Rocco and Chazz's June and July Cozy Berkley Reviews!

Ma-Row!

Here are our reviews on the Berkley cozy offerings for June/July!

First up:

FONDANT FUMBLE

JENN MCKINLAY

MMPB

RELEASE DATE:  JUNE 4TH

FOUR AND A HALF PAWS

The Fairy Tale Cupcakes crew helps two professional football players in knead when the athletes are suspected of murder and their dream of opening a bakery is crushed, from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.

Professional football players Keogh Graham and Tyler Matthews want to open a Fairy Tale Cupcakes franchise. They’re spending the off-season in Scottsdale working in Mel’s bakery, learning about the business and how to bake show-stopping cupcakes. The popular athletes bring a boom of customers to the store as football fans flock to see the friends mixing batter and piping icing.

Everyone’s excited the athletes are pursuing their dream of owning a bakery—except for those who fear the players will ditch football for fondant and retire early from professional sports. The angry naysayers include their team owner and Keogh's sports agent, along with some very vocal fans.

When the owner of their team, the Arizona Scorpions, is found dead on the floor of their new bakery following an argument with Keogh, the pros become prime suspects. As the investigation heats up, Mel and the rest of the cupcake bakery crew must step up and prove their franchise owners are innocent before it’s game-over for the new bakers.

Rocco's Review:  Jenn McKinlay works in our home state of Arizona with pride in this latest instalment of the cupcake mysteries!   As usual, Mel and the crew deliver with an intriguing mystery and lots of twisty turns!  Definite must summer read! Four and a half paws!

REQUIEM FOR A MOUSE

CAT IN THE STACKS MYSTERY

MIRANDA JAMES

JUNE 25TH; HC

FIVE PAWS

Librarian Charlie Harris and his ever-intuitive feline friend Diesel must catch a killer in a deadly game of cat and mouse where no one is who they seem to be...

At last, Charlie and Helen Louise’s wedding is only a month away. They’re busy preparing for the big day, and the last thing Charlie needs is a new mystery to solve. Enter Tara Martin, a shy, peculiar woman who has recently started working part-time at Helen Louise’s bistro and helping Charlie in the archive. Tara isn’t exactly friendly and she has an angry outburst at the library that leaves Charlie baffled. And then she abruptly leaves a catered housewarming party Charlie’s son Sean is throwing to celebrate his new home in the middle of her work shift. Before ducking out of the party, Tara looked terrified and Charlie wonders if she’s deliberately trying to escape notice. Is she hiding from someone?

When Tara is viciously attacked and lands in the hospital, Charlie knows his instincts were correct: Tara was in trouble and someone was after her. With the help of his much beloved cat, Diesel, Charlie digs deeper, and discovers shocking glimpses into Tara’s past that they could never have predicted. Will they catch the villain before Charlie’s own happily ever after with Helen Louise is ruined?

Chazz's Review:  Firstoff, i have to say this is one of my favorite series! I love Charlie, and I love Diesel!  and the supporting characters aren't bad either!  the cover art is always outstanding, and this one is a particularly good likeness of Diesel!

As usual, Charlie's instincts are on point and he does what he and Diesel do best - sniff out clues!  I liked the way Ms. James interspersed the mystery with Charlie's upcoming nuptuals. Do they get hitched????? Read the book! Five paws!!!!!

A CONTROVERSIAL COVER

Booktown Mystery

Lorna Barrett

HC; 7/16/24

five paws

When a famous children's author is murdered at the library, Tricia Miles has to find the killer before it's too late in the latest entry to Lorna Barrett's New York Times bestselling Booktown series.

Tricia Miles is ready to close the book on all her amateur sluething—she's tired of finding dead bodies and being accused of murder. But even the best laid plans often go awry.

Stoneham is all abuzz when Lauren Barker, a famous children's book author, arrives for an event at the local library. Lauren is a Stoneham native, and her new book strikes some members of the town as controversial. But when Lauren is found strangled to death after an altercation at the event, the plot twist throws Tricia right back into the middle of things.

Who could possibly have wanted Lauren dead? Was it Dan Reed, who had to be thrown out of the signing for spouting conspiracy theories and causing a disturbance? Stella Kraft, Lauren’s high school teacher, who thought of the author as a protégé—something Lauren violently disputed? Or the mystery man who spoke to Lauren just before she was found dead? With the suspect count climbing higher and more information about Lauren's past coming to light, will Tricia be able to give this story a happily ever after?

