Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

Vera Wong meddles and likes attention. In this second book of the series, we find that Vera misses the attention that she had during a murder investigation in her tearoom. She is happy about her son and his love, Officer Selena Gray, the police investigator for the tearoom murder. Her business is going well, and her family is attentive, but Vera wants more.

As the book opens, we meet Vera. She is happy with her son’s romance (she wants grandchildren) and her circle of friends that she made during the homicide investigation. She is up early to start her day. She hears her phone ring, and a voice tells her that her credit card has been compromised and supposedly connects her to the police. She tells all her confidential information and then when she tries to contact them again, she finds that the email she was given is not a real email. She contacts Selena, who tells her she has been scammed and asks her to come down and make a police report.

On her way into the station, she encounters a distressed-looking girl. She tells her to come in with her, but the girl runs away instead. Then, on her way out, she sees the girl again and takes hold of her and takes her to her tearoom to find out what is bothering the girl. The girl’s name is Millie, and when she came to the US, she met Thomas, and they developed a friendship. Thomas has disappeared, and Millie wants to know where he is as she misses him.

And this is the start of the story and Vera’s hunt for Thomas (if that is really his name) and it turns into a much bigger story. I’m not sure how much I can say without giving away too much of the plot. Let’s just start by saying that Millie’s name isn’t Millie and the whole story involves much more than just a disappearance. Vera finds out that Thomas also had a variety of names and was a social media influencer. But how can that be when no one seems to know him? As the plot twists, Vera’s life is at risk along with others she loves.

I liked the book. You have to get used to Vera being a bit pushy, but once you are over that, it is a tangled web of a story that will keep your interest. The description of the book does not do justice to the plot, but I think the whoever wrote the description had the same problem that I have – you can’t tell very much without giving away too much.

I will say that I am glad that Vera is not my mother-in-law.

Thanks for reading!

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Dead Post Society: A House-Flipper Mystery by Diane Kelly

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

April Fools Day. Remember how much fun it was when you were young? I wonder if it means much these days. It is probably not a “holiday” that needs to continue. I will bet that teachers would agree. Although I am sure that some find it to be fun. This year in several places, it is an election day, which could bring a new meaning to April Fools Day.

Dead Post Society is the seventh in a series by Diane Kelly. I had not read any of the other books in the series, and I didn’t have a problem understanding what was happening.

As the book opens, we meet Whitney Whitaker Flynn, a property rehabber. She works with her cousin, Buck. While they work as rehabbers, they also work for Buck’s father, Roger, and his other son, Owen, as carpenters. Whitney is at a job site to meet Buck, Roger, Owen and Troy Loflin. Troy is the developer of an abandoned school. When the school was open, it was a remote location but as towns have grown, it is not as far off the beaten path as it was. Troy and his wife had gone to the school (Ridgetop Prep in Ridgetop, TN), and he decided to develop the property as an upscale residence for senior citizens.

While Whitney waits for the others to come to the property, she sees an abandoned Victorian house on the property. She decides to look at it. At first, she isn’t sure it is abandoned as it is full of furniture, but it is so neglected that she is sure it must be abandoned. She goes inside (just a pesky lock on the front door). She looks around and likes the look of the house as a rehab. She does notice some strange things like all the furniture is in front of the windows and there is a blood stain on the floor of the office. (complete with a typewriter and a handwritten manuscript) Buck arrives and while he chastises her for going into the property for safety reasons and perhaps some lock picking, he joins her in looking around the house. Right before they leave the house, Whitney finds a bullet in a front porch post.

They have their meeting with Troy and Whitney finds that he is planning to demolish the house. She asks if she can bid on buying it. Troy agrees. She tells him she will put together a plan and get back to him. He does tell her that the final headmaster and his wife (Irving and Rosie Finster) both died in the house. It is assumed that it was a murder/suicide, but the case was left open.

Whitney and Owen submit a proposal to buy the house and property, which is accepted with some minor changes. Their first priority is to work for their Roger but in doing so, Whitney finds out more about the house and the deaths. She takes the bullet to the police and while it isn’t totally enough to re-open the case, the detective is interested. Whitney pieces parts of the puzzle together and starts interviewing the people who were at the school at the time.

Was it a murder/suicide or a double murder?

I enjoyed the book. Each chapter starts with some poetry, which I wasn’t sure added to the book but it didn’t subtract from it. Also, there were a few chapters written from the viewpoint of Whitney’s cat that I wasn’t sure were necessary. But overall, it was a fine cozy mystery. Thumbs up!

Thanks for reading.

In case you missed it, President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services). This will affect your local library. As of right now, the entire staff at IMLF has been put on leave. If you have a few minutes, please read the information from the American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/show-up-for-our-libraries  If you love your small local library, this could affect the hours and collections. Libraries are a great resource, and this will affect them.

