Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mystery series is everything I love about cozies. Set in a charming little touristy East Coast hamlet, the stories revolve around a loveable bookstore owner, a bevy of eclectic characters, and a couple of furry, four-legged sidekicks. It’s like this series was tailor-made just for me!
In this sixth installment, our fearless protagonist, Tricia Miles, stumbles upon a dead body while staying at a newly opened Bed and Breakfast. Known as the “Village Jinx,” she has a knack for finding murder victims in her so-called peaceful town of Stoneham, New Hampshire.
This time, the victim is a former Playboy bunny turned B&B owner named Pippa. The plot thickens when Tricia discovers Pippa’s husband is actually Harry Tyler, an old boyfriend who was believed to be dead for more than 20 years. This makes Tricia a suspect, adding some serious tension between Tricia and her police chief boyfriend. Plus being a murder suspect really puts a damper on business, so she better find the killer before she loses her sweetie and her loyal book club customers.
As Tricia delves into the mystery, she comes up with more questions than answers. Why would Harry knock off his wife right after opening a B&B? Who’s sending all of those old pictures and cryptic messages in the mail? And who is always lurking in the shadows?
As you can see, there are a lot of pieces in this puzzle – and boy is it fun putting it all together! Half the fun is getting to k
This book is Gizmo approved.
now all of the quirky characters, especially Tricia’s feisty sister who runs an eclectic bookstore for foodies. She’s a tad on the selfish side, but she tends to redeem herself when Tricia is in a bind. Plus she’s got some scrumdiliumptious recipes that you can find in the back of the book. Mmmm…I can’t wait to try out the Simply Crackers Candy!
But of all the secondary characters, I’m most intrigued by an ex-con named Pixie Poe. She’s rude, violent and anti-social – but trust me – she’ll grow on you! I’m really excited to see what lies in store for her and Tricia in the next book!
If you love a good character-driven mystery in a deliciously inviting setting, you’re in for a treat. I’m putting this one on the top shelf with my other two favorite bookstore mysteries: Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand, and Alice Kimberly’s Haunted Bookshop series.
Sundays are a day of rest. So in honor of this one day of the week when I can legitimately loaf around in my Garfield jammies in front of the DVR, I bring you “Short and Sweet Sundays.” This is a fun way for me to write up a quick and dirty book blog without getting too wordy.
From the publisher:Colleen McCabe is enjoying an uneventful summer in North Carolina’s Outer Banks supervising her firefighters, making rounds with her Border collie, Sparky, and keeping an eye on the wild horses escaped from the local sanctuary. But when a dead body washes up on shore, she knows trouble has arrived in Corolla.
Colleen is ready to start work on the investigation, but much to her irritation, her best friend, Sheriff Bill Dorman, makes it clear he doesn’t want her butting her nose in or poking around. The stubborn Colleen, however, is not so easily deterred. When a man with a gun is spotted lurking around the lighthouse and her former school teacher’s house explodes, she adds arson and a second suspicious death to her informal investigation. Colleen soon finds herself juggling her job, amorous advances from the town’s developer, and intrusions from the local press, all while keeping information from Bill. Her secret sleuthing quickly comes to an end, however, when a bigger threat enters the picture.
The biggest selling point: It’s a tossup between an eclectic cast of loveable characters and the gorgeous coastal setting. If I had to choose, I’d say the characters really stole the show. Colleen embodies everything I love in a female protagonist. She’s fearless, strong-willed, witty – and an animal lover to boot. Plus she’s a firehouse chief, which is quite impressive all in itself! Her colorful sidekicks were all very amusing, especially the flirtatious real estate developer, Pinky Salvatore, who habitually summoned her to his bachelor pad with smoke signals. But most of all – I enjoyed Colleen’s horse-herding border collie, Sparky.
What irked me: I can’t go into details because I’d give the whole thing away, so I’ll just say that a major component of the story requires a suspension of disbelief. To be honest, it didn’t really bother me because I was too busy zipping through the pages to find out whodunit!
This book is best paired with: A tequila sunrise and the Endless Summer soundtrack.
Overall assessment: If you love animals, charming small-town settings and entertaining characters, this book’s for you. The mystery unfolds at a steady pace, and even the most seasoned mystery buffs are likely to be surprised by the ending. All in all, this is one heck of a debut, and I’m looking forward to reading the next installment. Want to know more about this talented new author? Check out her Q&A on Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries and More.
