Tag: Cozy-mystery

This is a very well written book with an excellent story and plot. It misses that last half star because I just didn’t connect well with the main character. Her two friends, yes. Her hinted-at future love interest – not even a little bit. So I was left feeling that while I really enjoyed the story, I didn’t empathise with the main character or her future life in Autumn Vale at all.

The setting was really well done – Autumn Vale is full of quirky, eccentric folks and I found that the setting was written with realism – this isn’t the idyllic quaint town that hums along; this is a quaint little town that is dying, with more storefronts closed up than open. There’s a lot potential here for future development in subsequent books.

The central murder plot was very well crafted; this is a meaty story and not one I think you’re likely to breeze through. Ms. Hamilton writes another series and in comparison, there is a much more mature quality to the plotting and writing in this first-in-a-new-series. The action moved along, there was well crafted dialogue, and not a lot of filler in the form of internal dialogue – there was a bit of ‘let’s sum up the suspects’ but it was minimal and didn’t really take me out of the flow of the story.

A convoluted plot with suspects known and unknown. Well done to the end.

I’ll definitely pick up the next book – there’s a bit of a cliff hanger in the form of a puzzle yet to be solved; that could prove to be fun. I’ll hope that in the next book I’ll find more to connect with regarding the main character, Merry.

I’ve been a fan of this series since the first book came out years ago, and they’re books I will occasionally re-read. I was certain the last book, Doggie Day Care Murder (Melanie Travis Mysteries, #15), was the last one, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the upcoming release of Gone With the Woof. I made sure to pre-order it and couldn’t wait to revisit old friends.

For this long time fan, the story didn’t disappoint. Melanie, Sam, Aunt Peg, Bertie – the gang is all here and are as likeable and delightful as ever. Aunt Peg is still bossy, Sam is still easy-going and Mel is still giving as good as she gets.

The plot is one involving the sins of a father and son and I thought it was well done. There was a pivotal moment in the book when I had the ‘ah hah!’ moment and knew who the killer was – but it happened towards the end of the book and nothing was really lost with the knowing.

I found the climax a little bit odd as there was no way the killer wasn’t going to be caught so I don’t know what motivated that final scene. But I enjoyed it all the same.

I don’t know whether to look forward to another book or not? I certainly will be pleased if there is, but with 5 years in between this and the last, and after 16 books, I’m afraid to get my hopes up too high.

This book started slow for me, and I was certain it wouldn’t be a 4 star read. But it was well-written and something kept me from just putting it down and walking away. As I kept reading, the story built momentum, and I became more engrossed, more invested, with each chapter.

The story takes place in Maine and the characters adhere to the stoic typecast of most residents of Maine. The result is not a light-hearted, humorous book or setting. The characters are likeable, but they aren’t charming or witty or cheeky; it takes time to warm to them. There’s also a fair amount of family drama to work through in this book, and that ratchets up the stoicism just that little bit more.

Julia has just moved back to Maine from New York City in an attempt to save the family business, and has no real friends in town to speak of, so no opportunities for banter or for the lighter side of a personality to shine through. Quentin shows promise in the future for more levity, but he doesn’t play a massive part in this plot and isn’t seen very often.

The plot itself was delightfully twisty and the ending was skilfully done; there was no guessing on my part – I hadn’t a clue how the story was going to end. A few threads were tied up a bit neatly at the end, but none of them central to the murder and none of them a surprise. I will say the author knows how to end a book too!

A very strong first, and I’m looking forward to reading the second.

I enjoyed this book, but I’m giving it three stars because I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the first three books.

The plot was excellent and the subject matter not too many cozies authors would tackle – this book is going to either skirt or cross right over that line for a lot of folks. The subject matter doesn’t offend me at all, but I have a rather wider definition of cozy mystery than some. The major plot twist was one I guessed at pretty early on, although I was never sure of the villain so the ending was both climatic and satisfying (no puns intended). I love all the old-Florida touches throughout the book.

What disappointed me about this book were the characters – Mama isn’t funny anymore, she’s just shallow and narcissistic; the author, imo, has lost sight of what made mama funny in the first few books. Mace’s inability to get her head together as it concerns her relationship with Carlos is feeling overdone as well. She’s a protagonist I can rally behind; she’s smart, she’s capable, she’s independent. But her inability to apply her strengths in the rest of her life to her love life feels thin, contrived and tired. Time to grow up. Also, this whole Carlo-and-Mace-fight-then-just-carry-on-like-nothing-ever-happened….what the hell is that? I don’t like having to be involved in hashing out my own relationship issues, so I certainly don’t want to be dragged into someone else’s, fictional or not, but I’m certain the author can write a scene in there somewhere to let the reader know that serious communication between these two is taking place – the talking kind, not the kind taking place in the back seat of cars in cow pastures – and problems are being addressed in a constructive, progressive manner. Otherwise, each book is going to start feeling like a broken record.

I’ll be on the lookout for the next book, but I’m not going to be nearly as excited about it as I’ve been to this point.

A quick read, I can’t really say why definitively, but I just found this one to be o.k. The characters just didn’t gibe with me this time, I guess? It’s well written and the plot was solid and creative (although I guessed the murderer almost right away, it was just that – a guess). Perhaps the series is fading for me, or maybe it was just that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind when I read it? I wouldn’t steer anyone away from it; I just didn’t love it.