**Still Life In Brunswick Stew** by *Larissa Reinhart*, a 5 Star rated mystery if ever there was one, is the second book in the **Cherry Tucker** myst**Still Life In Brunswick Stew** by *Larissa Reinhart*, a 5 Star rated mystery if ever there was one, is the second book in the **Cherry Tucker** mystery series. Move over Stephanie Plum, because there's another interesting and outrageous character on the bookshelves, and she's every bit as entertaining as Stephanie ever has been.
Cherry Tucker comes from Halo, Georgia, which is close to Sidewinder, Georgia, home of the popular Annual Sidewinder Brunswick Stew Cook-Off, an event that becomes bigger each year drawing people from states away to sample the delicious variations on Brunswick Stew as prepared by locals who view this event as their yearly money-maker. Cherry Tucker is an artist. She and her friend Eloise Parker, who makes Raku pottery, have teamed up with an art booth at the Cook- Off, hoping to sell their handmade wares. Both women are talented in their respective fields, but it's hard to keep their kind of business going in such a small town. Both women need a big name to recognize them and give them the break they need to progress.
Eloise has Crohn's Disease, but that doesn't stop her from liberally sampling the stew at the cook-off since lately she seems to have her disease under control. Her boyfriend, Griffin Ward, wants to take credit for her improvement since he's been giving her doses of his homemade liquid drink most folks agree looks very much like pond scum. Cherry Tucker gives him no credit at all, but then she doesn't like Griffin much since she found out he may be physically abusing Eloise. After eating 6 cups of the Brunswick Stew, Eloise becomes very ill, is taken to the hospital, and within a short time, she dies. At first her disease is blamed, but when lots of other people from the Cook-Off become sick as well, it is discovered that the stew may be at fault for all the sick people. One of the cooks is in a coma as a result of eating the stew which was prepared by him and his family's business. Eloise Parker's father wants answers for why his daughter died, and Cherry is right behind him with her amateur sleuthing skills to get to the bottom of what killed her friend.
Cherry Tucker is a hoot. Just give her a sundress or a pair of flip flops, and she will alter these simple items into fancy going-out-on-the-town wardrobe items. True, not everyone understands Cherry's fashion vision, but that doesn't concern her. She's too busy flashing her panties during an awkward, unplanned front roll-over in church, or battling her grandfather's goat Tater, or trying to figure out what turned her lips to mush when she kisses Luke, or helping poor souls like Hunter Adams, or trying to get information out of her Uncle Will, the town sheriff, or trying to keep track of what may be illegal goings on at the Bear's gorgeous mansion. There's so many well developed characters, it's hard to list them all. Suffice it to say, Larissa Reinhart has a knack for writing people who keep readers entertained and wanting more.
Eventually the mystery behind who was responsible for killing and/or making people sick with food poisoning is solved, but not before we're given more information advancing the stories of key characters, and prompting us to read the next Cherry Tucker Mystery in the series. This is why I've rated **Still Life In Brunswick Stew** with 5 stars. It's a keeper!...more
**Still Life In Brunswick Stew** by *Larissa Reinhart*, a 5 Star rated mystery if ever there was one, is the second book in the **Cherry Tucker** myst**Still Life In Brunswick Stew** by *Larissa Reinhart*, a 5 Star rated mystery if ever there was one, is the second book in the **Cherry Tucker** mystery series. Move over Stephanie Plum, because there's another interesting and outrageous character on the bookshelves, and she's every bit as entertaining as Stephanie ever has been.
Cherry Tucker comes from Halo, Georgia, which is close to Sidewinder, Georgia, home of the popular Annual Sidewinder Brunswick Stew Cook-Off, an event that becomes bigger each year drawing people from states away to sample the delicious variations on Brunswick Stew as prepared by locals who view this event as their yearly money-maker. Cherry Tucker is an artist. She and her friend Eloise Parker, who makes Raku pottery, have teamed up with an art booth at the Cook- Off, hoping to sell their handmade wares. Both women are talented in their respective fields, but it's hard to keep their kind of business going in such a small town. Both women need a big name to recognize them and give them the break they need to progress.
