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Book Review: Friends With Benedicts by Staci Hart @imaquirkybird

Friends With Benedicts
by Staci Hart

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / BB

Timing is everything.

Presley Hale and Sebastian Vargas are no strangers to goodbye. Their high school summers were spent wrapped up in each other until she would inevitably go home to California. One season after college, Sebastian finally escaped the little Texas town to travel the world, and they said goodbye for what they thought might be the last time.
Sebastian went one way. Presley went the other.

For the first time in five years, they’re both in town, but the timing is no better than ever. So the only thing to do is what they do best. Keep it casual.

Friends with benefits.

They’ve done it before—doing it again will be easy.

But their hearts don’t get the memo.

When the lines of their arrangement blur, Presley and Sebastian are faced with decisions they’ve avoided for years. And that’s not even their biggest problem.
A small town in danger of failing.

A secret that could tear them apart.

And two hearts that can’t hide anymore.

They’ve shared so many summers, but none compare to what they’ll face.

Timing is everything.
And their time is almost up.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Lightning struck me dead to the spot—shock, I realized distantly. The sensation was followed by the frying of my ovaries like a couple of unsuspecting eggs. Sebastian Vargas had that effect on me and my eggs. I turned, smiling through my surprise. And there he stood, tall, dark and smirking at me in that way that made all the girls fling their panties at him.

It’s our curse. Our men either die young or leave. So just make sure he’s healthy and isn’t going anywhere.

“I really am a kick ass mom, aren’t I?” “Judging by the small fortune in the swear jar, I’d beg to differ.”

No more telling Priscilla her dad was busy fighting crime in Metropolis, or that he was on a moon station collecting rock samples. Don’t worry— she didn’t believe me. It was a running joke in our family. Sometimes he swallowed knives with the circus. Sometimes he was a baseball hall of famer. Just depended on my mood.

 

My Review:

 

This was a delightfully fun read with the steamy treats and witty and irreverent humor that I tend to savor. I am totally enamored with Staci Hart. While I may be a relatively new acolyte I am now a devoted one. I enjoy her breezy and cleverly amusing writing style with edgy insights and keen observations. Her characters are lovable and endearing yet a bit frayed and struggling. The storylines were engaging, relatable, and highly entertaining. In a word, it was delectable.

 

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

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Book Review: Murder at the Fair (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #6) by Verity Bright @BrightVerity @Bookouture

Murder at the Fair
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #6)
by Verity Bright

Amazon  / B&N

 

Summer flowers, warm sunshine, a maypole dance, and… is that another murder? A tricky case is afoot for Lady Swift!

Summer, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, the best amateur sleuth in the country, is delighted to be in charge of the prize-giving at her village summer fair. But the traditional homemade raft race takes a tragic turn when the local undertaker, Solemn Jon, turns up dead amongst the ducks. Jon was the life of any party and loved by the entire village. Surely this was simply an awful accident?

But when a spiteful obituary is printed in the local paper, Eleanor realizes there may be more to Jon’s death than first thought. Despite handsome Detective Seldon giving her strict instructions not to interfere, Eleanor owes it to Jon’s good name to root out the truth. So with her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog, Eleanor starts digging for clues…

When another local dies in a riding accident, the police refuse to believe he was murdered. But a second vindictive death notice convinces Eleanor of foul play. Solemn Jon’s assistant, a bullish banker, and a majestic marquess make her suspect list, but it isn’t until she finds a dusty old photograph that she knows the true culprit behind both crimes. Then another obituary appears – her own! Can Eleanor nail the killer before she too turns up dead among the ducks?

An utterly compelling and charming cozy mystery! Pure delight for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.

My Rating:

 

 Favorite Quotes:

 

She wracked her brain for a more charitable description, but all she could think of was an underfed ferret. With his sharp dark eyes set in hollow sockets, protruding jaw and barely-there upper lip, his face seemed permanently set in a scowl.

 

We have to invite her, old friend of the family and all that. Personally, she constantly reminds me of the native Scottish thistle she is so fiercely proud of. Prickly year-round and thoroughly invasive.

 

Out of the blue he simply hurled the offer of marriage at me like I was a giddy, aged spinster who would bite his arm off to accept.

 

‘Have, er, Polly or Gladstone, met the vacuum cleaner yet?’… He sighed. ‘Polly is still terrified of the machine after Mrs Trotman told her it would suck her eyeballs out if she stared down the hose while it was on.’

