The Fine Art of Murder

 

In this blog post, I reviewed Emily Barnes's The Fine Art of Murder, the first installment in the Katherine Sullivan mystery series. This debut will keep you hooked from the first page. It all started for Katherine Sullivan, a widowed police chief, who returned to Edina Minnesota to visit her daughter Elizabeth and her two grandchildren. When Randolph Pierce, a prominent wealthy son is arrested for Stacey Jordan's murder, she needed to help her daughter and her client out in an unofficial capacity. She teamed up with her late husband's former partner, Nathan Walker, who worked in security with an unique crew. Together, they investigated Stacey's life and unearthed some hidden secrets before she met her untimely demise. While she dealt with the investigation as a private investigator, she talked to her daughter about her family issues, things gotten heated up for Nathan and Katherine to solve this murder in no time.

This delightful mystery debut is captivating and intriguing. I cared for Katherine who wanted to have a normal visit with her family, when it had gotten interrupted by this shocking murder. I loved how she had the balls to go against her former boss and put on her thinking cap as a PI. I also loved how she worked with Nathan and his crew. There's some chemistry brewing between them since they had a long history together. The location of Edina Minnesota made this sleepy small town the perfect play to set a murder. It had picturesque scenic settings from Buckhorn Mansion to her daughter's home pop on the page. The theme of the story is jealousy would lead you to greed when family matters to the heart.

This compelling mystery is a great first start to kick up the series to keep up on reading the other books. I did have one small nitpick, that there were some places when the author should've showed than told more with deep POV, due to some telling words. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love great whodunit murder mysteries, grab a copy of The Fine Art of Murder this summer. This book is recommended for readers who love great capers, cozies, and tons of mysteries like Deborah Crombie, Donna Andrews, and Louise Penny for example.

Ten Days in Paradise

  In this blog post, I reviewed Linda Abbott’s Ten Days in Paradise. This memorable woman’s fiction novel deals with matters of the heart.  For Ellen Bennett, all she wanted to do is to go on vacation in Sanibel Island and take a break from her failing marriage and troublesome son. Sun, surf, and sand were all she expected to find in Sanibel Island. While she relaxed in paradise, she had a chance encounter with David Blakemore on the beach, a fellow traveler who’s vacationing with his family for his parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. At first they were strangers and later potential friends. But it later became something more intimate between them. During this time when she felt revitalized like never before, she befriended Liz Taylor, a priest at Grace Chapel, that’s about to be demolished by a wealthy businessman to built a family home on the island. With Ellen’s encouragement to go to the public, she helped Liz and her congregation in the biggest way by letting the public know about this in the news to spread the word. For David Blakemore, he’s a father of three kids and had never thought to fall in love with Ellen on the beach. His wife Marianne is a handful. His sister Maggie is estranged from his father, who’s going through some memory issues, that his mother couldn’t put her finger on.  Between them, things are a kind of nice, though they’re both married with children. This affair wouldn’t last long since it wouldn’t work. During David’s parents 50th wedding anniversary celebration, things change between his father and Maggie especially when his son Colin goes missing. At this time, Ellen’s husband Jeremy surprises her and tells her he wants to give their marriage another change and explained the issues that’s going on with their son. At the end of her stay, Ellen decides to follow her heart to stay in her marriage and break it off with David forever.
 
This tender-hearted woman’s fiction is about family, life, and marriage. I cared for Ellen who had been going through some difficult times in her marriage and had hit the crossroads. This break was what she needed to make the toughest decisions she had to ever face in her life. I did feel a bit bad for David, who’s been going through a turbulent crisis in his marriage, and also with his family as well. The picturesque location of Sanibel Island, Florida, made the scenic  settings pop on the page. The theme of the story is family brings us together when crisis pulls us apart.

This emotional woman’s fiction pulls at your heart strings. I have found a couple of nitpicks in this story, though this is just my opinion: the focus should be on David and Ellen and to trim the excess chapters dealing with the Grace Chapel and David’s family, unless they’re in the scene. There a lot of characters in this novel as well. Less is more.  I rated this book, four out of five stars because it has a HFN ending. If you love woman’s fiction that deals with family and matters of the heart, a hint of drama and non-stop action, Ten Days of Paradise will take you away. This book is recommended if you like woman’s fiction novels like Taylor Reid Jenkins and Karen White.

