Wednesday, August 31, 2016


Lisa Ks Book Reviews blog is proud to bring to you
THE COZY TIMES

This is a weekly online publication focused on connecting cozy mystery readers to favorite cozy characters by way of their town's newspapers. 

The Cozy Times will be available Wednesdays right here on Lisa Ks blog. 
There will also be weekend editions, and special editions from time to time. So keep watch. 

Today The Cozy Times is featuring the 
Lovett Chronicle

The Chronicle had one particular article that I thought you all would enjoy.  

Check it out!


Thief on the Loose in Lovett

Police have issued a warning that a thief is on the loose in Lovett, Michigan. They are investigating the theft on Tuesday of a giant zucchini from eight year old Billy McDonald’s garden at Love Blossom Farm.

“I’ve been growing the zucchini to enter in the Lovett County Fair’s largest vegetable contest,” Billy said. “I went to check on it, and it was gone.” 
“Billy’s hopes of winning the contest have been squashed,” said Frank McDonald, detective with the Lovett police. “There isn’t enough time before the fair to grow another reasonably sized zucchini.”

Police have few clues in the case but have ruled out rabbits, deer and other animals as the culprits.
“No prints were left at the scene,” said McDonald. “And the zucchini had been cleanly separated from the vine suggesting that scissors or some sort of cutting instrument was used.”
“Billy is extremely disappointed,” said Shelby McDonald, Billy’s mother. “He was really hoping to win the contest this year.”

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That's "offically" it from the Lovett Chronicle.
At least, that's all the editor was will to share.
However, The Cozy Times has sources inside the town of Lovett that have hinted things aren't as quiet as they seem to be.

Stay tuned. 
I have a hunch a bigger story is about to break!

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To learn more about the town of Lovett and it's residents, read the 

NO FARM, NO FOUL
Book 1 in the Farmer's Daughter Mysteries
by author 
Peg Cochran


Pre-order now
Releases September 6

First in the Farmer’s Daughter mystery series set on a picturesque farm in Michigan, where Shelby McDonald runs a popular lifestyle and cooking blog, from the national bestselling author of the Cranberry Cove Mysteries.
 
On her blog, The Farmer’s Daughter, Shelby McDonald is growing her audience as she posts recipes, gardening tips, and her experiences raising two kids and running Love Blossom Farm in the small western Michigan town of Lovett.
 
Working the farm is demanding but peaceful—until that peace is shattered when the minister’s wife is murdered on Shelby’s property during a fund-raiser for a local church. But the manure really hits the fan when Shelby’s good friend veterinarian Kelly Thacker emerges as the prime suspect. Shelby decides to dig in and find the murderer by herself. As more suspects crop up, she’ll have to move fast—before someone else buys the farm. . . .


INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES

MY REVIEW


I am a big fan of every one of author Peg Cochran’s series. So, to say I was excited that she had a new one coming out would be an understatement. As wonderful as I knew it would be, NO FARM, NO FOUL has ensured the Farmer’s Daughter Mysteries a place on my favorite’s list!

NO FARM, NO FOUL is a delightful story with a great cast of characters. Protagonist Shelby McDonald is a strong, independent, widowed mother of two young children. From Shelby’s blog, to the calm, sometimes humorous way she handles stressful situations, author Cochran has written this character in such a way, that I know she is someone I could become fast friends with.

Engaging from the very first page, this book was a quick read that was over way to soon. I was totally invested in every part of this story, from everyday life on Love Blossom Farm, where Shelby and her children live, the excitement of murder and other mayhem, through the investigation and thrilling reveal, I adored every single word! I especially loved the author’s shout out to her Cranberry Cove Mysteries!

If NO FARM, NO FOUL is any indication, the Farmer’s Daughter Mystery series is destined to be one of Peg Cochran’s best.

When you do read NO FARM, NO FOUL, make sure to check out the back of the book for some yummy recipes!

About Peg Cochran


Mystery writing lets Peg indulge her curiosity under the guise of “work” (aka research). As a kid, she read the entire set of children’s encyclopedias her parents gave her and has been known to read the dictionary. She put pen to paper at age seven when she wrote plays and forced her cousins to perform them at Christmas dinner. She switched to mysteries when she discovered the perfect hiding place for a body down the street from her house.

When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading, cooking, spoiling her granddaughter and checking her books' stats on Amazon. 