 

Folk say she’s about as handsome as a three-legged horse born backwards, which is why she doesn’t have any young gentleman courting her.

 

Guilt’s a bad enough bedfellow without grief stealing in and hogging the quilt.

 

My Review:

 

I continue in my love fest with Verity Bright, as I am evermore enamored with this delightfully amusing cozy mystery series. I have enjoyed every installment, which only improves with each new entry. The books could be read as standalones although a quicker connection and deeper understanding could be had by reading the earlier publications as frequent mentions of her previous exploits were sprinkled throughout. I adore the kind and gentle Lady Eleanor (Ellie), who has a tendency to become embroiled and entangled in various schemes and becomes determined to solve the surrounding mystery and ferret out the culprits. This time, despite being admonished by her would-be suitor and police inspector to keep her nose clean, Ellie has stepped into several oddly mysterious deaths she suspects were murders, which led back to blackmail, family secrets of her own, and a few nefarious scams.

 

Generous helpings of wit, amusing humor, and entertaining side stories occur along the way as she and her ever-attentive butler apply their skills and attention towards unraveling the villainous schemes.   Verity Bright’s engaging writing style was refreshingly breezy and smoothly enticing in addition to being brain and rib-tickling as the cleverly plotted storylines and clues were a curious conundrum. I am already rubbing my hands together with glee contemplating her next adventure.

 

About the Author

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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.
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Book Review: Death on the Lake (DCI Satterthwaite #5) by Jo Allen  @JoAllenAuthor @rararesources 

 

Death on the Lake
(DCI Satterthwaite #5)
by Jo Allen

Amazon

 

Three youngsters, out for a good time. Vodka and the wrong sort of Coke. What could possibly go wrong?

When a young woman, Summer Raine, is found drowned, apparently accidentally, after an afternoon spent drinking on a boat on Ullswater, DCI Jude Satterthwaite is deeply concerned — more so when his boss refuses to let him investigate the matter any further to avoid compromising a fraud case.

But a sinister shadow lingers over the dale and one accidental death is followed by another and then by a violent murder. Jude’s life is complicated enough but the latest series of murders are personal to him as they involve his former partner, Becca Reid, who has family connections in the area. His determination to uncover the killer brings him into direct conflict with his boss — and ultimately places both him and his colleague and girlfriend, Ashleigh O’Halloran, in danger…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He’ll have persuaded himself that what he’s doing is somehow okay, just as those kids will have persuaded themselves there’s nothing really wrong with taking drugs. People are very quick to persuade themselves that something illegal really ought not to be and therefore it’s okay to do it. You must see it often. The illusion of victimless crime.

 

Miranda’s nerves tautened, as if they were the strings on a violin and a violinist was pulling then ever tighter, the pitch increasing. Any minute now and they’d start screeching, like the background music in Psycho.

 

No one went upstairs in his cottage. The dust would be as thick as March snow up there, and after he’d gone whoever came to clean up would be able to roll it up like a mat and throw it away.

 

Doing the right thing always did lose you friends. The more Jude saw it happen, the more he wondered why anyone bothered.

 

 My Review:

 

 I am relatively new to this genre so Jo Allen is a recent discovery and new favorite. I have enjoyed this smartly written and complex series and continue to look forward to the next. The characters’ personal lives and personalities are as intriguing as the criminal cases they are laboring to solve.  This case was another cleverly plotted head-scratcher laced with insightful observations and quirky secondary characters, and more of what I’ve come to expect from this crafty scribe.

 

About the Author

Jo Allen was born in Wolverhampton and is a graduate of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, and the Open University. After a career in economic consultancy, she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young in genres of short stories, romance, and romantic suspense. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read – crime. Now living in Edinburgh, she spends as much time as possible in the English Lakes. In common with all her favorite characters, she loves football (she’s a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.

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Book Review: Murder at Elm House (Miss Underhay #6) by Helena Dixon @NellDixon @Bookouture

Murder at Elm House
(Miss Underhay #6)
by Helena Dixon

Amazon  / B&N 

 

Kitty Underhay feels the touch… of death.

Accidental amateur sleuth Kitty Underhayis being escorted by ex-army captain Matthew Bryant on an errand of mercy, as she takes a basket of grapes to her nemesis Mrs. Craven, who is recuperating from a recent operation. But their arrival at Elm House Nursing Home coincides with the mysterious death of Lady Wellings, a long-term resident.

