Survival by Shirley Bigelow DeKelver

November 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Survival by Shirley Bigelow DeKelver
Climate of Fire Book 1
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The year is 2045, global warming escalates, and wildfires are rampant. Vancouver has been devastated by an earthquake and tsunami. Those who have survived have moved north or taken up residence at Little Mountain, the highest point in the city. Food and water are scarce, there are more violent storms and rising temperatures. The ashfall from the volcanoes increases daily, making it difficult to breathe. Four young adults, Taylor West, Carlie Fleming, Mai-Li Wong, and Willie Arbuckle, and three children, twin brothers Rusty and Eddie Coleman, and Debbie, who has Downs Syndrome, have gravitated together, forming a motley crew of survivors, living in constant fear of the violent gangs.

Making a life-saving decision, they decide to walk to the Interior, hoping to find a better life. Inexperienced, they face unknown obstacles, daily hardships, and hunger. Traveling across the devastated Wastelands is fraught with danger with unexpected complications making the journey more treacherous than they ever imagined. Reaching a sanctuary and indeed their very survival hangs in the balance. Relationships are tested time and again. What will remain strong and what will shatter?

Nothing is guaranteed in this dangerous, new world.

Compassion can be expressed in many different ways. I enjoyed seeing how the characters wrestled with the thought of what total strangers should do for each other in a crisis and how much someone should be expected to risk their own safety to help others who may be injured, young, or helpless. These aren’t questions that have black and white answers in most cases, but they are good jumping-off points for all sorts of discussions about many of the scenes in this book. Sometimes I found myself wishing I’d read this as a part of a book club so I could discuss my thoughts on what certain characters should or shouldn’t have done in specific situations with other readers!

The main characters made odd and illogical decisions that I struggled to understand. For example, Carlie was given the chance to be rescued by the military in one of the earliest scenes, but she decided to hide instead for reasons that were never clear to me. This was the first of many examples of characters refusing to do simple things that would make their already-difficult lives easier without explaining why they thought those choices were the right ones. I don’t expect teenagers to always think things through the way an adult would, but this pattern of picking the hardest option for no reason happened so often that it did reduce my enjoyment of the plot in general.

I enjoyed the strong, steady pacing. Carlie and her companions regularly had new problems to solve on their journey whether they were minor ones like disagreements between certain characters or major ones like not having enough food or water. There was never a good time for me to stop reading and do something else. That’s the sort of conundrum I always like to have when I’m reading as it means that the author planned everything out evenly and made sure that their audience would have plenty of things to think about when we did eventually need to take a break and do something else.

Survival was adventurous.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uncategorized, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Discarded – A Canadian Historical Mystery by Nancy M Bell

September 1, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Discarded – A Canadian Historical Mystery by Nancy M Bell
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When the British arrived in Winnipeg in the 1800s it was convenient for the men to take Metis wives. They were called a la vacon du pays – according to the custom of the country. These women bore the brunt of ensuring survival in the harsh environment. Without them the British army and fur traders would not have survived the brutal winters.

However, as society evolved it became accepted that wives must be white, schooled in British ways, fashionable in the European sense and married by the Anglican church. The Metis wives and their ‘country born’ offspring were thrown out and forced to fend for themselves. The unrepentant husbands continued to live comfortably with their ‘new’ wives.

It was inevitable that some discarded wives did not accept their fate quietly and hard feelings on both sides were unavoidable. When the bodies of two discarded Metis wives, Marguerite and Marie-Anne, are found floating in the Red River, Guilliame Mousseau, sets out to get to the bottom of his sister Margueite’s murder.

Not everyone is always equal under the eyes of the law.

Racism has many faces. Some of the best scenes in my opinion were the ones that showed how deeply ingrained racism was into every facet of society in the 1800s. Even characters who were otherwise fairly sympathetic were negatively influenced by it at times. I found it refreshing that this wasn’t something coded as a problem only for the antagonists. People are complex, after all, and few of us are ever completely virtuous or evil.

This book had a large cast of characters, most of whom I would struggle to describe if someone asked me what their personalities were like. It would have been helpful to have more character development as this was something that was a barrier to me connecting with the storyline and wanting to keep reading. Had this been given space to develop, I would have happily gone with a higher rating as I was quite intrigued by the murder mystery itself.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of the plot. They worked equally well for readers who know about this chapter of Canadian history and those who know nothing about a la vacon du pays and how they were mistreated by their British husbands and the government at all. That can be a tricky balance to maintain, so it was nice to see Ms. Bell make it look so effortless. I will be curious to see where she goes with these characters next if she writes the sequel that was hinted at in the final scene.