A former Jersey girl, Peg now resides in Michigan with her husband and Westhighland white terrier, Reg. She is the author of the Sweet Nothings Lingerie series (written as Meg London), the Gourmet De-Lite series, the Lucille series and now the Cranberry Cove series. Her newest series, the Farmer’s Daughter, debuts with No Farm, No Foul in September 2016.


Coming September 6

Is there a cozy town you'd like to see featured in 
The Cozy Times? 
Please let me know in the comments section.


As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
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upper right hand corner of this page.


Tuesday, August 30, 2016

BOOK TOUR


I'm thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour for author 
Lynn Cahoon 
and her new book
A STORY TO KILL
Book 1 in the Cat Latimer Mysteries


A new series from the author of the Tourist Trap Mysteries!

Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder…
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.

Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat…some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?


*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****
Winner will be chosen after September 11
at the end of the tour
Check out the great prize, and enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post. 
This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.


MY REVIEW


A STORY TO KILL is The story to read!

I’m a huge fan of author Lynn Cahoon’s Tourist Trap Mysteries, available only in eBook. However, being a woman who still loves holding a paper book in my hands, I was thrilled to hear Ms. Cahoon not only had a new series coming out, but it would be a print edition!

Brilliant from chapter one, with every page I turned I became more and more caught up in this book. I never like being distracted when reading, and I distract easily. That being said, a marching band could have paraded through the room and it would have had no chance of pulling me out of A STORY TO KILL.

Everything that I love about author Cahoon’s writing, her talent for developing multi-layered characters, providing wonderful locations, and gripping, edge of your seat mystery, are all present and accounted for in this exciting tale.

It’s clear Lynn Cahoon has a new hit series on her hands! Trust me when I say, you need to have A STORY TO KILL in your TBR.

When you do get your own copy, make sure to check out the sneak peek of book two in the Cat Latimer series, FATALITY BY FIRELIGHT. You’ll find it at the back of the book.


About Lynn


Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today bestselling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. Guidebook to Murder, book 1 of the series won the Reader's Crown for Mystery Fiction in 2015. She's also the author of the soon to be released, Cat Latimer series, with the first book, A STORY TO KILL, releasing in mass market paperback September 2016.She lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter and find out more about Lynn and her books at: 

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.

Monday, August 29, 2016


It's here!

BETTING OFF DEAD
Book 2 in the Spies and Spells Mysteries
by Tonya Kappes

Released today!


Betting Off Dead. And they're off! Gambling on horse racing is Kentucky's number one sport but when Kentucky Derby Thoroughbred picked to win the Derby, Rails and Nails, ends up poisoned, SKUL special agent Mick Jasper and rookie witch Maggie Park, who keeps her witch powers a secret, are called in to investigate a world of illegal gambling where a run for the roses can prove to be deadly.


MY REVIEW


Author Tonya Kappes has another wonderfully written hit on her hands!

BETTING OFF DEAD, book 2 in the Spies and Spells Mysteries is an absolutely enchanting installment to this fun series. Author Kappes certainly knows how to draw a reader in and entertain them from the first page until the last!

The characters in this series are fantastic! I really clicked with lead character Maggie Parks. Not because I am a witch who was raised by mortals, but because I tended to always see things differently than the rest of my family. Oh, and because I talked to my old car all the time, but mine never answered back like Maggie’s does (it’s her familiar!). Maggie’s Auntie Meme, and their neighbor, Mrs. Hubbard had me laughing out loud with their feuding! And, I have a little bit of a crush on Maggie’s spy partner Mick. ;-)

Clever, funny, exciting…BETTING OFF DEAD has it all. Ms. Kappes is a brilliant writer. She knows how to build a story at the perfect pace. I became more and more engrossed with every chapter. I didn’t come up for air until after the exciting reveal.

Fasten the seatbelts on your reading chair and get prepare for a thrilling ride!  

Click the word party to join in on the fun!


I look forward to seeing you there!


About Tonya


Tonya has written over 20 novels and 4 novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband and a teenage boy (her other three boys have spread their wings in college) and two very spoiled schnauzers in Kentucky.



As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.

