I have been working my way through one of the Love Inspired Suspense books by Virginia Smith titled "A Taste of Murder." Love Inspired Suspense is fabulous division by Steeple Hill. I like it more than the other Love Inspired stories, because I enjoy a little thrill with my inspiration, and I love me some mystery! Excuse me for not being very grammatically correct here. I am just sharing my shear joy. I first discovered Virginia Smith when I read "Murder By Mushroom" another Love Inspired Suspense book. At that point, I became an instant fan.
About The Book (From Goodreads):
Who murdered a small-town beauty-pageant judge--in a very strange way? Jasmine Delaney must find out. Because she's taken the victim's place. She came to the Kentucky Bar-B-Q festival for a wedding, eager to meet the bride's handsome brother, Derrick Rogers. Yet she's suddenly surrounded by pint-size contestants whose competitive parents will do anything to ensure the crown. Even kill? Derrick fears she's the killer's next target and promises to keep a close eye on her. Yet someone is already watching Jazzy's every move. Someone who's had a taste of murder. And is hungry for more.
My Review:
I was thrilled to get into another one of Virginia Smith's mysteries. I have enjoyed her well-developed characters and attention to detail with settings. She really fleshes out a book from top to bottom which allows a reader to get totally immersed in the story. Also her humor totally shines through, and I love that.
Jazzy is part of a classical trio who have been hired to perform at a wedding that is taking place the same weekend as a colossal Kentucky B-B-Q festival. The girls arrive at the hotel in the midst of pageant moms and beauty queen hopefuls. The hotel is absolutely engulfed in chaos. The girls are taken aback by the crowd and surprised at the wedding's timing, but they are professionals and more than ready for the task at hand. Jazzy is also looking forward to meeting the bride's older brother Derrick whom she met via a Christian online community as he was looking for someone to perform at his sister's wedding.
Jazzy has the slight idea of a little romance on the brain, and is completely blindsided when she and her friends find themselves stuck in the middle of a murder investigation and new commitments as judges for several activities that will be taking place during the B-B-Q festival weekend. Add to that the fact that their host, Derrick is extremely attractive although not really the kind of guy Jazzy is usually interested in.
What ensues is a murder mystery with a little romance thrown in for good measure. Jazzy feels as if she sees the killer at every turn and is convinced that it must be someone who would like to win one of the contests at any cost. However, Jazzy behaves several times in ways that aren't terribly bright for someone who is concerned that a murderer is watching their every move. I expected someone to call her out on this with a little more force though that did not happen.
I quite enjoyed "A Taste Of Murder." I felt like I was on a little vacation with just enough excitement and puzzle thrown in. The romance to me was a little off with everyone and their mother being over-the-top pushy with Jazzy and Derrick, but I would not say that it is unbelievable. I have a friend who met her husband when they were both in a wedding and they fell VERY quickly. As for meeting the man of your dreams online...that happened to me and my husband and I are heading to our fifth year of wedded awesomeness. My only head scratching was that with all the murder and worry going on, who really has time to think about courting? Still that did not take me away from the story.
I understand that there are more mysteries with these characters, and I plan to check out each and every one. Oh, and if I ever find myself in Kentucky, I am hitting up some BBQ and looking for some burgoo!
Back to the Nook for an awesome read. I actually downloaded "Lie Down In Green Pastures" with my Kindle app and my Nook. It was available free via Kindle first, and I was honestly really excited to get another book in this series. Of course I hadn't read even the first book in the series at the time, but because I had read other books by Debbie Viguie, I was more than sure I would enjoy this series. The opportunity to get several books in a series on Kindle or Nook for free was hard to pass up.
ABOUT THE BOOK (From Goodreads):
St. Patrick's Day brings a new murder mystery for the crime-solving duo of Cindy, a church secretary, and Jeremiah, a Reformed rabbi. Can they rush to save hundreds of teens and the man she's grown to care for before it's too late?
MY REVIEW:
I was fortunate to get to read these books in order. I cannot say that reading them out of order would have taken away from the story, but certainly because I had more time invested, I certainly have come to care for the characters more. This is of course one of the reasons I really enjoy book series. It is always like catching up with family.
