Book Review: The Widowmaker (Black Harbor #2) by Hannah Morrissey @hannahmorrisseywriter

The Widowmaker
(Black Harbor #2)
by Hannah Morrissey

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A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey’s stunning new Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name “Reynolds” has become synonymous with “murder” and “mystery.” And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.

This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner’s recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Pierced and gangly with a death stare that could intimidate a bull, Morgan didn’t really fit anywhere,

She had to tip her head back to look him in the eye. At five foot two, Miserelli was the personification of a firecracker: small, compact, and explosive. Some people joked that she’d stand taller and walk straighter if it weren’t for the chip on her shoulder weighing her down.

There was something about Eleanor Reynolds. Perhaps it was part of her enchantment that she reminded him of an icicle— delicate enough to shatter, sharp enough to kill.

She’d found Saoirse Reynolds as all people find one another these days: on Instagram.

 

My Review:

 

This ingeniously plotted tale kept me guessing throughout the entirety of the book. I developed and cast aside multiple theories but would never have foreseen the story threads coming together to weave these conclusions. Hannah Morrissey is a gifted scribe.

 

Hannah Morrissey is the author of the Black Harbor suspense series which includes Hello, Transcriber, The Widowmaker, and When I’m Dead. A three-decade survivor of Wisconsin winters, Hannah enjoys putting her characters (and readers) in bone-chilling atmospheres that permeate beyond the page. Naturally, her books have carved out their own sub-genre of “Midwestern Noir.”

Between roles of bookseller and copywriter, Hannah was inspired to write her debut novel while transcribing reports for her local police department. Far from home in a grim, crime-ridden city, it was her job to sit alone in the dead of night, listen, and type as detectives divulged the city’s darkest secrets. There, she realized that every case was a story, and every story started with the same two words: “Hello, Transcriber.”

Hannah graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where she majored in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She grew up in a small northern town and now lives near Milwaukee with her husband, three pugs, and a TBR pile that never seems to get any smaller.

Book Review: Hello, Transcriber (Black Harbor Novels Book 1)  by Hannah Morrissey @hannahmorrisseywriter

Hello, Transcriber
(Black Harbor Novels Book 1) 
by Hannah Morrissey 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

 

Hannah Morrissey’s Hello, Transcriber is a captivating mystery suspense debut featuring a female police transcriber who goes beyond the limits to solve a harrowing case.

Every night, while the street lamps shed the only light on Wisconsin’s most crime-ridden city, police transcriber Hazel Greenlee listens as detectives divulge Black Harbor’s gruesome secrets. As an aspiring writer, Hazel believes that writing a novel could be her only ticket out of this frozen hellscape. And then her neighbor confesses to hiding the body of an overdose victim in a dumpster.

The suspicious death is linked to Candy Man, a notorious drug dealer. Now Hazel has a first-row seat to the investigation and becomes captivated by the lead detective, Nikolai Kole. Intrigued by the prospects of gathering eyewitness intel for her book, Hazel joins Kole in exploring Black Harbor’s darkest side. As the investigation unfolds, Hazel will learn just how far she’ll go for a good story―even if it means destroying her marriage and luring the killer to her as she plunges deeper into the city she’s desperate to claw her way out of.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

His head moves in small jerks, like a robot malfunctioning at the end of its battery life.

Old Will reminds me of a twentieth-century Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep at the end of the Vietnam War only to wake up two decades later in a mosh pit at a Metallica concert.

Clothes lie like deflated bodies, sprawled near his closet as though they’d crawled out of it.

If Shakespeare’s right that all the world’s a stage, then Elle is the leading lady and I am the stagehand who maneuvers the levers for the trapdoors and curtain, a master of smoke and mirrors who ensures each act runs so seamlessly that no one even notices me.

“Do you ever feel like you’re in the wrong story?”… “No,” he says, finally. “But,” his gaze shifts to me, his eyes taking in my cuts and bruises, the hollow thing I’ve become, “why don’t you just write a better one?”

