REVIEW: Died in the Wool

 Died in the Wool
Author: Peggy Ehrhart

Died in the Wool is the second book in the Knit and Nibble Mystery series. Pamela, Bettina, Nell and all the members of the knitting group have been hard at work knitting stuffed aardvarks to raise money for the local high school sports program. 25 cute little stuffed 'varks are for sale at the knitting club booth at a local festival. However, they come up two aardvarks short at the end of the day. Did some shoplifter make off with the goods? As they search around the booth for the missing stuffies, they find more than they bargained for. A dead body. With a cute stuffed turquoise colored aardvark posed right in the middle of his chest.

Oh no! Things do not look good for the members of the knitting club. Soon they are all getting side eye from the entire town. Can the knitters do a little sleuthing and repair the reputation of the club and stop the ugly rumors about a "Killer Aardvark''? Read the book to find out!

I really enjoy this series! I like the setting and the cast of characters. Plus there are knitting patterns and recipes at the back of the book! :)

On to book 3 -- I already have it checked out from the library and on my desk as I finish typing up this review!

REVIEW: Read Herring Hunt

Read Herring Hunt
Author: VM Burns

I first read this second book in the Mystery Bookshop series back in 2018 before it was published. Then life kinda swooped in and I lost track of so many series I enjoy. Back now...and I started reading this series (and several others) all over again from the beginning. Having a great time!

Samantha Washington, Nana Jo and her senior friends, Dawson and the whole crew are back in Read Herring Hunt, the second book in the Mystery Bookshop series. Samantha was widowed about a year ago. She fulfilled a dream she had with her husband to open a mystery bookshop. The shop is doing quite well, despite the dead body discovered nearby when it first opened. Sam lives in an apartment over the store. Nana Jo still stays over often. And adopted member of the family and college student, Dawson lives in the apartment above the garage. Things are getting easier for Sam...the shop is making money, she has friends, and she's trying to learn to enjoy life without her husband.

Dawson has become entangled with the wrong sort of girl. Nana Jo (always quick to express her opinion) hates her and calls her a floozy. Obviously the tart has her eyes on Dawson because he's a popular and talented football player at the local college, with prospects for a pro career. The day after breaking off his relationship with her, Dawson comes to work at the bookshop with a black eye and scratches on his face. He blames Melody for the injuries. Unfortunately, the floozy is found dead, and Dawson is immediately suspect number one. Sam, Nana Jo and the gaggle of lovely seniors join forces again to prove his innocence (before the upcoming big football game of course).

I love this series! Nana Jo is a hoot. And her friends are even more fun. They are outspoken and very good at helping Sam with her amateur sleuthing. Iris is my favorite. She has to be stopped each time she almost lets loose with curse words. Sam is a great main character. She's trying to put her life together after a terrible loss, and building the dream she had with her husband is making a new life for her. The other supporting characters like Dawson and Sam's sister, Jenna, make this a funny, feel good, entertaining cozy mystery series. Sam is also writing her own murder mystery series set in Britain in the 1940s. The story she is writing is included within the book, making each story a mystery within a mystery. This time, the story forms around the former King Edward VI who just abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. A woman is shot during a shooting party....who was the intended victim? And was the motive political?

Fun, entertaining and suspenseful cozy! The cover art is perfect -- very colorful with Sam's poodle smack dab in the middle. :) Very eye catching! I already have book 3 requested at my local library. Woot!

REVIEW: Sarah Brown and the Cabin

 Sarah Brown and the Cabin
Author: Audrey Walker

Every Fall I end up binge reading mysteries and thrillers. I guess there's just something about the weather growing colder and spending more time indoors that makes me want to curl up with a good investigative story. I also love discovering new-to-me authors. So, I gladly added this book to my autumn reads.

I discovered Audrey Walker's books quite by accident. I accepted a freebie copy of a prequel to another series she writes. And this first book in the Sarah Brown series was a freebie special at an online bookseller. The story is short -- only 7 chapters -- but a nice introduction to Sarah Brown. I'm very curious what the next book in the series is like, so the free first story served its purpose. It's not too difficult to suck a book blogger into a new series. :)

The basics: Sarah Brown is a detective known for her sometimes unconventional investigative tactics. She needs a break, so she goes to stay at the family cabin in the mountains for a few days. Her annual getaway. But, her vacation is basically ruined when a dead body shows up outside the cabin. She has no clue who the dead woman is, who killed her or why the body was left outside the cabin where she is staying. The investigation quickly heats up and Sarah discovers her own life might be in danger.

I like Sarah as a main character. She's feisty and a good detective. The mountain cabin setting is great as well and the plot is an interesting premise. But, the story never really hits a true conclusion. It just stops. There is no explanation of who or why. Too many unexplained plot threads. I feel like I read an unfinished story. Too much is left unexplained at the end. After reading this entire story I'm in pretty much the same boat as Sarah Brown -- I have no idea who the dead woman is, who killed her, or why the body was left outside Sarah's cabin. I can't even really call the ending a cliff hanger -- nothing was revealed....at all. Like I said, I feel like I read an unfinished story.

I'm willing to invest the time to read the next ebook in the series to see if more information is revealed and anything concluded. I'm intrigued. But if there's no conclusion or definite explanation of any of the plot in the next ebook, I will  unplug at that point. I've read too many indy digital releases that spread one plot line out really thinly over multiple ebooks instead of ever concluding any portion of the story. It doesn't make for enjoyable reading, or good writing.

