Biscuits and Slashed Browns by Maddie Day


Biscuits and Slashed Browns by Maddie Day
Publisher: Kensington Publishers
Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Contemporary
Length: Full length (292 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

For country-store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late-winter in South Lick, Indiana—until murder saps the life out of the celebration . . .

As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans ‘N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?

“I’m so hungry I could eat the north end of a south-bound mule.”

What a fun book full of colloquialisms like the one above. I can guarantee they are straight from Indiana because I grew up there myself. This was not taxing, just a truly enjoyable cozy. This series is set in Indiana, a great part of it in beautiful Brown County. A gorgeous place known for its charm, beautiful hills, Fall color, and artists on every corner. The tourism is very high and this makes the setting of a chef and restaurant owner fit into the story perfectly. Being familiar with Indiana does make this series fun to read but I think it would be enjoyable whether it was set on Cape Cod or in South Carolina. It’s just a really nice read.

Part of my reason for sounding so pleased with the book is that it is really well-written. It has a good plot; one that keeps you guessing. But it is her characters that make the book. Each one is not only well developed but is also an important part of the story. With all of their intertwining daily activity she creates a community we can see and one many of us can identify with.

This is Book #4 is this series called “Country Store Mystery” and Maddie has number 5 coming out at the end of July in 2018. While Book #4 could easily be read out of order, what I’d do is start on Book 1 now and get them all read up before Book 5 is out.

Three Strikes You’re Dead by Elena Hartwell


Three Strikes You’re Dead by Elena Hartwell
Publisher: Camel Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (290 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Private investigator Eddie Shoes heads to a resort outside Leavenworth, Washington, for a mother-daughter getaway weekend. Eddie’s mother Chava wants to celebrate her new job at a casino by footing the bill for the two of them, and who is Eddie to say no?

On the first morning, Eddie goes on an easy solo hike, and a few hours later, stumbles upon a makeshift campsite and a gravely injured man. A forest fire breaks out and she struggles to save him before the flames overcome them both. Before succumbing to his injuries, the man hands her a valuable rosary. He tells her his daughter is missing and begs for her help. Is Eddie now working for a dead man?

Barely escaping the fire, Eddie wakes in the hospital to find both her parents have arrived on the scene. Will Eddie’s card-counting mother and mob-connected father help or hinder the investigation? The police search in vain for a body. How will Eddie find the missing girl with only Eddie’s memory of the man’s face and a photo of his daughter to go on?

“Being a grown-up wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.”

That’s what Eddie Shoes, P.I., was thinking waking up in the hospital bed looking up at her two newly discovered parents. It’s sort of like everyone is getting to know one another in this book and it makes for a very entertaining story. Eddie and her parents create a rather odd trio of investigators. Having been on her own for a long, long time, she’s used to working on her own and making her own decisions. For that matter, the same seems to be true of each of her parents. This is a good plot with an ending I am sure you can’t predict.

Hartwell did a really good job of making her characters come alive in this book. You begin to know them and to enjoy them due to the well-written and humorous dialog she creates between them. Eddie (Edwina) Shoes is an interesting female private investigator and one tough cookie. She’s kind of stuck between learning to know newly met or finally found parents, wanting to please them and yet wanting to be herself. Utilizing a triangle of characters to help with an impromptu investigation, the author creates a lot of funny moments.

This one was hard for me to put down. I really enjoyed it. This is the third “Eddie Shoes Mystery” that Hartwell has written. Hope there are more to come.

Mount III : The Adventures Continue by Arlen Blumhagen


Mount III: The Adventures Continue by Arlen Blumhagen
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (141 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Mount, our favorite mountain man, is back for a third installment of action and adventure! It’s 1844 and Mount has returned to his secluded cabin nestled in the Rocky Mountains, bringing with him his new bride, Sandra, and stepson, Andy. The new family is happy beyond words, and just starting to build a wonderful future. Suddenly their lives are shattered, and that happy future in jeopardy, when Sandra is kidnapped by a ruthless band of outlaws, led by the notorious assassin, Li Zhang. The resulting adventure is packed full of excitement, danger and surprises, and of course, plenty of Mount’s special brand of humor.

“I don’t know what the hell my folks was drinkin’ the day they decided it was a good idea to name me Thaddeus Beauregard, but like I said, folks just call me Mount.”

When I read the line above I was sold on this book. I love a character with a sense of humor. If you are a fan of William Johnstone and his Mountain Man series you will love this book. Don’t misunderstand…this is not a copycat by any means but it has that wonderful old-fashioned pot likker kind of feel to it. I loved it but then I am a fan of the hunter-trapper, fair is fair, come sit by my fire and lean on your saddle, kind of novel.