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Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

Off we go into 2025! And it is already speeding by. Almost the end of January already? What have I been doing?

Do you make resolutions or goals for the year? For the last, I don’t know how many years, I have been setting a reading goal on Goodreads. Last year, I decided that I wouldn’t try and read as many books. I wanted to be able to slow down and enjoy my reading more. I don’t know what I was thinking. The minute I looked at how many I read last year, I had to make sure I did better.

I have decided to make two changes this year. The first is that I am using Story Graph rather than Goodreads. I also decided not to set a number of books that I have to read in the year. I am going to read at least one non-fiction book a month. I want to make sure I get myself out of my cozy mystery rut. I do love a good cozy! I will let you know how I am doing during the year.

Having said that, I am starting off the year reviewing a cozy! Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer Chow is the second in the Magical Fortune Cookie series. I reviewed the first book last February, Ill-Fated Fortune. (Ill-Fated Cookie Review)  and today is a review of the newly released second book in the series.

Star-Crossed Egg Tarts find Felicity Gin at a wedding as the caterer who is providing a “cake”, which is tiered egg tarts. The wedding is outdoors at the big park in town. When it is time for the wedding ceremony, the best man is nowhere to be found. Felicity’s friend and florist Kevin steps in at the last minute so the ceremony can go on. After the ceremony, Felicity runs to take a last-minute check on the egg tart tier, she discovers the body of Miles Wu, the best man,  under the table with her friend Kevin’s gardening shears in his chest.

Detective Sun is back in this book and arrives at the murder scene. Her relationship with Felicity is not the best but for a few minutes at least Feliciy is glad to see her.

Then it becomes apparent the Detective Sun seems to think that Kevin is guilty of the murder. So Felicity feels she has to clear Kevin’s name.

But there is an added complication. While waiting for the police to release them at the wedding, Felicity meets her father. She doesn’t really remember him – he left her mother years ago. It seems he is a teacher and taught at the private school where most of the wedding party went to school. He wants to get together with Felicity and she would like to find out more about him. Kevin warns her that this doesn’t seem like a great idea because it would upset Felicity’s mother, but Felicity goes ahead and talks to him.

Will Felicity be able to find the real killer and save Kevin from Detective Sun? What happened to Felicity’s parent’s relationship? Will Felicity be able to reunite her parents? Will what she learns from her father make her life better? Will Felicity ever get a boyfriend? So many questions to be answered.

I enjoyed the book. I occasionally wished the pace was a bit quicker but those thoughts were minor. Felicity matures in this book, and it adds to the story. I recommend that you read Star-Crossed Egg Tarts.

Thank you for reading.

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The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

It is that dark time of year when time flies. Yes, Christmas is on its way and we can sit around and wonder where the year went. How could it almost be 2025 already?

Today I am back with a historical fiction novel. It has been a while since I have reviewed a historical fiction book. And yes, I always claim it isn’t my favorite genre but I seem to read them – not as frequently as mysteries but still often enough.

The French Winemaker’s Daughter is a story that crosses time. It starts in 1942 as the story of seven-year-old Martine and crosses into the story of Charlotte Montgomery an airline pilot in 1990.

Martine is the daughter of a French winemaker. Her mother died at her birth and she has been raised in the vineyard by her father. She has problems in school but knows everything about the vineyard and the grapes. As the story opens, Martine’s father has her hide in an armoire because the Germans were coming. He hid her with her stuffed bunny, pinned a note to her dress, and gave her a bottle of wine, and told her to keep the wine no matter what. He closed her in and there was pounding at the door. The Germans came and took him away. She stayed hidden until nightfall. She came out to try and find Damien, who worked with her father. She thought she had found him in the cellar but realized that the voices she heard were speaking German and that they were getting closer. She accidentally dropped the wine and took off into the forest to hide.

Charlotte has been dating Henri for a year although their schedules mean they have not been together much. She thinks she may love him and she feels her biological clock ticking. Charlotte’s grandfather had been a grape grower in California. He died about a year ago and his vineyard is up for sale. Henri and Charlotte are on their way to a wine auction and Henri is very excited. He is going to bid on a box of wine that was found in the house of a German aristocrat. Charlotte is bothered that the wine was probably stolen during the war by the Germans but Henri is unphased by the wine’s history as long as it is collectible. The box contains 5 bottles of wine. Henri wins the auction for the wine and his contact tells him that two of the bottles are collectible but the other three are not. Henri and Charlotte go back to her apartment to celebrate Henri’s purchase. The next morning Henri leaves without even kissing Charlotte and tells her that she can have the one bottle of wine. She feels rejected by his brisk departure. She sits down with the bottle of wine and in her funk starts looking at the label on the bottle. She discovers there is a label under the label. Her first urge is to call Henri and ask him about it but then decides to see if he calls before her flight. If he does, she will tell him. If not, she won’t.