My Review:

 

I am woefully years behind in my TBR pile and innocently pulled out this little gem to peruse before making my way to the author’s newest release in this series. I had no idea what I was in for but was soon kicking myself for my tardiness and sloth.

I was instantly consumed by Ms. Morrissey’s evocative prose as the first paragraph sucked me into a dark, itchy, and enthralling vortex of a troubled and crumbling community. Her characters were complicated, compelling, and multi-faceted. Each new person introduced brought a unique type of nightmare as they all seemed to be teetering between a train wreck and a dumpster fire. And I couldn’t get enough. Luckily for me, the second and third books are already locked and loaded on my beloved Kindle. The Widowmaker is currently beckoning.

About the Author

Hannah Morrissey is the author of the Black Harbor suspense series which includes Hello, Transcriber, The Widowmaker, and When I’m Dead. A three-decade survivor of Wisconsin winters, Hannah enjoys putting her characters (and readers) in bone-chilling atmospheres that permeate beyond the page. Naturally, her books have carved out their own sub-genre of “Midwestern Noir.”

Between roles of bookseller and copywriter, Hannah was inspired to write her debut novel while transcribing reports for her local police department. Far from home in a grim, crime-ridden city, it was her job to sit alone in the dead of night, listen, and type as detectives divulged the city’s darkest secrets. There, she realized that every case was a story, and every story started with the same two words: “Hello, Transcriber.”

Hannah graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where she majored in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She grew up in a small northern town and now lives near Milwaukee with her husband, three pugs, and a TBR pile that never seems to get any smaller.

 

Book Review: Because of Her (Jack & Jill #6) by Jewel E. Ann @authorjeweleann and @valentine_pr_

Because of Her
(Jack & Jill #6)
by Jewel E. Ann

Amazon / BB

“If sin weren’t pretty, it wouldn’t be so tempting.”

I was an accomplished music professor.

Happily single.

Perfectly content.

 

Now, I’m unemployed.

Pining for a dark, brooding guy named Jack who lives in a garage with a piano.

And I’m plotting to seduce a married man because his daughter is responsible for my nephew committing suicide.

 

I don’t know why teenage girls are so mean.

I don’t know why rich men cheat on their wives.

And I don’t know why Jack has serial killer vibes, even though he leaves me speechless every time he speaks.

 

All I know for sure is that I feel safe in a stranger’s arms and understood by someone I don’t understand.

“You should be a little scared of everyone because humans are unpredictable.”

 

How far will I go for revenge? More than that …

How far will he go to save me?

*This book contains material involving sexual assault and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

 

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

John and I were inseparable, not just because we were twins. We complemented each other perfectly— my weaknesses were his strengths, and his were mine. We always said we were accidental twins, meant to be one person. Instead, we were two out-of-balance humans: either extremely good at something or extremely bad.

Her overly shiny Botox face makes a sad attempt at showing emotion, like reeling in a kite when there’s too much wind.

My Review:

 

Angst is one of my least favorite things on the planet. Yet, oddly enough, I adore and am enamored with Jewel E. Ann’s tales despite her love of angst, as her engrossing and emotive writing makes it well worth swallowing my personal annoyance. Her characters are endearingly broken yet soldiering on while hampered by real-world issues and vulnerabilities. Her writing style flows with an impossible eloquence that keeps me holding my breath while riveted to my Kindle. Her narrative hits all the feels multiple times as she does seem to enjoy bedeviling her fractured characters before bringing them to their well-earned HEA.

 Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today best-selling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role-modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance. 

 

Book Review: Death By Theft (A Josiah Reynolds Mystery 19) by Abigail Keam @AbigailKeam

Death By Theft
A Josiah Reynolds Mystery 19
by Abigail Keam

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Josiah is happy for her pals Lady Elsmere and Shaneika Mary Todd when broodmare Jean Harlow gives birth to a male foal sired by Comanche. The owners of both horses have high hopes the foal will become a stakes winner—maybe even win the Kentucky Derby. The foal has a broad chest, indicating significant lung capacity—important for winning races, but just like his daddy, the foal is ebony with a bad attitude.

