expected.  That isn't a bad thing, I just had a different vision in my mind after reading the blurb.  The concept was good, well thought out and different.  The characters were nice and I didn't hate the story but there was something a little confusing about the intricate world the author had built and the story felt a little too Young Adult which I am sure it wasn't.

Graveyard Shift was a nice start to a series and I am definitely going to check out the next book in the series at some point.  However this first installment didn't leave me eager to grab the next part or leave me with any anticipation for another tale.  If this had been it I would have been ok with it.  Maybe that will change as the series continues.

The narrator for the audio version did a good job but I did noticed a few edits here and there which, if this hadn't of been cheap or had been bought ages ago, would have made me want to ask Audible for my money back.  I will be checking the next part out via Audible though but mainly because I always try and keep listening to a series if I start it on Audio.

Not a bad book, an ok read with a lot promise.  It will be interesting to see what happens next and I hope the author keeps doing her religious based quotes at the beginning of each chapter because I really enjoyed them.  Some of them really made me think.

99) Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon

The Blurb :

To solve her father's murder and save the family-owned glass shop, Savannah Webb must shatter a killer's carefully constructed façade. . .
After Savannah's father dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, she drops everything to return home to St. Petersburg, Florida, to settle his affairs--including the fate of the beloved, family-owned glass shop. Savannah intends to hand over ownership to her father's trusted assistant and fellow glass expert, Hugh Trevor, but soon discovers the master craftsman also dead of an apparent heart attack.

As if the coincidence of the two deaths wasn't suspicious enough, Savannah discovers a note her father left for her in his shop, warning her that she is in danger. With the local police unconvinced, it's up to Savannah to piece together the encoded clues left behind by her father. And when her father's apprentice is accused of the murders, Savannah is more desperate than ever to crack the case before the killer seizes a window of opportunity to cut her out of the picture. . .

My Thoughts :

I have been trying desperately to stay away from debuts.  I have so much to read and taking on a new series is really not helping the upward struggle of my really high to be read mountain.  However there are just some books that catch your eye.  Pane and Suffering was one of those books.  Maybe I should try and stay away from Netgalley so I won't be tempted by the pretty covers that lead to interesting blurbs that lead to requesting books to review!

Anyway, Pane and Suffering looked promising and I decided to give it a chance.  There were a few aspects that made me click that 'review' button.  First were the references to Florida and Seattle.  I have read some pretty good books based in Florida and I have been to Seattle so my mind did a little dance.  Secondly the glass aspect was something new.  It is a pretty and different craft that I know very little about and reading all these cozies is a learning experience.  Thirdly the codes sounded like fun.  Not just your everyday normal mystery but something with a little more depth.

My reasons for picking up the book weren't the best reasons but they were ones that had me trying this new series.  The location didn't feel like Florida at any time in the book I often forgot about it.  Seattle was mentioned more than Florida but then again story was based in Florida.  The glass aspect was interesting but I don't think I learnt very much from this book.  The author did go into some depth about the process but I had no idea what it all really meant.  A glossary of some of the terms could be found at the end of the book but it was too little too late.  The codes were also very interesting and a very important part of the plot but it wasn't too impressive.

I liked Savannah and the other characters in the book and loved the idea of the glass shop and classes being taught.  The British style pub next door and the community feeling was nice and I hope the author expands on this in future books.  However on many aspects I think the author was trying too hard.  The Glass, the codes, teas, beers, geocaching etc there was just too much going on.  It felt a little like she was trying to show off....or at least Savannah was trying to show off.  It was all too much too soon.

The police side of the investigation was frustrating and I wonder why the author felt she had to have such a weird storyline to make things so slow.  It was annoying for Savannah and for the reader.  Also annoying was the 'will she or won't she stay' when it was pretty obvious from the first page that she was staying.  Otherwise this wouldn't have been the first in a new series about the Webb Glass Shop.  That mystery was solved easily.  The murder mystery wasn't and it kept you guessing till the codes were broken.

While I seem to be a little overly negative about Pane and Suffering, I am in fact happy I read it and will actually recommend it.  It had some faults but for a debut that is nothing unusual.  The series looks like it could be really good and I was left with the 'I want to try more' feeling. I would definitely give the next book a try and look forward to seeing what the author does with the series.  It is well worth giving this one a try and checking out what this new author has to offer.