Review of "Up To No Gouda: A Grilled Cheese Mystery" by Linda Reilly

 

Carly Hale put her dream of owning a grilled cheese sandwich restaurant on hold when she married her college boyfriend Daniel and worked her way up to become manager of the historic Ivory Swan Inn.

Then Daniel was killed in a tragic road accident, and when Carly's grief subsided, she moved back to her hometown of Balsam Dell, Vermont and opened Carly's Grilled Cheese Eatery.....



.....which specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.



The eatery, which opened five months ago, has two employees: Suzanne - a server who's supporting herself and her little son;



and Grant - a talented nineteen-year-old cook who's saving up for culinary school.



The restaurant has a central location in Balsam Dell, and Carly - who upgraded the facility using Daniel's insurance money - has high hopes for its future.



Then Carly gets a terrible shock. Her high school boyfriend, entrepreneur Lyle Bagley, has bought the building that houses the eatery and won't be renewing Carly's lease. In fact Lyle shows up at the restaurant and gives Carly one month to vacate the property, which he plans to transform into a fashion boutique for his fiancée Tiffany.



Suzanne, who'll lose her server job when the eatery closes, goes ballistic. She slams down a napkin holder, sticks her finger in Lyle's face, and says "One of these days Lyle Bagley, you're going to get what's coming to you, big time. You can bet on it."



The next morning, Lyle's corpse is found near the dumpster behind Carly's restaurant, and Suzanne is a prime suspect.

Carly refuses to believe Suzanne is guilty and sets out to find the real killer. Since Lyle was a self-centered scoundrel who made a lot of enemies, there are plenty of suspects, and Carly makes it her business to investigate them - to the dismay of the police chief.



Carly is a clever sleuth, and she's assisted by the editor of Balsam Dell's weekly free newspaper, who fancies himself an investigative journalist.



We also meet other interesting characters, including: patrons of Carly's Grilled Cheese Eatery; Carly's wheelchair-bound landlady and her caretaker, who make Carly a birthday cake; Lyle's estranged brother, who thinks Lyle cheated him out of a Cadillac; a homeless Afghanistan war vet who's pulling herself up by her bootstraps; Carly's high school friend Gina, who was married to Lyle for a brief time; and more.

Most importantly we become acquainted with a handsome businessman/sports coach named Ari who makes Carly's heart flutter.....



.......and a homeless Morkie puppy that Carly feeds and names Havarti.



This is a fine debut for the 'Grilled Cheese Mysteries', with delicious-sounding sandwiches such as: Party Havarti; Vermont Classic; Bacon Grilled Cheese; Farmhouse Cheddar Sleeps with the Fishes (Grilled Cheese Tuna Melt); and more.


Party Havarti


Vermont Classic


Bacon Grilled Cheese


Farmhouse Cheddar Sleeps with the Fishes

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mia Gaskin, who does a good job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Linda Reilly, and Dreamscape Media for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Murder Most Howl: A Paws and Claws Cozy Mystery" by Krista Davis

In this 3rd book in the 'Paws and Claws' mystery series, a real homicide occurs during a murder mystery game. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Holly Miller returned to the town of Wagtail in the mountains of western Virginia to help her Oma (grandma) run the Sugar Maple Inn.



Wagtail is a pet-friendly town that allows dogs and cats to wander free and permits animals in stores and restaurants. The Sugar Maple Inn welcomes pets......





.....and its café has dog versions of 'people food' - like pancakes, pizza, and macaroni and cheese - so guests and their fur babies can dine together.





Holly is managing the Sugar Maple Inn while her Oma is on vacation, and she's happy to be trusted with the responsibility.



As it happens, the inn is fully booked with guests who've checked in to participate in Wagtail's 'Murder Mystery Weekend', a contest where players compete to solve a (fake) murder.



Holly's friend Val, who runs the Hair of the Dog pub is in charge of the murder mystery, and Holly and other merchants hide clues and weapons that players need to solve the homicide. The competition is fierce, and players may team up, scramble for an advantage, and steal clues from one another.



The 'murder victim' is Baron Von Rotweiler.....



.....and each player, one of whom is the killer, is given an identity such as: the Baron's third wife; the Baron's business partner; the cousin of the Baron's second wife; etc. The clues provide information like: the Baron embezzled from his company; the Baron poisoned his second wife; and so on.



To add to the fun, the town is sponsoring a program called 'If The Dog Fits', in which visitors to Wagtail can foster a shelter dog for a few days, to see if they'd like to adopt.



Things get complicated when Holly and her dog Trixie find the body of a Wagtail businessman called Norm Wilson, who turns out to be a REAL murder victim. Moreover, Norm seems to have a lot in common with the phony Baron Von Rotweiler, such as being a ruthless businessman and a wife abuser.

Holly takes it upon herself to investigate Norm's murder while dealing with challenges like a handyman who quits for his dream job; a blizzard; a blackout; people's belongings going missing; a guest who complains about everything; wild mice showing up at the inn; and more.





Holly fears Oma will return and be disappointed with her stewardship of the hotel, but Holly's a capable gal who's up to the task.



The story has an engaging mystery with interesting characters, including a beautiful former fashion model; an animal psychic; Holly's nosy interfering Aunt Birdie; Oma's friend Mr. Huckle; police officer Dave; ladies from the Cloak and Dagger Book Club; a couple who want to adopt a dog; Holly's former beau Holmes - who Holly still crushes on; and more.



