Book Review and Giveaway - A Pawsome Summer For Murder (Samantha Davies Mystery) by S. A. Kazlo

My Review

In Wings Falls, a small town in New York, Samantha (Sam) Davis is excited about the annual fishing competition which she is attending with her cousin, her dachshund Porkchop, and her fiancé, Hank.  The competition is a fundraiser for the local pet rescue, with several of the rescue dogs attending.  When an animal rights activist is found dead in the lake, she works to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read A Pawsome Summer for Murder because I love dachshunds!  This is my second read in the Samantha Davies Mystery series.  It would work fine as a standalone.

This was a fun mystery.  It's fast paced with strong, distinct characters.  The author has a fresh, lively writing voice and the book has an enjoyable light style.  I enjoy Sam's sleuthing, her friends, her relationship with Hank, and of course, Porkchop.

I recommend A Pawsome Summer for Murder for fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for anyone who also loves dogs.

Book Synopsis

It’s summer in Wings Falls, New York and Samantha Davies is geared up for the annual trout tournament sponsored by Al Gorman, owner of the Sport’s Shop. Sam, along with her Southern Belle cousin, Candie Parker-Hogan, are determined to beat the pants off their significant others, Sam’s new fiancé, Hank Johnson, a detective on Wings Falls police force and Mark Hogan, Candie’s husband. The ladies feel they have a secret weapon-they learned from the best fisherman in Hainted Hollar Tennessee, Grandpop Parker. Sam once won a trophy for the largest fish in the Fins and Tails Fishing Derby.

To Sam’s surprise instead of reeling in the day’s biggest catch, she “hooked” into the body of the town’s most vocal activist, Luna Wheeler.

Raylene Carrigan, owner of a traveling doggie daycare Sam uses for her lovable dachshund, Porkchop, becomes a prime suspect, when it becomes known Luna tried to shut down the town’s doggie park she depends on for the pets in her care. Since Sam has successfully helped solve murders in the past, Raylene begs her for help to prove her innocent.

Sam reluctantly agrees but knows her fiancé won’t be happy with her involvement in yet another murder case.

Determined to help Porkchop’s buddy, Sam starts digging for clues only to discover that Luna, with her over-zealous demands to many of the town’s businesses to recycle, upset more than a few of her friends. Can Sam land Luna’s murderer before she gets ‘hooked’ by the killer?

Author Bio

Syrl, a retired teacher, lives in upstate New York with her husband and two lively dachshunds. She writes the Samantha Davies Mystery series, featuring Samantha Davies and her loveable dachshund, Porkchop. When not writing she is busy hooking, rug hooking that is, and enjoying her family. Her newest  book, number seven in the series, A Pawsome Summer For Murder, was released May 1, 2025

Author Links

Website – https://www.sakazlo.com/

Blog – https://www.sakazlo.com/blog

Twitter-@sakazlo

Instagram- sakazlo

Facebook- sakazlo

LinkedIn- sakazlo

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Smashwords – Kobo – Bookshop.org  

Giveaway

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - Murder on Oak Street (A South Shore Mystery) by I. M. Foster

Book Synopsis

New York, 1904. After two years as a coroner’s physician for the city of New York, Daniel O’Halleran is more frustrated than ever. What’s the point when the authorities consistently brush aside his findings for the sake of expediency? So when his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar on their wedding day, he takes it as a sign that it’s time to move on and eagerly accepts an offer to assist the local coroner in the small Long Island village of Patchogue.

Though the coroner advises him that life on Long Island is far more subdued than that of the city, Daniel hasn’t been there a month when the pretty librarian, Kathleen Brissedon, asks him to look into a two-year-old murder case that took place in the city. Oddly enough, the case she’s referring to was the first one he ever worked on, and the verdict never sat right with him.

Eager for the chance to investigate it anew, Daniel agrees to look into it in his spare time, but when a fresh murder occurs in his own backyard, he can’t shake his gut feeling that the two cases are connected. Can he discover the link before another life is taken, or will murder shake the peaceful South Shore village once again?

