Death of a Country Fried Red Neck

 

Another interesting installment from the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails series.  The book is full of recipes both for meals and cocktails.   There is a bit of a weakness in some of the feasibility of the plot line but overall it is entertaining

Death of a Country Fried Redneck by Lee Hollis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

entertaining cozy

Hayley Powell is quite a unique narrator. Her actions in normal circumstances seem pretty typical despite finding herself mixed up in a murder investigation however her columns for the paper are quite a different story. She’s funny and quirky in those. This makes for a fun personality in the story. While I did find the outcome of the story a bit extreme I’m not sure it is impossible to imagine this being a reaction to one’s lifestyle being threatened. Be sure to read to find out what I mean

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  107
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #89   
3. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 2
4. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 1
5. What an Animal Book #41
6. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #98
7. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #73
8. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #54
9. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #83
10. Craving for Cozies  Book #71
11. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 50 Shot #3
12. Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
13. Diversify your reading #DYRC23  October: True Crime/Mystery
14. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  OF
15. Read Your Bookshelf  October: The book will start with the first letter of the author’s last name from your September book.
16. TBRChallenge  #TBRChallenge October 18 - Danger Zone

Eclair and Present Danger

 This was a very different cozy than most.  The mystery was well written but it was not the focus of the story in my opinion.  It felt like the author focused more on the character development and their relationships which was a pleasant approach.  Additionally, the establishment of Winnie's new dessert business took up much of the storyline which was wonderful if not hunger inducing.   It was fun to read about how someone develops a small business from scratch.  The mystery solution was more of an accidental occurrence rather than an active investigation and I enjoyed that as an alternate approach. 

Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a clever cozy. The mystery was somewhat of a side thread almost. Much of the focus was on Winnie and her development of her new business. It also focused on the characters and their relationships. I found this to be a nice change from some of the more formulaic cozies out there. And while the mystery was not the absolute focus it was still well written and developed

View all my reviews

 

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book # 60 
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #   48
3. Audiobook  #2023AudiobookChallenge #11
4. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  OH
5. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 1
6. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 -1
7. What an Animal Book #19
8. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #53
9. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #44
10. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #25
11. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #46
12. Craving for Cozies  Book #40
13. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #11  Shot #2
14. Medical Examiner Challenge 3  Toe Tags
15. Nerdy Bookworm  #NerdyBookwormChallengeXO #32. Read a book that has a purple cover
16. Beyond the Bookends  May  Detective Story
17. Read Your Bookshelf    May: A book that is longer than your last one

A Friend in Knead

 I selected this book from my Kindle library in order to meet the monthly keyword challenge;  friend was a word to select from in March.  I ended up enjoying A Friend in Knead by Judith Jackson and found the characters to be fun.   I especially liked the dog with tutus and eye patches.  The parrot that belongs to the cafe's cook is a riot as well.  The mystery was well constructed with clues being dropped but not being obvious.  The guilty party was an interesting outcome.  I look forward to reading more in the series in the future.

A Friend In Knead by Judith Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

enjoyable small town Murder mystery

This is the first book in the series and as such the reader is introduced to a lot of characters. Some are quirky and others annoying- as intended. My only real complaint about the book was my inability to keep track off all these characters, really a minor issue. The mystery is well constructed with clues present that make sense and lead to the guilty party. I look forward to reading more about this little cafe In Vermont

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  44
2. AtoZ   #2023AtoZReadingChallenge  #AlphabetSoupChallenge F
3. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 1
4. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 -1
5. What an Animal Book #12
6. Mount TBR   #MountTBR2023  Book # 6
7. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #33
8. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #17
9. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #35
10. Craving for Cozies  Book #31
11. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #  Shot #
12. Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
13. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  Friend

Monthly Key Words

 

 This challenge is hosted at the GirlXOXO site.   It is based on selecting titles that contain one of the monthly key words or some close variation on that word.  It is open for interpretation.  Sign up here

Girlxoxo

@Chapter_Adventure

#MONTHLYKEYWORDGXO

Books Selected

JAN – Crown, Girl, Whisper, Black, Heart, Guide, All, Ever

• Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng  
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 1/1/23
• Winter Takes All (Seattle Wilderness #1) by ML Erdahl
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 1/30/23

FEB – Please, Might, Return, Shy, Vanish, Book, Ash, Come

•      A Murder for the Books (Blue Ridge Library Mysteries, #1) by Victoria Gilbert
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/23/23

MAR – Crimson, Beyond, Friend, Cry, Wait, Six, Run, Woods

• A Friend in Knead by Judith Jackson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/31/23

