Tag Archives: Berkley Prime Crime

Book Review: Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany @vickidelany @BerkleyMystery

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Deadly Summer Nights
A Catskill Summer Resort Mystery #1
Vicky Delany
Berkley Prime Crime, September 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33437-9
Mass Market Paperback

Shades of Dirty Dancing! Almost from the first description I was transported to the Catskill Mountains where opulent resorts held sway in the 50s. The 1950s, that is. The incessant smoking, the ritzy cocktails—does anyone drink Grasshoppers anymore?—the full skirts, girdles and stockings required even in the middle of a hot, humid summer are part of what strikes me as an entire other age. The cast includes college boys earning money for the next semester’s tuition, and in some cases, grifters and con artists. Mainly, we meet an extremely hard-working staff trying to please women with children whose husbands make enough money to allow an escape from the city heat.

But there’s nowhere, evidently, you can escape murder, McCarthyism, and small-town cops with an ax to grind.

A convoluted revenge story, sometimes it appears everyone–yet no one–has the motive to kill a simple college professor who is in want of privacy to write a novel. Yet he turns up dead. Wild tales spread through the resort population, with hotelier Elizabeth Grady at her wits end trying to keep nasty rumors from ruining the summer season. Determined to discover the murderer herself when the police prove inadequate, Elizabeth is helped not only by her friends, but the dead man’s nephew.

The story has a fine plot, excellent characters, and a wonderful setting. A lot to like in this one, sure to put you in the mood for soft summer days and hot nights.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, February 2022.
http://www.ckcrigger.com
Author of The Woman Who Built A Bridge (Spur Award Winner), Ault’s Heir,
The Woman Who Wore a Badge, and Six Dancing Damsels: A China Bohannon Mystery

Book Review: Booking the Crook by Laurie Cass

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Booking the Crook
A Bookmobile Cat Mystery #7
Laurie Cass
Berkley Prime Crime, July 2019
ISBN 978-0-440-00098-3
Mass  Market Paperback

Minnie Hamilton, along with her cat Eddie, works on the library’s bookmobile. There’s a new library director, and a new library board president, and they are asking questions about the library and not including Minnie in the meetings. Is her job being eliminated?

Chilson, Michigan, is a tourist town in the northwest part of the state, and the library is busy during the summer. Minnie discovers one of her customers dead in their driveway. Rowan, a married woman with two college age children, is discovered to have been poisoned. The victim, although well-liked, has crossed swords with the village board members about property development. Rowan’s daughter has broken up with her boyfriend—is he looking for revenge? Her husband has been distant lately—could he have wanted his wife dead?

An engaging cozy mystery in a pleasant setting, with a surprising twist at the end. Seventh in the Bookmobile Cat mystery series.

Reviewed by Susan Belsky, September 2021.

Book Review: Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington

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Buried in a Book
A Novel Idea Mystery #1
Lucy Arlington
Berkley Prime Crime, February 2012
ISBN 978-0-425-24619-1
Mass Market Paperback

Published in 2012, this is the first in a series featuring Lila Wilkins, a 45-year-old single parent of a teenaged son about to start college in the fall, who suddenly loses her job as a newspaper journalist due to downsizing.  Knowing she has to find a new job soon, Lila spots an ad for Novel Idea, Literary Agency that is looking for an intern – a job Lila sees as getting paid to read so she takes it following her interview with the agency president, Ms. Bentley Burlington-Duke.  Primarily Lila’s job is to read queries  from would-be authors to determine whether a query should be rejected or given to an agent to follow up – 100 queries each day, 2 or 3 book proposals, and a host of other tasks plus send a letter to each author whose query she rejects.  This leaves little time to read anything just for the pleasure of reading!

And, as if that wasn’t enough, did I mention that Lila’s mother, Althea, a palm and tarot card reader (and believer) calls to tell Lila that the cards show someone will die on her first day at the agency?  Later that morning a disheveled man who introduces himself as Marlette, walks into the agency bearing some flowers, hands them to Lila, and then runs out when he hears other staff arriving.  Meeting the literary agents for the first time, Lila agrees to go and get them coffee – but only this one time – and when she returns, she finds Marlette has also returned and is sitting on the couch in the reception area.  Trying to get him to leave per her boss’s orders, Lila realizes he is dead.  What a way to start a new job!  Later Lila finds out that Marlette has a needle puncture wound in his neck – pointing to the likelihood that he was murdered.

Much of the rest of the book concerns Lila dealing with her son, Trey, who is in the process of finding himself and what he wants to do with his life and Lila trying to find out who killed Marlette – and why – without getting herself killed which a message painted on her home seems to indicate is a possibility.  Along the way we meet the various people in Lila’s personal and work life, several of whom are possibly the murderer.  Is the solution a huge surprise?  No, but it also is not completely obvious.  I’d say it’s a good summer read.

Reviewed by Melinda Drew, July 2021.

Book Review: A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette @AbbyVandiver @BerkleyMystery

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A Deadly Inside Scoop
An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery Book 1
by Abby Collette
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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A Deadly Inside Scoop
An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery #1
Abby Collette
Berkley Prime Crime, May 2020
ISBN 978-0-593-09966-7
Trade Paperback
From the publisher—
This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop—with a fabulous cast of quirky characters.
Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Win is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors—many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away.
To make matters worse, that evening, Win finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Win’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown…
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There’s something about A Deadly Inside Scoop that lifts it a little above the masses of culinary cozies and I’m not sure just what it is. Maybe I was swayed by the premise of an ice cream parlor (1) because I remember the oldfashioned kind from my younger, much younger days or (2) by the thought that it’s going to get up to 90°+ “feels like” here in my part of Florida today and all week. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this series debut.

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Win is a smart cookie and she has good plans for her family’s ice cream shop but she can’t prevent the delays that lead to a post-summer opening. Still, she certainly never expects to find a body when she goes looking for fresh snow for a recipe. When her dad is pegged as a prime suspect, Win sets her logical mind to figuring out what really happened with help of a lot of family and friends. Perhaps my favorite thing about Win is that she bases her sleuthing on all the tips she’s learned by reading and watching mysteries, just like all of us readers 🙂 She also avoids the TSTL syndrome which cannot be said for her friend, Maisie.
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Apparently, more than a few townspeople had reason to wish the dead man, a con artist, hadn’t come back and this leads to a lot of red herrings and possibilities. Detective Beverly must have his reasons for focusing on Win’s dad so she has her amateur investigative work cut out for her, all while she’s trying to make a success of the shop in the off-season. Getting to the real truth takes us all down a twisted path and I recommend this witty, charming puzzle.
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Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, May 2020.
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About the Author

I write as Abby L. Vandiver and Abby Collette but you can just call me Abby . . .
I love mysteries! Whatever I write, I put a little mystery into it.
Now I’ve got a new cozy mystery coming out May 12, 2020. A Deadly Inside Scoop, is part of my new series, An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery from Penguin Berkley. I’m so excited for its release.
Stay tuned as I gear up for Release Day with giveaways, interviews and of course. ice cream. (Okay, I won’t actually have ice cream on my page, but I’ll talk about it. A lot.) Pre-Order here!
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Follow the tour HERE for special
content and a giveaway!

 

An ice cream maker and one-time ice cream delivery and scooper

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Book Review: Careless Whiskers by Miranda James @MirandaJames57 @BerkleyMystery

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Careless Whiskers
A Cat in the Stacks Mystery #12
Miranda James
Berkley Prime Crime, January 2020
ISBN 978-0-451-49115-2
Hardcover

Librarian Charlie Harris is excited when his daughter Laurie reveals that she is starring in a local production of a new play, “Careless Whispers.” Frank Salisbury, Laura’s husband, is the director, and in order to stir up more interest in the play, professional actor Luke Lombardi will be Laura’s co-star. Laura and Luke worked together in the past and, despite his Tony nomination, Luke was an overbearing egotist. When he arrives, it’s with an entourage—a French couple. The man, Anton, is Luke’s valet and the woman, Madame, is Luke’s mistress.