Author Bio

I. M. Foster is the pen name author Inez Foster uses to write her South Shore Mystery series, set on Edwardian Long Island. Inez also writes historical romances under the pseudonym Andrea Matthews, and has so far published two series in that genre: the Thunder on the Moor series, a time-travel romance set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Borders, and the Cross of Ciaran series, which follows the adventures of a fifth century Celt who finds himself in love with a twentieth-century archaeologist.

Inez is a historian and librarian, who love to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogically speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. Inez is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, the Historical Novel Society, and Sisters in Crime.

Author Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IMFosterMysteries

X: https://www.x.com/IMFosterMystery

Threads: https://www.threads.net/imfosterauthor

Purchase Link – Amazon 

Giveaway

Book Review and Giveaway - No Roast for the Weary (A Coffeehouse Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

My Review

Clare Cosi is worried about slow traffic post-pandemic at her beloved Village Blend coffeehouse in Greenwich Village.  When her staff brainstorms and comes up with idea of the Writer's Block Lounge at the coffeehouse, traffic picks up - and so does mystery!  A regular customer is found seriously injured and an old, decades ago, mystery surfaces.  Clare works to solve both mysteries.

I wanted to read No Roast for the Weary because I love the Coffeehouse Mystery series.  I enjoy the Greenwich Village setting and the coffeehouse ambiance.

This is an intriguing mystery!  I especially was interested in the decades old mystery.  Clare uses her amateur detective skills to solve the case after encountering a number of unlikely situations including a pet duck and a writers' gala including some of the most famous names in fiction.

I like the whole cast of characters, including Clare's fiance Mike, her mentor Madame, the baristas and staff, and her cute cats, Java and Frothy.

The mystery is fast paced with lots of short chapters, and readers will travel enjoy spending time in New York City with Clare as she solves this mystery.

I recommend No Roast for the Weary - and the entire Coffeehouse Mystery series - for other cozy mystery fans!

Book Synopsis

When the Village Blend opens a Writer’s Block Lounge, a cold case crime turns up the heat on Clare and her crew in this gripping new entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won’t survive if she doesn’t sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend’s customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer’s Block Lounge is born.

Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the shop, is upset by this news. Years ago, a group of accomplished writers used the shop’s second-floor lounge to inspire each other, but the group disbanded when something dark occurred. Though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare presses forward…

Soon the Village Blend tables are filled with aspiring novelists, playwrights, and poets, all happy to be coaxed, cajoled, and caffeinated by her coffeehouse crew. Clare admires the stamina of these scribes, many of them toiling at night jobs—driving taxis, tending bar, ushering for Broadway—while penning projects during the day.

Then one of their fictions turns fatal when a shocking secret leads to a deadly end. Unless Clare can untangle this mystery, uncover the truth, and stop a desperate killer, she fears more of these weary writers may be marked for eternal rest. ~ Includes a knockout menu of recipes.

Author Bio

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries and Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, now celebrating more than 20 years in print. With more than one million  books sold, their works have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Czech; received multiple Best of Year selection honors from reviewers; and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, wrangle their rescue cats, drink a lot of java, and cook like crazy. Connect with Cleo at CoffeehouseMystery.com

Author Links
Webpage: https://www.coffeehousemystery.com/

Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleoCoyle/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CleoCoyle

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cleo-coyle

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleocoyle_author/

Purchase Links:
Amazon     Barnes & Noble   Kobo     Google Play     Bookshop.org

Giveaway

Book Review and Giveaway - Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Barbara Early

My Review

Jessica Fletcher falls on icy steps and has to stay home to recuperate from her fall, with the help of home aide Alice.  When a short term renter across the street starts building risque snow sculptures, the whole neighborhood is in an uproar ... culminating in a murder.  Of course Jessica works to solve the mystery!

I wanted to read Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder because I love the Murder She Wrote TV series and the book series as well.  I try to read all the books in this series as they come out.  I was also intrigued by the description of this book, which mentioned Rear Window - one of my favorite movies.

I think this is my favorite Murder She Wrote book yet!  The thing I love most in the books is Jessica's small town sleuthing in Cabot Cove.  The books with travel are fun, but the Cabot Cove books are particular favorites of mine.  It was interesting to see Jessica overcome the challenge of being homebound for so much of her sleuthing.  I enjoyed following along as she solved the mystery.  I loved seeing all the familiar Cabot Cove folks in this book - Seth, Mort, Maureen, Maeve.  I also liked Jessica's assistant, Alice.  I enjoyed their creative writing sessions together as Jessica mentored Alice.

