46) Checked Out by Elaine Viets

The Blurb :

Wealthy socialite Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley has hired Helen to find a missing John Singer Sargent painting, owned by her late father. After his death, many of Davis Cateman’s books were donated to the Flora Park library, and his daughter suspects the small watercolor—worth millions—was tucked away inside one of those dusty tomes.

To search the stacks, Helen applies for a position as a library volunteer and discovers the library director has a catalog of complaints—from a mischievous calico cat named Paris to the mysterious disappearance of various items that some of the more imaginative staff are attributing to a ghost haunting the building.

While her husband Phil sticks his neck out to find a missing necklace, Helen is on her own with no one to lend her a hand. When a dead body turns up in a parking lot, it appears someone is willing to go to any lengths to keep the treasure in the library quiet. Now Helen is bound and determined to find the killer as well as the painting—before she’s taken out of circulation herself.

My Thoughts :

This is one of my favourite cozy mystery series but as I have moaned about many times over the last few years, it is also not one I can pick up on release day.  Well I could but the cost of the book is always three times the price of a normal novel.  Even the Kindle version is highly priced.  I love the series but I can't justify buying a copy when it releases when I could buy three books for the same price.  I just hope that the author actually gets the money!   Anyway, I usually add the new releases to my wishlist and hope to get a copy for Christmas or my Birthday and at some point a copy of this latest release did find its way into my possession.  However a new installment is about to release so I am nearly back at square one, so to speak.

Another great cozy that is well thought out and interesting.  It wasn't my favourite of the series but it wasn't the worst.  This time around I felt that Helen was acting a little more dramatic than usual and I have to wonder if she is getting a bit too cocky.  Of course this did end up to be murder at the end of the day but she was sounding a little crazy now and again.

I really love Elaine Viets books and miss her Mystery Shopper series.  I hope this series will continue for a few more books but I also look forward to Helen getting a nice happy end.  She has been through a lot and despite being better off she still, I feel, deserves something more.

Looking forward to the next installment.  It is on my wishlist and my Birthday is coming up!  So fingers crossed!!!

45) Once Upon A Crime by P.J. Brackston

The Blurb :

Gretel (yes, that Gretel) is now 35, very large, still living with her brother Hans, and working as a private investigator. The small, sleepy town of Gesternstadt is shaken to its pretty foundations when the workshop of the local cart maker is burnt to the ground, and a body is discovered in the ashes. It is Gretel who notices that the cadaver is missing a finger.

At first, she does not see this as significant, as her mind is fully focused on a new case. Not that she wouldn’t far rather be investigating an intriguing murder, but her client is willing to pay over the odds, so she must content herself with trying to trace three missing cats. It is not until she is further into her investigations that she realizes the two events are inextricably and dangerously connected, and that the mystery of the missing cats will lead her into perilous situations and frightening company.

Very soon Gretel finds herself accused of kidnapping Princess Charlotte, twice locked up in the cells at the Summer Schloss, repelling the advances of an amorous troll, strapped to a rack in Herr Schmerz’s torture chamber, and fleeing a murder charge. With dubious help from her brother (whose scant wits are habitually addled by drink), she must prove her innocence, solve the puzzle of the unidentified corpse, and find the stolen cats before they meet a grisly end.

My Thoughts :

So let's start this one with how Goodreads confused me completely by listing this book as #2 in the Brothers Grimm Mysteries when it is indeed the prequel of Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints. If I had known this I certainly would have read the books in the correct order but in the grand scheme of things it didn't make much of a difference. Also this prequel isn't your typical novella prequel but a normal sized novel and it also didn't ruin the story.

Now let's go onto how funny and inspiring this series is. Paula Brackston is well known for her serious and incredible Witch books but this fantasy filled cozy mystery series is completely different! There's a lot of humour weaved into this interesting twist on the good old Hansel and Gretel tale from the Brothers Grimm and for any German speakers some cute language usages as well. Granted this prequel didn't make me laugh as much as Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints but the mystery kept me intrigued and most of all it kept me reading until the end.

I look forward to reading more in this series. It is something different with historical twists and lots of fantasy. It makes for very light reading and the story flows really well with some very funny characters and amusing situations. Well worth checking out and a must read for fans of the author.

28) A Fatal Chapter by Lorna Barrett

The Blurb :

While out walking Sarge, her sister’s bichon frise, Tricia is led by the agitated dog to a man lying in a gazebo. She’s startled when she recognizes Pete Renquist, the president of the Stoneham Historical Society, who appears to be suffering from cardiac arrest. When Pete later dies in the hospital, the discovery of a suspicious bruise and a puncture mark on his arm suggests he may have been murdered.