Rocco's Review:  Booktown mysteries are always a treat - we love the delightfully quirky characters Ms. Barrett has created, and in spite of her misgivings, Tricia Miles always proves to be a worthy sleuth.  In this instalment she's swearing off detecting - until a murder at the local library sucks her in!  Lots of twisty turns in this one; fans of this series will not be disappointed. And may I say I for one am glad that Tricia didn't give up sleuthing!  Five Paws

Chazz and Rocco review SAME DIFFERENCE by E.J.Copperman

 Rocco here! Chazz and I are delighted to give our reviews on E. J. Copperman's latest in his Fran and Ken Stein mystery series, SAME DIFFERENCE!

PLOT:  Taking a break from their usual business of helping adoptees find their birth parents, New York private investigators—and super-sized, ever-so-slightly-paranormal siblings—Fran and Ken Stein accept a job to find a missing young woman.

Nineteen-year-old college student Eliza Hennessey is trans—and she has a rocky relationship with her father, their new client. Brian's convinced his daughter's vanished, rather than run away, but Fran and Ken aren't so sure she wants to be found. The PI duo investigate, and soon Fran is butting heads with her irritating sort-of-ex-boyfriend Mank at the NYPD, who has what seems to be a similar case on his desk. But not even Fran could guess how tangled their investigations are going to get—or how deep they'll need to dive into murder and mayhem to solve the case!

OUR REVIEWS:

Rocco:  This latest instalment of EJ's newest series has it all: suspense and only the witty kind of humor EJ can bring to his books.  One has to appreciate the unique characters EJ has created, particularly Fran and Ken (any relation to another famous Victor????)  As a Sci-Fi fan meowself, I especially enjoy this series. even if you haven't read the first, you will enjoy this one.  Five paws.

Chazz:  I havent done much reading over the years, but now that I'm part of the LoTempio family, t hat has all changed! This book was my first introduction to E.J. Copperman and I have to say I'm hooked. I love books with twisty plots and this one is a doozy! You'll want to solve it right along with Fran and Ken.  The only thing that might improve it - maybe add a cat?  Five paws.

SAME DIFFERENCE

FRAN AND KEN STEIN MYSTERIES

SEVERN HOUSE

HARDCOVER

JUNE 4, 2024

Available now at Amazon, Barnes and NOble, and other retail outlets! 

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Same-Difference-Fran-Stein-Mystery/dp/1448312035/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1pEThE7UjmnSpgfvrLZO8AGtaZ8tGdRtERykcxBChJTGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.Z7sHpQogjvbUIrpoamf2Xe7oRFs31dnAC5jMXE0oJ4A&qid=1715615449&sr=1-19

ROCCO And Chazz interview author Mary Kennedy! (with a giveaway!!!!!!)

 Rocco here with my assistant Chazz!

Today we are interviewing author and good friend of our human, Mary Kennedy!

Mary has enjoyed a successful career as a writer, having published the Talk Radio Mysteries and the Dream Club Mysteries for Berkeley.  She has a new Dream Club Mystery debuting on June 7th!

(Note the cool cat! Kind of looks like Chazz!)

ROCCO:  Welcome Mary!

Chazz:     Yes, welcome!

ROCCO:  We are thrilled to host you today.  Please tell us a little about your background,Mary!

MK:   I've always been a writer. My first job out of college was as a radio copywriter for a rock radio station in Nashville. It was a wild and wacky station like the TV show, WKRP. From there, I became a television news writer. I'm also a licensed clinical psychologist which makes for an interesting mix.

Chazz:  That sounds interesting! Tell us a bit about your latest book!

MK: My latest book is Premonition of Murder, book 3 in the Dream Club Mysteries. A "dream club" in Savannah finds clues that help the police solve crimes.

ROCCO: A dream club sounds like something I would enjoy Heh Heh. Or maybe Chazz, since he is always napping.  

Chazz:  ZZZ--what was that?  Mary, how do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”? 

MK: I write a really detailed synopsis "for my eyes only." It's pretty stream of consciousness and is much more involved than the one I write for the proposal.

Chazz:  Which do you consider more important, plot or character? 

MK:  The setting is really important to me. The Talk Radio Mysteries could only take place in a radio station. And the Dream Club Mysteries were inspired by Savannah, a fascinating city with a lot of supernatural elements.

ROCCO:  What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated? 

MK:  Well, I keep the VISA bill on the fridge and that's tremendously motivating!

ROCCO:  Sure is.  I should tell the human to put her QVC bill up on our fridge.

Chazz:  Do you have an “How I got my agent” story you want to share? 

MK:  I sold 7 books to a major New York publisher on my own, and finally figured I needed someone to guide my career. I started out writing YA for Scholastic and Penguin and now am writing adult mysteries for Penguin-Random House.

ROCCO:  Please tell us what are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

MK:  I'm writing book 5 in the Talk Radio Mysteries, Death of a Shady Shrink. Dr. Maggie, a radio talk show shrink (think Frasier), is still rocking it at WYME-Radio in a south Florida town. And she solves a murder (or two) in every book!

Chazz: Cool! I love Frasier!!!!!!

ROCCO:  What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

MK:    Don't quit your day job!

ROCCO: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?  

MK:  I had a bit part in a Burt Reynolds movie even though I had a 104 temperature. It was crazy, bt hey, it was Burt Reynolds!

Chazz:  Who's Burt Reynolds?

ROCCO (rolls eyes)   Mary, where can our readers learn more about you and your books?

MK:  They can find out all the latest on my website www.marykennedy.net and my Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/mary.kennedy.948/

Chazz: oh ho, we're not done yet!  Now Mary answers ROCCO and Chazz's Fast Five!

• What did you do when you found out your first book was published? I bought a very jazzy car. A black MG with red upholstery
• If you weren’t a writer, what would you be? I would be desperately unhappy and probably complaining to all my friends.
• What’s your favorite way to spend a rainy day? Reading, of course! Curled up with a couple of cats!  (ROCCO: Excellent!) 
• What’s your preference for grocery shopping:  In store or online
• What is your favorite movie quote "Don't let the bastards get you down." It sounds classier in Latin. It was actually my father's favorite quote.

Thank you for a wonderful interview, Mary!  AND........

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Mary will give away a $15 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commenter! Just leave your name and email address in our comments section!  Chazz will pick the winner! Contest closes at midnight, June 16th!

ROCCO and Chazz review BLACK CAT AND THE SECRET IN DEWEY'S DIARY

 ROCCO here! Today my protege Chazz and I are reviewing another book in the Black Cat series, #4, BLACK CAT AND THE SECRET IN DEWEY' DIARY.

Purchase Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Black-Secret-Deweys-Diary-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07XSJQ5HF/ref=sr_1_3?crid=TSC1FP8ICXND&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.33F9UWJ6h0wCjypWOdQqG5jwoCEjv1_uDSgRIl8xpZ-KpcSXQOKu9x0bL1DFMZZA83-OHRZPfE4NjrU31D_xL9myWkpLrDWU2HmKNkX0bJ8.WM-LYwsK3efPzxwT39m2YBMTtd6ErkTzrIxRArLyH8g&dib_tag=se&keywords=Black+Cat+Elaine+Faber&qid=1715186677&s=digital-text&sprefix=black+cat+elaine+faber%2Cdigital-text%2C202&sr=1-3

In this dual tale of mystery, lost treasure, and riddles, while Black Cat narrates the exciting events in Fern Lake, Kimberlee discovers a cryptic clue in a diary about a hidden treasure, and heads to Austria to solve the puzzle. When Kimberlee and Dorian arrive in Austria, they attract the attention of a stalker determined to steal the diary in hopes the clues will lead him to the treasure first. On a collision course, it is inevitable that Kimberlee and the stalker meet in Hopfgarten. Black Cat and Angel’s lives are endangered with the arrival of Kimberlee’s grandmother in Fern Lake, and the return of a man presumed dead for twenty-five years. With both arrivals, emotional and financial difficulties loom for Kimberlee's family. Since their return to Fern Lake, Angel seems reluctant or unable to adjust to her new home. Does she regret leaving Texas and Grandmother? And, when the opportunity arises, will she decide to leave Black Cat and Fern Lake?

ROCCO:  Firstoff, the main character in the book is a black cat--so you know it has to be good, right?  Second, who doesn't love a tail (sorry, tale) about hidden treasure!  Once again Black Cat and Angel find themselves in the middle of a conondrum and plenty of danger!  I like the relationship between Black Cat and Angel, and Angel's conflicting feelings.  A keeper.  Four paws.

CHAZZ:  I enjoyed the book as well.  I actually pictured myself in Austria along with Black Cat and Angel solving the mystery!  Kimberlee is an excellent human character, and Black Cat and Angel are remarkable sleuths!  This book is a keeper for me as well. Four paws.

Chazz reviews Black Cat and the Accidental Angel

 Merow! Chazz here!  I'm on my second review already, wow! ROCCO is really throwing me into the hot seat!

the book I'm reviewing today is BLACK CAT AND THE ACCIDENTAL ANGEL.

This is part of a series written by Elaine Faber. The main characters are Black Cat aka Thumper and his main squeeze, Noe-Noe. As he story opens Thumper and Noe Noe are returning home with their humans from a vacation.  A traffic incident finds one of the humans rushed to the hospital and the cats abandoned.  Thumper wakes up with amnesia, and his companion, NoeNoe promises to take care of him. "Call me your angel," she says.  And so NoeNoe becomes an Angel...accidentally.

