REST IN PIZZA

by: Chris Cavender              

Publisher: Kensington  

Published: April 24, 2012        

Format: Paperback (304 pages)      

ISBN: 9780758271501            

Series: Pizza Lovers Mystery      

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Eleanor could help another widow, even if it meant losing a few hours worth of business at her pizzeria, A SLICE OF DELIGHT.   However, when someone lit a fire in the trashcan outside her place, Eleanor got a bad feeling about this.

Cindy Rankin a new bookstore owner, friend, and widow caught both Eleanor and Maddy in her request for help.  Her problem wasn’t seen as one in the first few minutes, but after Eleanor did an Internet search Cindy’s problem multiplied and by extension, Eleanor’s had reached exponential proportions.  Her friend’s issue was one of good news and bad news. Her bookstore’s opening day would be punctuated by a visit from publishing house star, but the bad news was the author’s identity.  

Author and chef, Antonio Benet’s reputation painted him a rude, egocentric personality who gave trouble with a capital T, but he hadn’t arrived, yet.  Chef’s personal assistant, Oliver Wills arrives ahead of time, declaring Eleanor’s conveyor belt pizza oven won’t meet with Chef’s preferences, but with the town’s only other pizzeria and wood burning oven permanently closed, he’d have to make due.  However, he will not do it happily, Oliver warned.   The assistant gave them backstage information, descriptions of Chef’s not-so-good book signings, and the curious reason as to why this event was hastily added.  

The powerful Chef Antonio Benet passed up a New York book launch with all the trappings of morning talk shows, features, and fame to come to a small town in North Carolina?  

Meanwhile, the demonstration kitchen wasn’t the only thing heating up once the television and book star arrived or actually walked out of the bookstore.   Their attempts to soothe his ruffled cap only led to his disdain; even Oliver wasn’t having much luck.  Eleanor figured that by stroking the guy’s ego they’d at least get him off the sidewalk and into the bookstore, where she had not a doubt his abuse would continue.   On their heels, a young woman in black appeared while Chef reminded his wife a mate was all she was.  Executive Producer, Jessie Taylor was the woman in black and she was debating her need to talk privately with Chef Benet who thought otherwise.  

Resurfacing from their heated conversation, Chef asked Eleanor for the keys to the pizzeria/his greenroom.  Begrudgingly, Eleanor hands them over.  Once he’d left, his assistant spoke up; if the chef failed to return, he would go on with the demonstration, but his declaration is met with scorn.  

The executive producer dismisses his aspirations and then dispatches all of them to find the man.  Eleanor contains him inside the pizzeria until start time.  

Now, the Chef has a full house of fans but he’s four minutes late.  

Figuring he was either trying to make a grand entrance or was in the middle of another hiss-fit, Eleanor and Maddy went to fetch him.  However, this chef’s only entrance would be into a grave. 

My Take:

REST IN PIZZA by Chris Cavender is a charming, small town cozy where murder and pizza go as easily together as cheese and sauce! 

Chris Cavender’s characters are as three-dimensional as you or me.  While Eleanor’s past shapes her, it prods her desire to help others, and through many marriages, Maddy’s life stays grounded with her sister and the pizzeria.

REST IN PIZZA is a standalone novel, but you’ll want to catch up on the other Pizza Lovers Mysteries, A SLICE OF MURDER (Kensington 2010), PEPPERONI PIZZA CAN BE MURDER (Kensington 2010), and A PIZZA TO DIE FOR (Kensington 2011). 

ANTIQUES DISPOSAL

by: Barbara Allan              

Publisher: Kensington  

Published: April 24, 2012        

Format: Paperback (304 pages)      

ISBN: 9780758263065            

Series: A Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery      

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

A rainy day in Serenity brought Vivian good luck.  Wetness keeps the bidders at bay, according to Big Jim Bob, and Mother’s one hundred-dollar bid caught some nice items for sale on a locker most people wouldn’t want anyway.  Mouse droppings can make the most stable people squeamish, you know.  

A mouse did not produce these droppings, Vivian’s candy did.  Now, Brandy was having a fit thinking her mother is a cheat.  Oh, well, every good person has a down side.  

Brandy notices a white truck speeding from the parking lot while she packed the Buick.  Still spooked on their way back, Brandy keeps her eye on the van through her rearview. Everything went according to plan, and they even enlisted help to finish emptying the locker, since their clock was ticking.  In twenty-four hours, the locker had to be cleared.  It wasn’t until their next trip to the storage locker when they discovered the storage locker was almost empty. 

