June 3, 2021
The boxed set which has the first three Whispering Pines cozy mysteries is free on Amazon for a couple of days.
I thoroughly enjoyed the former police officer Jayne O’Shea, her service dog Westie Meeka, and the quirky characters in the small town. The set includes Family Secrets, Kept Secrets, and Original Secrets.
May 8, 2021
The first book in the League of Pensioners cozy heist books. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Publication year: 2015
Finnish publisher: Schildts&Söderströms
Format: print
Finnish translator: Outi Menna
Page count: 389
Martha Andersson lives in the Diamond retirement home. Recently, the home has become more and bleak as the administrators try to save from everything they can think of. When Martha and her friends see a documentary about jails, they realize that the inmates live in much better conditions. So, they decide to do a robbery, get caught, and be sent to jail. There are problems, of course. The home’s nurse, Barbo, has locked up the gym and the elderly are allowed to go outside only rarely.
But Martha and her five friends don’t let that stop them. They plan and do a heist which leaves the police scratching their heads.
None of the pensioners are former criminals. In fact, they’re quite upstanding people. A former teacher, a former high society wife, a former sailor turned to a gardner. The only things they know about crime come from TV and detective novels. Some of them are archetypes. One of the pensioners is a gadget man, another is an elderly ladies’ man, and Martha is the brains of the operation. There’s also a subplot about Barbro the head nurse who is sleeping with the director of the home in the hopes of getting him to divorce his wife and get a better station for herself. I felt that it and a couple of other subplots were left hanging at the end.
This is a light-hearted romp, set in Sweden. The pace is meandering, taking all the scenic routes it can. Still, it highlights a serious matter: how poorly the elderly are treated not just in Sweden but in many Western countries. I enjoyed the characters and the rather unbelievable plot twists.
March 14, 2021
The third book in the Whispering Pines cozy mystery series.
Publication year: 2018
Format: ebook
Page count at GoodReads: 490
After returning to the small village of Whispering Pines for the first time in over a decade, Janye O’Shaye has finally started to feel like she fits in. She’s the Sheriff and she and her friend Tripp are busily renovating her grandmother’s huge house to start a B&B. She knows that Tripp wants to be more than friends. Even though she wants it, too another part is afraid that she’ll be hurt again. Her little West Highland White Terrier Meeka is happy, though.
Jayne decides to kayak to work and good thing that she does: a tourist is near drowning and she rescues him. She tries to make him go to the local healing center but he refuses. Feeling a bit frustrated, she continues to work. But by afternoon, that tourist is dead. It looks like an accident but Jayne wants to be sure. She also finds her Grandmother’s old diaries. Officially, her Gran drowned in her own bathtub but Jayne feels that something more sinister happened. She thinks that the diaries could give her a clue.
She’s tired because she still hasn’t got a deputy and she needs to run the station by herself at the height of the tourist season. Also, the renovation isn’t going as quickly as she thought.
This was a good continuation to the series. It’s as much quirky fun as the previous ones.
Most of the characters are familiar but we don’t see much of the carnival folks from the second book. Although we do get a couple of new eccentric characters. When Jayne finds the diaries their story about the founding of the town and the lives of the original inhabitants draw her. She ends up reading the diaries during her working hours, too. I enjoyed finding out more about her Gran and the town.
This book ties up the continuing mystery of her Gran’s death.
October 18, 2020
The third book in the Casino Witch humorous fantasy cozy mysteries.
Publication year: 2018
Format: ebook
Page count at Goodreads: 189
About a year ago, Ella’s dad was murdered and she found out that she’s a mage. Her father’s death is still a mystery but she doesn’t have any clues about who did it. She doesn’t have any memories of her mom. She also doesn’t know why her dad kept her a secret from everyone in the magical community or why he didn’t tell her that she’s a mage. Her dad’s old friends Badger and Bear agreed to train her. About six months ago, Ella declared herself a Monza, a follower of “old way” who must stay celibate. She did it to get out of the clutches of mage law. She had, and still has, feelings for handsome, if aloof and unfriendly, security consultant Vin.
For six months, Ella has been training or rather burying all her feelings in training. She’s also pushed her best friend Vanessa to train with her. But now Vanessa is putting her foot down. Her mother who is Ella’s teacher, is away for a week. Ella has pushed them to go through all the exercises in just couple of days and Vanessa wants to stop doing them.
Their friend Natasha comes to Ella’s loft. Natasha has her own comedy show in on the casinos. Two of the women working in her show have left and she needs help. Vanessa jumps at the chance but Ella hesitates. She wants to keep practicing.
After Vanessa and Natasha leave, Ella’s tutor Bear stops by. Apparently, the girls from Natasha’s show haven’t left: they’re dead from drug overdose. Bear wants Ella to investigate. Ella agrees and a job at the comedy show is a great way to go undercover. However, she decides to keep the investigation secret even from Vanessa.
