ROCCO reviews Anna Gerard's PEACHY SCREAM

Meow! Today I'm reviewing PEACHY SCREAM, second in the Georgia B&B mystery series by Anna Gerard.

PEACHY SCREAM
ANNA GERARD
CROOKED LANE PUBLISHERS
RELEASE DATE:  AUGUST 8, 2020
HARDCOVER


The Plot:

t's nothing short of inevitable that Cymbeline, GA, hosts an annual Shakespeare festival. But stage-struck Nina Fleet is about to learn that putting on an amateur theatrical production can be murder. Nina's anticipating showbiz glamour and glitz when a community Shakespearean troupe arrives for a two-week stay at her B&B. But the lights dim when she learns the company's director is her nemesis, struggling actor Harry Westcott--who still claims to be the rightful heir to Nina's elegant Queen Anne home.

Meanwhile, the troupe members are not content to leave the drama upon the stage. Accusations of infidelity and financial malfeasance make a shambles of rehearsals. And then, two days into the troupe's stay, the lead actor is found dead in Nina's formal Shakespeare garden. Natural causes...or murder most foul?

Nina uncovers evidence that something is indeed rotten in the town of Cymbeline. Too bad Harry is the only one who believes that she's not going completely off script. And exposing the truth isn't easy when the remaining troupe members say the show must go on...particularly when all of them seemingly had a motive for wanting their fellow actor to permanently exit stage right. Determined to keep the killer from making a curtain call, Nina and her trusty Australian Shepherd, Matilda, join forces with Harry to sleuth out the murder plot. 

ROCCO's Rating:  Four and a half Paws!!!!!!

ROCCO's Review:  

I have been a fan of this author’s since her Black Cat Bookshop series (written under the name of Ali Brandon) so I was anxious to give this new series a try.  I enjoyed the first in the series, Peach Clobbered, and looked forward to the second, Peachy Scream with much anticipation.

I was not disappointed.

Nina Fleet owns a B&B in Cymbeline, Georgia. She welcomes a Shakespearean troupe into her B&B, but considers throwing them out when she learns her nemesis, Harry Westcott, is directing the play.  She's not looking forward to dealing with him again, but unless she wants to ruin the festival, there's no way to turn them out.

Once everyone is settled it’s not long before Len March, who is playing the lead in the production of Hamlet, establishes himself as a real PITA.  Following several pranks on the players, Len is found dead in Nina’s garden. At first everyone assumes it was natural causes, until Nina finds the champagne glass Len was drinking out of.  That, plus another member of the troupe falling ill convince Nina foul play is afoot.  She reluctantly enlists Harry’s aid, and Harry assigns her to work as an extra in the play so she can keep an eye on things before someone else turns up dead.

I am a big fan of Ms. Gerard’s writing style and enjoyed this book as much as I did the first.  The only reason it got 4 ½ stars instead of five is because I guessed the killer and the motive early on. Anna Gerard always delivers a sound mystery with interesting characters that you find yourself caring about, and that’s the main thing!!!!!!  Definitely looking forward to Number Three.


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ROCCO'S SEPTEMBER COZY REVIEWS!

Ma-row!
Here are my cozy reviews for September!

ONE FOR THE BOOKS
Library Lover's Mystery
Jenn McKinlay
Berkley Hardcover
September 1, 2020
five stars

Love is in the air in Briar Creek as library director Lindsey Norris and boat captain Mike (Sully) Sullivan are finally tying the knot. The entire town is excited for the happy day, and Lindsey and Sully's plan for a small wedding evaporates as more and more people insist upon attending the event of the year.   

When Lindsey and her crafternoon pals head out to Bell Island to see if it can accommodate the ever-expanding guest list, they are horrified to discover a body washed up on the rocky shore. Even worse, Lindsey recognizes the man as the justice of the peace who was supposed to officiate her wedding ceremony. When it becomes clear he was murdered, Lindsey can't help but wonder if it had to do with the wedding. Now she has to book it to solve the mystery before it ends her happily ever after before it's even begun....

I am a big fan of this series and of Lindsey Norris! She gets better with each adventure!  So happy that they finally made it to the altar!!!!!!  Even if you have not read the others (I haven't read them all either) it's easy to pick up.  five paws!!!!!



A CASE OF CAT AND MOUSE
A magical cats mystery
Sofie Kelly
Penguin group; hardcover
September 1, 2020
five stars

A reality TV crew has come to town and brought librarian Kathleen Paulson and her two magical cats more than their fair share of real-life drama, in the newest installment of this New York Times bestselling series.

