Friday, October 31, 2025

Chazz reviews ALL SPOOKED UP!

 Meow! Chazz here with my review of our good friend EJ Copperman's first in his new series,ALL SPOOKED  UP!


The synopsis:

Paint store owner Laura Meehan makes the discovery of a lifetime in her shop when she stumbles upon a body and . . . her dead father’s ghost! This brand-new Haunted Paint Store Mystery has Copperman’s signature wit, humor, and zaniness aplenty!

Dealing with her father’s recent death, Laura Meehan decides to move back to her New Jersey hometown and take over the paint and wallpaper store he opened after quitting his straining job in the police. Knowing that she is uprooting her own and her supportive husband Roy’s lives, she’s determined to continue her father’s legacy and keep the business alive.

But that doesn’t seem to be the only thing alive when Laura discovers that her store is haunted by none other than her deceased father! Either that or Laura has finally lost her mind and developed Ghost Traumatic Stress Syndrome . . .

When she discovers the body of the town’s deadbeat painter Ernie on top of all that, Laura is determined to find the culprit who’s rudely used her store as their murder scene, with the help of her ex-police detective father’s ghost—real or not, Laura might as well make use of his expertise!

It turns out Ernie owed a lot of money to a lot of people. Could one of them have reached breaking point and killed the freeloader?


Chazz Review:  well, our good friend EJ has done it again with his new series!  This is what he does best, these delightfully quirky mysteries with plenty of humor and thrills mixed in.  A definite must read if you are a dedicated EJ fan (and even if you are not you will quickly become one).  I  myself cannot wait for entry #2 in this fabulous new series!!!  Five paws!  




Tuesday, October 7, 2025

September/October cozy reviews!

 A PERILOUS PLOT by Lorna Barrett

Berkley Trade Paperback; on sale September 23, 2025

 

A book cover of a room with a fireplace

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Family reunions are killer—literally—in the newest mystery in Lorna Barrett's New York Times bestselling Booktown series.

Everything was going great for Tricia Miles, right up until her estranged mother, Sheila, arrives on her front step with an urn she says contains the remains of Tricia's father.

Shocked and saddened, Tricia and her sister, Angelica, attempt to get to the bottom of what happened. But their efforts for clarity are dashed when Shelia disappears the very next day, leaving without a word.

Naturally, the sisters are upset—especially after they take the remains to the local funeral parlor and discover that not only is the urn filled with kitty litter, but hidden inside is a valuable (and stolen) Rolex watch. Digging deeper, the sisters find their parents are in dire financial trouble and seem to be lurking around Booktown.

Tricia and Angelica can’t help but wonder how many more secrets their mother was keeping...and whether that includes murder.


I have always enjoyed this series, even though at times i felt it got a little dark.  Once I met TRicia's mother I understood why.  Tricia and her sister work to solve a puzzling mystery concerning the death of their father and end up uncovering secrets.  Watching the sisters unravel the clues is always a joy for me.  Five stars.