The Lady Loves Danger

  In this blog post, I reviewed Anabelle Bryant’s The Lady Loves Danger,  the second installment in the Maidens of Mayhem historical romance series. This historical  romance is enriched with drama and intrigue  will sweep you off your feet on every page. Lady Delilah Ashbook is looking for Oliver, a young boy who had been snatched under her care in the dangerous streets of London. Everywhere she looked, she couldn’t find him and needed all the help she could get to find him before it was too late. That’s when she met a mysterious man named Sebastian St. Allan, who knew the streets like the back of his hand as a secret agent for the prince regent. When they worked together to find the missing boy, he had his own mission to locate the queen’s diamond collar for her missing dog.  Could both cases be linked together to the same culprit? While Delilah sought out the Maidens of Mayhem’s help, she became intrigued on how they operated and wanted to join them to help out with her causes to save London’s impoverished children who had no families to call their own. Sebastian worked with his colleagues and Eva Fields, the only agent in their team, who worked undercover to unearth a startling link to the queen’s paramour himself. The chemistry between Sebastian and Delilah were fiery hot, though her Aunt Helen wishes she would find more suitable like a lord to court her. But Sebastian had stolen her heart. When they worked together to find the culprit, it became life and death for Delilah when an unforeseeable foe reared their ugly head to turn against her. During her recovery from that harrowing ordeal, she wondered how Sebastian felt for her before she had find her happy ever after ending.
 
This lovely historical romance is passionate, daring, and wonderful. I cared for Delilah who wanted to do something to change London’s poverty state and take daring risks to locate Oliver and to go above and beyond to find her true calling. I’ve found Sebastian as a sexy debonair man, who had a sordid childhood past, and became his own true person. This awesome twosome make quite a pair and a lovely duo that would scorch the pages. The location of London and its surrounding neighborhood were picture perfect for the scenic settings.  The theme of the story is be your own true self by becoming our own person to make things happen.

This sensational historical romance is so hot, it sizzles with a capital S. I didn’t find anything to nitpick on this book. I rated this book, four out of five stars because of no reason. If you love historical romance with daring non-stop action, a tidal wave of sexy romantic drama, and heart-stopping suspense on every page, The Lady Loves Danger is the one for you. This book is recommended for readers who love Bridgerton and Downtown Abbey, classical historical romance movies, and intriguing historical romance authors like Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James, and Teresa Mederios.  

The Gossip

  In this blog post, I reviewed Nancy Bush’s The Gossip, the 2nd installment in the River Glen romantic suspense series. This romantic suspense will have you at the edge of your seat. For former cop Mackenzie Laughlin, it all started for her when she was assigned to look for Rayne Sealy, who had been reportedly missing by her best friend Bibi. While she looked into her disappearance, she looked for clues in her life from her family and friends. Back at the Ridge Point Assisted Living facility, she’s been the latest gossip among the ladies including Emma Whelon, who might have a piece of the puzzle. But when her body was founds in the river weeds, she knew something sinister happened to her. And that’s when she hooked up with Jesse James Taft, a PI who’s working on a different angle on the same case with the same suspect in mind. While they worked together, someone lurked int he distance, keeping an eye on the investigation and the players involved with a watchful eye. He hated the pretty mean girls who made fun of him in high school. And now it was his time to pay them back with karma. During the investigation, they begin to connect the dots and piece the puzzle together while they’ve gotten underneath each other’s skin. When they’ve thought they had the right suspect to help out the RGPD, they guessed wrong when it hit come to home for Mackenzie as she fought for her life to bring him down in the end.

 This twisted romantic suspense will send you goosebumps and take you on a wild ride. I cared for Mackenzie who wanted her job back at the police force and climb the ladder her own way. A woman on a mission, she cared for her mother and step-sister while she needed to find a place of her own. As for Taft, I’ve found him charming and amusing as a PI, and how he cared for her and Carnoff’s two pugs. They do make a helluva team and have great chemistry with each other. The dual locations of River Glen and Laurelton Oregon painted a vivid picture to the scene. The theme of the story is if you don’t have nothing nice to say, they don’t say it at all since what goes around comes around.

This spine-tingling romantic suspense has all the right ingredients splashed together for a recipe of a great read this summer. I did find one thing to nitpick on since most spots were repetitive in nature in some scenes. I rated this book, four out of five stars because of some dragged spots. If you love romantic suspense with spine-tingling suspense, a splash of romantic drama, and tons of non-stop breath-taking action, The Gossip is the one for you. This book is recommended for readers who love Lisa Jackson, Karen Rose, and other romantic suspense novels that make you want to read more.

Ask No Questions

  In this blog post, I reviewed Claire Allan’s Ask No Questions. This crime thriller is twisted and dark in nature. Twenty-five years ago, ten-year-old Kelly Doherty went missing and wounded up dead in Derry Ireland. It shocked the small village town of Creggan as they mourned the death. Now in late October 1999, Ingrid Devlin, one of Kelly’s former classmates, is reporting the anniversary of her death for the local newspaper. While she tried not to sensationalize the story by bringing up the past, she snooped around for answers on what happened to her. It all started when she talked to Jamesy Harte, who’s been released from prison, and always believed in his innocence. He became the town’s pariah when people called him vicious names like a pervert. But as Ingrid digs deeper for the truth, she’s become a target of threats to warn her to keep her mouth shut. She already felt the heat from her boss, Ryan Murray, who didn’t want her to print the story, though she believes he might be holding something back. For two brothers, Declan and Niall Heaney, it told a different story since they were the ones who discovered her dead body. It forever had changed their lives. Niall had a sober life and a successful career as a teacher, while Declan had run-ins with the law and a drinking problem. When Ingrid talked to them about the murder, one brother painted the other in a dark corner. One of them knew the whole story. As she continued to push for answers, more bad things happened to her and to the Doherty family. In the end, she discovered the truth on what really happened when she fought for her life to solve the biggest mystery of them all.
 
