Deadly Reunion by Linda Hope Lee

June 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Deadly Reunion by Linda Hope Lee
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

When Richmond, Washington librarian, Nina Foster, and newspaper owner Stephen Kraslow attend his high school reunion in Parker’s Landing, Idaho, the event turns tragic when Stephen’s good friend, Mark MacTeague, suddenly drops dead at a picnic. Nina has reason to believe he was murdered and vows to uncover the culprit. Meanwhile, Stephen’s high school girlfriend, Angie Delaney, reveals a long kept secret that brings a big change to his life. Can Stephen and Nina’s relationship survive this new turn of events? Will Nina uncover the murderer before he or she commits another crime?

When you write a story and make the main character a librarian and you add a good suspenseful mystery to it, you have me reading immediately. Deadly Reunion is Book 3 in a series titled “The Nina Foster Mystery series”. This is the first book I have read by Linda Hope Lee, and I really enjoyed it. It had some elements of a cozy. You know, the small hometown they visit, she’s an amateur detective, etc. and yet this had some depth to it. The story was somewhat more involved and there were plenty of suspects to make you wonder who really killed Nina’s beau’s best friend.

Linda Lee Hope does a good job of character definition. I don’t mean description here as much as I mean definition. Throughout the story her writing and especially her dialog composition helps you begin to know the characters. Their personalities seem to develop, and you never lose track of who is who, so to speak. As you can imagine, a reunion could involve a lot of characters and yet the author keeps them all very clear. No confusion at all. I enjoyed this mystery and look forward to another addition to the series.

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

The Man Called Teacher by David Poulsen

April 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Man Called Teacher by David Poulsen
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Historical, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

One man. One town. One almost forgotten crime. When the stranger who has answered the ad for the teaching position at Kecking Horse School climbs down from the stage on a sleepy Montana afternoon, things are about to change.
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With Virgil Watt, cowboy, horse-breaker and the first black man in the history of the town by his side, the stranger quickly upsets the tranquility of the town’s leading citizens, administers a vicious beating to a couple of the town’s toughs and sets out to avenge a long neglected wrong. A reader of books, a lover of laughter, a lawman/lawbreaker with a .44 strapped to his leg–he is the man called Teacher.

This is really an easy and quick read. It was quick because I just couldn’t seem to put it down. I love westerns and this was a good entry into the genre. It’s a story told by what I first pictured as a rancher on the porch. A grizzled old rancher. As I got into the story, I realized the POV of the story (my narrator) was coming from a man who lived with his mama and worked in the general store, one of the few stores that exist in Kecking Horse. I’ll call my storekeeper the man from Kecking Horse because if the author ever actually had anyone call him by name, I can’t remember it.

There are a lot of good old stories like this and it’s true I enjoy them all. But this one’s a little different. The narrator of the story seems as if he’s right on the porch with you recalling something that happened in his life. The plot of the story is somewhat different as teachers usually weren’t tough guys back in the days of the old west. Teachers were usually women and not the ones carrying the guns. There is also some humor in this story. There would have to be in a town called Kecking Horse. A town named only because someone couldn’t spell. But the ability to keep the reader so drawn to the story must be in the writing. The same writing that made Teacher and the man from Kecking Horse seem real. Made the man from Kecking Horse’s narration help you see the characters and walk back through his life.

David Poulsen has several other books published. Check them out.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Twelve Weeks to Midnight Blue by Steve Searfoss

April 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Twelve Weeks to Midnight Blue by Steve Searfoss
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Contemporary, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Economics, Business
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Teach your kids about business and economics in a fun, meaningful way and inspire them to be entrepreneurs. Millions of Americans are small business owners or work at companies, yet there are not many books that explain to kids what business is about, the way there are books for kids about being a firefighter, farmer or astronaut. Beyond basic business concepts, KidVenture shows that character matters in business. The ability to persevere when there are setbacks and being someone who is trustworthy are key ingredients of success.

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KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the story.