Josiah and Shaneika visit dam Jean Harlow early one morning and are shocked to find the prized foal is missing. They frantically search Lady Elsmere’s and Josiah’s farms without success. It’s urgent they find the foal fast as he is not yet weaned and is too young to be separated from his mother. Who would snatch the feisty foal from his mother’s care? And equally important, why?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m famous for stumbling over dead bodies. It’s a curse.

“What have you got against rich people?” Asa giggled. “Only that I’m not one of them.”

The guard raised his thick eyebrows in need of a trim. They looked like two caterpillars mating on top of each eye.

I do what I have to do. Sometimes a cowboy in a white hat is not sufficient for what needs to be done. Sometimes it takes a dark knight with proficiency for violence. Know what I mean?

 

My Review:

 

This amusing contemporary cozy tale was quite the conundrum and despite conjuring multiple theories as I read, I would never have come up with the end result as written by this conniving wordsmith. The mystery was well-plotted and an interesting one to follow. I was invested in the story and worried for all involved.

I enjoy Ms. Keam’s complex characters as they are uniquely quirky, well-nuanced, at least a little bit sketchy, and all realistically fractured. Being somewhat new to the series, this was my introduction to the character of Asa whose story threads intrigued, compelled, and had more twists than a snake’s trail. My fingers are crossed she shows up again and again in future installments.

 

About the Author

One thing Miss Abigail loves to do as an author is to write real people and events into her stories. “I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way—well, then we are both happy. I certainly learn a lot from my research, and I hope my readers come away with a new appreciation of beekeeping from my Josiah Reynolds Mysteries.”

Book Review: One Hundred Merry Memories (An Aspen Cove Romance # 24)  by Kelly Collins 

One Hundred Merry Memories
(An Aspen Cove Romance # 24)
by Kelly Collins

 

Amazon  / BB

She’s a city girl looking for change.
He’s an ex-soldier looking for stability.
What happens when fate brings them together?

After a tough breakup, author Amanda Anderson swears off men forever. When a pink envelope finds its way to her, offering a charming cabin on a vast piece of land in the mountains of Aspen Cove, she heads west, looking to start over—alone. But when she arrives at the dilapidated cabin, she is faced with more than she can handle, so she enlists the help of the only person a sexy bartender who offers free labor in exchange for a place to stay.

Jackson Knight is no one’s savior, but just as he’s looking for a place to call home, Amanda Anderson offers him the deal of the century—free room and board in exchange for his brain and brawn. How hard can fixing up a cabin be? Turns out, pretty hard, especially when Amanda looks at him like he’s her knight in shining armor.

As they prepare the cabin for Christmas, they fight an undeniable attraction growing between them. She’s not looking for love. He’s not ready for it. But can two people outwit, outfox, and outmaneuver the townspeople who are rooting for them?

This heartwarming last addition to the Aspen Cove Series showcases the transformative power of love and the magic of Christmas in a small town where no one is a stranger. They are only a friend you haven’t met yet.

My Rating:

My Review: 

This was a total delight to read from beginning to end. I have been a fan of this series and am enamored with its clever and talented creator. Ms. Collins’ writing style is easy to follow with lush and vivid descriptions that paint complete vistas as well as hit all the feels. However, it was bittersweet to realize that this was the last of the Aspen Cove series. I had hoped it would continue into perpetuity.

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

 

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International bestselling author of over 30 novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

Book Review: The Sweetheart Crush (Blossom Glen #3) by Miranda Liasson  by Miranda Liasson @mirandaliasson

The Sweetheart Crush
Blossom Glen #3
by Miranda Liasson

 

AmazonB&N / GP  / Apple / BB

Photographer Viv Montgomery’s dreams were bigger than her small hometown of Blossom Glen. Following them meant leaving everything and everyone behind—including her sweet and funny best friend, Logan Matthews. Now, twelve years later, the town’s “sweetheart” is back, broke, and…well, working in the town’s famous Christmas store until she figures out her next move.

Enter her former best friend who she hasn’t seen or talked to in years. Only the cute, funny guy she remembers is gone—replaced by a famous, bestselling author who seems aloof, jaded, and is much, much hotter than any book nerd she’s ever seen. Seeing him in the news is one thing, but up close and person? Whewf, it’s warm in here.