Spring has come to charming Mayville Heights, and with it, some Hollywood glamour. The little town is abuzz because the reboot of a popular baking TV show is filming there. Librarian Kathleen Paulson is working as an advisor on historical facts for the show, local restaurants are providing catering for the camera crews, and Kathleen's faithful felines, Hercules and Owen, are hoping there is a cat treat challenge.

But then Kathleen finds one of the judges dead. She has solved many-a-murder with help from the supernaturally gifted Herc and Owen, and with the whole town on tenterhooks, the talented trio will have to have all paws on deck to chase down this killer.

No one is a bigger fan of this great series than I.  Imagine having not only one magical cat, but two!!!  Owen and Hercules are in top form as usual!!!!!!!  And Kathleen isn't bad either.  Fans of this series will love it!!!  and new fans will too!!!  Five paws up!!!!!!!!

REVENGE IN RUBIES
A.M. Stuart

• Series: A Harriet Gordon Mystery (Book 2)
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 15, 2020)
• Trade Paperback
• Four stars

  this is the second in the Harriet Gordon series. The series is set in 1910 and features Harriet Gordon as a sort of Jessica Fletcher, aided by inspector Robert Curran. to be honest I'm not much on period pieces but t his one  is definitely worth a look! four paws.

KILLER KUNG PAO

Vivien Chien

Noodle Shop Mysteries

St. Martin's Paperbacks

August 25, 2020

Five stars

Is life at the Ho-Lee Noodle House becoming too hot to handle?

Lana Lee’s plate is already plenty full. Running her family’s Chinese restaurant in Cleveland’s Asia Village is challenging on the best of days. But just when Lana thinks she might be able to catch her breath before the weekend―which she’s eager to spend with her equally overworked boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau―Lana witnesses a car accident in the parking lot. And now she has no choice but to get involved.

June Yi, of Yi’s Tea and Bakery, is a serious businesswoman well-known for her heartlessness. But June meets her match when she rear-ends the Cadillac belonging to Mah Jong lover Mildred “Millie” Mao. As each woman curses―and threatens―the other, it becomes clear to Lana that trouble lies ahead. Still, who could have imagined that Millie would end up dead at the beauty salon? The evidence suggests that she was electrocuted while having a foot bath, and all eyes are on June. Can Lana find a way to solve this case before another fatality occurs in Asia Village?

We love Chinese food and we love this series!  Lana Lee is sassy and nosy, just the type of person you'd want investigating a murder!  Can't wait for the next one, and we wish Vivien Chien all the best.  Five Paws.

CHECKED OUT FOR MURDER
Alison Brooke
Haunted Library Mystery
Crooked Lane; Hardcover
September 8, 2020
Four stars

Daphne Marriott strolls into Clover Ridge and informs librarian Carrie Singleton that she's a psychic. But had she foreseen what fate awaited her, Daphne would have steered clear of the quaint Connecticut town. Evelyn, the library ghost, tells Carrie that there's more to Daphne than she lets on.

The mysterious woman grew up in Clover Ridge with her no-good dad, who apparently met his end at the hands of Daphne's brother, Billy. Still, Daphne proves a welcome distraction when Carrie's overbearing mother hits town. Mom's much younger husband, Tom, is in a movie that's lensing locally, and she's there to keep an eye on him: Tom's costar, sultry Ilana Reingold, is also his ex-fiancée, and there's no denying the chemistry is still there. Soon after mingling with the moviemakers at a meet-and-greet, Daphne is found dead.

Carrie and Evelyn investigate, assisted by bushy-tailed library cat Smoky Joe. But the suspect list could overflow the library shelves. Has Billy killed another relative? Is their long-missing mother involved? Or Daphne's mean ex-husband? Carrie's sure she knows who committed the crime, but can she bind together the clues before the culprit Dewey-decimates the town? Four paws!!!!


Win ROCCO's review copy!

Want to win one of ROCCO's review copies?  Leave your name and email address in our comments section!  Brother Maxx will select one name at random to win one of these books!  Contest ends midnight, September 18th.  US entries only please.  :)  Entries without an email addy will be disqualified.

MEMORIES! THE FIRST PET SHOP MYSTERY

tONI, the human here!

It's been a year since the release of THE TIME FOR MURDER IS MEOW, the first Pet Shop Mystery. Since KILLERS OF A FEATHER, Pet Shop #2, will be debuting from Beyond the Page Publishing in 2021, I thought I'd take this opportunity to refresh everyone's memories of Shell, Gary, and, of course, Purrday!

To save their pet shop, Shell and her two furry sidekicks must cat-ch a killer

Crishell "Shell" McMillan sees the cancellation of her TV series as a blessing in disguise. The former actress can now take over her late aunt's pet shop, the Purr N' Bark, and do something she loves.

