Tag: California

Guidebook to Murder – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

4 out of 5 stars.

Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon book cover - Picture of the front of a bookstore, viewing the bookshelves inside and tables of display books outside

Add to Goodreads button

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Synopsis

In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store–Coffee, Books, and More–open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder? When Jill’s elderly friend, Miss Emily, calls in a fit of pique, she already knows the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily’s gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill–along with all of her problems. . .and her enemies. Convinced her friend was murdered, Jill is finding the list of suspects longer than the list of repairs needed on the house. But Jill is determined to uncover the culprit–especially if it gets her closer to South Cove’s finest, Detective Greg King. Problem is, the killer knows she’s on the case–and is determined to close the book on Jill permanently. . .

Graphic line of white coffee cups on white saucers - cups have gold trim around the tops - cups are full of coffee
©Cute Colors

Review

Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon is the first book in the Tourist Trap Mystery series and a decent start to a new series. The little town that the series takes place in seems like a great place to live and work.

I really like the main character, Jill. She seems down-to-earth, trustworthy, and somewhat sensible. She does take calculated risks, but she doesn’t seem to be as implusive and reckless like some other cozy-mystery sleuths. She also seems very well-rounded considering this is only the first book in the series.

I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
©Graphic Garden

Ripe for Murder – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

4 out of 5 stars

Ripe For Murder by Carlene O'Neil book cover - Vineyard terrace with round tables and chairs around the tables

Add to Goodreads button

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

GrapevineClipart

Synopsis

Penny Lively loves running her family’s winery, but to keep business growing, she needs to find a way to attract more guests. When she’s approached to invest in a new train line through wine country, Penny and her intoxicating winery manager, Connor, hightail it to a lavish resort to hear the details. Unfortunately, her neighbor’s daughter, Chantal, is also there, swirling up trouble by flirting with the married investors—and with Connor too.

When one of the investors’ wives is murdered, Chantal, who was seen fighting with the woman, is the prime suspect. Chantal may be a sour grape, but she’s no killer. So Penny, who’s become a sleuthing connoisseur, starts sniffing out the real suspect—and discovers that her fellow potential investors have been savoring more than their share of deadly secrets…

GrapevineClipart

Review

Ripe for Murder by Carlene O’Neil is the second book in the Cypress Cove Mystery series. I really enjoyed this book. I found the characters realistic and likable, though a few seemed a bit over the top as far as the exaggeration of their personalities. The plot was well done and the level of suspense was just right. I had no idea who was responsible for the murders until it was revealed in the end.

While many of the characters were realistic, Tara and Chantal are a little too over the top for me. I know that they were supposed to be in order for the reader to really not like them, but the exaggerations in their characters seemed a little too much for my taste. However, it balanced out since the other characters were so realistic and believable.  Connor and Penny definitely have some chemistry between them and I’m looking forward to reading more in the series to see if either of them act on it.

The descriptions of the settings were adequate; not overly detailed but described enough so that you’d have some idea in your head of what it would look like and where they were. A tad more detail wouldn’t have hurt, but the lack thereof didn’t detract from the story line.

All in all it was definitely an enjoyable book and not only do I look forward to more books in the series, I’d also gladly recommend this book to anyone enjoying cozy mysteries set with food/drink and/or vineyards.

(I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review. My review was not in anyway influenced by this. All of my conclusions and opinions are my own.)

Ripped From the Pages – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's Musings5 Comments

5 out of 5 stars

Ripped from the Pages book cover - Winery tasting room with wine bottle cubbies along the sides, bottles of wine on a countertop along with a cheese platter, books, and a small orange & white kitten

Add to Goodreads button

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Synopsis

Excited to explore the secrets of wine country, Brooklyn attends an excavation of the caves hidden deep under her parents’ commune—and the findings are explosive. A room is unearthed, and it contains a treasure trove of artwork, rare books, a chest of jewelry…and a perfectly mummified body.

A closer examination of the murdered man’s possessions reveals a valuable first edition of Jules Verne’s A Journey to the Center of the Earth. Hidden in the book is a secret map that unveils an even greater hoard of treasures brought to California by French winemakers fleeing the Nazi invasion with the commune leader’s grandfather, Anton, among them.

As reporters and art appraisers flock to Sonoma to see the precious bounty, questions begin to rise—did Anton hide these items to protect them, or did he steal them for himself? Who is the mysterious man left for dead inside the cave? But not all crime is buried in the past. When a new presence threatens the town’s peace, Brooklyn decides to do a little excavating of her own and solve the mystery of the treasure before anyone else is written off.… (Source: Goodreads)

GrapevineClipart

Review

Ripped From the Pages by Kate Carlisle is the ninth book in the Bibliophile Mystery series and I absolutely loved it. Now, I love this series in general, but I particularly enjoyed this installment in the series. This installment brought us more back story than we’ve had before as well as new chapters in relationships.