My major quibble with the story is Holly's habit of jumping to conclusions, and suspecting people without sufficient evidence, which seems to be a common trait among fictional amateur sleuths. Nevertheless, this is a fun story with lots of lovable cats and dogs. Recommended to fans of cozy mysteries.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "The Whisperers: A Supernatural Thriller" by John Connolly

 

In this 9th book in the 'Charlie Parker' series, the private detective gets involved in an eerie case where evil spirits are inhabiting Middle Eastern antiquities. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Odd things are going on in Maine. Several veterans of the Iraq war, including Damien Patchett, have recently committed suicide. Damien's father, diner owner Bennett Patchett - stricken by his son's death - has other problems as well.



He's worried that his waitress is being abused by her boyfriend Joel Tobias, who happens to be Damien's former platoon mate.



So Bennett hires PI Charlie Parker to check out Tobias, hoping the investigation also casts light on his son's suicide.

Parker's investigation of Tobias reveals that a cadre of Iraq war veterans are using a semi-truck to smuggle things across the Maine border - from Canada to the United States.



The reader (though not Parker) soon learns that the 'things' are treasures looted from Baghdad's Museum of Antiquities.



Unfortunately for the looters the stolen riches are far from benign. They harbor evil spirits - 'whisperers' - that drive people who come in contact with them to suicide.

The smuggling operation catches the attention of Maine mobster Jimmy Jewel, who wants a piece of the action.



Others are also interested in the stolen goods including Mexican gangsters;



a curator of the Baghdad museum;



Herod - an obsessed, cancer-ridden man.....



.....guided by an evil wraith called 'The Captain';



and 'The Collector' - a demon known to Charlie Parker.



The latter parties are particularly interested in a mysterious item called 'Pandora's Box' which - if opened - could unleash chaos on the world.

The stolen antiquities cause a spate of mayhem - including torture and murder - as the veterans try to profit from their loot while other parties try to wrest the goodies away from them. There are also eerie occurrences where spirits drive people crazy and make them do odd and deadly things.





Some of these supernatural scenes are amusing in a bizarre kind of way.

Private detective Charlie Parker - though a little fuzzy about exactly what's going on - wants to stop the deaths of the veterans, save the waitress, and preserve the world. Thus he enlists the help of his old friends, Angel and Louis, two tough birds who like nothing better than killing bad guys.



I thought the story was interesting and shed some light on veterans suffering from PTSD and their need for more government assistance. The underlying theme of the story - soldiers stealing treasures from war torn regions - was also compelling (though I don't know how realistic this is....some of those statues are pretty big).

Overall, though, the the book was just okay for me. Some parts of the story were overly detailed and very slow moving, and I wanted the action to move along faster. Also, the mixed 'private detective' - 'supernatural phenomena' genre isn't my favorite. Still, there are a good variety of characters in the book (some more well rounded than others) and the story held my attention.

I would recommend the book to Charlie Parker fans and to fans of supernatural mysteries.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel of Suspense" by Stacy Willingham

In 1999, when Chloe Davis was a naïve 12-year-old girl living in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.....

.....she was intrigued with 15-year-old Lena Rhodes. Lena was a free spirit who drank vodka, smoked marijuana, flirted with men, and had a belly button ring with a luminiscent firefly. Chloe wanted to be a wild child like Lena until Lena became the first victim of the Breaux Bridge serial killer.



In total, six teenage girls disappeared in 1999......



.....and the crimes might have continued if Chloe hadn't found a wooden box in her father's closet - a box containing Lena's belly button ring as well as other trophies.



Chloe reluctantly told her mother, then the police, and Chloe's father went to prison for life.



The rest of the Davis family - Chloe, her older brother Cooper, and their mother - suffered the wrath of the community. People came to the house, yelled insults, peered into windows, threw rocks, and so on.....and kids attacked Chloe at school.



Chloe's mother tried to take her own life and ended up in a semi-vegetative state, and Chloe left town the minute she graduated high school.

Twenty years later, in 2019, Chloe appears to have a stable life.



She's a psychologist in Baton Rouge, Lousiana; owns a nice house; has friends; and is engaged to a handsome drug rep named Daniel.



Beneath the surface, however, Chloe is anxious and fearful, and she uses prescription pills and alcohol to calm her nerves.



Chloe REALLY needs the pills after she's contacted by a New York Times reporter named Aaron Jansen, who's writing a story for the 20th anniversary of the Breaux Bridge murders.



Aaron wants Chloe's input, but she refuses to speak to him, not wanting her past raked up for public consumption. Chloe has spoken to journalists in the past, and the stories always brought unwanted attention.

Chloe's nerves are already jangling when a teenage girl from Baton Rouge disappears. Soon afterwards, another girl goes missing - and this one happens to be Chloe's new patient. While Chloe is still reeling from the shock, reporter Aaron Jansen shows up, wanting to interview Chloe for a story about (what he's calling) a copycat killer.



All this upends Chloe completely, and she starts her own investigation. Chloe comes up with one suspect, then another, and she fears the police won't take her seriously until she has real proof.



Sadly for Chloe she's confused, has poor judgment, and harbors remnants of her 12-year-old self - who didn't want to admit the truth, even to herself.

Armchair detectives may suss out the killer, but then again, they may be wrong. 🙂

The story has a compelling plot, well-wrought three-dimensional characters, a Lousiana crawfish boil, and enough twists to keep suspense lovers happy.



I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Karissa Vacker, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Stacy Willingham, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars