Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: Murder In Merino

Murder in Merino: A Seaside Knitters Mystery
Series: SEASIDE KNITTERS MYSTERY (Book 8)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: NAL Hardcover (May 6, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-0451415363
E-Book ASIN: B00FFFN7UK

Synopsis
It’s autumn in Sea Harbor and as the tourists leave a mysterious guest arrives. When she’s implicated in a crime the Seaside Knitters must quickly table their knitting project and search out a motif for murder.

Fall is usually a relaxing time in Sea Harbor, but it’s turning out to be a busy season for Izzy Chambers Perry. Not only is she helping the Seaside Knitters make a magnificent throw to celebrate the fortieth wedding anniversary of her aunt and uncle, she and her husband are finally selling the cottage she lived in before they married and had a darling baby girl. To Izzy’s surprise, newcomer Julia Ainsley seems determined to buy the home—although she’s never set foot inside.

But on the day of the open house, things take a tragic turn. A body is uncovered in the cottage’s backyard. When the police find Julia’s name and phone number in the victim’s pocket, this slender thread of evidence makes her a person of interest. Soon the spotlight of suspicion widens to include old friends and town leaders, as a tragic happening, long buried in the sleepy seaside town, is slowly brought to the surface.

Before the Endicotts’ joyful anniversary celebration can be realized, the Seaside Knitters must work to unravel the real reason Julia Ainsley has come to their town and the tangled and tragic ties from the past that bind friends and townsfolk together.

Review: This is the first Seaside Knitters Mystery that I've read and I absolutely loved it. It is book 8 in the series, which means I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

I loved all the locals in Sea Harbor instantly.  Sally has created a wonderful town that you really wish you could visit, by the time you finish reading the book.

The murder involves a local man who is a bartender/owner of a local restaurant and the chief suspect is Julia Ainsley, a tourist/wannabee local, who you love to hate. Julia is someone that is trying to fit in, but there are things about her, that you just can't like. From the minute you know that she's part of the murder investigation, you want to know what part she played in the murder.

Then when you find out why she's in Sea Harbor..well, the story takes a whole other turn. I actually felt like the mystery in this book was more about Julia Ainsley and the reason she was there, than who killed Jeffrey.

When her mystery is solved, so is the murder, and if you don't have a hint of a tear in your eye at the end, well, you might be lacking a heart!

This is a fantastic read. Definitely a great addition to any cozy lover's mystery shelf!

Rating: 5 flowers

About The Author

Sally Goldenbaum is a sometime philosophy teacher, a knitter, and an editor, and the author of more than thirty novels. Sally became more serious about knitting with the birth of her first grandchild and the creation of the Seaside Knitters mystery series. Her fictional knitting friends are teaching her the intricacies of women’s friendship, the mysteries of small-town living, and the very best way to pick up dropped stitches on a lacy knit shawl.  [Additional bio information available on my website:www.sallygoldenbaum.com

Author Links

https://www.facebook.com/authorsallygoldenbaum?ref=hl

twitter.com/sallygoldenbaum

www.sallygoldenbaum.com

Purchase Links 
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Virtual Author Book Tours Book Review: Mr. Monk Helps Himself

Author: Hy Conrad
Title: Mr. Monk Helps Himself
Publisher: Obsidian
Publish Date: June 4, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Virtual Author Book Tours & the author
Book Blurb: An all-new original mystery starring Adrian Monk, the brilliant investigator who always knows when something’s out of place....

Now that Monk and Natalie are both in San Francisco again, life is almost back to normal for the duo, with one exception: Natalie is studying for her PI license, the last step to becoming Monk’s full partner.

