FOWL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER by J. R. Ripley_Review

Fowl of the House of Usher by J.R. Ripley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: FOWL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER by J. R. Ripley

I would have read this for the title, but fortunately I enjoyed the story, very much, and am reading more from this author. J. R. Ripley (a pseudonym) is a quite prolific author who writes under a variety of names, always winningly, with a very "down-home," emotionally realistic, human touch. His characters are easy "to snuggle up to" and cheer on.

This mystery is set in Ruby Lake, North Carolina, in the mountains, a scenic tourist destination. Our protagonist, Amy Simms, operates Birds 'n' Bees, a bird lovers supply store. Accepting a dinner invitation from ex-boyfriend Narcissist Craig, she and best friend Kim drive up-mountain to the Usher House, a seldom Inhabited 19th century residence, purported to be haunted.

Haunted or not, Usher House is seriously spooky. Snowed in, without power or means to escape--the guests are dropping like flies in winter, with no explanation. Shades of Agatha Christie! Visit for dinner--but never go home.

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THE BATTERED BODY by Ellery Adams_Review

The Battered Body by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE BATTERED BODY (Supper Club Mystery #5) by Ellery Adams

Ellery Adams is my "Number One" author of Cozy Mystery. I read her novels in one or two sessions, but meanwhile I consume a virtual nine-course dinner, from mystery to plot twists to denouement "I didn't see coming," from a veritable range of human emotions including love, friendships, anger, resentment, jealousy, ambition, and more, to clever conclusions that satisfy me as a reader.

THE SUPPER CLUB MYSTERY Series focuses on the tiny Blue Ridge community of Quincy' s Gap. Native son James Henry returned after his unexpected divorce, resigning his professorship at the College of William and Mary and taking on the position of Library Director. James struggles with weight, and together with four friends, formed the Supper Club, to learn healthy consumption and to support each others' weight loss. Very quickly the Fab Five discover other shared talents: they are all effective amateur sleuths!

In THE BATTERED BODY, James' father is remarrying after some years of widowerhood, and his about-to-be bride invites her estranged sister, a celebrity cook, to town for the wedding. "The Diva of Dough" is an astringent personality, highly self-centered, with an acerbic tongue, long estranged from family members. In fact, she's a "perfect" target of many she encounters, including family members, employee, and virtually everyone.

Ms. Adams delivers an exciting and heartfelt locked-room mystery, and several very unexpected surprises along the way.

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COVER REVEAL__ONE FETA IN THE GRAVE by Tina Kashian

ONE FETA IN THE GRAVE

The 3rd Book in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery Series

With a sand castle contest and live music, Ocean Crest bids a bittersweet farewell to tourist season. Summer will return next year . . . but Archie Kincaid won’t. The full-of-himself store owner has been fatally shot, soon after a screaming match with Lucy’s best friend. Katie’s far from the only suspect, though, since Archie had some bitter rivals—as well as some relationships no one knew about. It’s up to Lucy to look into some seedy characters and solve the case before the wrong person gets skewered . . .

Recipes included!

 

As summer comes to an end in her Jersey Shore town, Lucy Berberian continues to manage her family’s Mediterranean restaurant. The Kebab Kitchen also has a food tent at this year’s beach festival. But now a local businessman is under the boardwalk—dead by the sea . . .

Ready . . .                                     

Set .  .  . 

                             

Reveal . . .

                       

Coming in March 2019 from Kensington Books!

Sign Up For Tina Kashian's Newsletter HERE to be alerted when One Feta in the Grave is available to pre-order!

 

Book 1 - Hummus and Homicide is Available Now

Book 2 - Stabbed in the Baklava will be released August 28, 2018

Pre-Order Here 

About the Author

Tina Kashian is an attorney and a former mechanical engineer whose love of reading for pleasure helped her get through years of academia. Tina spent her childhood summers at the Jersey shore building sandcastles, boogie boarding, and riding the boardwalk Ferris wheel. She also grew up in the restaurant business, as her Armenian parents owned a restaurant for thirty years. Tina still lives in New Jersey with her supportive husband and two young daughters. Please visit her website at www.tinakashian.com to join her newsletter, receive delicious recipes, enter contests, and more!

You can also connect with Tina at Website    Facebook     Twitter    Instagram     Goodreads

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEESECAKE_Review

Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake by Sarah Graves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEESECAKE by Sarah Graves
(A Death by Chocolate Mystery #1)

This endearing cozy mystery is the first in a new series, the third series from author Sarah Graves of Eastport, Maine, the island community which is the setting of this series and of her first series, HOME REPAIR IS HOMICIDE. I discovered that series back in 2008 and devoured it, oddly, in reverse order {smile}. I've also immensely enjoyed her first two Lizzie Snow Mysteries (though those are noir and not cozies).

