Book Review and Giveaway - Masked Intentions: A Camera Club Mystery by Kara Lacey

My Review

Bobbie Brooks is a photographer living in Stonebridge, Vermont.  She's busy with the annual harvest festival.  There is shocking murder at the festival, and another neighbor is seriously hurt there as well.  Bobbie is personally at risk, so she starts to investigate these mysteries.

I wanted to read Masked Intentions because I enjoyed the first book in this series.  These mysteries involve a lot of interesting photography details.

I really like the Stonebridge setting;  it's a picturesque small town.  We get to know Bobbie's friends and family, including her sister Alicia, her mother Fiona, her dog Darcy, and her camera club friends.  Bobbie is a widow and she develops a tentative friendship with a handsome new Irish man in town named Ciaran.

This is a complex case, with two mysteries needing to be solved at once.  Bobbie juggles her amateur sleuthing with her busy photography business, her camera club, and her mother's visit from out of town.  There are several strong suspects, and I enjoyed sleuthing along with Bobbie.  

There are several twists and surprises.  I was suspicious of the perpetrator as the story went along.

I enjoy the Camera Club Mystery series.  The characterizations are strong and well developed and the story is detailed and a bit more in depth than usual for a cozy mystery.  I look forward to the next book in the series.  I recommend Masked Intentions for other cozy readers, especially for anyone who likes small town settings, fall settings, or who has an interest in photography.

Book Synopsis

It’s autumn in Vermont, and the mountains are ablaze with color, just in time for Stonebridge’s annual harvest festival. The village is swarming with leaf-peeping tourists, and the celebration is off to a jubilant start as residents gather for their favorite kick-off event: a masquerade party on the village green. But the crisp fall air turns chilling when a party guest is found lifeless and another is whisked away in an ambulance, on the verge of death.

Photographer Bobbie Brooks vows to leave the investigation to the professionals until a tearful plea from a friend causes her to shift her focus from merriment to murder. The Stonebridge Keep it Snappy Shutter Club is on another case as Bobbie plunges into the world of herbal poisons and masked motives. The truth is concealed in the details captured through her lens. But as everything comes into focus, Bobbie finds herself in danger once again. Can she unmask the killer before the killer zooms in on her?

Author Bio

Kara Lacey is the author of the Camera Club Mysteries. Along with her husband, she lives in a tiny village nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont—the inspiration for her novels. Kara is a photography enthusiast who also enjoys hiking, skiing, and getting cozy with a good book. When she’s not at her laptop creating havoc for her characters, you can find her rambling through the forest with her husband and spirited Labrador retriever, camera in hand.

Kara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime-New England.

Author Links

Instagram https://instagram.com/karalaceyauthor

Facebook https://facebook.com/karalaceyauthor

Website https://karalaceyauthor.com

Substack https://karalacey.substack.com

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51886848.Kara_Lacey

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-lacey

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

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Giveaway

Book Review - A Thousand Painted Hours by Barbara O'Neal

My Review

A Thousand Painted Hours is a historical novel told in two timelines -- early 1900's colonial India and London, 1940 during the Blitz.  Elsie Turner lives in India with her parents when she is a young girl.  She has a strong connection with a young prince her age, Tanveer Singh.  Friendship turns to love, but they are separated when the Turner family moves back to England.  They have other relationships but their bond remains strong over the decades ... still longing to be together.

I wanted to read A Thousand Painted Hours because I love historical fiction.  I am interested in both early 1900's India and the World War II time period, so this novel was particularly appealing.

Elsie and Tanveer are both compelling characters.  The connection between them is so strong and the scenes of them together as adults are electric.  They are separated most of their adult life and part of their story is told in letters.  This novel is so much about absence and not being with the person you love.  Elsie's friend remarks:  "Your prince is a fantasy, my dear.  It's easy to love someone at a distance" (p. 213).  Later when they are briefly reunited, Tanveer tells Elsie, "The world has color again" (p. 244).

