Hung Out to Die

In Sharon Short's Hung Out to Die, the 4th instalment in the Toadfern/Stain-Busting Cozy Mystery series, this cozy caper would have you enthralled and at the edge of your seat. It's Thanksgiving at Mamaw Toadfern's home in Paradise, Ohio, when Josie talked to her grandmother about her family, and learned how she was adopted by her Aunt Clara and her Uncle Horace, when her parents skipped town. During this family holiday vacation, she gets an unexpected surprise from her loving parents, twenty years later. And they have a  surprise for her. She had learned a lot of family secrets and heated arguments at dinner, when old animosity had reared its ugly head. But during a walk with her friend Rachel Burkette, they discovered that someone had killed her Uncle Fenwick and had left him to die on a clothesline. With her father in jail as a suspect, it was up to Josie to learn new truths about the past and try to bond with her mother, while she would figure out who would really do such a cruel thing. And when she had gotten closer to suspecting a culprit, it had put her and her parents in danger as she later saved their lives in the end.

This was another great read from Sharon Short. We do get a closer look to learn more about Josie and her dysfunctional family during the holidays. I cared about her and was upset to hear about a pending heartbreak or two with her and Owen. I did care about her folks and was happy for them to give her a second chance, however brief, before they left town again in the end. Maybe it was for the best. I do love the quaint town of Paradise and all of its lovely descriptive locations and settings. This would make you shake you head a few times, grimace and groan, and gasp from start to finish.

Will you check out Hung Out to Die today?

Tie Dyed and Dead

Last year, I've read the third book in the Josie Toadfern series. This year, I've read the sixth book--I know, I skipped around. In Tie Dyed and Dead, Josie is in charge of laundering the Mayfair sisters costumes for their reunion benefit concert for their mom. The Mayfairs were a big singing group in the sixtes. And when ugly business reared its ugly head, so did some controversy, which also leads to murder. It's up to Josie to get herself out of being a suspect and figured out the aired dirty laundry, when it leads to another mother, and a shocking family secret. Plus, Josie falls in love with her Mr. Right. A great cozies with good stain-busting tips.