Little Girls Sleeping (Detective Katie Scott Book 1) by Jennifer Chase

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "Little Girls Sleeping" (Detective Katie Scott Book 1) by Jennifer Chase. It is a great beginning to a new series.

Print Length: 335 pages

Publisher: Bookouture (May 31 2019)

He looked down at the little girl, sleeping peacefully, her arms wrapped around a teddy bear. He knew he was the only one who could save her. He could let her sleep forever.

An eight-year-old girl, Chelsea Compton, is missing in Pine Valley, California and for Detective Katie Scott it’s a cruel reminder of the friend who disappeared from summer camp twenty years ago. Unable to shake the memories, Katie vows she won’t rest until she discovers what happened to Chelsea.

But as Katie starts to investigate, accompanied by her loyal ex-military dog, Cisco, the case reveals itself to be much bigger and more shocking than she feared. Hidden deep in the forest she unearths a makeshift cemetery: a row of graves, each with a brightly coloured teddy bear.

Katie links the graves to a stack of missing-persons cases involving young girls—finding a pattern no one else has managed to see. Someone in Pine Valley has been taking the town’s daughters for years, and Katie is the only one who can stop them.

And then another little girl goes missing, snatched from the park near her home.

Katie’s still haunted by the friend she failed to protect, and she’ll do anything to stop the killer striking again—but can she find the little girl before it’s too late?

The description of this book is what made me want to read it and I was not disappointed! I havent read a thriller in awhile and I am glad I chose to give this a try.

The Protagonist Katie is well developed, likeable and her uncle, aunt and Chad, a childhood friend were all likeable side characters. Templeton is a jerk as he tries to undermine Katie throughout the story.

I found that the beginning was slow but half way through I couldn’t put the book down as I wanted to know who the killer was. The description of the setting and crime scenes are strong and really drew  me in. The ending was shocking and totally unexpected. 

Highly recommended. A fabulous first book for an author I will definitely follow in the future.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington and NetGalley. 

 All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

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I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

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A Plain Vanilla Murder

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "A Plain Vanilla Murder" the 25th installment in the long running mystery series featuring amateur sleuth China Bayles." by Susan Wittig Albert.  I enjoyed visiting Pecan Springs again .

Length: 296 pages

Publisher: Persevero Pr (June 4 2019)

Genre: Cozy Mystery

From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times best-selling author of Queen Anne’s Lace, comes an intriguing new addition to her widely-acclaimed China Bayles Mysteries. 

China and Ruby Wilcox are presenting their annual “Not Just Plain Vanilla Workshop,” always a huge hit with customers at Thyme & Seasons Herb Shop. But someone involved with the workshop is driven by a deadly motive, and China soon finds herself teaming up with the very pregnant Pecan Springs police chief Sheila Dawson to solve a vanilla-flavored murder.

Sheila, happy to get out from behind the chief’s desk, is investigating the death of a botany professor, a prominent researcher specializing in vanilla orchids. China is trying to help a longtime friend: the dead professor’s ex-wife and a prime suspect in his murder. 

However, there’s no shortage of other suspects: a betrayed lover, a disgruntled graduate student, jealous colleagues, and a gang of orchid smugglers. But the lethal roots of this mystery reach back into the dark tropical jungles of Mexico, where the vanilla vine was first cultivated. At stake: a lucrative plant patent, an orchid that is extinct in the wild, and the life of an innocent little girl.

A Plain Vanilla Murder is a flavorful blend of mystery and herb lore, present sins and past secrets, and characters who are as real as your next-door neighbors—stirred together in an absorbing novel that only Susan Wittig Albert could create.

I have been a fan of China Bayles Mysteries for over a decade.  But must admit I haven't read any in a few years. I do love the way Susan Wittig Albert weaves a story with history and natural history so that you end up learning something as well as escaping for a few hours.  

I was thrown off by the fact that the story didn't focus much on China’s family, Ruby, per previous books but tended to really focus on the very pregnant Police Chief Shelia and how she manages to jump into the thick of things, despite her late stages of pregnancy. With that said it still was a good  story. 

There are twists and turns and red herrings throughout the story and it moves at a steady pace.  I had a hard time putting it down.  

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Persevero Press and NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

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I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

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A Patchwork of Clues by Sally Goldenbaum

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "A Patchwork of Clues" by Sally Goldenbaum the second book in the A Handcrafted Mystery series.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have purchased the first one so I am properly caught up.

Length: 228 pages

Publisher: Lyrical Underground (June 4 2019)

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Small-town quilters look for a killer's pattern in this delightful new series by the national bestselling author of the Seaside Knitters mysteries . . .

On her morning jog, Portia Paltrow comes upon the dead body of antiques store owner and college professor Owen Hill, sprawled across the back doorstep of Selma Parker's fabric and quilt shop on Elderberry Road. The site of their Saturday morning quilting bee just became a crime scene. Violent crime is rare in the charming village of Crestwood, Kansas, and rumors are soon circulating of a burglary gone wrong. But who would rob a quilt shop? No, Owen Hill has been murdered.

Selma and her assistant manager Susan are understandably at loose ends over the crime. So while the tightly knit covey of quilters—who range from a new mother to a wise octogenarian—work together on a Crystal Pattern quilt for Selma's store's anniversary, they also get busy stitching together a patchwork of clues. But they'd better work fast—before a crafty killer bolts . . .

Previously titled Murders on Elderberry Road

I love a mystery that has a crafty theme, "A Patchwork of Clues" is the first book in the Queen Bees Quilt Shop Mystery series by Sally Goldenbaum.  This is my first book by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed it.

The story was a little slow to get started as murder was in first chapter but wasn't till 2/3rds of the way through that they decide to sleuth. (only reason why I gave  3 stars)

But with that said the mystery is interesting and I loved the characters which are well developed. The Queen Bees are a mixed group of eight women of different ages and lives who gather together at a local quilt shop to work on quilting projects. (Made me think of my relative Barbara in Maine who quilts much like this)

There are just enough twists and turns, suspicions to keep you to keep you guessing and second-guessing on whodunnit.  I feel like I would still give it a chance as  I am interested to see what the future holds for the Queen Bees.  

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from the Lyrical Underground and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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