Hiatus

Since I like to read (obviously!), I realize that I am out of time. I find myself reading at a faster rate than I can blog. So I sad to say that I am taking a hiatus. Give me a few weeks or a month and I will be back.

Buried in a Book, A Novel Idea Mystery #1

Lila Wilkins – protagonist; Single mother just recently fired from the Dunston Herald
Trey - Lila's Son; little bit of a trouble maker.
Bentley Burlington-Duke - boss of Novel Idea Literary Agency
Althea - Lila's Mother; psychic
Jude Hudson - represents thrillers and suspense
Zack Cohen - represents Sports Writers
FloraMeriweather - represents Children's Writers
Sean (Offr. Griffiths) - police officer; love interest of Lila
Luella Ardor - represents erotic books
Marlette - murder victim
Franklin Stafford - represents nonfiction writers
Makayla - manager of the Espresso Yourself

      I started a new series this time around. So new, it only has one book in it. The series, including the first book Buried in a Book¸ is written by Lucy Arlington.
     The book starts off with Lila getting fired by the Dunston Herald Newspaper. She's a single mother with bills to pay. She looks for a job in the want ads and finds one. She applys for an intern position at the Novel Idea Literary Agency. The job entails her to read and answer queries to find the next best author. Queries are a short description of a book.
     On her first day, she meets the agents of the agency, Franklin, Jude, Zack, Flora, and Luella. She starts reading the queries and then takes lunch. When she comes back from the sandwich shop, she sees Marlette still on the couch. She goes up to see him and realizes he's not breathing. She screams and Jude comes running out. Franklin tries CPR but to no avail. They call the police and Officer Sean Griffiths shows up. He interviews Lila and then she is allowed to go home.
     As with all murder mysteries, Lila decides to try and solve the case mainly because she sensed the cops weren't doing anything about the case. This is partly true. An arson fire has taken up the police’s time. She enlists the help of Makayla and they embark on the journey to find the killer.
     As the book progresses, Lila receives two kisses, one from Jude and the other from Sean and her son decides to move onto a co-op and bypass college. As Lila gets deeper into the mystery she comes across another body. In the end the killer is caught in typical fashion with Lila’s life in danger and people coming to her rescue, including Officer Griffiths.
     All in all, I loved this book. Maybe its the detective in me or perhaps it because the book was set in North Carolina, my home state. I don’t know. I'm excited to read the next book though, partly because I want to see where the relationship between Lila and Sean go. That’s the romantic in me. This book led me to a question, "why is it that in all the mysteries I read where the women who solve the cases aren’t cops, are dating police officers?" Something to ponder. Too bad I have to wait awhile until the second book comes out. 1.5 kudos

A Toast To Murder, Wine Lover's Mystery #6

I’m now reading book 6 in the series. I almost want to cry. I’m going to miss this series. I hope she keeps writing books for this series. I read this book in less than 12 hours. I couldn’t put it down. I was excited to start reading this last book because it was time for the wedding that I have been dying for, the wedding between Derek Malveaux and Nikki Sands. This book had everything and more. All that was missing was a baby in a carriage.

The book starts off with Nikki watching Petie and Violet, Marco and Simon’s adopted baby, while Alyssa and Simon went to their final fitting for the wedding. Simon was to be the maid of honor. While on the phone with Simon, Petie dumps out Nikki’s purse to play. Nikki gets them away from the stuff and to the kitchen table for a snack. While Petie is eating his snack, Violet is playing with Nikki’s hair and is soon asleep. Nikki and Petie fall asleep soon after. When Simon comes to pick up Violet, they realize that Violet’s hands are stuck in Nikki’s hair with gum she got from Petie, who found it in Nikki’s purse. Simon has to take Nikki for a haircut. The first place she goes to makes her look atrocious. So Simon takes her to his stylist and he makes her blonder and gives her a pixie cut. She was mad and almost didn’t take to Simon. On the drive back, he informed her that Patrice was back in town and with a new husband. When she gets back she sees that Derek is back with his friends, so she slides in the side door and calls Derek to come back to the bedroom to see her hairdo. He likes it. Then he introduces her to his friends, Savannah and Tristan                        , and Lily and . Savannah turns out to be a real bitch. At the dinner, Zach Kincaid, another one of Derek’s friends, shows up. From the start of the book, Nikki has been receiving texts and letters that ask “Do you believe in fate?” And they are signed                            . Derek has also been getting them.

