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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2518 KP) rated Knot in My Backyard in Books

Feb 5, 2020  
Knot in My Backyard
Knot in My Backyard
Mary Marks | 2014 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder Hits Close to Home
Martha Rose’s neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California used to be peaceful and quiet until a local private school built a baseball stadium in the open space that used to boarder her street. She and her neighbors have tried to fight it, even after it was built, but no one is willing to listen to them. While out for a walk one morning, Martha finds the dead body of Dax Martin, the school’s baseball couch. The police begin to quickly focus on her neighbor Ed Pappas, who had a fight with the victim recently, but Martha doesn’t believe he is guilty. Can she prove it?

Quilting doesn’t play as big a part of this mystery as it did the first in the series, but it is still an active part of Martha’s life, as are her quilting friends. It’s hard to complain since this book is filled with a strong mystery. Martha strikes out early, which only adds to her drive to solve things, and makes the solution more satisfying for us when she does. Some of Martha’s attitude and actions early on were a little frustrating for me, but it made me appreciate the character growth we saw in her later in the book. The rest of the cast are great, and I enjoyed spending time with them, returning characters and new characters alike. When I read the first book in the series, I found some needless political comments off putting, but they were absent in this book. The plot does bring up a few political issues as a natural part of the plot, but they are kept in the background here – the book never stops to peach and they only come up very briefly. As a Los Angeles resident, I enjoyed seeing places I know pop up in this book, especially a few key scenes that took place near where I played ultimate Frisbee for years. Overall, this is a fun second mystery that will please cozy mystery readers.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2518 KP) rated The Dogfather in Books

Oct 14, 2020  
The Dogfather
The Dogfather
Sparkle Abbey | 2018 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Exes, Handbags, and Murder
Mel Langston is surprised when her ex-fiance, Grey Donovan, asks to use her Bow Wow Boutique as a base for an undercover assignment. She reluctantly agrees, hoping they can get along at least until the surveillance is over. Then a murder takes place down the street at the high-end handbag store, and Grey becomes a suspect. Mel jumps in, hoping to clear him before his career with the FBI is ruined. Can she do it?

Fans of the series will be delighted with the latest entry. It has the usual assortment of characters, and I don’t just mean series regulars. The cast run from wacky to realistic, but somehow, they all fit into the world of these books, and they create plenty of laughs along the way. Yes, that includes Betty, Mel’s assistant, who walks the fine line of making us laugh without being annoying. The plot is good, with plenty of twists and suspects to keep us engaged. The ending does seem a bit rushed, but that’s a minor complaint. This appears to be the final book in the series, at least for now, and the authors do a great job of wrapping up ongoing storylines. This series isn’t for everyone, but if you want a light, wacky, and fun mystery, you’ll be glad you gave it a chance.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2518 KP) rated A Chorus Lineup in Books

Jul 31, 2020  
A Chorus Lineup
A Chorus Lineup
Joelle Charbonneau | 2014 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Competitions Are Murder
The high school show choir Paige Marshall has been coaching has been invited to the national finals in Nashville. She expects that only complication will be the career making audition back home in Chicago she’s been invited to in the middle of the competition. But that’s before someone sabotages all the team’s costumes and band instruments. Then a murder takes place. Can Paige figure out what is going on?

It's been years since I read the first two books in this series, but I was soon back in Paige’s world thanks to reminders in the text about what had happened before. Some of them do get spoilery, so keep that in mind if you are interested in the series. Thanks to the references, I was able to fully appreciate the character growth in the regulars we saw here. The new characters were just as strong. The plot was good and kept me guessing. I was surprised by a sub-plot that took over in the final quarter, completely slowing down the momentum. But we are then flung back into the mystery for a climax that had me turning pages while it successfully wrapped everything up. It also wrapped up these characters’ arcs, so fans of this series will be able to walk away satisfied with the time we’ve spent with them.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2518 KP) rated A Christmas Candy Killing in Books

Oct 19, 2022  
A Christmas Candy Killing
A Christmas Candy Killing
Christina Romeril | 2022 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sweetly Festive Debut
Identical twins Alex and Hanna have made a life for themselves in a small Montana town, where they have opened Murder and Mayhem, a combination mystery bookstore and chocolate shop. In the time they’ve been here, Alex has become friends with Jane, one of their neighbors. Jane invites Alex over to view a true crime show because she believes that one of their neighbors is the killer still at large at the end of the episode. But when Alex arrives, she finds Jane’s dead body. The police think it was a robbery gone wrong, but Alex wonders if Jane was really onto something. Can she find the killer?

Between the culinary cozy theme and the Christmas setting, I have to give this debut a chance. I’m glad I did. The first couple of chapters had a bit too much background on Alex and Hanna, but once the murder happened, things picked up. I appreciated how the clues were folded into the story. Not that I figured out the killer using them. The characters are good, but they could be a little stronger. Likewise, the setting is good, but could be a little stronger. Both of these are minor complaints since I am definitely ready to visit my new friends and this location again soon. I enjoyed the Christmas timing as well. This is a delicious debut.