Tuesday, December 30, 2014

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.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

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.