Death on Dickens Island

Books on the Beach Mystery, #1

by

Allison Brook

A solid mystery entwined with family drama and a surprising paranormal element.

Death on Dickens Island is the first book in author Allison Brook’s cozy new Books on the Beach Mystery series and is an absorbing mix of mystery and family drama, with a surprising paranormal element. With its multiple compelling storylines and relatable characters, this complex and satisfying tale had me firmly in its clutches from the very start. 

Delia Dickens had returned to Dickens Island to help her father with the family general store and try to build a stronger relationship with Connor, the son who had grown up with her parents while she established her career in the city. Delia felt she had fumbled the ball with Connor, as her demanding job and early, ongoing difficulties finding safe childcare had prevented her from keeping him by her side. Her mother and father had been a godsend, stepping in when childcare had repeatedly failed and soon became the answer to providing a consistent and nurturing environment while Delia earned them a living. Connor, now fifteen, was having a hard time forgiving, forgetting, and just adjusting to living with his mother full-time again. 

Delia and Connor were not the only ones experiencing family drama on Dickens Island. When Delia decided to move back home and into the house left to her by her grandmother, her mother took the opportunity to move into Delia’s Manhattan apartment for a little “Me” self-care time away from her husband and the island community that soon stretched into months, with no firm end date in sight. Additionally, her Uncle Brad and Aunt Reenie, an island councilman and the town manager, were publicly at odds with each other over town council business and the unusually keen attentions of a flirtatious single councilwoman. But when the problem councilwoman is found murdered in her home, the stakes get even higher as both Brad and Reenie suddenly become suspects in her death. 

Delia has her hands full trying to reconnect with her teenage son as a full-time mom, and I didn’t envy her the task of mollifying her dad with his constant requests that she convince her aunt and uncle to reconcile. Awkward. I was glad she was able to fulfill his request without aggressively meddling in something she was aware was none of her business. She had her own struggles, including the reappearance of her old high school sweetheart in her life. 

The plot is complex, to say the least, with multiple storylines, all clamoring for attention. The author does a stellar job establishing each one and entwining them so well. There’s a friendly stray dog who comes into their life at just the right time, Connor’s treasure hunting dreams with his friend, Trevor, who has a bad reputation and a worse homelife rounding out the picture, and a hidden room in Delia’s house with an even more unexpected visitor: her dearly departed Grandmother Helena with questions of her own and, perhaps, the answers to long-held island secrets. 

I liked how Delia finally stood up to her father about her purpose at the store, and he was able to see her side pretty quickly. Of course, her addition of a book nook to the general store was an attractive one to me. Delia is a thoughtful, contemplative woman, and she takes the time to analyze her feelings for Jack and the best approaches to take with her wayward family members. I enjoyed how the storylines converged, some leading to clues that solved several mysteries and to the resolution of both a decades-old disappearance and the present-day murder. 

I recommend DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy stories full of family drama, New York/Long Island-ish settings, and paranormal elements. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

Sun Tzu’s Café

by

Dr. Eric Bornstein

Top drawer espionage/revenge story combining fact and fiction for a rivetingly realistic thriller.

The espionage thriller, Sun Tzu’s Café by Dr. Eric Bornstein, is an absolutely riveting read, combining fact and fiction, historical and current events, historical figures and engaging fictional characters. It is a tale of insidious revenge, eked out over many decades until some of the main players practically become institutional memories. I was glued to this story! 

Li Qiang is a good son; he loves and honors his parents and accepts his father’s generational desire for revenge against the country of his birth (the U.S.), passed down from HIS father, without question. He’s smart and excels at school, and just when he left college to begin his own life, he was snatched up by the U.S. government to be used in secret, unethical research. The story of his twenty-five years at the mercy of the government is incredibly tragic and heart-wrenching. Even knowing his goal was to destroy the U.S., I still rooted for him to escape his life of servitude in the name of false patriotism. I was conflicted about how I felt about this character until the end. 

Similarly, I ached for the position young Dr. Guilford Champlain finds himself in. Deliberately and ironically, Qiang manipulates the young Ph.D. student into the same program he himself abhors. Both had little choice but to comply and were trapped, weighed down by the same disgust of what the government was doing. 

Throughout the story, the author cites sources for names, events, science, and technology, establishing which specific elements are factual rather than fiction. Some of the issues involved, such as the prohibition of the TikTok app on government devices, are amazingly timely. I wondered, as I read, how much I assumed was fictional I was wrong about; it was plausible and so realistic. 