Big Jim Bob’s body was now inside Vivian’s previously packed treasure trove of sales.  If they held doubts about their finds laying knee-deep in a homicide, it changed later that night.  

A scream echoed.  Peggy Sue’s room was empty.

First, Vivian and Brandy discover the injured dog, and they find Peggy Sue on the floor with blood leaking from her head.  With Sushi, the dog, at the vet and Peggy Sue at the hospital, the mother and daughter crime fighting team return home to figure what it was that someone wanted.

The shocking answer seemed too simple, until they find crime scene tape blocking their path.    

My Take:

In ANTIQUES DISPOSAL, Barbara Allan provides a wandering cozy mystery with lovable characters adding a who’s who directory of Serenity while keeping the readers turning pages to find out who did it!  

Barbara Allan gives us a wonderful Sherlock in Vivian (Mother) Borne with Brandy as her Watson, but Brandy holds the power to upstage her mother in crime solving abilities. However, these two together will make a funny business out of any murder.      

Although ANTIQUES DISPOSAL is a standalone novel, you’ll want to read the other books in Trash ‘n’ Treasures mysteries—ANTIQUES ROADKILL (Kensington 2006), ANTIQUES MAUL (Kensington 2007), ANTIQUES FLEA MARKET (Kensington 2008), ANTIQUES BIZARRE (Kensington 2010), and ANTIQUES KNOCK-OFF (Kensington 2011). 

DEADLY OFFER

by: Vicki Doudera              

Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK

Published: April 8, 2012       

Format: Paperback (312 pages)      

ISBN: 9780738719801

Series: A Darby Farr Mystery

Origin: Publisher through NetGalley (egalley)

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

In DEADLY OFFER, Selena Thompson finds herself cornered inside the old barn of the Carson Creek Estate and Winery.  However, she’s still alive after the near deadly encounter but not for long.  

The death of a sickly woman isn’t considered anything odd, but when Darby Farr arrives with Selena’s two grieving brothers, she sees things in a new light. Why hadn’t Selena told her brothers how ill Selena was or that she was selling the property? Although these circumstances were surprising enough, to find out the cause of Selena’s death wasn’t the heart attack everyone assumed was alarming, at first.    

According Dr. Jenna Yang, Selena’s death was a tragic accident due to a mixture of her weakened state, wine, and a hot tub.  This woman had fainted and drowned.  Simple. 

At first, she tried to dismiss her feeling that something wasn’t right here, but these three buyers already lined up—by Selena—gave her uneasiness, especially when one is insisting she was the chosen buyer.  Without a signed contract and only a verbal agreement, this property cannot be sold—if one could believe this woman’s word.  Before this buyer arrived on scene, a local realtor began soliciting the property rights for his client, only hours after the woman died.  The third potential buyer threw the grieving siblings a jolt, a power yoga instructor.  If none of this was enough to needle her senses, later, the winemaker claims Selena proposed to him.  A proposal Dan turned down. His care for the deceased is evident as is his love for the land, but his feelings for Selena is  friendship not romance.  He did want the property and stated openly that he couldn’t afford the purchase price.  However, when the winemaker’s daughter, Sophie, hid a bottle of wine, Darby’s questions multiplied.

The deceased drank from the same bottle before she died.  Darby’s act was instinctive rather than investigative, but when she tasted the wine, a different ingredient nagged at her.  How did the woman not sense this funny taste?  Had Dan’s daughter hid the bottle or could she have found the bottle after the winemaker hid it?  

Meanwhile, her suspicious mind prickled again once a bang woke her, the winemaker’s jeep sat in the driveway, and his lone shadow went running into the vines.   

Chasing after him, Darby caught up to him.  He claims someone cut the sprinkler lines and with nightly frost, they could lose the crop.  Now, he calls this episode sabotage, bringing her mind to refocus on their earlier conversation.  Dan had confided that Selena believed the “bad luck” she had met combined with unexpected happenings in the last few months made her believe someone was trying to ruin the winery.   

Tonight, he’s saying if they cannot fix the sprinklers, they won’t have a vineyard to sell, and a “bad feeling” spurred his visit to Carson Creek tonight.

If Dan is as believable as he seems, who wants this winery out of business? 

