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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2540 KP) rated Murder Most Scenic in Books

Oct 16, 2025  
Murder Most Scenic
Murder Most Scenic
Liz Milliron | 2015 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Meet Jim and Sally in These Short Stories
This volume collects the six short stories that Liz Milliron wrote with her Laurel Highlands characters before the first novel came out. This is where we first meet Trooper Jim Duncan and assistant district Attorney Sally Castle. And this is where they first meet as well, so we get to watch as their relationship slowly develops. Along the way, they find the killer of a politician’s wife, figure out who killed a baseball player, and solve the case of a brewery contestant murdered the day before the contest. There’s also one story that focuses on Deputy Coroner Tom Bruns, a supporting player in the series.

I don’t read short stories often enough, so it was nice to do so with this collection. A couple of them were a little obvious, but several of them fooled me with the final twist as well. I was glad to finally get the backstory to Jim and Sally and watch the early stages of their relationship. Do keep in mind these aren’t the cozies I often read. Fans of the novels who want to see how the characters first met will be glad they picked up this book. And if you haven’t met the characters yet, don’t wait. Now’s the time to jump in.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2540 KP) rated Fallen Star in Books

Nov 26, 2025 (Updated Nov 26, 2025)  
Fallen Star
Fallen Star
Lee Goldberg | 2025 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Body in a Barrel
LA County Sheriff Detective Eve Ronin and her partner are called to the scene of a body found in the Malibu Lagoon. Of course, it couldn’t be a body floating in the water. That would be too easy. In this case, the body was found floating in a fifty-five-gallon drum. What’s even more shocking is that Eve recognizing the victim. With his ties to some of the most powerful people in the county, can she find the killer without getting impacted by the politics of the case?

This book does contain some heavy spoilers for earlier stories in the series by necessity, but there is enough background you could jump in here. And what a wild ride it is. The plot spins in some unexpected directions, but I believed it all on the way to the logical climax. The characters are a little thin, but I do care about them. And I appreciate the depth we did get for Eve. The banter between the characters was fun, and the locker room humor was kept to a minimum. The violence was a little more than in the books I typically read. I’m ready for the next already, and fans of the series will be glad they picked this one up.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2540 KP) rated Night of the Living Bread in Books

May 28, 2025  
Night of the Living Bread
Night of the Living Bread
Mary Lee Ashford | 2025 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Can Sugar Rise to the Occasion and Find Another Killer?
Sugar Calloway and Dixie Spicer are working on a new project for the Jameson County Historical Society. It’s a cook book focused on various breads. It may sound a little narrow, but they already have several ideas for subcategories, and the pair are excited about it. Their contact for the project is Marla Mercer. But Sugar’s appointment one morning never happens since she finds Marla dead on the office floor, a bread knife in her back. Everyone seems shocked by the murder, insisting that Marla was well loved. So who would want to kill her?

It’s been a few years (and a publisher change) since we got the previous book in this series. I was glad to see it back and was easily able to slip back into Sugar and Dixie’s world. It was great to reconnect with the characters, and spending time with them made me smile. The suspects seemed nice as well, at least at first. I did figure parts of the mystery out early, but I didn’t have it all put together until the climax. There are a couple of subplots that helped kept me engaged. We also get five recipes at the end of the book. Fans will be just as happy as I am to revisit these characters.