DIPPED, STRIPPED, & DEAD - Elise Hyatt

From the back of the book: Refinishing furniture can be the end of you. Dyce (short for Candyce) Dare never thought she'd end up twenty-nine and divorced, with a toddler to raise, an ex who 'forgets' his child support, and a diet consisting mostly of pancakes.

To make ends meet, Dyce takes a chance and starts up Daring Finds, a furniture refinishing business. But finding things to refinish is tough---especially when Dyce goes Dumpster diving for discarded furniture and uncovers a gelatinous-looking corpse. Turns out the body was immersed in a vat of lye---a technique used for refinishing furniture---making Dyce a prime suspect.

Now, in order to clear her good---and thanks to her parents, slightly absurd---name, Dyce has to play private eye. But solving a murder isn't child's play, especially when the next victim just might be her...

******************

I wanted to like this book...and I did at least enough to finish it. I loved the new premise for the amateur sleuth, a single mom of a toddler and has her own furniture refinishing business she runs in her garage/shed. There's a lot of neat info on the how-to for refinishing along the story and at the end of the book. I liked that the book is set in Colorado, near Denver, so close to my heart, even though I couldn't figure out where the fictional town of Goldport was supposed to be emulating. I spent some time working that out..got sidetracked..then got even more sidetracked with the constant comparative narrative (at least that's what I call it). The kind that has each piece of information or person compared to something else...and I wish I could find an example, next time I'll put sticky notes inside.

I did have the two mysteries figured out, but it didn't matter. I was good for being along for the ride of the meandering. There's the requisite exasperated hottie cop to the rescue and the gay best friend. I know this series will smooth out as it progresses, I'll get the next in the series when it comes out.

Three it has good possibilities beans.....

ROSEMARY & RUE: An October Daye Novel - Seanan McGuire

From the back of the book: The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival--but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October "Toby" Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving he mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

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I read this a few weeks ago, but wasn't sure how I would write a review that would do this justice. I honestly still don't think I will do the book justice, but I want to write the review before the new year.

This is one of my favorite books of the year. This is an amazing, intelligent, action packed story that I could not put down once I started it. Well, I had to put it down to sleep at some point, but I didn't want to.

Toby gets sucked back into the fae world and she really is just trying to fit in where she can in the human world. She's half of both worlds and wanted by neither. There is a changeling world that she can belong, but she'd rather not.

The whole book exhausted me and I can't imagine how Toby kept going after each ass kicking she got and gave. She has friends where she least expects them and enemies everywhere. I loved seeing the ways of the Faerie world, scary as it had a tendency to be.

I really look forward to the rest of the series as it comes out and anything else Seanan McGuire writes. It looks like she has a whole bunch of books out in the new year. YAY!

Five fantabulous changeling beans.....

SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT - Terri Garey

From the back of the book: All I haunt for Christmas is you....

Joe Bascombe is no stranger to desire, but when a sexy spirit begins haunting his dreams, he find himself ensnared by dark passions. What he doesn't realize is that the devious demon and her two sisters, otherwise know as the Three Fates, are out to teach the woman he loves a lesson..

Unwilling psychic Nicki Styx survived a near-death experience to find herself abel to see and hear the dead, but she only has eyes for Joe. Together they've conquered evil spirits, saved lost souls, and beaten back the Devil himself, but they're about to learn that there are more things in Heaven and Hell than they ever imagined. As far as Nicki is concerned, Joe is the man of her dreams, but now they're at the mercy of the creature who's invaded his.

It'll be a Christmas to remember...and it could be Joe and Nicki's last.

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Lately I haven't been starting a new to me series in the middle, but I wanted to read a good holiday paranormal read. I've heard really good things about this one and the first in the series is on the WWBL anyway, so gave it a go...and glad I am I did.

I would have passed this book right on by as I sometimes do judge a book by its cover and the cover is deceiving as the book is not about a bare-chested hottie, rather about Nicki Styx and her hottie (possibly sometimes bare-chested) beau, Dr Joe Bascombe.

The story is well told, the reader doesn't need to read the series in order to know the characters, I felt like I got to know them fairly quickly. Nicki is going through some issues due to the appearance of the three evil chickies that feel like playing havoc in her life.

I feel for Nicki since she's trying to deal with the evil broads and trying to get Joe to understand what they are trying to do to the two of them and their relationship.

It definitely makes me want to go get the first in the series, DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, at the soonest opportunity.

Five uber haunted beans....