My Take:

Vickie Doudera provides a cozy mystery in a beautiful California setting where figuring out the victim’s friends from foes isn’t easy at all.  

The natural competition between neighboring wineries combine with the appearances of a close-knit community to cast and disperse shadows of suspicion on many and on none.  With many point-of-view characters to watch and suspect, the reader finds means, motives, and opportunities everywhere, but the ending is shocking.    

Although this novel stands alone, DEADLY OFFER is the third Darby Farr mystery.  You’ll want to check out Darby Farr’s other mysteries in A HOUSE TO DIE FOR (MIDNIGHT INK April 2010) and A KILLER LISTING (MIDNIGHT INK April 2011). 

The voting hours have ended. I thank you for all of your votes! 

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THE ROYAL WULFF MURDERS: A NOVEL

by: Keith McCafferty              

Publisher: Viking (Penguin Group)  

Published: February 16, 2012        

Format: Hardcover (352 pages)      

ISBN: 9780670023264            

Origin: Publisher through NetGalley (e-Galley)

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Taking time for himself, Sean Stranahan is looking to fish, find healing, and paint, but when a sexy singer arrives and a dead body is uncovered, he becomes involved in more than murder.  

Sean’s art studio door lists his former occupation, although he’s not licensed in Montana and doesn’t practice here.  The words are a ploy.  Someone believes this fact could somehow make his background standout during an art auction, and to gain the hope of selling, he added the title.  Thankfully, most folks in Montana barely notice the tag.  He’s never been questioned, until a beautiful singer knocks on his door.  

Velvet Lafayette needs a private investigator.  

All she wants is for him to go fishing in memorial to her dad, scatter his ashes, and find her brother.  A starving artist getting paid to fish is one thing and scattering the ashes in deceased family member isn’t to hard a task either but finding a brother that she barely claims is missing is something entirely different.

Had Sean knew that this job would intersect with a floater found in the river, a murder attempt on Rainbow Sam—who just happens to have the missing sibling’s marked fishing rod—he might not have taken the job.  Especially after the purchaser of his painting calls wanting more canvases for his collection at a mountain retreat house.  When he finds Sam’s dog hurt, Sean is convinced he’s into something he may not be able to retreat from.  

Vareda Beaudreux a.k.a. Velvet Lafayette left town, leaving him a cryptically constructed answer letting him know where to find her, maybe.  Sean believes the dead man with a fishhook in his mouth is the missing sibling; he is looking for the truth along with the victim identification. 

 

My Take:

In THE ROYAL WULFF MURDERS, Keith McCafferty creates two likable characters in Sean Stranahan and Sheriff Martha Ettinger while weaving a mystery around his love of fishing and nature’s great outdoors. 

Like the painter in his novel, he finely creates a picture of words giving this city born and bred reader wonderful details to fill in the knowledge gap left by inexperience.  I learned about fishing, environmental dangers to fish and their waters, and types of fishing lures, but I delighted in a mystery that kept me turning pages too.  

This story is not my usual reading material, but I looked for something different and found a great read.  

I went on an adventure vacation, met cozy characters, and found a corpse leading to a satisfying mystery. Keith McCafferty’s next Sean Stranahan book already has a fan, and after you read THE ROYAL WULFF MURDERS, I’m sure you’ll join me. 

The voting hours have ended. I thank you for all of your votes! 

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DEADLINE

by: Fern Michaels              

Publisher: Kensington  

Published: April 12, 2012        

Format: Paperback (288 pages)      

ISBN: 9780758266042            

Series: The Godmothers

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

President, John F. Kennedy and the Godmothers—Toots, Sophie, Ida, and Mavis plus pooch, Coco—come together laying to rest the most debated, conspiracy driven mystery of modern history.  Although the masses will never see a newspaper headline about it, for the first Lady of California it’s solved.

Back at the beach house, another mystery unfolds.

Toots’ “son” famous entertainment attorney, Chris Clay goes missing along with his client, Laura Leigh.  Once a Hollywood auto-mechanic turns Chris’s car over to the police, Chris goes from wanted for questioning to suspect in no time.

Chris Clay’s stepsister is Toots’ daughter and she has an obligation to her gossip magazine to follow this story no matter how it turns out.  However, Abby’s heart isn’t into this gossip.  To live in a town where looks are everything is hard, but it’s not as hard as wondering, if the man you love lay helpless or worse or if he’s stepping out with the missing starlet.  