This time the series opens with Jeremiah heading off to work on his day off (never do this) when his car gets hit by another car right in front of Cindy's church. Jeremiah, being very observant, is pretty sure that the driver of the other car was already dead before the impact. Cindy contacts the police, and once again, Jeremiah and Cindy become involved in yet another murder mystery involving their small town.
I liked that we got to know more about Mark (a police detective we have gotten to know throughout the series) and also focused more on Jeremiah and his abilities which shine further light into his past life before his life as a reformed rabbi. Frankly it was nice seeing the focus go off of Cindy for a bit. The part of the book that focused primarily on Jeremiah was very well written and interesting.
All in all, I once again thoroughly enjoyed reading this latest book in the series. There were really two sides of a story going on in this book, and I loved that. I also enjoyed that this one didn't seem too focused on romance. It really hasn't been heavy handed with romance, but of course with Cindy looking for love in another book, for me it was a concern. This is not to say I don't like romance. I do. I just am fond of the way a cozy mystery can ease that in rather than make it the main focus. I am liking that all the characters are developing friendships naturally rather than forcing thenm on us at light speed. At least that is my take on it. I do hope that Debbie Viguie writes more books for this series. Free or not, I will definitely snap them up.
I was fortunate to win Death In Dahlonega at author Trish Perry's blog "Reading, Writing, and the Stuff In-Between." I have recently become totally enamored of Cozy mysteries so I was super thrilled at this win.
Here is a description from Good Reads:
A friendly adventure turns to murder and mayhem in the north Georgia mountains. Historical writer Trixie Montgomery is asked to cover Gold Rush Days in the picturesque Georgia mountain town, Dahlonega. Trixie seizes the chance to mix business with pleasure and asks her best friend, Dee Dee to tag along. Their well laid plans go awry when Dee Dee is discovered standing over the lifeless body of prominent citizen, John Tatum - the very man she'd had a run in with earlier that day - holding a bloody pickax in her hands. Can Trixie find a way to finish her assignment and keep Dee Dee out of the slammer? Winner in American Christian Fiction Writers' Category Five writing contest.
My Review: Can I just say that other than being embroiled in a murder investigation, I loved the life of Trixie Montgomery and her friend Dee Dee? Who wouldn't be delighted to travel a bit for their career?
Trixie takes her pal Dee Dee along with her on a work assignment for "Georgia On The Way" magazine where they are to catch the buzz of Gold Rush Days in the quaint mountain town Dahlonega. Other than the town's hotels being quite booked up because of the heavily attended event, the assignment truly seems to be fairly mundane and Trixie is looking for an angle for a more compelling story in order to wow her boss. Trixie gets more than she asks for when her dear friend is found holding the murder weapon over a very lifeless townie. What ensues are Trixie and Dee Dee's attempts to get to the bottom of who could have offed John Tatum. The list grows because John is a prominent yet not terribly liked citizen.
"Death In Dahlonega" is a quick read with great characters. The town descriptions were so well written that I truly could picture it all in my mind. The townspeople were pretty much what you would expect in a Cozy mystery, some were a little on the quirky side while others were straight-faced serious. It was enjoyable reading about the ladies' interactions with them as well as the various eateries in town. I would say that they were certainly true to life in the best way. The murderer wasn't a complete surprise, but still it had me guessing. I enjoyed the brief mind-vacation I had through Deborah Moore's book, and I do hope that more will follow.
Minor Spoiler: This doesn't really touch on the main plot of the book, but a warning is still important. I felt that the story did not have to end with a romantic loose end tied up. Truly it was not necessary to the story, and it would have been something I would have preferred to see develop in future works. Still...it wont keep me from hoping for and definitely purchasing a sequel.
I am a huge fan of Cozy Mysteries. For some reason they are on the top of my reading radar right now. I read Nancy's book quite a while back when I had won it on a review site. It had been long enough that I decided to re-read it this past week and weekend, and I am so glad I did.
