The Boddy in the Snowbank-An entertaining little story

This publication shows how the changes in the publishing industry can promote new ways of telling stories and new ways for authors to get their work out to the public. This is a short story, 6 pages long, that began as a blog post from the 7criminalminds blog where they gave a writing prompt and different authors used it to create a short story. It's apparently always a freebie which would make sense at that length.  It is obviously a very quick read at 6 pages.  

The prompt was "The Clue characters are locked in a winter lodge. Mr. Boddy is found dead in a snowdrift with no visible signs of trauma. Who did it and how do you prove it using just the things in the lodge?” I don't know if the other blog posts were published for Kindle but if they were, I would read them.

I'm a huge fan of the game "Clue" so the characters were quite familiar to me but in a story as short as this there's no way to really develop them or give much backstory.  I found it an entertaining little read, reminiscent of the 1985 movie.

 

7criminalminds blog 

More about Jenna Bennett 

• Would I pay money for it?  No, too short
• Would I read more by this author?  yes 
• Would I recommend this to a friend?  If they like to read short stories, which some people don't

Invisible-light, fluffy, inoffensive little mystery

Invisible is a quick cozy mystery read that seems to have reviews all over the map, from one star to five.  It is an overtly Christian mystery and the summary on Amazon does not mention this. I'm sure that accounts for some of the review disparity. 

If you are taking it just as a cozy mystery, it would fall on the very light and fluffy end of the spectrum.  Ivy Malone is an older widow who feels like she's pretty much invisible to most people these days due to her age. She still has a lot of curiosity and energy and wants to be doing something so when a mystery happens right in her neighborhood, she begins investigating on her own. 

I had a really hard time getting into this one and almost quit on it. Like most readers, I hate to give up on a book and it did get much better as I read. It started out feeling very shallow. The Christian viewpoint is quite noticeable and even though I'm a very committed Christian, it felt a bit heavy-handed at times. Good Christian dialogue must be very difficult to write. I rarely see it done where it feels natural to me. The mystery was not difficult to figure out.

Even with the problems, I was enjoying the book by the end. I enjoyed the characters as I got to know them. Not a must-read but not a waste of time. I'll finish the series if I run across them but I probably won't actively seek them out.

More about Lorena McCourtney

Would I pay money for it? Probably not

Would I read more by this author? If I run across it as a freebie or at the library

Would I recommend this to a friend? Depends on how light and fluffy they like their mysteries

Purchased as a Kindle freebie February 23, 2013

Maids of Misfortune-Just what a mystery lover wants

I knew as soon as I started this book that I was going to love it and I was right. A strong female heroine set in the Victorian era with a clever mystery is a recipe for success.

Annie Fuller is a widow who escaped a stifling marriage when her husband committed suicide. She moved from New York to San Francisco where she inherited a house and is now a respectable businesswoman running her own boardinghouse. Her side job as Sybil the Clairvoyant is known only to a few trusted household employees.

When one of her customers dies and it is declared to be suicide, she knows better and decides to prove it. Along the way she meets a handsome lawyer, learns what it's like to be a domestic in the Victorian era and foils an old acquaintance who wants to take everything she has.

The mystery is clever but not overly taxing to figure out. There is some romance but it doesn't overpower the mystery. The Victorian setting adds the perfect touches to the story. I absolutely loved the ending.

This author knows what a mystery reader wants to read. I've already purchased the next book in the series and am excited to read it. I know for me this series will be like comfort food, something I'll return to again and again. 

More about M. Louisa Locke

Would I pay money for it? I've already bought the next one in the series

Would I read more by this author? Yes and I'm planning to

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes, definitely

Purchased as a Kindle freebie December 28, 2012

Portrait of a Murder-I'm excited about this one!

I read a lot of Kindle Freebies, mostly mysteries and boy, is it taking your reading life into your hands to plunge into some of these but I have to say that I’m pretty excited about this particular one.  Portrait of a Murder is the first in a series that could become a real favorite of mine.

The story is set in Maine, a state I’ve never been to but would love to visit.  The setting is well described and I felt the atmosphere of the ocean side from the beginning.  Atmosphere is important to me.  I could feel the sun and the spray from the waves and I could smell the salt water.  I love that!  Also, the main character is described in the very first few pages in enough detail that there was never any doubt who she was or what she looked like.  I was comfortable with her right from the start. 