This story brought us a lot of great information about Robson and his family, as well as about the land that the Dharma vineyards/commune/town is on. I enjoyed that this book is set more in Dharma than it is in San Francisco. I enjoyed seeing more interactions between Brooklyn & Derek and the other members of the commune/residents of Dharma. In previous books, we’ve seen Brooklyn and Derek’s relationship with Brooklyn’s family and with their friends in San Francisco, but this branched out into working with other members of commune and it was a nice change of pace.

The mystery was entertaining and kept you guessing until the end. I had an inkling about who it was but I really wasn’t sure and in fact, I was wrong. The secondary characters are great. In fact, I hope a few of them stick around and join us again here and there. Finally, I can’t wait to see Brooklyn’s answer to Derek’s question at the end of the book in the next installment!

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

This Old Homicide – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

4 out of 5 stars

This Old Homicide book cover - Light house with attached house on a cliff in the background, broken white fence in the foreground

Add to Goodreads button

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Graphic line of tools including rulers, hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and nails
©Graphic Garden

Synopsis

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and while Shannon is delighted to be friends with not one but two handsome men, not everyone in town is feeling the love. After her elderly neighbor Jesse Hennessey fails to make his daily appearance at the local diner, Shannon swings by his place to check on him. Not only does she find Jesse dead—of an apparent heart attack—but she also realizes that his home has been ransacked.

Someone suggests that a thief was searching for a priceless necklace Jesse claimed to have retrieved from a capsized sailing ship, but Shannon doesn’t believe it. Everyone knows Jesse had a penchant for constructing tall tales—like the one about him having a hot new girlfriend. But his death is soon ruled a homicide, and shady suspects begin popping out of the woodwork. When another victim turns up dead, Shannon is convinced she must find the killer before someone else gets nailed…. (Source: Goodreads)

Graphic line of tools including rulers, hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and nails
©Graphic Garden

Review

This Old Homicide by Kate Carlisle is the second book in the Fixer-Upper Mystery series. I’m really enjoying the series. I’ve been a long-time fan of Ms. Carlisle’s Bibliophile series and her writing style in general. This series hasn’t disappointed either.

Ms. Carlisle brings us a batch of realistic, lovable characters, including Shannon, our heroine. So far, I’ve been able to at least guess on who the killer was. In the first book, I knew long before the end, but in this installment, I wasn’t ever completely sure until the end when the killer was revealed.

This book has a good balance of mystery solving versus relationship building between characters. The setting and plots are believable and enjoyable to read.

I’m looking forward to the next one in this series!

Graphic line of tools including rulers, hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and nails
©Graphic Garden

A First Date with Death – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

3.5 out of 5 stars

Book cover with ivy covered house & the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Add to Goodreads button

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Red line with heart towards the left end (about an inch from the end)
©Graphic Garden

Synopsis

When brokenhearted Georgia Thornton goes looking for romance on reality TV, she has nothing to lose—apart from a good man, a cash prize, and maybe her life…

What was Georgia thinking? Sure, some cad ditched her at the altar, but can she really find love on TV? Her best friend—and producer of the reality show Love or Money—thinks so. Ten men. Ten adventure-filled dates. What can go wrong? For starters, a faulty bungee cord that hurls Georgia’s first date into a tragic spiral off the Golden Gate Bridge.

He’s replaced by Paul Sanders, Georgia’s former fiancé. But the cop isn’t looking for a TV gig. Suspecting that the lover’s leap was no accident, Paul’s going undercover. When another bachelor gets a fatal kiss-off, the reality is that someone has killer new plans for the show—and for Georgia herself. Now, under the threat of permanent cancellation, Georgia fears that the only man on the set she can trust is the one man she just can’t count on…

Stylized word "LOVE" with a heart in the middle of the O.
©Graphic Garden

Review

A First Date with Death by Diana Orgain is the beginning of the Love or Money series. It was good, but I didn’t think it was great by any stretch.

The main character was a bit whiny at first, though she did grow on me and by the end I even sort of liked her. The plot was somewhat original (in that I’ve seen reality show plots before but not a *dating* reality show). While it wasn’t a page-turner for me, it did keep me entertained and I didn’t feel like I was “forcing” myself to finish it. All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I’ll try at least one more in the series before I really make up my mind on whether or not I want to read the whole series.

(I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my fair and honest review. My review was not affected by this. All opinions and conclusions are my own.)

Red line with heart towards the left end (about an inch from the end)
©Graphic Garden