Holiday Challenge 2009 Wrap-Up

Here's my wrap up for the Neely's 2009 Holiday Reading Challenge:
UNDEAD & UNRETURNABLE - MaryJanice Davidson, HB, chick-lit paranormal holiday
LET THERE BE SUSPECTS - Emilie Richards, MPB, cozy holiday mystery
A CHRISTMAS SECRET - Anne Perry, HB, mellow holiday Victorian mystery
JERUSALEM INN: A Richard Jury Mystery - Martha Grimes, MPB, British holiday mystery
LEGACY: An Anna Strong Mystery - Jeanne C Stein, MPB, paranormal holiday mystery
SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT: A Nicki Styx Mystery - Terri Garey, MPB, paranormal holiday mystery

UNDEAD & UNRETURNABLE - MaryJanice Davidson

From the inside cover: "This is how my tombstone read: Elizabeth Anne Taylor - April 25, 1974 - April 25, 2004 - Our sweetheart, only resting....Only I wasn't resting under it. I had, of course, died in the spring. Rose in the early dawn hours the day of my funeral and gone on undead walkabout. Since my body was MIA, the funeral was cancelled. But my mother, who had been in a huge fight with my dad and stepmom about what to spend on my marble tomstone, had rushed to order the thing. Byt the time it was finished, no funeral, no service, no burial. So anyway, my tombstone had been in storage for the last six months.

After a while, the funeral home had politely contacted my mother and asked what she'd like to do with it. Since Mom had the plot and stone paid for, she had them stick it in the dirt two days ago and then mentioned it at lunch yesterday.

Jessica and Laura had been morbidly curious to see it and I'd tagged along . What the hell, it made for a break from wedding arrangements and Christmas cards...

So begins the newest hilarious adventure in the life of Betsy Taylor, reluctant Queen of the Vampires. It's Christmastime in the kingdom of the undead (otherwise known as Minneapolis) which is as complicated as it sounds. Betsy isn't going to let a little thing like death and blood-drinking stop her from enjoying the holidays or planning her upcoming spring wedding to drop-dead gorgeous vamp Eric Sinclair.

But all is not merry and bright--Betsy is plagued by ghosts who demand her help in rectifying their past mistakes, and a serial killer is on the loose. With his victims all being tall, blond women, Betsy fits the profile exactly....

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This was a perfect for the holiday reading as it's light and funny and quickly read. Just perfect for some chill time during the hectic holiday season.

Almost too light as the serial killer is barely mentioned and in a rather offhand manner.

The reason I read this series is not because of the mystery involved (good thing), but for the smartass dialogue between the characters. Betsy makes me laugh and I would dearly love to be as quick-witted as she is. She makes mistakes, wrong decisions, but she has everyone's well-being at heart. I would love to be like her, without the whole blood sucking thing.

Eric Sinclair is a honey it sounds like. Perfect vampire (diggin' the name, I like my Eric vampires) who is arrogant and loves Betsy, faults and all.

Four perfect for the holiday vampire beans.....

The Holiday Loot

Top pic is DH doing what all dad's do on Christmas Eve...putting together the bigass toy that Santa is bringing...Here's the bigass dollhouse all put together....Lady K's Home Depot My First Toolbench that was on the Santa list....we put it next to last year's kitchen, kind of a nice balance...

And this is the robe that Aunt Deb sent..Lady K has been wanting a robe forever and Aunt Deb came through with this comfy fleece 'hippie robe' as Lady K calls it...Aunt Deb also sent an American Girl doll that looks amazingly like Lady K...trying to get a pic

Happy Christmas!

I hope you and yours have a lovely day however you celebrate.

THE PRIVATE PATIENT - P D James, narr Rosalyn Landor

B&N synopsis: Cheverell Manor is a lovely old house in deepest Dorset, now a private clinic belonging to the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell. When investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn arrived there one late autumn afternoon, scheduled to have a disfiguring and long-standing facial scar removed, she had every expectation of a successful operation and a pleasant week recuperating.

Two days later she was dead, the victim of murder.

To Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who with his team is called in to investigate the case, the mystery at first seems absolute. Few things make sense. Yet as the detectives begin probing the lives and backgrounds of those connected with the dead woman--the surgeon, members of the manor staff, close acquaintances--suspects multiply all too rapidly. New confusions arise, including strange historical overtones of madness and a lynching 350 years in the past. Then there is a second murder, and Dalgliesh finds himself confronted....