Now he’s offered her a job she desperately needs (blissfully free of Santas), and suddenly it’s like no time has passed at all. Their friendship is just like it was…with one very unexpected difference. Because somewhere between the blossom festival and snuggling in front of a crackling fire, their friendship is definitely turning into something more. Only, Logan’s been hiding the secret of his enormous success…and the sweetheart of Blossom Glen is about to read all about it.

Each book in the Blossom Glen series is STANDALONE:
* The Sweetheart Deal
* The Sweetheart Fix
* The Sweetheart Crush

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She was staring at him as if he was a raccoon peeking out at her from under the lid of a garbage can.

A strange feeling came over him, a cross between heartburn and an eye twitch.

She rolled her eyes and flashed him a half smile. “It was… okay.” It was the best she’d ever had. Ever. Sex with him was Christmas Day. Her birthday. Cake and ice cream. Make that chocolate ice cream. Wildflowers in a field bursting with rainbow colors. Yellow and purple and bright green bursting on a sea of gray. With glitter sparkles. And every perfect day she’d ever had, all rolled up at once. Of course, she said none of this.

 

My Review:

 

I have enjoyed each installment of this lively and entertaining series but I do believe this one is the best of the bunch and is my absolute favorite. Ms. Liasson is a smooth and beguiling storyteller who laces her tales together with amusing observations as well as clever perceptiveness. The storylines were engaging, well-paced, and easy to follow and were populated with relatable and endearing characters with real-world issues. I am looking forward to more of the same in the next installment.

 

Author Bio:

Miranda Liasson loves to write stories about everyday people who find love despite themselves because there’s nothing like a great love story. And if there are a few laughs along the way, even better! She’s a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart winner and an Amazon bestselling author whose heartwarming and humorous small-town romances have won accolades such as the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and have been Harlequin Junkie and Night Owl Reviews Top Picks.

 

Connect with Miranda: 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | NewsletterBookbub | Pinterest | Blog

Book Review: All Mixed Up (Common Threads #8) by Heidi Hutchinson  @smartypantsromance @heidi_hutchinson

All Mixed Up
(Common Threads #8)
Heidi Hutchinson

 

 

Nikki has a lot going on at the moment.

She’s the best sound engineer and mixer at XY Records, she’s working on a super-secret project with a pop megastar, and holding the busier-than-usual studio together.

The last thing she wants or needs is her ex-fiancé to start working in the studio over the summer. She’s over it—him. Obviously. Being ghosted has that effect. But working near someone she used to love has made her life that much more complicated.

Andre has it all figured out. Two and half years ago he had no idea what he was doing when he walked away from the love of his life. But time has given him perspective, and he’s grown up. Which is why the paleontology professor is working part-time at his ex’s recording studio. Because he wants to make amends. And maybe win her back.

Will Nikki give him the chance he thinks he’s ready for? Or will it be her turn to walk away from him?

‘All Mixed Up’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #8 in the Common Threads series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She’d envisioned this day numerous times. Usually in bed as she fell asleep. She’d be in a tight, cleavage- baring dress, and have a perfect, sun-kissed tan. Her hair would be long and the roots freshly done. Her makeup would be subtle and airbrushed in the way that made her look both glamorous and effortless at once.

You know when you get wrapped in your head, and the only voice you’re listening to is telling you that you suck no matter what, and you know it’s not true, but because you don’t want to actually ask anyone else to back you up on that, you start to believe that it’s true?

André kept his heart locked inside a vault surrounded by puzzles and mazes and miles of jungle overgrowth like a treasure hunter’s one last quest.

And no matter what you’ve been told, even happy endings carry their own bit of sorrow in them.

Do you want me to kick him out?… I have a couple cousins who can be very menacing. And an auntie that will make him rethink all his life decisions.

