Tag: mystery book

Reviews

Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies Review

* A BIT SPOILERY*

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men. But Daisy finds herself on the receiving end in Misha Popp’s cozy series debut, a sweet-as-buttercream treat for fans of Ellery Adams and Mary Maxwell. The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking, she’ll be out of the pie pan and into the oven.

Daisy has a very strong moral compass which I really enjoyed about her. She has these strict rules about the murder pies and she doesn’t stray from them and make exceptions for anyone. I did kind of side eye her a little bit because I thought she was literally murdering people with her pies but as the limitations surrounding her magic was revealed I thought her intentions were pure.

I liked that the whole book wasn’t just revolving around the murder pies and the mystery about who was blackmailing Daisy, she still goes about her day baking normal pies, going to the farmers market where she meets Noel and entering the baking competition. There was other things to keep my mind occupied instead of just focusing on the mystery. I definitely didn’t trust Melly’s character from the start. There was something about her do-gooder attitude that made me think maybe there was something else she wasn’t telling us and I was kind of justified when we find out her role in the grand scheme of things.

This was my first foray into cozy mysteries and I have to say I had a lot of fun! Granted you really have to suspend all beliefs and just jump into it expecting an over the top plot with ridiculous schemes and shenanigans.

⭐️4/5 stars This book made me crave pie lol

Reviews

When No One is Watching Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on When No One is Watching Review

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo. But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

I liked Sydney right from the start when we are introduced to her at the tour of the neighborhood and she challenges the tour guide. She is very unforgiving of her attitude towards these families that have come and are seemingly taking over yet she knows when to leave things alone even though it’s unfair and very racist. She was a little bit of an unreliable character which did get on my nerves a bit but I think it was realistic when we find out what she has had to deal with.

Theo I didn’t feel as connected to as Sydney. It was an interesting perspective to put into the book for sure as we kind of get to see things from the other side of the ‘invaders’. I didn’t really know what his intentions were right up to the climax of the book. I was annoyed that he wouldn’t call out the problematic language his girlfriend would use and make excuses for her when she was obviously racially profiling people and using her white privilege to get what she wanted.

I loved the feeling of comradery between the neighbors and that sense of familiarity and comfort that can be had by knowing so much about the people around you and then how violating that can be when new people keep forcing their way in. The book was a little slow in terms of pace for a good two thirds of the book but the ending does ramp up. There was just this ominous tone that was woven throughout the storyline that kept me hooked and eager to find out what was going to happen next and boy could I not predict that ending!

⭐️4/5 stars Darker than what I was expecting!

Reviews

His and Hers Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on His and Hers Review

When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.

I liked Anna’s character for the most part. I thought she was quite relatable and her drive was admirable for sure. I thought she was going to end up being an unreliable narrator just from the amount of drinks she has throughout the day but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t take over her character. I think the way she has overcome everything in her life, especially her daughter’s death made me more attached to her and made me invested in what was happening.

Jack I was a little apprehensive about at the start but I warmed up to him for sure. Again after hearing his backstory and the connection he has with Anna and the rest of the women that are getting murdered piqued my interest. He was definitely one of those characters that are making all the wrong decisions while he’s in the middle of an investigation pretty much implicating himself but it was quite entertaining.

I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives and the format of the story kept the pace pretty fast which really helped me fly through this book. There were so many little twists and revelations throughout the course of the plot and it had me guessing right up to the end who was really behind all of the murders. Didn’t blow me away by any means and isn’t a new favourite but I still really enjoyed it.

⭐️3/5 star a solid read

Reviews

Just Like Home Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Just Like Home Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she’s come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there. Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back, and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

Vera’s character was definitely an interesting one. She keeps a lot of her secrets close to the chest and you really get a gauge for just how affected she is being back at Crowder House with her mother by how unhinged she becomes as the story progresses.

I liked the dual timelines and how they each gave us insight into what actually happened that has caused this massive rift between Vera and her mother as well as why her father killed all those people. Just the fact that Vera always reminisces about her father and talks about him in such a positive way in spite of what he did to all those men did give me pause.

The way Vera keeps emphasizing that her father built Crowder House with his own hands and she feels this sense of ownership and familiarity with it should of tipped me off to just how much of a character the actual house was but alas I was surprised. I really didn’t think that this supernatural element right at the end was necessary. I think just the horrors of what her father was doing accompanied by Vera’s warped perspective on the matter would of been enough. I think the book did a good job of leading up to that twist that if it wasn’t actually in there I would of been content anyways.

⭐️3/5 stars A little too slow paced for me!

Reviews

The House Across the Lake Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The House Across the Lake Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of liquor, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is rich; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.

Casey was a little frustrating as a character. I had a feeling she wasn’t telling the whole story in regards to what happened with her husband so in the end when that twist was revealed I wasn’t that shocked. I was just overall confused as to why she was so adamant in finding out what happened to Katherine. She had only just met this woman and had maybe two interactions with her before her disappearance and she is just soo invested in figuring out this mystery.

Boone I was wary of at the start, I usually always mistrust all the characters in mystery/thriller book but Boone seemed a little too good to be true which is kind of an obvious sign that he’s a red herring. I liked the fact that he has his own secrets and we get to learn quite a bit about character and how he ended up at Lake Green. I would of liked a few more interactions and nights of surveillance between him and Casey to build up a little more of a rapport.

Tom and Katherine honestly were kind of bland. We don’t have enough context about them, their relationship and their mannerisms before that night Katherine disappeared. We weren’t shown any of the conflicts between them we sort of just have to take Katherine’s word and believe a drunk Casey that she’s seeing what she thinks she’s seeing. They just weren’t interesting enough for this whole book to be centered around them.

There were some pretty interesting twists and turns throughout the majority of this book, I was surprised a few times and I liked the format of the book with the dual timelines. I just think the supernatural element came out of nowhere and was a bit of a cop out. There was nothing in the book before then that indicated that there was any otherworldly phenomenon happening to it was hard for me to take it seriously, I was kind of just like wtf…

⭐️2/5 stars a little too unbelievable