This is a more serious entry in the series. While we still get wild antics from Patagonia, Ella’s huge black familiar cat, there aren’t many other jokes or humor, especially compared to the previous book which was set in a hilarious cheese convention. Ella investigates the overdose with a drug which seems to affect only mages. Also, a handsome new love interest appears. The mystery around Ella’s dad and childhood deepens, though.
While I didn’t enjoy the plot as much as in the previous book, I did enjoy the characters and quite a lot of other things, like the descriptions of Ella performing on the comedy show. She thought it would be just a small thing but it’s really not and panicked at first. Vin doesn’t appear much which is good because I can barely stand him. Natasha is a great character and I’d like to see more of her.
October 12, 2020
The second short story in the cozy mystery series Mom and Christy’s Mysteries.
Publication year: 2016
Format: ebook
Page count at Goodreads: 95
After her husband left her, Christy decided to move back to her mother’s house and help her in the catering business. Also, they solve crimes together!
Barbara Turing runs a computer firm and she knows that someone in her company is selling their secrets to competitors. To find out who, Barbara wants to hire Christy and her mom, Jo. But they’re not licensed private eyes, so they’ll just cater a lunch and ask a lot of questions.
Before long, Jo and Christy narrow down the suspects to three and one of them is the most obvious choice. Jo tells Barbara who they suspect and Barbara confronts the man in his office. Christy heads back to their catering van. While she’s on the yard, the office building’s fire alarm goes off… and a body falls out the window. He’s the man suspected of selling secrets and he was in the office alone with Barbara just moments before. So, now Jo and Christy’s client is a suspected murderer.
This was another humorous, fast-paced short mystery story. It’s similar to the first one in tone, a quick and fun read. The office party has an apple theme.
Jo and Christy are just as much fun as in the first book. Christy has, again, trouble driving the large van and Jo is just as personable and chatty as ever. They have a warm relationship but Christy realizes (briefly) that her mom has other sides to her. Sometimes Jo can still embarrass her daughter, especially when a certain handsome detective is concerned.
October 3, 2020
The first short story in the cozy mystery series Mom and Christy’s Mysteries.
Publication year: 2016
Format: ebook
Page count at GoodReads: 86
Christy is 35 and on the brink of a divorce. Her job was as the manager of her soon-to-be ex-husband, so she’s in a lousy waitressing job. However, Christy’s mom, Jo, has recently started a catering business. So, Jo invites Christy to return home and help her mom with the job. Christy agrees and moves back to Fletcher Canyon, and together with her mom. Their first catering job together is a birthday party for an 85-year old man. Christy’s cousin is his nurse. The party isn’t a success and ends with a whimper when Christy finds the man of the hour dead.
The local detective is very handsome but unfortunately his suspicions all turn to Christy’s cousin. Clearly, Christy and her mom must solve the case themselves.
This is a delightful, short mystery. Christy’s mom Jo is Filipino and Christy’s father was white. Christy is a fun character: she’s a bit overweight, she can’t cook but she can drive the catering van, just barely. There’s also a cat. Christy and her mom are on good terms and I loved their relationship. They both have a past and Jo’s best friend Weiling helps them a lot.
Christy is the first person narrator and she’s a lot of fun.
The mystery was just the right length for the story. I have the next story in the series already.
September 19, 2020
The first book in the Bakery Detectives cozy mystery series.
Publication year: 2016
Format: ebook
Page count: 161 at GoodReads
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Rachael Robinson has a a bakery in Belldale. But business has been slow recently because across the street Bakermatic is selling their cakes and cupcakes a lot cheaper. They can afford to do that because it’s a big firm and they sell prepackaged cakes. Rachael takes part in the Belldale Street Fair but there, too, Bakermatic wins over pretty much all customers with their free samples. A food critic blogger, who doesn’t seem to like anyone’s food, tastes Rachael’s pie but later the critic is found dead, poisoned. Someone spreads a rumor that Rachael is responsible and her customers desert her. It’s up to Rachael and her best friend Pippa to find out the murderer.
This was a quick, fun read. The characters aren’t very deep but their fun to read about. Rachael hates Bakermatic and is convinced that they must have poisoned the critic. She’s the first person POV character. Pippa is almost the opposite of Rachael: Rachael needs to be a responsible bakery owner while Pippa has a hard time holding down a job even for a week. But they’re quite loyal to each other and both are fun to read about. They watch crime TV-shows. When the local police, meaning the handsome detective, says that Rachael is a prime suspect, Pippa and Rachael decide to investigate.
While this was a short book, it has lots of twists and turns and humor. A good introduction to the series.
July 30, 2020
This is the second new Hercule Poirot novel, not written by Christie.
Publication year of the Finnish translation: 2016
Format: print
Page count: 321
Finnish publisher: WSOY
Finnish translator: Terhi Vartia
I can’t really say if Hannah’s style is close to Christie; I read this in translation and I’ve read most Christie books in translation, too. However, Closed Casket has been written in first person, which is very different from Christie’s book. I think this is a deliberate style choice.