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It's been a long while since I've read or listened to a book by P D James. The last one was a couple of years ago, THE LIGHTHOUSE. I do love her books, but I need a few years between each one. They are chewy, involved, well developed mysteries. Each one has highly detailed background on each character so that the reader doesn't really know who might be a suspect, because each person could be. The mystery can be solved (or is it?) and there is more story to be told. I love that P D James writes more than just the mystery. I will be a fan forever, especially of the Adam Dalgliesh series.

Five in-depth British mystery beans....

Eight Years Ago Today....

My dream wedding to my dream guy...eight years of wedded 98% bliss and 2% head-buttin'..not bad, I reckon....*grin*

Books in the House Monday

Lotta lotta books have been showing in the last few weeks. I haven't had a lot of time to post them..now I do...amazingly considering what this week is...

GoodReads win:
TRULY, MADLY - Heather Webber, MPB ARC, paranormal mystery
B&N:
THE DEMON'S LIBRARIAN - Lilith Saintcrow, TPB, UF
THE MAP OF MOMENTS - Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon, TPB, fantasy
My buddy Mary Ann:
SAND SHARKS - Margaret Maron, HB, mystery
My buddy Jenna who is so sweet, she went to the book signing and got these books signed for me! *SQUEEEEE!!*:
MAGIC TO THE BONE - Devon Monk, SIGNED MPB, UF
WORKING FOR THE DEVIL - Lilith Saintcrow, SIGNED MPB, UF
She also sent me a DVD of Top Secret with Val Kilmer...sigh....and a ton of bookmarks and stickers for Lady K

Pamala, Our Lady of the Books:
THE GATEKEEPER - Michelle Gagnon, MPB, thriller
THE MURDER ARTIST - John Case, MPB, thriller
PANDORA'S CURSE - Jack DuBrul, MPB, thriller
JERUSALEM INN - Martha Grimes, MPB, mystery
TOMBS OF ENDEARMENT - Casey Daniels, MPB, paranormal cozy
DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD: Book 1 The Black Jewels series - Anne Bishop, MPB, fantasy
THE BOOK OF SHADOWS - James Reese, MPB, historical suspense
MURDER IS A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND - Amanda Matetsky, MPB, cozy mystery
VULCAN'S FORGE - Jack DuBrul, MPB, thriller
MOVING MARS - Greg Bear, MPB, sci fi
ATLANTIS - David Gibbins, MPB, thriller
THE BIBLE OF CLAY - Julia Navarro, MPB, thriller
UNDEAD AND UNRETURNABLE - MaryJanice Davidson, HB, parnanormal mystery
DEATH SONG - Michael McGarrity, MPB, suspense
BLOOD PRICE - Tanya Huff, MPB, UF
AN UNQUIET GRAVE - P J Parrish, MPB, thriller
ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS - J T Ellison, MPB, thriller
MERCY FALLS - William Kent Krueger, MPB, thriller

LET THERE BE SUSPECTS - Emilie Richards

From the back of the book: Now that a chalk outline no longer marks their front porch, Aggie Sloan-Wilcox and her minister husband can turn their attention back to the living...

'Tis the season in bucolic Emerald Springs, Ohio. As a gift to her daughters, Aggie's mom has invited their former foster sister, Ginger, to join their Christmas reunion. A potential candidate for Sociopaths Anonymous, Ginger could make Aggie nostalgic for the chalk line. When Ginger turns up deader than a drumstick, Aggie's sister is the logical suspect because she always resented her mother's attachment to Ginger. Aggie knows her sister is incapable of murder. But that won't convince the police. Now, Aggie has to find the murderer---someone who has decided there's a loophole in thou shalt not kill.

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Ahhhh...another new-to-me cozy series that I have fallen in love with. I do like when this happens. It's well written with excellent dialogue and characters. Agate (Aggie) is the main character and mystery solver in this series and is a hoot. She is the mother of two nifty daughters (one who is currently doubting the existence of angels), wife to a very patient minister and daughter to a lovely kooky mother, Junie, who is a nomad at heart and who loves all in her sphere of existence, whether deserving of it or not. I think she might be my favorite..she is someone I would love to aspire to, but I think I am more like Aggie, nosey and smartass.

I plan on looking for the rest of this series, starting with the beginning. It looks like Aggie might be trying her hand at different career choices. First book had her working in a mystery bookstore, this one has her and her friend Lucy rehabbing houses and flipping them for sale. I am curious to see what she will try next, but I hope she keeps with this one for a bit.

Four bucolic holiday beans.....