Before taking the plunge, Natalie sneaks off to Half Moon Bay for a retreat run by Miranda Bigley, charismatic leader of the Best Possible Me self-help program, whose philosophy has helped Natalie deal with her recent life changes. But her plans for a relaxing weekend away are disrupted when Monk tracks her down, determined t

Even though Miranda’s death looks like suicide—especially when it’s discovered that she was on the brink of financial disaster—Natalie is sure it is murder. But Monk brushes her off to help the SFPD solve the murder of a clown, despite his coulrophobia, or fear of clowns—number ninety-nine on his list of one hundred phobias.

As Natalie and Monk begin their separate investigations, they are quickly caught up in many precarious situations, but if they want to figure out whodunit, they will have to find a way to become true partners…

Review: There are some tv shows that you simply can't let go of once they end, Monk was one of those shows. Even if you didn't watch it every week, it was a show you could turn on and feel at home with. 

Which is why as I started reading the theme song played in my head..."Its a jungle out there....." This was a show that I sat down to on Friday nights for quite a long time. I cried at the finale, because I hated to see these characters go. I still watch the reruns when I find them on TV.

That's why I'm glad the books continue the Monk story.

Hy Conrad was one of the show's writers and having him do the books is a good thing, as you'll plainly see if you read Mr. Monk Helps Himself.

It reads like the tv show. You can see Monk and Natalie and all the other players in the cast, but better than that, it doesn't read like fanfiction as some TV-tie in books do.

What I really like about the way this book is written is that it takes you inside Natalie's head. It allows you to really see how she feels about her super crazy, OCD boss, Adrian Monk.

Oh and don't worry, Monk hasn't changed a bit. He's still scared of everything...and in this book clowns are on his list. (Not to worry, they are on mine too)

The story has continued on from the last episode so there will be things that might be foreign to anyone that hasn't picked up one of the books, but it doesn't take long to get into the thick of things. I love that Adrian has a love interest now and Natalie is trying to be more than just his assistant.

Unlike the show, there is more than one mystery to be solved...there's a clown that's killed with a motive that is bigger than anyone expected and there's the apparent suicide of the self help guru that Natalie is obsessing over.

Hy Conrad really does a splendid job of bringing Monk back into our lives.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Christmas Cookie Killer

Author: Livia J. Washburn
Title: The Christmas Cookie Killer
Publisher: Obsidian
Publish Date: Sept 30, 2010
Book Blurb: Christmas comes to Weatherford, Texas, in this delicious new entry in the national bestselling series.
Yuletide is here—and retired teacher cum amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom looks forward to finishing up this unlucky year. But she won’t be hanging up her apron just yet—because this year’s Christmas bake-off is going to be cutthroat.
Phyllis would like to think she’s entering the Christmas cookie contest for the fun of it—but that’s not exactly true. She can’t imagine anyone beating her snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies. Then, during her annual Christmas cookie exchange, Phyllis heads over to the elderly Mrs. Simmons’s home and finds her dead, in a pile of lime sugar cookies. But with a number of names on Santa’s naughty list, this case may be a hard cookie to crumble.

Review: This Fresh Baked Mystery was such a fun read! I loved the fact that the characters weren't your traditional hero and heroine. All the main characters were well into their 60s. Most of them were widows or widowers but all of them spunky and there isn't a single one that really felt grandma-ish.

Phyllis was the more traditional lady but she was the one out there solving the crimes, more so than any of the detectives working to solve the murder of her neighbor, Agnes.

Livia's characters really come to life and Weatherford is the perfect small town that has just enough secrets to leave the reader really wondering who killed Agnes. It seems like everyone has a motive, because everyone, in this case, Agnes, is not exactly the way they seem.

This is one mystery that really keeps you guessing about the whodunit until you get to the last few pages. It definitely makes you want to check out the other books in the series as well.  Phyllis, Carolyn, Sam and Eve, easily worm their way into your heart. These are characters you feel like you really know while you are reading. Plus who could resist a sleuthing grandma? It's like Murder She Wrote, but with cooking ladies.

Oh and Livia shares Phyllis and Co.'s recipes at the end of the book!

Rating: