beatrice

This is one of the most entertaining new series I have read in a while. I was hooked after the first page. In a small town in Wisconsin, Caron Egan, Patricia Harper, and Maggie Thorsen open up a gourmet coffee shop, UNCOMMON GROUNDS. On the day they open for business, Patricia dies in what seems like an electrocution accident. But the sheriff sees things differently. Sheriff Pavlik thinks someone tampered with the latte maker to intentionally kill Patricia. He begins to look at the business partners first.

The characters are realistic, likeable, interesting and well-developed. There are many plot twist to keep you guessing. Other than Maggie my favorite character is Sarah. Her blunt sarcastic comments are funny and keep the story rolling at a fast pace.

I wish the entire 7 book series was available through audiobooks. I bought the rest of the series for my Kindle. If you are a fan of light mysteries you will love this book.

This is a good book but there is just too much going on. I'm also not sure I like the romance aspect between Wolly and Simon. I want Doc and Ruby back. It's worth the credit but I skipped ahead on some parts. The book is still good.

I like Wollie. I really do. I like her friends and the way she keeps getting into zany adventures. While the first book started off quickly, this one starts much slower. The pace in the first half was a little slow and by the time the plot begins to move faster in the second half I had lost interest in it. Fortunately, the characters are strong, and that helps keep the entire book interesting. Kozak's writing is energetic, intelligent, witty, and entertaining. For that reason I will listen to the next book. I do wish Doc and Ruby would return.

I have nothing to say about this book. The characters and the narrator are annoying and the plot ridiculous. I read half of the book then I gave up. It was horrible.

This was an okay read. The characters were likable and the story believable. I was a bit unsatisfied with the ending and a plot twist that was never truly developed. All in all, it was an ok book. The narrator gets one star because of the annoying noises that I heard throughout the book. I'll give the second book a try. Hopefully there will be a new narrator.

This is a good beginning to a new series. The characters are likeable and the story is believable.

This book reads like the end to the series. If so, I have to say that I have truly enjoyed it. The lead character has grown from a wimpy dependent woman to a strong independent woman. In this novel we find Lucie willing to walk away from Quinn if he does not give her the commitment she wants. The mystery in the book is suspenseful and entertaining. All in all it's a delightful book.

In Death of an Obnoxious Tourist, Dotsy Lamb, a recently divorced woman from Virginia, traveling with her friend Lettie in Italy. The tour group includes a very annoying woman who manages to alienate everyone in the group. The annoying woman is killed and we quickly killed and we learn that there are many people on the tour who had motive.

This is an entertaining story. The characters are likeable and believable. I like the idea of a mystery taking place on a group tour in Italy. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. It was a bit clumsy. Otherwise it was a good read and a good buy.

The plot progresses smoothly, the story reads well, and Harry is a fun character who is his own worst enemy. There were several times when the decisions he made were not realistic. But if he made the realistic choice the story would have ended sooner. I will buy the next in the series because I liked the story. I was reminded of old black and white mysteries with characters that Humphrey Bogart would have played. Harry is smart, tough, and has a dry sense of humor.
The only thing I didn't like was the Narration. It's not James Marsden fault. I blame the production staff. I found it hard to listen to Marsden swallowing and taking deep long breathes. I know the guy has to do both, but, it's distracting and it takes away from the story.
I passed on buying the books since they came out. I listened to the sample and read a few of the reviews. The mention of the deep breathes and swallowing in the reviews was enough to keep me from buying it. I finally gave in because it was something different and I ran out of titles from my usual authors. I wish I could give it a higher rating, but the swallowing was very distracting.

The story was pretty good. Jim Butcher did a good job of introducing the characters, but I found him to wordy. I skipped forward a few times and did not miss a beat. The selling point is Harry. I have passed over this series too many times to count. It's not bad. I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have to listen to the narrator breath and swallow. It's worth the money or credit. I already bought the next book and plan to start on it tonight. I only hope I don't have to listen to breathing and swallowing.