Tag: Book Reviews

Book Review: The Chocolatier’s Curse

Book Review: The Chocolatier’s Curse

TG Wolff

The Chocolatier’s Curse by Christopher Seto is a PI mystery.

Criminology grad student Theo Chan needs a summer job. He answers a posting from the offices of Primrose Ghaust-Lee and Philip Teebin, he gets more than he could imagine when the private investigators accept a job to investigate the strange happenings at Clumindell Chocolate and Confectionery Company. Years ago, a maintenance worker died—whether it was an accident or suicide is still debated. Since her death, the Clumindell’s mascot clown has been sighted on the campus, which are then followed by injuries to an employee. Now Theo is helping Primrose and Teebin unmask a clown who may also be a killer.

Bottom line: The Chocolatier’s Curse is for you if you like murder mysteries with imaginative, fantastical characters and setting.

The story of The Chocolatier’s Curse is the imaginative premise. A little bit Willy Wonka, a sprinkling of Psych and you have the investigation of Clumindell Chocolate and Confectionery Company. The story is told by Theo Chan, hired to act as an assistant to the elderly detectives. He is the straight man who always feels one step behind his eccentric employers and is figuring out the mystery along with us. Primrose Ghaust-Lee has advanced macular degeneration. While her mind is sharp, her sight is poor. Philip Teebin is a ball of chaotic energy who excels at endearing himself to the people he wants information from. This is a highly intelligent and entertaining detective trio.

The case is initiated by Gillian Clumindell, who is dying from a heart condition. Before he heads to the big candy shop in the sky, he wants an answer to the “haunting” of his chocolate company by their clown mascot and the consequent injuries to employees. Ian Clumindell is Gillian’s grumpy older brother and business partner who does not want anything investigated. Each employee of the chocolate company and person in the town of Blue Frog, PA are quirky and individual.

Theo is our narrator, and he is reliable; we do know everything he knows. There are times when Primrose or Phillip do not share knowledge with Theo, which makes this a follow-along mystery for us readers (and for Theo too.) The logic of the overall story holds up after all the threads are unraveled. For a light-hearted and, at times, playful mystery, it is not simple.

This is Christopher Seto’s debut novel. It is an excellent first book with well developed characters, well timed humor, well-constructed mystery, and plenty to smile about. This is the first case for the offices Ghaust-Lee and Teebin. Their second case, The Vanishing Stone, comes to TBR piles on April 8.

Book Review: Zigzag Girl

TG Wolff

Zigzag Girl is mystery suspense.

It’s opening night for Magician Lucy Moon and her partners Van and Stormie, who are as close as sisters. Amid the bright lights and sparkle of illusion, murder lurks. Performing the sawing a woman illusion, Lucy lifts the lid to enter, when she finds the space is already taken. Her best friend, a black rose, a prop that has killed before—no, Lucy is not going to leave this one to the cops.

Bottom line: Zigzag Girl is for you if you like your illusions, suspense, mystery twisted together with a sprinkling of Irish magic.

Listen to the first chapter and full review on Mysteries to Die For Toe Tag

The strength of Zigzag Girl is the storytelling. From the first pages, Lucy Moon captures us with the depth of her personality, skills, and charm. She leads us through the active investigation into the death of her best friend and fellow magician and through a 1940s cold case that was closed with the wrong man being blamed. The interwoven elements of illusion, Irish magic, mystery, and suspense make this genre crosser nearly impossible to put down.

Usually, I would give more of a synopsis here, but back-of-the-book summary is intentionally scant. I see why. This is a book best experienced for yourself.

Zigzag girl will most appeal to readers who enjoy crossing genres. It is not pure mystery although there are mystery elements. It is not pure suspense, although it is suspenseful. It is not pure thriller, although the set up is thrilling.

My only criticism is a reflection on me as a reader. The story does go back and forth in time, which always is challenging for me to put events in order they happened. There were parts where I had to put my faith in Setton that the characters and actions were knitted together.