My Review:

 

I adored this beguiling couple, they had had a satisfying relationship that had been going well until he broke her heart and his without explanation. I had devised several theories as to what and why that had happened before this clever wordsmith finally clued me in on how wrong I had been. The characters were divinely conjured and enticingly detailed with authentic quirks and knowable foibles. Ms. Hutchinson’s writing style was smooth as silk, brilliantly paced, and easy to fall into with storylines that were engaging, entertaining, cleverly amusing, and held my interest captive. I am already looking forward to her next missive.

About the Author

Heidi Hutchinson creates funny, clever, slow-burn romance for readers looking for a guaranteed happily ever after.

She hopes the stories she writes inspire her readers to take their hearts on one more adventure.

She lives in the Black Hills with her alarmingly handsome husband, their fearless child, and a rather large and spoiled dog.

She is fueled by her unwavering and perfectly normal devotion to Dave Grohl and coffee.

And a whole lotta love.

Find Heidi online

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidirhutchinson

Website: https://www.heidih.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidi_hutchinson/

 

Book Review: Ewe Complete Me (Common Threads #6) by Susannah Nix @susannahnixauthor @smartypantsromance

 Ewe Complete Me
(Common Threads #6)
by Susannah Nix

Amazon  / B&N  / BB

Ewe Complete Me, an all-new forced proximity romance from USA Today bestselling author Susannah Nix, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

Love defies logic when two polar opposites attract.

Chloe and Brandon have nothing in common. She’s a spontaneous, people-loving fiber artist; he’s an uptight, introverted law student. The only thing they agree on during their blind date is that they hope to never see each other again.

Except they do have something in common—Brandon’s mother Dawn, who happens to be Chloe’s boss and dear friend. Which is how they end up stuck with each other for a six-hour road trip to Dawn’s destination wedding.

But as they get to know each other better, their mutual irritation morphs into an inescapable connection. Maybe these two opposites aren’t so mismatched after all. Could Brandon be the yin to Chloe’s yang? The peanut butter to her jelly? The rock to her roll?

Or will their differences tear them apart when they return to their normal lives at the end of the wedding weekend?

‘Ewe Complete Me’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #6 in the Common Threads series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

For starters, his name was Bran. Not only did it bring to mind high-fiber laxatives and regular bowel movements, it sounded like the kind of one-syllable name favored by too many of the douchebags I’d known in high school.

I continued to stare at him in a sort of daze. Maybe Franz Mesmer had been onto something with that animal magnetism theory after all. Or perhaps my date was secretly a centuries-old Transylvanian noble with hypnotic powers who slept in a box filled with dirt from his homeland in the Carpathian Mountains.

“What did he do?” Angie asked in the hard, dangerous tone of someone already plotting the best way to dispose of a body.

“What a jagweed,” Angie said with a scowl. “I hope he gets a fungus on his scrotum that doesn’t respond to treatment.”

Angie was the wacky, protective aunt who’d help you key the word “dildo” onto the car of someone who’d done you wrong.

As I stepped out of the car, I had that same jarring feeling you got when you first walked out of a movie theater and realized you were in the real world again instead of the fantasy world you’d been immersed in for the last three hours.

My Review:

 

This was a smirk-worthy and witty delight from start to finish. The characters were uniquely and indelibly rendered with realistic flaws and significant conditions and challenges to manage in their daily lives, yet they were also deeply endearing and intriguing. The storylines were smartly written, well-paced, engaging, and cleverly amusing, while they sparkled with sharp wit, perceptive observations, and zippy banter. I do believe I have become a Susannah Nix acolyte.

About Susannah Nix

Susannah Nix is an award-winning author of contemporary romances featuring smart women and swoony men, including the Chemistry Lessons series of romcoms about women who work in STEM fields and the Starstruck series of movie star romances. 

Susannah resides in Texas with her husband, two ornery cats, and a flatulent pit bull. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, watching stupid amounts of television, and getting distracted by Tumblr. She is also a powerlifter who can deadlift as much as Captain America weighs.

