Recipe for Murder

Pine Cove Mystery, #2

by

Marla A. White

When Mel's love interest returns to Pine Cove, he's followed by a killer!

Recipe for Murder is the second book in author Marla A. White's cozy Pine Cove Mystery series set high in the California mountains and featuring retired LA detective turned innkeeper, Emmeline "Mel" O'Rourke. When former love interest Jackson Thibodeaux suddenly arrives back in town long after what was to have been a short two-week stay with his mother in New Orleans, he's not alone. While cooling his heels in the Big Easy, he'd signed up for a culinary school course and, midway through, had discovered a classmate deceased in the school's kitchen, and now someone was taking shots at him, too. He wants Mel to find out who killed his friend, Kaya, since the New Orleans PD closed the case as a suicide, and the scene he found in the kitchen doesn't add up to their conclusion. Meanwhile, Mel and local sheriff's deputy Gregg Marks had grown closer after Jackson left her hanging, and she's struggling to separate her feelings for the two very different men. 

Mel is an engaging, likable main character who is trying to make a success of her second career as an innkeeper, after an on-the-job injury scuttled her first. Her family had pooled their resources to help her follow her new dream, but the old inn itself seems to be doing its best to make this as difficult as possible. She is supported in her new venture by her now friend and former cat burglar, Poppy Phillips, who's a great cook. She also has a growing affection for Mel's brother, Liam, a plumber, who keeps patching The Brook back up whenever something breaks. Joining them is Grandma O'Rourke, who mans the front desk and applies her mad computer skills to the research Mel needs to investigate her new unofficial case. 

While business is looking up for the inn, especially with an upcoming music festival in town, the old girl's infrastructure springs a major leak. While Liam does what he can to make repairs and get the rental cottage that was affected back in service, Mel works to uncover the truth behind Kaya Woods' death and stop whoever has hunted Jackson all the way back to Pine Cove. The plot moves quickly as Mel's long-distance investigation yields more clues, and she tries to do the honorable thing by committing to pursuing a relationship with either Gregg or Jackson. While it was fun watching her decision-making, it was even more fun watching Poppy, Grandma, and cousin Gemma's reactions to her dilemma. The banter among the women in the story absolutely sparkled. There was some clever misdirection, a red herring or two, and plot twists that kept me guessing, but I really enjoyed the exciting reveal when it came. 

I recommend RECIPE FOR MURDER to cozy mystery fans. 

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

The Brothers and Sisters Eatery

by

Gabe Reaume

Captivating tale of culinary collaboration and kinship in 1920s Chicago.

The Brothers and Sisters Eatery by Gabe Reaume is a warm and captivating tale of two disparate families in 1920s Chicago, drawn together by the fathers' love of cooking and sharing their special family dishes with others. Samson, the head of the Sanders family, is a former slave from Sugar Land, Texas, with a gift for creating mouthwatering barbeque. His wife, Sandra, is an equally gifted baker of hard-to-resist fruit hand pies. Massimo "Mass" Messina is an immigrant from Sicily, brought to the U.S. after years of coaxing by his wife's older brother, Carmine Basile, a Chicago businessman with ties to the Sicilian mafia. Mass's life revolves around the dishes he's grown up with and perfected, and he plans to bring them to his new home by opening a restaurant on his own, without his brother-in-law's help. Both men require capital to keep their families afloat while pursuing their dreams, and the unlikely pair meets when their lunch pails are swapped on the first day of their new jobs at the Chicago Armour plant. 

Two passionate, determined men and two loving, supportive families form the foundation of this inspirational, satisfying historical fiction story about immigrant experiences in 1920s Chicago. The two fathers' love of cooking is the common thread that draws them together, but it is their kindness, humanity, shared experiences, and like-mindedness that cement their enduring friendship. I liked that the families shared these qualities and meshed so well as they worked toward their common goal. 

The author presents a vivid picture of life in Chicago and the social climate at that time. The attitudes towards Blacks and immigrants are a reminder of the past and, for some, a mirror of current relations. The two men drew the former slaughterhouse workers' particular ire because they were hired as replacements for the strikers. The descriptions of the work, practices, and conditions at the plant were eye-opening. 

However, the plot is not just about the two families' paths to collaboration as chefs and, eventually, restaurateurs. The descriptions of their meals, mains, sides, and breads all had me watering at the mouth and wishing the author had included recipes at the end of the book! Also, suspenseful twists involving individuals from both men's pasts threaten not only their dreams but also their lives and those of their families! 

The fathers' shared love of cooking and their willingness and determination to persevere, doing whatever it took to keep their families afloat while they worked toward a better life and future, is a tribute to fathers everywhere who are quietly and persistently doing the same: the perfect story as Father's Day approaches. 

I recommend THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS EATERY to readers of historical fiction, especially those with an affinity for immigrant stories, men overcoming great odds, or early Chicago settings. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.

Adverse Reactions

by

Deborah J. Lightfoot

With its riveting plot, engaging heroine, and cinematic narrative, I was all in from page one!

Adverse Reactions is a new Western/paranormal/dystopian novel by veteran author Deborah J. Lightfoot, and with its uniquely riveting plot, engaging young heroine, and cinematic narrative, I was all in from page one! This absorbing tale features a world where ordinary people are in charge and those with psychokinetic abilities are feared, identified, and eliminated. However, a reckoning is coming! 

Teenaged Devin Perridin, a persistent syke (gifted with strong psychokinetic abilities but unable to intentionally control them yet), is taken from her home in Purity and sent by her parents to an asylum to be cured. But the cure is nothing less than physical and psychological torture that eventually breaks down her defenses, leaving her crushed, a zombie-like version of herself, unaware and uncaring of her surroundings. But as she’s being transported back home, a sedated mess, her train is set upon, and she is rescued by a small group of men on horseback led by a powerful syke from a ranch hidden in the nearby mountains. Once there, she is physically brought back to health, and Sutton, the ranch’s leader, attempts to re-ignite her broken psychokinetic gift, believing she could be a strong syke with the power to match his own and take revenge on the town of Purity. But as Devin heals, she begins to have doubts about the extent of Sutton’s vengeance and his sanity. 