While getting the shop ready for re-opening, Shell is asked to loan her aunt's Cary Grant posters to the local museum for an exhibit. She finds the prospect exciting―until a museum board member, who had a long-standing feud with Shell's aunt, votes against it. When she discovers the board member dead in the museum, Shell becomes suspect number one. Can she, her Siamese cat Kahlua, and her new sidekick―her aunt's Persian Purrday―find the real culprit, or will her latest career go up in kitty litter?

Praise:

"[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

"[An] entertaining series debut. ... Feline-loving cozy fans will be satisfied"―Publishers Weekly

Available at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Time-Murder-Meow-Purr-Mystery/dp/0738760366/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1598980709&refinements=p_27%3AT.C.+LoTempio&s=books&sr=1-2&text=T.C.+LoTempio

And Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-time-for-murder-is-meow-t-c-lotempio/1129605178?ean=9780738760360

COMING IN 2021:

PURR N BARK PET SHOP MYSTERY #2

KILLERS OF A FEATHER!

Shell McMillan is busy making plans for the grand re-opening of her Aunts Pet Shop, the Purr N Bark, and getting more frustrated by the minute.  Not only has the band she hired bugged out on her, but the fortune telling parrot that she hired has flown the coop – literally.  Seems the bird flew off when his cage was being cleaned.  Fortunately her ex co-star, Gary Presser, has found a substitute parrot.  And fortune seems to smile on her when a man wanders into her store and turns out to have a lovely singing voice.  Shell hires him on the spot, but later regrets her actions when she learns that the man is Johnny Draco, an investment counselor who left town years ago after swindling several people out of a good deal of money, one of them being Shell’s pal Rita.

The day of the grand opening Shell sees Rita arguing with Johnny in the town square.  Later on, the parrot tells Draco’s fortune.  He pulls out a card that has the Ace of Spades on it and one word - BEWARE.  Draco scoffs at it, calling the parrot a fake, and  leaves.  Later on, Shell and her cats, Purrday and Kahlua end up finding Johnny’s dead body.

With Rita and her husband the prime suspects, and both without alibis, Shell knows she has to work double time to convince her crush, Detective Josh Bloodgood, of their innocence.   As the evidence mounts up against Rita, Shell, along with Purrday and Kahlua, delve into Johnny’s past in an attempt to clear her friend-and expose a murderer before someone else suffers a similar fate.

Watch for details of release date here and on my website, www.tclotempio.net

In ROCCO's spotlight THE SEARCH PARTY

Meow!  Today I'd like to shine a spotlight on Simon Lelic's new thriller, SEARCH PARTY!

Hailed as Kafka meets Orwell (The Herald Scotland), award-winning author Simon Lelic does not shy away from creating twisty, chilling plots. He hooks readers in from the first page, not letting them go until the end. Known for his intricate, powerful, and deeply unsettling crimes and characters, Lelic is back to keep us guessing in THE SEARCH PARTY.

Like his previous highly-praised novel The New Neighbors (2018), which was called an “intense ride” (Publishers Weekly), “a bundle of creepy chills” (The Observer), and “simply ingenious” (BookReporter.com), THE SEARCH PARTY is a masterpiece of tension and a brilliant, frightening look into the core of human relationships.

From the book cover:

A twisty, electrifying new thriller from the author of The New Neighbors and The Liar's Room...

The entire town thinks sixteen-year-old Sadie Saunders is dead. Missing now for a week, they say she was murdered. And they think they know who did it.

Sadie's five best friends aren’t so sure, and they vow to find out the truth. So they pack their bags and head into the woods where Sadie was last seen.

But they’re not just friends, they’re suspects. And each of them has a secret.

As the landscape opens up, and the darkness closes in, the reality of their situation becomes clear…

This was never really a search party.
    
It’s a witch hunt.

And not everyone will make it home alive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clever and atmospheric, with shades of Stand By Me."—Mark Edwards, author of Here To Stay

"A brilliantly tense tale of teenage frustration, lost souls, and sibling love, with an atmosphere as tense as the end of summer storm that threatens throughout the book. Plus a whirlwind of an ending that's like riding a rollercoaster."—Araminta Hall, author of Our Kind of Cruelty

"I've spent every free moment of the last few days feasting on The Search Party...a bloody good read and the very definition of unpredictable. Twisty, creepy, brilliantly paced, and with a denouement I never saw coming."—John Marrs, author of The One

"A chillingly complex, well-crafted web. The voices cry out from Simon Lelic's pages as if they are standing right next to you."—Jane Corry, author of I Looked Away

ROCCO's August Cozy reviews!