The woman was known to be ill, so when the police turn a disinterested ear to Mrs. Craven’s suspicion that Lady Wellings was poisoned, Kitty decides to look into the case herself. And when another invalid, the gentle Mrs. Pearson, collapses fatally in the breakfast room, it seems her suspicions are well-founded. For an institution promising health and rejuvenation, there seems to be a very low survival rate amongst the guests!

When the nurse Eloise Hibbert hints at sinister goings-on among the staff, Kitty arranges to meet her away from the home to uncover how deep the treachery lies. However, before she can make the rendezvous, Eloise meets an unfortunate end falling from the top of the building. Was she pushed by the hand of fate, or a cold-blooded killer?

Meanwhile, Matt has been following an entirely different trail of evidence, and what he finds out chills him to the bone. When Kitty fails to return from her unsuccessful meeting, it is clear she has stumbled onto a plot far more devious than they could have imagined, and into a trap laid by an unscrupulous killer…

An utterly sensational and addictive Golden Age murder mystery. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The general’s bushy brows knitted together like two angry silver beetles.

 

My Review:

 

Helena Dixon is a smooth storyteller and I enjoy her comfortable and engaging writing style. Her scenes are complete and thoroughly set and flicker through my cranium as effortlessly as a movie reel with colorful and vivid details and descriptions of texture, appearance, sound, smell, and the inner musings of the main characters as they interact. The main characters were instantly likable and appealing while her secondary characters were uniquely eccentric.

 

Most notably, Ms. Dixon’s clever arrangements of words are of the rare quality that keeps me continually engaged, amused, and ever-curious with a cracking good mystery while still being tame and gentle enough to recommend to my elderly mother’s book club of church ladies; which is admittedly an uncommon occurrence.

 

And score – I have a new addition to my Brit Words and Phrases list with mare’s nest, which Mr. Google tells me is a deliberate hoax or illusion.

About the Author

Nell Dixon was born and continues to live in the Black Country. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, a crazy cockapoo, and a tank of tropical fish. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel, and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was the winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 with her book Marrying Max, and the winner of Love Story of the Year 2010 with her book, Animal Instincts. She also writes historical 1930’s set cozy crime as Helena Dixon.

 

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Book Review: The Happy Family by Jackie Kabler @jackiekabler  @rararesources 

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The Happy Family
by Jackie Kabler

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

A mother who disappeared… 
When Beth was 10 years old, her beautiful, wild mother Alice walked out and never came back. Beth’s life since hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but now she is happy and settled, with a successful career, a loving family, and a beautiful home.

An unexpected visitor…
Then one day there’s a knock at the door. Alice has returned. Overjoyed to have the chance to rebuild their relationship, Beth invites her mother to move in.

A life that comes crashing down…
At first, everything seems wonderful. But then Beth’s friends begin to drift away, strange things start to happen at home, and rumors begin to circle about her past. As the mysterious events around Beth become darker and more dangerous, she is forced to question everything. Is somebody in her life trying to destroy her happiness? And how far will they go?

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

There will be more rain, more darkness, of course there will. But there will always be rainbows. You just have to weather the storm, and then lift your face up and look for them.

My Review:

 

This was a slowly unfolding, busy, and multi-layered tale that kept me tethered to my Kindle, although I was conflicted with the main character throughout as I found her to be annoying and rather witless. Maybe because I was a mercilessly bullied youth myself, so I had a heaping helping of antagonism toward her for being such a horrid and vicious little madam as a pubescent young teen, and then a somewhat erratic and anxious adult. Yet this infuriatingly crafty author had me ensnared and I remained edgy and curiously vexed and aggravated as I nibbling on my cuticles while reading. Jackie Kabler is a wily one.  I couldn’t seem to read fast enough.

 

About the Author

Jackie Kabler worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News, and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She is now a presenter on the shopping channel QVC. The Happy Family is her sixth book; previous novels include the international bestseller The Perfect Couple. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.

Social Media Links –

Twitter @jackiekabler

Instagram @officialjackiekabler

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Book Review: The Forever Home by Sue Watson  @suewatsonwriter @Bookouture

The Forever Home
by Sue Watson 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

 

You thought you’d always be safe there… you were wrong.