Discarded – A Canadian Historical Mystery made me curious to read more from this author.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Viscount and The Orphan by Rosemary Morris

February 23, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Viscount and The Orphan by Rosemary Morris
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

This classic historical romance erupts in 1703 England.

Gabriel, Viscount Cavanagh is bankrupt, his fortune wasted on mistresses, extravagance, and gambling. Orphaned, emotionally neglected, deprived of his inheritance and his own person by his grandfather, Adam Maynard, his only option to avoid disaster is acceptance of an arranged marriage proposed by Adam, a ruthless merchant prince.

Adam summons his sixteen-year-old ward, wealthy Dorinda Davenport, from boarding school to be Gabriel’s bride. An orphan, she yearns for love. Well-educated, but naïve, she clings to her fantasy of a happy-ever-after marriage to a gentleman as handsome, and charming as her favourite fictional hero. Gabriel is the romantic hero of her dreams, but bitter disillusionment follows the wedding.

A connoisseur of beautiful women, Gabriel conceals his distaste when he meets dumpy, sallow-skinned, socially inept Dorinda. Nevertheless, he soon appreciates her innocence, intelligence, and kind heart.

This is a novel about a hasty marriage in which everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and the path back to happiness.

The hero, Gabriel, is a man controlled by his domineering grandfather who is a control freak on steroids. He’s the one who tells Gabriel who he is going to marry. He’s the one who controlled who the hero could socialize with and who he should have no contact with – it’s pretty much an entire family branch. I did not like the merchant prince. He was mean to the hero, and the old guy’s sister wasn’t a peach either. It’s not a wonder the hero took some wrong turns and messed up his life.

When I met Dorinda, the heroine, she was a 16-year-old orphan stuck in a home for girls to teach them proper deportment. Dorinda was way too young to marry, and without a loving home life, was sorely unprepared to be thrust into a life dictated by the machinations of her guardian who just happens to be Gabriel’s grandfather, the meanie. Talk about a recipe for disaster.

One thing is for sure, the old guy’s plans didn’t go the way he wanted. Here’s the one thing that both Gabriel and Dorinda did during the course of the novel – they grew up.

The story goes through their growing pains using the people they meet along the way, their friends and other family members previously thought lost to them both. Each secondary character helps in one fashion or another to get both the hero and heroine where they need to be in order to become the people they were always meant to be. It’s not easy and it took some time. It’s a long book. If readers like these kinds of epic journeys of personal discovery and positive success against characters’ original negative paths, coming into their own and becoming stronger and more certain of who they are in life, then this novel should strongly appeal.

It does eventually happen. The hero and heroine come together as full-fledged adults and are on a more even playing field. After all that growth and change, will the people they’ve become be as appealing in a marriage as when they first met? That’s the big question that gets resolved in the end.

I did experience a few hiccups as I read. Gabriel has a good friend, Avery. Avery’s method of speech hurt my brain. I couldn’t get the hang of how the dialogue might have sounded based on the spelling. After a while, I gave up. There were a few times where the wrong person’s name was used in a scene, but it didn’t throw me out of the story, not like Avery’s dialogue. I also found that the ending was too abrupt. After investing so much time in watching both Gabriel and Dorinda each become better people than when the book first started, I expected at least an epilogue to give a more well-rounded experience of closure. Especially with the bombshell Dorinda revealed to Gabriel at the end. But no, there was nothing to firm up that last sentence of Gabriel’s internal dialogue. I needed there to be an epilogue just to balance out what had come before. I’m let down by the lack.

On the whole though, The Viscount and The Orphan was a convincing historical romance with quite a bit to recommend it. I understood the references to Cromwell and his legacy and effect on England and religion during that period. I experienced echoes of that time through Dorinda’s actions even though Cromwell was long gone at the time this story takes place. Dorinda is a pious little thing in the beginning, full of dreams, romance and fanciful notions. Her faith gives her strength and that’s the one thing I did admire about the heroine – when everyone else around her gave it up because it was ‘inconvenient’, she didn’t. It was a part of her she refused to give up on even when someone complained about it. There were hints early on that the heroine had some spine in her. The story proved it to be a correct assessment.