Meow!  It's time to review new cozy mystery titles for August!


CAT ME IF YOU CAN
Miranda James
Berkley Prime Crime
August 25, 2020
Hardcover
Five Stars

Charlie Harris and his feline companion Diesel take a bookish vacation but discover that murder never takes a holiday, in this all-new installment of the New York Times bestselling series. 
Charlie and Diesel along with Charlie's fiancée, Helen Louise Brady, are heading to Asheville, North Carolina to spend a week at a boutique hotel and participate in a gathering of a mystery reader's club composed of patrons of the Athena Public Library. In addition to seeing the local sights, the members will take turns giving talks on their favorite authors. 

The always spry Ducote sisters, friends of the hotel’s owners, are helping underwrite the expenses, and they’ve insisted that Charlie, Helen, and Diesel join them. Anxious to get Helen Louise away from her bistro for a vacation, Charlie readily agrees. While Charlie is looking forward to relaxing with Helen Louise and Diesel, other members of the group have ulterior motives including a long-standing score to settle.

When an intrusive, uninvited guest turns up dead, only one mystery club member with a connection to the deceased appears to have a motive to kill. But could the answer really be that simple? Charlie and Diesel, along with the detecting Ducote sisters, know that every murder plot has an unexpected twist.

Charlie and Diesel are always a good read and we're glad the Ducote sisters have gotten a second life in this popular series!  Diesel gets better looking with each cover!  Good summer read, five paws up!

WITCHES AND WEDDING CAKE
Bailey Cates
Magical Bakery Myster
July 28, 2020
Berkley Prime Crime
Four stars

Baker Katie Lightfoot is crafting her own magical wedding cake and tracking down a malicious murderer in the newest installment of this New York Times bestselling series.

Katie will be marrying firefighter Declan McCarthy in less than a week, and she's still finding time to run the Honeybee Bakery, where she infuses sweets and treats with special spells and cheerful charms. But her hope of getting hitched without a hitch is short-lived. When Declan's family shows up early to enjoy a few extra days in Savannah, his youngest sister finds an unsavory surprise: her ex-husband, dead in a hotel room hours after they argued.

The ex was scam artist with a lot of enemies, but the argument puts Declan's sister under suspicion. Between dress fittings and dough-kneading, Katie—along with her witchy friends in the spellbook club—will really have to work some magic to figure out who killed the con man...or there may not be a wedding.

Another good entry in this delightful series!  

MURDER IN THE EAST END
Jennifer Ashley
Penguin Group
August 4, 2020
four stars

A new upstairs, downstairs Victorian murder mystery in the Kat Holloway series from the New York Times bestselling author of Death in Kew Gardens.

When young cook Kat Holloway learns that the children of London's Foundling Hospital are mysteriously disappearing and one of their nurses has been murdered, she can't turn away. She enlists the help of her charming and enigmatic confidant Daniel McAdam, who has ties to Scotland Yard, and Errol Fielding, a disreputable man from Daniel’s troubled past, to bring the killer to justice. Their investigation takes them from the grandeur of Mayfair to the slums of the East End, during which Kat learns more about Daniel and his circumstances than she ever could have imagined.

Good mystery for those who like ones set in Victorian era.

ROCCO reviews STRONG FROM THE HEART

MEOW!

Today I am reviewing a novel by an author both the Human and I love:  Jon Land.  You may know him best as Jessica Fletcher's new writing partner in the Murder She Wrote series, but Jon has done other books as well...the  most notable being his Caitlin Strong series!

Caitlin Strong wages her own personal war on drugs against the true power behind the illicit opioid trade in Strong from the Heart, the blistering and relentless 11th installment in Jon Land's award-winning series.

The drug crisis hits home for fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong when the son of her outlaw lover Cort Wesley Masters nearly dies from an opioid overdose. On top of that, she’s dealing with the inexplicable tragedy of a small Texas town where all the residents died in a single night.

When Caitlin realizes that these two pursuits are intrinsically connected, she finds herself following a trail that will take her to the truth behind the crisis that claimed 75,000 lives last year. Just in time, since the same force that has taken over the opiate trade has even more deadly intentions in mind, specifically the murder of tens of millions in pursuit of their even more nefarious goals.

The power base she’s up against―comprised of politicians and Big Pharma, along with corrupt doctors and drug distributors―has successfully beaten back all threats in the past. But they’ve never had to deal with the likes of Caitlin Strong before and have no idea what’s in store when the guns of Texas come calling.

