Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (186)

Content

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2051 KP) rated Wreathing Havoc in Books

Sep 29, 2021 (Updated Sep 29, 2021)

Wreathing Havoc

Julia Henry | 2021 | Mystery

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Drama of Theater

Thanksgiving week has opened on a somber note since it starts with the funeral for Leon Tompkin, the owner of the local theater. Lilly Jayne and the rest of the Garden Squad aren’t the only ones in town mourning his passing, and it even brings some of the people who used to work with Leon at the theater back to town. When one of the visitors is murdered, Lilly can’t help but wonder if Leon’s death was from natural causes. If it wasn’t, are the two deaths connected?

Thanksgiving isn’t usually a setting for fall themed cozy mysteries, but I enjoyed seeing this book starting with November’s holiday, although we do get a few early Christmas activities as the book goes along. The mystery takes a little while to set down roots before it starts to fully grow, but once it does, we wind up with a wonderful mystery. I love how everything came together. Lilly and the rest of her friends in the Garden Squad are as delightful as always, and the new characters are equally likeable, making it hard for me to pick out the killer. Late autumn isn’t the best time for gardening, but we still get a bit of that and a few gardening tips over the course of the book. This is an entry that fans of the series will be thankful for.

Kudos

Son-in-Law (1993)

6.7 (3 Ratings) Rate It

Movie Watch

Country girl Rebecca (Carla Gugino) has spent most of her life on a farm in South Dakota, and, when...

Jack and Jill (2011)

6.2 (5 Ratings) Rate It

Movie Watch

Thanksgiving is usually a happy time, but ad executive Jack (Adam Sandler) dreads the holiday...

My Adoration Pal: Catholic

Lifestyle and Education

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

My Adoration Pal is your companion for Eucharistic Adoration in the Catholic Tradition. Packed with...

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2051 KP) rated A Deadly Feast in Books

May 13, 2019

A Deadly Feast

Lucy Burdette | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller

6.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Thanksgiving Wedding Bells

Hayley Snow’s wedding is just a few days away, and her list of things to do is long, as you’d expect. She’s got family coming in from out of town, Thanksgiving the day before, and contractors to get working on the houseboat she wants to move into soon after she gets married. So the last thing she needs to do is find herself embroiled in a mystery. But when a woman on a seafood tour Hayley is covering for work drops dead, Hayley is asked by the friend who owns the company to find out what happened. Can Hayley squeeze that into her busy week?

As you can see, there is plenty happening here, and I found the pages turning quickly. Unfortunately, I felt the mystery suffered as a result. It was often buried in everything else going on, and the resolution was rushed as a result. But I do love these characters, and getting to spend time with them is wonderful as always. I enjoyed getting to see a different side of a couple and have others return. Thanks to these books, I’ve fallen in love with Key West, so it was fantastic to get to visit again. It was a much-needed mini vacation. There are nine new recipes for us to try; personally, I’m most intrigued by the pumpkin pie recipe. While newcomers to the series won’t be as charmed with this outing, longtime fans will be happy to visit Hayley again here.