This is my first read by Barbara O'Neal and I will certainly look for her other books.  The storytelling is beautiful - with both vivid descriptions and well drawn characters.  

I love sweeping historical sagas that move through the decades, and enjoyed that aspect of this novel.  It is a long book but I found it a fast read.

I recommend A Thousand Painted Hours for fans of historical fiction, and especially anyone interested in India or England in the first half of the 1900's.

Book Synopsis

An epic, emotionally charged novel about love, art, and survival spanning 1900s colonial India to Blitz-era London by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

In the shadow of the London Blitz, artist Elsie Turner clings fiercely to her canvases, refusing to let war dim the colors that define her. The bombs test her nerve, but the struggle also stirs memories of her golden youth in India and of the long-lost love of her life.

The daughter of a British civil servant in the Himalayan station of Nainital, Elsie crosses cultural divides to forge an unlikely bond with Tanveer Singh, a Sikh prince with hopes, dreams, and far-reaching ideas. What begins as shared sketchbooks and stargazing becomes first love and a secret correspondence. When Elsie’s father is summoned to England, Elsie is severed from the world she knows—and is determined to preserve it through both her art and a connection with Tanveer that endures through the most tumultuous years of their lives.

Across four decades and two continents, Elsie navigates a journey from lush colonial India to war-torn London, amid landscapes of beauty, protest, and peril. As past and present collide, the most impossible choices and sacrifices are yet to be made in the name of love, war, and survival.

Author Bio

Barbara O’Neal is the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of twenty novels of women’s fiction, including the #1 Amazon Charts bestseller When We Believed in Mermaids, as well as The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth, Memories of the Lost, This Place of Wonder, and The Starfish Sisters. Her award-winning books have been published in more than two dozen countries. She lives on the wild Oregon Coast with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent. For more information, visit www.barbaraoneal.com.

Book Review - Death on the Lanai (Golden Girls Cozy Mysteries) by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

My Review

The Golden Girls receive an invitation to a mysterious party, along with a beautiful butterfly brooch.  There is no indication which lady the invitation is directed to, so they travel together to a little island to attend the party together.  Blanche is delighted to find the host is her long ago beau from NYC named Declan;  he was an artist while she was a Rockette when they were both young.  She is happy to reconnect with him at the party, and surprised to see he has paintings of her at his home.  There is a power outage at his house and the next morning they wake up to find that Declan has died mysteriously.  The Golden Girls work together in this winding, spooky old house to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read Death on the Lanai because I read and loved the first mystery in this series.  I am an avid mystery fan and this is such a fun, fresh idea for a series.

The author does a remarkable job at the characters' voices.  I can't even imagine how many The Golden Girls episodes she must have watched to have the characters down so pat!   The zingy humor I remember from this series (one of my favorites!) is here, but there is also a well constructed mystery.

I love the mystery trope of a murder at a house party, with all the guests naturally becoming suspects.  Add in a remote island setting and a massive power outage!  It was interesting to see how Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia work together under these trying circumstances to sleuth and solve the mystery.

Death on the Lanai is a delightful read, and I recommend it - and the first book in the series (Murder By Cheesecake) - to other cozy mystery fans, and especially for readers who love The Golden Girls.

Book Review and Giveaway - A Murderer’s Guide to Mardi Gras (Vintage Cookbook Mysteries) by Ellen Byron

My Review

Ricki James-Diaz is looking forward to a fun Mardi Gras season, with great sales in her vintage cookbook shop and being part of a Mardi Gras krewe for the first time.  Then the krewe's captain ends up dead and his wife (a friend of Ricki) is a suspect.  Ricki ends up sleuthing, as she juggles work, friends, and her boyfriend Virgil (who is being crowned king).  Then things get really dangerous . . .

I wanted to read A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras because I absolutely love this series.  It's one of my favorites:  vintage cookbooks, New Orleans, and an appealing cast of characters.

