Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Amateur Sleuths

  • THE ZUCCHINI FAIRY MURDER: Salty Sister Mysteries Book 2 by Ann Philipp – Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuths, Murder Mystery

     

    Wherever zucchini grow, they grow with unstoppable vigor. Patricia Schuster and her mother face a legendary overabundance in The Zucchini Fairy Murder, Book Two in the Salty Sister Mystery series by Ann Philipp, but garden veggies are soon to be only a close second of their problems.

    They have more zucchini than any family, friends, neighbors, and possibly the entire population of the surrounding several counties could possibly go through in a season, no matter how much zucchini bread they make. Mrs. Schuster, in an absolute riot of an opening scene, cruises through their California hometown in the middle of the night looking for cars with open windows to drop bags of zucchini into.  

    This camouflaged, highly questionable type raid on the neighborhood distresses her daughter, who tries without success to discourage her mother from her nighttime activities. Such hilarity threads through the background action of the story, as Patricia does her best to calm her mother down, rein her in, and manage her crazy.

    Plot and humor merge when petty zucchini crime clashes with a murder investigation. 

    The mystery kicks into high gear as Patricia can’t resist trying to solve the case with the help of a group of golden-age ladies she inherited along with her grandmother’s house and antiques business. With nerves of steel, these formerly incarcerated elderly ladies now work for the FBI and are highly skilled in specialized areas like technology, firearms, languages, and psychology, and they have no problem breaking the law to solve a case.

    After Patricia’s first ‘case’, detailed in book one of the Salty Sister Mystery series, Grand Theft Death, Patricia and ‘the Ladies’ have got a way of getting to the heart of an investigation. Even when that way involves a bit of subterfuge, a lot of illicit snooping, and more than a few sets of lockpicks.

    In the best cozy mystery tradition, what makes The Zucchini Fairy Murder so much fun—besides the overabundance of summer squash—is the combination of spilling gossip about the small-town residents and their misdeeds with the one step forward, two steps back approach of an amateur sleuth.

    Along with humor and intrigue, this story builds eclectic but earnest bonds between its central women.

    We see sisterhood, motherhood, and cool aunt relationships between Patricia, her mother, and the four ‘Ladies’ of her grandmother’s generation who have taken both women under their wings. That web of relationships is sometimes nurturing, especially on the mornings when the Ladies make Patricia an excellent breakfast. 

    The Zucchini Fairy Murder by Ann Philipp is a zany romp where an amateur sleuth tries to figure out whodunit in spite of both herself, and the ladies who bring their specialized skills to the case.

    This is the sort of cozy small town setting more than a bit outside the modern problems of everyday life. A perfect read to leave the ordinary and go to a place where a little dash of luck and the lead to a happy outcome for everyone in spite of many false accusations, mistaken arrests, and midnight zucchini drops from an unseen “fairy” along the way.

     

  • PUPPIED To DEATH: A Dog Lover’s Cozy Mystery, Barkview Mysteries Book 9 by C.B. Wilson – Cozy Animal Mysteries, Murder Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths

    Puppied to Death: A Dog Lover’s Cozy Mystery by C.B. Wilson takes television editor-in-chief Cat Hawl from the quiet seaside town of Barkview to the lush landscapes of Hawaii on a mission to find her missing sister, Lani.

    The scene for book 9 in this award-winning series is laid when Professor Aimee Loong hires Lani as a dog sitter for her French bulldog, Oolong. As Lani and Aimee grew closer, she joins Aimee in her search for a family artifact of significant value — a Chinese lacquered box that has been missing for centuries.

    It matches two other similar boxes, and when brought together they are rumored to contain a powerful message: How to grow the best Oolong tea, a variety that dates back to the time of the Chinese emperors. Although this appears to be of minor importance to the common person, to Professor Loong’s family the tea’s value is immeasurable. If Aimee finds the missing box, her family’s farm could rely on that secret technique for many more successful years producing the prized tea.

    But when the professor is found dead and Lani vanishes, Cat enters the picture. She must rely on her wits — and the help of her Mahjong-loving mother and a group of amateur sleuths — to uncover the truth.

    Wilson weaves a complex mystery filled with unexpected twists and charming characters.

    Fans of cozy mysteries will appreciate the quirky cast, from the fiercely loyal Mahjong Mamas to the ever-watchful bulldog who holds more secrets than he lets on. The interplay between Hawaiian culture, ancient family rivalries, and modern-day murder gives this story a fresh, engaging angle.

    The storyline gives readers enough curious details to keep them eagerly turning the pages as they search for clues. As heart pounding excitement builds, you are immersed in the danger of a rivalry that stretches back to the days when the emperor sat upon his throne in the Forbidden City.

    As with previous entries in the Barkview Mysteries, Wilson doesn’t shy away from blending humor, heart, and suspense.

