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Saturday, June 13, 2020

A Hodge Podge of Reviews - Cozy Mystery Edition #2


Goodreads:  Digging Up the Dirt (Southern Ladies Mystery #3) by Miranda James

Premise:  When former most eligible bachelor Hadley Partridge comes home the mystery of just what happened to his brother's wife 40 years ago.  Until now, everyone thought she had run off with Hadley but it seems that wasn't the case - especially when a storm turns up a body on the Partridge property.

My Thoughts:  When I saw this series centered around two of my absolute favorite characters in the Cat in the Stacks series I couldn't resist picking this one up - especially when I saw the blurb on this one.  I do love when a cold case heats up!  This one was quite good with all the drama a group of Garden Club ladies can bring.  While I enjoyed this one, I didn't feel like it had the charm and warmth that the Cat in the Stacks series has and while I love the Ducote sisters in that series when given their own book they looks a lot of what makes them interesting.  As well, the ending felt a bit rushed and I'm still not exactly sure what all happened at the end.  Despite that this is a fun mystery an I did enjoy reading it.  However, if you're new to Miranda James start with Cat in the Stacks.  Rating:  Liked It





 My Thoughts:  I have thoroughly enjoyed this series about Jenny Wilson, who is in the middle of some life upheaval, her neighbor, writer Zoe Zola, and all of their adventures.   This is an interesting community with many reoccurring characters but not so many that it gets overwhelming or hard to keep up with.  This mystery involves a dead girl found in odd circumstances, a missing girl and a group of newcomers throwing money around and causing quite a stir.  Zoe is front and center in this mystery which I enjoyed as I like seeing how her mind works.  The mystery was intriguing and while I did figure out kind of what was going on about halfway through the book I was holding my breath to find out just how it was going to all unravel at the end.  This ended up being a thoroughly enjoyable mystery with good level of suspense and nice pacing.  I listened to the audio of this book and really enjoyed Marguerite Gavin's narration.  My Rating:  Really Liked It


My Thoughts:  I had read the 3rd and 4th books in this series about Lee Barrett, her Aunt Ibby, and the big orange cat O'Ryan and really enjoyed them but had some questions about just how the series got started.  I was thrilled when I found the 1st book on audio and couldn't wait to give it a listen.  And it didn't disappoint!  We meet Lee as she finds out the job she had traveled halfway across the country to interview for was already filled and almost immediately she stumbles upon a dead body.  Before she knows it she's a psychic on a late night TV show, discovering she might actually have some kind of psychic powers, dealing with two potential relationships, and caught up in a murder investigation.  It's quite a ride but it never feels rushed or over the top.  I really enjoyed seeing Lee and Aunt Ibby get used living together again and Lee take the first steps towards building her own life after the death of her husband.  The mystery was solid and thoroughly enjoyable even if I did figure out the twist a little before Lee did.  I'm so glad I took the time to go back and listen to the first book in the series and I'm really looking forward to continuing with the rest of the series.  Rating:  Really Liked It!

4 comments:

  1. You've been on a cozy roll of reading! Thanks for your suggestion about space movies. We do have Appolo 13 but I think I don't have that HBO documentary you mentioned. I have to get it! The one I found is called From Earth to the Moon. Is that it?

    Have you seen The Dish yet? Love Sam Neill.

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  2. Those first two cozies I haven't read and they look good. I am glad you enjoyed Caught Dead Handed as I like that series.

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  3. Great to hear that Caught Dead Handed was a success on audio. And that you got to find out her beginnings.

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  4. I like review posts like this. Sounds like you have picked some good ones.

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