Category: Mystery

Absence of Mallets by Kate Carlisle

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

Absence of Mallets (Fixer-Upper Mystery #9)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Fixer-Upper Mystery #9
Publication Date: 12/7/21
Period: Contemporary Lighthouse Cove, California, USA
Number of Pages: 304

I love it when the authors I follow on social media post about their writer’s retreats, so it was great fun to see that this book featured writer’s retreats. As always, the writing is excellent and while the mystery isn’t terribly mysterious, it is interesting to see it unfold.

Between the last book and this one, Mac has moved in with Shannon and has turned his home, known as the lighthouse mansion, into a retreat for writers. Shannon and Mac are loving their lives and couldn’t be happier, especially with Mac’s writer retreats going so well. This latest batch of writers, however, seems very different from all of the others. There is an odd dynamic within the group and they are disrespectful of Mac and others within Lighthouse Cove. There is something – off – about them and they are definitely proving to be a handful.

Shannon and her crew are almost through with Homefront, the set of fifty tiny homes and service center dedicated to veterans. All of the completed homes are occupied and there is a waiting list for those on which the crew is still working. Shannon’s crew includes both her normal work crew and some of the veterans with building skills and they’ve really meshed into a finely tuned machine. With the homes going up at a rapid pace, Shannon adds a mosaic artist to the crew so the backsplashes in the last few houses will be something really special. Sadly, that artist is murdered before she’s hardly begun her work.

With a large work crew, a village full of veterans, the writers from the retreat, and the entire town of Lighthouse Cove available as suspects, it isn’t going to be an easy case to solve. Except, in her heart, Shannon is almost sure of who it is, but confirming that suspicion and finding proof that would satisfy a court will take the combined skills of Shannon, Mac, Eric (the police chief), and Chloe (Shannon’s sister).

BTW – I loved the new group of writers who come to the retreat at the end of the book. It is a group of successful, multi-published, Romance Writers known as the No Drama Queens.

I hope you’ll give Shannon and Mac’s adventures in Lighthouse Cove a read and that you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. Happy reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Murder At The Abbey by Frances Evesham – Blog Tour

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

The Brand NEW installment in the bestselling Exham-on-Sea series.

An unsolved murder echoes down the corridors of Cleeve Abbey for years.

The Exham-on-Sea’s History Society’s annual summer picnic comes to an abrupt end when human bones are discovered in Washford River, beside historic Cleeve Abbey.

Thrilled to find evidence of a possible centuries-old murder mystery, the members of the society organise a ghost-hunting night in the ruins of Cleeve Abbey, despite amateur sleuth Libby Forest’s reservations.

Libby is a woman of many talents, a baker, chocolatier, even a reluctant sleuth, but she’s no fan of the supernatural. and her doubts are justified when a friend is attacked under cover of darkness at the ghost-hunt.

Distressed and angry, Libby sets out with her new husband Max and their two dogs Bear and Shipley to uncover the connection between the murder of a sixteenth-century monk and a present-day attack in picturesque Somerset.

With friends and neighbours as suspects, Libby and Max close in on the culprit only to find that others are still in danger.

There’s no time to lose as the sins of the past threaten lives in the community.

Murder at the Abbey is the eighth in a series of Exham-on-Sea Murder Mysteries from the small English seaside town full of quirky characters, sea air, and gossip.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3BJyYn1

Author Bio

Frances Evesham is the author of the hugely successful Exham-on-Sea mysteries set in her home county of Somerset. Boldwood has republished the complete series. Frances has also started a new cosy crime series set in rural Herefordshire, the first of which was published in June 2020.


Social Media Links –  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/frances.evesham.writer/

Twitter https://twitter.com/francesevesham 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/francesevesham/

Newsletter Sign Up Link https://bit.ly/FrancesEveshamSignUp 

Bookbub profile https://www.bookbub.com/authors/frances-evesham 

Barbara’s Review – 4 of 5 Stars

Somerset is enjoying a particularly lovely June with little rain, plenty of sunshine, lovely temperatures, and gorgeous blue skies, which makes a perfect setting for the History Society’s annual picnic which is being held at the ancient Cleeve Abbey this year. Libby Forest and her new husband Max Ramshore have brought their very energetic dog, Shipley, and are thoroughly enjoying the surroundings and the company. At least they are until retired, unmarried schoolteacher, Jemima Bakewell finds a bone in the nearby Washford River. Soon, the attendees unearth a human skull. Are these ancient bones from the Abbey graveyard or are they more current?

When anthropologist Charlie Foxglove and her assistant Rory get involved with dating the bones, and a want-to-be TV ghost hunter personality stages a sleepover ‘event’ at the Abbey, things really begin to heat up. There is a brutal, near-fatal attack as well as thefts and murder. What ties them all together? Is there a relationship between the ancient bones and the current crimes? Never fear, Libby and Max, are on the case.

As always, there are lots of other things going on in the story – just as there would be in real life. We learn more of the backstories of several characters – old and new – and we get fun time with Bear, Shipley, and Fuzzy.

It was interesting to see how the ancient bones and the new crimes were/weren’t connected. The perpetrator was unexpected and the motives were convoluted and a bit muddled. I enjoyed the read and can recommend it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.