A Frozen Scoop of Meh A very short novella, I think I read it in an hour. It spent over half the book setting up the murder, and even then there wasn't much sleuthing; just the MC and her friends nattering on about suspects. The actual killer did not show up in the story until a few pages before the end. Overall, it's not a bad book, and should the author ever spend a little more time on it developing the idea into a longer story, it could be quite good. I'll give the second book in the series a try but at this point, I'm not expecting much.

American On Purpose I'm a big fan of Craig Ferguson. I've been meaning to read this for a long time and after watching one of his standup videos, I decided it was finally time. This was no less enjoyable than watching his standup act, in fact, I found it hard to put it down. Compelling, poignant, honest and side-splitting funny, and intimately casual. It was like sitting down for a coffee with the man himself and listening to him spin tale after tale. Very recommended to anyone, especially if you're not familiar with Craig Ferguson's work.

Not bad. There were a few eye-rolling moments for me (Suspect in a murder? Here, let me show you around my home) and it was pretty obvious from the start who did it.  But overall, a good start to a new series.

Secret Of The Painted Lady Have you ever planned to cook a fantastic dinner for someone you wanted to impress, and despite your best intentions, what turned out was a messy, half cooked soup instead of 5 Star Tuna Noodle Casserole?
 
That pretty much sums up this book.
 
Despite a great premise and an interesting plot, this just dissolved into a confusing, far-fetched, melodramatic mess.  I made it about 3/4 of the way through and quit.  Truly, this was the book equivalent of showing up for a steak dinner and getting a burned steak-um instead.

Murder So Sweet Book 2 of the Sweet Cove series has Angie and her sisters running a B&B and investigating the death of a candy store curmudgeon. This one was much better than the first, a great plot with more than one dimension to it, pacing that kept the story moving.  I thought the end was still a little abrupt and the murder wasn't solved so much as confessed.  Still, it's a cute series with some improvement from the last book, so I'll happily put this on my series-to-watch list.

Got a few pages in and realized this was going to be one of those books where most of the plot is setting up the victim to be so annoying and overbearing that you're happy when he's killed. So not going to waste my time.

This was a very, very short story only around 50 pages. Because it was so short, there was little "sleuthing" to this, as, after about 45 pages, the MC declared what happened and the murderer taken into custody.
 
So, a cute story but so short that there wasn't any room to give the reader a sense of place, to connect with the characters or to enjoy the mystery.  Not bad, but another 50 pages could've given the book a lot more dimension.

Spoiler

Also, what police department allows dotty old cat ladies to come in and interrogate suspects with her cat?

I was given an ARC by the publisher, Kensington Books, in return for an honest review

4.5 Stars
The fourth book in the Tourist Trap mystery series, Dressed To Kill finds bookstore owner and part time sleuth Jill helping her police detective boyfriend Greg track down who killed a prominent banker and why. Along the way, Jill has to deal with Greg's rancorous ex-wife, Sherry trying to worm her way under her skin at every turn.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery full of red herrings, plot twists and, of course, hunky cops. I admit that I didn't know who did it, even as it was being revealed.

It's always fun to visit South Cove and its quirky citizens, from the eccentric Esmeralda to the crotchety Lille. The characters are all likeable, and the dialogue is realistic and draws you into both the story and the town. I could definitely see myself at CBM curled up with a mystery and a slice of cheesecake. (Why don't more bookstores serve cheesecake?)

Overall, Dressed To Kill is a fun and enjoyable book that deftly combines mystery, suspense, a little romance, and cheesecake.

Spoiler

Who was leaking the information to Darla?

Sweet Secrets I enjoyed this, but I have mixed feelings about it.  No murder victim in this one,  it was just the sisters unraveling their family history and why Angie inherited the house.  Which made for good reading, I really enjoyed it. 
 
On the other hand, it was improbably far-fetched in a lot of ways, especially the ending. Lots of eye rolling moments for me. When the sisters are apprehending the bad guys, during which time one of said bad guys was waving around handcuffs, one sister binds his hands using...no, not the handcuffs, she uses her belt.
 

Spoiler

And seriously - they're not suing the town? At the very least to get some of the land back? WTF? Why even bother solving the mystery then?

 
 
Just 3 1/2 stars for this one.  Wasn't as good as the last book, but it was a good read.