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PHANTOMS AND FELONIES: A HAUNTED MANSION MYSTERY – LUCY NESS

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This second installment in the haunted mansion mystery series was even better than the first! I hope there isn’t a long wait for the next book????

Avery Morgan seems to have a good handle on running the Portage Path Woman’s Club, and Clemmie Bow, resident ghost, is enjoying having a friend. The local theater troupe is doing a play at the club, and everyone is excited. Until Bob Hanover is killed, that is. Avery gets another surprise when her Aunt shows up to stay. Clemmie is not thrilled to have a psychic staying with her, especially one who asks a lot of questions. As Avery gets closer to the officer in charge, she has her own questions she wants answers to. There are plenty of suspects with motive to not want Bob around any longer. Can Avery figure it out in time?

Which cozy mysteries are you reading right now? I am in search of a new series!

The Edge of Dreams: A Molly Murphy Mystery – Rhys Bowen

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I found another great series while wandering up and down the aisles at my local library. Unfortunately, I did what I always do when starting a new series; I opened the front cover of one of the books, found the list of the books in the series, and grabbed the first 3 on the list. The books are not listed in order of release, as most series do, so I got 3 books in the middle of the series. I opted to read them anyhow since I had them, and on my return trip I will get the books starting from the beginning.

The story takes place in 1905, when transportation is trains, horse and carriage, as well as automobiles which are a rare site on the streets. I enjoy stories from this time period, reading about what food was eaten, clothes were worn, how homes were decorated, and how men and women behaved.

Molly Murphy Sullivan is from Ireland, living in New York City with her husband, police Captain Daniel Sullivan, and their 1 year old son, Liam. As Molly was a detective before marrying Daniel, she has a keen interest in his cases. In this story, she is the one who solves the mystery, with mush risk on her life.

Daniel is not 100% on-board with her help in his cases, but he is a loving husband who is concerned about his wife’s safety. He does ask for her help with a couple of things where she is more likely to get information than a police officer would.

Daniel has been receiving letters from a murderer both before and after the murder takes place, taunting him and the force for not being able to catch them. They know another is going to take place, and Daniel is determined to find the culprit before another life is lost.

I thought this story was great, and I really wish I would have gotten the first books in this series, where Molly was single, living in Ireland, and a detective. The book I am reading now is the one directly before this one, and the other book I got is the one right after this one.

Have you read this series? What do you think of series that take place in the past? They are some of my favorites! Let me know in the comments below!

Troubled Blood – Robert Galbraith

Angela5 Comments

Troubled Blood is book 5 in the Cormoran Strike series. At 927 pages, there was a lot to unpack about this book. I really enjoyed the story, but to say it was confusing is a serious, HUGE, understatement.

The Detective Agency had numerous cases they were working on throughout the length of the entire book, other than the main case that the story centered on. It was difficult keeping all of these other characters straight when they were mentioned in the story. I finally stopped flipping back through what I had already read trying to decipher who was who. I just kept reading through it figuring I would either figure it out in the end, or not. Some of them I did, some I didn’t. It had no effect on the main characters in the story so I stopped stressing about it.

This is precisely the same reason I did not like the 4th book of this series, Lethal White. It was like a bunch of characters and scenes were added just to increase the length of the book. I have read that she plans on 10-13 more books being written in this series. I am guessing this is in order to keep the television series going. I cannot imagine the length of the final book in this series if each one has to be longer than the last.

With that being said, I did like the story. I liked the development of Strike and Robin’s friendship? Relationship? Whatever they have going on, I am here for it. I will not say more about that since I try to avoid spoilers whenever possible.

I will gladly read the next book, and the one after that, and so-on. I just hope she can reign it in some and get rid of all the filler noise that is not necessary.

Did you read this book? What did you think of it? Let me know below!

‘Til Dirt Do Us Part – A Local Foods Mystery Book 2 – Edith Maxwell

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Til Dirt Do Us Part Book 2 cover image

Cam Flaherty is hosting her first community dinner at the farm for all the members of her farm share program, as well as getting ready for the Fall Festival. What she hadn’t planned on was the murder of Irene Burr, a local businesswoman who had done her due diligence to get under the skin of more than one Westbury resident.

Her personal life brings Cam some comfort and she begins dating Jake, the chef at The Market restaurant.  But can she focus on her farm and relationship, and leave the detective work to the police? Will Cam find out who the killer is before she becomes a victim herself?

This is another fun read from the Local Foods Mystery series, and the characters from the first book are enough to keep you wanting more of their stories.

I try not to give away spoilers, which can sometimes be hard when reviewing cozy mysteries. This is a great series, with vibrant descriptions of not only the characters, but of the town as well. You will see yourself walking the town (or biking, as Cam so often does) of Westbury, Massachusetts as you read through this story!

Cozies for Your Quarantine –

Angela23 Comments

This is a time like no other; a time that no one (nearly no one) alive today has experienced before. Depending where you live, you could be deep into this, or it is just starting to hit your area. Michigan has shut down all kindergarten through 12th grade schools, nearly all colleges are doing online classes with campuses and dorms being closed. State and City businesses are closed as well.

I, however, still get to go to work every day. It would take a Presidential order for that to change! 😊 My teenager will be home for the next 3-4 weeks, and I already have a list of things in my mind that she can do around the house once her schoolwork is done. I’m not holding my breath (no pun intended), but hopefully she can help me out!

What doesn’t help is that my 3 local libraries are also closed. I have 3 books checked out right now (a cozy series) that I have to read yet, but I was hoping to get more picked up. I have many different books downloaded on my Nook, so I will be happy to start getting those read instead.

Some of my favorite cozy series are listed below!

