Book review of Lava Cake and Lies Nova Walsh

 When life turns up the heat, Ginny Malone is ready to whip up a new beginning...

High-powered criminal attorney Ginny Malone never expected to swap her designer suits for flour-dusted aprons, but a twist of fate sends her fleeing to the quaint coastal town of Moonstone Bay, California. With her spirited—and mischievous—cat Shortcake by her side, Ginny sets her sights on starting a bakery on the boardwalk, armed only with her grandmother's secret recipes and a dash of determination.

But Ginny's dream of sweet success crumbles when a dead body is discovered during renovations, and her gruff yet oh-so-intriguing landlord, P.I. Vince Rinaldi, becomes the prime suspect. The ovens are cold, the drywall is crumbling, and now danger is lurking behind every display case.

With the help of her hammer-wielding new BFF Lois, a sprinkle of legal know-how, and a heaping spoonful of wit, Ginny sets out to fix more than just ovens and drywall. As she digs into the case, the quirky townsfolk begin to look less neighborly and more suspect—and Vince might need as much rescuing as her broken heater.

Between perfecting her luscious lava cakes and untangling lies, Ginny must race to clear Vince's name before her fresh start becomes a recipe for disaster. Can she serve up justice and save a budding romance before the real killer strikes again?

Lava Cake and Lies is a charming and witty cozy mystery filled with heartwarming friendships, banter-filled clean romance, cat antics, and recipes you'll be dying to try. Perfect for fans of Ellie Alexander and Joanne Fluke, this book is a culinary cozy mystery that promises to be a real treat.

This copy I read is an ARC copy, meaning an author still has time to take care of some imperfections, such as grammar and other problems so, my take on this will be for what I read before the book is finalized and published.

I enjoyed the storyline and setting and the characters grew on me quickly. Were there some issues that I hoped got fixed before publication? Sure, but I don't want to share them in a review to cause spoilers, I can say they didn't bother me to the point I wanted to quit reading the book I enjoyed it so much that I looked forward to continue reading it when I came home from work. I'm looking forward to the next book to see what kind of trouble Ginny and Vince get into.

If you're looking for a quick cozy mystery read with fun characters and a mystery that will have you guessing who did it, please give this book a try.

Book review of Shadows of Ravenwood by Blake Rivers

 

Who’s leaving cryptic messages in my small town of Ravenwood? Oh no… The mysterious Pumpkin Queen legend might be more than just a story.
Finding a centuries-old locket at the Halloween fair wasn’t part of my evening plans.
Yet here I am, drawn into secrets buried beneath our town.
A forgotten romance, a missing treasure, and a legacy no one talks about.
But then…
Victor Grimshaw’s lies go deeper than I thought.
And now, someone—or something—is watching me.
Uncovering Ravenwood’s secrets could mean risking everything.
But can I let Eliza’s story die without a fight?

I've read a lot of cozy mysteries but this book doesn't offer the cozy mystery story elements as countless others do. 

Put it to you this way, this book reads like a robot wrote it. 

The sad fact is, that this could have been a good book. The mystery surrounding the Pumpkin Queen is a good concept, but cozy mystery readers crave a show-me story. They want to know some tidbits about the town and characters, heck, even give us a bit of information about the cat, for that matter, but nothing. I've never read a book broken down into short sentences or small paragraphs like this one. 

Cozy Mystery review of Claws of Action (Cat Lady Mysteries #4) by Linda Reilly

Title: Claws of Action (Cat Lady Mysteries #4) 

Author: Linda Reilly 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Netgalley

Length: Novel 

Rating: 5

Purr-suing a killer …

The only thing that could make the High Cliff Shelter for Cats even cozier is a reading room where kids can snuggle up with a furry feline and a book. But as Lara and Aunt Fran prepare for the reading nook’s official opening, the health inspector in their New Hampshire town, Evonda Fray, decrees that the shelter qualifies as a “cat café,” thanks to the free snacks it serves to visitors—and that it must be shut down.

When Evonda’s body is found in her car clutching a copy of the cease-and-desist order, suspicion naturally falls on Lara and Aunt Fran. But there’s a whole litter of potential culprits, including a tenant in one of Evonda’s buildings who’d been ordered to give up his rescue cat, a disgruntled daughter-in-law, and more. Now Lara—with some help from her aunt and her spirit cat, Blue—has to pin the tail on the right suspect.