Zigzag Girl was highly entertaining and the pages flew by. The book releases March 3rd and absolutely belongs on pre-order and TBR stacks.

The Zigzag Girl was released from Black Spring Crim and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.

About Ruth Knafo Setton

Born in Morocco and raised in the Lehigh Valley, Ruth Knafo Setton is the author of the novel, The Road to Fez (Counterpoint Press). Her honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, PEN, CineStory, Nimrod, Cutthroat, Writer’s Digest, and residencies at Hedgebrook, Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is a multi-genre author whose fiction, creative nonfiction, screenplays, and poetry have won many awards and appeared in journals and anthologies. A former Fiction Editor of Arts & Letters, she has taught Creative Writing and Multicultural Literature at Lehigh University and on Semester at Sea.

RuthSetton.com

Book Review: Bait the Devil

Book Review: Bait the Devil

TG Wolff

Bait the Devilis a PI Thriller.

Dot Ybarra and T.J. Roman earned their reputations for playing hard on the battlefield. Their special skills translated well to bounty hunting and private investigating. Those skills will be needed as a simple favor to investigate a fellow veteran who no-showed a court date turns into a wasp’s nest of violent human traffickers. The only way to solve this problem is to bait the devil out of hell.

Bottom line: Bait the Devil is for you if you like fast-paced, physical thrills with a gripping plot that pulls you in and keeps you.

The strength of the story is found in the lead character, Dot Ybarra. She is a physically fit, mentally strong lead who does things her own way. She takes command of this story and drives it to its end. I liked and respected Dot in the hero role.

The supporting cast are good compliments to Dot. T.J. Roman is her equally and could carry a book himself. Yet having two strong characters are partners doesn’t cause a problem—they chose to go the same way. Dot’s lawyer cousin and her ranching family provide the stability and resources Dot needs to get the job done.

The plot was well developed. It’s not giving away spoilers to say the bad guys are human traffickers (it says it on the back cover), because it’s impossible to guess how Dot and T.J. get from a missing veteran to human behavior at its worse. You keep turning the pages, cheering the pair on.

The logic of this one holds up well. For Dot and T.J., it’s a linear story, discovering and then following the trail of breadcrumbs. The bad guys logic holds too. And when their paths cross, worlds truly collide.

Bait the Devil will be a favorite for lovers of hard-core thrillers and gun toting PI detectives. This is the 2nd book in the Bounty of Shadows series—I did not read the first. From what I surmise, Book 1 was an origin story for the partners. References were explained well enough that I felt in the know. Starting with Book 1: RIDE A DARK TRAIL, is a nice-to-have, in my opinion, but not a requirement. You can jump in right here.

MEET Winter Austin

A lifelong Mid-West gal with strong ties to the agriculture world, Winter grew up listening to the captivating stories told by relatives around a table or a campfire. As a published author, she learned her glass half-empty personality makes for a perfect suspense/thriller writer. Taking her ability to verbally spin a vivid and detailed story, Winter translated that into writing deadly romantic suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.

When she’s not slaving away at the computer, you can find Winter supporting her daughter in cattle shows, seeing her three sons off into the wide-wide world, loving on her fur babies, prodding her teacher husband, and nagging at her flock of hens to stay in the coop or the dogs will get them.

AuthorWinterAustin.com

Book Review: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express

Book Review: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express

TG Wolff

The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is an amateur detective mystery.

Paris 1928. Eliza Baker, the secretary to the secretary of the Detection Club, finds herself on the fabulous Orient Express en route to Istabul and a writer’s conference. With her is her boss, Dorothy L. Sayers, and fellow Detection Club founding member Agatha Christie. Fellow passengers include acquaintances of Dorothy’s, one of whom dies in the elegant dining car. Reunited with Theo Sharp, Eliza investigates the case that threatens to embroil her employer in accusations, scandal, and charges of murder.

Bottom line: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is for you if you like the style of the golden-age of mysteries with your favorite authors as featured characters.

