ROCCO'S JUNE COZY REVIEWS!

 Meow!

Here are my cozy reviews for June!

MURPHY'S SLAW

An Alaskan Diner Mystery

Elizabeth Logan

Berkley; MMPB

June 1, 2021

Four and a half paws

When a local prize-winning farmer is murdered at the state fair, Charlie Cook gets called in to help investigate, but she’s shocked to learn the victim is a friend in this latest installment in the Alaskan Diner Mysteries.

Charlie Cooke loves many things, like the Bear Claw Diner, the heated steering wheel of her car, and her orange tabby cat Eggs Benedict. Something she has never loved is the state fair. So when her best friend Annie Jensen begs her for a fair day, she’s reluctant.  But Annie isn’t the only one who wants her to spend a day among farm animals and deep fried food. A vendor has been murdered, and Trooper Graham needs his favorite part-time sleuth to dig up the truth, and Charlie is happy to oblige.

The case grows personal when Charlie learns the victim is Kelly Carson, whom she and Annie were friends with in high school. If Charlie wants to find justice for Kelly, she and Annie will have to work together to weed out the killer.

OK, who wouldn't love a series with a cat named Eggs Benedict?????  We enjoyed the first two in this series, and #3 does not disappoint.  We are hopeful for more!!!!!!  four and a half paws.

Death on the Night of Lost Lizards

Hungarian Tea House Mystery

Julia Buckley

Berkley; MMPB; June 1, 2021

Four Paws

Along with her mother and grandmother, Hana Keller has achieved renown serving tea and cakes with a European flair, but when a local professor is killed, she uncovers a serving of suspects instead…

Hana Keller is getting ready for a lovely holiday season. When she receives a rare tea set as a birthday gift, she decides to host a tea at her apartment for her closest friends. During the cozy get-together, one of Hana's friends gets word that a murderer is on the loose. Hana soon learns that the victim was Sandor Balog, a professor of Hungarian Studies at the local college.

With her growing psychic ability, Hana senses that she is going to be pulled into the investigation of  the professor's death somehow. With her sexy boyfriend Erik on the case, Hana finds the Tea House steeped in suspects. She studies the smiling faces celebrating the season, but the real killer is good at hiding the truth and putting Hana in the hot seat….

Not one of our favorites in this series, but still a good read!

Murder She Wrote: Killing in a Koi Pond

Jessica Fletcher/Terrie Farley Moran

Berkley; Hardcover; June 8, 2021

Four and a half stars

When a friend’s husband dies while Jessica Fletcher is in town visiting, Jessica’s vacation turns into a murder investigation in this latest entry in the long-running USA Today bestselling series.

After traveling to Bethesda for a mystery writers’ conference, Jessica Fletcher decides she’s earned a vacation and takes a train to Columbia, South Carolina, to visit her old college friend Dolores, who has recently married her third husband, Willis Nickens, a wealthy and cutthroat businessman. They’ve moved into an opulent historic home with plenty of space for guests, and Jessica is ready for a week of shopping, gossiping, and relaxing at the grand estate.

But the morning after she arrives, Jessica discovers Willis facedown in the koi pond, and despite what the police think, she’s sure foul play is involved. She hadn’t known Willis long, but it’s clear to her that he didn’t concern himself with making friends. The question isn’t if her friend’s husband was murdered but by whom.

Seems to us a if Jessica goes back to her roots in this one.  The mystery takes on a different tone than those previously written;  however, longtime fans of the series will enjoy!

The Listening House

Mabel Seeley

Berkley; June 8, 2021

Trade paperback - Cover image not available

Down and out in the Depression, Gwynne Dacres moves into a seedy and sinister boarding house, where she exposes deadly secrets in this classic mystery by Mabel Seeley

After losing her copywriting job, young Gwynne Dacres seeks a place to live when she stumbles upon Mrs. Garr's old boarding house. Despite the gruff landlady and an assortment of shifty tenants, Gwynne rents a room for herself. She spends her first few nights at 593 Trent Street tensely awake, the house creaking and groaning as if listening to everything that happens behind its closed doors.

