Search
Search results
Merge Farm!
Games
App
Welcome to the world of Merge Farm! the newest farming and merge game from Gram Games. Merge Farm!...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2613 KP) rated Digging Up the Remains in Books
Aug 26, 2020
Which Story Got a Reporter Killed?
Fall has arrived in Goosebush, Massachusetts, and Lilly Jayne is busy with the two weekend fall festival. Kicking things off is a 10K through town. Lilly and her friends Delia and Roddy are making sure the path is clear before the race starts when the find the body of reporter Tyler Crane partially buried in a pile of leaves. Tyler hasn’t been in town long, but he’s made several people upset as he has dug to uncover family secrets. He was teasing new stories coming soon. Was one of those the reason he was murdered?
I really enjoyed getting to visit these characters again. Lilly leads a large and diverse cast of characters, and they are all charming. They are also distinct, so it is easy to keep them all straight. The book reintroduces us to the characters and town while introducing Tyler and the suspects. The pacing is a bit off early on, but the time is being put to good use as it sets up the mystery. Once Tyler is found dead, we are off with suspects as strong as the main characters and many secrets for Lilly and the others to uncover before we reach the climax. Meanwhile, we get some advancement in storylines introduced in earlier books. I suspect we’ve got some seeds that will bloom in future books here as well. I wish I could garden as well as the characters in this series, but I can dream while I read these fun mysteries.
I really enjoyed getting to visit these characters again. Lilly leads a large and diverse cast of characters, and they are all charming. They are also distinct, so it is easy to keep them all straight. The book reintroduces us to the characters and town while introducing Tyler and the suspects. The pacing is a bit off early on, but the time is being put to good use as it sets up the mystery. Once Tyler is found dead, we are off with suspects as strong as the main characters and many secrets for Lilly and the others to uncover before we reach the climax. Meanwhile, we get some advancement in storylines introduced in earlier books. I suspect we’ve got some seeds that will bloom in future books here as well. I wish I could garden as well as the characters in this series, but I can dream while I read these fun mysteries.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2613 KP) rated Murder Most Fermented in Books
May 23, 2020
Halsey Discovers Where the Bodies are Buried
Annie “Halsey” Hall is enjoying her new life in Mar Vista, California, although she’s not so sure about her birthday present from the women in the Rose Avenue Wine Club – a plot of dirt in the community garden. She’s hoping to turn it into a small vineyard, but her first day digging in it turns up the body of a missing elderly neighbor. With the police again looking at Halsey as a suspect, she and her friends begin to try to find the killer. Will they succeed?
I had a mixed reaction to the first book in the series when I read it last year, but since I already had book two, I decided to give this one a chance. The plotting is better and more focused here with sub-plots that stay in the background. I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out what was going on, although one part of the plot was dropped. The rest reached a logical conclusion. Once again, the story takes place over several weeks, but I was expecting that, so I wasn’t nearly as confused by the timeline. Unfortunately, the characters are still thin outside of Halsey and one or two others. I love the Southern California setting; those always appeal to me. If you enjoy wine, you’ll enjoy the wine list and pairings at the end of the book. I wanted to like this book more than I did, although there were definitely things that appealed to me, and it does show the author is improving.
I had a mixed reaction to the first book in the series when I read it last year, but since I already had book two, I decided to give this one a chance. The plotting is better and more focused here with sub-plots that stay in the background. I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out what was going on, although one part of the plot was dropped. The rest reached a logical conclusion. Once again, the story takes place over several weeks, but I was expecting that, so I wasn’t nearly as confused by the timeline. Unfortunately, the characters are still thin outside of Halsey and one or two others. I love the Southern California setting; those always appeal to me. If you enjoy wine, you’ll enjoy the wine list and pairings at the end of the book. I wanted to like this book more than I did, although there were definitely things that appealed to me, and it does show the author is improving.
The Hierarchies
Book
Your Husband is the reason for your existence. You are here to serve him. You must not harm your...
Fruits Bible
Food & Drink and Catalogs
App
======================== *** 50% Off Today!! *** New Features: Now supports iCloud ...
The Bones She Buried (Detective Josie Quinn #5)
9.3
Rate It
Book
Josie works until her arms ache, until the paramedics arrive and pull her gently away from the...
Merissa (14102 KP) rated Braided Dimensions (Braided Dimensions #1) in Books
Apr 15, 2024
BRAIDED DIMENSIONS is the first book in the series of the same name. We meet Kay, an ex-professor now working in a job she dislikes. She is a loner and drifting. One Halloween, she goes out and enjoys herself. When she decides to have her own garden patch, she meets the same people and now has her own little group. On her way home from the Halloween night out, something strange happens to her, leading her down a rabbit hole into ancient Wales.
One thing I need to mention first... it is SO good to read something set in Wales rather than Ireland! I have nothing against Ireland, but there are other Celtic countries out there, although you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
This was an enjoyable story that took place both in the present and the past. I love the group of friends Kay has. It is full of paganism and mysticism, although written as both specialised and general day-to-day knowledge. The blending of the two lives is well-written, giving the reader Kay's sense of confusion as she tries to understand what is happening.
This is definitely a series so be prepared to be left with questions at the end, which will leave you wanting more.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 15, 2024
One thing I need to mention first... it is SO good to read something set in Wales rather than Ireland! I have nothing against Ireland, but there are other Celtic countries out there, although you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
This was an enjoyable story that took place both in the present and the past. I love the group of friends Kay has. It is full of paganism and mysticism, although written as both specialised and general day-to-day knowledge. The blending of the two lives is well-written, giving the reader Kay's sense of confusion as she tries to understand what is happening.
This is definitely a series so be prepared to be left with questions at the end, which will leave you wanting more.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 15, 2024
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2613 KP) rated Easter Basket Murder in Books
Jan 25, 2024 (Updated Jan 25, 2024)
Here’s to a Deadly Easter
Kensington has called on their go to trio for three new holiday themed mysteries, this time featuring Easter. Up first, Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone gets involved with a promotion for the local businesses leads to the theft of a golden Easter egg. Then Lee Hollis’s Hayley Powell finds the Easter Bunny dead at a community Easter egg hunt. Finally, Barbara Ross’s Julia Snowden’s Easter on the family island off the coast of Maine is interrupted when she finds a man in coat tails dead in the garden. Then, a few minutes later, he’s gone.
All three stories have fun with the theme, and present it in some clever ways. As is often the case, I found the first story the weakest, but the mysteries in the other two stories are strong. Still, I was engaged no matter which story I was reading. All three have some great Easter elements that made me feel like it was spring. And I love the community aspects we get. I’m only a regular reader of Barbara Ross’s series, and I was interested in the updates we got on the characters there. If you are looking for some new dishes to serve this year, you’ll be interested in the recipes we get with the second and third story. Each story is roughly 100 pages, so you can read them in a sitting or two. Overall, this is a fun anthology you’ll be happy hopped on to your to be read pile.
All three stories have fun with the theme, and present it in some clever ways. As is often the case, I found the first story the weakest, but the mysteries in the other two stories are strong. Still, I was engaged no matter which story I was reading. All three have some great Easter elements that made me feel like it was spring. And I love the community aspects we get. I’m only a regular reader of Barbara Ross’s series, and I was interested in the updates we got on the characters there. If you are looking for some new dishes to serve this year, you’ll be interested in the recipes we get with the second and third story. Each story is roughly 100 pages, so you can read them in a sitting or two. Overall, this is a fun anthology you’ll be happy hopped on to your to be read pile.
A Slay Ride Together with You
5.0
Rate It
Book
The slay bells are ringing in this festive seventh installment of national bestselling author Vicki...