The mystery aspect of this book was well paced, with several good suspects.  I guessed the right suspect, which makes a mystery read even more fun.

I enthusiastically recommend Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder - and of course, the entire Murder She Wrote series - to other cozy mystery fans!

Book Synopsis

In a nod to Rear Window, this newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series finds Jessica Fletcher coping with an injury that leaves her homebound—and a murder just outside her window!

Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. There’s good reason for her to be distracted, because soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures.

While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast.

The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street—and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow. Can Jessica catch a cold-blooded killer from her chair by the window?

Author Bios

Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation.

Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a schoolteacher, a pastor’s wife, and an amateur puppeteer. She lives in Western New York State (Go Bills!), where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies and campy seventies television, board games, and spending time with her granddaughters.

​Before teaming up with Jessica Fletcher, she previously wrote the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series and the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (as Beverly Allen).

Author Links

Website https://www.barbaraearly.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarbaraEarly

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – Penguin Random House 

Giveaway

Book Review and Giveaway - Murder Movie Club: Murder on a Monday (Monthly Murder Movie Club Cozy Mystery) by Marcy Blesy

My Review

Murder Movie Club: Murder on a Monday is the start of a new series.  It is about a disparate group of people (mostly senior citizens and one young single mother) who get together monthly to watch a mystery movie at the local movie theater, stopping it mid-way to solve the mystery.  Then a mystery happens in real life.  A young man working at the movie theater is murdered and they set out to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I love cozy mysteries.  I also enjoy movies and thought the premise was fun.

This is a very unique mystery - the cast of characters is so quirky and they don't get along at all initially!  They do learn to work together to solve the mystery though.

I enjoyed the movie theater and the setting (a small town in Michigan).  It was fun starting a new series and getting to know all the characters through the first book.

The mystery was straightforward, with a short list of suspects.  The book is short and the writing features some humor and lively dialogue, so this was a very quick read.

I recommend  Murder Movie Club: Murder on a Monday for other fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for anyone who enjoys a quirky, small town story.

Book Synopsis

Murder: best served with popcorn.

That’s the mantra for the members of the Monthly Murder Movie Club at The Northwoods Movie Theater. Every month, this eclectic group of northern Michigan residents gather to watch a murder mystery movie on the big screen. After stopping the projector in the middle of the movie, the members gather to discuss the crime and suspects, each making a whodunit pick before resuming the movie. The hair dresser with the scissors? The jilted lover with poison?

But nothing is normal on this Monday morning when the club members find the ticket-taking popcorn maker John E. Cash in the lobby of the theater, deader than any actor in their beloved movies. Using their unique talents and eccentricities, the Monthly Murder Movie Club members work collectively to solve the crime before the Northwoods Police force does. Members strive to protect the reputation of their beloved theater–and to protect their Monday meetings–because what each member is discovering is that there is so much more to their Monday club than a good old-fashioned murder mystery.

Found family, new friends, and murder investigations!

Author Bio

Marcy Blesy is the author of over thirty  books including the popular cozy mystery series: The Tucson Valley Retirement Community Cozy Mystery Series, a hilarious misadventure in amateur sleuthing. Her adult romance mystery series includes The Secret of Blue Lake and The Secret of Silver Beach, set in Michigan. The Ghost Texter Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series, featuring a sleuthing kindergarten teacher in Michigan was recently released. Children’s books include the best-selling Be the Vet series along with the following early chapter book series: Evie and the Volunteers, Niles and Bradford, Third Grade Outsider, and Hazel, the Clinic Cat.

Marcy enjoys searching for treasures along the shores of Lake Michigan. She’s still waiting for the day when she finds a piece of red beach glass.

Marcy is a believer in love and enjoys nothing more than making her readers feel a book more than simply reading it.

Author Links

Website www.marcyblesy.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550966870826

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marcy_blesy/

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223057736-murder-movie-club?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=9rEZT9BRRK&rank=1

Purchase Link – Amazon

Giveaway