Fast forward and we see Nikki yell at Savannah and Patrice, Andres show back up and with none other than Renee Rothschild. The day of the wedding arrives and since Nikki’s aunt couldn’t make it, Simon got to walk her. As he walks her in, a shot rings out and Simon is shot. After Simon is carted off, Detective Robinson takes control. The gunman left two pictures. One of them had Nikki’s face x’ed out and the other one had Kenny’s face x’ed out. Kenny didn’t attend the wedding. After that, Derek and Simon went home to rest. The next day, Nikki reads the paper and sees what Renee wrote about her and goes to confront her. She finds her at Andres’ place. She confronts her. Andres can’t believe she would do a thing like that. Renee blames her for stealing Derek from her. Renee storms off and Nikki leaves too but not before Andres can profess his love to her. She gets back to the estate and sees that it’s guarded off. Nikki gets to the top of the hill and sees the coroner van. She spots Jonah and he lets Derek know he found her. Derek comes running and hugs her, fearing something had happened to her. He lets her know that Kenny’s body has been found in a wine barrel.

            At dinner with Lily and Savannah the next night, secrets come out. Savannah has been sleeping with Kenny for years, and Kenny could be the father of Lily’s oldest son.

When Simon comes home from the hospital, Simon and Derek decide to buy her out. So Derek has a little talk with her. It didn’t go as planned and he decides not to tell Nikki about it. Nikki decides that if her wedding was to happen, she was going to have to figure out who killed Kenny and who wanted her dead. Wanting the wedding to happen as well, Derek decides he’s in. Andres gives Nikki a clue. Some photos from his computer that Renee took. Simon goes with her to confront her and learns that someone snuck into the wedding and told pictures. Apparently she’s writing an unofficial biography.

As Simon and Marco are dropping off Violet with Derek and Nikki, Simon let slip that Andres gave Nikki the photos and said that he is still in love with her.

In bed that night, Derek gets mad that she didn’t tell him and Nikki gets mad that he didn’t tell her that in order for Patrice to be bought out, she wants Nikki to sign a prenuptial agreement and forfeit any money. They decide to be truthful with each other from there on out. Deciding to be honest, Derek drops a bombshell and Nikki packs her bags and decides to leave. She goes to stay at a hotel and cries. The next day she wants to get to the bottom of things and talks to Lily. Lily tells the truth and after talking with Jonah, she goes back home, where she sees Derek crying. When he sees her, he says that “they need to fix it.” He also tells her that Tristan has been arrested for stabbing Savannah.

The next day, Nikki goes to see Savannah, where Savannah pretty much tried to say that Tristan didn’t do it and she even says Nancy’s name. After doing some research she realizes that Nancy didn’t do it. As she realizes that, she also realizes that she’s not alone. She’s tied up and the killer lets her know why he did what he did. As he’s talking Derek walks through the door and the killer points a gun at him. A shot goes off just as the killer cuts Nikki’s throat.

Nikki wakes up in the hospital surrounded by Simon and Derek. Marco and Violet are in the cafeteria. Derek tells her what happened and lets her know he killed the murderer. He asks her if she still wants to get married and she says yes.

I’m not going to tell you the rest since I’ve pretty much told you the entire story. I’ll leave a little mystery to the review.

This was my favorite book of the series. Maybe it’s the romantic in me. Or maybe it’s because I’ve wanted them to be together for so long and its finally happened.

This book deserves 2 Kudos times 2. Hands down one of my favorite books. I hope she continues to write the series because I can’t get enough. Awesome Awesome job Michele Scott. Awesome!