I have to say this the Cat Ladies Mysteries series is one of my favorites out there today. Each installment just gets better and better. Ever time I think I have a new favorite from the series, the next book I read ends up knocking the last one out of the water.

Claws of Action is a fun fast-paced mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This can be read as a standalone, but I truly suggest you start from book one and go from there because that way you can really truly appreciate how this series has grown by each installment. In this installment, you read about the same loveable characters with the addition of a couple of more new characters, which I hope will have some cameos in future books.  

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves cozy mysteries.

Cozy Mystery Book Review of Mrs. Morris and the Ghost (A Salem B&B Mystery #1) by Traci Wilton

Title: Mrs. Morris and the Ghost (A Salem B&B Mystery #1) 

Author: Traci Wilton

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Netgalley

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 4

Charlene Morris knew Salem, Massachusetts had a spooky reputation. But when she decided to open her B&B there, she expected guests--not ghosts...

A grieving young widow, Charlene needed a new start--so she bought a historic mansion, sight unseen, and drove from Chicago to New England to start turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. On her first night in the house, she awakens to find a handsome man with startling blue eyes in her bedroom. Terror turns to utter disbelief when he politely introduces himself as Jack Strathmore--and explains that he used to live here--when he was alive. He firmly believes that someone pushed him down the stairs three years ago, and he won't be able to leave until someone figures out who. If Charlene wants to get her business up and running in time for the Halloween tourist rush, and get this haunting houseguest out of the way, she'll have to investigate. Though truth be told, this ghost is starting to grow on her . . .

Mrs. Morris and the Ghost grabs you right from the first page and will leave you in shock when you find out who done it just before the end.

Charlene moved into a home full of surprises. One surprise is the resident hot ghost of course, and the second surprise, she finds a new cat, which Charlene is not a total cat lover so this becomes interesting as she tries to solve a murder to get the ghost out and deal with a cat she doesn’t want.

The only downside to the story for me was it seemed like every man and ghost was hot after Charlene so by the middle of the story, it was on my last nerve. Other than that this is a good read that will leave you wanting more. 

Cozy mystery review of Toxic Toffee (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #4) by Amanda Flower

Toxic Toffee (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #4) 

Author: Amanda Flower

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: NetGalley

Length: Novel

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 5 

A sweet tooth for murder . . .  
 
Bailey King’s in New York wrapping up a six-week shoot on her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets, when she gets a call from her Ohio town’s resident busybody. With Easter around the corner, Bailey’s been recruited to create a giant toffee bunny for the weeklong springtime festival that will also feature live white rabbits. But back home in Harvest, death becomes the main attraction when Stephen Raber keels over from an apparent heart attack—with Bailey and Raber’s pet bunny as witnesses.
. 
Except it wasn’t Raber’s heart that suddenly gave out—a lethal dose of lily of the valley was mixed into a tasty piece of toffee. Who’d want to poison a jovial rabbit farmer who reminded Bailey of an Amish Santa Claus? To solve the murder, she and her sheriff deputy boyfriend Aiden must uncover a twenty-year-old secret. She’ll need to pull a rabbit out of a hat to keep a healthy distance from toxic people, including one venomous killer . . . 

I always look forward to reading one of Amanda Flower's books, she is an amazing storyteller, you can open up one of her books and your daily problems fad away as you become one of her characters.

Bailey is one of my favorite characters, not only does she get to play with candy at her grandma's candy shop, but she also has an amazing community of fun and crazy people and animals to be around so, your never bored with the village and the people. Oh, and I cannot forget about her hot cop boyfriend Aiden ;)

I love how Amanda can toss enough clues throughout the story to keep me guessing and at the end, I am surprised that none of my suspects is the one who did it. 

The added rabbit in this story was a very nice touch, I am always pleased when an author can write about a different kind of pet instead of the same cat or dog, not that I love dogs and cats but as you keep reading about the same old pets it gets kind of old. 

One of my favorite cozy mystery series and I highly recommend you bump it on top of your reading list.