Eloise has Crohn's Disease, but that doesn't stop her from liberally sampling the stew at the cook-off since lately she seems to have her disease under control. Her boyfriend, Griffin Ward, wants to take credit for her improvement since he's been giving her doses of his homemade liquid drink most folks agree looks very much like pond scum. Cherry Tucker gives him no credit at all, but then she doesn't like Griffin much since she found out he may be physically abusing Eloise. After eating 6 cups of the Brunswick Stew, Eloise becomes very ill, is taken to the hospital, and within a short time, she dies. At first her disease is blamed, but when lots of other people from the Cook-Off become sick as well, it is discovered that the stew may be at fault for all the sick people. One of the cooks is in a coma as a result of eating the stew which was prepared by him and his family's business. Eloise Parker's father wants answers for why his daughter died, and Cherry is right behind him with her amateur sleuthing skills to get to the bottom of what killed her friend.
Cherry Tucker is a hoot. Just give her a sundress or a pair of flip flops, and she will alter these simple items into fancy going-out-on-the-town wardrobe items. True, not everyone understands Cherry's fashion vision, but that doesn't concern her. She's too busy flashing her panties during an awkward, unplanned front roll-over in church, or battling her grandfather's goat Tater, or trying to figure out what turned her lips to mush when she kisses Luke, or helping poor souls like Hunter Adams, or trying to get information out of her Uncle Will, the town sheriff, or trying to keep track of what may be illegal goings on at the Bear's gorgeous mansion. There's so many well developed characters, it's hard to list them all. Suffice it to say, Larissa Reinhart has a knack for writing people who keep readers entertained and wanting more.
Eventually the mystery behind who was responsible for killing and/or making people sick with food poisoning is solved, but not before we're given more information advancing the stories of key characters, and prompting us to read the next Cherry Tucker Mystery in the series. This is why I've rated **Still Life In Brunswick Stew** with 5 stars. It's a keeper!...more
I received a copy of **Sara's Game** by *Ernie Lindsey* from NoiseTrade.com for which I "tipped the author".
Up until two years ago Sara had a very goI received a copy of **Sara's Game** by *Ernie Lindsey* from NoiseTrade.com for which I "tipped the author".
Up until two years ago Sara had a very good life. Then, without any warning, her husband, Brian, vanished from the face of the earth. An extensive search was performed, but no reason for his disappearance ever surfaced. He was simply gone.
He left behind a wife, Sara, and 3 young children, 2 girls and a boy. After two years, Sara managed to put together a life for the children and her, but it is not easy raising three young children by herself and holding down a full time job. However, Sara is nothing if not resourceful. She works in marketing for a company called Lite Pulse which makes computer games. She is very good at her job and has worked her way up in the company at a pretty rapid pace. Of course there are times when she misses her husband and feels frustrated that he has never been found. There are also times she resents his not being there to help with family responsibilities. But over all, Sara has managed to accept what she cannot change and in that frame of mind, she balances her job and her family obligations very well.
That is, until the day that started off like any other day when Sara got to work and received a phone call from her son's school. The children had been playing hide-and-seek, and when they had finished the game, Jacob, Sara's son, was nowhere to be found. No one wanted to panic just yet. It had happened once before when Sara and the children were playing this game at home, and when everyone was ready to stop, Jacob couldn't be found. He had discovered a great hiding place and fell asleep waiting for someone to notice him. He finally turned up when one of his sisters stepped on him. Sara wanted to believe this current incident was just history repeating itself. Until her daughters' school called to say that both her girls were missing. The class had gone to an ice cream shop to celebrate the end of school, but when attendance was taken before returning to the school, neither of the girls was there. Sara immediately left work to go to the schools to straighten all of this out. When she got to her car, she found a note on her windshield that said, "Are You Ready To Play The Game?" This was how Sara was led to the conclusion that her children, all three of them, had been kidnapped.
From that point on, whoever was responsible for abducting the children leads Sara on an exhausting and frustrating journey with clues she has to solve and orders she has to follow if she ever wants to see her children alive again. The first task is designed to humiliate Sara as much as possible. It was hard to imagine what Sara had to be thinking and feeling as she was forced to decide whether she would allow herself to be humiliated in that fashion, and from that point on, the tension builds. It is obvious that the goal of the person who has Sara's children is to punish her severely for something she has done in the past. There is one very obvious person who could be the one behind this scheme, but realistically, it's a stretch to think that this person would go to such lengths and harbor such extreme hatred for Sarah to hatch a plan like this one. However, both Sara and the police detectives on the case agree that the one person they have in mind must be the culprit.