The tension builds slowly at first but gradually and increases until it’s almost in full panic mode by the eleventh-hour climax. At this point, the author alters his chapter lengths to almost paragraph size, switching between the points of view of those involved in the unfolding excitement, each ending with a cliffhanger as the perspective changes. The action was breathtaking and edge-of-your-seat stuff, and no one will put this book down when they get to this point of the story. 

I enjoyed the interesting mix of historical figures with fictional characters and the saga-like span of time the book covers. The story is well-paced, even with its inclusion of the scientific and technical descriptions of the processes under investigation and the history of the different eras. The footnotes could keep readers busy going down rabbit holes for weeks after reading the story. 

With its highly sympathetic characters, clever, long-haul plot, and historical settings, I recommend SUN TZU’S CAFÉ to readers of espionage tales, revenge stories, family sagas, and political thrillers. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.

Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Sirens

Fanny Fitzpatrick, #3

by

Dana Hammer

Fun, mysterious, and suspenseful tale of gods, goddesses, sirens, and friendships.

Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Sirens is the third book in author Dana Hammer’s middle-grade adventure series featuring Fanny Fitzpatrick and her unusual group of friends. In this adventure, Fanny is invited to a summer music camp run by famous pop star Mara Fry, who heard Fanny sing at her cousin’s funeral. Against the advice of her friends —Athena, Gemma, and Danial —and despite their worry and the revelation that Mara and the women who run the camp are sirens, as in the mythological sirens of old, Fanny decides to attend. However, things at the beautiful tropical island camp aren’t exactly what they appear, and she soon realizes there’s more going on than vocal training. 

Fanny is a sweet, helpful girl, and she especially looks forward to being a great big sister to her new baby brother, Damon. While a summer hanging out with her friends would be wonderful, the opportunity to spend time with a superstar and get some professional vocal training proves impossible to pass up. In fairness to Fanny, she considers her decision long and hard, with the deciding factor being her tired mother’s desire for her to be out from underfoot as she adjusts to life with a cranky newborn. Athena and Gemma, in their distress, are a little heavy-handed in their attempts to dissuade Fanny, too, ordering her around and getting angry rather than maintaining a cool head and offering proof of their accusations that the sirens are still up to no good. 

The plot is fun and quirky, with Fanny trying to keep Athena’s bed-bound brother, Dion, out of trouble, but the suspense quickly takes center stage when she and the three other girls get to the island. The formerly overly friendly adult leaders have secrets they’re not ready to share with the campers and use questionable tactics to get the girls to do what they want. The story is absolutely absorbing, and I didn’t want to take a break until almost halfway through the book, and then it was hard to find an appropriate stopping point! Fanny and her friends are bright, engaging, and so easy to root for. Although this is the third book in the series, adequate backstory is provided so it can be read as a standalone. 

I recommend FANNY FITZPATRICK AND THE SIRENS to readers of middle-grade fiction, especially those who enjoy a mythological theme. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.

Murder by the Millions

Literary Dining Mystery, #2

by

Daryl Wood Gerber

Murder mystery cleverly mirrors many aspects of THE GREAT GATSBY.

Murder by the Millions is the second book in author Daryl Wood Gerber's unique Literary Dining Mystery series, and with its welcome returning characters, new faces, and a myriad of parallels with the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic, THE GREAT GATSBY, it is a stellar new addition. From contentious business rivalries to disappointments in love to the scrumptious mentions of baked treats and well-researched historical recipes, this book has a little something for every fringe of cozy mystery fandom. 

Allie Catt and her two business partners, half-sisters Tegan Potts and Vanna Harding, are well along in their plans and preparation for their next big literary dinner, this time based on The Great Gatsby, when a newcomer to town, handsome developer Jason Gardner, swans into town, upsetting a whole swath of the folks of Bamblewood, North Carolina. Jason had bid on and been awarded the purchase of a row of four historic homes along the far end of Main Street with the intention of demolishing them and building a shopping mall in their place. While the town council is slated to approve his plans, many others, including Allie, are vocal in their opposition. Still, she wants to maintain an open mind, especially after spending some time with him as he explained his vision. But later, when Allie discovers Jason stabbed in the back with a spearpoint like one from her own collection, she becomes the police department's prime suspect. Someone is trying to frame Allie, and they have gone to great lengths to do a good job. 

Allie is the busiest young entrepreneur in town, with her catering business growing in leaps and bounds and her daily work at her best friend Tegan's bookstore, where she has a small financial interest. She is also finally finding some personal time to socialize and enjoy the perks of having an entire bookstore at her disposal. Her relationship with Police Detective Zach Armstrong seems to have permanently veered into the friend zone, and his assignment as the lead detective on the murder investigation isn't going to improve it. She's driven and energetic, so despite being warned off, she takes a hands-on approach to clearing her name. 

Many of the residents of the small town frequent the bookstore daily, so it was fun reading all the book titles and author names discussed over the course of the book as they come in for their next read. However, I've never encountered such widespread enthusiasm, nor such a deep understanding of The Great Gatsby's themes, or even knowledge of the plot as it's depicted in the book, in real life. Everyone LOVED it. But after reading about the literary dinner and dress-up —the culmination of all their plans, preparation, and anticipation —I could understand why the patrons there studied up before participating; it sounded amazing. I especially enjoyed the numerous parallels between the murder victim, Jason Gardner, his life and circumstances, and the fictional Jay Gatsby. 

The murder occurs after the victim's relationships with many of the townspeople have been vividly established, which results in plenty of potential suspects for Allie to check out and eliminate from her list. There are some really good red herrings to distract her and readers from pinpointing the actual perpetrator too soon, and of course, there are some awkward as well as perilous encounters on the way to the final resolution. I enjoy these characters, with their quirks and, sometimes, fractious, messy relationships, a lot, and was well entertained from start to finish. 

I recommend MURDER BY THE MILLIONS to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy literary-themed storylines. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

Born To Bead Wild

Glass Bead Mystery, #5

by

Janice Peacock

With an almost ensemble team of sleuths and its interesting glass bead theme, this long-awaited addition to the author's Glass Bead Mystery series will not disappoint.

Jacqueline “Jax” O’Connell and her best friend, Tessa Ricci, were on their way to teach a week-long glass bead jewelry workshop at a farm-turned-arts-camp in the Olympic Peninsula when they got a call from Jax’s neighbor, Val, that she was also going. Val, a hairdresser and an excellent, albeit at times adventurous, cook, was headed to the same location, having been hired as the new chef for the facility. Along with a huge pink suitcase filled with fashionable clothes and heels, Val had also brought her Basset hound, Stanley. But while Tessa was looking forward to sharing with her future students, Jax, a lifelong city girl, was a bit apprehensive about spending a week in a rustic camping environment. 

When they arrive at the camp, the three discover the accommodations are a tad more rustic than they’d anticipated, and with a strict no-technology policy in place, they are required to leave their cell phones in the camp office. However, making up for the inconveniences, the setting on the shores of a lake was beautiful, and Tessa and Jax were elated to find that the studio for their class was an absolute dream.

 While inspecting the beautiful space, Tessa is surprised when an old nemesis, Marvin Caputo, appears to check the studio’s ventilation system and questions its adequacy and safety. He and Tessa had come into conflict years earlier when he was trying to gain consulting work from her by claiming her glass studio wasn’t up to code and had caused her numerous problems. Even though Tessa had come out on top of that situation, her studio was fine; it still rankled. 

Marvin Caputo had angered many people in his past and had a notorious reputation. But when Caputo is found floating in the lake, all the workshop participants come under suspicion when it is deemed a homicide. Jax, Tessa, and Val quickly realized that someone in their group was a murderer. 

Born to Bead Wild is the fifth book in author Janice Peacock’s delightful and quirky Glass Bead Mystery series and is a long-awaited addition, as the last book was published in 2018. The main character, Jacqueline “Jax” O’Connell, is smart and savvy, and in this story, she has quite a bit of time on her hands to look around and uncover clues to what is going on at Full Moon Farm, the site of the workshop. She’s good-hearted, and though initially annoyed by Val accompanying her and Tessa, she stands up for her neighbor at every chance and willingly lends a helping hand. Tessa is the lead instructor for the glass bead class along with their friend, Adriana Jones, and although she must focus on teaching, she still has Jax’s back and urges her on when needed. For me, it was Val’s camp experience that took center stage. Honestly, I could feel the horror of those menus and weird staples, and I applauded what Val could create out of that mess. Frankly, I would have starved to death or worn a rut in the road to Port Angeles, going for food before eating any of the camp owner’s scheduled meals. 

The murder mystery and the amateur investigation were solid and intriguing. The victim doesn’t have much page/screen time, but it’s enough to know he’s trouble with a capital “T.” In contrast to our three heroines, quite a few unpleasant folks are involved with the workshop, including the owners of Full Moon Farm, and some make for good suspects. I never clued in on who the actual killer was until the reveal, though, with hindsight being 20/20, perhaps I should have. Then, too, the final resolution of the case comes with its terrific twist. 

With an almost ensemble team of sleuths, a great setting, and the interesting glass bead art and jewelry theme, I recommend BORN TO BE BEAD WILD to cozy mystery readers who enjoy artistic or craft-themed stories, books with a rural camp location or set in the Pacific Northwest, in general, but especially fans of the previous books in the series. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.