Eleanor Dash is traveling Italy in honor of the book series that was launched after a vacation there several years earlier. Her publishing company is Eleanor Dash is traveling Italy in honor of the book series that was launched after a vacation there several years earlier. Her publishing company is sponsoring the trip which includes several fellow authors and a group of lucky fans of Eleanor's series. One of the people on the trip is Connor, the man she fell in love with on that initial trip and who starred as a character in the book that resulted from it. Even though Eleanor no longer loves Connor, her readers do. That and a bit of blackmail on Connor's part keep him in the picture.
Harper Dash is Eleanor's sister, personal assistant, and usually her memory. Harper always has the details and itinerary that Eleanor either forgot or never bothered to learn. When Connor confides that he thinks someone is trying to kill him, Eleanor doesn't believe him. Furthermore, she begins thinking about how she can kill him off in her next book and finally be free of him.
After a series of near-misses for Connor and Eleanor which may or may not have been murder attempts, someone actually dies. The trip includes Connor's ex-wife (who was Connor's wife when he met Eleanor, unbeknownst to her), Eleanor's rebound boyfriend Oliver, now also an ex, and other authors with various motives to dislike or distrust Connor. There is no shortage of suspects. Eleanor's reasoning and investigation point to one suspect after another (perhaps further evidence of why she's an author and not a detective) before we finally discover the culprit.
This is a fun little cozy mystery with a lot of fourth-wall breaking, through innumerable footnotes. Eleanor is a mostly likable character, particularly redeemed by her relationship with her sister Harper. Listening to it on audio, the footnotes were maybe the funniest part of the book and didn't interrupt the flow at all. Reading it either digitally or in print I think would have been exceptionally frustrating.
Elizabeth Evans is the narrator who did a wonderful job with the voices, and particularly the accents which helped cement the location. Her pacing kept the story flowing and she was particularly adept at incorporating the footnotes and elevating the humor.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Finlay Donovan is an author and a single mom who, despite the best intentions, just can't seem to stay on the right side of the law. Along with her naFinlay Donovan is an author and a single mom who, despite the best intentions, just can't seem to stay on the right side of the law. Along with her nanny/accountant/more than willing partner-in-crime Vero, the two of them have a habit of stumbling upon or inadvertently creating dead bodies. Not wanting to draw attention to their hard-to-explain activities, they have to find a way to solve the crime without any fingers pointing back at them.
In Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Finlay has just escaped her last jam with the help of a Russian mobster. Now she owes him a favor. He needs her to track down a contract killer who just might be a cop. Fortunately, Finlay's hot cop boyfriend, Nick, has started a citizen's police academy. Despite her reluctance to head into the lion's den, the academy provides her and Vero the perfect opportunity to figure out who the real killer is. All while maneuvering around two small children, an ex-husband, a romantically interested cop, and the mob.
In Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice, Finlay and Vero don't even have time to clean up from their previous adventure when they head off to Atlantic City under the guise of a girl's trip. In fact, they need to rescue Vero's friend Javi, try to get Vero out of her massive loan shark debt, and try to get Finlay out from under the thumb of the mob. Before they can even grab the kids and get on the road, ex-husband Steven forces his way onto the trip, followed shortly by Finlay's mom.
Once in Atlantic City, the girls sneak away to find Javi and instead find two dead bodies (including Vero's loan shark) and a dog named Kevin Bacon. Unable to call the police without facing some questions they had no good answers for, Finlay and Vero must once again hide some bodies. Returning to their own hotel, they find that Nick has come to town, along with three other members of the police force, one of whom is Finlay's sister. Nick doesn't want to let Finlay out of his arms, let alone his sight.
Trying to juggle her kids, a jealous ex-husband, a cop boyfriend, her mother's marital issues, saving Vero's childhood crush Javi, and figuring out who murdered the loan shark, Finlay might as well be in a circus as a casino. It will take a good roll of the dice to come out of this mess!
These characters are so much fun. Finlay and Vero make a great team. They are part Cagney and Lacey, part Lucy and Ethel. They manage to be clever and reckless at the same time, which adds to the excitement as they always seem on the verge of being discovered. The mystery in each novel is engrossing and challenging. There are plenty of exciting action sequences in each book and a few steamy romantic scenes to boot. The supporting characters mostly add spice and emotional stakes to the story. The one exception is Steven. He played a critical role in some of the earlier books, but now he has grown tiresome and disagreeable. Less Steven in favor of characters like Mrs. Haggerty, Finlay's neighbor and fellow citizen's police academy alum, would be a lot more fun. Finding out more of Vero's and Javi's history in Dice also opens up some interesting opportunities for them in the future.
Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan books are a blast. I love the structure, with each book a complete adventure while also laying the foundation for the next story. They are funny, sweet, occasionally steamy, and always exciting.
Angela Dawe narrates the audiobooks and she is perfectly cast. Her pacing, inflection and distinctive character voices draw you into the story and convey the book's emotion and humor at every step. I love her voice for Vero which captures her fierceness and raw emotion perfectly. Dawe takes great material and elevates it. This is such an enjoyable series and I look forward to many more adventures with Finlay and Vero.
I was provided a copy of these books by the publisher....more
Set in small-town Texas, three generations of Evans women (Ducey, daughter Lenore, granddaughter Grace) run the local (and only) funeral parlor. When Set in small-town Texas, three generations of Evans women (Ducey, daughter Lenore, granddaughter Grace) run the local (and only) funeral parlor. When a local woman shows up on their slab and rises from the dead, they react not with the horror you would expect, but with a mixture of concern and resignation. The Evans women have been the first line of defense against the strigori. If this isn't an isolated incident, it may be time to let Grace's teenage daughter Luna in on the real family business.
As the deaths pile up and more bodies appear (or disappear) it seems they have a real problem on their hands and some secrets they thought buried, may not have stayed buried.
This is interesting, almost light-hearted horror. An inquisitive deputy sheriff who has a history with the Evans but doesn't know as much as he thought about them offers an outsider's view of the events which is important to ground the story. A cantankerous old sheriff who also has a history with them sheds his own kind of insight on the story.
With each death, the crisis becomes a little more critical. Ryan interjects some history of the Evans family as well as the strigori. This history interrupts the flow of the story and doesn't always inform you as much as you would hope. Some of the character's actions seem illogical, or at least slow given the seriousness of the situation. Still, it's a fun story with a generous amount of blood and some engaging characters.
The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker who does a good job making the character voices distinctive. She also makes the dialogue fit the time and place of the story.
I was provided a copy of this audiobook by the publisher....more
I couldn't finish this and gave up about 1/3rd of the way through. It attempts to be humorous but it just wasn't funny. Every page was a weak joke. ItI couldn't finish this and gave up about 1/3rd of the way through. It attempts to be humorous but it just wasn't funny. Every page was a weak joke. It was attempting for social commentary but was so over-the-top that it was ridiculous in a bad way. Rather than the social commentary informing the plot, it was the plot. The characters were uninteresting and undeveloped.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
Nothing beats a visit to Caerphilly to check in with Meg Langslow and friends. In Birder She Wrote, Meg is just trying to find a little time to relax Nothing beats a visit to Caerphilly to check in with Meg Langslow and friends. In Birder She Wrote, Meg is just trying to find a little time to relax in the new hammock she bought and maybe enjoy watching the hummingbirds and reading a book. For once, the house isn't crammed to the gills with visiting relatives or out-of-towners who need a place to stay. Still, relaxation never really seems to be in the cards for Meg. While Meg's dad recruits her to help install new bees into a hive in her backyard, the Mayor calls her to smooth feathers with the NIMBYs who find living next door to working farms not in accordance with their idyllic vision of how country life should be. Meg's grandmother, Cordelia, also arrives to enlist her in searching for a long-lost African-American cemetery. Cordelia has in tow a reporter from Sweet Tea and Sassafras magazine, who is profiling Meg's grandmother. The reporter seems not to be enjoying anything about the task and Meg takes an instant and uncharacteristic dislike to her.
While searching for the graveyard, the group also discovers a dead body. One of the most vocal NIMBYs and also one of the least liked. Now it's up to Meg to help figure out who could have done this, and more importantly, why. Just one more thing to add to her to-do list!
This is another impressive entry in a great cozy series. Donna Andrew's endless inventiveness expands your knowledge of Caerphilly and its surroundings as well as the people who live and visit there. New details, new people, and new mysteries are always on tap. Add in some adorable Pomeranians, some hummingbirds, and a bunch of bees and you've got another great story!
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher....more
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