Sundays are a day of rest. So in honor of this one day of the week when I can legitimately loaf around in my Garfield jammies in front of the DVR, I bring you this new feature that I like to call “Short and Sweet Sundays.” This is a fun way for me to write up a quick and dirty book blog without getting too overambitious.
Synapsis (from the publisher)What if your friend – someone admired, envied, and fervently sought after by everyone who knew her – was really a dangerous sociopath?
Spring in glamorous uber-rich Fairfield County, Connecticut is a time of beginnings: a new diet for the approaching summer spent out on the yacht, fresh-faced interns being offered up at the office as the seasonal sacrifice to the gods of money, and corporate takeovers galore. Five women in their thirties have a brand-new friendship, too, one that fed and watered regularly at local hotspots over cocktails. With all of their personal struggles – Lucie’s new catering business is foundering due to vicious gossip, Kate’s marriage is troubled due to an inability to conceive, Chelsea’s series of misses in the romance department have led to frantic desperation, and Sharon’s career problems are spinning out of control – the women look forward to a break and a drink and a chance to let their guards down with their friends. And letting their guards down is the last thing they should do in the kind of company they unknowingly keep with the fifth member of their cocktail-clique: Bianca Rossi, a woman who will stop at nothing to have it all.
What I liked:After reading the author’s previous novel Barefoot Girls –which also includes one helluva villain – I knew I was in for a treat. She has a real knack for getting inside the mind of a certifiable sociopath, and Bianca really takes the cake! That is one crazy-ass bitch, and I hate to think that there could be real-life Biancas preying upon unsuspecting men and exploiting their “friends” weaknesses. She grew more despicable with each chapter – and I couldn’t wait to get to the very end to watch it all come crashing down. I can safely say this is one of the most evil female antagonists I’ve encountered in a very long time. She’s so bad, she makes those Lifetime movie psychos look like playful kittens!
Favorite character: The posse of gal pals all had interesting backstories, but out of all of the women, Kate is my fave. Yes, she’s totally naïve and sometimes just plain dumb, but she’s also loyal and incredibly sweet. Fresh off the farm and new the big city, she’s refreshingly un-jaded and ready to befriend anyone with a seemingly friendly face. Although I constantly wanted to shake her and tell her to smarten up, she really hit a soft spot in my hardened, misanthropic heart.
If you think about it, haven’t we all been there? At some point, don’t we all find out the hard way that we can’t accept everyone at face-value? To quote Dan Rather, “A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.”
The cover: The long-legged women sitting on barstools are pretty and all, but to be honest, I really don’t think the cover does the book justice. If I saw this in a bookstore, I probably would’ve just assumed it was another light-hearted story about women looking for love in the big city. Since the story revolves around a demented seductress, I think it would be more fitting to invoke a sense of danger on the cover.
This book is best paired with: A tall mojito and some Miles Davis.
Overall assessment: Cocktail Hour isn’t all margaritas and tapas – McTiernan tackles some troubling issues – from adultery to mental illness to family dysfunction. Emotional, fascinating – and sometimes unsettling – this is one quality read for anyone who enjoys stories about love, loss, friendship and deceit.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Me (the awkward blond on the left) and Gwen Cooper.
Oh happy day! I had the pleasure of meeting Gwen Cooper, the celebrated author of Homer’s Odyssey, at an Austin Pets Alive event! She spoke to a full house of crazy cat lovers about all my favorite topics: Kitties, books and how to break into publishing.
I’ve never heard of Love Saves the Day, but the cover is super cute and the author is one of the bests in the animal memoir biz, so I went ahead and swooped it up. How could I go wrong with a story about an adorable little orphaned kitty that helps a woman through a long, complicated road of bereavement? I love a good tear-jerker about healing and self-discovery, so I’m sure I’m going to fall in love with this book.
Here’s a little snippet from the author’s website about the book, which is narrated by a kitty named Prudence who’s struggling with the death of her beloved owner. Sniff…where did I put that box of tissues?
Suddenly Prudence finds herself living in a strange apartment with humans she barely knows. It could take years to train them in the feline courtesies and customs (for example, a cat should always be fed before the humans, and at the same exact time every day) that Sarah understood so well. Prudence clings to the hope that Sarah will come back for her while Laura, a rising young corporate attorney, tries to push away memories of her mother and the tumultuous childhood spent in her mother’s dusty downtown record store. But the secret joys, past hurts, and life-changing moments that make every mother-daughter relationship special will come to the surface. With Prudence’s help Laura will learn that the past, like a mother’s love, never dies.
