Mahjonged

In Elaine Macko's Mahjonged, the 4th installment in the Alex Harris cozy mystery series, this  intriguing tale would send shivers down your spine. While Alex's husband John is stuck in Maine, she helps runs a business with her sister Samantha. It all happened when Alex and her mother's friends had an outing to play Mahjonged at her home. Some people she knew and others she didn't know the guests. And during the middle of the game, the lights went out during a storm. And when the lights came on, Alex had found one of the guests had been murdered with a knife and a Mahjong title on her hand. Now it's up to Alex to do some sleuthing on her own and ask them everything she knew about the deceased, Penelope Radamaker.  Every one of them had a motive and a suspect even her closest friend. How close did they really know about her and why? While it put a strain on her friendship, she talked to Penelope's step-children and helped them with Penelope's belongings. And when she found a curious photo in the closest, she began to wonder who was the man in the photo. At the funeral, she had found another one like this. Was the killer giving her some kind of sign? Before her husband comes home, Alex had to figure it out and solve the mystery on time.

This was a compelling and intriguing cozy mystery that deals with the game of Mahjonged. A game I never had played before, but it sounds interesting and intriguing at the same time. I did care for Alex on how she ended up with a murdered guest at her home and how she was going to figure it out before her husband came home. I did care for Sam and did feel bad and sorry for Penelope too. I did like the small-town community of Indian Cove as the location and the settings for this cozy series. This would hold you in suspense on every page and have you hooked in the mystery with non-stop action, suspense, plenty of drama, and a big dose of mystery.

Will you be hooked on Mahjonged today?

Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane

In JoAnn Ross's Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane, the 2nd installment in the Honeymoon Harbor contemporary romance, 'tis the season to be jolly and home for the holidays. For Jolene Wells, she had lived on the wrong sided of the tracks and had fallen for Aidan Mannion, one of the sons of the richest families in Honeymoon Harbor, a small town outside of Seattle. He was her high school sweetheart who broke her heart and went to the Marines. Years later, he's the new chief of police and been mourning the loss of his partner from the LAPD who made an angelic appearance to help him out. As the new chief in town, he dealt with police corruption and a disturbing domestic violence case in the neighborhood. But he never thought he would see a blast from his past. For Jolene, she was the only child of a single mother who had her when she was young; her father had an abusive and criminal past that ended up dead. She worked her way as a hair dresser and was once Emmy nominated too, and suffered a broken heart as well. But when she learned about her mother's cancer scare, she flew back home to be there for her mother and then reunites with Aidan in her former hometown. From there, they rebuild their relationship and find out they were made from each other with a surprise ending during the holidays.

This was a wonderful and heart-warming Christmas contemporary romance. I do love the small close-knit community of Honeymoon Harbor and had every location had its own historic value to the town. I do love the North West location as it's by the water and how close and homey it makes you feel at home. I did care for Jolene and how she made a name for herself and how she looked after her mother and how close they were to each other. I loved how Aidan had mellowed out and softened as a former bad guy who now loves to protect and serve his community and how his family is supportive of each other. They would make you feel nostalgic about your own former crushes and loves with sweet romance, plenty of action, a dash of drama, and lots of suspense on every page.

Will you join the celebration in Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane?

The Bone Yard

In Paul Johnston's the Bone Yard, the second installment in the Quint Darlymple dystopian thriller series, this would present a bleak look at the future. In winter 2021 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Quint Darlymple was an ordinary solved mysteries on the side. It's past the Enlightenment Period when Guardsman and Auxillaries rule the various governmental fields and ordinary people like Quint are known as Citizens. It all started when an old friend of his, Roddie Aitken, asked him to find out what's really going on in the Bone Yard, and who were the masked killer was. And when Roddie wound up dead, it was nothing but personal to find out what happened to him and to report everything he knew to the Top Council. Since he wasn't a Guardsman, he had help from Davie, a fellow Guardsman, when they discovered something stuck in Roddie's mouth from his decapitated body: a tape of the "Electric Blues" from a long gone period. Quint didn't know what message that would be. As he went to find out more about what events led to Roddie's death, he kept asked what's so secret about the Bone Yard, when no one dared to speak of it.  Later on, more dead bodies ended up the same way when Quint's ex Katherine Kirkwood returned on the scene to help him with the drug connection. As he kept knocking on doors to look for answers, he didn't expect that it would lead back to the senior boyscout and the truth behind what was the Bone Yard, and the last person he would expect to face on would be someone from his past to make lethal ends meet.

This was a scintillating and intriguing dark dystopian thriller. I did care about Quint and how would deal with such dark things like death and inside political corruption. I did wonder how his relationship would fare with Katherine and how he would tie up everything so nearly. I did like the post-Enlightenment period setting in Edinburgh in winter 2021 and how cryptic the dismal locations were in and around Scotland for the series. This would have you at the end of your seat and shudder with non-stop action, plenty of drama, sparks of suspense and one helping of mystery.

Will you dare take a step inside the Bone Yard today?

Murder Once Removed

In S.C. Perkins's Murder Once Removed, the first installment in the Ancestry Detective cozy mystery series, get ready to hold onto your seats when the past meets the present. For Lucy Lancaster, a local genealogist in Texas, it all started when Gus Halloran asked her to look into the records to discover the real reason why his great-grandfather Seth Halloran was murdered over a decade ago. At first, records had stated and claimed it was an accident, but with this lone photograph, it developed something more and sinister there. From there, she had gotten into the thick of things when she unearthed new discoveries of the murder with the initials of "C.A." And when she delved deeper into the historical background between the Hallorans, the Applewhites and the Ayerses, she became part of a cut-throat story that goes way back to the past. When her friend Dr. Winnie Dell ended up killed and the last of the ancestors of the Applewhites had stolen paperwork from boxes, it was up to Lucy to find out what was going on. And she had butted heads with FBI Detective Benton "Ben" Turner, who also doubled as a history professor, who wanted her to stay away from the investigation. But she was already into the thick of it and might've been way over her head. There was something possibly brewing between her and Benton. Along the way, she ran into some unsavory characters and talked to Senator Applewhite who was the center of attention. The closer she had gotten into the truth, the more she discovered who was the killer when her line was in the line to get to the heart of it.

If you loved Rett MacPherson's Tori O'Shea genealogical cozy mystery series, you would like this one even more too. I did care for Lucy and how she had a love for solving crimes from bridging the past with the present even if it happened to be unsolved mysteries. I loved how she had took charge to solve the mystery if it put her in harm's way and in danger. I did find Serena and Jo a hoot and Ben a hot piece of eye-candy. I did like the central location of Texas and the gripping scenes around the area from her workplace to Flaco's Tacos. This would make you want to sway and soon and be interested to find your own roots on your family tree with non-stop drama, plenty of action, a dollop of mystery with a spice of suspense.

Will you go out on a limb to read Murder Once Removed today?

Beauchamp Hall

In Danielle Steel's Beauchamp Hall, this contemporary romance is enchanted and legendary like a fairy tale. For Winona "Winnie" Farrington, she had once of dreams of being published in New York. But life had gotten in her way when she took of her mother. After she died, she had been stuck in a dead-end job for 11 years in Beecher, Michigan, and having a stale relationship with her boyfriend Rob that never went anyway. When she received the white elephant gift of a set of DVDs from "Beauchamp Hall", a British series like PBS's hit "Downtown Abbey", from her best friend Barb, it changed and transformed her life and became addicted to it ever since. But things changed for her, when she was passed over for a promotion in her job and she caught Rob and Barb in her bed. On a whim after she nursed a double heartbreak and betrayal, she travels to England to visit the show and made new friends along the way. She also worked behind the scenes as an assistant and fell in love with Nigel, a sound tech who was once a dream. But when he was drunk and got jealous, he was a nightmare as the romance fizzles out to a crescendo. Behind the camera, life wasn't what it cracked up to be when they dealt with a loss of a star and then scandals that disrupted the show. When the producers couldn't fix the storyline issues, they decided to cancel the show, while it had put the Haversham Castle in jeopardy where Lady Beatrice and her brother Freddie lived. They made money from the show. But to prevent them from going into a despair, Winnie dreamed of an idea to help save it after the show ended. And with Bea and Freddie's consent, it transformed her world forever as she moved forward and had found her own dream come with a surprise romance for a happy ending.

It had been a long time since I read anything from Danielle Steel. And I did like the storyline concept and how it might've been inspired by"Downtown Abbey". I did find it to be quite fair and perfectly likable, but not like her own classic romance novels.  I did care for Winnie and how she had been dealt with one blow after another and took a chance to follow her heart and dreams in England. She wanted to go places and be adventurous and not be stuck in the same rut year after year.  I did like Nigel and how he was ideally like a prince until he let jealousy had gotten to the best of him. I did like the Beecher MI and England for the dual locations and the mesmerizing settings even of Beauchamp Hall too. This would make you want to wish upon a star and take you on a magical ride with non-stop drama, plenty of suspense, sparks of romance, and a hint of action.



Will you be tuned into Beauchamp Hall today?

Bring On The Heat

In Katie Rose's Bring on the Heat, the first installment in the Boys of Summer baseball sports romance, this debut has hit a home run fresh out of the gates. When Darcy Hamilton house sit for Lydia Logan, a heiress and local socialite, her job had came along with some perks. But when Lydia goes overseas and gives Darcy her invite to the ball in her place, she would be more than happy to accept. With the help of her friend Cara, Darcy had dressed like Lydia from head to toe. And when she arrived there, people had mistaken her from Lydia Logan, including New Jersey Sonics pitcher Chase Westbrook. Darcy had been a major fan of his and tries to tell him she's not Lydia when they first met. But sooner than later, she was caught up  with the moment and attempts to figure a way out to explain things. When she left Lydia's diamond earrings at his place, she was in a major pickle. For Chase, he wanted to become a star with the Yankees and hit the big leagues. He would do anything to impress his own father too. But when he met Darcy "aka Lydia" at the ball, he became enchanted with her and took her on dates. He had never seen this side of her before since she's known to be wild and ruthless. As Darcy kept up with her charade, she didn't think anything would go wrong, except she had fallen in love with Chase. But when Lydia arrived on the scene, she had a lot of explaining to do to both of them. Later on Chase follows his heart for his baseball dreams and also discovers that Darcy's the one for him with a happy ending that's a major grand slam.

This was an awesome and compelling debut from Katie Rose. I loved the theme of baseball for the sports romance series. I also loved how it taken place in New Jersey and also in New York City.  I did care for Darcy who was more over in her head for being "Lydia", though it had worked out all right for her in the end. I did find her charming and amusing and real likeable too. I also thought Chase was a groovy pitcher for a Sonics who had found his home and true calling with his own team. He could make his own baseball dreams there and make the World Series next year. I did find Lydia a bit obnoxious as well.  This would have him you running all the bases for a fantastic read and root for Darcy's love story with Chase with non-stop action, plenty of baseball drama, sparks of romance, and intense suspense in every page.

Will you hit a double-header home run in Bring On the Heat today?