Cozy Mystery book Review for Murder in an Irish Pub (Irish Village Mystery #4) by Carlene O'Connor

Title: Murder in an Irish Pub (Irish Village Mystery #4) 

Author: Carlene O'Connor 

Source: NetGalley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Length: Novel

Reviewed by Laurie

Rating: 4

When competing card sharps stir up Siobhán O'Sullivan’s quiet Irish village, a poker tournament turns into a game of Hangman . . .

In the small village of Kilbane in County Cork, for a cuppa tea or a slice of brown bread, you go to Naomi’s Bistro, managed by the many siblings of the lively O'Sullivan brood. For a pint or a game of darts—or for the poker tournament that's just come to town—it’s the pub you want.

One player’s reputation precedes him: Eamon Foley, a tinker out of Dublin, called the Octopus for playing like he has eight hands under the table. But when Foley is found at the end of a rope, swinging from the rafters of Rory Mack’s pub, it’s time for the garda to take matters into their own hands. Macdara Flannery would lay odds it’s a simple suicide—after all, there’s a note and the room was locked. But Siobhán suspects foul play, as does Foley’s very pregnant widow. Perhaps one of Foley’s fellow finalists just raised the stakes to life and death.

With conflicting theories on the crime—not to mention the possibility of a proposal—tensions are running high between Siobhán and Macdara. Soon it’s up to Siobhán to call a killer’s bluff, but if she doesn’t play her cards right, she may be the next one taken out of the game . . .

New author and series to me and I enjoy the story and mystery, it kept me guessing all the way.

I also, enjoyed how clean this book was of cussing and I how the author used terms real Ireland people would use today it made me feel as if I was right there.

What I would have loved to read more of is setting descriptions and a bit of background of the characters even though it can become respective to the people who have read the series but to those of us who just randomly pick a book up, it helps to keep a bit on track of who is who and what they are doing even though it is respective to some. So, if you haven’t picked up this series I would suggest starting with book one to make sure you don’t get lost like I did a few times.

Now, I need to go pick up book one so I can get all the happens, of who is who from the beginning. 

Cozy Mystery review: Dead as a Door Knocker (House-Flipper Mystery #1) by Diane Kelly

Title: Dead as a Door Knocker (House-Flipper Mystery #1) 

Author: Diane Kelly 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Netgalley

Length: Novel

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 

The first in a brand-new cozy series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville—where the real estate market is to die for.

WILL THIS KILLER DEAL LEAD TO A DEAD END?
Meet Whitney Whitaker. A hopeless romantic when it comes to real estate, she knows what it takes to find—and flip—the home of one’s dreams. A fixer-upper is like catnip to Whitney: she can’t resist the challenge of turning an eyesore into a priceless work of art. So when one of her clients decides to liquidate a crumbling property, Whitney seizes the opportunity to purchase it for a song. But soon a curious incident of the cat in the night-time leads to a change in tune. . .

Sawdust is the name of Whitney’s cat—of course. Whitney’s passion for gut-renovation may be a mystery to him but one thing Sawdust knows for sure is this: Dead bodies don’t belong in flower beds. So why is there one in this new, albeit old, house? Now it’s up to Whitney, along with the help of hot-and-cold Nashville Police Detective Collin Flynn, to find the truth about what happened before the mortgage property forecloses and Whitney loses her investment. . .and maybe her own life.

Living 20 minutes east of Nashville, I had to try this series, and while it had a slow beginning for me, it did not disappoint very solid mystery.

This is the first mystery I read where you have to wait for a few chapters before the murder happens and I think this is why I felt it being slow, but during that time you get to know more about the characters so while I did enjoy it I was still waiting and waiting for the murder to happen. LOL

Things I really enjoyed, Sawdust personal chapters and yes, the cat has his own mini-chapters so cute, the story settings, characters and since I was never able to guess who done it, I will be on needles waiting for the next murder to happen in Nashville so I can see Whitney in action again. 

Cozy mystery review of A Literal Mess (Allie Cobb Mystery #1) by J.C. Kenney

Title: A Literal Mess (Allie Cobb Mystery #1)  

Author: J.C. Kenney 

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Length: Novel 

Rating: 3

Reviewed by: Laurie 

The first book in a new series featuring Allie Cobb brings the New York literary agent back to her Hoosier home town where a mysterious death keeps everyone on spoiler alert . . .