Find Susannah Nix online

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B072KHZS5W

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susannahnix/

Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/160037207970579/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/susannah-nix

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannahnixauthor/

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16880740.Susannah_Nix

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Susannah_Nix

Website: https://www.susannahnix.com/

 

Connect with Smartypants Romance

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Book Review: Peaches and Dreams (Green Valley Heroes #4) by Juliette Cross @juliettecrossauthor @smartypantsromance

 Peaches and Dreams
(Green Valley Heroes #4)
by Juliette Cross

 

Peaches and Dreams, an all-new single dad small-town romance from Juliette Cross, is available now in Kindle Unlimited!

Marly Rivers is not crazy. No matter what everyone says. They may think her dream is foolish, but she plans to prove them all wrong—one jar of moonshine at a time. 

Single dad Wade Kelley is just fine. No matter what his best friend Jed says. He doesn’t need a woman in his life. But when his son Jake breaks a jar of moonshine, he sets something in motion that neither Wade nor Marly are prepared for. 

A friendly favor turns into late nights, long dinners, and a romp in the woods. And in a deer stand too. By the time Wade realizes he’s fallen hard and deep for Mad Marly, it may be too late to tell her. When she falls into real and sudden danger with poachers, he may not even be able to save her. 

‘Peaches and Dreams’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #4 in the Green Valley Heroes series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m considered pretty cool with the boys. The seven and eight-year-old variety, mostly.

I put the fun in funny.

That man is a full-on smoke-show.

“Marleen. You are very scary and kind of a lot. Especially to shy guys.” I preened and flipped my hair, liking that description. “I’m kind of a femme fatale, huh?” “More like a femme frightfully flamboyant.” “That’s too much alliteration. But I still like it.”

My Review:

 

This was good fun from start to finish and sparkled with giggle-snort-worthy humor. I laughed aloud as often as I was gasping for breath during steamy sensual scenes that left me dehydrated and grasping for libation. The writing was cleverly amusing, well-paced, low angst, and highly engaging. The storylines were populated with authentic yet knowable characters who were endearing, smoking hot, adorable, witty, well-nuanced, and irreverent – my favorite kind of people!

JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.

 

 

Book Review: Murder by Invitation (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #15) by Verity Bright  @BrightVerity  @Bookouture 

Murder by Invitation
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #15)
by Verity Bright

Lady Swift has been cordially invited to a huge royal celebration in Little Buckford to toast the King’s birthday… but wait, is that a body in the village hall?

Lady Eleanor Swift and her loyal butler Clifford are busy lending a hand with preparations for the big day. The grand dining room at Henley Hall is overflowing with home-sewn flags, paint, and royal rosettes. Even Gladstone the bulldog and his new friend Tomkins the ginger cat are invited!

But just days before the event Mr. Prestwick-Peterson, the chairman of the celebrations committee, is found dead in the village hall: strangled with handmade red, white, and royal blue bunting.

With the village hall in total disarray and a key part of the decorations missing, Eleanor wonders if someone dastardly is sabotaging the King’s birthday celebrations. Teaming up with her handsome beau Detective Hugh Seldon to question the local butcher, baker, and pub landlord it becomes clear that the meddlesome busybody Mr Prestwick-Peterson was not universally liked in charming Little Buckford. Indeed, the only mystery is why he wasn’t murdered before…

Searching Mr. Prestwick-Peterson’s pristinely organized rooms, Eleanor is surprised to find a faded photograph of a beautiful young woman hidden within the pages of a novel. Could this be the key to untangling this very village murder? And can Eleanor catch the killer before the party is over for her, too?

A totally charming, unputdownable Golden Age murder mystery with characters readers will adore. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Aye, even at the worst of times, when he’d pulled on the devil’s own trousers, it don’t make it right for someone to have done for him like this… Not even if he’d pulled on the devil’s trousers and the jacket to match!

He were trouble with a head as twisted as the neck of a chicken on roastin’ day!

My Review:

 

This enjoyable and well-written series is always a fun read. I adore the characters and their progressing relationships and slowly evolving dynamics. The well-contrived mysteries are always confounding and unpredictable puzzlers to keep the little pea in my brain bouncing. This installment was busy and action-packed with peril for all involved, yet was easy to follow and kept my curiosity well-honed.

 

About the Author

.
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humor, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.