Corked by Cabernet, Wine Lover's Mystery # 5

            This series has become one of my favorite series. It takes me on average 3 days to read each book in the series. I can’t put them down. This book was the exception. It took me six days to read it. It wasn’t because it was a bad book, quite the opposite. I just didn’t have the time.

            We start off a couple months ahead of where we left off in A Vintage Murder, with Nikki moving in with Derek. Enter Simon, who lets Nikki know that Guru Sansibaba is going to be having a seminar at the Maleveaux Winery Hotel and that Nikki is to help he and Marco with all the details and planning, and that’s per Derek. Nikki is shocked and this and when Derek comes home, she confronts him about it. He lets Nikki know that the hotel isn’t going to good and that the seminar could be good for business. She agrees to do it for the sake of the hotel. He then lets her know that he’s going to be in New York during nearly the entire seminar because of a problem with a client.

            Fast forward to the clients arriving, Sansibaba arrives with his family. His real name is Alan. He’s married to Lulu and has three kids Hayden, Sierra, and Eli. After they arrive, the Pearlmans arrive (Ruben and Rose), the Yamimotos arrive (Iwao and Mizuki), and about 30 more people arrive. After everyone arrives, they embark on a winery train ride. What should happen? Sierra Sansi finds a dead body. The dead body of Mr. Iwao Yamimoto. His throat was slit and he had a cork in his mouth.

            The case goes to Detective Jonah Robinson, who in a turnabout face, ask Nikki for help. He tells her to open her eyes and ears and repeat what she finds out. She lets him know what she’s already seen and sets out to solve the case.

            During the investigation, she finds out that Simon wants a baby, one of the seminar attendees is actually a ex-marine who’s killed before and has a dark, twisted mind, and finds the body of Mizuki, who was not Iwao’s wife but mistress. Mizuki was stabbed with a corkscrew and had a cork in her mouth.

            In between making sure the seminar goes smoothly and trying to solve the murder, Nikki decides to try and play matchmaker to Detective Robinson and Alyssa. So she decides to throw a dinner party for the Sansi family, Marco, Simon, Jonah, and Alyssa. The party goes off without any problems and Alyssa and Jonah hit it off. It seems like there might be love in the air.

While digging more into the case, Nikki is nearly killed when the murderer pulls her off a ladder, then pushes the ladder on top of her. The murderer was getting ready to seriously injure her, when Simon and Marco walk in and she screams for dear lie. The murderer runs away and Simon and Marco get Nikki to the hospital. At the hospital, she gets some sad news. I’m not going to tell you what the sad news is, I don’t want to ruin it for you.

In the end, as usual, the killer was a shocker and so was the motive. I mean I didn’t even have a reason to suspect the person as the killer. The motive was as nutty as the killer. As usual in order to catch the killer, Nikki was put into danger. Luckily Ollie came to the rescue. After the murderer was revealed, the Sansi family went home. Alan promised to be in touch so they could plan out the future plans of Sansibaba and Maleveaux merchandising.

            Derek came home to nurse Nikki. He bought her back some gifts as well. She informed him of what the doctor told her. What Derek didn’t realize surprise me. I was ecstatic. I can’t wait to read the sixth book in the series A Toast To Murder. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen with Nikki and Derek. They are so meant to be together.

2 Kudos Ms. Scott. 2 Kudos!

A Vintage Murder, Wine Lover's Mystery # 4

            So the last book left Nikki with a dilemma. She had to pick between Andres and Derek because at the end, they both professed their love for her. We last saw her jetting off to the airport to meet one of the men.

            That’s where we enter A Vintage Murder. It takes a few pages but we finally learn who Nikki picks. She picked Derek and now they are in Australia, the land down under. Whoo! I wanted her to pick Derek. Don’t get me wrong, I like Andres, but Derek and Nikki just seem to have the chemistry. They get to the hotel and were getting hot and heavy, when they were interrupted by Simon. He and Marco got into an argument and they “broke up”. Seems like all the hotels are booked up, so there goes their romantic trip.