A chain of chilling events leads to the gruesome discovery of a mutilated body in the basement kitchen, dead of unknown circumstances. Was it an accident or murder? Under the red-black brick façade of the old house on Trent Street, Gwynne uncovers a myriad of secrets, blackmail, corruption, and clues of a wicked past. As she closes in on the truth, the cold, pale hands of death reach for Gwynne in the night…

This reminded me of one of those old 1940's Noir mysteries!  Definitely a good read!

Little Black Book

Kate Carlisle

Bibliophile Mysteries

Berkley/Hardcover/June 29, 2021

Five Stars

San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is on the case when a rare edition of Rebecca leads to murder in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.

Brooklyn and her hunky husband, security expert Derek Stone, have just returned from a delightful trip to Dharma, where the construction of their new home away from home is well underway, when a little black book arrives in the mail from Scotland. The book is a rare British first edition of Rebecca, and there’s no return address on the package. The day after the book arrives, Claire Quinn shows up at Brooklyn and Derek’s home. Brooklyn met Claire when the two women worked as expert appraisers on the television show This Old Attic. Brooklyn appraised books on the show and Claire’s expertise was in antique British weaponry, but they bonded over their shared love of gothic novels.
 
Claire reveals that during a recent trip to Scotland she discovered her beloved aunt was missing and her home had been ransacked. Among her aunt’s belongings, Claire found the receipt for the package that wound up with Brooklyn and Derek. Claire believes both her own life and her aunt’s are in danger and worries that her past may be coming back to haunt her.
 
But just as Brooklyn and Derek begin to investigate, a man who Claire thinks was following her is found murdered, stabbed with a priceless jeweled dagger. With a death on their doorstep, Brooklyn and Derek page through the little black book, where they discover clues that will take them to the shadows of a medieval Scottish castle on the shores of Loch Ness. Under the watchful gaze of a mysterious laird and the irascible villagers who are suspicious of the strangers in their midst, Brooklyn and Derek must decode the secrets in Rebecca to keep their friend’s past from destroying their future....

It took us awhile to find this series and, we admit, weren't entranced at first....but now we are die hard fans of Brooklyn, Derek, and their friends!  Each mystery is better than the last, and this one is no exception!  We are defintely looking forward to more!  Five Paws!!!!!!!!

THE TIME FOR MURDER IS MEOW

AN URBAN TAILS PET SHOP MYSTERY

T. C. LOTEMPIO

BEYOND THE PAGE; E-BOOK, TRADE PAPERBACK

JUNE 9, 2021  RE-RELEASE

This book was originally published by Midnight Ink, and discontinued after publication of book one when MI ended their fiction line.  Fortunately, Beyond the Page has picked up the series for books 1-4!!!!!!!!

When her TV series is canceled, struggling actress Shell McMillan considers it a blessing in disguise. A beloved aunt who recently died left her a pet shop in her will, and she sees it as the perfect chance to walk away from Hollywood and make a fresh start in the sleepy town of Fox Hollow.

But adjusting to small-town life won’t be easy, as Shell realizes when the head of the museum board is found murdered not long after Shell had a very public argument with her. And when the new kid in town is fingered for the crime, she’ll have to rely on her own wit and pluck and the kindness of strangers to get herself off the hook.

Desperate to exonerate herself and catch the real culprit, Shell begins digging into the lives of the local residents, and she quickly discovers that the victim had no shortage of enemies. As the suspect list grows and time runs short, Shell and her cats will have to claw their way out of danger—and it’s meow or never . . .

“A buoyant start to a new series . . . Fans of feline mysteries will relish The Time for Murder Is Meow’s pet shop framework in this story of finding one’s second act.” —Foreword Reviews

Unfortunately, we cannot review the human's work for obvious reasons LOL.  But feel free to check out what others think on Amazon, GoodReads and Barnes and Noble!!!!!!!

Want to win a paper copy of the new TIME FOR MURDER IS MEOW?

Leave your name and email addy in our comments section.  One winner will be chosen at random. US entries only please.  Contest ends  midnight, June 28