A CHRISTMAS SECRET - Anne Perry

From the inside cover: Just in time for the holidays, Anne Perry gives her fans a marvelous gift: a new yuletide yarn full of light celebration and dark mischief.

Dominic Corde is thrilled to "fill the robe" as substitute vicar in the village of Cottisham while the Reverend Wynter is away on a three-week Christmas holiday. Glad to escape his dreary London flat and a less-than-satisfying job as church curate, Dominic and his beloved wife, Clarice, set off for what they hope will be a lovely winter getaway.

Upon arrival, in the midst of a frigid exceptionally snowy season, Dominic and Clarice are welcomed by warm, hospitable neighbors and enchanted by the cozy, inviting vicarage. Everything seems almost too perfect. Dominic's only concern is how he will be received by the congregation, who hold the Reverend Wynter in such high regard. But as Clarice soon discovers, she and Dominic have much more dire matters to worry about. It turns out that the Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday at all--and that something very sinister has transpired.

As a blizzard leaves Cottisham treacherously snowbound and the isolated village swirls with unsavory secrets, Dominic and Clarice suddenly find themselves in deadly danger.

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Anne Perry is known for her dark Victorian era mysteries with Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and William Monk. I do enjoy those two series, but they take more work for me to read. More concentration and working through the language and manners. Perry's holiday mystery books are much lighter, almost cozy in nature. At least the two I've read are cozy since I don't remember a policeman solving the murders.

This one has Clarice feeling compelled to figure out what has happened in what she hopes will be a home for her and Dominic. Compelled because it's the right thing to do morally and for peace of mind. I liked how the story spun itself out for me figure out along with Clarice and Dominic. I like their relationship and how they interact with the villagers.

I'll look for one of the others next Christmas that's for sure.

Four gentle Victorian beans....

JERUSALEM INN - Martha Grimes

From the back of the book: A white Christmas couldn't make Newcastle any less dreary for Scotland Yard's Superintendent Richard Jury--until he met a beautiful woman in a snow-covered graveyard. Sensual, warm and a bit mysterious, she could have put some life into his sagging holiday spirit. But the next time Jury saw her, she was cold--and dead.

Melrose Plant, Jury's aristocratic sidekick wasn't faring much better. Snowbound at a stately mansion with a group of artists, critics , and the idle-but-titled rich, he, too, encountered a lovely lady...or rather, stumbled over her corpse. What linked these two yuletide murders was a remote country pub where snooker, a Nativity scene, and an old secret would uncover a killer..or yet another death.

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Ahhhh....this is probably my most favorite series to read. I keep very few books for re-reads, but this series is a keeper on a shelf down in the mancave. All of Martha Grimes' books are on the shelf, but these are definite re-reads. I have a crush on Richard Jury and one on Melrose Plant. The series is a neat mixture of a Brit police procedural and a cozy/amateur sleuth since Jury works with Plant on almost all of his cases. They somehow run into each other and they work it out.

I want Jury and Plant to find someone to love. It's kind of like on the old TV show Ponderosa/Bonanza, the boys find someone to call their own or potentially at least and that someone bites it at some point. I still have hope....

Four savory British beans....

The Princess and the Frog

Lady K and I went to see this WONDERFUL movie this morning! I highly recommend this movie. It has a great score, fun dialogue and a superb message to deliver. The voices for the characters were wonderfully chosen and Randy Newman's music is the best I've heard in a long while. I usually cringe at musical movies, but this one is dance in your chair fun. I could easily see this one at the show again and we will definitely get this on DVD when it comes out.

LEGACY: An Anna Strong , Vampire Novel - Jeanne C Stein

From the back of the book: "Anna Strong live up to her name: equally tenacious and vulnerable, she's a heroine with the charm, savvy, and intelligence that fans of Laurel K Hamilton and Kim Harrison will be happy to root for." Publishers Weekly

Anna Strong was a tough-as-nails bounty hunter until the night she was attacked by a vampire--and changed forever....

Since then, Anna has struggled to adapt to her supernatural status while clinging to the vestiges of her humanity. Avery--the sinister vampire who turned her--is dead, and Anna learns that she's entitled to his vast fortune. Then a predatory werewolf comes forward, claiming to be Avery's widow. She demands the entire estate and makes it clear that she and her pack think nothing of killing Anna--and those who matter to her--to get what's owed them. Now Anna must protect those she loves from a werewolf out for the two most precious things in the world: blood....and money.