The synopsis of this book tells you much of what this book might be about. However, I think I can tell you what this book seemed like to a “grown-up”. One like me I suppose. I think this is reading for a 10- to 14-year-old depending on their reading skills. Although there is a theme of learning to manage and understand money, there is also a story here. Making it flow. Making it read like a story about a boy and his family and friends. This is not a textbook. It might accomplish more than a textbook, but it doesn’t have that somewhat dry academic type of flow. The POV is always from Chance, the kid who wants a new bike and wants to find a way to buy it. I think this kid’s perspective is what it needs to hold the attention of middle grade or young YA readers.

While this is well-written and easy to read, there is something it accomplishes much more than merely learning about money, or math, or business. It provides numerous opportunities for conversation between parents and children. Short sentences like “What would you do?” “What would be the benefits?” leave open doors for discussion. What is a short 128 page book, can be shaped in many ways.

No wonder Steve Searfoss is such a successful entrepreneur. It takes the ability to communicate on many subjects to many ages, and he seems to be able to do so. I hope more KidVenture books are forthcoming.

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

Red Canvas by Andrew Nance

March 24, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Red Canvas by Andrew Nance
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

In the seaside city of San Marco, Florida, Lise Norwood spends her days serving papers and her nights spying on cheating spouses. But before she became a PI, she was an art major at San Marco University. So when the local police ask her to consult on a murder case in which the victim was posed to resemble a classic Greek sculpture, Lise dusts off her art history degree and joins the task force.

As the artistic madman known as Michelangelo continues to copy more works of art, Lise starts her own investigation into the gruesome killings. When she gets too far, she’s fired from the case.
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Being told to step back only spurs her to dig deeper. Her inquiries take an ugly and personal turn when Michelangelo threatens to make her his next bloody masterpiece. And the key to the case might be a stolen piece of artwork very few know exists.

When I first saw this mystery dealt with art, I immediately thought of a few others I’ve read. They were dry. Don’t know any other way to describe it. Not this one, though. This one is fast moving and easy to read. It’s humorous and has plenty of action. Analise, or Lise for short, is a sassy Private Investigator and has a background in art. Is she an investigator dealing in art fraud or theft? Not exactly, she’s still at the “stalking cheating husbands” stage of her business. This death and art case sort of falls into her lap. She most certainly sees art she never thought she’d see and it’s not the kind of art you see walking through a museum.

This is an author that not only creates the kind of characters I like, the kind you can see, the kind you feel you can know. He also keeps you right on the edge of your seat. I was going to tell you that he threw one red herring after another into the story but that would sound as if he added misleading clues. His writing was never unclear. He was just very good at creating turns in the road so fast I lost my balance, at least in my thinking. So did Lise for that matter. At least until the painting made sense.

Rarely do I give 5-star ratings. 5-star books must be special and this book, well…it’s special.

A great story with lots of suspense. This is Book 1 of a series titled “A Lise Norwood Mystery”. I hope we see book 2 soon.

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

Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi

March 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Middle Grade
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Magic has all but disappeared in Brooklyn, but one tenacious young magician is determined to bring it back in this exciting middle grade mystery.

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Somehow, though, when his father disappeared, he took all of Echo City’s magic with him. Now Echo City—a ghost of its past—is living up to its name. With no magic left, the magicians have packed up and left town and those who’ve stayed behind don’t look too kindly on any who reminds them of what they once had.

When Kingston finds a magic box his father left behind as a clue, Kingston knows there’s more to his father’s disappearance than meets the eye. He’ll have to keep it a secret—that is, until he can restore magic to Echo City. With his cousin Veronica and childhood friend Too Tall Eddie, Kingston works to solve the clues, but one wrong move and his father might not be the only one who goes missing.

While fantasy and themes of magic are not my first choice in genres, I had no problem reading this book. I flew through it, in fact. I think the reason it was so readable is not just because it is easy to read but because it is really and truly a good story. The kind that draws you in and makes you forget the things around you.

This is the story of a young boy determined to find his father, who is a magician. He and his friends work through the mystery to find him, all the while trying not to endanger their own lives. It’s full of tricks and codes and everything I loved as a 5th to 6th grade reader and well, ok…I loved it now as an old adult reader too. Just a fun run-away and get lost in a book kind of read. Recommended!

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

Vigilante Assassin by Mark Nolan

February 8, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Vigilante Assassin by Mark Nolan
Jake Wolfe, Book 2
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Every marriage has a secret, but this one is deadly. Lauren Stephens wakes up to find her husband, Gene, has vanished during the night. His phone is dead. Desperate, she hires Jake Wolfe and his war dog, Cody. They search the house and discover something so disturbing that Jake won’t allow Lauren near it. “No, if you see this, there is no unseeing it.”

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Jake Wolfe is a flawed man who has a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wants to leave his military veteran past behind him, but when Lauren and her children are threatened, his protective instinct takes command. Jake soon finds himself involved in a dangerous conspiracy, targeted for death, and engaged in battle with a powerful, unseen group who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Jake will have to think fast and fight hard to protect Cody, Lauren and her kids.

I love both characters in this book and loved them equally. In fact if I had to choose between Jake and Cody, I’d have to think a long time. Even though Cody is a dog, I’d have to think about it.

All kidding aside, Mark Nolan has written another book full of action and full of interaction. The thing about this series is that the characters Nolan has crafted are as interesting as his stories. One never takes away from the other. I’m sure this story is good enough to stand by itself, but I sure wouldn’t want to read it without Jake and Cody and their friends.

This is one of those “can’t put it down” kind of books. Better plan on having some free time although it’s a fast read, too.

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

Bear Bones: Murder at Sleeping Bear Dunes by Charles Cutter

January 28, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Bear Bones: Murder at Sleeping Bear Dunes by Charles Cutter
Publisher: Mission Point Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Helen Lockwood’s boat was found drifting off Sleeping Bear Dunes with no one aboard. A year later her body was found in a shallow grave on South Manitou Island.

She’d been in court, fighting with the Park Service who had condemned her family’s four hundred-acre orchard to make it part of the new Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Burr Lafayette, her lawyer, had kept the Park Service at bay for seven years, with no end in sight. Until Helen disappeared.

After her body was found, her husband, Tommy, was arrested for her murder. It turns out that he’d been trying to sell the orchards to the Park Service ever since Helen went missing.

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The prosecutor has damning evidence and Tommy may not have been the perfect husband, but Helen had many enemies. Burr is convinced there’s a clue somewhere in the dunes that will unlock the truth.

This was a really great read. To begin with any time an author develops a character with a dog for a sidekick I’m happy. Especially if the character talks to the dog as much as I do my own. But Zeke, said dog, is not the highlight of this story. Important but not the best part. The best part is the character as well as the side characters.

When I tell you a little about this story, you’re going to begin to think it’s another “legal” law thing, but it isn’t. Burr Lafayette, the main character is a lawyer, but this is almost like a mystery, very much so. He’s the kind of character that always catches me right from the beginning and there can be no question that I’ll finish the book. This time though, Charles Cutter even gave me a picture in my mind. Burr is a little run down, not just his clothing but maybe his physique too. I just know he’s a little overweight. And he’s that character that’s always chasing a dollar to pay his rent; always hoping for a case to pay his bills.

The story is intriguing and an attention getter in and of itself but the humor… I loved the humor. Cutter created side characters that make the whole story more humorous. They’re fidgety, picky, and yet indispensable. Cutter even makes the prosecutor funny. Or maybe I meant to say, makes fun of the prosecutor:) Burr is humorous out loud but he’s also that kind of character always thinking some smart cynical or truthful thing to say in his mind. You know? All the things you’d love to say out loud yourself.

So we have a lawyer with a legal case that he needs to solve but hopes the business law part of it goes on forever so he can pay his bills. He becomes a criminal lawyer because he needs to pay his bills and there happens to be a death. We have Zeke, a great dog, a boat, and a couple of hilarious employees. An author who can make even the trial procedures interesting and humorous. All rolled into what I’m going to call a mystery. This is Book 3 of a series titled “Bear Bones Mystery”.

I never ever go backwards in a series but this time I’ll break my rule. I’ll start back at Book 1 if you’ll be working on Book 4 Mr. Cutter.

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

Where There’s a Will… by Judy Penz Sheluk

January 7, 2021 By 1 Comment


Where There’s a Will… by Judy Penz Sheluk
Publisher: Superior Shores Press
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Emily Garland is getting married and looking for the perfect forever home. When the old, and some say haunted, Hadley house comes up for sale, she’s convinced it’s “the one.” The house is also perfect for reality TV star Miles Pemberton and his new series, House Haunters. Emily will fight for her dream home, but Pemberton’s pockets are deeper than Emily’s, and he’ll stretch the rules to get what he wants.

While Pemberton racks up enemies all around Lount’s Landing, Arabella Carpenter, Emily’s partner at the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, has been hired to appraise the contents of the estate, along with her ex-husband, Levon. Could the feuding beneficiaries decide there’s a conflict of interest? Could Pemberton?

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Arabella’s Glass Dolphin is back and in truth Arabella is as sweet and unbecoming and yet as nosy as ever. Well maybe not nosy, just anxious to help her co-owner Emily get the house she “has” to have.

This is not a book about antiques, but it has enough tantalizing conversation about those beautiful old desks or a first edition book to keep me doubly interested. Sort of like a ribbon of candy running through an easy-to-read mystery.

This whole series has a ribbon running through it in the first place. Penz Sheluk teaches us to know the characters… hate some, love some, suspect some. She just paints them so well that they’re your friends. You know or should I say recognize who is who when you finish one book and pick up the next. How she manages to do this and yet make each book a stand-alone is something I really can’t explain. Interesting plots and interesting characters I suppose.

In truth, there’s no candy I need running through any of these books. I loved each of the Marketville Mystery series books and am lookin forward to the rest of the Glass Dolphin mysteries.

Watch for my next review on it, and we’ll watch for Penz Sheluk’s next book in the series together.

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

A Tail for Two by Mara Wells

October 12, 2020 By Leave a Comment


A Tail for Two by Mara Wells
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

All paws on deck!

Carrie Burns has a successful business, a young son, Oliver, and an energetic Jack Russell terrier. She doesn’t have time in her busy schedule for her ex-husband and his talk of working together again. But when she runs into Lance in the dog park, their lives are turned upside down.
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Lance Donovan wants to promote his fledgling construction company by helping his brother Caleb with a big condo conversion. Lance even knows the perfect interior designer to make this project a success―his ex-wife, Carrie. But after a fateful meeting at the dog park, Lance finds himself not only petsitting both his brother’s dog and the beloved Jack Russell terrier he had to leave behind in the divorce, but babysitting a young son he never knew he had while his ex-wife tries to get back into dating. How did life get this crazy?

Lance is determined to win back the love he thought he’d lost―but he’s going to need a lot of help from his furry friends.

This was more a story of a serious tone than the cozy I thought it would be. I think the name and the series title, “A Fur Haven Dog Park Novel” gave me the impression it would be lighter. My mistaken notion did not affect the enjoyment of this read. It turned out that the story had a lot more depth than I thought it would. It had its moments of humor. Having dogs involved can always put a smile on your face. While romance is not my favorite genre, this light romance had some realistic moments. Some things we must unfortunately deal with in everyday life.

While the characters and the dogs were well defined, I did get a little frustrated with Carrie’s on again off again dithering. Wanted to scream at her, “fall back in love or don’t”. Then again, maybe that’s the whole point of the story. Move the reader to feel, to emote.

A Tail for Two is Book 2 in the series of three books to date. While it can be read as a stand-alone, it was enjoyable and worth my time enough to hope Book 4 is in the making.

Filed Under: 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: , , , ,
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