This was a fun read!  I have enjoyed this entire series but I think this book is my favorite.  I really liked the Mardi Gras setting.  I've been to Mardi Gras and loved the "behind the scenes" glimpses we get in this book.

A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras is an exciting mystery story.  We have the current mystery along with growing danger for Ricki as she investigates the murder.

As always, I enjoyed Ricki's family, her friends, her boyfriend Virgil, and her pets (two dogs and a cat with the cute name Red Beans).

I love the vintage cookbook references and tidbits in this book (and the others in the series).  I collect (and sell!) vintage cookbooks and often find myself looking up a cookbook that I read about in this series.

I enthusiastically recommend A Murder's Guide to Mardi Gras to other cozy mystery fans.  You will love the New Orleans Mardi Gras setting and the well done mystery storyline with just the right amount of twists and turns!

Book Synopsis

It’s cozy. It’s culinary. It’s Mardi Gras madness! It’s the fifth book in this fabulous mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today-bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

Step 1: Join a Killer Krewe

It’s carnival season in New Orleans, and Ricki James-Diaz and her friends from Bon Vee are dressing up for Mardi Gras. They’ve joined the notorious krewe of Chew to support Ricki’s chef boyfriend, Virgil, who is to be crowned this year’s king. It’s all fun, throws, and over-the-top outfits until the krewe’s captain is found strangled with his own medallion.

Step 2: Survive the Festivities

The prime suspect is Ricki’s friend, the deceased’s wife who discovered he was cheating on her. It seems a straightforward case, but Ricki isn’t so sure. The krewe’s leader had many enemies including his mistress, his krewe co-founder who he ousted, and his college friend whose girlfriend he stole. One thing’s clear, Ricki’s at the center of yet another murder investigation. And if she’s not careful, her first Mardi Gras could also be her last . . .

Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, these delightful mysteries bring New Orleans to life with fun characters and delicious recipes. This series is a must-read for culinary cozy lovers!

Author Bio

Ellen is a bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries,  Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico), and Golden Motel Mysteries. She is also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.

A native New Yorker, Ellen is a graduate of Tulane University and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and a rotating crew of rescue pups. Visit her at http://www.ellenbyron.com/.

Author Links

Newsletter: https://www.ellenbyron.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/ https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/

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

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maria-dirico

Goodreads:  Ellen Byron (Author of Plantation Shudders) | Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19130966.Maria_DiRico

Purchase Links – Amazon –Bookshop.org – B&N – Hudson Books – 

Giveaway

Book Review - The Half Life by Rachel Beanland

My Review

In the early 1970's, Eileen O’Malley meets Paul Archer in Charleston.  After a whirlwind courtship, they marry and move to a small island in Italy, where Paul is a Navy officer on a Navy ship, dealing with submarines that carry nuclear material.  Paul is busy long days, and Eileen immerses herself into the community of officers' wives.  She meets a local journalist, Teo, by chance;  he is investigating what is happening with the American military presence on the island.  They click immediately and she gets to know his friends, who are wary of the military involvement.  Things begin to change, and Eileen questions what she wants and what she should do next.

I wanted to read this The Half Life because the 1970's setting intrigued me.  The plot description was unique and interesting - a military wife far from home on an idyllic Italian island.

This was such an immersive novel!  The author does a beautiful job at capturing the island of La Maddalena, and I found myself experiencing a world I'd never considered.  The island is beautiful, with some warm people, like Eileen's Italian tutor, Francesca, with wonderful food and beautiful scenery ... but there is also a discontent and danger bubbling beneath the surface.

As Eileen gets to know Teo and his Italian friends who are scientists and protesters, she also finds herself caught in a web of secrets and lies between this world and her life with her husband Paul and the military wives she has befriended.

I read this book quickly because I couldn't put it down.  It is a wonderful summer read, and a treat for historical fiction fans.  Highly recommended!

   

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book.