APR – Vicious, Ask, Wind, Found, Circle, Broken, Beneath, Drown

MAY – Dragon, Day, Chain, Another, Thousand, Begin, Stolen, And

• Éclair and Present Danger (Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery, #1) by Laura Bradford
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/6/23

JUN -Bridge, Everything, Blue, Why, First, Wild, Luck, Tomorrow

JUL – Final, Clock, This, Way, Poison, Summer, Future, Kiss

AUG – Dangerous, Again, Best, Chase, How, Flower, Date, Together

SEP – Sign, With, Just, Lies, Grace, Enough, Sleep, Name

OCT – Old, After, Take, Shadow, Monster, Haunt, Darkness, Of

•     Death of a Country Fried Redneck by Lee Hollis
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 10/27/23

NOV – Paris, Hidden, Sparrow, Realm, Two, Fair, Street, Say

DEC – Silver, Wish, Forgotten, Dance, Also, My, Fate, Dream

Gnome for Christmas

A quick short read I picked up to make sure I read a book by Celia Kinsey this year for my Six Shooter challenge.  It is a good non murder mystery for those looking for books for younger readers.   

Gnome for Christmas: A Festive Short Mystery by Celia Kinsey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

cute holiday mystery

This novella was a cute mystery but I found myself wanting for a bit more detail. The missing gnome was located but it wasn’t clear exactly what had happened in the end the story kind of left that out. But it is a fun read nonetheless

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #123
2. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #92
3. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #88
4. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #116
5. Craving for Cozies  Book #106
6. Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO  Fire on cover with lantern
7. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  Christmas for Holiday

I Must Betray You

 Although I Must Betray You is a Young Adult book by Ruta Sepetys I did not feel it was too immature to enjoy as an adult.  Like Salt to the Sea ( my review) and The Fountains of Silence ( my review) which I have read previously, I found this book to be informative.  It provides some depth into a historical event I was aware of but not in much detail.  I appreciate that Sepetys builds suspense and action into historical fiction.  I hope her works inspire younger readers to enjoy history and learn more about the past of not only our country but the global world around us.  

While this book provides a bleak look at the effects of communism in Romania it is inspiring to read about how Cristian and the others find a way to have their voices heard and to bring about change in their country.   It is hard to fault the bad guys for doing what they have done to survive.   Sepetys creates a narrative that fully captures the inability to trust anyone that is created by the regime.  There is quite a build-up to figuring out who is the guilty betrayer and it is a bit of a shock.   

Be sure to read the author's notes at the end as they provide a foundation of the realities of communism and a lack of freedom of speech.  I highly recommend this book, especially in light of what is going on in Ukraine currently.  It is easy for those of us in stable Democratic countries to forget just how tough like can be elsewhere in the world.  Our struggles, though real are all relative when compared to other nations.  

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an intense story. I am old enough to remember when this revolution happened in Romania and the wall came down. This story, although fiction is an amazingly well written story that combines romance, intrigue and suspicion. The story is well written and is engaging for readers of all ages. Lovers of historical fiction will enjoy this book

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #53
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Romania
3. AtoZ   #2022AtoZReadingChallenge  #AlphabetSoupChallenge  I
4. 2022TBR  #2022ReadingChallenge  # 5 YA Book
5. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #64
6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #64
7. Historic Fiction  #histficreadingchallenge   Book #8
8. Bookworm #35 Read a Psychological Thriller
9. BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenreadingchallenge2022  #17. Set in the 1980s
10. Beat the Backlist #BTB2022  #32 superheroes/villains OR character in disguise
11. Nerdy Bookworm  #NerdyBookwormChallengeXO #18 Highly anticipated read
12. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #13. A book set in the 1980s
13. Pick your Poison #60 a new release you feel guilty reading because your TBR list is so long
14. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  "You"
15. Beyond the Bookends  YA Romance
16. Diversify your reading #DYRC22  Thriller
17. 52 books in 52 weeks  #8 hall pass

A Time to Swill

 A Time to Swill is the 2nd Chloe Jackson book by Sherry Harris.  I am really enjoying this series especially because I am so familiar with the setting.  It is so enjoyable to read a book when you know about the restaurants and landmarks discussed in the book.   The actual mystery is well constructed and truly captures the old boy network of the Fl Panhandle.  In addition, the character development in this book and how their relationships are growing and changing is so well written.   It is hard not to feel the tension and drama that Chloe feels as you read the story.   I look forward to seeing how her relationship with Rhett progresses as well as her personal and professional relationships with Vivi.   Beach lovers and cozy lovers will enjoy this book.