Allie Cobb left home for the literary circles of Manhattan to make her name out from under the shadow of her legendary father. Now his death brings her and her rescue cat Ursula back to the southern Indiana town of Rushing Creek, population: 3,216. But a tragic new chapter hits the presses when the body of her father’s hard-drinking, #1 bestselling client is found under the historic town bridge. The local police suspect foul play and their prime candidate for murder is the author’s daughter—Allie’s longtime friend.

Determined to clear her beastie, Allie goes into fact-checking amateur detective mode while trying to ignore the usual rumormongers. Those with means, motive, and opportunity include the vic's ex-wife, his rejected girlfriend, the mayor, and a rival agent trying to mooch clients. With a rugged genealogist distracting her and the imminent Fall Festival about to send tourists descending on their once-peaceful hamlet, Allie needs to stay alive long enough to get a read on a killer ready to close the book on a new victim: Allie . . .

I really liked the storyline, the setting and I loved the clues the author places for you along the story, what I didn’t like was Allie character seemed to be a bit stuck up from time to time and there are times when she goes to questions suspects that he is a bit out of sorts with them. Allie is also instructed to a bit of romance so you get a bit of romantic dialog too, which was great for the first book in the series. If you have never given thought about what goes on behind the scenes of writing a book this story will take you into some of the things that take place during writing. 

I recommend this book for any cozy mystery lover that wants a light read. 

Cozy Mystery review of Deceased and Desist (A Tallie Graver Mystery #3) by Misty Simon

Title: Deceased and Desist (A Tallie Graver Mystery #3) 

Author: Misty Simon

Source:Netgalley 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Length: Novel

Rating:4

Reviewed by: Laurie 

Window of opportunity . . .

Most housecleaners don’t do windows, but Tallie Graver loves leaving a pane of glass streak-free and sparkling. After a dirty divorce from a filthy-rich jerk, she's started her own cleaning business to make ends meet. On her latest job, prepping a renovated bed and breakfast for a grand re-opening, she's standing outside on a ladder, wiping off a grimy pane, when she spies a man on a bed through the glass. But the B&B isn't open for business yet—and the man's not sleeping. Her family owns the Graver Funeral Home, so Tallie knows a corpse when she sees one.

The victim is a shady building inspector with a reputation for handing out passing grades for a greased palm. With the local police resistant, Tallie launches her own investigation, before she gets a rep as a town crank. But it's going to take more than a squirt bottle and a squeegee to clean up this mess. With the help of her gal pal Gina, Tallie searches for a killer's motive. But she'd better be careful, or it'll be curtains for this window cleaner . . .

My first book by this author and I really liked it, it was a bit different read to me as in I have never read a cleaning lady sleuth before so it was quite enjoyable. I liked Tallie she didn’t let anyone stop her from doing what she does best snooping and finding the murder. The author kept me guessing all the way so kudos to her on creating a great mystery.

The only downside is a few of the characters in the story really seems to pick on Tillie and her getting involved with this being the third book this leaves me to wonder if they don’t do it all the time and if they do, this would get my goat.  

This being my first book from the series I never found I was missing anything important enough to have to go back and read the first of the series. 

Cozy Mystery review of Claws for Celebration (Cat Lady Mysteries #3) by Linda Reilly

Title: Cozy Mystery review of Claws for Celebration (Cat Lady Mysteries #3)  

Author: Linda Reilly

Source: NetGalley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Length: Novel

Reviewed by Laurie  

Rating 5 

Feline deadly this Christmas . . .

Whisker Jog, New Hampshire, celebrates all things Christmas, and few things are more beloved than the town’s annual holiday cookie competition. Lara Caphart, who runs the High Cliff Shelter for Cats with her Aunt Fran, is waiting for the green light for a brand-new category: pet-friendly cookies. But when the woman filling in as a last-minute judge dies after sampling someone’s Santa-themed treat, Lara’s recipe for healthy cat snacks will have to be put on the back burner.

The victim, Gladys Plouffe, was the town’s roundly despised former home economics teacher. The chief suspect is the mother of Lara’s best friend, who was hellbent on walking away with the bake-off’s cash prize. Cryptic clues from beyond the grave only deepen the mystery, pointing to a cat with striking blue eyes—a cat who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lara’s mysterious Ragdoll. As Lara begins a dangerous game of cat and mouse, not even her significant other may be able to stop a perfectly clawful killer from getting away with the purr-fect crime . . . 

Linda Reily creates great characters and edge of your seat mysteries that will keep you coming back for more. I totally love this series and hope it never ends.

Caws for Celebration, is my favorite so far, in the series. I enjoyed the twist of the cookie contest and I really enjoyed how the mystery began, who would have ever thought a library book would be the start of an awesome mystery.

If you love cozy mysteries this series is a must try. 

Cozy mystery review of Death and Daisies (A Magic Garden Mystery #2) by Amanda Flower

Title: Death and Daisies (A Magic Garden Mystery #2) 

Author: Amanda Flower

Genre: Cozy Mystery 

Length: Novel

Source: NetGalley

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 4  

Florist Fiona Knox left behind her gloomy life for a magical garden in Scotland, but a murder on her shop’s opening day spells doom.

Fiona Knox thought she was pulling her life back together when she inherited her godfather’s cottage in Duncreigan, Scotland—complete with a magical walled garden. But the erstwhile Tennessee flower shop owner promptly found herself puddle boot-deep in danger when she found a dead body among the glimmering blossoms. One police investigation later (made a trifle less unpleasant by the presence of handsome Chief Inspector Neil Craig), and Fiona’s life is getting back on a steady, though bewitched, track. Her sister Isla has just moved in with her, and the grand opening of her new spellbound venture, the Climbing Rose Flower Shop in Aberdeenshire, is imminent.

But dark, ensorcelled clouds are gathering to douse Fiona’s newly sunny outlook. First, imperious parish minister Quaid MacCullen makes it undeniably clear that he would be happy to send Fiona back to Tennessee. Then, a horrific lightning storm, rife with terribly omen, threatens to tear apart the elderly cottage and sends Fi and Isla cowering under their beds. The storm passes, but then, Fi is called away from the Climbing Rose’s opening soiree when Kipling, the tiny village’s weak-kneed volunteer police chief, finds a dead body on the beach.

The body proves difficult to identify, but Kipling is certain it’s that of the parish minister. Which makes Fiona, MacCullen’s new nemesis, a suspect. And what’s worse, Isla has seemed bewitched as of late…did she do something unspeakable to protect her sister? The last thing Fiona wanted to do was play detective again. But now, the rosy future she’d envisioned is going to seed, and if she and Craig can’t clear her name, her idyllic life will wilt away in Death and Daisies, national bestselling author Amanda Flower’s second enchanting Magic Garden mystery.

I enjoy the mystery sounding the minister’s death and Fi’s sister being added in the story brought a good hominess to Fi and I enjoyed her continued love interest with the chief inspector, they seem so great together, but I missed the whimsical elements that were in the first book surrounding the garden. You do get a few clues about the mystery of garden in this instilment but the garden was not center of the mystery as it is in the first book.

All, in all, the story is very entertaining I just missed reading and learning more about the garden and the magic it holds in the town and I look forward to the next installment.

Cozy Mystery review of Premeditated Peppermint (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #3) by Amanda Flower

Title: Premeditated Peppermint (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #3) 

Author: Amanda Flower 

Source: NetGalley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Length: Novel

Rating: 4

Reviewed by Laurie 

Someone’s sweet on revenge . . .

Christmas is Bailey King’s favorite time of year. For her first Yuletide in Harvest, Ohio, the former big-city chocolatier is recreating a cherished holiday treat: peppermint combined with molten white chocolate. But her sugar high plummets when her former boyfriend walks into the candy shop she now runs with her Amish grandmother. New York celebrity chef Eric Sharp and his TV crew have arrived to film an authentic Amish Christmas. Bailey’s not about to let her beloved town—and Swissmen Sweets—be turned into a sound bite. Unfortunately, she gets more publicity than she bargained for when Eric’s executive producer is found strangled to death—and Eric’s the prime suspect.

With Bailey’s sheriff deputy boyfriend out to prove Eric’s guilt, her bad-boy ex tries to sweet-talk her into helping him clear his name . . . and rekindle their romance to boost ratings for his show. Now, between a surplus of suspects and a victim who wasn’t who she seemed, Bailey’s edging dangerously close to a killer who isn’t looking to bring joy to the world—or to Bailey—this deadly Noel . . .

