Cozy Mystery

Thoughts on MURDER AMONG THE STACKS

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Are those who celebrate ready for Turkey Day? We are. Well, it’s the last Wednesday of November, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a hybrid cozy mystery/word search puzzle. It was certainly something different. Murder Among the Stacks by Rosie A. Point was released from Adams Media yesterday (the 25th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Murder Among the Stacks follows Abby Jones and her cat Reggie as they try to make a go it by opening a bookstore in a small town. Abby’s fresh off a bad break up and looking for distractions. When a hot author is murdered at a book signing in her bookstore, Abby gets all the distractions she wants and more. She’s an avid word search solver, so at the end of each chapter is a puzzle for the reader, so they can help collect clues and solve the murder alongside Abby.

The story: surprisingly cute. Each chapter is only one page, so it’s basically just an outline of a story. No flesh, nowhere to really hide anything. But it hits all the cozy mystery tropes all the same. The characters are all stereotypes with no real room to grow. It’s not bad, but avid cozy mystery fans will not be buying this for the story.

The puzzles: standard word searches for the most part. I honestly stopped doing the puzzles about halfway through because there was no way for me to circle the words. It would’ve been a lot more fun if I had a hardcopy or if they created a way to highlight the words in the ebook. Not sure how the final version will work, if they even release an ebook version. But the paperback version should be lovely.

The layout: super cute. There are lots of illustrations to keep the book interesting. The puzzle that reveals the killer has an added trick to it. There’s an answer key at the end. It’s very nicely designed.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Murder Among the Stacks for what it is. It’s definitely more of a puzzle book with a twist of cozy mystery. I would probably have preferred a crossword or something, but to each their own.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It’s a cute concept and if you enjoy word searches with a little story, I do recommend it. But it’s not something to pick up if you’re looking for a regular cozy mystery.

Thoughts on MURDER AT THE WHAM BAM CLUB

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are about the same as they’ve been this entire year. That’s about it. But it’s the last Wednesday of July, so that you know what that means. It’s book review time! This month, I decided to try a new cozy mystery series. Murder at the Wham Bam Club by Carolyn Marie Wilkins was released yesterday (the 29th) from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

Murder at the Wham Bam Club follows Nola Ann Jackson as she returns to her hometown after the death of her husband. It’s the 1920s and Nola’s a young psychic just learning how to use her gifts. When she’s asked to help find a missing young woman, Nola finds herself dragged into arson, murder, and mysteries. While everyone else would be happy blaming the missing girl, Nola is determined to find out what’s actually going on in her small town. Whether or not she can do it before the police find and charge the missing girl is the question.

The plot is pretty standard. There are some interesting red herrings. I fully admit that I found some of the romances icky. A 16 year old shacking up with and getting married to a bass player of unknown age after one meeting (not even a date). Gross. I get it in the context of the story and its setting, but it still makes me cringe. Most of the relationships in this book have huge red flags. But the mystery part of the book is entertaining and distracting enough that the story is still enjoyable.

The characters are pretty well fleshed out. I like Nola and her aunt. I thought Lilly and Brenda could’ve used more page time because they both feel a little cookie cutter. Jim has potential. It felt like he was going to prove the rumors wrong, but then he just kind of disappears from the book. Hopefully he gets his redemption in later books. I really like Nola’s bosses at the catering company. They provide a levelheadedness to the book that helps bring Nola back to her senses once in a while. Everyone basically has potential to grow (for better or worse) in future books.

As for the writing, I enjoyed it. But the language is pretty true to its time period, so if words like negroes or a school for “colored girls” bothers you, be aware. I still suggest reading it because it’s a fun mystery, though.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Murder at the Wham Bam Club. I’m not sure I’ll add it to my must-buy series, but I’ll definitely give book two a shot whenever it comes out.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I do recommend it if you’re into cozy mysteries. Just be aware of the language if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing.

Reading List

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’ve been trying to think of things to blog about, but everything will either make me angry or sad. The administration and how they’re apparently taking blatant bribes (a fucking jet is a sus as hell “gift”) right there in front of everyone and the MAGAts are apparently okay with that (and so much worse). There’s also some cripple stuff I thought about sharing, but it’s depressing and no one wants to hear about that kind of thing except maybe other cripples who would appreciate knowing they aren’t alone (you’re not alone). I also briefly acknowledged (in my head) that it’s my mother’s birthday, but she’s dead and doesn’t deserve anymore emotional effort on my part to explain what a horrible person she was. So! I suppose I’ll just give you a list of books I’m going to read in the foreseeable future.