From the time Sara becomes aware her children are missing, the action on this story never lets up; in fact, it only intensifies with each additional chapter or revelation. Lindsey has written a very tense, believable story about testing a woman's endurance and her love for her children far beyond what any mother expects to encounter in raising her children. Fortunately for readers who enjoyed reading about Sara and her family, Lindsey has written two more books featuring these people. I immediately bought both of them. I look forward to reading more from Lindsey in the future. He certainly has a gift for keeping readers on the edge of our seats and delivering first rate storytelling....more
I read this prequel to the Mae Martin series thanks to the generosity of Amber Foxx who made this book available for free on GoodReads. I was unaware I read this prequel to the Mae Martin series thanks to the generosity of Amber Foxx who made this book available for free on GoodReads. I was unaware of Amber Foxx's writing until I came across it at GoodReads. After reading the Prequel, I immediately went to Amazon and bought the two books in the Mae Martin series.
I liked Amber Foxx's writing style; it was very easy to get caught up in this story from the very beginning. When we are first introduced to Mae Martin and her parents, Mae is just 10 years old, and she is unaware of the gift of "Sight" her grandmother has and which has been passed along to her. There is a teaser involving Mae's father as well as the tense relationship between her parents that made me want to find out more about the family and where they go after their last visit with Mae's grandmother.
My thanks to Amber Foxx for giving readers this preview of Mae's story. It looks like a promising beginning to an interesting series....more
I received a copy of The Breakup Doctor by Phoebe Fox from NetGalley.com in return for an honest review.
Picture this: a woman with an inappropriate piI received a copy of The Breakup Doctor by Phoebe Fox from NetGalley.com in return for an honest review.
Picture this: a woman with an inappropriate picture of a donkey tattooed on her shoulder, and she's wearing pantyhose on her head with snorkel goggles to protect her eyes. Is this the image of a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counsellor, OR is this some demented lunatic recently escaped from the psycho wing of the local "rest home". The correct answer would be the first choice. Her name is Brook Lynn Ogden, and she's very very good at what she does... most of the time. Unless she gets blindsided by a man who leads her to believe one thing while, in fact, the opposite is the truth. This could make anyone a wee bit annoyed, but for Brook, it means she goes completely apeshit for a while. Which explains some of the nutty things she does while still trying to maintain her professional demeanor with her clients.
It all started when the office building Brook and two associates of hers had made their office was suddenly (for Brook) demolished. The two people with whom she shared her business decided that when the building went, so would they. In the short span of one morning, Brook lost her business and her office AND her team in one fell swoop. Fortunately for that crisis she had her friend Sasha to talk her through the rough spots, and she had the support of her boyfriend, Kendall, to encourage her to keep on truckin'. She had recently bought a fixer-upper house which had the potential to be an office when she finished some major renovations, so maybe things weren't so bleak after all. Especially since she and Sasha had this great idea for her to write a column for the local newspaper on relationships and how to survive them. All they had to do was convince Lisa Albrecht, the editor of the paper, that Kendall's column was what the newspaper desperately needed. That proved easier than they thought it would be, so Voila! The Breakup Doctor was born. Before long, Brook was building a client list and producing noteworthy articles people were drawn to read because the general consensus was that she had a good head on her shoulders. Suffice it to say that with that donkey on her shoulder no one actually saw to what the good head was attached because Book carefully kept it covered with a sweater in all kinds of weather.
The book goes on to describe what Brook has to go through both professionally and in her personal life all at the same time. Oh, the mistakes she made! But that's what made The Breakup Doctor such a good read. Phoebe Fox has made Brook an intelligent, professional woman who, in spite of her own faults, really does want to help people over the hurdles of broken relationships by not giving in to stalking, nasty messages, or outright verbal confrontations. And who says that professionals have to be absolutely perfect in order to help guide someone who's hurting through such painful times?
By the end of the book Brook has learned some valuable life lessons and so has the reader. There's lots to think about in the pages of this book, and it could certainly be the basis for some interesting discussions within book clubs or simply friends who like to read the same books. I highly recommend The Breakup Doctor to those who enjoy a little humor with their pathos and may even learn a few relationship tips along the way. ...more
I received a free copy of Line Of Succession from StoryCartel.com in exchange for an honest review.