I was happy that Dorinda and Gabriel got their happily ever after, after all, and I’m glad Avery’s character turned out to be a solid asset for the hero. He really was a nice guy and I’m glad for his role in it. Everyone should have a friend who sticks by them in the worst of times, and in the best of times.

This was a solid historical romance and I enjoyed reading it.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

The Wrong Words by Yvonne Rediger

January 12, 2022 By 2 Comments


The Wrong Words by Yvonne Rediger
An Adam Norcross Mystery Book 1
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

Adam Norcross is not in a good place. He recently buried his mother and now he needs something more than a power struggle between him and his mother’s cat to distract him from his grief. That something comes in the form of an assignment from his boss, Walter Shapiro, who is not a patient man. Not surprising since he reports directly to the prime minister. Shapiro interrupts Norcross’ bereavement leave to give him an assignment. Norcross’ task is to find out how the country’s most eminent climate scientist ended up dead off the highway in a mountain ravine. Was it an accident or suicide? As soon as he speaks to Shapiro, Norcross’ unique precognitive ability tells him it is something else, something darker.

Sergeant Bethany Leith is not thrilled to have Norcross stepping on her toes. Even though Constable Bighetty is willing to give Norcross the benefit of the doubt. Once he inserts himself into Leith’s suspicious death inquiry, Norcross will use his investigative knowledge and unusual talents to help her uncover who wanted Doctor Flete dead and why.

Salish University is ground zero for the investigation. Among those involved are Flete’s dean, his wife, and his new girlfriend. Then there are his colleagues, some of whom denounced Doctor Flete’s important work, including a woman from Adam Norcross’ past.

I can’t believe how fast time flew while I read this story! I wasn’t sure what I was going to experience but the blurb mentioned the main character, Adam Norcross, had some type of precognitive ability. That intrigued me. Since it is the first book in the series, I figured there’d be some interesting worldbuilding going on. Well, I’m not sure how to explain things but I guarantee you that this book is absolutely interesting.

The mystery takes place in Canada and starts off kind of slow – Adam is having a personality struggle with a cat. What I think is happening is that both the cat and Adam are coming to grips with the loss of Adam’s mom, and they have to turn to each other, in a cat/human kind of way, and adjust. That tiny thread of pet relationship challenges is woven throughout the story, giving it a softer touch given how serious the situation is that Adam finds himself in. It’s endearing and it makes Adam more appealing. I sympathized with him easier because of it. The hero is not a soft guy – he himself is a bit mysterious. I liked that. He’s part of some governmental arm of the law that is quite hush-hush, very influential and Adam reminds me of a low-key James Bond. He’s professional, knowledgeable, and a great observer of people. He has this really amazing memory ability, and he can cook!

I know that Adam is the main focus of the series and it’s told in his point of view, but Sergeant Bethany Leith, the police officer, is the other main character. The death happened in her district and she’s the one assigned to the case. I only get to know her a bit from her dealings with Adam, her dialogue and the author’s descriptions. She’s no nonsense, dedicated and smart as a whip. She is a perfect complement to Adam.

The book reads like a serious detective novel. Adam isn’t referred to as Adam, he’s usually, Norcross. And the Sergeant is referred to as Leith, or ‘the cop’. The story has a certain feel to it, like the original Dragnet, but with a bit more personality. It’s a dogged pursuit of facts gleaned from evidence at the scene and lots of interesting interviews with potential suspects whose personalities liven up the tale. I was fascinated on how the author led me from chapter to chapter, each one bringing me closer to solving the case but leaving me totally dependent on Norcross and Leith to ferret out the truth of who done it. I guessed and was close. However, one of them was a shocker and I didn’t know what to think. Was that person truly guilty? I would have bet that they were innocent. That’s a pretty tricky call and I like what the author did.

One thing that stood out for me was the subject matter the victim was involved in. I haven’t made up my mind about which side of the fence I’m on, especially since it’s very topical right now. But many parts in the chapters made me believe that the author truly did her due diligence and researched the subject. There were many observations that made so much sense to me, at times I just stared at the words, letting them absorb into my brain. I’m like, yeah – yeah, that makes sense! And, yes, it did tie in to the motivation and plot conflict. I thought it was pretty danged cool and it made for a really great mystery.