Carly had thought they’d always live there. The beautiful Cornish cliffside house they’d taken on as a wreck, that Mark had obsessively re-designed and renovated – a project that had made him famous. It was where they’d raised their children, where they’d sat cozily on the sofa watching storms raging over the sea below. It was where they’d promised to keep each other’s secrets…

Until now. Because Mark has fallen in love. With someone he definitely shouldn’t have. Someone who isn’t Carly. And suddenly their family home doesn’t feel like so much of a safe haven.

Carly thinks forever should mean forever though: it’s her home and she’ll stay there. Even the dark family secrets it contains feel like they belong to her. But someone disagrees. And, as threats start to arrive at her front door, it becomes clear, someone will stop at nothing. Because someone wants to demolish every last thing that makes Carly feel safe. Forever.

An utterly unputdownable psychological thriller about what lies are hidden in the most beautiful homes. Perfect for fans of Date Night, Gone Girl, and The Woman in the Window.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I knew then, as he stood there weak and pitiful, that however deep I dug, I couldn’t find any more love for this man. Like a thief, he’d been stealing it from me for years, piece by piece, crumb by crumb, and now all that was left was a residue of hurt, a tidal wave of anger, and all the wasted years. I was finally done with him.

 

For God’s sake, isn’t it bad enough that they make me sound like the woman scorned, bloodied by betrayal, reeking of bitterness – do they really have to keep adding two years to my age?

 

My Review:

 

This was a busy, tense, and compelling tale of family drama and suspense that was shrewdly plotted and fiendishly paced to keep me on edge. It was slippery, full of secrets, and constantly shifting with taunts and snippets of reveals and revelations. No one was as their persona seemed and few were trustworthy or even likable, and even those that were had seemed questionable. The little pea in my brain was bouncing and skidding while attempting to keep up and formulate new theories only to swiftly abandon them a few chapters later. It was cleverly contrived but I was frequently annoyed with the main character of Carly and had to wonder how she could be so naïve and trusting. But the ending was brilliant and the biggest twist of all and left me with a satisfied smirk on my face.

About the Author

Sue Watson was a journalist in national magazines and newspapers before becoming a TV producer with the BBC.

Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue explores the darker side of life, writing psychological thrillers with big twists.

Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programs from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.

http://www.suewatsonbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sue.watson.39501

https://twitter.com/suewatsonwriter

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Book Review: The Street Party by  Claire Seeber @claireseeber @Bookouture

 

The Street Party     
by  Claire Seeber

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

The party was supposed to be the highlight of the summer. If only I’d known that night would destroy our lives…

All the neighbors were laughing, drinking out of plastic glasses, and getting along. I almost felt happy. Almost forgot about the terrible argument earlier and the sinister messages I’d been receiving from a strange address all week, threatening to expose the lies behind my perfect life.

As we finished with the red and gold fireworks and welcomed everyone back to our house, I believed that everything would be okay.

But I didn’t know who I was inviting in.

I never could have imagined what would happen here, in our home, after I’d gone up to bed.

Everyone saw something different.

It’s my daughter’s word against the story the boy from down the road is telling. But how can I find out what really happened that night without everyone finding out the truth about me?

An absolutely gripping story of the secrets you would do anything to keep hidden, with a twist you just won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Big Little Lies, and The Girl on the Train.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘Education is the key to all success, after all.’ ‘I thought that was inherited wealth and liposuction.’

 

I listened to a radio interview with the lead psychiatrist from Broadmoor Prison. ‘I’d rather work with a psychopathic murderer than counsel a couple in crisis,’ she joked. ‘It’s easier.’ But I found I wasn’t laughing. Laughing was getting harder these days for some reason.

 

The realisation hit me between my eyes, like a baton coming down. Like a fist. I had a picture in my mind, then, of all the women who ended up killing their husbands, who took a kitchen knife, who didn’t even know they had made that fatal thrust, who killed through hatred and sorrow, warped by a love laced with fear, a love that knew no other place to go – and then I knew. I knew I was capable of killing him too.

 

… word to the wise: if your small boy comes home boasting of learning about his Balzac, don’t be fooled into thinking he means the French writer, as I was, when in fact he means his own ball-sack. Pride so often comes before a fall.

My Review:

 

This is a unique hybrid of women’s fiction, suspense, and family drama. This was an oddly enticing book that kept my curiosity at the brain itching level with fret-inducing and tangled storylines while cast with obnoxious characters that continually annoyed and disappointed me, yet I had to know how their knotty issues would unravel.   I was hopelessly hooked, ensnared, and unable to resist Ms. Seeber’s fiendishly clever plotting with strategic lashings of caustic wit and cunning insights. This was my first sojourn with Ms. Seeber and I plan to be a frequent flier from now on.