One of the many strengths of THE CASE OF THE BODY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is the way in which Oliver crafts full, multi-dimensional characters of Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie. History often simplifies the complexity of real personalities, boiling people down to one or two trait—he was gruff, she was talkative. Oliver did not take short cuts, going far beyond simple paper cut-outs to delight us with warm, intelligent, and flawed characters. From heartache to shame, from amusement to joy, Christie’s and Sayers’ far from perfect lives make them eminently relatable.

In the Author’s Note, Oliver gives us a peak into her research at the Wade Center at Wheaton College where Dorothy L. Sayer’s archives are held. Beyond the obvious effort Oliver put into her research, her real achievement is how she was able to digest the information and, like silk, weave it into a fabric that is strong and yet delicate.

While I obviously do love the characters of Sayer and Christie, Eliza is the star of this show. At 29, she is unfashionably single and under employed. She has extra ordinary skills from her work during the war and a brief stint with Scotland Yard. She is smart and courageous, which are sometimes at odds as she will charge into situations less than fully prepared. Eliza is a fun detective to watch—while you may not know what she’ll do next, you can be sure it will not be what’s expected of her.

Theo Sharp is the son of an earl, trying to decide what his life will be. In this book, he and his friend Eric Blair, who will become the famed writer George Orwell, are working odd jobs through France, experiencing the life of the working poor, when they take positions are stewards on the Orient Express. Theo, already besotted with Eliza, becomes her side kick and confident. With his position, he gives Eliza easier access to the various cars and cabins than she would otherwise have. There is an attraction between the two that has the otherwise sharp and capable characters fumbling in the dark without a clue.

The portrayal of travel on the train is worth the read alone. The description of the décor and the dress are a step back in time. I found the peaks into the working sections of the train, such as the kitchen and dining cars, particularly interesting for their novelty.

Without giving spoilers, the logic of the mysteries … was complicated. Some elements were fully resolved and stood the test of “looking for the back.” Other elements were not fully contained within the book, hopefully setting up for a satisfying Book 3, but leaving me wanting a bit more.

This is the second book in the Detection Club Mystery. While the mystery itself is independent, in my opinion, it is best to start with Book 1 “The Case of the Christie Conspiracy” for Eliza and the Detection Club’s origin.

Book Review: The Rodeo Cowboy’s Redemption

TG Wolff

The Rodeo Cowboy’s Redemption is a sweet romance. Rhett Foster has been a rodeo cowboy most of his life. His recent retirement, prompted by needing to care of his recovering father, isn’t a comfortable glove to wear. Especially when he is pining for the untouchable—his best friend’s sister. Nora Miles wants something more out of life than a career on her family’s ranch. Now that a certain cowboy’s come back to town, she can get out of it fast enough. Because the more she’s around him, the more tempted she is to give him another chance … and her heart just might not survive that.

Bottom line: The Rodeo Cowboy’s Redemption is for you if you like sweet romances with heroes you can cheer for.

This is the third story in Jacobs’ Miles of Montana series. Nora Miles, the middle child, has watched her older and younger brothers pair off but has no illusions Fate will be as kind to her. She hadn’t always thought so. Just last year, her life long friendship with Rhett Foster sparked—which he squelched by ghosting her. Focusing now on her career, she wants to move to Boseman and get back into the design work that was were passion in college. All she has to do is win a magazine contest for her lodge renovation project. How hard could that be?

Jacobs excels at creating warm, welcoming spaces and inviting the reader in. In this series, it’s the Flying J ranch in Marietta, Montana and four generations of Miles’s. Grandparents Eli and Sunnike, parents Teddy and Daisy, children Sam, Nora, and Jaxon, and grandchild Madison are the perfectly nosy, messy, and loving family we all want to be a part of.

In Nora and Rhett, we have two capable and successful people who are adorably incompetent at connecting with the one person that matters most—the other person. Rhett is trapped behind the 10-ft thick wall of “best friend’s sister”, not realizing there’s a door in the wall. Nora is wrapped in the heartache of being ghosted, she doesn’t tug the conversation string that could free her. This friends-to-lovers story is funny and charming.

This romance is in the sweet range, at two chili peppers. All of the fun happens behind closed doors or under covers, but there’s plenty of romance and heave petting to spark the imagination.

This is the 3rd book of the series. While the story is stand-alone, the characters are not. To maximize your reading pleasure, I recommend you start with Book 1: Choosing the Montana Cowboy (Sam’s story), and then Book 2: The Cowboy’s Christmas Truce (Jaxon’s story).

I read an ARC. This cowboy is releasing Feb 24 and is available on pre-order. Books 1 and 2 are currently available.

Happy reading, sweethearts.

Book Review: Maximum Pressure

TG Wolff

Maximum Pressureis an amateur sleuth mystery. Handwriting expert Claudia Rose is headed to her 25-year high school reunion and a cold case. Lucy Valentine was a junior when she walked out of the high school and was never seen again … but she did leave a note. Now, her ex-boyfriend and current filmmaker Matt Macedo is making a documentary and enlisting Claudia’s help. As they start interviewing people, the reluctant witnesses reveal there was much more going on than a girl unhappy at school.

Bottom line: Maximum Pressure is for you if you like cold case mysteries where there is more than meets the eye.

Hear me read the first 3 chapters on Mysteries to Die For podcast to sample the pressure and decide if this one is for you!

M2D4 Podcast Toe Tag

The note Lucy Valentine left has always been a point of confusion for Lucy’s mother and now for Claudia. After examining the original, Claudia doubts everything about the note—from the message to the hand that wrote it. Twisted with Lucy Valentine’s cold case is the very fresh case of the death of Josh Dickson. Claudia finds the body of the former teacher and driver’s ed instructor at the bottom of the high school swimming pool. What is first chocked up to the sad result of too much alcohol is determined to be murder. Claudia decides to quietly ask questions to figure out exactly who was where that evening.

Claudia is our storyteller and our detective. She straddles a line between an amateur detective and an expert detective. She isn’t a cop, though she is married to one, but she is an expert in handwriting and is frequently consulted and testifies in civil and criminal court cases. Claudia knows the rules of policing and generally follows them; she is not a renegade type of character. But she has friends and isn’t afraid to use them, which makes her a resourceful detective.

As a mystery, MAXIMUM PRESSURE falls into the “ride along” category. Perhaps because this is a cold case, the clues and suspects evolve as Claudia discovers them. One of my favorite things about the book is that we do generally know everything Claudia knows. This is a pet peeve of mine, when narrators withhold information, and so I was very happy that Claudia was not that kind of narrator. Overall the pace is deliberate, taking the time to interview the witnesses in a way mystery lovers will be accustomed to.

Standing at the end and looking to the front, overall, the logic holds up. For Claudia, this was a straightforward, Point A to Point Z investigation, but then she was looking at it 26 years after the fact. Going back to the original events, I do have some questions related to timing and sequence, but what happened, why, and what happened after are solid.

MAXIMUM PRESSURE is the 9th book in the Claudia Rose series. It is the first I have read. This does work as a stand alone or a good place to jump into the series because the case largely takes place away from Claudia’s normal turf. The scenes with her husband are brief and point to their current relationship, backstory not required.

Overall, MAXIMUM PRESSURE and Claudia Rose was an enjoyable read. It kept my attention and read quickly in just a few sittings. Definitely recommended for ride-along and cold case mystery lovers and anyone looking for a new series to sink their teeth into.

Toe Tag: Early Termination by Cindy Goyette

TG Wolff

Early Termination is a suspense crime novel. Parole Officer Casey Carson has her hands full with a stacked case load and a rookie to train. Her workload takes a twist when one of her clients is found dead with her business card stuff in his mouth. Now the cops want her, members of the Diablo gang want her, her ex-husband and her new maybe plaything, they both want her, too.