Ever since I read **Advise And Consent** by *Allen I received a free copy of Line Of Succession from StoryCartel.com in exchange for an honest review.
Ever since I read **Advise And Consent** by *Allen Drury* when I was a teenager, my favorite genre has been political fiction. After I finished Drury's series I was disappointed to discover that there were not other novels in this genre that even began to measure up to his. Richard North Patterson came very close with a series of his, but Drury was still the champ, in my opinion. And then along came **Line Of Succession**, and while Drury may still have the edge, Michael Vandor is definitely at the head of the class in this competition. He had me at the Prologue, and he never let go until the very end.
Kathleen Canfield is a United States Senator from California. In her youth, she was a movie star, and even though acting is no longer her profession, she is still identified as a Hollywood personality. She has a Child Care Bill she cares deeply about, and she's been informed that the Speaker of the House will defeat it if it passes the Senate. Her focus is strictly on getting her Bill passed even when the Vice-President is forced to resign because of a fraud conviction. When Kathy receives a call from the White House to meet with the President, she never expects to be told that she is the President's choice as a running mate in the upcoming election. In fact, she's flabbergasted. That is until she begins to understand that the President's plan was to use her and her squeaky clean image to get re-elected. After that is accomplished, she is kept in the background as much as possible. Until the unthinkable happens, and she becomes President.
The Speaker of the House is most distressed about Kathy sliding into a position he wanted for himself, and believed he deserves, no matter what it takes to unseat this woman who simply doesn't have the experience to take over such an important position. And since the United States and Russia are once again locked into a struggle over Bosnia, the United States needs steady, competent leadership at this crucial moment in time. This is where Vandor really shines with his descriptions of the unbearable tension going on between all those in leadership positions who have to give Kathy their best advice and put aside any personal differences for the good of the country. There are some white knuckle moments as Kathy has to consider what is best for the country and not what she herself may want to do in this situation. This is very much like the Cuban Missile Crisis where everyone waited for the other side to blink, and tension ran particularly high.
But that is not all **Line of Succession** has to offer. Kathy has a family who become part of the ongoing stress. Her son is in the military, and her husband has decided he wants to take his surgical skills to Bosnia to help the overworked doctors there. Because of his wife's job, he may be unable to get a VISA to leave this country, and compounding the problems with his status, is getting his wife to approve such a trip for him without Secret Service protection. There is also a daughter who tosses her own problems into the mix in a very creative and destructive way.
I have just one small criticism of this book, and that is I would have liked to have had a better sense of the child care bill Kathy works so hard to have passed in spite of strenuous objection from the Speaker Of The House. His only motivation for rejecting this bill is to keep Kathy in her place: we are never told what is so good or so bad about the bill. Since the child care bill is what got Kathy out from under the radar, I wanted to know what made it so attractive.
All in all **Line of Succession** is a very good novel about what it takes to be involved in government service where juggling priorities is much easier said than done. I hope Michael Vandor has more stories to tell with a political slant. I'm first in line waiting for his next book to appear on my Kindle! Definitely a 5 Star rating....more
I received an ARC of **Deadly Assets** by Wendy Tyson from Henery Press in exchange for an honest review. **Deadly Assets** is the second book in the I received an ARC of **Deadly Assets** by Wendy Tyson from Henery Press in exchange for an honest review. **Deadly Assets** is the second book in the Allison Campbell series, and it is just as good a read as **Killer Image** was. While I don't think it's necessary to have read these books in order to avoid confusion about past events in these character's lives, purely for the reading experience and enjoyment, I'd recommend reading both books.
Allison Campbell owns and runs an image consultant firm in which she takes on clients and shows them how they can improve how they are perceived and how to score well with social media. Campbell and her associate, Vaughn, have made a respectable name for themselves in this venue; what one doesn't cover, the other does, so their operation is run like a well oiled machine. They have been contacted by Francesca Benini of Benini Enterprizes to help the company boost its image in the face of its declining revenue. The business operates both in the US and Europe; the business makes wine and until recently they have been very successful.
At the same time as Allison is contacted by the Beninis, she receives a call from Denise Carr, an agent who is representing Tammy Edwards, an up-and-coming singer who comes from Scranton, PA. Tammy has few if any skills other than her beautiful voice, so Allison will be expected to make her over into someone with crowd appeal. Except that when Tammy and Allison finally begin to communicate, Tammy says she doesn't want the life Denise Carr laid out for her. Tammy wants to go to Julliard and become an opera singer.
Allison has her a work cut out for her with both clients, but she's sure between Vaughn and her they can work for the best interests of both clients. That is until both her clients disappear, and it's quite possible one or both of them were murdered or kidnapped. The more that is revealed about Francesca and Tammy, the more puzzling it becomes as to what happened to either of them. It doesn't seem like there's any connection between the two women.... or is there?
This is where Wendy Tyson is at her best. She's roped me into the story, and since I have no idea who did what to whom, I'm at her mercy to reveal more and more of how all this happened. There are nail biting moments, and there are frustrating times - exactly what any really good mystery novel should have. Tyson also has the ability to keep readers guessing until the very end with a last minute revelation or a twist that keeps the reader focused on the story even after the last page is read.
And then there's the romance side of the book. I don't need graphic descriptions of spit swopping or what acrobatic contortions two people can manage while white water rafting. Tyson tells it just right with just enough electric passion to keep the lights on but without having to burn the whole building down. There's a third book planned for this series, and I am going to be first in line when that becomes available. Wendy Tyson has become one of my favorite authors, and I highly recommend any of the books she's written....more
I received an ARC from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Net Galley and to Henery Press for approving my request.
Madison NiI received an ARC from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Net Galley and to Henery Press for approving my request.
Madison Night owns the shop, Mad For Mod. She's a 47 year old interior decorator who has been in the business for over 20 years. When the story begins, Madison calls a Mr Johnson, executor of the estate for his mother. Madison wants to write a check to Mr Johnson for the entire estate he's managing because she's done her research, and she knows she will be able to incorporate most items from the estate into her business. Mr Johnson didn't believe Madison was serious, so he hung up on her, only to call back later agreeing to accept her offer.
Madison shares a birthday with the singer/actress, Doris Day, and she's a huge fan of the Doris Day movies. I'm familiar with Doris Day movies since I spent plenty of Saturday afternoons sitting in movie theaters watching her and Rock Hudson in my younger days. Doris Day gave me hours of entertainment, and she proved what a wonderful comedienne a woman can be when given the opportunity and first rate material. It was no surprise that Madison also has a Shih Tzu named Rocky after Rock Hudson.
Madison has a knee injury which prevents her from doing very strenuous exercise, so she took up swimming at a local club, Crestwood. She likes it there and enjoys the company of the senior citizens who also go there. Pamela Ritter, a newly licensed realtor, has also begun swimming at Crestwood even though she's much younger than the other women. Her exercise activity got cut very short when she was murdered in the Crestwood parking lot. At the time she was wearing Madison's cover-up robe and was under Madison's car.
Diane Vallere has done a wonderful job of combining diverse activities into one woman's life. Madison is not wrapped up in any romantic entanglements, although there is a man she feels close to but has never pursued a relationship with him beyond friendship. I liked that about Madison because while she is capable of loving someone, she's content with her business and her involvement with The Mummy, a local movie house that shows old films. Until the murders began, she was fulfilled by what she chose to do with her life and the people she included in it. Hudson James, the handyman Madison calls whenever she has a repair job on one of the pieces of furniture she's going to use for a customer's home make-over, is very good at what he does, but he's a loner and has a cat that makes Cujo look like Bambi. Madison has asked Hudson to become her partner in Mad For Mod, but so far he has declined the opportunity. Hudson has issues in his past that prevent him from becoming involved with anyone in a more than superficial way. Since Madison has a similar experience with a past relationship, she does not press Hdson further either for business or pleasure. This does not mean, however that both these adults don't have moments when they'd like to move on to the next level. And then the murder of Pamela Ritter occurs shaking everyone up and adding strain to everyone's life.
The story moves forward with twists and turns that keep everyone guessing who is killing women who have had some connection to Doris Day. There are enough surprises in store for Madison to keep her involved with a certain police detective and his investigation into what becomes multiple murders, and this includes a copy of the movie Pillow Talk that shows a side to Doris Day no one would ever have expected.
I would recommend **Pillow Stalk** to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, appreciates women's fiction, with a teaser at the end that made me want to get my hands on the sequel ASAP! You just can't beat that in a reading experience. ...more
Loading...