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Each Anna Strong books gets even better. I started to read this one last month, found that it takes place over Christmas, so held off until December for my Holiday reading. Granted, not exactly 'Peace Love Dove' Christmas, but I rarely read the PLD Christmas books during December. No, I meander off and read mysteries of all nature..paranormals prevail...set in December.

Anna is still dealing with her vampire-ness and that includes keeping it from her family and friends. It gets difficult how to come up with the excuses to not have meals (what with her liquid diet) and not shaking hands (perpetually cold skin).

Now there's the werewolf bitch who is marking territory she thinks Anna has intruded on. Anna's not sure how to deal with her. She doesn't want anything to do with Avery's property, but can't get the WB to understand this concept.

And Anna has been hired to help prove Gloria innocent of murder...Gloria, evil bitch fashion model who is Anna's PI partner, David's, girlfriend...Gloria who doesn't like having Anna in David's life and has done a lot of things in the past to make her go away. Now she needs Anna's help. This should be sweet revenge to Anna and say no, but she feels compelled to help...for a price.....

Five kick ass beans.....

THE MEDIATOR: TWILIGHT - Meg Cabot, narr Johanna Parker

From the back of the BOCD: Suze Simon finds it difficult to come across as an average teenager when she's constantly visited by ghosts. Suze is a mediator, you see. And her boyfriend Jesse is, well, a ghost himself--from the 19th century!
Fellow mediator Paul Slater has figured out how to travel through time and alter Jesse's future so he and Suze will never meet, leaving Suze in a conundrum. Does she let Paul succeed so Jesse lives an ordinary life in his own time period, leaving Suze with no memory of him? Or does she stop Paul and force Jesse to be a ghost forever? And all the while, Suze must cope with the perils of a normal teenage life.
Number one New York Times best-selling author Meg Cabot delivers a quirky depiction of the normal and exaggerated hazards all teenagers face in this sixth installment of the Mediator series. Young adult listeners will identify with Suze through the exuberant narration of Johanna Parker.
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Poor Suze, she never seems to catch a break. She loves Jesse, her ghost boyfriend, but since he's from the 19th century, he's very proper and she wonders if they will ever get past whatever base is past hot kissing. And there's Paul, the fellow mediator, who Suze is alternately drawn to and repelled by. He's just bad incarnate, using his mediator abilities for his selfish means.
What I like best about this series is how normal Suze is in being a teenager with the added *agh* factor of having ghosts around her all the time. And some of those ghosts aren't very nice. Suze wants to go to the dance, wear cool clothes and be on time for dinner so her stepdad won't get disappointed.
I do enjoy Meg Cabot's ability to write in her various series. I know I would be highly disappointed should I ever find out she has a team of writers as I found other authors do.

Four Please don't let me be disappointed beans.....

November Book Journal

I completely forgot to post November's books! I could have sworn I did, but it's that time of year where things fall through those dadgum cracks.

November was definitely a busy month, but managed 8 books somehow.

BLOODY AWFUL - Georgia Evans, MPB, superb!! Even better than the first in the trilogy

CUT & RUN - Jeff Abbott, BOCD, excellent

VICIOUS CIRCLE - Mike Carey, MPB, #2 Felix Castor and highly excellent

HOLIDAY GRIND - Cleo Coyle, ARC (SIGNED), Best yet!!!

SKIN DEEP: A Bodybags Mystery - Christopher Golden, BOT, phhhhhhhht

DESOLATE ANGEL - Chaz McGee, MPB, well done!

OVER MY DEAD BODY - Michele Bardsley, MPB, signed keeper, fun

A DILLY OF A DEATH - Susan Wittig Albert, MPB, super! Love this series

Books: 6

Audio: 2

Month total: 8

Year so far: 111

DEATH'S HALF ACRE: A Deborah Knott Mystery - Margaret Maron, narr C J Critt

From the back of the BOCD: Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott mysteries set in rural North Carolina are cherished by discerning readers who value authentic characters and intriguing plots. The 14th addition to this award-winning series, DEATH'S HALF ACRE finds suburban sprawl creeping across the land unchecked, while small town farmers fight back however they can.

Behind closed doors , county commissioners are colluding with major developers who make a killing plastering the land with chintzy McMansions. After a string of lucrative deals hits the books, leaving a number of farmers in the lurch, someone close to the action winds up killed. The murder pulls Deborah Knott and Sheriff Bryant smack into the middle of the escalating conflict. Before long, a hidden truth lurking just beneath the surface may cast the entire situation in a different light.

Acclaimed narrator C J Critt voices the sharp-witted veteran judge to perfection.