Bumped into these little dudes at the event. They’re up for adoption, y’all!
Oh and did I mention that I scored a free Litter Genie at the event? Now that’s some cool swag! With some help from corporate sponsors, she’s traveling from shelter to shelter to promote her new book and give back to the little animals in need. Be sure to check your local events calendars to see if she’s coming your way!
I knew I had to read this book when Scott Montgomery, the resident mystery maven at BookPeople, mentioned that it has the one of the creepiest opening chapters he’s ever read. This guy is a voracious reader of mysteries and horror, so that’s a pretty impressive feat for Mark Pryor.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a hard-boiled, tough-guy mystery, so I decided to give this Hugo Marston series a test drive. Considering the author is an assistant DA, I was expecting it to read like a procedural. No offense to Patricia Cornwell fans, but I’d rather watch a Perry Mason marathon than read a procedural.
But Scott Montgomery never steers me wrong, and I’m so glad I gave this book a try! Some authors are just born to write – and Mark Pryor is one of them. He knows how to rope his readers in with loveable, complex characters, and he has mastered the art crafting page-turning suspense. But what I love most is the setting. I’ve never been to The City of LIght, but I could travel there vicariously through his atmospheric descriptions of street-side cafes, rolling green pastures and creepy cemeteries. Here’s a fun little spine-tingling teaser:
As the last traces of orange tinged the skyline, the shadows cast by the crypts around them grew. The Patches of gray that in early evening had circled the monuments like little skirts now spread like spilled blood, staining the grass and the stone walkways, tinting the newest of the marble monuments in a slow, inexorable creep of darkness that silenced all sound, except for the occasional hoot of an owl, and the noises of discomfort that they made themselves as they waited for a man with a gun. A man with a gun, and they suspected, a bag in which to carry away the bones of someone long since dead.
It all begins in a Parisian cemetery, where a giggling young couple inadvertently bump into a grave-digging fiend named The Scarab. Annoyed by the interruption, he shoots them in cold blood and peels off a little prize from the girl’s back. You see, he’s rather fond of tattoos…and skeletons…and Moulin Rouge dancers.
Enter Hugo Marston, the tall, handsome chief of security for the U.S. embassy. I have to confess, I have a bit of a crush on this guy. He’s ballsy, smart and fiercely devoted to his friends, especially his self-destructing alcoholic partner. I’m a tad jealous of his “friends with benefits” crime reporter sidekick, Claudia. They are so perfect for each other, but complicated circumstances keep them apart. I’m really excited to delve into the next Hugo Marston mystery to see how their relationship develops.
But I digress. Let’s get back to the mystery, shall we? It turns out that one of the victims is the son of a U.S. senator who’s hell-bent on blaming it all on a suspected terrorist. When Hugo looks into the case, he finds that all of the evidence points to a serial killer with a penchant for human bones. Hugo’s investigation gets derailed as the senator insists on going public with the terrorist manhunt, thus giving The Scarab more freedom to continue his macabre cemetery excursions. Why is he collecting old bones from dead can-can dancers? How does he pop in and out of cemeteries unseen? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
A word to the wise, don’t read this book alone at night. I made the grave mistake of reading it while my husband was out of town and had to call him in the middle of the night so he could talk me off the ledge. Parts of this book really gave me the heebie jeebies – especially the cemetery shootout scene. Come to think of it, this book is a good cautionary tale for staying away from cemeteries after sundown – and to sign up for a self-defense class. It’s a scary world, and I shudder at the thought of real-life Scarabs roaming the city streets.
Overall, this book is one heck of a thrill ride that is sure to impress fans of fast-paced mysteries by the likes of Jeff Abbott, Harlan Coben and John Sandford. Hugo Marston is my kind of hero, one who’s willing to rush into a burning building to take down the bad guy – and risk everything to save his friends. This author has the rare ability to make sitting on my cushy couch feel like a heart-pumping chase through creepy Parisian graveyards.
Summary (from the publisher) A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it’s there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey’s strong and big-hearted grandmother, whose maternal love braids together the strands of the women’s shared past–and who will stop at nothing to defend their future.