I currently have a review book for May that I’m working on, plus two books for June and one for July. Here they are:

1. The Whisperwood Legacy by Jo Schulte.

2. R.A.T.S. Revolutionary Army of Teens by Claudia Daher. This is supposedly due out the beginning of June, but apparently there are issues so there’s not even a GoodReads page yet and I can’t find an official cover release either, which is making me question if this book is even happening. We’ll see. I’m reading it anyway just in case.

1. A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox.

4. Murder at the Wham Bam Club by Carolyn Marie Wilkins.

I don’t usually plan ahead with my for fun reads, but I do have a few I will definitely get to soon.

1 and 2. Rogue Community College by David R. Slayton. The fourth Adam Binder book comes out later this year, so I figured I’d check this one out in case there is character crossover. I also have a second Slayton book (unrelated to this one) that is on my list. Dark Moon, Shallow Sea.

3. The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna. I finally read book two of the Gilded Ones a couple of months ago and want to finish the series.

Beyond that, I have a couple of other series I should finish and a bunch of cozy mysteries I’ve collected and never read, but it all depends on what comes out and if I’m forgetting books that I pre-ordered. What’s on your reading list?

Thoughts on LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are still fine considering the dumpster fire we’re living in. But we’re not here to talk about that. It’s the last Wednesday of April, so you know what that means… book review time! I cheated a little. I picked a book by an author whose work I’m fond of, so I went in with the assumption that I would enjoy the book. It’s fluffy gay stuff wrapped up in a supernatural cozy mystery. Of course I’m into it. Love at Second Sight by F. T. Lukens was released yesterday (the 29th) by Margaret K. McElderry Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Love at Second Sight follows Cam, a regular teenage human boy, who just wants to spend the new school year hanging out with his bestie Al, who happens to be a witch, and moon over his crush, Mateo (a werewolf). And most of all, he wants to stay hidden in the background. An unfortunate spectacle in the hallway ruins any chance Cam has of a normal year. He has an obviously supernatural episode that can only mean one thing: he’s clairvoyant. On top of bringing him some seriously unwanted attention, the vision he has is one of blood and death. Was it real? Who’s the girl? If it hasn’t happened yet, is there any way to stop it? Along the way, Cam collects a ragtag group of supernatural friends who might help or might hinder his investigation. The only thing for certain is he’s not alone and there’s no disappearing into the background for Cam.

The plot was great, if a little predictable. Some of the clues were a little heavy handed, like they didn’t want to be overlooked. But it was fun and had everything you can really ask for from a cozy mystery meets teen supernatural fantasy. Uncontrolled powers. The encourager of all the mystery shenanigans. That weird teenage compulsion to not involve the adults. It’s adorable. My only real problem with the book is the pacing. It starts out super slow for the first three quarters of the book, then everything is kind of crammed into the last quarter. There’s not even much character development early on. Some stuff happens then everything stagnates for far too long before things start happening again. The action could definitely have been woven throughout the story better.

The characters are where this book really shines. They’re all super relatable. It’s a fun group with someone for everyone to adore. Cam is the typical teen trying to find his place in the world. When it turns out he’s special but he doesn’t know what to do about it and his support system fails him, he chooses to let new people into his life even though it’s risky. Al grows a lot. Mateo proves that even seemingly perfect people need help. Gemma is nuts and I love her. Reese is probably my favorite, but I wish he could have had a bit more to do. Kaci starts as the mean girl, but abruptly changes into the spacey friend which could have been handled better. But overall, I loved everyone.

The writing was cute. There are a lot of references and current slang that will surely date the book in a few years (some of it is already dated), but I enjoy that kind of writing some times. Especially when I’m looking for something that I can look back on for nostalgia purposes.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed Love at Second Sight. It’s not my favorite book by Lukens, but it’s not something I feel was a waste of time. It was cute and that’s all I was hoping for.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Probably closer to 3.75. If you’re not familiar with the author, I’d definitely recommend one of their other books first.