This twisted crime thriller would have you on your tenterhooks from start to finish. So many twists and turns and red herrings would have you guessing who had really done it.  I really cared for Ingrid, who really wanted to stop at nothing to get the truth, even if her boss stood in the way. And she wouldn’t let threats or other heeded warnings affect her integrity to get to the heart of the story. I did feel bad for Declan, who had a troubled life, while he secretly idolized his twin brother’s successes, though he might had something to hide in the end. The dual locations of Derry and Creggan  had brought some charm and mystique to the story. The theme of the story is honesty is the best policy while little white lies would find its way out into the open.

This dark crime thriller will give you goosebumps even after you finish reading the book. I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on the storyline since it had a fictional true crime vibe. I rated this book, four out of five stars since it was so good. If you love dark psychological thrillers with heart-stopping and breath-taking moments with non-stop action, plenty of suspense, and lots of nail-biting drama, Ask No Questions is the one for you. This book is recommended if you love reading Tana French’s and Tawny O’Dell’s thrillers, or watching dramatic thrillers on TV or in the movies.

No Words

  In this blog post, I reviewed Meg Cabot’s No Words, the third installment in the Little Bridge Island romcom series, this adult romcom is so fabulously funny from start to finish. Best-selling children’s author Jo Wright had received a stipend to go to a literary fest in Little Bridge Island in the Florida Keys. She’d just came out of the break-up and had hit writers block. And she needed to find a place for her father. She couldn’t forget that this day couldn’t get worse when British adult romance writer Will Price was on the board and will be on the panel with her. She haven’t forgotten what he said to her about her books after a plagiarism scandal book and hated him ever since. During this literary festival, she couldn’t stand him until sparks fly between them when she’d gotten to know him better. She wanted to know why he said those things about her, until they had a heated debate for a panel discussion. From there, her hatred turned into liking every single thing about him, when she  wouldn’t dare cross that line. While she hit the literary spark of genius for writing her next book, she became entangled with him even on social media. This magical trip on the island had worked its charm on her when she needed to decide to head back to NYC or stay on the island with him.

This laugh-out-loud romcom is delightful and amazing with a fascinating storyline that every novelist or reader can relate to in every sense of the way. The dual locations of NYC and the Florida Keys was picturesque and  romantic for Jo’s love story. The theme of the story is never judge a book by its cover when you see them in a new light.

This charming romcom is amusingly hilarious with a dash of inspiration and charming. I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on since this was picture perfect. I rated this book, five out of five stars. If you love romcoms that keep you laughing in stitches after its over with non-stop action,  plenty of romantic drama, and tons of witty humor, No Words is the book for you. This book is recommended for all writers and readers alike and those you love funny romcoms and Hallmark movies.

Under Pressure

  In  this blog post, I reviewed Sara Driscoll’s Under Pressure,  the 6th installment in the FBI K-9 thriller series. This new thriller is riveting and compelling on every page from start to finish. For Meg Jennings, a former cop and K-9 dog handler, it was nothing but a routine search and rescue mission with her dog Hawk. While things were going good with her partner Todd Webb, a firefighter/paramedic, she received a call from her boss to go on a special assignment for the FBI. They needed her to trail an undercover agent named Finn Pierce who investigated an illegal diamond trade joint on in Philadelphia. Between her and her colleague Ryan and his dog Lacey, they did a practice trail without giving themselves and his location away after a couple of tries.  When they passed, they dealt with the real thing and real big-time danger dealing with the Philly crime family and their illegal crime operations in the city. When someone attacked her and the dog, it became personal. And when danger attacked her, it hit close to home when she fought for her life. When her sister’s partner go missing, it’s up to Meg and Hawk, Brian and Lacey to find him before it’s too late to save him.

This K-9 thriller is suspenseful and daring. I cared for Meg on how she cared for her sister and for her dog Hawk. I could see the passion in her eyes and why she loved her job as a SAR dog handler. I also cared for Brian, Webb, McCord, and Cara. They were a stellar cast of characters. Hawk and Lacey were amazing dogs who took care of her owners. The locations set in Philly, Washington D.C, and Virginia were picturesque with vivid scenic settings. The theme of the story is watch your step when trouble follows you home.

This twisted K-9 thriller is captivating and keeps you wanting to read more. I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on since I love dog-themed novels. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love K-9 thrillers with twists and turns with riveting non-stop action, plenty of dramatic suspense, and tons of drama, Under Pressure is right up your alley. This book is recommended for those who love Margaret Mizushima, dog-centric thrillers, and K-9/FBI thrillers and dramas.