Sherry Harris – Sarah Winston Garage Sale Series

Julianna Deering – Drew Farthering Mysteries

Maddie Day (Edith Mawell) – Country Store Mystery Series 

Kelly Lane – Olive Grove Mysteries

Bailey Cates – Magical Bakery Mystery Series

Kylie Logan – Ethnic Eats Mystery Series

What are you reading? Are you quarantined? Sick? Caring for someone who is sick? How are you handling this new Normal we have for at least the next few weeks?

An Uninvited Ghost – E. J. Copperman

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A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery book 2

Another great book in the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series!

an uninvited ghost cover image

Alison is running her guesthouse in New Jersey, capitalizing on the 2 ghosts who live with her and her daughter Melissa. Alison’s mother can see the ghosts as well; who are Paul and Maxie. Paul was a private investigator before his untimely demise, and he has convinced Alison to take up the occupation herself, in order to help him solve crimes.

Of course she agrees, because what kind of crimes would she need to solve for a ghost? In exchange, Paul and Maxie agree to “perform” twice a day for her guests who are staying there mainly because it is haunted.

Things are going great until Alison does indeed have a mystery to solve; that of a ghost who believes he may have killed someone while he was pulling a prank on them.  Suddenly Alison finds herself in the middle of this strange mystery, because even though the ghost did not kill the person he believed he did, someone else does indeed kill her later, in Alison’s guesthouse.

Alison has to juggle the demands of her two ghosts, her guests, and the cast and crew of a reality tv show who are also staying with her. Although feeling completely overwhelmed, with the help of her family, her ghostly friends, and a reluctant police force, Alison gets it solved!

Night of the Living Deed – E. J. Copperman

Angela3 Comments

A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery book 1

My love of cozies seems to get stronger with each new series I find at my library. This new discovery did not disappoint.

Night of the Living Deed Cover Image

Alison Kerby is trying to begin a new life with her 9 year old daughter, Melissa. She is back in the town she grew up in on the Jersey Shore. She purchased a house to renovate into a guesthouse, not realizing the house had plenty of history to go along with its age.

Particularly the two ghosts; Paul and Maxie. They were murdered in the house the year before, and Paul wants Alison to find out who killed them, and why. It takes a while for Alison to come to terms with the fact that yes, she really can see these ghosts and communicate with them.

Shock number one is learning her daughter can as well.

Shock number 2? The fact that her mother can see them, as well as many, many other ghosts, and her mother and daughter have been hiding this secret from her for a few years.

Can Alison get her guesthouse renovated in time to open, while adjusting to a life with ghosts, and trying to track down a murderer?

This is definitely a page-turner, and a great first book to this cozy series!

You can find the book for sale here: Night of the Living Deed

Learn more about the author here: E. J. Copperman

All Murders Final – Sherry Harris

Angela3 Comments

Sarah Winston Garage Sale Cozy series book 3

ALL MURDERS FINAL mech.indd

As Sarah seeks to expand her garage sale business, she decides to go online with a virtual garage sale to help out her sales during the cold, snowy Winter months. Things seem to be going well, until clients are getting robbed, and Sarah is getting threatened, all while trying to deal with the two men in her life, and the family of mobsters that are renting the apartment next to hers.

Sarah being the one to find the body of the woman whom she had an online argument with the night before puts her in the hot seat, and it will take all of her wits, as well as some help from her friends, and maybe the mobsters, to clear her name and stop a murderer. When someone near-and-dear to her heart is looking like the next victim, Sarah risks it all. But does she make it in time?

Up next: My review of book 4 in the series, A Good Day to Buy.

You can find book three here: All Murders Final – Sherry Harris

The Longest Yard Sale – Sherry Harris

Angela2 Comments

Sarah Winston Garage Sale Cozy series book 2

The Longest Yard Sale book 2

As Sarah finds success setting up, and sometimes running, garage sales for others, she decides to have the Longest Yard Sale in New England. What looks like a successful turnout gets out of control as traffic gets jammed up everywhere, someone is setting fires in different spots all over town, and that dead body found in Sarah’s friend Carol’s Paint and Wine Shop is not the ending to the day that she was hoping for.

Now Sarah has to figure out who the murderer is, what happened to the painting that was stolen from Carol’s shop, and deal with two suitors; her ex-husband and someone from her not-so-distant past. Can she solve the mystery and clear her friends name?

Up next: My review of book 3 in the series, All Murders Final.

You can find this second book here: The Longest Yard Sale – Sherry Harris

The first book is here as well: Tagged For Death – Sherry Harris

Tagged for Death-Sherry Harris

Angela4 Comments

Sarah Winston Garage Sale Cozy series

I managed to read the first four book in this series in about a week, and absolutely loved them!

Tagged for Death cover image

Freshly divorced from her husband, CJ; Sarah now finds herself with plenty of time on her hands since she is no longer an Air Force wife. Her love for garage sales, finding a bargain, and negotiating a deal keep her occupied, and also open the door to a new form of employment; running other’s garage sales.

The cause of their divorce, a now-pregnant 19 year old named Tiffany, has gone missing. Sarah finds a startling discovery of bloody clothes belonging to CJ, (who happens to now be the Ellington Chief of Police), while she is going through some bags of items donated to the thrift shop on the base.

Her initial reaction is to hide them until she can figure out what is going on. Soon enough she has to bring it to CJ’s attention, and now they are both trying to clear his name, and find out what happened to Tiffany. Even though Sarah seems to have a couple people who are not fans of hers, she has her close friends who will stand by her through it all.

Up next: My review of book 2 in the series, The Longest Yard Sale.

You can learn more about Sherry Harris here: Author Sherry Harris

What are you reading right now? I have started on a new cozy series, and will be reviewing that very soon as well!