    Puppied to Death balances the charm of its dog-centric world with a genuinely puzzling mystery that will keep readers guessing. Pair that with well-developed characters who you’ll root for throughout the adventure, and you’re in for a T-R-E-A-T.

    For dog lovers and cozy mystery fans alike, Puppied to Death delivers a satisfying tale of intrigue and charm. Whether this is your first visit to Barkview or you’ve followed Cat’s adventures from the start, this delightful ninth installment will leave you eager for the next mystery to unfold.

     

     

  • RED HERRINGS RADIO: The Media Mysteries Series Book 6 by Gail Hulnick – Murder Mystery, 1960s, Amateur Sleuths

    From its very first page, Red Herrings Radio, from Gail Hulnick’s Media Mysteries series, evokes the classic mystery novels of days gone by. We meet protagonist Lillian on September 7, 1964, in the pre-dawn hours as she heads to work. The early shift at a bustling radio station may seem like excitement enough, but soon Lillian’s faced with unexpected and unpleasant thrills: there’s a dead body at work, and it’s one of her best friends.

    Red Herrings Radio uses many elements of classic mystery, even down to the noir lighting of the early-morning streets. Yet it also diverges from mystery-novel tradition in interesting ways.

    Unlike many older mystery books, it has not only a female sleuth, but a focus on the challenges and barriers faced by a woman in the 1960s. The book is studded with authentic period details, from Beatles mania and folk music to the Royal Tour and the World’s Fair. It also doesn’t shy away from the weightier topics of the era. As Lillian investigates Susan’s death, she finds herself grappling with looming issues like abortion and gender equality. Author Gail Hulnick gives these issues their due complexity, painting a realistic picture of the 1960s as an era of global change and growing pains.

    Red Herrings Radio also breaks from mystery tradition by featuring a reluctant and inexperienced sleuth. Lillian’s no cop, though she’s certainly willing to work with the police if it’ll help her get answers about Susan’s untimely end. She doesn’t like being mixed up in the drama of investigating what’s starting to look like a murder. Still, her sense of duty to Susan’s memory overcomes her reluctance. When everyone else seems to be giving up on finding the answer, Lillian never quite lets go of hope.

    The search takes Lillian to unexpected places and introduces her to unusual suspects. The doctor is hiding something, and the professor and ex-boyfriend too. Now her coworker is suddenly acting suspicious. Red Herrings Radio lives up to its name as it introduces a growing list of suspects, each with complex motivations. The more Lillian learns about Susan’s life, the stranger things get. As it turns out, her close friend wasn’t really that close after all. Did Susan’s own secrets lead to her murder?

    Alongside the mystery, this is also a tale of female friendship.

    Lillian starts enlisting her and Susan’s mutual friends in the investigation but starts to feel resentful as she learns she’s been left out of Susan’s major life events. Susan even had a mysterious new boyfriend who Lillian didn’t know about. As she navigates both betrayal and loss, Lillian must grow through these challenges. For her, forgiving the friends who’ve apparently shut her out is almost as big a challenge as the unofficial murder investigation.

    Along the way, Lillian’s career grows too. She deftly navigates barriers at work, beginning to outshine her more-experienced colleagues and landing choice reporting assignments. Readers get a fascinating inside look at the 1960s media industry.

    As the radio station sends Lillian to exciting places like the New York World’s Fair, she sneaks in opportunities to continue sleuthing. Cold War tensions are running high, and the appearance of several stern and mysterious Russians further complicates Lillian’s investigation. She has countless leads, but no certainty. Though she finds a helpful police officer who’s willing to listen, she has little to offer him. In the end, Lillian must face the fact that she cares more about the investigation than anyone else, even the professionals.

    Maybe it’s because she saw Susan’s lifeless body that morning at work. Maybe it’s a desire to redeem her place in a circle of friends who have grown apart. Whatever it is, Lillian can’t quite bring herself to let go.

    This book moves fast. While there are points where it would have been nice to slow the action and delve deeper into Lillian’s complex life, Red Herrings Radio rewards its readers well in the end. When things look most hopeless for her investigation, the novel takes an unexpected leap.

    Lillian’s answers don’t come when she wants them to, but through patience, attention, and a willingness to forgive, she at last has a chance to put the pieces together. What she discovers is shocking, yet strangely inspiring: solving the mystery also reveals something crucial about Susan’s character. Red Herrings Radio by Gail Hulnick is an excellent read for anyone looking for approachable thrills, unexpected twists, and an intelligent lens on history and human connection.

     

     

  • PARALLEL SECRETS by ML Barrs – Murder Mystery, Small Town Mystery, Amateur Sleuths

     

    In the small Missouri town of Walkers Corner, it seems everyone has a dark secret. In Parallel Secrets by ML Barrs, a TV journalist comes to town to do a magazine piece on a missing girl and begins uncovering many of those hidden stories.

