Tressed to Kill (A Southern Beauty Shop Mystery)

St. Elizabeth, Georgia offers charm, Southern hospitality and most recently, murder. Now, hairdresser Grace Terhune is ready to crack this case before things get snarled beyond repair...

Everyone at Violetta's salon including Grace Terhune and her mother, Violetta has their scissors at the ready for the influx of St. Elizabeth's high society ladies. Of all the snobs getting their hair done for the town meeting, the worst is Constance DuBois, a woman heartless enough to ruin people's livelihoods on a whim. And after a tinting accident leaves her hair with orange stripes, Constance vows she'll close down Violetta's... 

Hours after the threat, Grace and Violetta find Constance dead, and some including the police believe the mother daughter duo did her in. Grace sets out to clear their names, but with an accusing special agent, her lecherous ex on the police force, and the distraught daughter of the deceased all working against them, Grace is up to her perfectly shaped eyebrows in trouble... 

Not bad for a first in the series, it reads a bit like "Steel Magnolias" meets a "Who done it" mystery. I liked the characters and I liked the plot even though I think they should have stopped using last names after the first chapter lol! All in all it wasn't bad for 5 sassy southern beauticians and a crazy small town murder mystery. I am interested in seeing how the second book in the series is and am also excited to see who Grace my pick as her own southern gentleman caller... will it be quirky but sweet Atlanta journalist Marty Shears or talk dark and handsome lone ranger type Special Agent "Marsh" Dillion? Guess we will just have to wait and find out...

Arsenic and Old Cake (A Piece of Cake Mystery)

With business going stale at Zydeco Cakes, Rita Lucero has plenty to worry about. but when her friend, blind trumpet player Old Dog Leg Magee, asks for a favor, she can't say no. His brother, Monroe, disappeared forty years ago, and now someone has shown up claiming to be him. Old Dog Leg needs Rita to be his eyes-and see if the man really is his brother. 

Old Dog Leg sets Rita up with sexy Cajun bartender Gabriel Broussard to pose as newlyweds checking into the same bed and breakfast Monroe is staying in, only for them to discover that Monroe's true identity isn't the only mystery they'll have to solve. When another guest at the bed and breakfast turns up dead, it seems the mysterious man might also be a murderer... 


Oh Rita, Rita, Rita!!! She is back again with her scrumptious cake baking and mystery solving skills! This time she takes the role of Mrs. Broussard... to help Old Dog Leg solve a forty year old mystery! This time her shenanigans take place at "The Love Nest" a local Bed and Breakfast where she takes on the role of playing blushing bride to one sexy Cajun bartender Gabriel Broussard. While trying to unearth the old mystery that surrounds the Love Nest she also gets to know of some of its more eccentric long time residents. This time shes got to solve the mystery, find a killer, attempt to be a blushing bride, annnnnnd keep Zydeco afloat in the beginning stages of an economical hardship. Have no fear, Rita like always, keeps all together with witty thinking and her usual persistent gumshoe tactics. This book is a little slow in the beginning but it really picks up after the first few chapters and it will really have you reeling in the end to find out what or who is actually the mastermind behind whats going on at the Love Nest! I really enjoyed the mystery the usual cast and the new cast of characters of the "Love Nest" introduced in this book. I can't wait to see what trouble... mystery Rita will stumble into next. Hopefully we will get to read more about which sexy hunk she chooses as well... will it be sweet, sexy, smooth Cajun bartender Gabriel or Mr. Tall, Dark, Handsome and Strong Detective Stone? Only time and another great mystery will tell... :)

Alpine For You (A Passport to Peril Mystery)

Accompanying her grandmother on a seniors tour of Switzerland, Emily Andrew had envisioned a vacation straight out of a travel brochure: spectacular scenery, great food, and a classy European hotel, all worlds away from her rural Iowa hometown. But her dream trip quickly snowballs into mayhem when smooth-talking tour escort Andy Simon is found dead. To be sure, Andy was as randy as a mountain goat on Viagra, hitting on every miss -- Swiss or otherwise -- within striking distance. His constant advances were driving Emily cuckoo -- but had someone orchestrated his untimely death? 

For savvy, resourceful Emily, leading the tour in Andy's place is only natural. But she can't remain neutral when a fellow traveler takes a fatal plunge -- she's convinced a murderer lurks among them. With precision timing, sexy Etienne Miceli steps in to investigate, and Emily warms to the suave detective. Still, with the group roster suddenly sprouting more holes than the local cheese, Emily wonders: is there a safe haven anywhere in the shadow of the Alps?

This was my first book I read on my new Google Nexus 7 Tablet! It was an O.K. Mystery... It had some witty humor and a good plot but I really wasn't all that impressed. Mostly because it talked about a bunch of grumpy old people who probably shouldn't ever have left the comforts of their homes in small town Iowa. Like most books that I don't like, I will be willing to give this series a second shot and read the next one, hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.

Bruja Brouhaha (A Mind for Murder Mystery)

Liz and nick are enjoying the sixtieth wedding anniversary celebration for their charming hosts, Paco and Lucia Rojas, devout Santeria practitioners who own the historical Botanica Rojas near MacArthur Park. But the small group of friends is left horrified and confused when the evening ends in tragedy. 