Interesting start to a series, even if the ending was completely unfulfilling. I'm willing to read the next book to see what happens.

MOVIE REVIEW: Ghost Stories (2017)

 Ghost Stories (2017): BluRay
Director: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman

We moved to CO at the very end of June, and I just got my TV/Blu-Ray player set up this week. I just couldn't find any motivation until a few days ago to fuss with all the wires and assembling the stand I bought for it. Done now though. So, I celebrated by checking out a couple movies from the local library. Saw a BluRay for an interesting looking horror movie with Martin Freeman in the cast. I really like Freeman -- so gave it a try!

The move is based on a stage play written by the directors. I wish I could see the play. I enjoyed it as a movie, but a stage play has a completely different vibe than a film. The movie's ending is superb -- I'd love to see how they staged it!

The basics: Professor Philip Goodman has spent his entire career debunking fake psychics and supernatural hocus pocus. He doesn't believe any of it is real. Then, he is sent to investigate 3 supernatural occurrences that supposedly can't be explained. Will the skeptical Prof Goodman be a believer by the end??

Definitely worth a watch! Some great horror effects and the stories were creepy with an interesting vibe. The stories also added to a central plot instead of just being stand alone, unrelated horror stories like some other similar movies have done. Very enjoyable! Andy Nyman (plays Goodman) is a very skilled actor (and director for this particular film). Martin Freeman was awesome too, as usual.

Enjoyed it!

REVIEW: Death by Cashmere

 Death by Cashmere
Author: Sally Goldenbaum

This series has been on my I-really-want-to-read-this-list for years, and I believe I did read this first book before, but then lost track of the series. You know -- life happens and reading takes a back seat. Sometimes for very, very long stretches of time.

But, I'm trying to find balance. So, I have a new routine. I visit my lovely local public library at least once a week - it's my Friday morning day-off thing I do just for me. And, I take time to read every day, even if it's only for a few minutes. Balance is important. Work is also important, but it can't be the constant main focus of my life. Nope. Making sure to add in some books and the peace they bring as well.

I like the characters in this book. The Seaside Knitters -- a group of friends, all different, all intelligent, all creative. That would be such a cool group to belong to! They meet once a week at Izzy Chambers knitting shop in Sea Harbor, MA. Food food, lovely yarn, a bit of gossip....fun! But things take a dark turn when someone they all know is killed. The circumstances are strange, and the knitters find themselves doing some sleuthing to find out if their friend made a foolish choice.....or was it murder?

I already have book 2 in this series on the way to my favorite public library via inter-library loan. Woot! Can't wait to find out what the ladies knit next......and what case will have them sleuthing again! This was definitely a great addition to my annual fall cozy reading binge!

REVIEW: The Broken Spine

 The Broken Spine
Author: Dorothy St. James

Trudell Becket is shocked when she hears that the library where she works is going to become a bookless technology center -- digital only. In a panic to save what books she can, she enlists the help of some fellow employees to hide a stash of books in a hidden room in the library's basement. When the man responsible for the change is killed...in the library, no less....Trudell is a suspect. She and her secret bookroom crew have to do some amateur investigating to keep Trudell out of trouble!

I love my local library's digital site....but I would really hate it if the library system here suddenly got rid of all physical books, movies and music offerings!! I can see the benefits....but it would leave so many patrons wanting "real'' books! Not to mention those without a computer or device would be left out in the cold! I silently cheered Trudell as I read about them sneaking books to the basement....and I kinda didn't feel too badly about the guy who got offed. :) Just kidding....but still...he was a bit of a wanker. Taking books to the landfill??? Grrrrr!!!!!!!!!

I liked the characters and setting. The plot moved along at a nice pace and there was plenty of sleuthing and suspects. Very entertaining and fun to read!

I already have book 2 in this series on hold at the library! 

REVIEW: The Cluttered Corpse

 The Cluttered Corpse
Author: Mary Jane Maffini

The Cluttered Corpse is the second book in the Charlotte Adams cozy mystery series. Charlotte is a professional organizer. Unfortunately, sometimes while clearing up other people's clutter she just happens to get pulled into a messy murder investigation.

The basics: Charlotte has a new client. Emmy Lou is an attractive woman with a nice life....but she has a serious problem with clutter. Fuzzy, cute clutter. Stuffed animals. Everywhere. Thousands of them. Who best to de-stuffie Emmy's house? Charlotte of course! The job gets a lot more complicated though when Charlotte finds a dead body at the bottom of Emmy's stairs.....and Emmy confesses to murder. In public. In front of multiple police. At the top of her lungs.

This story reminds me of episodes of hoarding television shows -- I could picture mounds and mounds of stuffed animals filling up this woman's house. A few stuffed animals are cute -- I have a few myself. But thousands of them? That would be creepy. When it gets to be an obsession on a grand scale like that, the darn things just wouldn't be cute anymore. Perfect setting for a murder!

I enjoy this series. I like the characters, the concept and the plots are entertaining. In Cluttered Corpse, the plot moves at a nice speed, there are plenty of twists and surprises, and lots of investigation. My favorite characters? The two wienie dogs, of course! Followed closely by Jack. All tried and true friends!

I will definitely be reading the rest of this series! I enjoy this author's writing style and I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books!

On to the next -- Death Loves a Messy Desk!