Thoughts on ONE SHARP STITCH

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay other than Sophia having a severely sprained back. Pupper parent life is at it again, but at least there wasn’t an anal blood crime scene this time. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of March! It’s book review time! I went back to the cozy mystery genre this month. One Sharp Stitch by Allie Pleiter is the first in a new series. It was released yesterday (the 25th) from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

One Sharp Stitch follows Shelby Phillips as she returns home to sort her life out after being laid off and manage her mother’s needlepoint store while her parents go on a road trip. Her strained relationship with her seemingly perfect sister doesn’t equal a particularly pleasant homecoming. Throw in the murder of an old school acquaintance and things get even more complicated. Can Shelby solve her own problems, let alone a murder? She’s sure going to try.

The plot is pretty standard, but with some family drama thrown in for fun. There’s a love interest, an annoyed police chief who isn’t quite as useless as she thinks he is, and a blossoming friendship that is definitely the shenanigans-encouraging bestie. There’s a lot of talking, but not a lot of going out and actually investigating, so the story moves slowly. The actual clues kind of just fall into Shelby’s lap. I’m fine with that, but I admit it’s not as engaging as other series with similar crafting themes. However, there are some nice twists that made me second guess myself for a couple of pages before going back to my main suspect (which was the correct one).

As far as the characters go, I liked them. At the least, they have potential. Shelby and her family are fairly fleshed out. As is the chief. Most of the other side characters are pretty flat, but they each have potential to be more in future books. I found Shelby’s and her sister’s aversion to their parent’s fun weird and annoying. So what if they wear matching shirts and stop at all the corny roadside attractions and take silly pictures? It’s not cringe if they’re enjoying themselves. So, I got a little tired of the teenager-esque “ew my parents still have fun” attitude from a couple of 30+ year olds, but that’s a me thing. Otherwise, the characters were interesting enough to keep me entertained when the plot dragged.

The writing was unobtrusive and nothing special. Sometimes, themed cozies can get carried away with all the technical jargon relating to the topic (needlepoint in this case) because the author wants to prove they know what they’re talking about, but this one doesn’t do that. There’s a nice balance of technical terms and explanations of those terms without feeling like the author is craftersplaining (like mansplaining, but crafters instead of men).

Ultimately, I enjoyed One Sharp Stitch. It has some issues, but nothing major. Most first books in a series have issues that either get better or worse as the series continues, so I’m willing to give this series another shot. I’ll keep an eye out for book two.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. If you’re into cozy mysteries or cross stitching, it’s definitely worth a look.

Thoughts on KNIFE SKILLS FOR BEGINNERS

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Happy holidays or just happy Wednesday to those who don’t! It’s the last Wednesday of December (and the year!), so that means it’s book review time! This month, I decided to go with a new cozy mystery book (there’s potential for a series, but it’s unclear if that’s the plan). Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin was released yesterday (the 24th) from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

Knife Skills for Beginners follows Paul Delamare, a chef who recently lost his husband and is currently in “avoid all things” mode. When an old friend (Christian) recruits him to help out at a cooking school, Paul hems and haws, but eventually gives in. What’s the worst that could happen? Being in the frame for his friend’s decapitation is apparently one of those worst case scenarios. Rather than go down for murder, Paul decides to try to solve things on his own, but the deeper he gets, the more he regrets his impulsive choices. Especially deciding to take the job in the first place.

The plot is pretty standard, but it’s one of those books that throws every trope into the story and just kind of hopes it works out. It doesn’t. Everything is muddled together and convoluted and I’m still not entirely sure about what happened. Christian’s broken arm, for instance. Was it from a fall or was it broken on purpose or what? We get a few scenarios about what might have happened, but no clear answer in the end. The whole plotline with Paul’s stepson was useless. It didn’t move the plot forward and there was no resolution of it in the end. His introduction could have waited until he was going to play an active part in the story (maybe the next book). The two tiny things he did could have been accomplished a number of ways without muddying the actual plot of the book. It was an overly complicated story when it shouldn’t have been, so it was disappointing.

As far as the characters go, they aren’t great. Paul is basically a caricature of a gay man. He’s borderline absurd. I wanted to like him, but he didn’t feel real. The other characters were flat and lacked personality. They all sounded and behaved the same, so I had difficulty keeping track of who was doing what. The only reason I could keep track of the murderer was because it’s exactly who you should expect it to be if you’ve read any cozy mysteries at all. Yes, there’s a twist you’ll see coming as well, but only because it’s a typical one, not because the character was fleshed out and subtly hinted at.

