Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Sweethearts Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Sweethearts Can Be Murder: A Girl and Her Dog Cozy Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries Book 19)
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Charlie Parker #19
Publication Date: 2/8/21
Number of Pages: 308
** 3.5 Stars Rounded Up **

Charlie is alone at home and at work because her husband, Drake, is off fighting forest fires and her business partner, her older brother Ron, is on the first vacation he’s had in years. What does an enterprising CPA/detective do with herself while she has all of that aloneness? She gets busy and investigates not one, but two cases.

A teenager named Cassandra (Cassie) Blake entered Charlie’s office and asked to hire Charlie to find her missing mother, Jennifer Blake. Jennifer was reported missing over fifteen years ago and nobody has seen or heard from her since. Cassandra has been raised by her grandmother, Linda Arnold, who is now dying and Cassie wants to find Jennifer – or to learn what happened to her – before her grandmother passes away. Something about the young girl and her history pulls a chord in Charlie because of her own background and she agrees to help – as long as Linda is in agreement.

At the same time, Charlie’s Gram has a friend who is in her eighties but has taken up with a man in his forties. Once Charlie meets him, she is sure he is a charlatan only out for the older lady’s fortune. It seems they won’t be able to stop the marriage because the older lady, Iris, is totally enamored of Jeffrey Lougan and will not listen to anything her friends say. Iris won’t even agree to a prenup. Jeffrey seems very attentive to Iris, but when she starts feeling ill, her friends have to wonder.

Charlie has a time with her missing person case. It is as if Jennifer Blake just dropped off the face of the earth. Nobody remembers seeing her leave her home, but she was missing when Linda arrived to pick Cassie up for a doctor’s appointment. Cassie was in her playpen – all alone. The house was empty. Did Jennifer just walk away from it all? Did she run away with her ex-husband? Did something sinister happen to her because of something her druggie ex-husband did? Is Jennifer even still alive?

I liked the book, but it is not my favorite of the series. While the mystery is a good one, there is just no excitement in the story. It is a bit more like reading a rather dry newspaper account of something rather than actually living that moment in the story. Also, Drake didn’t even make a real appearance. I love those really exciting adventures where Charlie and Drake are tooling around together – in the helicopter or not – and all sorts of exciting things are happening. One other thing I’ll mention is that it keeps changing from one POV to another in the story. This didn’t bother me in the least and I thought it was a good device for telling the past story and the current story. However, I do know that switching POVs and timelines bother some folks, so I thought I’d just mention it.

This is a nice story, and I enjoyed the read, but it didn’t hold my interest enough for me to read it straight through. I honestly didn’t have any trouble putting it down to take a break.

The Dagger Dance by Elizabeth Bailey

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical MysteryLeave a comment

The Dagger Dance (Lady Fan Mystery Book 7)The Dagger Dance by Elizabeth Bailey
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Lady Fan Mystery #7
Publication Date: 4/13/21
Number of Pages: 341

While this is the seventh book in the series, I feel as if we are just getting started. The book is exciting and filled with red herrings that will keep you guessing whodunit. The only thing you know for sure is that Dorote Gabon didn’t do it. Admittedly, it took me two or three books into the series to warm up to Ottilia and Francis, but now I love them and can hardly wait from one book to the next. This one has a delightful twist that you will love at the end. Oh! And there is a pirate.

It is March of 1793 and Ottilia and Francis are enjoying time at their home, Flitteris. Ottilia’s nephews are visiting and, of course, the lovely young child, Pretty, from the last book is in residence. Things are in happy chaos when Ottilia receives a message from Hemp Roy asking her to come to Bristol to save Dorote Gabon, a woman from his past. Dorote, a slave, has been accused of murder and Hemp knows she is innocent.

Dorote was discovered standing over the body of her owner, Marcus Scalloway, with a bloody knife that she admitted was hers. Sounds like an open and shut case until Ottilia speaks with Dorote and comes to believe what Dorote has to say. It seems that everyone who knew Scalloway had reason to dislike him enough to kill him, so there is no shortage of suspects. It can be anybody from his wife, to her lover, to his business partner, to his skulking minion, to his partner’s skulking minion, or even the pirate who was captaining Scalloway’s ship when it sank.

Ottilia, Francis, and Hemp have their work cut out for them with this investigation and it is even more difficult than usual because Ottilia is ill and Francis has to take on a good bit of the investigation. Hemp doesn’t care who killed the man as long as they can prove that Dorote is innocent – and he also wants to get Dorote free from slavery. That last part may be harder than proving her innocent of murder.

I can definitely recommend this fast-paced, well-written historical mystery. The characters are wonderful and the mystery is intriguing. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.