Meanwhile, Toots knows Chris would not leave them to worry; he would’ve contacted them, if he were able.  Without the spirits talking, Toots doesn’t wait until divine intervention reveals itself.  She contacts Goebel Blevins.  

Goebel is a former New York detective who didn’t flinch at following the advice of a spirit to find Toots’ husband’s murderer.  Being more than friendly with Sophie these days, he is well aware of their spirit talking, corpse cosmetics, and body dressing ways.  His thirty years experience may help whatever the spirits care to add.  

Toots’ worry doesn’t end with Chris.  

No matter how much her daughter tries to guard her heart, this mother knows Abby’s in love, and Toots suspects Chris is feeling something too.  Though youth comes with perks, it also has its drawbacks. These two haven’t declared their feelings and Toots worries they may not get the chance.  

   

My Take:

In Fern Michael’s DEADLINE, you’ll meet four seniors with curious quirks, a ton of paranormal experiences, deadly duties, and a whole lot of funny. Many Fern Michael’s fans know her suspense titles but the Godmother series is a major step in a new direction and Fern Michael’s pulls it off with mystery and panache.  

The Godmother series is more like the Golden Girls in the dead and paranormal worlds.   Instead of Blanche, you’ll meet Ida, and Mavis could surely pass for Rose.  You will enjoy this cute read where corpses, mystery, and seances blend with normal life for the Godmothers. 

Although this title stands alone, you will want to catch some of the other Godmother books including, EXCLUSIVE (Kensington -reprint- 2010), LATE EDITION (Kensington 2011), and THE SCOOP (Zebra -reprint- 2012) until BREAKING NEWS releases in May 2012  (Kensington).  

The voting hours have ended. I thank you for all of your votes! 

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KILLING TIME

by: Amy Beth Arkawy              

Publisher: Hen House Press  

Published: January 26, 2012        

Format: Paperback (236 pages)      

ISBN: 9781937890025            

Series: An Eliza Gordon Mystery (Volume 1)

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

A crime decades old comes back to haunt Goodship, NY and death begins to stalk life-long residents, even one who moved away after college.   

Eliza Gordon is a widow running the business she and her husband dreamed up, Soup Opera. She’s keeping herself busy by acting in a play and collecting the town’s juicy gossip in her eatery. Although she didn’t grow up here, the colorful folks of Goodship make her feel at home. After all, she married a well-to-do resident of their community who was on their championship team in his younger days, and she’s happy for the town’s winning past. However, the talk of her husband’s young life brings her loss closer to the surface, not that her tears require much of a catalyst, and as this town readies for Homecoming, she fights another onslaught of grief.  

In the meantime, setting the town on fire is the untimely news of a Maine murder.  

Eliza’s mind couldn’t help wonder about the other deceased sports hero.  Why didn’t the legendary star return to be forever revered? Her friend, Midge, won’t discuss much about the man, only making Eliza more curious.  However, when a young reporter visits Goodship interviewing only select residents, something or someone in the peaceful town becomes unstable and deadly.

Soon, Midge tells Eliza about an assault from twenty years ago, a suicide, a family who left town, and a reporter who is the ghostly image of the dead.  

My Take:

Amy Beth Arkawy’s KILLING TIME, is a new cozy I recommend!

Eliza Gordon is a spunky sleuth who believes in her husband’s ghost and has no desire to return to her acting days. However, her hunt for a murderer gives her respite from tears.  

Although, Goodship residents aren’t used to real crime and murder, they know every town has its secrets and every secret has a story. You’ll meet an assortment of personalities, from crotchety to quirky, in KILLING TIME, but you’ll fall in love with Eliza’s husband’s best friend. He can’t seem to conquer his feelings for the sole owner of Soup Opera, no matter how guilty he feels.

I’m sure, you’ll look forward to the next Eliza Gordon mystery!

The voting hours have ended. I thank you for all of your votes! 

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CITY OF WHISPERS

by: Marcia Muller              

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (imprint of Hachette Book Group)

Published: October 26, 2011       

Format: Hardcover (272 pages)      

ISBN: 9780446573337            

Origin: Publisher through NetGalley (egalley)

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

In CITY OF WHISPERS, Marcia Muller provides Investigator Sharon McCone a mystery blending her broken family with the murder of the heiress, Gabriella DeLucci.