Haunted by Pete’s enigmatic last words to her, Tricia begins to consider who had a motive to kill her friend. Did Pete take his flirting too far, only to have a jealous husband teach him a lesson? Or did he discover something in the town’s historical records that his killer wanted kept secret? Tricia is determined to get to the bottom of things before someone else becomes history…

My Thoughts :

The Booktown Mysteries have been a joy to read and I was really looking forward to reading the latest installment after reading the previous eight books practically one after the other.  However A Fatal Chapter wasn't the best of the series so far and wasn't up to the usual standards.  Maybe it was the lack of the Bookstore or it could have been the not so exciting mystery but this ninth book in the series wasn't the best of the bunch so far.

This may not have been the best installment so far but it is the book that sees some new additions in the form of a couple of babies.  It is also the book that finally confirms who I thought was the owner of the mysterious company that is buying up all of Stoneham.  If that isn't enough there is finally some closure as far as Bob is concerned.

However on the other hand Tricia moans a lot.  I was getting a little fed up of her going on and on about the bookstore and the insurance not paying up yet.   It was pretty annoying. The mystery isn't very compelling and the author makes a dramatic ending that happens extremely quick and at the last moment.

My trip to Stoneham wasn't as nice as the previous visits but it was still worth reading.  The series has always been good and of course there is always going to be one that doesn't make you go wow.

13) Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints by P.J. Brackston (Paula Brackston)

The Blurb :

Bavaria, 1776. When Albrecht Durer the Much Much Younger's Frog Prints go missing, he knows exactly where to turn for help. Gretel (yes, that Gretel), now 35 and still living with her gluttonous brother Hans, is the country's most famous private investigator, and she leaps at the opportunity to travel to cosmopolitan Nuremberg to take on the case. But amid the hubbub of the city s annual sausage festival, Gretel struggles to find any clues that point toward the elusive thief.

Even with the aid of the chatty mice living under her bed, the absent prints remain stubbornly out of view, and Gretel is forced to get creative in her search for the truth."

My Thoughts :

You may know P. J. Brackston as Paula Brackston the wonderful storyteller that gifted us such books as The Winter Witch and The Witch's Daughter.  Well if you wondered if she can write something other than the serious witch based stories then you will find your answer inside the first installment of the Brothers Grimm  Mysteries.

You can tell that Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints is going to be fun before you every start the story.  Look at that cover and title and then read the blurb.  There is so much promise and the author manages to deliver what is expected by way of a fun and fantasy filled cozy.  It is unusual and extremely entertaining!  I was hooked within the first couple of pages and couldn't put the book down.

The surprises inside this book are amusing and quite witty.  The author definitely took some time to plot out this well thought up twist on the Hansel and Gretyl story.  The addition of the German names and places are, if you know the language, delightful and the historical angle is not too over powering and fitting.  I managed to get engrossed in this one very easily and the characters and plot wouldn't let me go.

This is a book you need to try when you need cheering up or just want something that will bring on a giggle or two.  If you like Jasper Fforde's work then you will appreciate the style of this one and if you don't mind a little fantasy twist (there be talking animals for one) then you will also enjoy the magical details that are weaved into the story.

I am really looking forward to reading the next installment in the series and hope I will be able to pick it up soon.  This was a refreshing read and just the thing I needed to lighten up my reading and break the hard, cold and more darker books I have been reading lately.

29) Book Clubbed by Lorna Barrett

The Blurb :

Cranky Chamber of Commerce receptionist Betsy Dittmeyer is done reading people the riot act. After she’s crushed by a fallen bookcase, the next item to be read is her last will and testament—which is packed with surprises. It soon comes to light that Betsy was hiding volumes of dark secrets behind that perpetual frown of hers—and one of them just might have been a motive for murder.

While Tricia tries to help Angelica—the newly elected Chamber of Commerce president and Betsy’s boss—solve the mystery, she discovers a hidden chapter in her own family history that rocks her to her very core. And with her ex-husband and the chief of police vying for her affections, it’s doubly hard to focus on who might have buried Betsy in a tomb of tomes.

But as Tricia and Angelica try to read between the lines, they need to watch their step…and make sure the killer doesn’t catch them between the stacks.

My Thoughts :

I have been enjoying the Booktown Mysteries a lot and caught up pretty quick.  However I came across the next in the series and found it is only available in expensive hardback or the equally expensive Kindle version.  As I have pointed out before, I would much rather spend all that money on three or four books instead of getting just one hardback.  Even if I love the series, I just can't spend that much money on a book that takes a couple of hours to read.  So Book Clubbed, the eighth book in the series, went on my wishlist and I waited for someone else to get me a copy.

Book Clubbed was a Christmas present and once I had a copy of the book I really wanted to read it straight away.  However being a huge Kindle reader it is really difficult to bother with paper and hard back books anymore and this one kept moving down on my pile.  This month I am trying to get through some of my physical books and finally this once reached the top.  It was a quick read and made for a delightful Sunday morning in bed reading.

Despite this book being a wonderful read there were a few little bits and pieces that annoyed me a little.  Tricia's male attention seekers are really getting on my nerves.  I can't believe she has two men after her and she isn't really that friendly/nice.  Also the lack of clues to find the killer.  There plot was there and there were some interesting twists but the big reveal came around real quick and only due to one item Tricia finds near the end of the book.  So the reader has no chance to put it together as the story progresses.  The other things that bugged me in this book were the Bob angle which was useless and silly.  Also the constant take over of the whole town by NRA is really getting to be a little ridiculous.

You would think that with all this grievences that I would be ready to give this book a low rating and give up on the series altogether but there is still so much there that will keep me going back.  Despite Tricia's sometimes icy personality I do actually admire her and love her snooping.  Angelica bugs me quite a bit too but I also find her amusing.  The other regular characters are also a reason to keep visiting Booktown as well as the general storyline.  The continuing story has its attractions and I love my trips to Stoneham.

The ending this time around wasn't a very nice one as far as Tricia is concerned.  She suffers a huge loss and I wonder why the author decided to leave her in that condition.  Maybe it will become clear in the next installment.  Another reason I will be going back for more.

A great series and one I have enjoyed each time.  There will always be things that come along that I won't like or agree with but this series is solid and established enough to keep me going back for more.  Well worth checking out!

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26) Catnapped by Elaine Viets

The Blurb :

The one thing celebrity Trish Barrymore and her no-account accountant husband, Mort, can agree on in their bitter divorce is shared cat custody. But when Mort is found brained by a mahogany cat tower, and Justine, their pedigreed Chartreux show cat, goes missing, Trish calls on Helen and Phil. Despite a ransom note from the catnapper, Trish is still the prime murder suspect in the eyes of the police. As they await the post-Mort-em, it’s up to Helen and Phil to find the feline filcher and let the cat out of the bag.

Discovering that Mort had some shady dealings within cat show circles, Helen goes undercover as an assistant for a woman who shows prizewinning Persians. But Phil is not buying Trish’s cat-that-swallowed-a-canary act—he thinks she might be staging the whole catnapping.

As Helen and Phil get deeper into a high-pressure world of primping, posing, and purring to collar a killer, they get caught up in a cat-and-mouse game where the stakes are literally life and death....

My Thoughts :

March is here and I going to use this month to get some physical books read.  Usually this must read author/series would have been on pre-order and bought on Kindle but for some reason the publishers insist on releasing this series in hardback for a high price.  Now I love this series but for the price of this hardback I can buy four paperbacks or Kindle books.  Guess what I decide to do!  So this was on my wishlist and I actually got a copy for my Birthday, way back when!  Now I finally got around to reading it.

As expected this was a great read.  I love the Dead-End Job Mysteries and this was just as good as the previous twelve installments.  This thirteenth story was a pleasure to read and I loved reading about the cats shows and other cat information.  It even led me to looking up some breeds and discovering what breed (obviously not fully) one of my cats is.  The research done for this book must have taken a long time and I think the author did a great job in this aspect.

The plot was strong and interesting.  There turned out to be two murders that Helen and Phil investigated and their hard work on the cases paid off as always.  It wasn't always easy and they hit a few walls now and again but despite all the little twists and turns they did a great job.  It was also nice to see the couple getting along so well but I do have to say I find it weird that they both still have their own apartments.  I should also think Margery would prefer them to give up one so she can rent it out for a higher price.

So this series continues to be a must read!  I enjoy each story as much as the previous one and love the different subjects the author weaves into her mysteries.  However one of the main reasons for coming back to this series time and time again is the continuing stories of the main characters.  There are always some surprising developments and I find their stories to be just engaging as the mysteries.

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