I was delighted to discover that this new "A Death by Chocolate" series stars our lovely protagonists from "Home Repair Is Homicide"," Jacobia (Jake) Tiptree and best friend Ellie. They have opened a bakeshop, The Chocolate Moose {love it}, and it's most successful. Of course, where Jake and Ellie go, mystery and trouble inevitably appear. This time Ellie is the prime suspect, and both ladies and Jake's extended family find themselves in physical danger from a seemingly invisible and inescapable source.


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IN COLD CHOCOLATE by Dorothy St. James_Review

In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery by Dorothy St. James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: IN COLD CHOCOLATE by Dorothy St. James

Author Dorothy St. James really tugs the heartstrings of readers in this very special South Carolina Lowcountry cozy mystery. Charity Penn's Chocolate Box shop is extraordinarily popular, and she's settled in well in the paradisical Camellia Island--or so she believes. But the heirs of the former owner are determined to snatch the property to sell to a high-dollar resort developer. Penn thinks she holds the high ground, until she discovers betrayal.

I so enjoyed learning the ongoing revelations of Penn's backstory, and empathizing as her efforts seem blocked at every turn, and despite her moral integrity, she just can't seem to win. This is the third in A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery Series, and I'm very eager to read more.

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STIFFS AND SWINE by Ellery Adams_Review

Stiffs and Swine by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: STIFFS AND SWINE (SUPPER CLUB MYSTERY #4) by Ellery Adams

I've been "in hog heaven" since discovering the champion Supper Club Mystery Cozy series by prolific author Ellery Adams, and that's a really apropos expression, considering this particular installment focuses on the "Flab Five Supper Club" members judging a Blue Ridge community's popular annual Hog Fest. Invited as celebrity judges due to their growing reputations as small-town amateur sleuths and intuitive crime-solvers, the five friends quickly discover that where pride, corporate sponsorship, and large monetary prizes come into play, so do greed, envy, and resentment.

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CHILI CON CORPSES by Ellery Adams_Review

Chili con Corpses by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: CHILI CON CORPSES (SUPPER CLUB MYSTERY #3) by Ellery Adams

I just can't praise this series, or author Ellery Adams, highly enough. Truly delightful, even literary, this series entertains with taut, tightly-knitted, plots, mysteries to be solved, justice to bring, but also good deep characterization, heartwarming friendships, family tensions, new hope and second chances, missed opportunities recovered or replaced. This time, a newcomer to little Quincy' s Gap, Virginia brings cuisine classes, and offers hope and inspiration to James Henry's widowed father Jackson. Of course, no Supper Club Mystery novel is complete without a mystery, and this one seems nearly inexplicable to the Flab Five.


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MURDER IN THE LOCKED LIBRARY by Ellery Adams_Review

Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: MURDER IN THE LOCKED LIBRARY by Ellery Adams (Book Retreat Mysteries)

Discovering Ellery Adams' cozy mysteries has given me true delight. MURDER IN THE LOCKED LIBRARY is my first read in the Book Retreat Mysteries series, a love letter to books, reading, book clubs, and bibliophiles--so much that makes life worthwhile. Additionally, this novel is a riveting mystery, with history, deep emotions, friendships, family loyalty--and secret societies. And you can't beat that. Guardian Jane Steward is one admirable heroine, and the world is a better place for her {and for her author, Ellery Adams!}

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THE ADVICE COLUMN MURDERS by Leslie Nagel_Review

The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE ADVICE COLUMN MURDERS by Leslie Nagel

I raced through this cozy mystery at practicality the speed of light. I love to read a cunning puzzle requiring me to think and think hard, one in which the number of clearly possible suspects is multiple, and one that wrings my emotions as well. This second in the Oakwood Mystery Series is set in real-life Oakwood, Ohio, a peaceful community near Dayton. Hard-charging heroine and amateur sleuths Charley is a delight, and far from the only empowered woman here. The male characters are pretty exciting, too, and the author knows how to paint with broad brushstrokes as well as how to pencil in the fine lines. Quite an enjoyable and fascinating mystery.

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SWIM, BARK, RUN by Brian Boyle_Review

Shoggoth by Byron Craft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: SHOGGOTH by Byron Craft

For a Lovecraft devotee such as myself, to discover a new Mythos author is sheer delight. SHOGGOTH is my first reading of Byron Craft. I perhaps chose SHOGGOTH to read first, because I spent January invested in rereads (and listening) of Lovecraft' s "At the Mountains of Madness," in which those bizarre creations, the Shoggoth, figure so prominently.

In this novel, the setting is not the frozen wilds of early 20th century Antarctica, but the U.S. Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California. Deep in the Mojave Desert are petroglyphs tens of thousands of years old, inexplicable hieroglyphs, and impossible monsters. For the history and science we learn in school missed out on a lot, including Elder Gods.

SHOGGOTH strongly resonates with HPL' s "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Shadow Out of Time," with the latter's explication of a long-term "Walk-In" experience caused by a race of Elder Gods (regardless of the effect on the human recipient). Mr. Croft also strums one of Lovecraft' s most cherished themes: when science and philosophy's driving quest for knowledge meets that which humanity is not meant to discover, something's gonna break (usually sanity).

I had a totally enjoyable time reading SHOGGOTH. In fact, I found myself envying the characters their exploration of hidden prehistory and their Lovecraftian encounters.


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FIT TO DIE by Ellery Adams_Review

Fit to Die by J.B. Stanley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: FIT TO DIE by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mystery #2)

Everything about this series is delightful: plots, characters, setting, suspense, writing. This time around we also get our emotions wrenched, more than once, as we're offered a glimpse into several sad lives. The villain here is really "villainous," self-centered, more white-collar crime than "down and dirty," but even negligence can result in fatality. We also watch the budding connection between two of our characters, growing friendships, and a beginning resolution to an ongoing situation for our protagonist, with a family member. I really am eager to continue on with this series.

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CARBS AND CADAVERS by Ellery Adams_Review

Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: CARBS AND CADAVERS by Ellery Adams
(Supper Club Mystery #1)

Back in July 2015, I came upon GIVE 'EM PUMPKIN TO TALK ABOUT by the late lamented author-duo Joyce and Jim Lavene. I was enraptured with the cozy mystery subgenre {sub-sub?} Anyway, along with reading Horror and Extreme Horror I find I also love Cozies. Last week I read the first two in the Blue Ridge Library Series by Victoria Gilbert, set in a quaint community in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The other day I received from NetGalley the second in Ellery Adams' Supper Club Mystery series, FIT TO DIE, so I felt impelled to buy the first of the series! I loved it! I experienced so much empathy for the "Flab Five," as they call the Supper Club. I don't think one has to be overweight, as these folks are, to understand. Anyone who has undergone bullying, denigration, insults (or a controlling abuser) will feel right at home. Anyone who feels "different" can identify. The characters are very realistic and so is the small-town setting of Quincy's Gap, Virginia, also in the Shenandoah Valley. Protagonist James Henry is a former English and History professor, who has returned to his home town to live with his reclusive father following his mother's death, and is now Library Director. He joins the newly established Supper Club to impel weight loss and to form friendships. Unexpectedly, this involves solving mysteries, and danger. It's all wonderfully compelling and for me, fast paced. On to the next mystery!

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SHELVED UNDER MURDER by Victoria Gilbert_Review

Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: SHELVED UNDER MURDER by Victoria Gilbert (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery #2)

In this second in the exciting and enticing Virginia-set cozy mystery series, we learn much about Art (our protagonist' s undergraduate degree was in Art History) and we get to meet some new villains. Some familiar villainous characters carry over, demonstrating new sides of themselves. As she does so giftedly, author Victoria Gilbert weaves in historical backgrounds and patterns. In this series, history--whether local, regional, national, or international--can always be counted on to play an impressive backdrop. I just can't put aside this series!

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A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS_Review

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery #1) by Victoria Gilbert

I quickly fell in love with this cozy mystery series, set in a historic, quaint (and nearly economically depressed) community in a valley near Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Librarian Amy Webber has to leave her position at a university library after her emotions overrule good sense, and moves in with her widowed Aunt Lydia in Taylorsburg, and becomes the Library Director. On the surface, Taylorsburg and environs seem just the kind of community idealized by Norman Rockwell, but as Amy, Aunt Lydia, and new neighbor Lydia begin to uncover, there is bad history, bad blood--and insanity. Sometimes the culpability of the fathers IS visited on future generations.

I especially enjoyed this mystery' s delving into history and psychology. Deeper thought applied here than is often the case. Author Victoria Gilbert marvellously peeled off the layers of her characters, giving us glimpses at their cores, and providing villains unexpected but subsequently understandable. She also allows some gentle frissons of the possible paranormal, although protagonist Amy doesn't believe. The novel is riveting and encouraging, a true winner.

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