FROM GOODREADS:
Samantha "Ivy" Towers returns to Winter Break, Kansas, where she spent her summers as a child, to make funeral arrangements for her Aunt Bitty. While there, she begins to suspect her aunt's death, which resulted from a fall in her bookshop, wasn't an accident after all. Childhood friend Amos Parker, now sheriff of Winter Break, seems anxious to get Ivy out of town. A missing book, a message scrawled by an unknown person, and an extra coffee cup leave Ivy with more questions than answers.
MY REVIEW:
Cozy mysteries have recently become my genre of choice, and books like In The Dead of Winter are exactly why.
Ivy Towers arrives in Winter Break surrounded by a whirl of snow. Weather wise it is stormy and barely an opportune time to arrive in Winter Break as Winter Break holds onto snow with every last bit of its being. Thus the delightful name that rings icily true. The main issue is of course, Ivy is arriving to handle the estate and funeral arrangements for her dear great aunt whom she hasn't seen in quite a while.
Ivy spent summers there as a youth, but now she is a college student with a semester left before taking on the world. She is headed for a new and exciting future and uses her middle name, rather than Ivy, to claim it and leave behind the uncertain girl she once was. The problem is you really can't be the new you when you bring yourself to your old stomping grounds. Ivy is now in Winter Break where the population is tiny and everyone knows everyone's story and business.
Though things should be clear cut on aunt Bitty's demise, Ivy has been left a note that causes her suspicion, and despite knowing most everyone in the small town, there is no small list of suspects. Ivy has only a few short weeks before her final semester, but she isn't heading anywhere until she knows what happened to the woman who was just like a mother to her. As Ivy searches for answers, the reader is introduced to a town that despite its overwhelming amount of snow and ice, sounds utterly delightful. Delightful even as one is searching along with Ivy for answers. Perhaps I feel this way because of the time I spent in my own icy stomping grounds in Maine and Rhode Island.
In The Dead of Winter was a much needed break from everyday for me. I enjoyed the escape into the small town of Winter Break and all its residents whose varied eccentricities made each one more interesting than the next. The place was charming which is saying a lot for a town that is situated in just such a way that winter really likes to kick it and stick around.
I am usually rather good at guessing who the murderer is in cozy mysteries, but I did not get this one right away. I enjoyed Ivy's interaction with the other townsfolk and that Ivy was an average girl next door type and not your typical obvious beauty. She was flawed like the rest of us, but with a good heart, dreamer's mind, and a small dash of insecurity. This was so much more interesting for me than some of the typical heroines you find in books. I think that might be why I like cozy mysteries so much. People are a lot more normal even though their circumstances might not be. Some parts may have been tied up a little too quickly in the end, but it did not detract from the overall story. I enjoyed it a great deal, and I am already looking forward to reading the next book in the series "Bye Bye Bertie" which I have already ordered.
As I said, I won this book a long time ago and was not remotely requested to do a review. These opinions are truly my own.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Lord Is My Shepherd" the first book in the Psalm 23 Mysteries by Debbie Viguie, and really looked forward to continuing on with the series with the next book "I Shall Not Want."
From Good Reads:
Charity work can be murder! It’s Thanksgiving and Joseph Tyler, one of the members of Cindy’s church, has organized a new charity that provides homeless people with rescue dogs to love and care for. But one by one, the homeless recipients are being murdered and their dogs stolen. Could an overly competitive millionaire with his prize-winning pooches and a grudge be behind the crimes? Or could it be someone much closer to Joseph who has something sinister to hide? Cindy and Jeremiah must rush to find a killer before he strikes again.
I totally looked forward to reading this second book in the series. The reader is again introduced to another mystery that Cindy has somehow stumbled upon. She is just that kind of unlucky. As the description states, church member, Joseph has started a charity where homeless people are given rescue dogs in an attempt to give them an opportunity to care about something and hopefully reconnect them to getting re-engaged in society. It is a wonderful cause until these recipients are being murdered and the dogs are being taken.
I could say that it is a little far fetched that Cindy has somehow gotten herself entangled in this mess, but truly that is what cozy series are about. Just like a soap opera, calamity follows the same people along like a shadow. I suspend belief when I read and know that this is not likely to happen to every church secretary, but then again, I do know some people whom trouble does follow.