 

About the Author

Claire Seeber is a Londoner who started her professional life as a (bad) actress and became a documentary maker, a journalist, and a writer of, so far, psychological thrillers. The Observer said of her first novel: ‘a disturbing debut’ whilst The Guardian called it ‘powerful’…she keeps writing whilst also studying psychology and (trying to) to manage a home of slightly feral kids and animals. Luckily she’s got a very nice partner to help too.

Author Social Media Links:

 Twitter:  https://twitter.com/claireseeber

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ClaireSeeberAuthor  

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Book Review: The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary @BerkleyPub

The Road Trip
by Beth O’Leary 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

Two exes reach a new level of awkwardness when forced to take a road trip together in this endearing and humorous novel by the author of the international bestseller The Flatshare.

What if the end of the road is just the beginning?

Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since.

Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland–he’ll never get there on time by public transport.

So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart–and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My family. They’re like a bad cold I can’t shake, a dreadful pop song I can’t stop singing. How do I get rid of them?

 

Easy and casual is what I’m aiming for, and I think I come pretty close— or, at least, as close as one can get when making a huge effort to make no effort at all.

 

I don’t care about almost. I care about what really happened. Everyone’s got the potential to do the wrong thing—if we were measured that way, we’d all come up short. It’s about what you do.

 

I have a feeling that if this journey had been any longer, it would have become progressively more Lord of the Flies, and Marcus probably would have eaten somebody.

My Review:

 

This was my second exposure to the sharp insights and sparkling wit of Beth O’Leary and I am forevermore her fangirl.   Not only were the premise and storylines original, smirk-worthy, and entertaining; but this tale involved an extremely interesting and extraordinary mix of odd and eccentric secondary characters.   The character of Marcus was complicated, deeply damaged, and obnoxious, yet also quite fascinating, he was basically a train-wreck laden with hazardous materials.

 

I’ve noticed that Ms. O’Leary’s characters tend to be complex and multi-layered and while not always likable, they remain strangely endearing and uniquely appealing. These characters were on the go in multiple timelines with the current period being the most fraught with tension and peril as well as being highly eventful as the travelers faced a series of snags and challenging mishaps while make their way across England’s roadways to attend the wedding of a mutual friend. While the characters were stressed and struggling with each other as well as the journey, their adventures and problem-solving methods were quite comical and engaging. I vastly enjoy Ms. O’Leary’s writing style and tend to lose myself in her storytelling. I am already looking forward to her next contrivance.

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Beth O’Leary studied English at university before going into children’s publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being within reach of London, and wrote her first novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from work.  You’ll usually find her curled up with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

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Book Review:  THE HIDING PLACE (Detective Morgan Brookes #3) by Helen Phifer @helenphifer1 @Bookouture

 THE HIDING PLACE   
(Detective Morgan Brookes #3)
by Helen Phifer

Publication Day: June 1, 2021

The little girl peered down the dark alleyway. She knew she wasn’t supposed to take this shortcut and her mother would kill her if she found out, but it was raining and all she wanted was to get home quickly. She stepped forward, not seeing the silent figure following her into the dark passageway…

When nine-year-old Charlotte Standish goes missing from her street in the small town of Rydale Falls, it sparks a media frenzy. Detective Morgan Brookes leads a frantic hunt for the girl, but little Charlie seems to have vanished into thin air.

Chasing up a lead at Charlie’s school, Morgan is chilled to learn that this isn’t the first time a child has gone missing on this street. Another girl disappeared fifteen years ago, and Morgan is the only one who thinks the cases could be related. But in the moment that she takes her eye off Charlie’s case to investigate the link between the two girls, another child, Macy, goes missing.

Then Morgan gets the call she was dreading, Charlie’s lifeless body has been found in a local park, lying in the shadow of a large tree. Morgan has let one girl down, but she refuses to give up on Macy. Determined to find an overlooked clue, she retraces Macy’s last steps. She’s getting close to the truth when her partner, Detective Ben Matthews, is attacked outside Morgan’s home. Is a twisted killer isolating Morgan from her team? And how long does Macy have left to live? Morgan must solve the case before more innocent lives are taken…

A nail-biting, unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night, for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, and Patricia Gibney.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It’s always the dog walkers; we wouldn’t find most of our missing persons or dead bodies if it wasn’t for them. Poor bastards, imagine coming home from work to take Scamp out for his teatime poopsie and you find a dead girl under a tree. It’s enough to put you off ever walking the bloody dog again.

