Tag: reporters

REVIEW: Birder She Wrote by Donna Andrews

REVIEW: Birder She Wrote by Donna Andrews

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

While a May afternoon in the hammock while the boys are at school seems like a glorious idea, Meg’s friends and family have other plans for her time – installing bees in a hive, entertaining a dismissive reporter, finding a missing wild life photographer, wrangling fussy city folk who are causing trouble, and finding a lost 19th century cemetery.

Stumbling across a dead body doesn’t help either.

Soon Meg is looking for clues to a murderer’s identity while also tracking a bee killer and a blackmailer.  Never a dull moment!

Review

This was so fun! The mystery was great – involved enough to pull me through the book with no sections where Meg was spinning her wheels (something I’ve encountered in other books lately). And the bee and hummingbird side-missions were far more interesting than I expected.

It’s always nice to spend time with Meg and the folks in Caerphilly County. Meg’s large extended family doesn’t really factor into this story. While I usually get a kick out of them, I enjoyed that change of pace. The focus here was instead on community members which was a nice shift.

This is book 33 in the funny and long-running Meg Langslow Mystery series. I think newcomers could enjoy the main mystery without feeling like they were missing out on a bunch of history and backstory for the series. Series fans should absolutely check this one out – and then watch for Let It Crow, Let It Crow, book 34, due out in October.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump

REVIEW: A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Samantha really needed the distraction of the historic home tour. This was supposed to be her wedding day. But Greg had dumped her and moved away. Her friends had sweetly suggested her as a temp bartender for the tour. Not only did it give her plans for the night, but it also provided a way for her to use the bitters she had made up as wedding favors.

There was no way she could have predicted someone would use one of her drinks to kill a man.

When the widow names Samantha in a wrongful death lawsuit and it starts to impact her freelance writing gigs, the former reporter can’t help digging into the case. The question becomes whether she will solve it before someone else is killed.

Review

This was a great mystery! The whole “bitters” and cocktail mixing hook wasn’t a great fit for me. But the mystery itself is solid – an interesting set up, plenty of suspects and action, and some great twists along the way.

I liked Sam for the most part. She was little too wishy washy about her ex at times for my preferences. But I loved her quick thinking and her investigative reporting skills and instincts.

I was disappointed by the lack of an endearing group around her. Her “friends” never felt warm or emotionally supportive to me. Sam seemed to click better with a murder suspect than her so called friends. Maybe those relationships – and the love interest – will develop more in future books, but it was a gap I noticed in this book.

Cozy readers who love mixology – or who are looking for a unique hobby hook for their mysteries – should check out this launch for the Cocktails and Catering Mystery series.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

REVIEW: Fire! Fire! by Hilde Lysiak

REVIEW: Fire! Fire! by Hilde Lysiak

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Hilde is a reporter through and through. She has a neighborhood newspaper, and she’s always on the look for a new story.

Hilde and her photographer sister, Izzy, get a huge story one morning when they follow the sound of sirens to the scene of a fire. Nina’s Antique Store is on fire! Hilde and Izzay work through their list of reporter questions – who, what, where, when, why, and how – to figure out what started the fire.

Review

Hilde Lysiak is the real life star of her own book! The real Hilde started her newspaper when she was 7. Now she also writes books for kids along with her dad, Matthew, in the Hilde Cracks the Case series.

This is the third book in Hilde’s series, part of the Branches line from Scholastic. I have been a huge Branches fan since I was an elementary school librarian. There’s a variety of characters and stories for kids to explore when they are ready to transition to short chapter books thanks to Branches. (In 2019, they are launching the Acorn line for even younger readers!)

I thoroughly enjoyed Hilde’s story. The story is a simple but interesting mystery. Readers get to learn about reporting while they enjoy the story. Hilde even explains how to be sensitive to witnesses who may be emotionally involved in the case. This mystery involves a Pet Parade, so there are some fun animal pieces in the book in addition to the reporter parts and the fire parts. This would be a great series to hand to a lower elementary student (1st-3rd grade) or to a teacher for those students.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