Amish Candy Shop Mystery has become one of my absolute favorite cozy mystery series I love the characters and settings.

Amanda Flower is a very talented author. You don’t find many authors that can create different worlds and different characters in different series. Most of the time when you read different series by the same author you’ll read either the same likeness of characters or somehow the storyline will feel like you’ve read it before. This is one reason I love reading books by Amanda Flower because you don’t feel like you read the same book or characters before.

So far, this story is my favorite book in the series, the twist and turns in this mystery had me coming back for more until I was done and shocked as to who done it. Bailey relationship picks up more as she and Aiden get close, but with Bailey’s new job offer we are left with a lot of questions as what is going to happen next, which leaves me with I can’t wait for the next installment. 

Cozy Mystery review of Death on the Menu (Key West Food Critic Mystery #8) by Lucy Burdette

Title: Death on the Menu (Key West Food Critic Mystery #8)

Autor: Lucy Burdette

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: NetGalley

Length: Novel

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 4 

When a killer strikes just before flan time, beloved food critic Hayley Snow is forced to sniff out the killer before someone else bites the dust.

Hayley Snow, fiery food critic for Key Zest magazine, has just landed a ticket to one of the most prestigious events in Key West: a high-brow three-day conference at the Harry Truman Little White House. Even though she’ll be working the event helping her mother’s fledgling catering business, there’s plenty of spicy gossip to go around. But just before her mother’s decadent flan is put to the test, Key West’s most prized possession, Hemingway’s Nobel prize gold medal for The Old Man and the Sea, is discovered stolen from its case. 

Unsavory suspicions point to Gabriel, a family friend and one of the new busboys working the event, who mysteriously goes missing moments later. Anxious to clear his name, Gabriel’s family enlists Hayley to help find him, but right as they begin their search, his body is found stabbed to death in the storeroom. 

Hayley has no shortage of suspects to interrogate and very little time before the killer adds another victim to the menu in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s delectable eighth Key West Food Critic mystery, Death on the Menu

I requested this one off of Netgally out of a whim and I am glad I did, I really enjoyed the story.

Let me start off saying I have never read anything from this author and this should also tell you I have never read any other books in the series so I was amazed that I never really felt as if I needed to start with the previous books. I do love hitting standalone in series.

 I enjoyed the characters, mystery, and the bit of politics that was added into the mix.  The author puts your imagination to work as you about a treasured Cuban award come up missing during the event. The author also gives you quite a few Cuban recipes in the back of the book for you to try.

I recommend this one to anyone that likes a good Cuba/US relations mystery.

Claws of Death (Cat Lady Mysteries #2) by Linda Reilly

Title: Claws of Death (Cat Lady Mysteries #2) 

Author: Linda Reilly

Source: NetGalley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Lenght: Novel

Reviewed by: Laurie

Rating: 4

The meow of death . . .
 
Whisker Jog, New Hampshire, is a long way from Hollywood, but it’s the place legendary actress Deanna Daltry wants to call home. Taking up residence in a stone mansion off Cemetery Hill, the retired, yet still glamorous, septuagenarian has adopted two kittens from Lara Caphart’s High Cliff Shelter for Cats. With help from her Aunt Fran, Lara makes sure the kitties settle in safely with their new celebrity mom. 
 
But not everyone in town is a fan of the fading star. Deanna was in Whisker Jog when she was younger, earning a reputation for pussyfooting around, and someone is using that knowledge against her. After being frightened by some nasty pranks, Deanna finds herself the prime murder suspect when the body of a local teacher is found on her property. Now, it’s up to Lara, Aunt Fran, and the blue-eyed Ragdoll mystery cat Lara recently encountered to collar a killer before another victim is pounced upon . . .

Claws of Death provides the same entertainment as the first installment Escaped Claws did.

Linda Reilly does it again by providing cozy mysteries readers with a good solid, fun and entertaining mystery that will keep you guessing the whole time. I have to admit I am sold on the authors writing style, she truly writes mysteries that are hard to find fault in.

I enjoyed the new characters especially the new rescue helper Kayla, I believe she will become a great helper to Lara.

You’ll find one recipe Lara’s Blueberry Buckle in the back of the book.

If you’re looking for a book with mystery, murder, love, new friends and cats, this one is for you.