There’s also a lot of continuity errors that muddle things even more. I normally don’t mention minor errors (typos, dropped words, extra words, etc.) because ARCs aren’t the final, polished versions, but these were glaring errors that would take another round of decent edits to fix. The final fight scene made no sense half the time. It was pretty clear that the author decided to take certain scenes in different directions, then forgot to go back and weave everything together. I hope these are fixed before the final release, but I’ve rarely seen it this poorly edited in an ARC that wasn’t from a self-publishing author, so I have doubts.

The writing is fine as far as rhythm and pacing goes. It’s a quick read despite the convolutedness of it. As per food themed cozies, there are some working recipes (stuff you’re supposed to actually be able to make), but none of them were particularly tasty sounding. I just didn’t get into it the way I was hoping to.

Ultimately, I didn’t care for Knife Skills for Beginners. I had no idea the author was a famous chef (I don’t watch cooking competition shows), but it wouldn’t have helped even if I did. It’s a mediocre book at best and I probably won’t pick up any future books if this is a series.

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Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One and a half, really. If you just devour all things food cozy mystery, pick it up. Otherwise, it’s not going to hurt to give it a miss.

Thoughts on THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Anyone want to go scream into the void with me? No? Fine. It’s the last Wednesday of September, so it’s time for our regularly scheduled book review! I don’t know why, but September seems to be when a crap ton of Christmas themed books come out, so I gave in and decided to go festive. It’s still a cozy mystery, though. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter came out yesterday (the 24th) from Avon Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do it!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year follows Maggie and Ethan, mystery writers at the same publishing house who can’t seem to get along. Maggie despises Ethan and Ethan is seemingly too cool to care. When they both end up invited on a mystery Christmas trip to an estate in England, they’re thrust together to solve a locked door mystery. Is it a murder? A test? A little of both? No one seems to know. But the situation forces both of them to face feelings and inner truths they’d rather avoid.

The plot. The mystery part of the plot was pretty straightforward. Locked room mystery turns into someone actively trying to murder people. The red herrings are other popular murder mystery tropes (someone embezzling from a little old lady, fake relative trying to get in the will, the butler who turns out to be much more, etc.). This book is basically every expected mystery storyline jammed into one story, but somehow it still works. It’s weird, but I liked it. I do see how some people could miss the clues to the actual baddie, though. A lot is happening, so if you’re a skimmer or a speed reader, you’re going to miss things. This is a book you really need to read word-for-word. The same can be said for the romance subplot. A lot is happening there too. It’s adorable, but also super creepy (I’ll get into that after I talk about the characters). Just plan to pay attention if you read this book.

The characters. I liked Maggie. Her growth and how she reconnects to herself is actually the best part of this book. She comes from a screwed up past and emotionally abusive relationship that has recently ended. She’s meek and unsure of herself, but by the end she is learning what kind of person she really is and she’s taking control of her life. Or trying to. The book doesn’t portray the process as easy and done within a few days. But it shows her working on it. Ethan has his own revelations, but he doesn’t really grow much from them. The other characters are fairly stereotypical with a few quirks thrown in. Some of them change, but they don’t get enough time on the page to become proper characters. They’re entertaining enough though, so that’s fine.

The creepiness. This was my only issue with the book. Ethan is fecking creepy. I know his intense love is supposed to be sweet and charming and endearing, but it’s really possessive and stalker-ish and covered in red flags. Especially when we start seeing things from his point of view. He’d die for her. He’d kill for her. Like, calm yourself, bro. You haven’t even kissed her yet. This poor woman has finally escaped a gaslighting, cheating, thieving narcissist and now she’s ending up with a possessive stalker? It doesn’t help that he gives off those vibes of “if I can’t have her, no one can,” so when she leaves him, there’s a 99% chance of a murder-suicide happening. So, yeah. I would say I’m just jaded, but I read enough creepy stuff to know the signs. I really enjoy the creepy stuff. But I prefer my creepy stuff to acknowledge that it’s gross, not to wrap it up in a thin veneer of “hey, this is what healthy relationships look like!” It’s really not. Remember kids… we want a Morticia and Gomez romance, not a Harley and Joker one.