This book is written in the narration or story-telling mode. Mount tells the story of life in the Rockies and the dangers of travel and of every day life. The dialect is very authentic of the times and of the man but not difficult to read or understand. There can be no question that Blumhagen is good at developing characters as well as creating great scene description. This is not a long book and I sure would have loved more to read. Not that I felt the story was unfinished, I just wanted more to read because it’s good.

This is the third book in the Mount series. It is well worth the time to read it and I’m going to try out books 1 & 2.

Six Dogs til Sunday by Lia Farrell


Six Dogs til Sunday by Lia Farrell
Publisher: Camel Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (258 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

It’s January in Rosedale, Tennessee, and Mae December is preparing for her March wedding to Sheriff Ben Bradley. Mae, who boards dogs for a living, is also busy tending to her pregnant dog and scouting locations for the movie featuring the music of her former fiancé Noah West, who died in a car accident four years earlier. Fortunately the picturesque old house at the end of Little Chapel Road is for rent.

Just as filming is about to begin, a man is shot on the set, but manages to drive himself to the hospital, where he dies before he can ID his killer. He was a member of the film crew, but also a local, and circumstances point to his being a confidential informant for Ben’s predecessor, Sheriff Trey Cantrell, also the owner of the house turned movie set. At the time of the shooting, the victim had been stealing a large sum of money from a safe on the premises. Whose money is it, and where does it come from?

The Rosedale Sheriff’s Office not only has another murder case on its hands, but one that will dredge up a past long buried. How far will the guilty parties go to protect their secrets?

This family sort of reminds me of the “Real McCoys” except with class.

This was a fun, light read. I would identify it as a cozy but it had plenty of substance to keep a reader’s interest the whole time. It has some extra advantages because I like dogs but actually I think the word “dogs” is used more in the titles of the series than dogs having any meaning in the story. However dogs do exist in this story as well as cops and bad guys and weddings. Not a bad mixture at all.

This is a really good example of character development. I think I could name all of the essential characters who made up this story but more importantly…I think I know what they look like. That may sound crazy but good authors write well enough that you have a picture of the characters and their surroundings. I also think that once that has been achieved, you won’t stop reading. There might have been a scene or two that I thought could have been cut but the book didn’t seem long. On the other hand maybe those scenes are why I know the characters so well.

This is Book 6 in the series which is called “A Mae December Mystery”. There was not one time in this book the author left me unable to figure something out because of a previous book in the series. The story of the previous books was never given away but they seemed to fit in enough to not leave you hanging in this one. There is no question this book can be read out of order in the series. That being said, if you don’t have a reason you have to read them out of order, don’t. Start with Book 1 and read through Book 6. Maybe there will be a Book 7 by that time. I hope so.

Identity Thief by R. Franklin James


Identity Thief by R. Franklin James
Publisher: Camel Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (258 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Probate attorney Hollis Morgan is branching out into criminal law. Pardoned after serving time for her then-husband’s white-collar crime, she knows something about the workings of the criminal mind. Hollis’ first criminal case quickly gets complicated. Her client is a young man initially accused of identity theft, but his charge soon includes murder. Hollis has a knack for detecting lies, and although Justin Eastland lies with every breath, she doesn’t believe he is a killer. Eastland is let out on bail as bait, and Hollis struggles to keep her client alive. She enlists the services of her young friend Vince, a former addict she helped get back on track, telling him to not let Eastland out of his sight. At the same time Hollis is handling a sensitive probate matter for a whistle-blower hiding from a revengeful cartel. It has not been easy for Hollis to learn to trust again, and in both these cases, a surprising number of people are not telling her the whole story. She thinks she can sort the truths from the half-truths and the outright lies, but how reliable are her instincts? Hollis’ sense of justice does not always consider the law. If she’s wrong, her clients aren’t the only ones who could lose their lives.

Absolutely wonderful characters…

This has a good storyline. One that flows well and keeps your interest. Plenty of twists and turns but not one hiccup. Nothing here that throws off your rhythm of reading; makes you have to turn back a page or two to see what you missed. Clean, clearly written, crime fiction.

However, the main reason I liked this book was the characters. The author did a good job of overall character development but she made me love some of the characters. Hollis is the main character. She’s feisty and strong and knows her own mind. Although she’s had some knocks in life, she has picked herself up and become a member of a law firm. Hollis has helped some people that were down on their luck in life too. One of those people is Vince and I came to love him too in this story. My point here is that this author made me care about these characters. I don’t have to like all of the characters, the result of that would make for a very boring book. However, I sure have to know all of the characters and be able to draw my own picture of them. Sort of like a movie in writing. That’s important to me as a reader. This writer accomplished that.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed this sixth book in a series that R. Franklin James has titled the Hollis Morgan Mysteries. While this is the first I have read, I am positive that all of the other five must be an interesting read. I hope there’s another to follow.