Why I liked it: There’s a lot of really good women’s fiction writers out there, but Joshilyn Jackson is in a league of her own. She has a knack for describing incredibly complex thoughts and feelings in a way that really connects readers with the characters. For a while there, I almost felt like I was Mosey. I hung on to the narrator’s every word as the story slowly unfolded, always teasing me with more questions than answers about Mosey’s sordid family history.
This author never ceases to amaze me with her intoxicating stories about Southern women with haunted backstories and serious psychological issues. As a fledgling author, I have to admit that I’m rather intimidated by her raw talent for lyrical prose. The last chapter is sheer poetry. I guess if I had to put her in a league, she’d be in the dugout with the likes of Stephen King, Janet Fitch and Robert McCammon
The narrator: You’d think that authors would be ideal narrators, but typically their performances fall flat. They tend to sound like a bored librarian entertaining little kiddies at a story-time reading circle. But much to my surprise, Joshilyn Jackson did a standup job narrating this book. Her authentic Southern drawl really added to the characters’ personalities. There were quite a few characters in this book – which can be really confusing on audio – but she gave each of them a distinct tone. I really loved how she’d lower her voice a few octaves to drum up the suspense. Really well done!
Favorite character: There’s a lot of fascinating characters in this story, but Big (aka Ginny Slocumb) really stole my heart. She is everything a mother should be: Protective, loving and self-sacrificing. I loved how she stopped at nothing to rehabilitate her daughter in defiance of naysayers who swore she’d be a vegetable for the rest of her life. She’s headstrong, feisty and incredibly smart. I especially enjoyed how she handled her family’s tormenter toward the end of the book. Well played, Big!
Summed up in three words: Mesmerizing. Heart wrenching. Poetic.
Sundays are a day of rest. So in honor of this one day of the week when I can legitimately loaf around in my Garfield jammies in front of the DVR, I bring you this new feature that I like to call “Short and Sweet Sundays.” This is a fun way for me to write up a quick and dirty book blog without getting too overambitious.
Summary (from the publisher): Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure has just received a rare collection of Poe’s complete works. Rumor has it a secret code, trapped within the pages, leads to buried treasure. But it seems everyone who buys…dies. Now Pen will need resident ghost P.I. Jack Shepard to help crack the case.
Why I picked it up: I found this book at a haunted used book store in a small little college town outside of Dallas, which used to be a grand old opera house. When I came across this fun little mystery series among the rubble of old paperbacks, I knew it had to be mine! How could I go wrong with a whodunit set in a haunted bookstore?
Why I liked it: Do you remember that old series on the Hallmark channel called Mystery Woman? Well, I’m obsessed with that show, probably because I’ve always fantasized about owning a cute little bookstore while solving mysteries on the side. This series, along with Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand mysteries, is tailor-made for book nerds, such as myself, who love the quaint, cozy setting of a mystery bookstore.
Favorite scene: I just loved the opening chapter, where Penelope and her quirky Aunt Sadie drove through a thunderstorm to old Mr. Chesley’s haunted mansion on the hill. I kind of wish I saved this book for Halloween because it’s super campy and atmospheric. Scooby Doo fans, eat your heart out!
Need a Mystery Woman fix? Look no further than the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series!
The mystery: Since I’m a fan of Alice Kimberly’s works, I knew this would be a quality read. And, of course, I was right. I had a lot of fun solving the “Poe Code” and tearing through the pages until the fearless protagonist found the hidden treasure. With a wealth of eclectic characters and fascinating trivia facts about Edgar Allen Poe, it’s a real winner for fans of jigsaw puzzle mysteries.
In addition to solving the “Poe Code” murder mystery, readers are also taken back in time to the events leading up to Jack Shepard’s death. Of course, we only get a little glimpses here and there, and we probably won’t find out whodunit until the end of the series.
Favorite character:This series is full of loveable characters, but I have to say that Jack is the most intriguing. For some inexplicable reason, he’s bound to Penelope and the bookshop. I got a lot of chuckles out of his old-timey wisecracks and detective banter. It’s a mystery to me how he and Penelope are ever going to make something out of their budding romance. What’s going to happen when he crosses over into the white light? Will he and Pen ever find each other again? The suspense is killing me!
This book is best pared with: A frothy vanilla latte, a pudgy cat and a plush wingback chair.
If you like this book, you’ll also enjoy titles by: Carolyn Hart, Jen McKinlay, Carolyn Haines – and last but not least – Agatha Christie.