With this as the setting for the story, we go on to find out about Martine and Charlotte. Martine, a child, trying to find her way and Charlotte trying to find her way and find out the story of the bottle of wine. Do they find their way to each other? Is Martine even still alive?

This is the author’s second book for adult readers, and both are historical fiction. She has also written five books for young adults.

I enjoyed the story. I found it to be interesting and the story moved along well. Sometimes, when an author changes time and characters, it can be confusing. I did not find this book confusing at all. I recommend it.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Holidays!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

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Booked for Murder by P J Nelson

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

It has finally happened. I waited so long to write a book review that I forgot what the book was about. Granted, this has almost happened before but usually, when I read the description on Amazon, I remember the book.

This is not a reflection of the book. Well, I suppose it is a bit but I finished the book around the first of June and I have read a lot since then. It was bound to happen. I get books in advance of their publication and I have been concentrating on reading the book when I should concentrate on reading and writing the review. First off, sitting down to write the review is always a hurdle for me. I am always torn when the book doesn’t come out for six months after I have read it, should I tell you about the book when I read it or when it comes out? Yes, I could write the review and save it for publication of the book. WHICH IS WHAT I SHOULD DO. I will try to do this in the future.

So, I re-read the book last night and early this morning. I did remember at some point “Who done it’ but I was enjoying it and there were parts I didn’t remember so I read the whole book. I suppose the fact that I re-read the book so quickly will tell you two things. First of all, I read fast. (Credit to my mother who sent me to speed reading class before my freshman year of high school.) The other thing to note is that this is a cozy mystery around 330 pages long and it does read quickly.

Booked for Murder takes place in the small Georgia town of Enigma. (Which is a real town.) Madeline Brimley has returned to Enigma because her Aunt Rose has died, and left her a bookshop. The bookshop is located in a house where Rose worked and lived. Growing up, all Madeline wanted to do was get out of Enigma and be an actress like her Aunt Rose. She left when she was 17, went to college, then to New York, and then to Atlanta. Her parents had died years before and while she talked to her Aunt Rose regularly, she had not been back. She is confused as to why Aunt Rose left her the bookstore and is not sure at all that she wants to be there. Very soon after walking into the house, she smells burning junipers. The gazebo at the back of the house is on fire. She calls the Fire Department, and they come and tell her it is arson and imply that she is the likely source of the fire. This doesn’t sit well. After the fire is out and the fire department leaves, the phone rings and a male voice tells her that she has to leave or the next fire will be in the house with her in it.

Early the next morning, Dr. Philomena Waldrop, her aunt’s best friend and the woman who also seemed like an aunt to her arrives at the bookshop. She tells Philomena what has happened and feels a great sense of relief that Philomena is there. That day she starts meeting some of the bookshop regulars, which include students from Barnsley College. Barnsley College is located in Enigma and Philomena is the head of the psychology department. One student who makes her presence known, in the best possible way, is Tandy Fletcher. Everyone loves Tandy. It seems that Aunt Ruth did too as Tandy helped her in the store and would occasionally sleep over at the house/bookstore. Officer Billy Sanders also comes to see Madeline because of the fire. It turns out that she used to babysit for Officer Sanders. She doesn’t tell him about the call but she does tell him in no uncertain terms that she did not start the fire and he believes her.

The next day, she receives another threatening phone call. She doesn’t tell Officer Sanders about either call. That night, Tandy asks to stay the night. Madeline wakes up during the night because she smells smoke. She runs downstairs and finds the front door of the house on fire and Tandy dead on the floor. Tandy has been stabbed.

Who would kill this girl everyone says is the nicest person on earth? Did they really mean to kill Madeline? And why is someone so upset about Madeline and the bookstore?

In trying to puzzle this out, Philomena decides that they need the help of Gloria Coleman. Madeline is a bit mystified as to who Gloria Coleman is and why they need her help. Gloria Coleman is the relatively new pastor of the Episcopalian Church in Enigma. She has been receiving phone threats also.

Is it the same person?

I enjoyed the book – both times. It is has character development and several plot twists. Also, there is another mystery with the book. The author of the book is P.J. Nelson.

“PJ NELSON is the pseudonym of an award-winning actor, dramatist, professor, and novelist (among other many other professions) who has done just about everything except run a bookstore. He lives in Decatur, Georgia.”

So… who is P.J. Nelson?

Thanks for reading!

Oh, and in case you think I forgot – I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

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