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Wipe Out (Ryder Bay #4)

Jordan Ford

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

She’s a soft-spoken loner. He’s a wild-eyed rebel. Can two virtual strangers find a way to...

Contemporary Romance Young Adult

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Murder in the Piazza in Books

Sep 10, 2022 (Updated Sep 10, 2022)

Murder in Rome

Maggie White’s husband has been sent to Rome for two years for his job, and she’s gone along with him. After a few months of living the life of leisure, she has found a job working for Masterpiece Tours, a specialty tour company that offers painting lessons and tours of some of the museums and famous locations in the city. She’s barely started and she’s already fantasizing about ways to kill her boss, Lord Phillip, an English expat. However, she is shocked to find him shot in his office one evening. The police don’t seem that interested in figuring out what happened, so Maggie starts investigating. Can she figure out what is going on?

This was a good travel themed mystery. It brought Rome to life in such a way that I felt I was there with Maggie. Unfortunately, the pacing of the mystery was off early on, but I did appreciate how everything came together at the end. We met many of the characters in a group setting, but they became distinct people as the story progressed, so it wasn’t really an issue. If you are looking for a virtual visit to Rome with a side of murder, this is the book for you.

Kudos

Record Store Reckoning

J. C. Kenney

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

When the manager of Marysburg Music, Darcy Gaughan, returns to work after a vacation, she expects to...

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Record Store Reckoning in Books

Mar 9, 2023 (Updated Mar 9, 2023)

Murder of a Mentor

Darcy Gaughan has just returned home from a wonderful vacation. On her first day back at work, she makes a horrible discovery, the body of her boss and mentor in his office. The evidence seems to point to suicide, or at least that’s what the police think. Darcy doesn’t buy it for a minute and starts to investigate to learn the truth. Can she figure out what really happened? Or are the police right?

I couldn’t resist a music store set cozy, and this one introduced us to some great characters. I liked Darcy and the rest of the staff, and the suspects were strong as well. I appreciated the fact that they still had motives even though the victim was generally a well-loved person. I did feel the pacing was off, including a small data dump early on, but it did build to a strong climax. I also found a lot of typos in the physical copy I bought soon after it came out. The book is still very readable, but they were annoying. Things build to a logical and fun climax. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Darcy next.