The narrator of the book is Inspector Edward Catchpool from Scotland Yard. Apparently, he was involved in the previous case, too, and talks about it a few times. He, Poirot, and a group of other eccentric people have gathered to the estate of Lady Playford, in Ireland. Catch pool and Poirot don’t know the lady and she refuses to tell them why she had invited them.
Gathered to her home are her two children and their eccentric spouses, a couple of lawyers and the lady’s secretary and his nurse. They’re all strange to some degree. Of course, one of them is murdered right in front of Poirot and Catchpool.
This was an enjoyable enough mystery and the characters were interesting. It’s not as good as Christie’s best, though.
May 13, 2020
The second book in the contemporary cozy mystery series Whispering Pines.
Publication year: 2017
Format: ebook
Page count at GoodReads: 244
Publisher: Brown Bag Books
Jayne O’Shea came to the small Whispering Pines village to repair her grandparents’ house for selling. She’s a former police detective from Madison who had to quit her job. She was looking for some peace and quiet in a tranquil village. Now, she’s exploring the resident circus. She and Tripp, who is just a friend, really, enjoy a great night at the circus. But the next morning, one of the performers is found dead. Whispering Pines doesn’t have a sheriff currently and so Jayne uses her skills to stop anyone from getting to the crime scene and to investigate it initially. But the county sheriff takes over and everyone near Jayne tells her not to investigate further. Of course, she has her hands full trying to clear the huge house with just herself and Tripp. She also wants to turn the house to a bed&breakfast place, but needs her parents’ permission to do that.
Meanwhile, the mysteries in the closely knit community continue.
This was another great read in the cozy mystery series. The combination of local Wiccan practices and the police procedural works well for me and is very interesting. Jayne’s best friend Morgan owns the local witch shop and is a practicing Wiccan. The villagers are very eclectic bunch. I also love Jayne’s dog Meeka which is a white Westie. Meeka used to be a narcotics dog but is now an emotional support dog. The carnies, as they call themselves, are quirky people. Many of them have physical disabilities so they’re even more misfits than the other Whispering Pines villagers.
We’re introduced to two new characters. Lupe is a reporter who want to do a series of feel-good pieces about the thriving tourist village and the circus. She’s, of course, very curious and wants to talk with everyone. The village also gets a new sheriff’s who is very young… and brings with him his mother as a deputy.
I found it a bit strange that both of Jayne’s closest friends, Morgan and Tripp, are against her investigating the murder now and in the previous book. However, most likely that was done to bring some more conflict in their relationships. I’m very curious to see what happens in the next book.
The ending was satisfying but the village’s mysteries still continue.
April 12, 2020
The first book in the contemporary cozy mystery series Whispering Pines.
Publication year: 2017
Format: ebook
Page count at GoodReads: 284
Publisher: Brown Bag Books
This series is set in a very small and quirky town of Whispering Pines in Wisconsin.
Jayne O’Shea is twenty-six and a former homicide detective. She and her West Highland White Terrier Meeka have come to Whispering Pines because her grandmother passed away recently and she needs to make her Gran’s house ready because her parents want to sell it. However, she’s also looking for some peace and quiet after she quit the job she loved because of traumatic events and broke up with her fiance.
But when she arrives to her Gran’s huge house, it has been vandalized. Also, Meeka finds a dead body in the backyard. It’s the body of a young woman whom Jayne doesn’t know. She calls the local sheriff.
Jayne doesn’t want to get involved; she wants to relax and find a new direction for her life. But when the sheriff doesn’t seem at all interested in investigating the murder of the tourist, Jayne investigates with Meeka. The local people are a very strange set. Many of them loved Jayne’s Gran and are also welcoming to her, at least to her face. But many are also suspicious of outsiders because Whispering Pines is a very insular community. Many are practicing Wiccans who face ridicule and prejudices outside the town. Most are misfits who don’t fit any anywhere else.
Sheriff Brighton is slow to investigate an outsider’s death and his deputy Reed, who is also the sheriff’s nephew, is hostile to Jayne from the start. One man claims that he can see when death is approaching a person. Then there’s the local witch shoppe’s owner who seems to be the only person who really welcomes Jayne.
And then there’s Tripp, a young man who arrived to town a short while ago. He likes it there, but nobody wants to hire him. Jayne needs someone to clear out her Gran’s house and she enjoys his company, so she considers hiring him.
I enjoyed the writing style which is in the first person. Jayne makes short observations of every person she meets which was a good way to introduce them. The book has a large cast of characters but many of them felt distinct for me. I especially enjoyed the budding friendship between Jayne and Morgan, the witch shop owner.
Meeka is a former cadaver and drug dog but she has been trained to assist Jayne’s emotional problems. They go almost everywhere together. Jayne herself has a lot of problems. She feels that she can’t trust herself because of past decisions which turned out badly. Her mother is a business woman who disapproved of Jayne’s career and now is trying to control her.
The mystery is a twisty one. The ending was a bit abrupt and I couldn’t really buy the murderer’s motives. However, otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the quirky characters so I will continue with the series. While the murder is solved, the rest of the mysteries remain unresolved.
