REVIEW: Raccoon Racketeer

 Raccoon Racketeer
Author: Molly Fitz

Never enter into a deal with a raccoon. Even if he's a friend....well sort of a friend. Well, maybe an acquaintance? A very sneaky acquaintance.

Annie Russo and her feline sidekick Octo-Cat find out just how slick and sneaky Pringle the Raccoon can be in the 7th book of the Pet Whisperer P.I. series by Molly Fitz. 

I love this series! It's a perfect feel-good, cozy mystery series! The books are short length (about 20 chapters) and easy, entertaining reads. Always cute animals & an engaging mystery! 

In Raccoon Racketeer, Annie gets mixed up in missing mail, missing documents and a family secret. To solve the case & discover clues about the secret, she has to hire Pringle to help her with a little detective work. Lots of entertaining action and cute animal antics in this one! It kept my attention from start to finish! 

I hope Pringle comes back to help Annie and Octo-Cat again! He's entertaining and has snark equal to Octo himself! 

Another great book in this series! These books never fail to put a smile on my face! 

REVIEW: Striking Range

 Striking Range
Author: Margaret Mizushima

The Timber Creek K-9 series is one of my favorites! I love the setting, the characters and the plots! I have yet to be disappointed with this series. 

Striking Range is the 7th book in the series. The plot is fast-paced with lots of twists and sub-plots. Entertaining as usual! Mattie travels to question a suspect in a Colorado prison, but the prisoner dies leaving some mysterious clues in his cell. Add in a missing pregnant woman, puppies and a blizzard -- it all adds up to the usual great Timber Creek K-9 story! 

This newest book is one of my favorites in the series so far! The action was non-stop and I couldn't stop reading! I am eagerly awaiting the next book.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Chihuahua Conspiracy

 Chihuahua Conspiracy (Pet Whisperer PI #6)
Author: Molly Fitz

I love this series! The books and audio are shorter length (20 chapters or so) which makes them quick reads that I can easily slip into snippets of free time (commutes to and from work, breaks, lunch, before bed etc). Plus Octo Cat's antics never fail to make me smile. This series makes for a great break from life stress and current world issues. In 2020, I caught up to the last book in this series and lost track of it amid the shuffle of work, a pandemic, my husband being forced to retire from his job, etc.  Then I saw a newsletter email from Molly Fitz in my inbox a few days ago, and memories of Octo Cat and this fun, entertaining book series came flooding back into my tired brain. 

I was excited to see that in my time away from this series six more books and one in-between story have been added! Yay! 

I downloaded the audio book for Chihuahua Conspiracy immediately and had the best time listening! Narrated by Ann Richardson, the audio is just over three hours. I listened while cleaning the house and doing laundry. Great story! 

The Basics: Octo Cat is unhappy when Nan adopts a cute little chihuahua named Paisley from the animal shelter. Turns out the local shelter is also overcrowded and it seems funds have been disappearing. Angie has a mystery to solve on the home front as well -- who keeps breaking things in the house? Embezzled funds, a pouting tabby and smashed china -- so much going on! 

Cute, entertaining story! Richardson does an excellent job of voice acting. Fun listening experience! And a great reminder why I love this series -- it makes me smile and takes my mind off all the things going on at the moment. :) 

On to the next book -- Raccoon Racketeer! 

REVIEW: Murder by the Bookends

 Murder by the Bookends
Author: Laura Gail Black

Jenna Quinn is hosting a grand re-opening for her bookstore, Twice Upon a Time. A damper is put on the festivities when the a local librarian is murdered in spectacular fashion. The man's head was bashed in with an antique glass bookend....yikes!

I live in NC so I love cozies set here! This is the second book in the Antique Bookshop Mystery series.  I love the setting, the characters, the plot...and the dog, of course! The plot moves along at a nice pace and there were multiple suspects. The book definitely kept my attention from start to finish. I will definitely be reading more of this series. 

I wish the NC town I live in had a bookshop like Twice Upon a Time! I would be there all the time! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Mrs Morris & the Ghost

 Mrs. Morris & the Ghost
Author: Traci Wilton

I read this book in 2019 when it first came out. Loved it! There are now 4 books in this series and a 5th coming out soon, so I decided to revisit Mrs. Morris and her haunted Salem B&B. In audio this time! 

I love ghost stories. Always have. When I first read the blurb for this book, I knew I would enjoy the story. And I did! For me, this book was a mix of nostalgia for favorite haunting tales like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and my love for cozy mysteries with a ghostly theme.

The basics: Charlene Morris relocates to Salem, MA after her husband's death. She just couldn't stand living in the house and city where she and her husband had been happy for so many years. So, she bought a large estate in Salem with the intent of opening a bed and breakfast. Charlene doesn't have much time to get the house set up because it's almost Halloween, and that would be a perfect time to debut a new B&B in Salem. As she busies herself with hiring contractors to paint, buying furniture for the bedrooms and readying herself to start taking reservations, she notices something strange about the house. It seems she isn't alone. She left the ghosts of her past behind in Chicago only to trade them for a real ghost in a large house in Salem. To rid herself of the ghost, Charlene finds herself investigating a death. Was it a natural death....or something much more sinister?

The audio, narrated by Callie Beaulieu, is about 9.5 hours long. Beaulieu does a great job of voice acting. She brought the story and characters to life! 

I'm going to listen my way through the first four books in this series to be ready for the new book. Listening on Hoopla through my local public library! 

REVIEW: Reading Between the Crimes

 Reading Between the Crimes
Author: Kate Young

Reading Between the Crimes is the second book in the Jane Doe Book Club Mystery series. 

I haven't read book one, but was easily able to understand the characters and setting. The plot moves along at a nice pace with some entertaining surprises! I like the setting, the characters and the plot. I loved the idea of a book club banding together to solve a real murder mystery. Fun! A very enjoyable cozy!

This is the first book by Kate Young that I've read. I'm definitely backtracking to read the first book in this series, On Borrowed Crime. 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: World War Z - The Complete Edition

 World War Z: The Complete Edition
Author: Max Brooks
Narrator: Various

I'm a big fan of Zombie stories....and full-cast audio books -- so I jumped in the queue immediately on my public library's digital site. This book was well worth the wait! 

There are two versions of this audiobook. The original audio from 2006 is abridged with some of the stories/first person accounts from the original book left out. This newer audio (The Complete Edition) is unabridged. I loved the fact that some voices are recognizable favorites -- Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Simon Pegg, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, David Ogden Stiers & others. And the first person perspective stories of the zombie apocalypse and the aftermath are awesome! 

The audio is just over 12 hours long. It kept my attention from start to finish. I would have liked a few more stories about normal people escaping the zombies, but the military perspective was interesting and seemed very realistic. 

Definitely a entertaining audio experience for this zombie tale lover! I've never watched the movie....but I heard it had little or nothing to do with the book. I might watch it now that I've listened to the book so that I can complain that it isn't anything the same as the book. :)