Devastated by loss, Lucia, a Santeria priestess, blames the locals for the escalating crime in her beloved community. She casts a vengeful hex on the neighborhood, leading strangers and friends alike to dub her bruja-Spanish for witch-and turn on the elderly woman. Lucia may be in harm's way, and it's up to Liz and Nick to unravel a mysterious disappearance and solve a murder before more lives are lost... 

A great follow up to Rochelle's "Who Do, Voodoo?"! I had a feeling though, when I finished her first book that I would get happily stuck on her series of "Mind for Murder Mysteries"! As usual, she kept me turning pages and racing to the end to see if I my guess "who did it" would be right... and just like before she through me for a pleasant loop! I liked everything about the book, the setting, the usual suspects... I mean characters and of course some new friends that were added in this book. I was also happy to read about a new aspect of occult and loved the strong influence of Santeria had the plot, it made the book very rich and detailed. Thanks for another GREAT read Rochelle! I am now dieing to read whatever you come out with next!

Corpse in the Crystal Ball (A Fortune Teller Mystery)

After clearing her name as the prime suspect in a murder, Sunny Meadows hopes she can finally enjoy some serenity in the idyllic town of Divinity in upstate New York. She'd also like a second chance with Detective Mitch Stone. But when Mitch's gorgeous ex-girlfriend Isabel Gonzales shows up, Sunny's not sure she can compete. Then Isabel mysteriously disappears. 

When the police turn to Sunny for help, her visions lead to the discovery of Isabel's corpse in the woods. Before she died, Isabel scrawled a message in the dirt implicating Mitch in her murder. Now Sunny must help the man she's falling in love with as she sets out to find the real killer. But this time Sunny's clairvoyant abilities might not save her- as what she doesn't see can hurt her...

YES! We are back in business in Divinity and Sunny's fortune telling industry is booming! I really loved this follow up to Kari Townsend's first edition (Tempest in the Tea Leaves) in her series of fortune telling mysteries! I think this is going to turn out to be a great series and I hope she writes tons more! I love Sunny's character and have grown and loved the people and town of divinity... even Detective grumpy pants aka. Mitch Stone... aka Sunny's some day boyfriend. I get it... it's complicated but "It's a start!"

There are some new characters that were introduced into this book as well and there is one granny in particular that I am glad to see that will be sticking around for a while! Sunny's granny comes to stay for a bit with her and oddly enough finds divinity and Sunny's house "Vickie" to be a perfect fit! She is spunky just like Sunny and has developed quite a bond with Morty who can usually hardly tolerate anyone besides Sunny. This story had a great plot and had a lot of leads which led me to think quite a bit, but in the end I must say I was totally blown away with the twisted ending!

A Spoonful of Murder (A Soup Lovers Mystery)

 Winter is big business in small town Snowflake, Vermont. Tourists arrive to hit the ski slopes and what could be more satisfying after a chilly day of carving powder than a steaming bowl of soup?

When Lucky Jamieson inherits her parents soup shop. By the Spoonful, she realizes it's time to take stock of her life. Should she sell her parents house or move in herself? Does she really want to run a restaurant business? And what about her grandfather Jack, who seems to be showing signs of Alzheimer's? 

But her life decisions are moved to the back burner after an icy blonde tourist is found frozen to death behind the soup shop. And Lucky is bowled over when her soup chef, Sage DuBois, is led out of the kitchen by the police. As suspicion and speculations snowball, Lucky decides that the only way to save her employee and her business is to find out herself who iced the tourist and landed her chef in the soup...

 A charming little mystery and not bad for a first edition. I loved reading about the charming town of Snowflake, it really had me wanting to visit Vermont (although maybe in the summer time instead lol!). I also quickly fell in love with the the "By the Spoonful Soup Shop" and the cast of great characters surrounding the story. The book was a little slow in the beginning but I think that might be because it's a new series and the author took time to introduce you to the characters, but once the story got going... it had my full attention and it was hard to put it down!  Unlike a lot of other first in a series mysteries I've ready, this one really had me guessing who did it all the way to the end and what a terrific twist! I would have never had guessed! All in all it was a nice cozy and I am looking forward to reading Connie Archers second book in this series; "Broth of Betrayal".

Letters From Home (Harlequin Blaze Series)

Gorgeous Levi's tour of duty has an unexpected benefit: anonymous red hot love letters! Someone he knows is mailing the rugged solider her naughtiest fantasies. And he's loving every word. On leave home, he discovers his sexy secret admirer; Natalie, the long time star of his own X-rated dreams. But he's not letting Natalie know her cover's blown...yet. Not until he's fulfilled each and every one of her suggestions!

I'm really beginning to like Rhonda Nelson's style of romance writing! This is the second book I've read by her and I have enjoyed every minute of it! She really kept me intrigued with the budding yet long time running self preservation between Natalie and Levi. She also threw in bits from one of my favorite movies (Love, Actually). This book had a bit of everything, love, steamy romance and bit of comedy and wonder all mixed together! I can't wait to read more by Rhonda Nelson and I can't wait to read the somewhat sequel to this book "The Soldier" to find out what happens between Levi's younger brother Adam and Natalie's best friend Winnie!

I give it a two on my hotness scale, while the sexy parts were only sizzling the romantic part was actually more interesting to read. This story is one of those that could happen to just about anyone and that's why I found it so appealing.

My hotness scale...
1= Spark, 2= Sizzling, 3= Blazing, 4= inferno