Ghostly Paws

“Ghostly Paws”

(A Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery)

By Leighann Dobbs

If Ms. Dobbs wanted to entertain her audience, she succeeded.  “Ghostly Paws” is a cozy mystery which, unlike most cozy mysteries that I have read, actually has a plot that keeps the reader’s attention throughout the book.  It takes place in the small town of Mystic Notch, and it has as its heroine a book shop owner, Wilhelmina Chance.  Ms. Chance has a habit of getting involved with matters that should be left to the police, but she can’t resist. Fortunately, she has a cat, Pandora, who, more than once, seems to step in and saves the day. Oh, and by the way, Ms. Chance and Pandora have an amazing secret; they can see ghosts.

The story starts out in the library, where Wilhemina finds Lavina, the librarian, dead.  Of course, since she is Chance’s good friend (and she appeared to her and Pandora, to ask Chance to find her killer), Wilhemina attempts to do so.  She starts to go through the town’s citizens one by one, and finding each has a motive to commit the crime. Thankfully, Pandora and her feline friends are on top of the situation.

This delightful book is one of a series, and I can hardly wait to read the next one.  I give Ms. Dobb’s cozy five stars out of five.

The Case of the Murders at the Fairfield Heights: A Raymond Masters Mystery

The Case of the Murders at Fairfield Heights: A Raymond Masters Mystery

Book One

By Garrison Flint

“The Case of the Murders at Fairfield Heights”, written by Garrison Flint, is the first of a series of mysteries.  This first book is our introduction to Raymond Masters, who is the protagonist in a story about the greediness of humankind.  The book takes place in an old mansion named Fairfield Heights.  The estate belongs to Jasper Fairfield, who is very rich and is at the end of his life.  He has no friends and most of his family do not care about him, and are fighting over his money.  Masters is a retired detective who is asked to be present at the reading of Jasper Fairfield’s will. The one character in the family who is beloved by his great-grandfather, Jasper, is a teenage by the name of Johnny.  He is the only light in an otherwise dark environment.  The weekend began with one murder; and then another; and then another, until most of the heirs are dead.  These murders go unsolved until the very end of the book.

When I began this book, I thought that it moved too slowly; but as I read past the characterization, which was very descriptive, I really enjoyed the relationship between Johnny and Masters and the mysteries that came with every murder.  I would suggest to any mystery buff.  I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars, simply because it took me a while to get into it.

"The Brink" by Mark Fadden

“The Brink” by Mark Fadden, published by iUniverse, is a riveting book from the first to the last pages.  Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like if all of the power people including the multi-rich, bankers, and politicians, got together and plotted to shape “international financial conspiracies” to eventually raise them in power and create a single world government?  No more nations; no more democracy; no more freedom.  That is the premise of this edge-of-the-seat thriller. “Keeping the world balanced is a bitch sometimes.” 

The main characters, Danny Cavanaugh and Sydney Dumas, are locked together in this masterpiece of mystery and suspense.   When we first meet Danny, he is at his lowest point.  He literally has his service revolver in his mouth.  His career as a detective is all but over because he got set up on the job.  Then he met Sydney, who is running through the woods outside of Danny’s cabin, wearing nothing but her panties and bra.  She is running for her life, as men are chasing her, guns blaring.  This brings Danny out of his funk immediately, as he races out to investigate.  He finds a beautiful woman, shivering with fear.  This is the beginning of a rip-roaring time together, trying to stop the evil plot.

I normally do not go for novels that are based on government.  I love mystery; I love suspense; I love courtroom drama.  Little did I know that this book holds it all, from an outrageous lawsuit to a suspenseful plot for a single world government.  The mysterious plot is not wholly revealed to the reader until the end of the book.  Then, they encounter a most unthinkable end.  Talk about suspense and mystery?  You cannot get much better than Mr. Madden’s, “The Brink”.

"The Family Buried" by W.R. Parrish

“I am recording this for two reasons.  The first: so you understand…And second: to preserve”.  This is where “The Family Buried” by W.R. Parrish, tells us the reason for this short story.  And yet, it is so vague, as to entice reader to read on about the account of a man.  A lonely man, whose sanity is in question very early in the story.    The story is based on a single character who finds a dreadful secret about his family; a secret so gruesome as to drive any normal man to the brink of insanity.   “ …I’d been led to the container by mysterious circumstances.”  

The style of this story is no different from “One Day in October”, a novel written by Mr. Parrish.  It is full of metaphors that describe the surroundings so well, that the reader can see in their mind’s eye, feel, taste, hear, and smell what our character experiences. This narrative left me with the same feeling of dread that the character felt, which only goes to show how well Parrish writes. 

 In his background, he has a mixture of religion and a love of horror movies, both of which are prevalent in his writing.  Although I am not a fan of the horror genre, I am a fan of Mr. Parrish, and I would read anything that he wrote.  “The Family Buried” is 20 pages long and a tale that reads very fast.  One warning:  do not read at night!

"If Looks Could Kill" by Kate White

“If Looks Could Kill” by Kate White, is the first of a series featuring the character, Bailey Weggins.  This series is full of suspense and mystery, with a soupcon of wit.  It takes place in the fast paced world of magazines.  Baily is a freelance writer who works for Gloss, a magazine aimed at today’s woman.   She contributes true crime articles to the publication . Her sometimes friend, Cat, is the editor of Gloss, and she is in trouble.  Cat is the object of an attempted murder spree, and she turns to Bailey to find her would-be killer.

I gave this book three stars however, if I could, I would give it three and half.  I enjoyed the plot and liked the main character.  However, I found most of the supporting characters almost exactly alike, which made it hard for me to follow who did what to whom.  This book is an entertaining and fast read  Although it is a novel, it has the feel of short novel and a cozy mystery.  I will try the next  Bailey Weggins book before I make a decision to quit the series.