A Murder in May by C. L. Shore


A Murder in May by C. L. Shore
Publisher: Wings ePress
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (352 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

When she learns about the murder of her childhood best friend, a nun join forces with a detective to find the killer. Their teamwork leads to progress on the case, but the killer proves elusive. Detective Jed McCracken sets a trap, and Sister Lucie becomes the bait. Will Sister Lucie outwit the murderer…or become the next victim?

A nun and a detective. Quite a combination.

This is almost what I’d call Crime Fiction since it involves a Detective using a nun to help him and the police with a case. A wife new to the convent having lost her husband in the line of duty teams up with her husband’s former partner. Makes for an interesting read.

My first thought about this book was that it seemed long. It is 352 pages and it did take me a little longer to read than other books. Could I say that there were a few “scenes” in this novel that could have been cut? Maybe so. On the other hand, I cannot say I was ever bored. In fact I was surprised that I was always eager to get back to it. There are not a lot of characters which makes it seem to me that the three that were in the spotlight could have been a little more developed. But they were each enjoyable and there was a lot of good dialog. It usually seems implausible that the police would work with a nun and a young lady working in a hotel but somehow this came across okay. I think this worked because it was well-written.

Since the characters were so likable, it seems that if they were fleshed out a little more, this would make a good series. Let’s hope we see book two.

Take the Bai Road by Erika Mitchell


Take the Bai Road by Erika Mitchell
A Bai Shu Novel #2

Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery, Action/Adventure
Length: Full length (255 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

After the events of Bai Tide, CIA case officer Bai Hsu is safely tucked away at Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Bored and frustrated, he’s starting to doubt he’ll ever return to the field until he’s given a difficult new assignment: Track and investigate the mysterious Ghost Cartel, who may or may not already have hooks in our government.

With secrecy of the utmost importance, Bai accepts the mission even though he knows he’ll be out in the cold. With no official cover, no backup, and no resources, Bai has no choice but to infiltrate a shadowy organization few know anything about.

Tangled in a conspiracy that will pit him against warring cartels in Mexico, this is Bai’s most impossible mission to date. It will test him, make him question himself and the organization he works for, and ultimately rip away everything that’s ever mattered to him.

This book is much more exciting than its title might sound.

This was a fun book. While it sounds like it might be set in Japan, it actually takes place in the U.S. and Mexico. This is a book about spies and fictitious CIA characters. It is a book about drug smuggling and it is full of action.

I have never read an action book with fighting scenes included that I could really visualize until now. I would tell you that action books are not my thing; nor am I very fond of Charlie Chan type of action but this author seems to be able to describe every move of every fight in a way that makes it interesting…visual. I can only describe this as very good writing. This book also never had a slow moment for me. The end of one chapter flowed right into the next. Every bit of this book was action-packed and humorous. There were quite a few characters in this book but I seemed to have no problem understanding nor remembering them; a classic sign of good character development. I love the type of character who “thinks” humorous asides in what I’ll call a type of narrative writing. In this book Li or Bai enjoy lots of those funny moments and so did I.

This is book 2. I think it read just fine as a stand-alone. However, I will definitely go back and read Book 1.

Bel, Book, and Scandal by Maggie McConnon


Bel, Book, and Scandal by Maggie McConnon
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (249 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Maggie McConnon rings in Christmas in Bel, Boiok, and Scandal, the third adventure for everybody’s favorite Irish-American culinary artist turned amateur sleuth.

Bel McGrath tries her best to keep herself on the straight and narrow but she just has a taste for trouble. This time danger arrives in the form of a newspaper left behind by visitors to Shamrock Manor―and a photograph that jolts Bel out of the present and back into a dark chapter from her past. The person in the photo is Bel’s best friend Amy Mitchell, long gone from Foster’s Landing, at a commune in upstate New York shortly after her disappearance. The picture, and Bel’s burning desire to find out what happened to Amy―and whether she may still be alive―is the catalyst for a story in which old secrets are revealed, little by little…and certain characters are shown to not be as genuine as Bel once thought.

A really fun mystery including a chef but not one that gives you recipes!

I really enjoyed this mystery. Its main character is named Bel (short for Belfast) and she is a chef; come home to live with her parents after what to most would be called a culinary disaster. She is chief cook and bottle washer somewhat at Shamrock Manor. Shamrock Manor is their lovely old Irish home; one which has been restored to hold banquets and parties. I loved all of the cooking jokes and food preparation talk but this is not one of the trendy new mysteries that has a recipe at the end of every chapter; for that matter, it has no recipes at all.