Bottom line: Early Termination is for you if you like fast-paced crime stories woven with suspense, thrills, and humor.

Listen to chapters one and two here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast

About Cindy Goyette

Cindy Goyette is a former probation officer who had a front row seat to the criminal justice system. She kept her sanity by finding humor in most situations. A mix of these things helped her create The Probation Case Files Mystery Series. After spending over twenty years in Arizona, Cindy lives in Washington state with her husband and two Cocker Spaniels. Visit her at CCGoyette.com

Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com

Book Review: Betrayal by Ed Teja

TG Wolff

Betrayal is a thriller. Corporal Tina Clarke received a medical discharge from the Army. She didn’t want it or need it, but there she is, back in Kingman, AZ with no options, no future, and one friend who has problems of her own. A lawyer for everyman, Bobby Black, thinks Tina has potential and if she can get out from under the Army’s eye, she just might make something out of this hole she’s in.

Bottom line: Betrayal is for you if you like thrillers at an “every day” level where underdogs have heroes, too.

This is the origin story. We know Tina Clarke’s Army experience does not match working in the motor pool as her official papers show. But what exactly she did, well, that’s classified. We know she was unceremoniously discharged and returned to her point of origin: Kingman, AZ. Without an official transition, Tina has nothing but a high school BFF who is living on the lower side of life and a lawyer who gave us the high stakes game to work from a storefront.

The characters are intelligently crafted, allowing room to grow as the series develops. Tina has her secrets and is trying to figure out the game being played and who can be trusted. The lawyer, Bobby Black, is shrewd, bold, and comes at cases from all angles, even those less than legal. Beryl is the BFF who grew up to be a diner waitress who sells drugs for the local gang, Kingman Roughnecks while trying to avoid questions about her recently deceased boyfriend from the gang, the cops, and Tina. The cast of characters includes a detective trying to solve the case of a drug buy gone very wrong and the head of biker gang working to get his money and the product while keeping control of his gang. Every character is out for their own goal…maybe with the exception of Bobby. He is the white knight in the sea of gray.

The thrill comes from the conflict created when the goals of these characters collide. Tina is, to some extent, caught in the middle. Not one to run and hide, she decides to fight her way out.

The logic of this holds well. The characters act according to their primary goals and it’s a matter of who is going to come out on top. The pacing of the story is a bit slower than typical in a thriller. I chalk this up to being an origin story, which builds the backstory and motivation for the lead character to become the hero.

This is the first book in the series and was an easy read. The characters were easy to distinguish (something I often struggle with) which added to my enjoyment.

5-Star Book Reviews for 2024

TG Wolff

I am fortunate in that the Toe Tags I do as part of Mysteries To Die For exposes me to many authors and titles I wouldn’t ordinarily find on my own. Add to that list the books that are recommended by other readers and the ones my husband gives me and, well, I read a lot of mystery, crime fiction, and thrillers. This post contains those that I gave 5 start ratings to. To earn 5 stars from me, a story has to have flawless logic, no loose ends, great characters, and, of course, be entertaining. Happy Reading Detectives!

M2D4 Toe Tag: Elephant Safari by Peter Riva

TG Wolff

Elephant Safari is a political thriller. Documentary film maker Pero Baltazar and elite guide Mbuno are on a walking safari when they come across a herd of elephants being terrorized by poachers. After intervening, they take on the responsibility of protecting the herd and ending the poaching, which draws them into an international conspiracy they could not imagine

Bottom line: Elephant Safari is for you if you like dramatically intense political thrillers and the exotic environs of East Africa.

Listen to an excerpt here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For

Meet Peter Riva

peterriva.com

Peter Riva has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, spending many months spanning thirty years with legendary guides for East African adventurers. He created the Wild Things television series in 1995 and has worked for more than forty years as a literary agent. Riva writes science fiction and African adventure books, including the Mbuno & Pero thrillers. He lives in Gila, New Mexico.