I read the first book in this series last year and really enjoyed it. This book, not so much. The plot took so long to get started that I lost interest by the time it did. Not that it mattered, the plot was so far-fetched and meandering that even if it had taken off sooner, it would've just been a DNF. The love triangle is ridiculous; pick one or shut up. Neither guy is interesting enough to root for.

Also, one of my pet peeves is when someone owns a business and is able to take off out of town for several days with no notice. Hello, real world? Wrong number.

Frankly, this book was a waste of time and I don't think I'll continue with it. What a shame, the first book was very good.

Tea Cups and Carnage is the seventh book in the excellent Tourist Trap Mystery series and shows no sign of slowing down. There's a new shop owner in town, Texas beauty queen Kathi is set to open Tea Hee, a shop specializing in custom teas and tea sets. South Cove is just entering the tourist season with a beach festival weekend when a man is found dead in a motel just outside of town. Kathi and her sister Ivy are under suspicion and Jill works to clear them and find the real murderer.

First of all, I really liked Kathi. I think she'd be a great sidekick and BFF for Jill, unlike Darla, who just pumps her for information to report in her small newspaper, and Amy, who is kind of annoying. So I have high hopes that there is more of Kathi as the series goes along.

This series never disappoints, and this book was no different. There were several plots woven into the story, so the pace never let up. From the missing money to the mysterious sister to the murder, there was always something going on. I enjoyed that some of the minor characters were fleshed out a little more; it was nice that more dimension was added to the characters that frequently pop up in the series.

Also, whatever happened with the old mission? In the last few books, it has merited little or no mention.

Overall, another great addition to a great series. This book can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the whole series because it's hard not to fall in love with South Cove.

3 1/2 stars

Cloche and Dagger is the first book the Hat Shop Mystery series. Scarlett embarasses herself publicly, becomes a viral internet star and escapes from Florida to London, England at the invitation of her cousin, Viv who co-owns a hat shop with Scarlett. Various shenanigans occur, including a murder, several break-ins and a wonky wardrobe.

I picked this up on a whim. I've tried to read the author's other series in the past but never got into them, so I didn't have high hopes for this one. Luckily I was wrong. Despite the MC being in desperate need of several hard slaps to the face, and having to endure being reminded of the oh so horrific embarrassing incident every other page and that all the English characters dont sound English, and, of course, the stereotypical hunky guy at odds with the MC because of TEH SECSYOOAL TENSHUN! OMG, it still managed to be readable, and that's because the plot was very well done. I had an inkling about a few things, but no clear idea who did it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, enough to read the next in the series.

Bran New Death I started this a year or 2 ago and at the time, just didn't get into it.  There's a fair amount of back story that's dumped into the first chapter or 2 of the book and I think it turned me off.  Fast forward to now when I decided to clean out my Kindle of all the books I've started and not finished.  A sink-or-swim clean out, if you will.  Either I could get into it or I wasn't ever going to.
 
Merry Wynters at a crossroads in her life when her job falls apart in New York City, heads upstate (to my former neck of the woods, actualy) to figure out what it will take to sell the castle she inherited from her great uncle.  She finds a small village inhabited by eccentric townspeople harboring many secrets.  When a man is found dead on her property, Merry sets out to solve his murder and the mystery behind her great uncle's death.
 
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The main character, Merry, is likeable and easy to relate to and a good plot that lagged in a spot or 2, but was well paced and enjoyable.  I had it figured out pretty early, but there were a few aspects that surprised me. But the one thing that made me stick with this book is that it didn't fall into the usual trap of the MC finding a body and the local hick cop hauls her in, despite no evidence..  Because that's not how it works, folks.
 
Although, I had to take off a half a star for a small, but significant error:  the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) doesn't give a shit how much you deposit in a bank account.  But the IRS and the Treasury Department sure do.  
 
A great read, and can't wait to start the next one.

Fogged Inn is the fourth book in the Maine Clambake series and winter has arrived in Maine. Julia and Chris have just opened Gus's Too, transforming Gus's diner into a fine dining restaurant during the winter months. Just after they finally open the restaurant, a dead man is found in the walk in cooler and Julia is thrown into the middle of yet another mystery, this one spanning decades.

I really enjoyed this, the plot was really well done; I confess I had no idea where it was going until the end. So many twists and turns that my head was spinning! Truly, this plot of dizzying; very well crafted and kept me turning pages well into the night.

I liked that Julia, a tiny bit high and mighty because she helped the police solve 3 other murders, got a bit of a comeuppance in the story. Between that and the confrontation with Chris, I felt like Julia grew as a character. The hallmark of this series has always been the rich characters, and I enjoy that more dimension is added as the series progresses.

In that same vein, though, I don't understand this whole story line with Jaime. I don't feel it adds anything to the series. Perhaps it will at some point, but for now it's just filler.

Overall, a great addition to an already great series and one I highly recommend.

In The Bluebonnet Betrayal, Pru is asked by an old colleague to set up a Texas themed display at the famed Chelsea Flower Show. The display is beset by one problem after another, and just when it seems it can't get any worse, Twyla, the president of the Austin gardening society is found dead under a pile of rocks. It's up to Pru to get the garden ready for the show and to find Twyla's killer.

I just discovered this charming series not long ago. With characters you can easily relate to, vivid locations and well-drawn plots, it's a great series to sink into and enjoy. Each book can be read as a stand-alone although I would say that there's a greater effect from reading the series in order.

The Bluebonnet Betrayal was a very enjoyable read, with a plot that will keep you guessing; there were so many red herrings that I gave up trying to figure it out and just settled back to enjoy the story. You can't help but root for Pru and the rest of the gardeners to keep at it and get the display ready for the garden show.

The reason why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I really didn't appreciate Pru's self-entitled attitude that the DCI investigating the murder should give her all his information. It's of of the more frustrating cozy cliches that I see used over and over again; that the cops should give the amateur sleuth every detail of the case. I understand the reasons why authors do it, but it just rubs me the wrong way; it's not realistic. And didn't Christopher tell Pru in one of the earlier books about how a case was lost because a detective told his wife some information?

Overall, this was a fantastic book in a very enjoyable series, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries.

3 1/2 stars

The plot was quite good, but it was overshadowed by the schmaltzy, almost forced, romantic tension between the MC and the token hunky guy. I thought the investigation was a little far-fetched, (let's visit a funeral home to find clues!) but overall, I enjoyed it.

The only big gripe I have is the dialogue and vernacular between characters. I'm sorry, but you can't insert things like "codswallop" into a person's dialogue and expect that will make them sound British. And, in this book, it doesn't. The British people sound like they're more American than the American is. It just puts me off, more so than the MC's immaturity, the love-triangle-that-isn't and the cheesy will-they-or-won't-they romance.

DNF. I tried to get past it, but it wasn't possible. I'm really disappointed, I liked the first book. Just can't do this one. Maybe someday I'll get back to it but I'm not going to let it fester in my TBR pile.

Cam Shaw is a ghostwriter looking for a new gig when she gets a note requesting a meeting at an old manor outside of town. When she gets there, she discovers her client is an actual ghost - and he wants to know who murdered him 60 years ago.

Pretty good for the first in a new series. The plot was top-notch; once I dived into the book, I was hooked. While I figured out the who about halfway through the book, I stayed for the why.

So why only a 4 star rating? For one, the action in the book was a little far-fetched. Lots of cars getting blown up and, one of my biggest pet peeves, the use of a silencer. (Note to all current or future authors: you cannot silence a gunshot, even if you put a pillow in front of it. Stop using this plot device in books.) There were also too many TSTL moments and I'm sorry, no cop would let his civilian girlfriend into interrogations or into crime scenes with them. No. Just no. Stop this, please.

Even with all that, it was still a great read and a promising start to a new series.

I love books like this where every page is a something new waiting to be discovered. I found it hard to put the book down and even when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. Inside, you can find historical facts encompassing everything from the longest unassisted solo cow flight in recorded history to historical facts about famous figures, to the treasures one can find digging up old privies (I fully expect Outhouse Detectives to be a series on the History Channel sometime in the near future.)

Strange History is a fascinating, entertaining and side-splitting read that will stay with you for a long time. At the very least, you'll never look at an Olympic torch relay the same way again.