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The beauty of this series is that it is more than the mystery at hand. The background of the characters of Deborah, her husband Dwight, her 11 brothers and their wives and kids and especially her father, Kezzie Knott, former bootlegger. He is quite possibly my favorite character in the books. He is the patriarch and well respected in the county despite his background. He's intelligent and rather crafty and explains his thoughts, when he is willing to share, wonderfully. I would love to spend time with Kezzie Knott.

This is another of my favorite series. Even after 14 forays into Colleton County, I admire each visit. Some series, (a lot of series) can get tired after so many books in, but not this one.

Five southern beans....

A DILLY OF A DEATH: A China Bayles Mystery - Susan Wittig Albert

From the back of the book: In her latest mystery, A DILLY OF A DEATH, national bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert has crafted "more than just a whodunit...readers will relish this more-sweet-than-sour adventure." (Booklist) Lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles becomes immersed in a local mystery -- and to find clues, she'll have to scrape the bottom of the pickle barrel.....

China Bayles is in a pickle. The daughter of her best friend Ruby has turned up on her doorstep, pregnant and in need of a place to live. And her otherwise sensible husband McQuaid has announced that he's bored with teaching--he wants to try his hand as a private eye. His first client is Phoebe the Pickle Queen, owner of the biggest little pickle business in Texas. According to Phoebe, her plant manager is embezzling, and she wants McQuaid to "follow the money." Meanwhile, Pecan Springs is hosting the annual Pickelefest--and this year, China and Ruby are on the planning committee, along with Phoebe. But just days before the festival starts, the Pickle Queen disappears. Some say she sold her business and split; others think the answer may lie with her missing boyfriend. It's up to McQuaid and China to search for the Pickle Queen--and for clues in a case that promises to leave a very sour taste.

******

I know when I pick up one of the China Bayles mysteries, I am going to be in for a very good story, superbly drawn characters and very intriguing mystery. I was very pleased with my choice of picking this one up at the time I did. I needed a cozy mystery during the crazy holiday season that begins to pick up in November and this was the perfect choice. I say cozy only in that it fits the requisite not a crime solver lead character who solves the mystery. China Bayles mysteries are grittier than most cozies, so maybe we should add the label of amateur sleuth.

I love learning as I go of the herbal lore that Susan Wittig Albert puts in each book. Ruby is my favorite character due to her off the wall, yet fairly focused outlook on life. I felt for her in this book since her recently turned up daughter, Amy, who she gave up for adoption when Ruby was young, is herself now pregnant and Ruby is trying to instill her thoughts on Amy. Amy is rebelling and Ruby is beside herself. China is trying to help as a best friend should, but Ruby is hesitant to take the help since China has never been in her child-bearing shoes.

The mystery of the disappearing Pickle Queen is part of the book, the rest is the ongoing dynamics of the rest of the characters. And the herbal lore I love.

Four pickled beans.....

DESOLATE ANGEL: A Dead Detective Mystery - Chaz McGee

From the back of the book: He was once a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband and an absent father. But ever since he was killed in a drug bust gone bad, Kevin Fahey's been a lost soul in limbo, searching for a way out of his solitude and hoping for redemption. Now he'll have to prove to be a better ghost than he ever was a man...

After I died, I wandered my town, unseen, alone, and wondering why I'd been sentenced to linger in this world. Then Alissa, the victim in a long-ago murder case I'd worked, came to me. She led me to a body sprawled in the weeds, and the terrible truth dawned on me: I'd let Alissa's real killer escape. I'd imprisoned an innocent man--and now another young girl was dead.
I know my redemption lies in righting this wrong. And the only way I can do that is to somehow forge a connection with my replacement on the force, Maggie Gunn. Now I'm haunted by the fear that dragging Maggie into this may turn out to be the biggest mistake of my afterlife....
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Because this was my purse book, it took me a little while to get into it and I wasn't sure I liked it in the very beginning. The main character, Kevin Fahey, was not a sympathetic character and the first few pages I managed to get through kind of moseyed along.
Then I found a chunk of time and the story grabbed ahold and hung on.
I liked watching Fahey become a better person as a ghost than he was a live being. He was able to move on do what he needed to help Maggie with her case. And Maggie, she grabbed the case like a bulldog and held on and shook it til it all fell into place.

The story is an appalling one that had me in tears at times and I was rigorously pleased with the outcomes to the bad and did the happy dance for the outcomes of the good guys.

I really look forward to the rest of the series as the books come out.

Four afterlife looks intriguing beans....