Dulcie is the curator at an art museum that is attempting to get a set of Homer Winslow paintings that cover each major location in his repertoire.  They are having a grand opening of the Winslow exhibit as a way to raise funds for the last painting they need which is going on sale the next week in New York.  The museum’s major patron is willing to kick in whatever is needed to cover the cost beyond what they have raised if he can be the one to go to the auction which Dulcie is happy to agree to.  Of course, murder follows and Dulcie gets involved.  Pretty much standard in a cozy mystery.

What isn’t as standard is that this cozy mystery actually feels like it was written thoughtfully and for adults.  As the cozy genre has exploded, all manor of silliness and goofiness can be found as in my review here but this book has avoided most of that while still being fun and interesting.  The heroine never does anything TSTL.  The police actually do the police work.  Dulcie doesn’t interfere with the police, instead she actually brings every clue she finds to them and never withholds any evidence. The police are not seen as bumbling idiots but as professionals doing a great job with the help of the citizens.  The romantic overtones are there but do not take over the story and everyone involved actually feels like a rational adult.  Maybe for some that sounds boring but to me it is a breath of fresh air in a field where it seems anything with an amateur sleuth and a dead body is touted as a masterpiece.  My only “hmmm” moment was when Dulcie found a payphone on the waterfront.  I can honestly say that I think that is almost an impossibility in this day and age.  The loose ends felt like they were tied up a little too easily at the end but all in all, thank you for treating cozy mystery readers like we have a brain and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

More about Kerry J. Charles

Would I pay money for it? Absolutely

Would I read more by this author? Yes and I'm planning to

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes, any of my mystery loving friends

Purchased as a Kindle freebie April 14, 2014

Death Comes to Town-Like eating cotton candy

Reading Death Comes to Town reminds me of being  in the kiddie pool with my granddaughters. Yes, it’s cool water on a hot summer day and that’s nice but boy, there’s not much to it. If someone asks you if you were at the pool today you’re probably going to say “just barely.”

Death Comes to Town is the story of Darcy who inherited her aunt’s house and bookstore and apparently her ghost in some unnamed northern state. Her sister Grace and Grace’s husband also live in Misty Hollow and Grace is a detective on the police force. One of Darcy’s close friends and members of her book club is murdered. When Darcy and her ex-husband begin to look into it, another murder follows.

Things that made me go “hmmm.” At one point it is mentioned that because Misty Hollow is a small town and you can walk across it in 15 minutes, there aren’t many cars in town. In my experience living in small towns, EVERYONE owns a car, precisely because the town is so small. You have to go somewhere else to do most of your shopping or for any kind of entertainment. Also, the book “And Then There Were None” is brought up by the ghost several times making me think that there could be some real potential for Agatha Christie’s classic plot to have some relevance to the mystery at hand. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

All pretense of reality in the murder investigation is given up in this book. Even though Darcy is a civilian, her sister and her sister’s partner Jon include her in every phase of the investigation. She and Jon stay up late together one night working on the case. Really? A police detective stayed up late working on the case with his civilian girlfriend instead of his detective partner? Even the other people in town are asking her how the case is coming. At one point she responds with “We have a very strong suspect. Jon and Grace thing we’re close to solving the case.” We? When did Darcy join the police force??

There was one brief moment of dialogue that gave me hope for some depth. Darcy runs into her sister coming out of the coffee shop and asks what she’s doing. Her sister says, “Well, I don’t know Darcy. Maybe I was digging for gold or working on my car or something. What do you think I’m doing here. It’s a coffee shop. I’m getting coffee.” But then the writing descended into things like “Inside Anna’s cozy little home, death had visited” and “I’m getting signs from my sixth sense that I need to solve Anna’s death.”

There are at least two TSTL moments. One occurs when Darcy wakes to a figure standing over her bed whom she assumes is the murderer. She throws a book at it. Great defense strategy there. Fortunately for her, the figure is also TSTL and flees when assaulted with a flying book. There other occurs when she breaks into the house of who she believes to be the murderer. Alone. Though a window that she barely fit through.

Because there’s a ghost and Darcy has visions I guess you could call this a paranormal cozy which is normally not my thing but it’s a very light touch. Nothing offensive. In fact, that would be the description of this book in general. Nothing offensive. Nothing offensive is why I gave it three stars when I wavered between 2 and 3 stars. Just be aware this isn’t even comfort food reading, it’s cotton candy reading. Super-lightweight, most readers will finish it in less than two hours.

K.J. Emrick website

Would I pay money for it? I wouldn't because of it's length but I'm sure there are people who will

Would I read more by this author? If it was free.

Would I recommend this to a friend? I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it it they like this kind of thing.

Purchased as a Kindle freebie April 8, 2014