A Time to Swill by Sherry Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this cozy mystery and especially like reading about an area of FL I am very familiar with. The whole ghost ship and past relationships coming back to haunt one makes for an intriguing mystery. The relationship between Chloe and Rhett is a roller coaster ride and it makes the reader want to see how it evolves. The bar family is a wonderful growing relationship and it will be an interesting dynamic as the series progresses

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #52
2. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #63
3. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #52
4. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #42
5. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #63
6. Craving for Cozies  Book #59
7. Medical Examiner Challenge 4 Toe Tags
8. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scene- ocean/beach
• Weapon- gun/drown/poison
• Detectives- Chloe Jackson/Vivi
9. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #4  Shot #4
10. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub  #49 Book title starts with the same letter as your first name
11. Pick your Poison #87 a book that takes place on both land and sea
12. Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO   Pride:  character is LGBTQIA+
13. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  Sea

Death Gone A Rye

 The 6th book in the Bread Shop mysteries did not disappoint.  I actually think this might be the best one so far.  The dynamics of the investigation and the character developments and relationships were very well done.  I can highly recommend this book but would advise caution if you are trying to eat low carb as Winnie Archer includes many yummy descriptions of breads that may make your mouth water.  

Death Gone A-Rye by Winnie Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this latest book in the series. Ivy was a strong detective and this book has her working with Miguel Baptista to determine what happened to school board member Nessa Renchrick. This mystery brings up people from both their past. The book introduces real life relationship and trust issues that felt realistic and unstaged. The animosity with the detective in charge was well written and a change for this series; giving it a more urgent and tension filled tone.
I look forward to reading more and building a greater sense of depth of the characters that recur in the series

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #99
2. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2021  Bread Shop #6
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book # 107
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book # 121
5. Calendar of Crime  #CalendarOfCrime2021   
6. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice # 69
7. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #102
8. Craving for Cozies  Book #87
9. Pick your Poison #2-3 A book with a pun in the title
10. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  "Gone"
11. Medical Examiner Challenge  1 Toe Tags
12. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scenes 
• Row 5

Home or business office

• Weapons
• Row 5
• Household object
• Detectives- Ivy Culpepper
• Victims- Nessa Renchrick
13. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #36  Shot #3

By Book or By Crook

 This is the first in a new to me series by Eva Gates.   She has set the series in a library in the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  The setting sounds like a fabulous location and I would love to have an apartment right on the beach such as the one Lucy lives in at Bodie Lighthouse.   The story captures much of small town politics and old family ties to those towns.  It also touches upon the local vs visitors relationships in touristy towns.  The diverse set of characters add to the story and as it unfolds we see more depth to some of the characters.  I look forward to seeing the relationships grow and reveal themselves as the series progresses.

The mystery itself was well structured with several subplots that blended well with the main storyline.   All in all it is a great start to what seems to be a promising series.

By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an enjoyable cozy set in the Nags Head area of the Outer Banks of NC. This is the first in the series set in a library in the lighthouse. Mysterious happenings including the death of a library board member and the disappearances from a display of Jane Austen collection of books. Lucy as a new arrival gets her feet wet in her new position amidst all the mysterious occurrences. She has returned to the Outer Banks where she has summered during her childhood and has met up with family and friends and is reestablishing those relationships. The mystery is well written and it looks like it will be a good ongoing series.

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #54
2. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #60
3. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #71
4. Calendar of Crime  #CalendarOfCrime2021   
5. Cruisin thru Cozies free choice 34
6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #58
7. Craving for Cozies  Book #50
8. Beyond the Bookends  story set in a library
9. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO Book
10. Medical Examiner Challenge  1 Toe Tags
11. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scenes 
• Row 1
• Library or bookstore
• Weapons
• Row 2 
• Pointy object
• Detectives- Lucy/Bertie/Butch
• Victims- Johnathon
12. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 63 Shot #1
13. 52 books in 52 weeks  #29 librarians

The Red Address Book

 This novel is a well written reflection on the life of Doris as told by Sofia Lundberg.   It is a compilation of stories as told by Doris to her great niece, Jenny as she nears 97 years of age.  These different experiences and stages of Doris' life are presented as individual sections categorized by the entries in Doris' address book.   Her stories are associated with the different stages in her life as they relate to the different people she had met over the years and had entered into her address book.  These entries represent different stages in her life, all closed chapters at this point with the exception of her relationship with Jenny.  

There are many aspects of this novel that are sad and it would be easy to imagine the story as being a tear jerker.  Lundberg has done a wonderful job of pointing out the sadness and isolation of the end of Doris' life without being overly dramatic.   The stories of her life are the focus, they show how fully she lived.  As is often the case, they demonstrate the life before children and the lives that children know.  Often times, our offspring are shocked by the person who lived a different life before they were born.  This is definitely the case with Doris and Jenny.  Similarly, we find out Jenny has a similar change to her life when she became a mother.  

