Myth and Magic
by Mae Clair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Coldcreek is your typical small town, with the one ultra wealthy family who tries to take care of everything in the town, with some people liking it and others disgruntled.Stone Willow Lodge in Coldcreek is a pet project of the Breckwood family, but lately things haven't been going according to plan. Lodge manager Veronica Kent, it being taunted and haunted. Caith is a private investigator and a Breckwood, even though he has changed his name, he has scars of his own that haven't healed. The family calls him in to find out what is going on at Stone Willow Lodge, and in the process he is forced to confront his past and the tragedy that shaped his life. Myth and Magic doesn't have any traditonal magic going on, just the chemistry between Roni and Caith, but it explains the childhoods of the friends. Author Mae Clair writes a compelling novel that has you crying and laughing all the way to the end.
Myth and Magic, as a title, had me expecting more paranormal in the story, but it is more a feeling, and upbringing, a way of life in a small town that was once idyllic but turned tragic due to greed. Money is the root of all evil it has been said, and that is the root of all that is evil in this story as well. Author Mae Clair weaves a realistic story that you can imagine being lifted from the headlines of the current newspaper. That realism adds to the magic of the story and has you turning pages as fast as you can to see what happens. Can the wounds of years ago be healed and a family rebuilt? You'll have to read for yourself to find out.
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Dying to Read (The Cate Kincaid Files, Book 1)
by Lorena McCourtney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cate is helping her Uncle Joe out as a Private Investigator while she is looking for a job. She thought she wanted to be a teacher, but found out that she is no good at teaching kids, so a series of dead-end, short term jobs have lead her to Uncle Joe. This is one job that she actually doesn't want to mess up.
What starts out as a routine locate job, turns upside down when she finds a dead body instead, and a whole book club full of people who wanted the lady dead! Cate just can't seem to let this one go, even though her job was to find an employee of the lady, the lady's death has overtaken her and she just can't seem to stop herself from wanting to find the answers.
A new cozy mystery series about a semi-young, almost 30, single gal who has no idea where she is going in life, when an offer to help her Uncle Joe turns into so much more. Maybe being a Private Investigator was her calling all along.
Aside from the murder mystery, you have an extremely slow moving possible relationship between Cate and either her ex-fiance or the new, knight in shining armour guy. You also have a clean cut gal who prays when in trouble and attends church every Sunday.
Very clean story - no bad language or sexual scenes. Does include references to religion and a belief and faith in a God. I found it to be an interesting story, although I know some readers will not enjoy the faith, others will. It is a matter of personal preference, and so I mention that it is included so you know going into the story.
Author +Lorena McCourtney has four cozy mystery series available to read. The Cate Kincaid Files, The Ivy Malone Mysteries, The Julesburg Mysteries, and the Andi McConnell Mystery.
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The Advocate's Betrayal
by Teresa Burrell
My rating: 4.2 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
As a lawyer in juvenile court, Sabre Brown's job is to represent the children that are being or have been removed from their parents care. As their advocate she is a tough cookie and good at what she does, along with her best friend Bob. When she get's and early morning phone call from her friend Betty that her husband John is dead, and then when Betty is arrested for his murder, Sabre takes a crash course in legal matter to represent her friend. No matter what she asks, Betty is hiding something. The Advocate's Betrayal is the story of what happens when the people you think you know are not actually the people you know at all, everyone has secrets, some of them kept for good reasons and others not so good. Author Teresa Burrell gives the readers a second book in the series of Sabre's life focusing on the juvenile court and the legal system, with lots of twists and turns. There are even a couple of side cases thrown in to make it even more interesting.
The Advocate's Betrayal, as a title tells you that someone is going to do something wrong to Sabre, so from the being of the book, you are looking at everyone you meet with a critical eye. Some are people from the last book and some are new. You don't know if they are in her personal life or the court cases, so you are really looking at everyone. It makes the book that much harder to put down. Author Teresa Burrell does a wonderful job of bringing to life the people in the book, the ones we like, the ones we don't care for and the ones we hate! Just as in the first book, she takes and twists the plot together, intertwining characters that shouldn't be connected in the least together in the most of intimate of ways. As a legal suspense novel, you get the police, the lawyers, the private investigator and the mob in this book. It a great story for all readers. There is some off scene sex and violence, but nothing graphic.
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The Case of the Killer Divorce (A Jamie Quinn Mystery, #2)
by Barbara Venkataraman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is about a year or more time gap between the first book in the Jamie Quinn Mystery series and this book, as she mentions her mom passed away two years ago in this book. In the original book, her mothers passing was only within the last six months.
Jamie is back at her family law practice and she is representing a woman who is trying to leave her husband. When the husband is found dead, the woman is the prime suspect that DA Nick has his sights set on, and of course Jamie is sure it is not her client and she is the first to call DA Nick to let him know what she thinks.
With the help of Duke, and Susan Doyle, who is no longer a Public Defender but in private practice, the threesome once again work their magic to find the kill and get to the truth of the matter.
In a backstory, Jamie has never known her father and she has asked Duke to look for him, he gives her a name, then she decides to stop. When she asks her Aunt Peg, she is given a letter from her mother that explains everything, things she never knew, with that information and the presentence of Grace her the search for her father continues.
This is definitely a great book! You will find yourself caring about the clients just as Jamie does, wanting to find out who did what and solve the case so that the right person goes to jail. When you see her mothers letter you will cry at the injustice of the things that happened to allow Jamie to have to grow up without a father.
The book is well written and compelling, you become a part of the story and want things to work out the best possible way. So looking forward to the book in the series!
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Death by Didgeridoo (A Jamie Quinn Mystery, Book 1)
by Barbara Venkataraman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Death by Didgeridoo is the first in a new Cozy Mystery series called the Jamie Quinn Mystery Series by author Barbara Venkataraman.
Jamie Quinn is a lawyer, family law that is, you know custody, divorces and those types of things. She knows nothing about criminal law and even less about murders. She is still trying to gather herself after her mother's death six months ago, when she gets the phone call that her cousin is at the police station on suspicion of murder. Her cousin Adam has Asperger's Syndrome and would never hurt anyone, so this has her and her aunt in a panic, now what to do.
With the help of her best friend Grace, a securities lawyer and Duke, a private investigator that she represented in a divorce, Jamie sets out to find out who the real murderer is and get her cousin off the hook, before the pretty-boy District Attorney has him tried and locked up without blinking an eye.
The story is cute and well written. There is great information on dealing with Adam and his Asperger's. There is also some great music information in this book and it deals with a death by a musical instrument. The investigative work that Jamie herself undertakes is pretty simple and most people could do, the more complicated stuff Duke handles, but over all it is a cute story that is a quick read. It will have you wanting more!
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