August 2020 – Writer of Sweet Small Town Stories of Love and Family

Book Talk: DEAD-END DETECTIVE

Published on August 28, 2020 by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

Dead-End Detective is another Hallmark Publishing cozy mystery. I enjoyed this one more than the previous one I reviewed. The story and the writing are both better.

Darby Piper is partner in a detective agency in a small town in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. She’s shocked when her partner is killed and even more shocked when she discovers she’s a suspect. Her car was the murder weapon. The evidence piles up and Darby has to admit it looks bad for her.

Her partner’s nephew (and heir–another shock) shows up. They join forces to find the real killer.

The story and clues are well told. The characters are finely drawn. There are enough suspects to be credible. Overall, I liked this one and would read another Piper & Porter Mystery from Hallmark Publishing.

I received a free advance electronic copy of this book from Hallmark publishing, but that did not induce me to review it, favorably or not.

Book Talk on a Thursday: Behind the Frame

Published on August 20, 2020 by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

I’ve reviewed several Hallmark romance books, but this is my first mystery.
Savannah Shepherd left her art curator job in Chicago to return home and teach art in the village of Carson. She has a developing romance with a local doctor and she’s planning a big art festival. She gets drawn into solving a murder when a town councilman is killed and a chef is arrested. Savannah and her two sisters work together to clear the innocent chef.
This is a typical small town, amateur sleuth, cozy mystery. The fact that all three sisters’ names begin with the same letter made it a bit confusing until they could be sorted out. They are different characters though, with different jobs and lives and traits, so that helped.
The mystery was good, with enough red herrings mixed with the clues to be suspenseful. The murderer was unmasked and caught “off stage,” which is an odd choice. I prefer to see the bad guy get caught myself. I enjoyed the small town setting and the characters. The mystery wasn’t particularly compelling, and the writing is okay. This is the second book in a series, but reads fine as a stand alone.

I was given a free advance copy of the book from Hallmark Publishing, but that did not induce me to review the book, favorably or not.

Book Talk Tuesday: THE FRIENDSHIP LIST

Published on August 4, 2020July 31, 2020 by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

Ellen and Unity have been best friends since forever. Now in their mid-thirties, the women are forced to acknowledge an unpalatable truth: they’re stuck.

TFL Ellen has been immersed in raising her son, Cooper, alone, and working. That’s all she’s done for the last seventeen years. When she overhears Coop tell a friend that he can’t go away to his dream school for college because his mom needs him too much, Ellen realizes she has to make some changes.

Unity’s been a widow for three years. Everyone keeps badgering her to move on, but she’s fine with where she’s at: living in her dead husband’s childhood home and sleeping in his bed. She’s got her business and her friends at the local “older adults” housing development. She’s just fine, thank you very much, but she wants to help Ellen.

Unity comes up with a list of challenges that will force both of them out of their ruts. They’ll wear bikinis in public. Get a tattoo. Sing karaoke. Unity proposes the project to make Ellen feel that Unity is trying to move on, but she has no intention of actually changing in any ways that really matter. Sure, she’ll go indoor skydiving with a nice man, but there can never be anything more between them.

The friendship between the women is genuine. They have a big fight at the beginning, but then are able to work through it.

The two male love interests are great characters. Ellen’s story line is friends to lovers with her coworker and Cooper’s coach, Keith. Keith could be a little over the top in his reactions and interactions with his teenage daughter, but it was still entertaining. Thaddeus is the perfect romantic hero: tall, dark, handsome, charming, and rich. Unity knows he’s special and worth trying to change for. If only she could.

Of course, Susan Mallery is one of my favorite authors and this book is as good as I’ve come to expect. I enjoyed it a great deal and I’ll buy a copy for my friend who loves her, too.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, but it did not induce me to review it, favorably or not.