Devin Perridin is such an engaging, sympathetic main character, and the treatment she endured at the hands of the therapists at the Peaceful Hills sanatorium is horrific. She comes away from the facility a mental husk, and the story about how she slowly regains her faculties and then her special abilities is riveting. While Sutton views the young girl as a potential tool for his revenge, Angelina, the enigmatic housekeeper and my second-favorite character, sees her for who she is and supports her in regaining her mental and physical well-being. I also enjoyed the sweet relationship that buds between Devin and the young wrangler, Jack, who wants to be her knight in shining armor, willing to wait and let their feelings mature before making hasty commitments. 

The various settings are established using vivid imagery that put me in the scene alongside the characters. Action sequences and locations are presented so cinematically that it felt like watching a movie in my head. I was completely immersed in the story and almost read the entire book through in one sitting. 

I recommend ADVERSE REACTIONS to fans of dystopian fiction with western and paranormal elements.

For this and other reviews, visit my blog, Boys' Mom Reads!

Wildwood Exit

by

Joel E. Turner

Complex, compelling story I didn’t want to put down.

Wildwood Exit is a compelling new crime thriller by Joel E. Turner, featuring an out-of-work South Philly bartender who relocates to Wildwood on the Jersey Shore to manage a restaurant there for a friend whose messy personal life soon becomes his problem. As the plot unfolds, the story proves to be fascinatingly complex, with twists and turns at every corner. 

John McGinty, “Ginty” to his friends, has known Lou Scolletta, his wife, Concetta, and son, Davy, for a long time, and when the bar he’s been working at for years is sold, he accepts a position as the manager of a restaurant Lou owns in Wildwood, down the Jersey shore. While this isn’t his forte, he feels like he owes Lou’s family for help in his past and is willing to do his best for his friend. However, his new role soon expands when Lou asks Ginty to complete other tasks of a questionable nature, including spying on Concetta, whom Lou suspects of having an affair. To assist Ginty with these off-the-books assignments is Lou’s man, Pinto, a scrappy guy from the old neighborhood, who is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Lou, whom Ginty begins to realize is more “connected” than he knew, happy. Ginty has a soft spot for the now-grown Davy, who is estranged from his father. a drug addict and failed drug dealer, hiding from the drug dealers he owes money to. Told from Ginty’s first-person point of view, he narrates with an engaging, often humorous voice as he is dragged into Lou’s troubles with his wife, son, and the local Mexican drug cartel. 

Set sometime in the 1980s, the author recreates an earlier, but not necessarily simpler, time. Ginty’s love interest, Pauline, a French-Canadian paralegal vacationing in nearby Cape May, doesn’t have a phone in her rental, so keeping that relationship going has communication problems that are forgotten today with ever-present cellphones. The plot is complex and compelling as Ginty’s life becomes entangled with Lou’s disintegrating family and extracurricular business dealings. There are plenty of twists and clever misdirection that keep Ginty and the reader wondering about whom he can trust and where the story is headed. I didn’t want to put the book down.

 I recommend WILDWOOD EXIT to readers of mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction, especially those with an affinity for the Jersey shore. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

Up From Hell

Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas, #1

by

Joan Moran

A young boy comes of age in not-so-sleepy Central Texas.

Up From Hell is the first book in author Joan Moran’s gritty crime fiction series, Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas, featuring a young boy who was dealt a rough start in life but who has a plan to turn it all around and make the most of his dream to become a good police officer. When Neil Dixon’s mother goes into the hospital to treat her drug addiction, the eight-year-old is befriended by Las Vegas Police Sergeant Jordan Finch, who gets him to a safe, stable place before arranging for a more permanent solution with the boy’s aunt and her family in distant Jarrell, Texas. Finch’s example and kindness become Neil’s ideal for his own future, and as he grows, he plots a course to become a police officer in his new hometown. But law enforcement in small towns in dusty Central Texas was a whole different beast at that time. Corruption was rife through the little communities, and the bad guys went unpunished while the cops took money to look the other way. Still, Neil pursued his dream, with the ultimate goal of changing the way justice was served, from the inside out. 

Told from Neil’s point of view, his experiences and impressions from his early life are hard to read, even as Neil keeps himself together and strives for more. After leaving his life in Las Vegas behind, things improve marginally for him, but his aunt is also fighting her own battles with an alcoholic live-in boyfriend. Still just kids, Neil and his cousin, Jack, take the necessary steps toward getting her the help she needs. 

One of the hallmarks of small-town living is that neighbors help neighbors, and Neil is the beneficiary of some good people who want to give the honest, hard-working kid a break, which is how he comes by his first job and first modes of transportation. Another small-town element is the undeniable familiarity; everyone knows everyone else, their families, and their business. This truth both helps and hinders Neil as he progresses toward his goal. 

Because of his unbuffered childhood, Neil had to grow up quickly, but along with the hard knocks, he gained a keen sense of survival and a strong intuition that served him well. I liked how Neil could see through most people’s smokescreens of lies, half-truths, and other obfuscations to get to the heart of what was going on. 

The story moves at an even pace as Neil grows to maturity, punctuated with exciting encounters with criminals, potential danger, and obstacles laid by those who should have been on his side. The young man experiences even more tragedy in his life, yet keeps rebounding even stronger than before. I look forward to more of his crime-stopping adventures. 

I recommend UP FROM HELL to readers of character-driven crime fiction. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.