The writing was good. It made for a quick and easy read despite the jam-packed plot. I didn’t have trouble putting the book down, but I also wanted to pick it back up again when I was supposed to be reading.

Ultimately, I enjoyed The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year. It’s one of the better books I’ve read this year. Maybe even in the last couple of years. I’ll keep an eye out for more books by Ally Carter.

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Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. If it weren’t for the creepy relationship stuff, I probably would’ve gone for 5 stars because I had fun with it. I still definitely recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a cute, Christmas-y cozy.

Thoughts on THE HOUSE ON GRAVEYARD LANE

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are about the same as usual. But it’s the last Wednesday of August, so there’s no time to complain about life. It’s book review time! This month, I decided to go with an old fashioned cozy mystery. The House on Graveyard Lane by Martin Edwards was released yesterday (August 27th) from Poisoned Pen Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Before I get started, I also have to say that there was no indication on NetGalley that this was the fourth installment of an ongoing series, so just remember that I’m judging this book on its own merits. Things might have been different if I’d read the previous books. Let’s do the thing.

The House on Graveyard Lane primarily follows Rachel Savernake as she tries to figure out why surreal artist Damaris Gethin killed herself in front of a select group of people. Jacob Flint, a crime reporter, is also interested in the case, but he has his own case to follow involving the beautiful Kiki de Villiers until the story is mysteriously quashed by the powers that be. Set in 1930s London, it’s a mystery for fans of historical fiction as well as whodunits.

The plot is deceiving. The blurb on the back and the initial setup indicate that the main mystery will be solving Damaris Gethin’s suicide, but that really takes a backseat to everything else going on in the book. They wrap it up like two thirds of the way through in one or two paragraphs that are just offhand remarks in a conversation about the other stuff that’s going on. It’s really annoying. And even the main issues in the book are arbitrarily wrapped up. There’s a “clue finder” at the end with a bunch of stuff the reader was supposed to pick up on as proof of the outcomes, but it’s all vague stuff. Yes, I picked up on everything mentioned, but none of it was solid. Everything was guesswork that only came together because the villain was too stupid to keep their trap shut. Don’t confess and there’s literally a hundred other explanations for the so-called evidence. It’s just unsatisfying all around.

None of the characters are particularly likeable. Mostly because they all turn out to be some kind of bad guy. But even Rachel and her crew are not great. She’s a nosy rich person who thinks she should be allowed to do whatever she wants without consequences. Her “servants” aren’t really fleshed out in this book, but they have potential to be good characters. Maybe they are in the other books. I don’t know. And Jacob Flint turns into a whiny little bitch at the first sign of trouble despite acting like he’s tough. There’s no nice way of putting that. Maybe the other books give all the main characters more likeable qualities, but this one leaves everyone a bit thin. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have to actually like characters, but I do have to be able to see beyond the stereotype they’re filling to make them interesting. I can’t do it here.

I did enjoy the writing and the throwback to old timey English mysteries. For what it was, the pacing was fine. If the story had been what it promised to be and the ending had been stronger, I probably would have liked it a lot.

Ultimately though, I’m not a fan of The House on Graveyard Lane. There was just too much that was unsatisfying about it. I’m not even interested in trying the other books in the series.

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Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. If you’ve read the other books in the series and enjoyed them, you might really like this book. I don’t know. But if you’re going in blind like I did, this is perfectly skippable.

Thoughts on A DEADLY WALK IN DEVON

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m sure it’s lovely somewhere or to someone, anyway. It’s only Tuesday as I’m writing this, but the forecast says thunderstorms, so it may or may not be lovely here. And I’ve used the word lovely too much, so now it sounds awkward. Let’s get to what this post is about… a book review! That’s right. It’s the last Wednesday of the month. This time, I decided to nestle back into my comfort zone with a cozy mystery. A Deadly Walk in Devon by Nicholas George was released on the 26th from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. So, let’s do the thing!

