Tag: #CozyMystery

It’s a Mad Mad Murder – #BookBlitz @LoneStarLit

Published on by Jan Sikes22 Comments

IT’S A MAD, MAD MURDER
A Maddie Montgomery Mystery
by
CINDY VINCENT

Cozy Culinary Mystery / Women Sleuths / Amateur Sleuths
Publisher: Whodunit Press
Date of Publication: November 15, 2021
Number of Pages: 303 pages
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Things are a little too hot to handle for famous culinary-mystery author, Maddie Montgomery, in her normally quiet neighborhood set in the Houston suburb of Abbott Cove. Especially after her neighbor, Randall Rathburn, has a heart attack and rams his vintage car into a light pole. Though his death is ruled an accident, another of Maddie’s neighbors insists that Randall was murdered, and he implores her to investigate. But Maddie isn’t on board with the half-baked idea, not until she attends the over-the-top funeral where she develops some suspicions of her own. That’s when she decides to take the leap from crime writing to crime solving. After all, she doesn’t exactly want a killer running around her cul-de-sac . . .
But the murder of her neighbor isn’t the only mystery she’s got cooking. When her publisher goes belly-up and her agent happily dumps her in favor of younger, dystopian authors, Maddie boils over into a full-blown career crisis. And while she tries to simmer down, her new role as amateur sleuth only stirs the pot even more. Then from car chases to stakeouts, and from a neighbor who owns a suspicious amount of spy gadgetry to a widow who seems a little too merry, Maddie’s first case has her head spinning like the beaters on her handheld mixer. And soon Maddie finds that solving a crime in “real life” is a lot more difficult . . . and a lot more dangerous . . .
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Cindy Vincent is the award-winning author of the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Capers, and the Tracy Truworth, Apprentice P.I., 1940s Homefront Mysteries. She is also the creator of the Mysteries by Vincent murder mystery party games and the Daisy Diamond Detective Series games for girls. She lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and an assortment of fantastic felines. Cindy is a self-professed “Christmas-a-holic,” and she starts the planning for her ever-expanding, “extreme” Christmas lights display sometime in the early spring.
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS!
1ST PRIZE:
Signed copy of It’s a Mad, Mad Murder, a sweetheart-neckline apron, a set of multicolored, Farberware measuring cups, and a set of stainless steel, oblong measuring spoons.
2ND & 3RD PRIZES:
Signed copies of It’s a Mad, Mad Murder and novella, Yes, Carol…It’s Christmas!, which features a heroine trying to get back home to Texas
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 5/26/2022)

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#BookReview – Brother of Interest @KarinaBartow #Netgalley #Mystery

Published on by Jan Sikes19 Comments

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

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What I like most about this book is the strained relationship between Minka Avery and her brother, Robin, and how it grows and evolves through the story. Minka was a detective and a good one. But when she and her husband, Wes, decided to start a family, she trades in her badge for strollers and diapers. While she loves being a mother, the lure of solving a mystery that involves her estranged brother is too much to deny.
Robin is arrested for an alleged attack on his boss who had recently fired him, and Minka has her doubts about her brother’s guilt or innocence. But as the clues unfold and everything points to someone else, she is determined to work on the case from the sidelines, often bringing her baby, Caela, along with her.
All of the characters in this story are likable, even the nosy neighbor they call “Scoop.” Minka’s relationship with her brother-in-law is endearing. Not only was he her partner when she worked for the police department but is her best friend as well as her husband’s brother. And it’s interesting to watch Minka’s reaction to Cael’s new love interest.
The author did a good job of revealing one clue after another much like peeling back the layers of an onion. My only critique would be about a large amount of backstory included. To be honest, I skimmed over most of it as it didn’t seem to affect the outcome of the story. If you like a good mystery with deep personal relationships, you will enjoy this book.

I gave it Four Stars.