    Motivated by feelings of guilt for not following up on a previous unsolved case, Vicky Robeson’s joins the search for the missing child. She’s tenacious in her investigation. As a TV station journalist currently between jobs, she has well-honed investigative skills, specifically in her ability to wheedle stories from even the most reluctant people. She’s familiar with Walkers Corner; and  as a reporter for a St. Louis TV station, she covered the case of a never-identified mystery girl. She believes the two cases are connected. The similarities that link these cases to her own experiences as a child make her unable to let this new story go.

    Safe to say, her investigating is not welcomed by most of the locals in this close-knit town.

    But one by one, Vicky finds ways to pull details about both cases from virtually everyone, using her eye for detail to wedge people out of silence. Vicky’s quest is not without personal danger, however, as she finds long-buried secrets, crimes that some are willing to kill to keep buried.

    In the midst of her reporting, Vicky finds her relationship with Pete, her new love interest who has traveled with her in his RV, to be both a blessing and another challenge.

    Pete keeps wanting a deeper relationship, while Vicky is reluctant. In addition, she’s considering taking a TV job in Texas that would put an additional strain on the couple. Even though Pete is perfect for her now, she’s not sure he’s perfect when it comes to her future.

    Parallel Secrets is a literary jigsaw puzzle, the kind that remains unclear until the final piece is put in place. This is an enthralling read for anyone who enjoys a good-to-the-last-drop mystery.

     

  • HAVE YOU SEEN ME by Alexandrea Weis – YA Mystery, Serial Killer Thriller, Amateur Sleuths

     

    In Alexandrea Weis’s YA mystery thriller, Have You Seen Me? something is wrong at Louisiana’s Waverly School. Deadly wrong.

    This private educational institute for the state’s wealthiest has an unsettling record of young women disappearing. Three, from decades ago, were never found. In the last few years, a girl by the name of Margaret vanished, and now her sister Lindsey has followed suit. Despite numerous investigations, no clues have surfaced. Moreover, the steely head of the school, Sara Probst, uses intimidation and fear to keep the school operating at any cost.

    Were these disappearances just high-spirited women who left on their own accord, or was there something more sinister at play? And now, after Lindsey’s disappearance, it seems a serial killer has returned after all these years.

    Into this morass steps Aubrey LeRoux, a recent Waverly graduate, hired by Sara to teach history.

    The job offer is both temporary and precarious. Sara makes it clear that Aubrey must conduct herself in the precise manner that Sara dictates, using the same unsettling intimidating methods Aubrey experienced as a student.

    Aubrey feels the impact of the school’s issues. As a scholarship attendee and a young Black woman, she understands fully the dynamic at Waverly. Harassment was part of her life there, often instigated by Margaret. When Margaret went missing, Aubrey was even briefly interrogated as a possible suspect.

    With Lindsey having recently disappeared, Aubrey finds herself experiencing many of the same feelings she had as a student. But now, she’s in a position to deal with it all: Sara, the disappearing women, and now, her students.

    What she doesn’t know is that Lindsey had gathered a crew of six misfits, creating a circle of friends who are devastated by her disappearance. They discover Aubrey’s problems with Margaret when they were both students, and so develop a devious plan.

    These students will pretend to like Aubrey as a teacher, but meanwhile use every trick at their disposal to prove that Aubrey is connected to the fate of both missing sisters.

    They conspire to push Aubrey into helping them become investigators into Lindsey’s disappearance, hoping to force Aubrey into making a misstep, dropping clues as to her knowledge of the disappearances.

    Their investigation takes them to parts of the school grounds rarely frequented: founded on a Confederate-era plantation which was itself built upon burial grounds for a Native American tribe. Their unauthorized excursions draw Sara Probst’s wrath on Aubrey but also strengthen Aubrey’s resolve to discover the fate of the missing students.

    When it appears their investigation is in full swing, a serial killer begins targeting Lindsey’s student crew, one by one.

    Despite Aubrey’s desperate efforts to keep them safe, even with the help of a hunky local sheriff, it’s clear that no one can be fully protected, not when each of them thinks they can solve the mystery of Lindsay’s vanishing on their own. Each of the students is found murdered, with clues that make it clear that this is the work of a serial killer. But who would want them dead? And why?

    Have You Seen Me? is a taut, well-written novel, a page-turner with enough plot twists and turns to keep the story moving on multiple fronts. Aubrey’s ethnicity is woven seamlessly into her character and the history that defines her relationship with Waverly. Overall, an immensely enjoyable read.

    Have You Seen Me by Alexandrea Weis won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Clue Awards for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

     

    Gold Oval that reads Clue Awards, Chanticleer Writing Competition, Grand Prize

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews