Tag: J. A. Hennrikus

With A Kiss I Die by J. A. Hennrikus

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

With a Kiss I DieBarbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: A Theater Cop Mystery #2
Publication Date: 4/8/19
Number of Pages: 288

This is an engaging and well-told tale! I love the characters and the mystery is excellently presented. We meet and engage with many of the same characters from the first book. If you didn’t read the first book, you can still read this as a stand-alone, but you will be missing some of the character backgrounds that are referred to in this book. I truly hope that my copy was a grossly uncorrected ARC rather one that was nearly ready for release because it was filled with errors in grammar, word repeats, missing words, missing letters, etc. It was really hard to read and I almost gave up on it – had the story not been so entertaining and interesting, I probably would have. I hope all of that is fixed prior to release.

It is February in Massachusetts and very cold. The Cliffside Theater’s season in tiny Trevorton, near Boston, is hibernating until it is time to prepare for the summer season. Edwina, Sully, Sullivan, theater manager, still has work to do in applying for grants, planning for the upcoming season, preparing budgets, etc. but it isn’t something she has to be in her office to do. So, when she’s requested to go to Boston to help out with a disaster at Boston’s Bay Repertory Theater, she agrees to help.

Sully finds a mess at the theater and has her hands filled with trying to help them out. Then, one of the people from whom Sully was applying for a grant is murdered, the theater manager disappears and Sully’s ex-husband disappears. Sully is happy enough to let the police handle the murder investigation and the missing theater manager, but her cop instincts are twitching and she has to find Gus, her ex-husband.

So many things are going on – with so many twists-and-turns – that you won’t be able to stop reading. You have to know what happens next and what is behind all of the murder, blackmail, and disappearances.

I love the stories in this series so far, but it is missing romance. I love mysteries – and these are good ones – but I really need to have romance included in the story. I like them to be a couple – like Roarke and Eve Dallas in the In-Death series – and if they don’t have romance, I soon lose interest in the series – no matter how good the series is. So, I’m hoping that Gus and Sully will get back together in the next book because they are the perfect combination. Her cop skills and his lawyer skills could make for a great set of mysteries. Anyway – I’ll see where the next couple of books go – and hopefully, that will include going toward a romance.

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

A Christmas Peril by J. A. Hennrikus

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, MysteryLeave a comment

A Christmas PerilBarbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Theater Cop Mystery #1
Publication Date: 09/18/17

This book is exciting, interesting, filled with twists and turns and many well developed and likable characters. I believe this is either the first or second book by this author and it will be interesting to see how she develops as a writer as time passes. It certainly lays a great foundation for the series.

Edwina “Sully” Sullivan was once part of the state police of Massachusetts, but she is now medically retired and divorced from her unfaithful husband. She’s moved back to her hometown, Trevorton and taken on the job of General Manager for the local theater. Sully was surprised to find that her skills learned on the police force would serve her well at the theater, but they do.

Sully deliberately chose not to become a PI because she wanted to leave police and investigative work behind. That has worked for five years. However, when the town’s leading citizen is murdered and his son (who is Sully’s friend) is the main focus of the investigation, she has to at least look into it a little to see if she can help.

When she arrives at the police station to see what she can do for her friend, she finds he has a very good lawyer – Sully’s ex-husband. She’s not sure how she feels about that. There is a tingle of excitement at seeing Gus again – but – she doesn’t really want to be around him.

The investigation is filled with twists and turns, multiple murders and multiple perpetrators. One of those perpetrators is a surprise!

Sully is a very relatable character and you can just feel her being pulled by her interest in the case all the while she is trying to stay out of it. She’s also pulled to Gus and it is obvious that the softer feelings are still there for him. He seems to still be drawn to her as well – especially since he didn’t want the divorce – he wanted to work things out. So, it will be interesting to watch and see the romance grow throughout the series. I say that hoping that it will grow because I really like both characters and can see them working together really well.

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”