“If you’re trying to defeat the human spirit, marathon runners are the wrong group to target.” -David & Kelvin Bright
My first half marathon at Disneyland. I’m the one in pink!
These words rang loud and true when Gilbert Tuhabonye – an ambassador of Austin’s running community – commemorated the Boston Marathon victims at a community vigil. As we bowed our heads in silence for 26.2 seconds, I was overwhelmed by the raw emotions that took over the sea of runners.
Decked out in glow sticks and our favorite race shirts, we all stood together in honor of the Boston Marathon victims. As I looked around the massive crowd, I was struck by a powerful sense of solidarity. The hugs, the tears, the reassuring smiles, the unified run around Town Lake – everything about that night was like chicken soup for the soul.
It’s hard to believe the Boston Marathon – a symbolic event of joy and charity – could be the target of mass destruction. The gruesome images of victims and blood-soaked sidewalks immediately stirred fear and doubt in my mind. And that’s exactly what the terrorists hoped to accomplish. Little did they know, they targeted the wrong group.
Here’s the thing about runners: They push through in fierce defiance of adversity. When their tired bodies beg them to quit, they ignore the pain and come out stronger and more euphoric than ever! Marathon runners aren’t just in it for themselves; they’re in it to raise money for charity, to honor dead loved ones, to support each other, to exemplify the power of the human spirit. You can see it in those images on TV – people running into chaos to carry a blood-soaked stranger to safety, marathoners rushing straight to the blood bank to save lives. After looking at those heroic acts of kindness, my fears and doubts were quickly replaced by a surge of faith in mankind.
That feeling of pride was strengthened last week when I ran for Boston at Town Lake. I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect than Gilbert Tuhabonye to comfort Austin’s running community during this dark time. In his autobiography “This Voice in My Heart,” he gives a gruesome eyewitness account of how he survived – physically and spiritually – a brutal massacre. As he hid under a rubble of dead bodies, he heard a voice inside saying, “You will be all right; you will survive.”
It’s inspiring to know that someone can survive such an unimaginable nightmare and come back fighting. It just goes to show that the power of faith and human strength can get us through just about anything. Some of you might be rolling your eyes at my corny platitudes, but that’s okay. Go run a marathon, and I promise those cynical thoughts will disappear.
Long before I ran my first race, I already experienced the palpable sense of joy emanating from the spectators. I love standing on the sidelines and giving the runners high fives with my fellow cheerleaders. I’m surrounded by thousands of perfect strangers, but we all seem to be knitted together by sheer good will. As I watch for my husband, I cheer on the legions of beleaguered runners at mile marker 22. I like to stand at this particular spot because it’s known by many as “the wall.” It’s where runners start to feel the pain and need that extra push to propel forward.
The hubster (in the green shirt) and his fellow Gazelles at the vigil.
This is going to sound really corny, so please bear with me. The first time I experienced a marathon as spectator, tears welled up in my eyes when I saw a runner embrace her family after she crossed the finish line. Okay, go ahead and laugh because I’m being a complete cheese ball, but it might not seem so silly once you experience a marathon for yourself. It’s a testament of strength, perseverance and drive. I’m so proud of my husband for completing multiple marathons, and helping his fellow Gazelles push through “the wall.”
I know all too well what it means to conquer that wall – in life and on the racetrack. Despite the pain in my legs and the lack of oxygen in my lungs, I’m always craving that indescribable sense of euphoria that comes from a long run. At that, I’ll leave you with these inspiring words that I found on the Fifth Third River Bank Run blog.
“…Running is a gift. Today is a gift. We took off for our run with a renewed perspective. Running the mile today was less about getting a specific time and more about getting together as a running community and running as hard as we could for a mile. It felt great to run hard. I felt like I was able to leave all my mixed emotions on the track as I ran. I felt like we were proving that runners don’t quit. Runners are willing to get up early on Saturday mornings, push their body to exhaustion/pain and run through disgusting weather … and then go out the next week and do it again. Runners don’t quit. We aren’t afraid and our sport isn’t going anywhere.”
“…Let’s run. Let’s run in solidarity with our runners/spectators in Boston. Let’s run because we know that there is good in this world and we will not live each day in fear. Let’s run because we know that we need race day, spectators, and other runners in our community.
Isn’t it funny how scents instantaneously trigger memories from long ago? Just one whiff of Lauren perfume and I’m sucked back to my mother’s bedroom, where I would stealthily sneak around for makeup and Guess jeans. Just the hint of my first boyfriend’s cheap cologne takes me back to those awkward makeout sessions with the Spice Girls singing along in the background. But of all the smells I love most, it’s that musty aroma that instantly takes over my senses when I walk into a library. God I love that smell! It takes me back to my summers in Baytown when my bookworm grandmother used to take us out for our weekly collection of Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High books. Ah the good old days!
So when I found out that Alyssa Harad, author of “Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride” was stopping by UT for a book event, I took advantage of the opportunity and talked her into doing a little video Q&A. I came across her article in Marie Clare not too long ago and was mesmerized by her evocative descriptions of scents. Although not all of us are big into perfume, I think a lot of women could relate with her story of self-transformation.
Like a splash of White Diamonds, this is some heady, powerful stuff! What’s your favorite scent, and why?
In honor of the coolest day of the week, I bring you The Friday Five. Every Friday I will ask the same five questions to myself, or any other willing participant! All my fellow book lovers are welcome to join in on the fun.
From the publisher: Samantha Ryan—homicide detective by choice, witch hunter by necessity—has left Salem for San Francisco, hoping a move will help her forget the horrors of her past. But she’s about to discover that witches tempted by the dark side are everywhere…. Samantha is doing whatever she can to forget her terrible childhood in a coven destroyed by its members’ greed and lust for power. Now she’s a San Francisco detective struggling to fight her own desire to turn to magic. But as she discovers, escaping who you are isn’t easy. Her latest case seems straightforward enough—the murder of a local historian named Winona Lightfoot. But strange clues take Samantha to the Santa Cruz Mountains, a place teeming with witches and black magic. As she works to uncover the connection between Winona and this coven, an earthquake rocks the Bay Area. That’s when Samantha has a premonition: Something is coming. Something evil. To survive—and save everyone around her—she will have to tackle her greatest fear, and hope she isn’t the next one put into a deep, dark grave….
Why did you choose this book?When a Signet Publishing rep offered up this book, I immediately responded with a “Yes, please!” Since I’m a huge fan of Juliet Blackwell’s Witchcraft Mystery series set in San Francisco, this book looked like a surefire win. How could I go wrong with witchcraft, mystery and a touch of romance?
Where did the author go right? Or if it’s a turkey, what went wrong?This book is so incredible; I don’t even know where to begin! I guess I could start with Samantha. Despite the whole superhuman thing, I think a lot of readers can relate with her struggle to overcome her past. Anyone who has suffered from an abusive upbringing will emphasize with Samantha’s self-doubt and trust issues. I really fell in love with this character because she desperately wants to be a good person, but ghosts from the past kept dragging her back down the rabbit hole.
In addition to an incredibly endearing main character, the author knows how to weave together a tightly-plotted mystery.
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I felt like I was right there with Samantha as she stumbled upon bizarre clues – like a petrified dead body in the middle of a museum – and came up with more questions than answers. The momentum kept building – leaving me with no other option but to tear through the pages until I knew San Francisco was safe from a ginormous earthquake. I’ll stop right here before I give anything away. But I will say that she’s dealing with one helluva evil witch who’s willing to wipe out an entire city to get what she wants.
While I’m at it, I should mention the setting. Like Juliet Blackwell, this author uses the San Francisco backdrop to her advantage. I especially loved her descriptions of the spooky circle of trees amid the backdrop of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Oh and the nighttime rendezvous scene at the Santa Cruz boardwalk totally evoked images of Lost Boys. What is it about carnival rides after dark? There’s something really unsettling about being all alone in an amusement park with the dead eyes of carousel horses staring back at you.
Did anything bug you about the book? Oh man, I wish I could offer some constructive criticism, but nope. Just keep doing what you’re doing, Debbie.
Would you read another book by this author?Absolutely! I’m listening to the first installment of the Witch Hunt series right now on audio. I just finished the part where Samantha escaped the forces of evil in the house where her mother and her coven of evil witches were found dead in a supposed “mass suicide.” This is some creepy stuff, y’all!
How would you sum up the book in three words?Scary, thrilling, addictive.
Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mystery series is everything I love about cozies. Set in a charming little touristy East Coast hamlet, the stories revolve around a loveable bookstore owner, a bevy of eclectic characters, and a couple of furry, four-legged sidekicks. It’s like this series was tailor-made just for me!
BUBBLE BUBBLE BOOKS & TROUBLE 