The rehearsals are plagued with practical jokes directed at Luke. On opening night, when Luke is onstage and pours a drink from a bottle and immediately collapses, Laura becomes a suspect. She was to drink from the same bottle, but hesitated, and police suspect she might have known about the poison. Other members of the cast, the stage crew, the French couple, and the playwright are also under suspicion. Because Charlie’s life revolves around his two adult children, his grandkids, his job at Athena College, and his Maine Coon cats, Diesel and Ramses, he gets involved in the investigation, much to the consternation of local law enforcement.

The conclusion wraps up quickly, and offers up a character new to the story near the end as a possible red herring. The origin of the murder weapon also seems far fetched and unlikely, which is a small disappointment in an otherwise entertaining mystery. This is book twelve in the series, which combines libraries, a small southern town community, and cats, and has a male protagonist—rare in a cozy series.

Reviewed by Susan Belsky, March 2020.

Book Review: A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett @LornaBarrett @BerkleyMystery

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A Killer Edition
A Booktown Mystery #13
Lorna Barrett
Berkley Prime Crime, August 2019
ISBN 978-1-984-80272-9
Hardcover

Readers living in good sized cities without any bookstore will be envious of the tourist town of Stoneham, known as Booktown. Here Tricia Miles runs a mystery bookstore, “Haven’t Got a Clue.” Her sister Angelica runs a cookbook store and café, and Joyce Widman’s bookstore, “Have a Heart” specializes in romances. In the thirteenth book in the Booktown series, New York Times bestselling author Barrett spins another satisfying mystery, with familiar  characters that would populate any small town.

Tricia has more time on her hands, now that her assistant Pixie takes on more of the duties at the store. A position has opened up on the board of the local animal rescue organization, and Tricia would like to volunteer. She’s also practicing her baking skills for the Great Booktown Bake-Off and her love life is stuck in a rut. Her sister Angelica recommends she pick up a couple of good romance books.

On her way to the romance bookstore, Tricia interrupts an argument between the store’s owner Joyce and her neighbor Vera Osborn. Tricia picks up some romances and agrees to stop by Joyce’s house later for some plants from her garden. When Tricia arrives at Joyce’s home, she discovers Vera’s body, run through with a pitchfork.

In addition to a good read, there are bonus cupcake recipes included in the book. This will give the reader something to bake while waiting for the next book in the series.

Reviewed by Susan Belsky, December 2019.

Book Review: Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs @BerkleyMystery

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Eggs on Ice
A Cackleberry Club Mystery #8
Laura Childs
Berkley Prime Crime, December 2018
ISBN 978-0-425-28172-7
Hardcover

Eggs on Ice is the eighth in Laura Childs’ Cackleberry Club Mysteries so for those of you who are fans of this series the characters will be familiar.  For those of you who are new to the series I think you’ll catch up quickly.  The main character is Suzanne Dietz, one of the co-owners of the Cackleberry Club and an amateur investigator.  As the story begins, Suzanne and one of her co-owners, Toni, are helping with costumes, sets, and lighting for their neighbors who are rehearsing for a production of “A Christmas Carol”.  The rehearsal comes to an abrupt halt when lawyer Allan Sharp who is playing Scrooge is murdered by the Ghost of Christmas Past.  Suzanne chases the Ghost but stops when he, she, or it turns on her and threatens her with a knife.

The investigation is complicated by the fact that no one liked Allan except his law partner, but the investigation quickly focuses in on Amber, a woman who worked for Allan for a short while but quit when he sexually harassed her.  Amber and Suzanne have a mutual friend and that friend suggested Amber ask Suzanne for help.  However, it soon becomes clear that Amber has a motive for killing Allan but so do several others and narrowing the suspect field is more difficult than Suzanne anticipated.  Enlisting Toni’s help, Suzanne begins her own investigation much to the annoyance of the Sheriff and the fears of her fiancé, a doctor at the local hospital.

Eggs on Ice is a cozy mystery with well-drawn characters and a couple of nice twists.  It’s set during the holiday season and the cold and snow might be just what you need when our sweltering August/early September heat and humidity return.

Reviewed by Melinda Drew, August 2019.