Shunned and Dangerous by Laura Bradford

Shunned and Dangerous by Laura Bradford ISBN-13: 9780425252437 Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: March 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Living in the small town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania, Claire Weatherly has come to admire the Amish for their wholesome, honest way of life. But she also knows that nothing is as simple as it seems.

When Claire hears that Mose Fisher has made one of his famous corn mazes, she can’t wait to walk the paths and test her skill. But deep inside the maze, she discovers the body of Amish dairy farmer Harley Zook.

It won’t be easy for Detective Jakob Fisher to investigate a murder on his own father’s farm—not after being shunned by the man for leaving the Amish community and becoming a cop. With Mose himself as a suspect and old family secrets cropping up, Claire does what she can to help Jakob catch the killer.


My Review:
Shunned and Dangerous is a cozy mystery. It's the third book in a series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one, and this novel didn't spoil the whodunits in the previous novels.

This novel is full of character development--much more than most cozy mysteries. The author did an excellent job of weaving in details about living near the Amish and what it's like for people to be or leave the Amish. The characters were engaging, complex, and reacted realistically.

The mystery was clue-based. Claire helped the detective by doing things with or for him. While she noticed things, she didn't question things, even things as simple as "is anyone going to dispose of this stinking milk?" She acted like it'd always be there and was surprised when someone did clean it up. It was a bit frustrating that she didn't make some pretty obvious connections a lot sooner, but then I guess the mystery would have been solved too quickly. However, she was a nice, caring person, and the characters and setting kept me immersed in the story.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this mystery, especially to those interested in the emotional conflict that the ex-Amish detective faces.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Town in a Strawberry Swirl by B.B. Haywood

Town in a Strawberry Swirl by B.B. Haywood ISBN-13: 9780425252468 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: February 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
In the quaint seaside village of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy Holliday helps her father run his Blueberry Acres farm. As the community gears up for another festive and strawberry-picking season, the villagers are shocked when local berry farmer Miles Crawford is found dead in a hoophouse near his strawberry fields. Rumors have been swirling around about a secret real estate deal between Miles and Lydia St. Graves. And now Lydia is missing after she was seen fleeing the scene of the crime…. Things turn very sticky when Lydia suddenly reappears and asks for Candy’s help in finding the true murderer…


My Review:
Town in a Strawberry Swirl is a cozy mystery. It's the fifth in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels.

I liked that the heroine logically thought through the clues from the beginning and was sensitive in how she got information. The heroine and her father are likable characters. There were clues as to the "why" and some indications about the "who" of whodunit, but I don't think there were enough clues to firmly guess whodunit before the reveal. I was disappointed that the mystery was solved through the heroine being at the wrong place at the wrong time rather than the excellent clue-finding work.

There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Shaken by Kariss Lynch

Shaken by Kariss Lynch ISBN-13: 9781621365358 Trade Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Realms Released: February 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
After much internal debate, idealistic Kaylan Richards decides to join her best friend in serving a short-term missions in a clinic in poverty-stricken Haiti. Kaylan is determined to help the Haitian people, especially as she becomes convinced that God has abandoned them.

Just weeks after she arrives, her faith is challenged even further by the worst earthquake the country has ever seen. People she cares about are dead, and Kaylan questions a God that would allow this to happen and what good can come from such destruction and loss.

Her boyfriend, Navy SEAL Nick Carmichael, does whatever it takes to discover if she's still alive. He's seen death and danger, but he knows she was never prepared for what she now faces. Can Nick be used by God to help her discover the good that can come even in tragedy?


My Review:
Shaken is a Christian romance novel. I thought this novel would be mainly set in Haiti and show the struggles they deal with, but only a third of the book occurs in Haiti and much of the detailed description was of the earthquake and the immediate aftermath. Since I've read some nonfiction about what Haiti is like, I was confused that problems like AIDs were never mention in the novel, especially as the characters were giving medical care to bleeding people.

I also had a hard time getting immersed in the story because I was constantly confused by what we were supposed to think about the characters. We're told that Kaylan deeply trusts her family and distrusts Nick, but after the earthquake, she more open (trusting) with Nick than her family. And I wasn't sure if we were supposed to believe that Kaylan was struggling against a genuine call from God or if she was simply following her friend's vision and figured God would approve. We do eventually get a clear answer to that one, but by then I had new questions.

Much of the book was Kaylan thinking things over rather than actually interacting with people. If Kaylan and her best friend had interacted more--like showing them struggling together with culture shock (which was blurred over) or if the the memories were shared earlier--I would have understood how much that relationship defined Kaylan's identity. As it is, it came across as a good but casual friendship until halfway through the book.

Kaylan frequently prayed at God and did Christian things, but she didn't really know God. She referred to faith in God as "blind faith," but it isn't blind if you know the One you're putting your trust it. She told a Haitian that Jesus died to "heal us" but never said from what, and I wondered if she really understood why Christ died. She constantly told God what to do and judged Him for not fixing things in her way and timing. So she's going to fix things since God is failing in His job. She further questions God after the earthquake. While some answers were seen about what good could come out of the earthquake, I didn't feel like she'd grown in her understanding of God.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, if you're interested in the Haiti aspect, you'll probably get more out of a non-fiction book. If you want a novel about a shallow Christian undergoing deep trauma and her family's efforts to help her heal emotionally, you might like this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Murder with Ganache by Lucy Burdette

Murder with Ganache by Lucy Burdette ISBN-13: 9780451465894 Mass Market Paperback: 308 pages Publisher: Obsidian Released: February 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Hayley Snow, the food critic for Key Zest magazine, has her plate heaped high with restaurant reviews, doughnut and sticky bun tastings, and an article on the Hemingway cats. But this week she’s also in charge of her best friend’s wedding. The last thing she needs is family drama, but her parents come barreling down on the island like a hurricane.

