Better than the first book, much more fluid, readable and enjoyable.  Great plots, more character development and mercifully, no TSTL moments.  I almost didn't want this book to end, I was enjoying it so much.  Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Very cute short story and a great first in a new series.

Written by the author of the "Aunt Bessie" cozy series, The Appleton Murders follows 2 elderly sisters first mentioned in one of the Aunt Bessie books.  The sisters, Joan and Janet, decide to buy a B&B in a nearby town. There was no murder in this book, and I confess that I wondered just what the mystery was (which was very effective in keeping me turning pages!) but I quite liked that the mystery was quite different than anything I've ever read, very refreshing and enjoyable.
 
This would've been a 5 star read, but I spent too much of the book trying to figure out which sister was which.  Their names are so similar, and there wasn't much to differentiate who was speaking.  Other than that, a cracking good read and I look forward to the next.

Sweet Deceit Angie and her sisters (and Mr. Finch, who I keep seeing as Finch on Person Of Interest, I can't help it) are out solving mysteries again, with the help of cats Euclid and Circe.  This time, the gang works to find out who planted a bomb in a vacant house and also who killed the guy who lived next door to the potential bomb crater.
 
A really good plot in this one, but again with an abrupt ending.  The mysteries aren't so much solved as stumbled on. Which, pardon my crass metaphor, is kind of like spending all night making out with a guy and he finishes within 30 seconds. Yeah, it got the job done, but it could've been better if it was drawn out a little.
 
But anyway, I digress.
 
I also don't really understand the teasing the sisters do when one of them gets a boyfriend.  What, are you 8th graders?
 
Enjoyable book and a series I've come to enjoy, but not without a few eye-rolling moments. 
 
 

Jørn Lier Horst should write a book on how to write a great mystery series. He gets it right in so many ways; straightforward writing, emphasis on investigating the crime, not on-going character relationships. Riveting plots, likeable characters, beautiful scenery and thrilling conclusions. Secondary characters aren't developed much, which means you don't have to sit through a rehash of each character's history in each book. . On the other hand, the lack of development sometimes leads to plot points that are dropped with no explanation.

Spoiler

Like the FBI analyst. Where'd he go? Did he get sent home after it was revealed he slept with Line? Was he still hanging around somewhere?Was he given a burn notice and abandoned in Lapland? What?

In this book, Wisting and his daughter, Line, are working seemingly unrelated cases, Wisting on a body that's turned up at a tree farm and Line on the death of a recluse. I love how they go about investigating in the same way; they make a great team, even when they're not working together. I liked that there were no shortage of suspects to keep me guessing until the end, and a few red herrings in just the right places to throw me off the track.

The only criticism I have is that the ending seemed abrupt, like sledding down a hill and running into a tree. There was a recap at the end, but there was little to no transition and it didn't flow very well.

Overall, another great book in a phenomenal series and in a cold, snowy February, a great story to curl up with on the couch with a blanket.

Aunt Bessie Finds I love this cozy series, cute characters, great locales and a relaxing read.  There was no murder in this book, just Aunt Bessie moving temporarily to a neighboring town to investigate strange happenings in her friend's apartment building. There was very little investigating in this one, and a lot of the supporting characters from the other books were not a large part of this book. As such, it felt a little disconnected and wandered a fair amount.
 
Still, an enjoyable read and opened a few new plot lines for the next books in the series. 

The Burnt Island Burial Ground Really enjoyed, although I probably should've re-read the last book in the series so I didn't have to struggle to keep up with all the references. Another book with no murder, just mystery, which has become an unintentional theme with the books I've read lately. 
 
In this book, Lindsay is still traumatized by her run in with Leander Swopes, living temporarily with her father while her house is renovated to accommodate her great-grandmother Simmy, and just getting back into her work as a hospital chaplain.  She counsels a dying man who begs her to help his granddaughter give back stolen money to the Lumbee people, a tribe of Native American people who live in and around the Burnt Island swamp.
 
There was a lot going on in this one; Lindsay's relationship with Warren, her strained relationships with her incarcerated mother and her preacher father, a mysterious stranger and the Burnt Island mystery.  There was a lot of character growth in Lindsay, adding a lot more dimension to the character, but the story was not without a few TSTL moments that made me cringe. Although I figured out most of it well before the end, that didn't detract from the story at all. 
 
Overall, it was a great book; I read most of it in one night because I couldn't put it down.  A great addition to a great series and I look forward to the next.

A Paw-sible Theory When I realized that Murfy the cat was going to be the narrator of the story, I wasn't sure I was going to like it.  I'm glad I stuck with it, it was well worth the read.
When Alyx, an antiques dealer, is found unconscious and bleeding from a gash in her head by Alyx's son, Ethan and friend, Maggie, Alyx is taken to the hospital in a coma and her son is arrested for attempted murder. Murfy the cat and his feline housemates Pooky and Misty set out to investigate what happened to their human. 
 
This was another murder-free mystery.  I know there are other cozies where the sleuth is a cat, this is the first I've read and it was cute. I enjoyed the back stories of the cats (although Misty could use a little more fleshing out, I'd like to hear why she's so attached to Ethan's old shoelace) and the human characters were likeable, too. 
 
A great start to a promising new series, and a nice, light read. 
 
 
 

Any Witch Way You Can I started this book this afternoon and could not put it down.  It was almost like it put me under a spell!
 
Bay Winchester comes from a long line of witches and returns to her small town of Hemlock Cove as the editor of a small town newspaper. After discovering the body of a teenage boy strung up on a cross in the middle of a cornfield maze, she is plunged into a mystery spanning decades.  When the body of a teenaged girl is discovered a few days later, killed in the same way as the first, Bay investigates with the help of her family, the ghosts of the victims, and the local police chief.
 
I really enjoyed this; the characters were cute (Love Aunt Tillie, who I kept imagining as Sophia from The Golden Girls) and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat.  I loved how the family interacted with each other, their banter was funny and really set the tone for the book. 
 
I'm hoping that the later books bring some character development for the aunts, and hopefully that will include Edith, who would fit right in with the Winchesters.  But a great book, an enjoyable quick-paced read and a strong start to a new series.

Bells On Her Toes I'm not sure why I'm still reading this series.  There really isn't much mystery, it's more YA suspense/romance than anything (nothing against YA or romance, they're just not my thing.)  Still, it's a charming series and suspenseful enough to hold my interest, although the angst got old after awhile.  I just wanted to grab Gustavia and Finn and slap the shit out of them.

 
The 2nd in the Wicked Witches of the Midwest series, this book finds Bay and her family embroiled in stolen gold, a dead man, a skeleton in a cave and Aunt Tillie's antics.  I'm really enjoying this series, it's lighthearted, fun, with great plots that always keep me guessing.