Oh My Books!

Candy for Christmas by Joanne Fluke #1.5 Hannah Swensen Mysteries series In the Novella, Hannah Swenson, owner of The Cookie Jar, discovers that someone has broken into her store. Perhaps this individual is simply sleeping there to stay warm. Whoever this individual is, they clean up before they leave. So Hannah plans, with Norman's help, to catch the intruder in the act (and they do). What unwinds is a tale of innocence and a dysfunctional family who is reunited due to Hannah's understanding and sense of fairness. My review: During this time of year, I’m always on the lookout for books that bring out the Christmas spirit, so I decided to give Candy for Christmas by Joanne Fluke a try. This book, a novella that is part 1.5 of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries series, combines mystery, baking, and a touch of wintery charm. The story follows Hannah, the protagonist of the series, as she solves a light and straightforward case. Since the book is very short, there isn’t much time to dev...

Homicide In Hardcover Author: Kate Carlisle Series: A Bibliophile Mystery #1 Release Date: January 1st 2009 Publisher: Signet The streets of San Francisco would be lined with hardcovers if rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright had her way. And her mentor wouldn’t be lying in a pool of his own blood on the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration. With his final breath he leaves Brooklyn a cryptic message, and gives her a priceless—and supposedly cursed—copy of Goethe’s Faust for safekeeping. Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to the humorless—but attractive—British security officer who finds her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice… It has been a while since I read a cozy mystery, and I missed them so much.  Homicide In Hardcover  has raving reviews..so it was the perfect candidate to get my cozy vibes again. Brooklyn W...

Title: How to Party with a Killer Vampire Author: Penny Warner Series: Party Planning Mystery #4 Release Date: October 4th 2011 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Age: Adult Mixing fun and fundraising seems like the perfect job for Presley Parker, which is why she started her event-planning business to raise money for charities. But when a film soiree goes awry, it could mean THE END for her business… Presley Parker’s event planning business is really rolling. Her newest gig is a film wrap party for big-time producer Lucas Cruz. He’s celebrating his latest release—a vampire parody—by throwing a lavish party in a graveyard. It’s a pretty gloomy venue for Presley, but she’s hoping to make it so much fun that partygoers won’t even notice there are more dead than living guests… And the number of dead grows when an entertainment reporter crashes the party, trying to dig up dirt on an actor, and literally digs his own grave. Presley’s reputation is seriously on the line...

Title: Absolutely, Positively Author: Heather Webber Series: Lucy Valentine #3 Release Date: February 2011 Publisher: St. Martin's Press “Exposed” by a Boston Herald reporter, Lucy is suddenly the talk of the town. Long back-story short: Even though the rest of her Valentine ancestors were blessed by Cupid with psychic abilities, Lucy’s only special power lies in her ability to find things. This skill has proven quite a blessing for those who come to her matchmaking agency in search of finding their long-lost loves. Now that Lucy’s secret is out, she has more new clients than she knows what to do with. But soon a certain man of mystery steals Lucy’s spotlight… No, it’s not Sean Donahue, the sexy fireman-turned-private-eye who’s stolen Lucy’s heart. It’s a masked man in a cowboy hat, dubbed “The Lone Ranger,” who’s been throwing handfuls of cash across the Common. Now all of Beantown’s abuzz. Can Lucy unmask the mysterious money man, track down all her clients’ old flames,...

Deeply, Desperately Author: Heather Webber Series: Lucy Valentine #2 Release Date: August 3rd, 2010 Publisher: St. Martin's Press The irrepressible star of "Truly, Madly" is back in business. This time, Lucy Valentine will go to the ends of the earth to find true love for her clients...and maybe even herself. Lucy wants to breathe new life into her family’s Boston-based matchmaking company. But how? Even though she comes from a long line of ancestors blessed by Cupid with psychic abilities, a freak accident left Lucy with only one special skill: finding things. Car keys, socks in the dryer, needles in haystacks...and now, in a stroke of professional genius, lost loves It’s not long before Lucy’s on a winning streak, helping old flames reunite and create new sparks. Business is booming. But when Lucy finds herself involved in a possible case of murder, she realizes she’s in too deep. Enter Sean Donahue. Lucy’s handsome fire-fighter turned private-eye neighbo...

How to Survive a Killer Seance Author: Penny Warner Series: Party Planning Mystery #3 Release Date: March 1st 2011 Publisher: Penguin Group Mixing fun and fund-raising seems the perfect job for Presley Parker, which is why she started her Killer Parties event-planning business. But her previous parties pale in comparison to a spooky séance and a creepy crime... Presley's newest gig is a séance party at San Jose's famous Winchester Mystery House. Her client, Jonathan Ellington, plans to use the event to unveil his new "4-D" holographic technology, which will bring former owner Sarah Winchester "back from the dead." But the stunt backfires when a disembodied voice accuses Ellington of infidelity in front of his wife and business associates, and the techie who's monitoring the holograph is found murdered. Suspicion falls on Ellington, but as Presley tries to get at the truth, she doesn't need a Ouija board to tell her someone wants to ...

Title: Truly, Madly Author: Heather Webber Series: Lucy Valentine #1 Release Date: February 2nd, 2010 Publisher: St. Martin's Pages: 305 Lucy hails from a long line of matchmakers known as Valentine INC. According to family legend, the Valentines have been blessed by Cupid with the ability to help couples find true love. Trouble is Lucy’s powers were zapped away by an electrical surge and now all she can find are lost objects. But what good is that in the matchmaking world? Lucy is about to find out when she tries to solve a murder and winds up falling into a romance of her own. Lucy's a young women whose family runs a match-making service. She has to run the family business for a couple of weeks but she isn't sure she can do it. Her family can see auras and that's why their business is so successful. But she doesn't have the same powers. So what happens when she uses her powers to help her first client and sees a dead body? And what about t...

Title: How to Crash a Killer Bash Series: Party Planning Mystery #2 Author: Penny Warner Release Date: August 3rd, 2010 Publisher: Signet Pages: 320 Age: Adult Presley Parker is hosting a Murder Mystery party thrown by a notorious yet benevolent curator, Mary lee Miller. But when the role play becomes terrifyingly real, and Mary Lee is found dead, Presley kicks her sleuthing into high gear-only to find that someone wants the life of the party dead too... How to Crash a Killer Bash is the sequel to How to Host a Killer Party. The protagonist, Presley, is still organizing parties, and this time, she's hosting a Murder Mystery party. Everything is going great, until Mary Lee Miller, the hostess, is found dead, and Delicia, Presley's best friend, is a suspect. Of course she knows she didn't do it....but who? Nobody seems to like Mary Lee Miller at all... Presley is still the same funny girl. What I most like about her is that she's independent, an...

Title: How to Host a Killer Party Series: Party Planning Mystery, Book #1 Author: Penny Warner Release Date: February 2nd, 2010 Publisher: Penguin Group Pages: 320 ISBN: 0451229304 (ISBN13: 9780451229304) Synopsis from goodreads.com : Don't let murder crash your party.  Presley Parker was just happy to get her party planning business off the ground. Now she's gotten the gig of the year, planning Mayor Davin Green's sumptuous "surprise" wedding for his socialite fiancée, to be held on Alcatraz. But when the bride is found floating in the bay and the original party planner is found murdered, Presley becomes the prime suspect. If the attractive crime scene cleaner, Brad Matthews, doesn't help her tidy her reputation, she'll be exchanging her formal wear for prison stripes... A surprise party, Alcatraz and a murder... Presley is just starting as a party planner and all of the sudden she's planning one of the most important part...