On their first night in town, her stepbrother, Roby, disappears into the spring break party scene in Key West. When Hayley hears that two teenagers have stolen a jet ski, she goes in search of Rory. She finds him, barely conscious, but his female companion isn't so lucky.


My Review:
Murder with Ganache is a cozy mystery. It's the fourth in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels.

It's a clue-based mystery, though it often read more like a friction-filled suspense novel. Usually I find tense relationships between characters to be a turn-off since I want a relaxing read, but this author managed to have tension without it rubbing off on my nerves. It's probably because the characters acted realistically, were complex (rather than all good or all bad), and I could understand why they were acting the way they were. The mystery kept me guessing though I had some idea of where it was headed.

There were no sex scenes. There was a fair amount explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful, interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly

Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly ISBN-13: 9780425252505 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: February 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Bostonian Maura is beginning to feel settled in her new Irish home, just in time for summer tourist season to bring fresh business to her pub. But the first traveler to arrive is thirsty for more than just a pint of Guinness. Althea Melville is hot on the trail of a long-lost Van Dyck painting.

Maura agrees to help Althea meet with the residents at the local manor house, the most likely location of the missing art. But when the manor’s gardener is found murdered, Maura wonders what Althea’s real motives are. Now, to solve the secret of the lost portrait and catch a killer, Maura will have to practice her Irish gift of gab and hunt down some local history.


My Review:
Scandal in Skibbereen is a cozy mystery. It's the second in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels.

There were two mysteries in this book: one about a painting and one about a murder. The main focus was on finding and authenticating a painting. To this end, Maura helped connect Althea to the people who would know the answers to her questions and then played mediator to get them to talk with pushy Althea.

Maura believes that the murder has something to do with Althea's search for the painting, but all she can do is feed information relating to the painting to the police. Little information is uncovered about the murder until vital clues are confessed to the police at the end. However, the reader could guess from the clues about the story of the painting and how it might be connected to the murder.

The characters were interesting and nice enough, but the main draw of the story for me was the description of Ireland and the interesting story that unfolds about the two paintings.

There were no sex scenes. There was some explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery to those interested in Ireland or paintings.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Books, Cooks, and Crooks by Lucy Arlington

Books, Cooks, and Crooks by Lucy Arlington ISBN-13: 9780425252246 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: February 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Inspiration Valley, North Carolina, is bubbling with excitement for the Taste of the Town festival, and Lila Wilkins is right in the middle of it all. Along with her coworkers at the Novel Idea Literary Agency, Lila is organizing a grand celebrity chef event, featuring food television's biggest stars, complete with cooking demonstrations, cookbook giveaways, and even a culinary writing contest.

But just as the celebration is about to start, the demo kitchen blows up, taking one of the star cooks with it. With all the explosive egos of the cook’s colleagues, it’s hard to find someone who didn't have a motive to eliminate the competition. Now Lila will have to scramble to figure out which of her clients is a killer—before someone else gets burned


My Review:
Books, Cooks, and Crooks is a cozy mystery. It's the third in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous novels.

The characters came across as complex, realistic people who acted in realistic ways. Though the visiting chefs weren't nice people, I understood why they acted the way they did. I enjoyed the hometown characters, and the heroine was a nice, fair person. I liked her romantic relationship because it was built on respect and they brought out the good in each other.

The mystery was a clue-based puzzle. I suspected whodunit from the beginning since, logically, the evidence pointed in that direction and later evidence only confirmed whodunit. I found it odd that no one brought up this "logic trail" that seemed so obvious to me. On the other hand, the police might have thought of it and not mentioned it, and the heroine had so much to do for her job that it's not surprising that she didn't have time to think it over.

There was no bad language or sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Second Opinion by Hannah Alexander

Second Opinion by Hannah Alexander ISBN-13: 9780764225284 Paperback: 345 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers Released: March 1, 2002

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Lauren moved to Dogwood Springs to make a new start away from family pressure to find a husband. Now she finds herself drawn to a man who does not return her interest. Archer was happy to be back at his childhood home, but rumors threaten his future there. Grant hoped Dogwood Springs would be a nurturing community for his twins, but he is discovering that drugs and violence seem to be everywhere. Gina moved to escape her constantly fighting family, yet now her own children are at risk and she has nowhere to turn. Can these four provide help to needy ER patients while desperately searching for peace in their own lives?


My Review:
Second Opinion is a Christian medical suspense novel with some romance. It's the first in a series, but one character is carried over from the authors' "ER Trilogy" (which starts with "Sacred Trust"). You don't need to read that series to understand this one.

The suspense mainly comes from an unknown illness that is striking only this community--what is causing it? The characters also dealt with issues like the pressures put on the pastor, untrue gossip that is destroying the reputation of two upright people, and drug trafficking in a small town. The characters were likable, complex, and reacted realistically to events. I was left wanting to know more of their story even though the book could be read as a stand-alone.

Several of the characters were Christians. They came across as realistic people whose faith affected their lives, but they're also struggling with trusting God with their futures...especially when His people don't always behave in a loving way. There was no sex. There was a very minor amount of "he swore" style of bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this enjoyable and well-written novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.