It was nice seeing Cindy and Jeremiah interacting again although I do hope that the author doesn't try to push them together romantically. I also enjoy Mark the detective even though he can be a bit abrasive at times. Who wouldn't be a bit snarky when they are continually dealing with amateur detectives like Cindy and Jeremiah (although he is less abrasive about their involvement this time around).
If I had one complaint it wouldn't be about the different rules and regs I have see with the rabbi being out on a Friday and the like. I am highly under qualified to make any comment on that as I do not know the laws that people of the Jewish faith follow. I think that if the way the rabbi acts is wildly incorrect enough to toss a person out of the story, that is a shame, because I certainly hate when inaccuracies shove me out of a story. For me on this part, ignorance is bliss. I think I was more put off by Cindy's co-worker dressing way out there when she works at a church. I'm not a prude, but I work in a Christian ministry and typically dress codes do apply. You wont catch our staff members in fishnets and a mini. It may work with the character's personality but it wouldn't work at any church I have dropped by. However, I have never popped into a Presbyterian office...so what do I know really?
All in all, I enjoyed the pace of the story and could see where other characters could be involved in future stories. I liked again not knowing who the killer was from the get go. That is a rarity. It was also nice seeing several theories bounced around which all sounded legitimate. Nothing was obvious and everything was explored. The book stands well on its own, but does mention the first mystery so I would read that one first if you are planning on hitting the whole series.
I received this book for free through Nook download at Barnes & Noble.
One of the wonderful things about my goal to work out - besides burning off some much needed calories - is I latch myself onto the elliptical trainer and pour myself into a book. Or would that be a Nook? Well, it would be both. I was given a Nook via my husband's boss (he doesn't enjoy reading like I do and thought I would enjoy it- I DO!!!!), and it is definitely one of my favorite things. I love taking it everywhere and always having a book on hand. I love that I can change the print size so I can read it without reading glasses (which I have recently needed). I love that I can take it with me to the gym and workout on the elliptical or treadmill without holding pages open like so many others have to do. Mind you I have an old-school Nook, but it is still a joy!
I really wanted to increase my reading time, and having the Nook and the opportunity to read while I workout has really working out more enjoyable and reaching a reading goal even more amazing. It is wonderful getting the opportunity to multitask in a very good way. The past two weeks I have been working my way through "The Lord Is My Shepherd" by Debbie Viguié.
Here are some details from Goodreads:
Cindy’s church is getting ready to celebrate Easter, and Jeremiah’s Temple is preparing for Passover when Cindy literally stumbles over the body of an unknown man lying dead in the sanctuary. The church was locked, and a bloody cross necklace on the floor seems to be the only clue. The killer is likely a member of the congregation, but there are hints that similar deaths have happened in the past. Are Cindy and Jeremiah dealing with a serial killer? They have to unravel the clues before Easter Sunday arrives and more people die.
My Review:
I picked "The Lord Is My Shepherd" because I was looking for a cozy mystery. I love that cozy mysteries give you a mystery without the sex and foul language. Cozies also involve more characters that I can relate to. Let's face it, for the most part, the people we know aren't fashion models, movie stars or explorers. Most of us through six degrees of separation may know someone in a high end career, but most of us still live our day-to-day lives far from a spotlight. In a cozy anyone can become a central character to an adventure be that person a grandma, waitress, real estate agent or even a church secretary.
Now this cozy was a little more bloody and creepy than the usual cozy, but it still had most of the key ingredients that I enjoy. Cindy is a mild-mannered and perhaps slightly bored church secretary who literally stumbles on a corpse in the church sanctuary of all places. The story immediately moves forward from there and introduces Rabbi Jeremiah Silverman and man other characters. Together they have quite a wild ride and some rough patches and truly I had no idea who the actual killer was. Let's just say that was a thrill in itself as I almost always figure things out.
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" delighted me so much that I immediately began to read the next book in the series "I Shall Not Want." The icing on top of the cake is that both books in the series, well actually all three of the books in the series, I was able to get free through Barnes & Noble. I look forward to what comes next!