            They head to the Hahndorf Winery, owned by Liam and Grace Hahndorf, to set up a deal to produce Australian wine with the Malveaneaux name on it. When they get there, they see that a movie is being made on the property. The movie stars Shawn Keefer and Lucy Swanson, who are top stars in the acting business, are starring in the film. Andy Burrow is also working on the movie. He’s one of Derek’s favorite stars. He has his own show on animal planet. They watch a little bit of the movie and realize that Ms. Swanson is a serious diva.

            Fast forward and Lucy ends up dead from a snake bite. Apparently the snake was in her bed and bit her when she disturbed him. They call in the medical examiner and Detective Jack Von Doussa, who calls the scene a tragic accident. Nikki however, doesn’t see it that way. She thinks someone killed Lucy and she sets to find out who and why.

            At dinner with Derek later that night, director Kane Ferris and Nathan Cooley try to convince Nikki to take over the role of Elizabeth, the role Lucy was playing. With the help of Derek, they convince her to take the part.

            The first day on the job, she brings along Simon, who is her assistant and sidekick. As they leave the hotel, they encounter paparazzi. Everyone on the set agrees she’s a lot nicer than Lucy was, especially Andy. Amy and Harv, from the wardrobe department, agree but they still treat her like crap. After her first day, she runs into more paparazzi at the hotel and her newspaper nemesis, Marne Pickett. When Derek and Nikki get back to the hotel room, they get into a huge argument and Nikki leaves and goes to stay on the set in Lucy’s old trailer.

            Fast forward and we see that Andres knows about Nikki and Derek (he’s ok with that) and see that Marne Pickett wrote a distasteful article about Nikki, saying she was a diva and a snoop.

            In the end, the murderer is caught. A serious shocker but after thinking about all the clues, I guess I could see it. The motive was a little stupid but then again murderers are crazy and the motives are usually crazy. A bombshell drops about Kane and Shawn, and Marne Pickett gets the story of a lifetime. The movie ends up being cancelled but the stars don’t care. As Nikki, Simon, and Shawn are celebrating the article Marne wrote, Derek walks in with none other than Marco. He and Simon leave to figure out their problems, while Nikki and Derek figure out theirs. Nikki however doesn’t forgive Derek so fast. He promises her that he won’t hurt her again. They then jet off on a trip Derek has planned.

            All in all, great book. Didn’t see any of the ending coming, except for both couples making up with each other. This book didn’t have a shocking ending like the previous three books, but I loved it nonetheless. I am falling more and more in love with Derek and his romantic ways. I can’t wait to see where Nikki and Derek’s relationship goes in the upcoming books. I’m excited. I think they are perfect for each other.

Silence By Syrah, Wine Lover's Mystery # 3

     So after that kiss Andres delivered to Nikki in book # 2, left me shocked, I didn't know how this book would start off or who Nikki would be with
     The beginning didn’t disappoint. We see both Andres and Derek walking toward her. She chose Andres and they’ve been dating for a few months. I got to admit, I was a little bit upset at this. I wanted her with Derek. But then again Andres doesn’t mind telling Nikki how he feels about her and even showing her how he feels.
     This mystery revolves around the winery restaurant and Georges Debussey, the cook of the restaurant. He is opening a restaurant on the winery. He’s rude to the people who work for him and flirts with all the women he’s around. Before the restaurant opens, Janie, his assistant, recommends he go to the newly opened spa and have a bath. 2 hours later, he hasn’t come out of the spa, so Marco and Simon want Nikki to check on him because they’re scared of naked bodies (Can we say ironic?). She goes in thinking he’s sleep, but he’s not. He’s been shot.
     With a new murder comes a new detective, Jonah Robinson, who wants Nikki to mind her own business and stay out of his investigation. Big Mistake! That makes her want to snoop even more.
     Throughout the book, Andres decides to open his own winery. In Spain! And he wants Nikki to join him. He’d be gone for 6 months. He’s even gone ahead and got Derek’s permission to let her go, which infuriates Nikki to no end. She told him she’d think about it. Janie turns out to have a huge secret that she lets Nikki in on. Derek meets a new woman, Renee Rothschild, the editor of the restaurant cookbook Georges and Derek were working on. The two end up going to dinner.
     While looking for the murderer, Nikki comes across some shady men and a stripper who is all to willing to help Nikki solve the case. Fearing she could be getting too close to finding out who the killer is, someone sets her cottage on fire, with her in it! Detective Robinson knows it has to do with her snooping. Fast forward a bit, and Nikki gets stuck working the spa as payback for getting Simon drunk. She ends up having to give a massage to Renee. During the massage Renee lets Nikki know why she needs a massage.
     Later that night, the murderer is revealed by none other than Nikki with the help of Detective Robinson. It was a doosey. Definitely not who I thought it was. Then again it never is. The motive wasn’t what I thought it was either. After arresting the culprit, Detective Robinson let slip that Derek asked him to keep an eye on her.
     The next day, the day Nikki needs to make her decision, she sees Renee and Derek leave for Australia and she’s a little heartbroken. I’m not going to tell you what happened because its just too shocking, but let me tell you, READ IT!!
     Another book that deserves 2 kudos. Loved it!! I’ve come to notice that the last chapter of the books in this series is just as shocking as the rest of the chapters in the books. And this book is no different. It was awesome. My jaw dropped. I’m still stunned.