A Deadly Walk in Devon follows Rick “Chase” Chasen, a retired San Diego detective who is grieving the death of his significant other. He’s struggling with life in general, so he decides to go on a walking tour of Devon where he meets up with Billie, a woman he knows from previous trips, and a handful of other guests who booked the same trip. On particularly annoying guest confides in Chase that he’s been receiving death threats and enlists Chase’s help in staying safe. Chase is hesitant, but also tempted by the puzzle of it all. When the man falls to his death, Chase feels the need to figure out what really happened.

The plot. An old, rich jerk falls to his death in a strange place surrounded by strangers. Or are they strangers? Cue the suspenseful “dun dun dun.” Of course, everyone except Chase suspects the trophy wife. Even the British inspector. Throw in a second, seemingly unconnected, death to stir things up. There are plenty of red herrings and a disturbing number of “jokes” that are technically attempted murder. A bestie who encourages all of the shenanigans is included as well. And there’s a potential love interest. Also, if you’re at all familiar with cozies, it isn’t difficult to figure out whodunit. It’s standard cozy mystery fare, which is what I was hoping for.

My only complaint is that a lot of the characters were pretty flat. Chase and Billie were great. The inspector was an amalgamation of a number of great detectives (Holmes, Columbo, etc.), but only if they were completely inept. Which is fine. But there were at least eight suspects and not much room in the book for them to be fleshed out, so a lot of them felt like stereotypes. It’s not that big of a deal, but I do enjoy more meat on characters, especially when they all stick around for the whole book.

The writing is nice and the description of the scenery is great. The pacing is a little on the slow side, but they’re on a walking holiday, so it kind of fits the story.

Ultimately, A Deadly Walk in Devon is a perfectly adequate cozy mystery. I enjoyed it. The whole walking trip angle makes for a fun series set up with plenty of settings to explore. I will definitely check out the next book in the series when/if it comes out.

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Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. It wasn’t perfect. The characters need work. But if you enjoy cozies, I think it’s worth picking up.

Thoughts on MURDER UNCORKED

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this gloomy Wednesday? I’m a little sad because I found out Sakurai Atsushi (the singer from Buck-Tick) died about a week ago, but otherwise things are fine. Anyway, no time to mope. It’s the last Wednesday of October! That means it’s review time. I stuck with the cozy mystery genre for this month, mostly because I was too lazy to look for anything else. Murder Uncorked is the first novel (though there is a short story prequel) in a new series by Maddie Day and was released from Kensington Books yesterday (the 24th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it.

Murder Uncorked follows Cece Barton as she moves to be closer to family and tries to settle in a small California wine country town. She’s kind of a suspect when a guy she’s been arguing with via email about business matters ends up dead. She’s only met him once, but she feels the need to clear her name. Toss in every cozy mystery stereotype (enthusiastic supporter of shenanigans, inept and exasperated detective, mysterious love interest, etc.) and you’ve got yourself a story.

If I’m being honest, the plot is super thin here. The obvious killer is the killer. There’s no real hiding it. The bank robbery thing that’s thrown in there to muddy things up is extremely awkward and not set up at all. It comes out of left field and just feels random and unnecessary. It made me cringe. Besides that, the plot is pretty standard and not all that entertaining.

Also, the pacing is rough. This is most obvious in the dialogue with the completely random and jarring changes of topic. All of these characters blurt things out like it’s a natural thing, and in real life, a few conversations might go that way, but not in books. The dialogue needs to flow naturally and convey information in a smooth manner. Just like the rest of the book should. But everything here is choppy and annoying and jars me out of the story.

The characters were all flat and did nothing to break free of their stereotypes. The attempted growth between Cece and her daughter is the most interesting thing in the book and it’s just emotional blackmail. I mean, seriously. Cece calls up her basically estranged grown ass daughter and is all like “I almost got killed because I keep putting myself in stupid situations. Feel bad for me and love me again.” And the daughter falls for it. There’s no actual growth despite what the story says. You can’t just put emotional blackmail in a book and call it character development. It’s gross. And none of the other characters are any better.

I have nothing nice to say about the writing either. A lot of the problems came from the poor quality of the writing. I don’t know if this book was just rushed to publication or what, but it really needed more edits.

Ultimately, Murder Uncorked was not worth reading. I know Maddie Day has another series, but I have zero desire to check it out. Hopefully it’s better than this one.

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Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One and a half, really. One because it got published so someone likes it and a half because I finished reading it. But unless you’re a fan of the author, I don’t recommend wasting your time with it.