What it does have is excellently described characters and a really good storyline. I would call this a cozy. I liked reading the interplay amongst the McGrath family, the few tussles and aggravations of living all together, with a healthy dose of genuine love mixed in. Definitely a storyline involved enough to make you think. I was surprised at the end just as we all want to be with a good mystery.

This is Book 3 and the series is called the “Bel McGrath Mysteries”. This third book can easily stand alone. I enjoyed it without ever feeling confused because of not having read the first two books. On the other hand, it did make me want to read Books 1 and 2.

Foam by Robert Neil Baker


Foam by Robert Neil Baker
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (329 pgs)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

It is 2009; the auto industry is imploding. Charlotte Kirby and car manufacturer customer Bill Arnold’s romance gets hopelessly caught up in the intrigue and in-fighting over her new urethane foam. Can it save her company and his career? Who is bent on ruining the project, violently if necessary? Charlotte loses an important player to a suspicious accident, and another defects to a rock band. Bill’s bosses and co-workers at his struggling employer launch selfish agendas. A friend dumps one key co-worker for another. The lovers are challenged by thefts, assaults, kidnapping, and a laboratory disaster. Time is running out, can they unmask the villain and learn the true secret of the foam?

Bet you could guess a long time and never figure out what this book is about from its title.

I am not going to ruin this book and tell you anything about what “foam” could possibly have to do with a mystery. While this is indeed a mystery, it is also a wonderfully funny spoof on the giant automakers of our country as well as those in competition from other countries. This story is basically about the plight of the automakers in 2008 with the rising oil prices and first and foremost, it’s about money. It’s about the competition between automakers to stay alive, to develop the best products, and to have them on the market first. The need to be secretive about those products was worse than football coaches hiding their mouths from the TV cameras.

There are scenes that are humorous and others that are realistic. There are desperate people facing failure and those trying to stick their heads in the sand. It actually reminded me of Hollywood where actors and actresses are all trying to stab their competitors in the back, while smiling in their face. It draws a good picture of how many businesses and individuals were affected by one or more automakers starting to fail. But still…it’s a mystery with even a little bit of intrigue and tongue-in-cheek mixed together.

This was a long read in some ways. It seemed to me that there were a lot of characters but in hindsight I don’t know that this is true. It takes a while to build a diagram in your mind figuring out who belongs to which company and for that matter who is “who”. I don’t think the characters are well-developed. I don’t mean to say that you can’t get a sense of the characters; I just think it was a little confusing. It was sometimes hard to determine which was mystery and which was spoof. Then again, maybe that was the idea.

Having said all that… long read or not, I read it all the way to the last page. The storyline kept me wanting to know what would happen next and which company ended up with the secret.

Smile and Walk Away by Danielle Riedel


Smile and Walk Away by Danielle Riedel
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (222 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Detective Duran thinks he’s searching for a missing woman. He soon finds out he’s pursuing the last remaining evidence of a CIA cover up. The police are looking for Velma Bloom, a young woman who has gone missing. All that’s left of her is her car parked in front of a house containing two dead Russian men. Velma is a twenty-five year old woman who loves her life of booze, sex, and cigarettes. But this sassy, over-educated waitress has a secret—a strange ability she’s never been able to understand. Answers come unexpectedly and from an unexpected source. Armed with her new knowledge, she sees her way to forging a new future. She only has one obstacle—making sure she stays alive. Now she has vanished, and rookie detective Jackson Duran is trying to find her. She hasn’t left many traces, and everything Duran discovers about her only complicates his search. What he does learn leads him to some sinister truths he never thought he’d know, and would rather not know.

In the blink of an eye or the breaking of a glass, your life can change into something you never dreamed it could be.

This was a fun book to read. This is a story full of intrigue, spies, every day folks, people with super skills, love interests, a little humor, rebellion and even a bit of naughtiness.

I enjoyed the characters that Reidel created in this book. There weren’t too many and I think that is why she was able to develop them in depth. Oddly enough, she made you like them all. That, as you can imagine, leaves you wondering all along which one will turn out to be the bad guy…or girl. The only aspect of this book that could make it difficult to read is the switching back and forth between characters and times in their lives. Sometimes that turns me off in a book but somehow the author seemed to keep this story moving smoothly. I think her skill in not adding too many characters and developing them so well helped the reader to keep everything straight. Not an easy thing for an author to do.

The main character, Velma Bloom was my favorite. She’s a redhead and wants to create her own way in life and that, in and of itself, made for a story interesting enough to keep me reading. As in the title…I smiled but I sure didn’t walk away from this book.