Murder By The Glass, Wine Lover's Mystery # 2

I find myself loving this series more and more. I read the first book in 2 days and this one is just 1 day. Michele Scott is doing a superb job evolving this series. I can’t seem to put the books in this series down.

            The book starts off with Nikki and Isabel, Andres’ sister, talking. Isabel is upset because she just found out that the wedding she’s catering in that of Susan Jennings and Kristof Waltman. She is upset because she was dating Kristof up until a few weeks before the wedding. She is forced to cater the wedding because she signed a contract. It would also help her because she gets the publicity for her restaurant, Grapes. Catering the wedding gets worse for Isabel because Susan is a mean and bitchy woman.

            The day of the wedding arrives and Derek and Nikki were each other’s date to the wedding. While at the wedding, Nikki sees the bride arguing with her sister and then give her money. After the wedding, Nikki goes to the kitchen to check on Isabel to make sure she is OK. She was fine but busy especially with the bride being demanding. She wants more and more wine. Nikki goes to deliver the wine for Isabel. When she gets to Susan’s, what does she find? Of course, the dead body of Susan Waltman.

            The book progresses and Isabel is eventually arrested for the murder. This angers both Nikki and Andres, because they both know she’s innocent. Nikki sets out to find the real murderer. During the quest, she manages to upset Derek, become friends with the boys of summer, Simon and Marco, nearly gets run over by a car, and comes across the ghost of an old man.

            In the end, the murderer is caught, thanks to Nikki and her cunning skills. The murderer was a somewhat of a surprise. Not a big one like the previous book. However, the motive for it was a bit more shocking.

            The last two chapters of the book was the most jaw dropping moments of the book. I couldn’t believe it. The entire book was worth reading just for the last 2 chapters. I’m not going to give away any details because I want you to be as shocked.

            All in all, this book deserves 2 kudos and a lot more. This series is turning out to be one of my favorites and I have read plenty of book series. I’m excited to start reading the third book, Silenced By Syrah.

Murder Uncorked, Wine Lover's Mystery # 1

            My methods for picking out which mystery books to read is a rather strange process. One of the methods is to read a book by an author that I like, once I’m done with the book, I flip to the last pages. Often times on the back page there is a recommendation list of authors and books from the same publisher they suggest I read. I usually start there. My second method is to look at the book titles and pick the ones I like. I read the back cover and if I like what I read I check it out from the library or download it to my Kindle. These methods almost never let me down. The latter method is the method I used when I picked up Murder Uncorked by Michele Scott.

            This is the first book in the Wine Lover’s Mystery and the first book by Michele Scott that I’ve read. I’ve got to say “pretty good book”. I found myself wanting to get to the end of the book, not because it was bad, but because I wanted to see who the murderer was who I thought it was. After finishing the book, I can say I was way off base. WAYYY OFF!! Ms. Scott threw all us readers for a loop. To solve this murder, we readers need to think outside the box.