He paused in the hallway to take in the mess. ‘Blimey, Morgan, this looks like a violent crime scene, your cooking isn’t that bad.’

 

… whatever you do you better not leave the house without a balaclava on, you look monstrous.

 

My Review:

 

Morgan Brookes continues to be a lightning rod for trouble and I enjoy her out-of-the-box methods and good heart. This installment was nonstop activity on both the personal and professional fronts with new relationships stirring pangs of jealousy, speculation, and gossip among her coworkers.   The storylines were engaging and rippling with tension, occasional hits of wry humor, and curiosity-prickling observations, yet a dearth of solid clues. This intriguing and absorbing series has been my introduction to the expertise of Helen Phifer’s crafty scribblings, and I am annoyed at myself for being so late to the party. I have a lot of catching up to do.

 

About the Author

Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, and Beth Adams series. Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District. She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learned how to in infant school. She loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to g.o to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. She is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert, and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Helenphifer1

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

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/helenphifer1

Website:     https://www.helenphifer.com

 

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Book Review:  The Ticklemore Treasure Trove by Liz Davies @LizDaviesAuthor @rararesources  

The Ticklemore Treasure Trove
by Liz Davies

 

Amazon  / BB

Nell Chapman has always assumed that one (or the other) of her twin sons would help run her antique shop once they finished university. The boys, however, have other plans, when they announce they’re going backpacking for a year, leaving Nell feeling bereft and lonely.

Not only that, but with their father (her lying, cheating ex-husband) back on the scene and demanding half of the business, there might not be anything left for her boys to help manage when they return.

However, she hasn’t counted on the unexpected support of local landscape artist, Silas Long. And neither has she considered the possibility she might fall in love again – especially since Silas is so distant and moody, and has his own cross to bear.

Should Nell take a chance and risk her heart, or should she leave well alone? And why has Silas painted her portrait if he doesn’t feel anything for her?

A perfect romantic read for fans of Heidi Swain and Sarah Morgan

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The thoughts she was having about Riley were downright bad, evil almost. She’d had a moment last night when she’d imagined burying him under the patio. The problem was that she didn’t have a patio. And if she had one, she wasn’t sure whether she’d want his body underneath it.

 

…. when Hattie is in this mood it’s easier to give in and go along, rather than try to fight her. She’s more tenacious than a meerkat digging for a scorpion.

 

‘Barry wants me to sell up and move into an old people’s complex,’ the grumpy one said. ‘When I told him, “over my dead body”, I could have sworn he was measuring me up for my coffin.’

 

‘Her name is Tanesha, and she’s a poppet. If you ignore the tongue-piercing.’ Hattie stuck her tongue out and shuddered. ‘I try not to look at it, but I can’t help it. Anyway, she seems sensible enough for a seventeen-year-old and she can speak in proper sentences.’

 

‘Please look a bit happier,’ Juliette pleaded. ‘The pair of you look like you’ve lost a pound and found a penny.’

My Review:

 

This was a sweet and appealing tale of small village life laced with humor and featured a blossoming attraction between fellow shop owners in transition, family drama, and a villainous ex.   The writing style was engaging and flowed smoothly with endearing and likable characters and entertaining and relatable storylines that were easy to follow and engaging. I’m already looking forward to the next installment as I always enjoy my forays to Ticklemore. The character of Hattie is one of my favorite octogenarians and a force of nature; I aspire to her level of feistiness at any age.

About the Author

Liz Davies writes feel-good, light-hearted stories with a hefty dose of romance, a smattering of humor, and a great deal of love.

She’s married to her best friend, has one grown-up daughter, and when she isn’t scribbling away in the notepad she carries with her everywhere (just in case inspiration strikes), you’ll find her searching for that perfect pair of shoes. She loves to cook but isn’t very good at it, and loves to eat – she’s much better at that! Liz also enjoys walking (preferably on the flat), cycling (also on the flat), and lots of sitting around in the garden on warm, sunny days.

She currently lives with her family in Wales, but would ideally love to buy a camper van and travel the world in it.