Review: Murder at the Mansion (Victorian Village Mysteries, #1)

Murder at the Mansion (Victorian Village Mysteries, #1) by Sheila Connolly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A new series by one of my favorite authors Sheila Connolly, a little mystery, a little history and a little genealogy. The heroine of the series Kate Hamilton is a hotelier in Baltimore when a childhood friend asks her to help "save" their hometown. Sheila paints a picture of a small town who's best days may be behind it unless it can be re-imagined. The old 1800 mansion the town recently acquired figures prominently in Kate's revitalization plan for the town and her life.

Best yet, my favorite character Nell Pratt and the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society from Sheila's Museum Mysteries series is called upon to help sort out some historical finds at the Henry Barton estate. Whether the treasures inside the estate will be enough to save the town only future books will tell.

Unfortunately, Kate and the police first have to solve who killed Kate's high school nemesis at the Barton estate.

Review: Privy to the Dead

Privy to the Dead by Sheila Connolly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fiction and real life meet. In Sheila Connolly Privy to the Dead, construction at the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society uncover an old privy. What is found in the centuries old toilet leads the society staff to solve mysteries both current and historic. In real life the building of the new Revolutionary War Museum construction has uncovered a number of old privies that date back to the revolution. I wonder how many of those relics will find a home in the new museum.
http://www.history.com/news/historic-...


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Review: Fundraising the Dead

Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sheila Connolly has created a series I just love. Based in Philly, Nell works in the nonprofit world at a historical museum, hello Cathy! Board member Marty Terwilliger, who is related to almost everyone in town, is the best friend a fundraiser can have. The museum staff is dedicated and interestingly quirky. The collections in the museum can provide fodder for many a story. The FBI connection is an interesting twist to the typical cozy format. I am thrilled to see the series is now available on Audible.

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Murder in the Mystery Suite

Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It' TNT's Librarians in an awesome castle. I want to check into Storyton Hall for a wonderful winter week of reading. Love Jane, the superhero mom, as the new guardian.

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New Year Goal - Let's Read!

Happy New Year! The ball has dropped, the party is over. The time has come to set goals for the coming year. One goal for me is easy: a commitment to read 100 books this year. I set and achieved this goal for the past few years. It is so easy to do. To double the fun, I create a post on Shelfari.com group 50 Book Challenge. Once I reach 50, I move on to the 100 Book Challenge group. Then I start to read. Cozy mystery and family history are my current favorite topics. 

Audio is my top choice for cozy mysteries and best sellers. My Audible.com wish list is long and growing. I'm happy to see that their list of cozy authors is growing as well. The Roxbury Library is helping feed my appetite as well. Besides their audio selections available via Overdrive, they have added another option: One Click Digital. Both of these sites will also allow e-book borrowing with your library card. 

When I have run out of audio choices, my next format choice is e-book. I've got a nook for the pool, a nook for reading by the fire and a tablet for reading on the go. The last one can also read Kindle books. I finally broke down and downloaded the app after I found a great new site Book Bub for free e-books. No this is not a site that cheats authors out of royalties. This site will send you an email alerting you to free book deals being offered by Amazon, B&N and others.
 
Keeping with my fiscal conservation in regard to reading, Google Books offers up a wide array of family histories that I tap into as I do my family tree. It is amazing how many genealogy books have been digitized by Google and others. It is exciting to find documentation of my connection to generations 6, 7, 8 back. It's even neater to find my grandpa in a book on a revolutionary patriots Alexander Alexander and Bancroft Woodcock.

The number 100 seems daunting at the beginning of the year. I look forward to the challenge of reading that many different books. Besides if it really gets tough, I can always read some kiddie books to my nephew to catch up.

A Parfait Murder ~ Appearances can be deceiving.

Wendy Lyn Watson recently sent me a ARC of her upcoming book “A Parfait Murder”. Parfait is the 3^rd serving of a Mystery a la Mode series.  We open to find Sonny Anders, Bree’s ex and Alice’s daddy, strolling up the midway at the Lantana County Fair after a seventeen year absence. On his arm is his new lady, Char. Char is an enigma dressed up like a church social lady but with a walk that would give the Devil pause. The duo is back in town with a sweet deal for the business folk of Dalliance. But first Sonny’s lawyer, Kristen Ver Steeg has papers served on Bree challenging Alice’s paternity. The stage is set for an epic battle when Kristen turns up dead with Bree holding the gun.

Meanwhile Tally, the owner of Remember the A-la-mode and Bree’s cousin, has begun to date her childhood sweetheart Finn who roared out of her life after high school only to re-appear last year.  Their romantic adventures throughout the fairgrounds leave your head spinning like a Tilt n Wheel. Riding through the Haunted House moves their relationship closer.  Then a ride on the ferris wheel serves up a scene worthy of your favorite soap opera. While at the top of the ferris wheel a romantic moment is interrupted by a life changing event. When the Tally gets off the ride her family’s lives will never be the same again.

Things are not what they seem in this tale. Is Sonny really in town to disown Alice? What’s the scoop on his and Char’s business, is it the real deal or just a scam? Just who was Kristen Ver Steeg and why would anyone want to kill her? Will her latest family drama be enough to tear Finn and Tally apart or bring them closer to the cherry on top of the sundae? It’s up to Tally & Finn to get to the bottom of Sonny’s reappearance and Kristen’s murder before Bree finds herself frying for murder.

“A Parfait of Murder” is more delectable than a fudge sundae with double whipped cream on top. It has more surprising twist and turns than a Vanilla/Raspberry Twist cone. Pick up the book this summer for a cool treat at the beach.