At the root of the conspiracy lies a cabal nestled within the highest corridors of power that’s determined to destroy all threats posed to them. Caitlin and Cort Wesley may have finally met their match, finding themselves isolated and ostracized with nowhere to turn, even as they strive to remain strong from the heart.

If you like a hard hitting thriller with plenty of action this is the book/series for you!  We give this one a definite five paws!!!!!! Pick it up today!!!!!


Win ROCCO's review copy!!!!!

Leave your name and email addy in our comments section below!  winner will be chosen at random by MAXX.  Ends midnight, August 10.

ROCCO's JULY COZY REVIEWS!

Ma-Row! It's time for my July cozy reviews!

First up:

DEATH OF A WANDERING WOLF
Hungarian Teashop Mystery
Julia Buckley
June 30, 2020
Berkley Mass Market PB
Four stars

The only thing Hana loves more than a good cuppa is finding a delicate porcelain treasure to add to her collection. She's usually on the hunt for teacups but when she spots a rare wolf figurine at a local yard sale, she knows it's her lucky day. Hana also knows the wolf is valuable and tells the seller that he's charging too little for it. His reaction is peculiar--he says he received the wolf from someone he doesn't trust and he just wants it out of his life.

Hana is inspecting her new prize when she finds a tiny microchip attached to the bottom of the porcelain wolf. When she shows the figure to her police detective boyfriend, Erik, Hana is shocked to learn that the chip is actually a tracking device. They decide to confront the seller about the sneaky sale but when they arrive at his house, they find him dead. Erik and Hana now must hunt a calculating killer who has no intentions of crying wolf when it comes to murder...

Second entry in this series!  Four paws!!!!



LAST CURTAIN CALL
Haunted Home Renovations
Juliet Blackwell
Berkley MMPB
June 30, 2020
Four and a half stars

Mel Turner can’t resist the chance to bring the Crockett Theatre, a decrepit San Francisco Art Deco movie palace, back to life. But there’s a catch for Turner Construction: Several artists are currently squatting in the building, and they aren’t the only ones haunting the once-grand halls of the historic theater.…

When one of the squatters is found dead, the police department has a long list of suspects to investigate. Meanwhile, Mel and her fiancé, Landon, are remodeling an old house for themselves, and Mel finds being on the other side of a home renovation project more challenging than she expected. 

When Mel discovers that the former owner of the Crockett Theatre died under mysterious circumstances, and that there just might be a connection to the ghost haunting her own attic, the case takes a new turn—one that could bring down the curtain for the last time.

Who doesn't love a good Juliet Blackwell mystery and this series is stellar!  Four and a half paws!


HANDBOOK FOR HOMICIDE
A Booktown Mystery
Lorna Barrett
Berkley HC Edition
July 21, 2020
Five Stars

Tricia Miles must swim against the tide to catch a killer when Haven't Got A Clue's assistant manager is accused of murder in the latest entry to Lorna Barrett's New York Times bestselling Booktown series.

Haven't Got A Clue bookshop owner Tricia Miles's relationship is on the rocks. After a not-so-fun vacation with her on-again-off-again lover, Marshall Cambridge, Tricia's hoping for smooth sailing back in Stoneham. Unfortunately Booktown greets her not with blue skies but with another body.

When Tricia's assistant manager, Pixie, finds homeless vet Susan Morris's body behind Haven't Got A Clue, Pixie's checkered past makes her the prime suspect. Tricia sets out to clear Pixie's name armed with only an anchor insignia earring found at the scene of the crime.

As Tricia digs deeper she discovers Susan was involved in a scandal right before retiring from the Navy—but since nobody in the village knows Susan, even Tricia's one lead is in danger of drying up. With family drama brewing in the background and all of Stoneham convinced her manager is a murderer, Tricia knows she has to get to the bottom of the case soon before Pixie's life is sunk.

OK I've read every book in htis series and I love, love, Tricia and her adventures (although she's got the worst luck with men).  Adventure number 14 will not disappoint long time fans.  BTW, if you are new to the series you can pick this one up and figure out the character relationships very easily (I know because i started with Book 12 and then went back).  No worries there! Five paws.


KEY LIME CRIME
Lucy Burdette
Food Critic Mystery
Crooked Lane
Hardcover
five Paws

When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef's murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied.

During the week between Christmas and New Year's, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn't help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it.

Meanwhile, Hayley's home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley's new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan's crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island's holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim--Au Citron Vert's controversial new pastry chef--was a frontrunner in Sloan's contest.

It's bad enough that Hayley's too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer's kitchen?

Love this series! Five Paws!


Win one of ROCCO's review copies!

To enter, leave your name and e-mail address in our comments section!  Contest closes midnight, July 31.