Review of Pancakes and Corpses

Pancakes and Corpses

A Peridale Cafe Mystery

AGATHA FROST

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Julia South is an exceptional baker, and everyone in a small town goes to her coffee shop to enjoy her delectable pastries and cakes.  Then one day a reporter tells her about a negative review of her store that the local newspaper is printing tomorrow.

She goes to confront the possible author of the article when the unexpected happens - Julia is in the middle of a murder. She dogs her way around town following leads.

In the process, she meets a man, the detective assigned to the murder case. They clash, and then they dance.

Julia's abilities have her ahead of her new friend in solving the case. He is new to the English town, so she has the advantage.

When the two come together, the case, in an unusual way, comes to a conclusion the reader will enjoy. 

The story is straightforward, but the reader is in the dark unless they understand Julia's explanation of the town people. The main characters are complete for a second novel in the series. They are likable.

Purchase:    https://amzn.to/2KCjK8L

Review of An Unexpected Nanny

An Unexpected Nanny

Constance Masters

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Twist of faith brings Curtis and Vi together. He needs a nanny, and she has the feeling to be a mother. They connect on many levels.

Curtis and Vi clash, coming from different backgrounds. However, there is something about her that draws him to her.

Vi connects right away with his child Rose. The two love each other at first sight which endears Curtis.

There are some twist and turns to the story, but the conclusion is simple to understand from a reader's close understanding of soap operas - love is in the air.

The characters are well defined while the prose leads you on to an ending which the reader probably knew from the middle of the book. The story is a bit of a tear-jerker.

Enjoyed. Purchase at  https://amzn.to/2rR1TUA

Review of Travess Blood

Travess Blood

Quinn Larson

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

'How the west was won?' is an intraocular part of USA history. Development continued because good concorded over evil.

In Travess Blood, the younger is wild and wants to live life to the fullest without abiding by the law. His elder brother is a lawman.

Their conflicts started in their youth but come to a turning point for the worst when Clint, the older of the two arrests his brother and friends robbing a Stagecoach and Troy goes to prison for his part. Every day in jail Troy's revenge grows to uncontrollable evil.

A Stagecoach robbery and murders happen weeks after Troy's and friends are released from their long terms in a strict discipline house of correction, which didn't seem to rehabilitate the criminal. Clint investigates this crime to find out, according to Troy's boss at the Circle-G where Clint's ex-lover lives married; Troy had not left the property.

Circumstance leads to other full investigations that produce an ending that Westerns are known for on the Big Screen. Throughout this sager, the tensions built to where good should overcome evil.

But does it? Not always. You'll have to read this raw human western story to find out.

Purchase:     https://amzn.to/2Ihdjva

Review of Rejection

REJECTION

A Lou Drake Mystery

Thomas K. Matthews

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

What would you do get published by a major house? Murder to become famous?

Lou Drake, at one time, was a detective. He got demoted to paroling the city with a partner, screwed up and was sent to The Cage for the few months he had left on the job.

How he got demoted is a significant part of his story and the background to this novel. He was a meticulous sleuth before he messed up a murder case. Why, is the unknown?

While working in the holding cage, a serial killer is on the loose who is murdering literary agents in unusual ways. Drake, a writer who can't publish his novel but keeps on going, starts to use the crimes as the basis of his new endeavor.

The events that transpire after he starts writing and investigating this string of killings upset the city police department where he works. The FBI joins the fray leading an investigation of the department.

How that end is an exciting and rejuvenating for the reader and Lou Drake's future. Not all ends well, but you, the reader will want to read more of his mysteries.

This is a book one of a series, but I don't see what characters will be carried over to two. 

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2KqNLZP

     

Review of Mirror, Mirror

MIRROR, MIRROR

A Legal Thriller

DEBORAH HAWKINS

Review by Roy Murry, Author

Jeff, a big-time lawyer, past brings him down to earth. He loses everything because of it even though he claims the charges are false.

It seems that the legal world is one hundred percent against him. Jeff's life is turning upside down but being the fighter, he is, he muddles through and gets a plum case on his own against the people who brought him down.

The case and the people change him for good, leading to many conflicting emotions. He is a different man after a rollercoaster ride psychologically.

This change brings the reader to a surprising conclusion in a thrilling court case that one did not see coming. He finds out who genuinely cares for him.

Some of the main characters are prime for a sequel. The twist and turns of Jeff's existence in this novel will keep you awake all night as it did to me.

I enjoyed the writing much. Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2KmjH1n

FIERCE LOVE

FIERCE LOVE

Barrington Billionaire Series

Book One

DANIELLE STEWART

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

The Romance Genre is not my thing to read. However, I must expand my horizons by reading other than mysteries, my passion.

In Ms. Stewart's FIERCE LOVE, there is a little mystery. Libby, the lady who confronts James, the CEO of West Oil, is a mystery to him. Moreover, she is keeping those facts under cover until the covers come off.

Libby becomes James' executive assistant under false pretenses, and he seems to get the feeling that something is not right. All he can think about is getting her in bed, but he does not sleep with employees.

They go tit for tat over this fact until the pressure explodes. Then the truth comes out about a business agreement James did not know existed between Libby's family and his father who is in a coma.

Their new sexual involvement might go to the next level, but doubt seeps in, and they separate. Libby meets with an ex which leads to an explosive ending.

This novel has some clean sexual encounters if there is such a thing. The main characters are well developed, which will propel the series forward into other circumstances that billionaires find themselves in. I can only imagine.

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2K6dS8f

Review of Cherry Pie or Die

Cherry PIE OR DIE

A Baker Street Mystery, Book 1

CEECEE JAMES

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Georgie, a young lady, moves to a small town to live near her grandmother who runs the Baker Street Bed and Breakfast. She is a tour guide et al. at the B&B, taking the visitors to historical sites around town.

The house is full, and Georgie guides a group to a Civil War haunted house. The tour ends with the murder of a guest that leads Georgie into her whodunit mood.

This novel is fun to read because of the character Georgie who is getting over a tragedy and is light-hearted about her surroundings but heavy-hearted about past events. She uses that to undo the mystery of Mr. Greens murder.

Without present-day computer search, which she uses, the mystery would have been almost impossible to unravel. However, the answer arrives with a 'Deadly Intent,' not dealing with modern equipment but because of a Civil War book.

This novel slants towards an Agatha Christie mystery. I'll be reading more of the series in the future.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2HPAR6I