As the cats struggle to find their way home, they end up being taken in by a farmer, John, and his daughter Cindy.  It seems that they face foreclosure on their family farm, and also someone has been playing pranks that threaten Cindy.  Thumper (renamed Black Cat by Cindy) and Angel immediaely set out to help the duo, a move that ultimately puts Angel's life at risk.

This book isn't as much a mystery as it is a tale of faith and redemption.  I won't share the ending- you'll have to read it for yourself - but those who believe in happy endings will love it. I'd have a box of Kleenex on hand while reading this book, and it did whet my appetite for reading the others in the series!

I would give this book a resounding five paws!

Chazz

GIVEAWAY!  Elaine Faber will give away an ebook copy of Black Cat and the Accidental Angel to one lucky commenter! Just leave your name and email address in our comments section below! Contest ends midnight April 5th.

BLACK CAT AND THE ACCIDENTAL ANGEL

Elaine Faber

Elk Grove Publications/Trade Paperback

Five Paws!

ROCCO and Chazz review....MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES

 ROCCO here!  I'd like to introduce everyone to my protegee, Chazz! Chazz will be helping out doing reviews and other things with the blog, so please give him a warm welcome!  His first assignemnt was reviewing Laura Child's latest Tea Shop mystery, MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES!

SPOTLIGHT!

MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES

A Tea Shop Mystery

Laura Childs

Hardcover/Berkley Prime Crime

Release date: March 5, 2024

Rating: Five Paws!

When Theodosia Browning reads the tea leaves on the set of the movie, Dark Fortunes, things go from spooky to worse. Lights are dimmed, the camera rolls, and red hot sparks fly as the film’s director is murdered in a tricky electrical accident.

Or was it an accident? Though the cast and crew are stunned beyond belief, nobody admits to seeing a thing. And when Theodosia’s friend, Delaine, becomes the prime suspect, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. But who among this Hollywood cast and crew had murder on their mind? The screenwriter is a self-centered pot head, the leading actress is trying to wiggle out of her contract, the brand new director seems indifferent, and nobody trusts the slippery-when-dry Hollywood agent.

Between hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Tea, a Poetry Tea, and trying to launch her own chocolate line, Theodosia doggedly hunts down clues and explores the seemingly haunted Brittlebank Manor where the murder took place. And just when she’s ready to pounce, a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered, throwing everything into total disarray. But this clever killer will go to any lengths to hide his misdeeds as Theodosia soon finds out when she and her tea sommelier, Drayton, get caught up in a dangerous stakeout.

Hello everyone! I'm Chazz and I'm jazzed for Laura Child's latest book to be my very first review!   I have to admit, Im very much behind on this series, but after pawing thru this one, I've got to start form book one!  The book was excellently plotted and the characters vivid.  Laura Childs has a way of making her murders quite unusual and this was no exception. I liked the way Theodosia immediately stuck up for her friend Delaine and determined to clear her name. (Although i did think Delaine was a bit  much!  She's lucky Theo is her friend.)  the book combines cozy with thriller, another of my favorite genres, so suffice it to say I'm hooked!  I look forward to reading  more of Ms Child's books (and cat-ching up on the ones I've missed!)

ROCCO;  Yes, this one is a definite winner.  What Hollywood cast and crew hasn't thought about murdeirng thier director LOL. As usual, Theodosia noses around until the killer finally makes a move.  I'm only hoping boyfiriend Reilly can stick with her - they seem a good match!  (Unless you consider Drayton, her sidekick.)  One thing: I'd give Hayley a bit more to do other than cook!  And maybe add a cat......

Both Chazz and I give this a resounding five paws up

Giveaway!

Laura Childs will give a signed copy away to one lucky commenter! Just leave your name and email addy in our comments section and tell us who your favorite Tea Shop character is!  Chazz will select the winner!  Contest closes midnight, Friday March 22. US residents only please. 

ROCCO introduces Chazz!

 Hello Folks! ROCCO here!

As some of you know, I've been blogging here since 2008!  Im no spring chicken anymore, so the human and I decided it was time for  me to train a protegee!  and here he is!

Meet Chazz!

Chazz is a senior boy (though not as senior as myself) He will be 9 years young this September.  He is a rescue cat. He was rescued from a house that had 83 other cats living in it!  Chazz has a few health issues but overall is in remarkable shape!  He is a loving, affectionate kitty who enjoys a good chin rub and a good book!  

I hope that you all will give him a warm welcome! I look forward to sharing my knowledge with Chazz!

ROCCO