The stories Doris shares with Jenny depict and amazing life which helps offset the sadness of the current situation Doris finds herself in.   It would be easy to focus on the isolation Doris is experiencing late in her life and be overcome with sadness but rather the tapestry of Doris' life is central to the story.  This novel is an amazing layered journey through Doris' life but also a closure for herself and Jenny.  

I highly recommend this book and the only reason I did not give it 5 stars was the slow pace in which the story began.  Once the story got going, it was harder to put down but the format of each chapter representing an encapsulated story made it easy to start and stop my reading.

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure what to think about this novel at first. It started out a bit slow and then it really caught my attention and I couldn't read it fast enough. One of the nice aspects about it is each of the chapters tend to be encapsulated stories so you ca read it a little bit at a time and not feel like you have to backtrack to get started again.

The story is full of reminiscences and stories of Doris' life in Stockholm, Paris, New York and England. She experienced an amazing amount during her lifetime, but it is apparent she never shared it with her great niece, Jenny. Jenny discovers the stories as she visits Doris for one last time in Stockholm and wants her great aunt to tell her more and share more about their shared past as well as Doris' before Jenny was born. The story is poignant about how, as she lived to be quite an elderly lady, most of her acquaintances have passed away. The story is structured as a events of her life through the interactions with the different individuals in her address book. The reader hears about her love and tragedies as well as the adventures she experienced. Doris is clearly a strong woman who is reflecting on her life and her loss of independence. We should all be so blessed to have such a long life and to remember it is such detail.
I highly recommend this book

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #13
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Sweden
3. Beat the Backlist #BTB2021  #24 written in letters or diary entries 
4. 2021TBR  #2021ReadingChallenge # 19 written in a foreign language  
5. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #19
6. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #22
7. Historic Fiction  #histficreadingchallenge   Book #3
8. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #38. A book about art or an artist
9. Around the Year in 52 Books #12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
10. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #22 A Family Saga
11. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #39. Oliver: involves dreams
12. BooklistQueen   # 28. A Book About Friendship
13. A Pretty Mess Challenge # 3. Debut author
14. NJM Book Challenge  #NJMBookChallenge2021  #19 translated book
15. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2021 #31. A BOOK YOU NEVER FINISHED
16. Bookworm  #41.) Read a book where the main character is elderly
17. Magic in the Books Book 4 #7 Read a book in translation
18. Pick your Poison #20- 2 A book about overcoming obstacles
19. Bloggers Bookshelf   #bloggersbookshelf # 9 on your tbr for over a year
20. Monthly Keyword #MonthlyKeyWordGXO  "RED"
21. Book Voyage  #bookvoyagechallenge  Western Europe
22. Beyond the Bookends  about addiction
23. 52 books in 52 weeks  #27 diary
24. Unruly Reader Bingo  #22 immigrant

 

Monthly Key Word #MonthlyKeyWordGXO

 This is the 3rd challenge hosted at the GirlXOXO site.   It is based on selecting titles that contain one of the monthly key words or some close variation on that word.  It is open for interpretation.

JANUARY – End, Princess, Dance, Midnight, Court, Why, Winter, Story  

• READ Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Blog Post and Good Reads Review 1/20/21

FEBRUARY – Over, Edge, Rain, Blade, Red, Come, None, Glass

• READ The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/13/21

MARCH – Dear, Ink, Mercy, Fly, Lost, Never, Match, True

• READ The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/24/21 

APRIL – Last, Watch, Save, Girl, Sun, Tell, Garden, Tomorrow

READ Hearse and Gardens by Kathleen Bridge

Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/1/21

MAY – Away, Wait, Book, Raven, Lake, Angel, Nine, Island

• READ By Book or by Crook by Eva Gates
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/6/21
• READ  Can't Judge a Book by it's Murder by Amy Lillard
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 5/12/21

JUNE – Beneath, Crown, Sing, Rule, Earth, Find, Happen, Cruel    

• READ Cruel Candy by Mildred Abbott
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 6/23/21

JULY – Ever, Shine, Gone, Search, Wood, Under, Road, Like

• READ  Death Gone A Rye by Winnie Archer
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 8/23/21

AUGUST – One, Secret, Will, Tree, Blue, You, Flame, Thousand

•  READ  Z Rex by Steve Cole
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 8/1/21

SEPTEMBER – Country, House, Top, Man, Wild, Sweet, Once, Wake

OCTOBER – Fear, Night, Silent, Wicked, Hidden, Bones, Lied, Ghost

NOVEMBER – Again, Loud, Star, Stay, Air, When, Since, Race

DECEMBER – Cold, Room, Life, Bell, Kiss, Dream, Until, Drink