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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Knot on Her Life in Books

Apr 17, 2023  
Knot on Her Life
Knot on Her Life
Mary Marks | 2019 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Is There Danger in the Neighborhood?
Martha Rose’s efforts on her first granddaughter’s quilt is interrupted by her neighbor Sonia’s new foster daughter, Poppy. Poppy thinks something is wrong with Sonia, and Martha quickly confirms it. While Sonia recovers in the hospital, Martha gets to know Poppy better, and learns that Poppy’s parents were both killed a few months ago and the killer hasn’t been caught. Martha tries to get someone from Poppy’s family to give her a permanent home, but she also begins to wonder if Poppy knows more about her parents’ death than she realizes. Might she be in danger?

This is a unique premise for a mystery, and I enjoyed seeing how it unfolded. There was plenty going on here, and it kept me engaged the entire way through. Unfortunately, there is a pretty big why that is never explained, and another aspect of the ending felt a little needlessly harsh to me. It was great to see all the characters again and find out exactly what is going on with them, and the new characters were interesting as well. Fans new and old will be kept turning pages with delight until they reach the end.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Birder, She Wrote in Books

Aug 18, 2023 (Updated Aug 18, 2023)  
Birder, She Wrote
Birder, She Wrote
Donna Andrews | 2023 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who Has the Sting of a Killer?
The NIMBYs (not in my backyard) are at it again, this time complaining about the bees that the farmer next to their neighborhood is keeping – something he’s had since long before their subdivision was created. But before Meg Langslow can go over and attempt to play peacemaker, she is going to help her neighbor attempt to find a long abandoned African American cemetery. Their expedition ends when they find a very modern dead body in the area – that of the NIMBY ringleader. Since he wasn’t popular even among his neighbors, the suspect list in long. Will Meg figure out what happened?

It's always a pleasure to drop back into Meg’s world. Her family and friends make me smile, and this book was no exception. The plot tries to work a bit too much into the story; it works, but it could have used a trim. It doesn’t matter because I was along for the ride up until the end. The suspects fit well into Meg’s world, and I got some laughs along the way. This is a book that will please fans old and new.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Full Bodied Murder in Books

Jun 6, 2019  
Full Bodied Murder
Full Bodied Murder
Christine M. Blum | 2017 | Mystery
5
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Uneven Debut
Annie “Halsey” Hall has moved from New York City to Southern California, buying a house on Rose Avenue just a couple miles south of Santa Monica. She’s excited about her new neighborhood, except for her snooping next-door neighbor, and pleased to have been invited to join the Rose Avenue Wine Club. On her way to her first meeting, Halsey and her puppy, Bardot, stumble into the wrong house and find a dead body in the backyard. Even though Halsey has never met the victim, the police consider her their prime suspect. With the help of her new friends, Halsey begins to investigate. But with everything happening in the neighborhood, will they be able to figure out what really happened in time to clear Halsey?

Even though I don’t drink wine, I decided to give this book a try after meeting the author. I wanted to like it since it is set in Southern California, and I got a kick out of seeing the characters going to places I’m familiar with. However, I found the book was just a bit too unfocused to really work well. I thought there were timeline issues early on until I began to realize that the book takes place over several months. This wasn’t obvious early on, so maybe it helped explain some of the timeline issues I thought I saw. While Halsey is developed as a main character, many of the rest are still fairly flat. They can certainly develop as the series progresses, so I’m not too concerned about that yet. The book has a couple of interesting sub-plots, but they take over at times, and too much happens in them over the course of the book. It would have been better to stretch them out over the course of several books. The mystery plot has a lot going on, but it worked to keep me guessing until the very end. However, one key piece of evidence made me shake my head. It would have made more sense if the book took place over a week instead of many months. There is quite a bit of foul language for a cozy, even compared to some of the cozies and traditional books I read that are pushing the boundaries. Overall, this reads more like an early draft that needed some polish to find the gem inside, because there is certainly a gem here. Since I already have the second book, I might find some time to read it to see if the issues resolve themselves as the series progresses.
  
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Coldest Winter Ever in Books

May 10, 2018  
TC
The Coldest Winter Ever
Sister Souljah | 2006
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Winter Santiaga is a girl whose whole world gets flipped upside down in a matter of moments. Winter thinks she is living the high life. She dresses in the best clothes, dates whoever she wants and gets whatever she asks for.

Her father, who goes by just Santiaga, is a big deal in the neighborhood. Mostly everyone is on his payroll and nothing goes down without his knowledge. When the Santiaga's move out of Brooklyn and to Long Island, things take a turn for the worse. With both of her parents arrested and her sisters wards of the state, Winter does all she can to survive.

Winter is a bitch!! I hate to use that word, but she really is. All of these people who try to help her, but she can't see the help for the all mighty dollar. She wants to follow in her father's footsteps and make that quick money, but it's not going to work for her the way that she is hoping.

Will Winter be able to survive and make it for herself? Will she be able to save her mother from the thing that used to keep her family together? Will she get the man she has always wanted?