Darcy Blackhawk’s exploits are known to his family and documented by police in several states and many counties, but his email for help puts his half-sister, a private detective, on alert. She’s helped him out of a few scrapes and his drugging, wandering, lifestyle only guarantees more to come.

Nevertheless, he is family.

Darcy is the half-brother to Sharon McCone. Sharon knows his lifestyle choices are a mixed bag from Darcy’s mental illnesses. In fact, maybe she relates to him more now, after her recovery from a bullet to the head.

She is not the person she used to be, and she has her issues too.

He’s a transient and is using public Internet cafes to contact her. His email is a simple one. “Need help.” Help from what? However, whatever Darcy has gotten himself into, she cannot help until she finds him, and finding one homeless person in San Francisco isn’t gonna be easy. Sharon McCone puts herself and her team on finding Darcy, knowing that her nephew, Mick Savage doesn’t really understand the urgency to find Darcy.

Mick believes Darcy has been nothing but a problem, weighing down the family, but he’s doing what is asked and trying hard too. Mick develops a lead that brings a puzzle trapped in a maze of homeless folks, which somehow connects the murder of an heiress to Darcy.

Darcy’s latest email is more urgent and finding that link to an old murder of a wealthy, young woman who’s buried in a pauper’s grave might save his life.

My Take:

Marcia Muller’s CITY OF WHISPERS is a suspenseful read—spotlighting the plight of the homeless, the need for mental services, and a mystery where rich and poor collide.

This author spins real life issues into a daring plot that will keep you reading to the shocking end.

Although this novel stands alone, you’ll want to read the other Sharon McCone mysteries, COMING BACK (October 2010) and LOCKED IN (October 2009).

The voting hours have ended. I thank you for all of your votes! 

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GONE TO GROUND BOOK REVIEW WITH BOOK TRAILER

by Brandilynn Collins

Publisher: B&H Publishing

Published: March 12, 2012

Format: Paperback (352 pages)

ISBN: 9781433671630

ORIGIN: netGalley – E-GALLEY

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

If you believe a spouse, relative, employer, or friend committed a crime, would you report them? Could you? Even if the crime was murder?  Could your silence be leaving someone else to die? Would faith help in your choice?

These questions faced a few of the residents in the town of Amaryllis, Mississippi.  Some of the women suspect the men in their lives capable of murder, and a few of them seem to have proof of something foul with good reasons to keep quiet about it all.

Six months usually go by before the next murder.

Leaving the victim’s body in a closet, this serial killer plagues the small town, and the latest victim just may pinpoint the killer’s identity.  

However, one of these suspicious women has a special needs brother, and she is almost sure he was somehow involved.  The police zero in on him. Moreover, when the other ladies make a decision to go to the police with their suspicions, their trouble increases double-time.  

In the end, you have few residents giving the police more than they can handle and a small-time reporter trying to get the story straight for a big-time career.

My Take:

I recommend GONE TO GROUND by Brandilynn Collins.  She has developed a new twist into amateur sleuthing, while giving easily understood snippets of forensics and delving the reader deeper into the lives of each character and their faith. Her suspense will keep you reading late into the night as you’re wondering could these woman have it right and fearing they may have it all wrong.

You can find more of Brandilynn Collins “Seatbelt Suspense®” novels through most book outlets.  She writes both standalone novels and series titles.

 

***Blog readers, do I get your vote for blogging book reviews? If I do, just go to my sidebar and click the vote button! Voting ends April 23, 2012 @11:59p.m.***

DEATH OF A KITCHEN DIVA

by: Lee Hollis              

Publisher: Kensington  

Published: March 6, 2012        

Format: Paperback (304 pages)      

ISBN: 9780758267375            

Series: A Hayley Powell Food and Cocktail Mystery               

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Hayley Powell is not having the greatest of days.  

While readying for her first date in years, since her divorce, she spills sauce on her dress. Moreover, her make-up artist packs on the stuff thick enough that even her daughter tells her to clean it off or walk around looking like a cheap hooker, and when her doorbell chimes, her day is about to turn deadly.

In front of the handsome date, Hayley is arrested for murder!

Karen Applebaum, is the other food columnist in town, or at least she was before Hayley discovers her face down in New England Style Clam Chowder.  Why did she open her email on that day?  

The real trouble started a few weeks back, when Karen perpetrated a couple of scenes with Hayley; it was about Hayley’s new column.  Karen Applebaum works for the rival newspaper, and she is not pleased with the unexpected popularity of Hayley’s new food column, even Hayley’s boss has been shocked by the instant success.  Her boss had branded what she had turned in as not publishable, but since he wanted to fish, he let it go “as is” with a stiff warning to Hayley.   

However, the readership reaction was contagious, leaving Karen seething. Very publicly, Karen accused Hayley of stealing her recipe for Maine Crab Stuffed Mushrooms.  

As the whole market watched their exchange, Hayley tried to explain the recipe was in her family for years, but Karen Applebaum wouldn’t stop insisting. So, later, when Hayley opened Karen’s email, she wasn’t greeted with the venom that Karen taught her to expect. Instead, Karen issued an invitation and an apology. To correct this rife, Karen invited her over to talk.

Hayley could not refuse; she hated the drama and wanted nothing more than to end it. Unfortunately, someone else ended it with poison; it is up to Hayley to save herself from the charge of murder. 

My Take:

In the DEATH OF A KITCHEN DIVA, Lee Hollis (brother and sister writing team) brings a very contemporary cozy to life and breathes a quirky breath into the name-dropping, Hayley Powell.  

Hayley is a lady who’s well in tune with today’s culture and constantly sees parallels that most people wouldn’t catch, making her descriptions down right funny and extremely accurate. With her ability to put pieces together and a determination to save herself, Haley makes a great sleuth.    

Lee Hollis’ debut mystery, DEATH OF A KITCHEN DIVA, is one you will enjoy and includes recipes too with a sneak peek into the next Hayley Powell Mystery, DEATH OF A COUNTRY FRIED REDNECK (Kensington Nov 2012).  

SO DAMN LUCKY

by Deborah Coonts

Publisher: Forge Books 

Published: February 28, 2012

Format: Hardcover (384 pages)

ISBN: 9780765330062

Series: Lucky O’Toole

Origin: Publisher through netGalley – eGalley

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Lucky O’Toole was not the only one to receive the death threats.  The magician, Dimitri Fortunoff, received a few scary ones, while tonight’s had been the worse thus far.

Right now, Lucky is kind of running the show at The Babylon, a mega-resort, and she’s made an executive decision to close down the recently acquired Athena.  However, in closing down the casino, she was putting the entertainment and staff out of a job; her death threats could be warranted.  However, in Dimitri Fortunoff’s case, these threats all begin from a rumor.

Dimitri is said to be the Masked Houdini; he’s the guy who tells then shows the tricks of the trade to the world, proving magicians to be just the same as you and me. That masked man is hated even by Star Trek aliens, apparently.

With the illusion of magic gone, the fans, crowds, and monies also disappear, and the rest of the casino suffers without the income.

Consequently, Dimitri protests the claim, but Lucky doesn’t actually buy that.  It’s not a case of thou doth protest too much as much as it is a case of not protesting loud enough. Nevertheless, what the man does is his business.  Lucky can’t get her own life right, who is she to say what another should do?

Tonight is the last night of shows at the casino, and Dimitri steps on stage with bravado, in front of an audience that includes the members of the Magic Ring—a secret authoritative society in the magic arts community.  But Lucky knows there is a whole cast of other entertainers who could believe he’s the Masked Houdini, the one to blame the lackluster casino’s closing on.

Lucky’s stomach knots when Dimitri announces he is going to perform a special escape, just for tonight’s performance.

The Great Dimitri Fortunoff is going to escape from Harry Houdini’s Chinese Water Torture Cell. With his legs padlocked in stocks and his wrists handcuffed, he is lowered inside the water-filled box head first, but it doesn’t take as long as it felt for someone to scream Dimitri is dead!

The ambulance arrives much too late and takes the dead illusionist to the nearest hospital, but that doesn’t end Lucky’s problems.

Dimitri Fortunoff never arrives. Who took his body, and why?

My Take:

Deborah Coonts give us readers quite a mysterious and funny performance in SO DAMN LUCKY, with a special backstage pass inside Lucky O’Toole’s unusual life.

Her lineage is a hoot, while Lucky’s souring romance, need for love, and mystery to solve make her a loveable and endearing character.  Filled with a cast of characters that you’d love to spend more time with, Deborah Coonts gives us a promising romance, laughs, and a true mystery to solve.

While SO DAMN LUCKY is a standalone title, you’ll want to read the other novels in the series, WANNA GET LUCKY (May 2010) and LUCKY STIFF (February 2011).