There is a light dusting of allusion to Norcross actually liking Leith as more than a peer of the law, but it’s absolutely not romantic. I can assure you it’s not indigestion he’s feeling, it’s something else, and it could be a wonderful future development if that’s the direction the author is thinking of going. I liked how they worked together, eventually. They were bouncing theories, ideas and observations off of one another. I enjoyed watching their working association firm up and I liked how they showed mutual respect, once it was earned. There were other important secondary characters Norcross also had to earn respect from, and that was equally fascinating.

Eventually, the puzzle pieces fit together and I was completely satisfied with the end results. I have to say that the blurb on Amazon is a bit misleading. The story is even better than it sounds. I’m extremely glad I gave this book a try because if the next installment in the series is as mesmerizing and clever as this one, then Ms. Rediger has a new fan. A straight mystery is not my typical read but I really enjoyed this novel and I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Death at Little Mound by Eileen Charbonneau

November 11, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Death at Little Mound by Eileen Charbonneau
Linda Tassel Mysteries Book 1
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Young archeology dig site supervisor Linda Tassel and assistant Tad Gist explore the artifacts of ancient people of Linda’s Eastern Cherokee homeland. But soon the body of a team member is found, ritually murdered.

A dam building mogul, Cherokee Nation activists, and the owner of a nearby gold panning attraction are suspects.

Linda and Tad uncover another layer — that of the Spanish conquistadors and the timeless greed for gold. Will they become two more victims?

Every speck of dirt must be accounted for in order to solve this mystery.

My favorite portions of this book were the ones that explored the history, traditions, and beliefs of the Cherokee tribe. The author went into detail on these topics as often as the plot allowed her to do so. I didn’t know much about Cherokee culture, so I was grateful for all of the knowledge she shared. It helped me to understand the main character’s perspective in life and gave logical reasons for why Linda made certain decisions.

The limited amount of character development was my only reason for giving this a three star rating. I liked the characters quite a bit, but I didn’t see much personal growth in them at all. My hope is that the later installments in this series will explore these issues in depth. There is certainly a lot of space to do so, and it would make me even more excited to read a sequel if I had reason to believe that the characters were evolving as a result of their earlier experiences.

Archaeology is a topic I’ve been interested in for years. I loved the scenes that described how meticulously Linda and all of the other workers were exploring the dig site and cataloguing everything they found. This is also something that happens to come in handy in a murder investigation, so combining these two things was an excellent idea.

I’d recommend Death at Little Mound to anyone who is interested in mysteries, archeology, or learning more about Cherokee culture.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Trouble with Funerals by Joan Havelange

August 10, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Trouble with Funerals by Joan Havelange
Mabel and Violet’s Excellent Adventures, Book 3
Publisher: BWL Publishing INC
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The trouble with funerals is there are too many of them. Mabel’s mother is convinced there is something nefarious going on at the senior’s condo ‘Gravenhurst Manor.’ She convinces her daughter to look into the death of her best friend, Mini, who died in suspicious circumstances. If there is a cold, calculating murderer at work. Mabel needs to find the killer before it’s too late. Her mother could be next. But what is the motive? Why would anyone want to kill a senior? And her main suspect has a perfect alibi, namely Mabel.

Her reliable sidekick Violet is no longer reliable. Violet may have gotten herself involved with a con-man. Against the backdrop of the peaceful little town of Glenhaven, Mabel’s challenge is to solve the motiveless murders; and save Violet from herself.

Who would ever want to hurt senior citizens?

It made me smile to see so many references to Canadian culture here. The author did a great job of showcasing some of the many things that make Canada unique. There were some specific items like certain local foods mentioned for readers who have lived in this country or are otherwise intimately familiar with it, but they were always explained in enough detail that people from other parts of the world can get in on the fun, too.

I noticed multiple punctuation and other errors in this book. Some of them made certain sentences difficult to understand, so I needed to reread them a few times to figure out which meaning was most likely. This was especially noticeable when a character’s first name suddenly changed at one point only to switch back to what it had been previously a few paragraphs later. Had there been another round or two of editing, I would have happily chosen a higher rating as the storyline itself was well done.

The cast of characters was large but easy to keep track of. I appreciated the fact that the author reminded readers of the relationships between certain folks who only showed up occasionally. That helped me remember who they were and when Mabel had last seen them.

This is the third instalment in a series. It can be read out of order or as a standalone work.

The Trouble with Funerals was a delightfully Canadian cozy mystery that I’d recommend to anyone who is intrigued by one or both of those topics.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Leah’s Surrender by A.M. Westerling

April 30, 2021 By 4 Comments


Leah’s Surrender by A.M. Westerling
The Ladies of Harrington House Book 2
Publisher: BWL Publishing
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

With the threat of scandal hanging over Lady Leah Harrington, her parents arrange a temporary position for her in Australia as a companion to her aunt. Leah vows that on her return to England, she will forge her own future as a published lady of letters. However, now that she’s learned men are not to be trusted, having her sensibilities muddled by a dashing navy captain is not what she had planned for herself.

Despite France’s ever-present menace during the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Heath Trevelyan is ordered to transport a load of convicts aboard HMS Charlotte Mary destined for the penal colony of Australia. As a favour to a friend, he also provides passage for an alluring young woman and her aunt. When his ship sinks during a storm, a battle of endurance ensues for Heath and the survivors, including several convicts and the beauty who has captured his senses.

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Well, I’ll be the first to eat my words. I read and reviewed book one in this series and didn’t really think I’d read the next one considering the heroine was going to be Leah Harrington and I wasn’t a fan. I admit that I was wrong. When will I ever learn to “never say never”? I love how this book turned out!

In truth, Leah’s Surrender can be read as a standalone but you might want to read about her in the first book in the series. Why? Because I think you might be surprised about Leah. She caused quite the conflict in the first novel which made for an excellent plot. Because of that, I wasn’t sure how she’d be redeemed in my eyes enough to have her own story. I assure you that the evolution of Leah was well written.

Actually, upon further pondering I’ve changed my mind. I absolutely recommend reading the first one prior to Leah’s Surrender because a reader should fully feel the effect of the scandal hanging over Lady Leah’s head. The more I reflect on Leah’s character, the more my opinion changes. I have to consider her age and that her reactions and choices were appropriate in Sophie’s Choice. I didn’t put much consideration into that fact at the time. As you can see, this series could very well be a great choice for a book club debate. But I’ll give credit where credit is due. Heath helped redeem Leah in my eyes. His perspective of her swung me around to team Leah. I would have preferred her age to be slightly higher, but given this is an historical book, I realize that was probably how it was back then. So, as I said before, her behavior was appropriate for her age and therefore necessary to be accurately written as such.

Even though I’ve gone back and forth about the heroine’s character, the unquestionable fact is that A.M. Westerling’s writing style is absolutely remarkable. I have a memory like Dory in the movie Finding Nemo so the fact that I remember my emotions from Sophie’s Choice is a testimony in itself. The Ladies of Harrington House series is unforgettable and I attribute that to the writing style. It made me feel as if I was in the story as a witness. Oh, I can’t forget to mention a certain villainous character that reappears in Leah’s Surrender. That was a nice plot twist.

If you are debating if you should read Sophie’s Choice first or not I’m going to share what’s in my heart. I think Leah’s Surrender will be better for readers after reading the first novel in the series. The characters are very well developed and a strong relationship is built between the reader and the characters. Book two continues that sense of connection. A.M. Westerling has succeeded in wiping out all previous reservations I might have had early on.

Now, I could re-write this review to try to share even more of my favorite parts because there is a great deal of content to reflect upon. One of them is when the hero, Heath’s, ship sinks during a storm. I should have had my life jacket on reading that scene. I’d love to be saved by Captain Heath Trevelyan! Not only does he meet all my book boyfriend qualities but his name alone is swoon worthy. I just love the name Heath. In the words of an Italian Chef, al bacio!

Regarding Heath and Leah’s relationship, I did find it entertaining and I was in full support of their satisfying happily ever after. I’m pleased at how the entire flow of the book kept me guessing what was going to happen next from beginning to end. Leah’s Surrender was hard to put down. Catherine is the next sister in line for her own story and now I can’t wait to read the third book! This is one series I’m glad I discovered and definitely recommend others to discover it too.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Remembering Rose by Sheila Claydon

April 12, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Remembering Rose by Sheila Claydon
Publisher: BWL Publishing
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Rachel has a husband who adores her, a beautiful baby daughter, and an extended family she can rely on, so why isn’t she happy? She doesn’t know and nor do the people who love her. Only Rose understands but she is trapped in another century. To help Rachel she has to breach the boundaries of time itself as well as risk exposing the truth of her own past.

When echoes from that past begin to affect other people in the village of Mapleby, things suddenly become a lot more complicated. Can Rachel put things right without giving away Rose’s secret?

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Rachel’s character development was handled beautifully. To be honest, I didn’t like her very much when I first met her because of how negative and critical she was about everything in her life. It was only once I realized that these parts of her personality were symptoms of her postpartum depression and I saw glimpses of who she was before she’d had a baby that my opinion of her began to shift. This was an intelligent way to show how this illness affects not only the new mother but everyone else around her. I truly enjoyed seeing how she coped with her overwhelming feelings and what her loved ones did to help her feel better.

The beginning and middle of this book were well-written and entertaining. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in how rapidly everything was wrapped up in the ending. There were some fantastic subplots that never had enough time to be fully developed. Even the main storyline felt rushed in the last few chapters, especially when it came to Rachel putting all of the clues together and figuring out what Rose wanted from her. If not for these issues, I would have happily gone with a much higher rating.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that showed the audience the many similarities between Rachel and Rose’s lives. Some families repeat the same patterns for generations without necessarily being aware that this is happening. For example, both Rose and Rachel were spoiled youngest children whose parents let them get away with things that would have never been tolerated if their much-older siblings had tried the same stuff. I’ll leave it up to other readers to discover the other similarities for themselves, but I thought this was all nicely explained.

Anyone who likes genealogical or historical mysteries should give Remembering Rose a try.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Drop Dead Cowboy by Diane Bator

August 19, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Drop Dead Cowboy by Diane Bator
Publisher: BLW Publishing
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Audra Clemmings loves Halloween. At least until she sees the display of voodoo dolls in the shop next door that resembles nearly everyone in Sugarwood, Ontario–including her.

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This was not what I thought it was going to be. After some thought, I realized from the title it might be a romance which is not one of my favorite genres. In my mind I began thinking it might be about a “drop dead gorgeous” cowboy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was not the case. What this turned out to be was a light, and somewhat witty, cozy mystery. Any mystery is much more my thing.

Have you ever seen one of the episodes of Midsomer Murders? The town always seems to be having a festival. Drop Dead Cowboy is the same except this is a Halloween Festival with the skeletons, costumes, and all the makings of Halloween decorations. And even better, all the candy too. This Festival turned out to have a real murder as a decoration of sorts.

I mentioned Midsomer Murders because of its quaint village and Bator seems to draw the same type of picture here but with her own description. Her characters become fun and all have enough description to make the reading pleasant.

All in all this is an easy read. The type to curl up on the couch with.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Fun with Funerals by Yvonne Rediger

May 13, 2020 By 5 Comments


Fun with Funerals by Yvonne Rediger
A Musgrave Landing Mystery
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Contemporary
Length: Full length (182 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Alicia Highmere is heading home, back to Musgrave Landing after a call from her mother’s care home. Accompanied by her bodyguard, Bryce Graham, Alicia won’t know until she gets there that Olivia Frost-Highmere is manipulating events regarding the estranged family members to suit her agenda.

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When a corpse is discovered in the family cemetery, where there shouldn’t be one, the cold case regarding Allister Highmere is reopened. Alicia has no idea who in the family or the Highmere estate staff is involved, but she will find out.

This book was a surprise…a particularly good one. This is a good story. It’s the kind that has you holding your breath a little, wondering what will happen and wondering if what you “hope”, will happen. It’s a cozy mystery with a lot of suspense; plenty of twists and turns. It’s a quick read but there is plenty of story between the opening page and the conclusion. And it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I think the title and cover are not representative of this story. It is not a book I would have picked up off the table to look at in the bookstore. I love cozies and I often think of them having certain elements. To me, that’s not true of this book. It has more depth, a deeper definition of its characters, and a serious storyline. And those are all good things!

This is an author with lots of ability. I’m not saying I think she’s writing in the wrong genre.  I just think this author is more of a heavyweight than the marketing of this story portrays. I’m not trying to say she needs to write longer books. Long is not always better.

I know I’m not saying this in the proper manner. This is a very good story told by a very good storyteller and I think maybe the book is underrated or not being marketed properly. Is its beauty and depth hidden behind the title? I’m not sure but I hope Ms. Rediger writes some more.

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