Reviews: Hospitality and Homicide, and The Missing One

Title: Hospitality and Homicide
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Publication Date: May 16, 2017
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Recommended If You Like: bookstore mysteries, small town settings, romance with your mystery

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

Jill Gardner not only owns a bookstore/coffee shop, but she also can't seem to help herself when it comes to getting involved in local mysteries. An author comes for a signing, but finds himself a prime suspect when a murder is committed that exactly mimics one in the first draft of his new book. Jill must try to figure out the truth behind the murder, keep her business going, and decide where her relationship with her police boyfriend is heading.

What I Liked:

Jill is a great lead character, surrounded by lots of interesting supporting characters. Her romance with Greg is one to root for as well.

The setting is a great one. I love small town mysteries, especially ones set in a bookstore.

The mystery was a well-plotted one, with the ending solution being a complete surprise.

Anything I Didn't Like:

There's not much to not like about this series. It has good characters, mystery, and setting.

So...?

If you're a cozy mystery reader, I would definitely recommend this series.

Title: The Missing One
Author: Lucy Atkins
Publication Date: Feb. 3, 2015
Genre: Fiction/Psychological/Mystery/Suspense
Recommended If You Like: female-centered fiction, nature-centric fiction, secrets from the past, books exploring family

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

Kal has never felt like she truly knows her mother. When her mother passes from cancer, Kal is determined to discover the secrets of her mother's past. Taking only her son, leaving her possibly-cheating husband behind, Kal sets off to British Columbia. She heads to a remote island where a woman who once knew her mother lives, a woman who sent postcard after postcard simply stating "Thinking of You".

What I Liked:

I love a book about secrets from the past, and this definitely had plenty! I really liked the way Atkins used flashbacks to heighten the suspense and the mystery.

Atkins has also clearly done her research on orca whales-there is a lot of fascinating information about them contained in this story.

Anything I Didn't Like?

This book could have been shorter. I have absolutely nothing against long books, but this was one that felt too stretched out. It would have benefited from a little editing in that regard.

Some of the secrets were a little too predictable as well. I was able to call one of the biggest ones from pretty early on.

So...?

This was a good read, but not one I would say you have to run out and get right now. If you ever get to it, it's enjoyable. (It's one of those where rating it is tricky-I would give it 3 stars, because it is good, but didn't enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed other 3 star books.)