            This book revolves around Nikki Sands, who when we first meet her is a struggling actress who is currently a waitress working at an upscale restaurant. She comes across a couple, whom she starts talking to about the dishes and wines they offer. When the female counterpart of the couple goes to the ladies room, she asks Nikki to tone down her knowledge of wines. Nikki decides not to, and for her non efforts, the lady decides to get her fired by staging a spill. Rather than get fired, she quit and left. She goes to a bar and has a drink, when who should show up, but the male counterpart of the couple. He found her to apologize and buy her dinner. After a while, she learns that he is Derek Malveaux, owner of Malveaux Wines. He offers her a job working for his winery and that’s when all goes wrong.

            On her first day, she finds the body of Gabriel Asant, the winery’s winemaker and Derek’s friend. The next day at Gabriel's memorial, she finds the body of Minnie Lark, who not long before she turned up dead confessed to Nikki that she and Gabriel were lovers. The police are interested in Nikki because she keeps finding the bodies and are in interested in Derek. Along the way we meet Derek’s crazy stepmother, Patrice, his half-brother, Simon, and his ex-wife, Meredith. We also see a spark ignite between Nikki and Derek.

            I liked this book. I loved the story line and the mystery. I loved how the author puts recipes throughout the book and pairs them with different wines. That's definitely something to try. I’m admitting now that I hope Derek and Nikki get together. They would make a nice couple. Then again that could just be the romantic in me.

Matt Dunn's The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook

I just finished reading The Ex-Boyfriends Handbook by Matt Dunn. It was comical, intriguing, and so completely true. I laughed at so many scenes in the book. I’m glad someone decided to do this topic but with a man instead of a woman. I’m sick of men dumping women because the woman “apparently herself go,” when the man has also let himself go.

            When I started reading this book, I was happy that Jane left Edward because he let himself go. As I started to read more and more, I started to understand that his looks wasn’t the only problem. I mean they were dating and living together for 10 years and no ring, no proposal, and no wedding. I couldn’t care less that he was at the same job. As long as he’s bringing in a decent paycheck and paying on the bills on the time, he could do whatever career he wanted.

            As I got to know Edward, I found myself saying “WOW! Some men can really be this dense.” And “that BITCH!! How could she leave a good man like that?” Some women struggle to find a good man and she just let one go like he was trash. We start to go through all the steps with Edward to see himself get back into shape, including exercising, teeth whitening, and car buying.  As he’s transforming the outside, we see him transform the inside. He becomes a man who enhances some of his qualities that were lacking.

            This book may be called The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook and it may shed some light on what men occasionally may go through to get a woman back, but I don’t feel sorry for them. Women go through these transformations every day.

            I loved this book. I mean who wouldn’t love a book where a man loses his girlfriend because he let himself go and now had to get himself back in shape to win her back. There were a few things that I didn’t like. Like Dan, Edwards best friend. He’s a lady man and complete douchebag. He’s the man mother’s warn women to stay away from. The part I disliked about him most was the way he kept putting Edward down. I mean all people need constructive criticism but Dan crossed the line. Other than that, this book is a terrific book to get caught up in. I give Matt Dunn 2 Kudos. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Buried In Buttercream, Savannah Reid # 17

            I always love reading G.A. Mckevett’s books. I love Savannah, Dirk, and the whole gang. After the last book, which left me stunned and speechless, I couldn’t wait to read this one. And it wasn't a disappointment at all. I loved every page of it.

            I love how each of her books in the series start with a mini mystery that she solves in the first chapter. This one dealt with an arsonist who not only burned down the community center where her wedding was going to be, but also destroyed her dress, her family’s wedding attire and all the wedding decorations.

            In this book, we get to dive into the details of Dirk and Savannah’s wedding. After the first failure, they decide to try again with a wedding planner that Ryan and John hired. She turns out to get them their second wedding at a country club. That goes to hell because what happens? She turns up dead in the bridal suite. Talk about a bad omen. Unfortunately for Dirk and Savannah, every seemed to have hated Monique and that gave them plenty of suspects to work with, including a playboy, a stripper, and a funeral home owner.

