Cozy Mystery Book Tours Book Review: Cliffhanger

Author: Amy Saunders
Title: Cliffhanger
Publisher: Createspace
Publish Date: Feb 16, 2013
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Cozy Mystery Book Tours & the publisher
Synopsis: Making her grand re-entry into Portside, Rhode Island, Belinda Kittridge expected fun, sun, and sugar cookies. Instead, she gets one jilted lover braced for round two, an old rival on the hunt, and the murder of a former classmate and friend. Even worse, Belinda must return to the events surrounding a tragic sailing accident to set things right. But new possibilities emerge in the form of security expert Bennett Tate. Between her connections and his know-how, they're bound to catch the killer - and kick the skeletons out of the closet for good.

Review: Cliffhanger is the first book in a new series of cozy mysteries by Amy Saunders.

Our reluctant sleuth is Belinda Kittridge and on the side of law enforcement is Bennett Tate, an ex-cop who is now a PI he's also going to be the love interest for Belinda.

You can't help but love Belinda who comes from a well to do family but isn't your typical rich girl. She's much to nice, as is her friend Veronica, but not everyone is sweet in this story.

The opening scenes where her neighbor's 18 year old son asks her out is hilarious. Got to give him credit for trying. I wonder if he'll do it again when he reaches 21! We can only hope the series is still going then! (Maybe give Bennett a run for his money)

The mystery involves the death of one of Belinda and her twin brother Kyle's friends, Jeff, who is party to the sailing accident that took the life of another member of their set, 10 years prior. If they find out who killed Jeff, they might get more closure on Mark's death as well.

There are a lot of surprises here and more than one person that could be the killer, until you realize someone is after Belinda, that's when the suspect list narrows down quite a bit.

All through this you see Belinda's relationship with Bennett growing. They are a kinda sorta couple. Nothing is formal yet, but we know it will be.


This was a great cozy with romantic elements and hopefully a start of a long fun series!

Rating: 5 flowers

Author Bio:
I've written two mystery novels so far. My first, Dead Locked, is about Imogen Bell who works for a team of underwater archaeologists and ends up embroiled in a deadly treasure hunt. My second mystery, The Jester's Apprentice, is about Philippa, a woman caught between her new husband Edric and his smoky past - and hers.

I've always loved mysteries, even in elementary school. My mother raised me on TV show reruns like Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and Magnum, P.I, and later I picked up her Agatha Christie addiction.

However, sometimes I just want a hot (but intelligent) guy and a strong woman bantering for pages. Or a gripping action sequence. Or some fun sci-fi/fantasy elements. And sometimes I want it all in the same book. So with mystery as the backbone of my stories, I blend in romance, action, adventure, and soon sci-fi to keep it fresh and exciting.

Why should you take a chance on my books? Well, I write what I'm passionate about, and I'm passionate about people and mysteries. I make my characters passionate too: about each other, about what they're hunting, fixing, or piecing together. Above all, I want my readers to have fun, and leave happy!