            While working to solve the case, Savannah gets a little cranky and snippy around her family and friends because of what happened to her with the gunman and what’s happening with the multiple wedding tries. As time goes on, we see Tammy and Waycross get closer and we get to see the love between Dirk and Savannah.

            The story ends with them solving the case. Thankfully Savannah wasn’t put into danger this time. Probably because she was fragile from the last case. The ending was great. I almost cried. I can’t wait to read the next book when it starts off with Savannah and Dirk as husband and wife. I also want to see what becomes of Waycross and Tammy. They deserve happiness, especially after what Tammy went through.

            I only had problem with this book. Well actually two problems. For one, I thought it could have been a little longer. It only took me no time to read it. Maybe I was too engrossed in it or something. The other problem I had was I wish them capturing the culprit would have engaged a little more action than it had. As for why the culprit did it, I thought that was ingenious and hilarious. Kudos kudos kudos to G.A. McKevett.

Murder By Mocha, Coffeehouse Mystery #10

                Murder By Mocha was one of the better books in the Coffeehouse series. It’s the tenth in the series and it has the reader anticipating the eleventh book. There were twists and turns everywhere. I can honestly say I didn’t know who the killer was this time around. Then again I never know. This book not only centered on murder, but also on love. We see two couples each take their relationships to new levels and we find out about a lost love.

                The book starts off focusing on Clare, Madame, and The Blend inking a deal with Alicia, an old friend of Madame’s. The deal is for the blend to provide the coffee that is going to be in an herbal aphrodisiac that is to be sold exclusively by Aphrodite Village. However they hit a snag when Clare gets an urgent phone call from Madame telling her to come to Alicia’s hotel room immediately. Clare gets there and inside finds what looks to be a man stabbed in the chest with a knife. Clare leaves the room to question Alicia and Madame. After questioning them, she heads back to the room and sees that the body is missing and that someone is running from the room. Clare chases them and ends up nabbing the elusive hotel thief. After working with the fish squad, they realize the murder was a fake and planned to make Alicia look bad.  At the launch party, Matt shows up and with a grand surprise, their daughter Joy. Mike also shows up and drinks some of the aphrodisiac and all of sudden gets the hots for Clare. They disappear and start making out but are forced to stop because duty calls for Mike. There’s a yelling match and then in typical fashion, soon after, there’s a murder. She was an Aphrodite employee.

                After that murder, things go from bad to worse. Matt discovers that the potion has more in it than Alicia is telling everyone. He thinks it has a drug in it. And he should know since he’s a past drug user. Clare has Mike tested to find out what exactly is in it. Enter the second launch party at night on a boat. Clare helps nab a long-awaited rogue police officer and someone goes overboard.

                As if the book couldn’t get any more interesting, Clare finds the so-called “murdered man” with Sergeant Franco’s help. She also gains a few bruises in the process. There is another murder of a Aphrodite employee and a murder attempt on Clare’s life.  The murderer was a shocker and its definitely going to have some people scratching their heads in amazement. We also learn that Madame Dubois was once arrested and sat in a jail cell for refusing to talk to a grand jury.

                As for the love aspect, we see Clare and Mike’s relationship head in a new direction. Her daughter Joy’s relationship with Emmanuel Franco starts to get hot and heavy. They are pretty much an exclusive couple now, and Madame’s love from the past comes back and rekindles a flame that she thought was long ago put out.

                I loved this book. I loved that she not only focused on murder and intrigue in this book but also more on love. I’m glad that we get to see Clare happy for a change.

Explosive Eighteen

            All I can say after reading this book is “thank goodness.” Mainly because Smokin’ Seventeen was probably the worst book in the number series. With Explosive Eighteen, Janet Evanovich redeemed herself in a big way. This one had readers involved in suspense right from the beginning, with 3 of the main characters keeping a secret about their vacation from their friends, families, and us, the readers.

            This book revolves around Stephanie and her trip home from Hawaii. On the way back to Jersey, the passenger she was sitting next to slipped her a photo. When she gets home, she finds the photo in her bag and trashes it. Throughout the book, shady people come looking for her and the photo. Even the FBI comes looking for it. She manages to outsmart them and severely hurts one of them. To make matters worse, Joyce ends up moving in with Stephanie until she agrees to Joyce out of a tight situation. While trying to avoid all of the idiots and Joyce, Stephanie tries to capture her skips (one keeps stealing her car multiple times), repair her relationship with Morelli, and figure out what all the commotion is about the mysterious photo.

            As usual with any book in the series, there are all shenanigans. Lula falls in love with one of Stephanie’s skips because she drank a “love” potion meant for Stephanie, Stephanie goes through multiple cars because they were either stolen or messed up, and everyone heads to the funeral home for a drama infested funeral.

            By the end of the book, we learn what really happened down in Hawaii, why the photo was important, and if Joyce really did commit murder. All in all, this was perhaps one of the most comical and drama filled books in the series in a long time. I hope she keeps going in the up direction because now we know how good the books can be.

Holiday Grind, Coffeehouse Mystery #8

      This was a good holiday mystery. We start off as usual, seeing the story from the eyes of the killer. He’s getting ready to kill a man dressed as Santa. He does the deed and walks away unscathed. Then the book takes a warm turn and we start the book off with Clare and her barista gang trying to create Christmas Lattes for the Blend’s Christmas Menu. They finally create some flavors and decide to have a tasting party so that they can lower the number of drinks to a managable amount.

     The tasting party starts off without a hitch. Matt comes, without Breanne (already trouble in paradise, perhaps). As Clare goes to lock back up behind Matt, a tall redhead storms in and demands to be served. Clare said no, the lady persists, and then storms out with a huff.  Clare soon realizes that Alf Glockner is missing from the party. He was key to the party because the Fa-La-La-Lattes were his idea. She gives him an hour and then goes looking for him. She looks at the White Horse Tavern and finds he’s already left. She finally finds him dead next to a dumpster. She calls the police and then searches for clues.  As she heads back to the scene, she is knocked to the ground by a fleeing suspect. After she receives help, she comes head to head Sergeant Emmauel Franco, aka General Franco. They have a heated argument about the crime scene, the murder, and what he plans on doing about the investigation.  After the argument she goes home to recuperate.
     After she recovers and after some pleading from Alf’s daughter, Vicki Glockner, she decides to try and find Alf’s killer. She decides to start with a little peeping and ropes Esther into helping. She starts at the complex where his body was found. She goes up the rusty old fire escape and when she gets to the third story ledge, she finds Alf’s missing Santa coat button. She looks into the window of the ledge’s owner and spots a badge with Jason Young’s name on it. As she heads back down, she gets yanked and thrown into a trash can by the building’s security guard. Matt finds him and beats him up. The police pull her and instead of arresting the guard, they arrest Matt and Clare.
     Perhaps one of the funniest parts of the movie was when the lawyer for the apartment building, Chip Castle, said he was going to press charges against both of them. Clare does a little bit of bluffing about the safety of the building and the guard. He ends up dropping the charges against Matt and Clare, much to Sergeant Franco's displeasure.
     Clare also manages to get tossed off the ferry after a meeting with a suspect. Thanks to Madame, Clare gets into a highly popular husband and wife show. The show's producer is Jason Young. While there, Clare sees that Jason and the wife host has a "connection" with each other.
     At the funeral, Clare finds out why Alf changed from his drinking ways. It was because of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. While there, Clare notices that Alf Glockner's roommate, Karl Kovic, isn't there. So she tells Matt to meet her at Glockner's apartment. Once in there,  they find Karl dead. She begins searching for clues and then calls the police.
     After calling the police, the story gets really interesting. We even get to meet Mike's ex-wife. As for the rest, your just going to have to read it.
     All in all, this was a good book. Their were many surprises in this book. I'm glad the author dives more into Mike's personal life. It was great to finally see how loopy his ex-wife really is. The books in this series continue to get better and the characters are definitely stepping into their own. Keep the books coming in this magnificent series.