Sunday, August 28, 2016


IT'S YOUR PARTY, DIE IF YOU WANT TO by Vickie Fee
WEDDING BELL BLUES by Ruth Moose
A MOST CURIOUS MURDER by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

IT'S YOUR PARTY, DIE IF YOU WANT TO
Book 2 in the Liv and Di in Dixie Mysteries
by Vickie Fee


“Down home and delightful.” —Carolyn Hart

Between a riverboat gambler-theme engagement party and a murder mystery dinner for charity, Dixie, Tennessee, party planner Liv McKay is far too frenzied to feel festive. Add to the mix her duties at the annual businesswomen’s retreat and the antics of a celebrity ghost-hunting diva, and Liv’s schedule is turning out to be the scariest thing about this Halloween—especially when the ladies stumble across a dead body in a cemetery…
 
Morgan Robison was a party girl with a penchant for married men and stirring up a cauldron of drama. Any number of scorned wives or frightened philanderers could be behind her death. As Liv and her best friend, Di, set out to dig up the truth, they’ll face the unexpected and find their efforts hampered by a killer with one seriously haunting vendetta…   
 
“Refreshing as a tall glass of sweet tea, Vickie Fee has crafted a series that celebrates the deadly traditions of Southern hospitality.” —Cheryl Hollon, author of Cracked to Death


  • Mass Market Paperback
  • Publisher: Kensington (September 27, 2016)

MY REVIEW


A delightful second installment to this wonderful series!

Author Vickie Fee had me laughing out loud only a few pages into, IT’S YOUR PARTY, DIE IF YOU WANT TO. She must have an outstanding sense of humor in real life, because it certainly shines through in her characters!

This second book in the Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery series has everything book one had and oh so much more! This fantastic story flowed at a great pace. Author Fee added just the right amounts of humor and intrigue at the most perfect plot points.

The mystery element of the story was cleverly written, keeping my mind busy trying to piece together clues even as new twists were introduced. When I finally read whodunit, I couldn’t believe it! I was so sure I had it figured out, only to find Ms. Fee had way outwitted me.

If you were a fan of book one, DEATH CRASHES THE PARTY, you’re going to love, IT’S YOUR PARTY, DIE IF YOU WANT TO. If you haven’t read the first book, well, read it! You’ll love it too!

Make sure to check out the back of the book for tips on hosting a murder mystery dinner!

Pre-order now!
Available September 27!

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WEDDING BELL BLUES
Book 2 in the Dixie Dew Mysteries
by Ruth Moose


Beth McKenzie, owner of the Dixie Dew Bed and Breakfast, is enjoying an exciting affair with her new love, Scott. Meanwhile, the town of Littleboro, North Carolina is abuzz with gossip about Crazy Reba's upcoming nuptials. Most brides go crazy at some point, but Littleboro's resident homeless lady has had a head start: she's beloved, indulged, and most of all, eccentric. But at almost 60―or thereabouts―her marriage seems a little peculiar. Sure, she's sporting a diamond big enough to choke a horse, but no one can tell if it's real, or just a Cracker Jack prize she pilfered from a yard sale.
Crazy Reba's wedding plans go confirmedly awry when the bride-to-be is arrested for her fiancé's murder. Beth, determined to clear Reba's name, gets in over her head when a lady wrestler who threatened to kill her books a room at the Dixie Dew, and Robert Redford, her neighbor's white rabbit, disappears.
Then Littleboro's First Annual Green Bean Festival gets up and running, a famous food writer becomes deathly ill, and Beth must battle through madcap mayhem to apprehend the culprit and save the day.
Wedding Bell Blues is Ruth Moose's sequel to her winning debut, featuring her colorful array of characters and more laughs and hilarity.

  • Hardcover
  • Publisher: Minotaur Books (August 23, 2016)

MY REVIEW


A smart and sassy Southern mystery, WEDDING BELL BLUES will be a book you’ll remember quite a while after you’ve read the last page.

Anyone who read the first book in this series, DOING IT AT THE DIXIE DEW, will understand why author Ruth Moose won the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel competition. She has a true gift for writing.

In WEDDING BELL BLUES, through the narration of author Moose’s protagonist, Beth McKenzie, we learn about the town of Littleboro, North Carolina, the Dixie Dew B&B, and the colorful cast of characters that make up the town folk.

Perfectly penned to get reactions from her readers, there were times during this story that I laughed out loud, and a few times where I had tears welling up. Between the emotional rollercoaster, and the twists and turns, reading WEDDING BELL BLUES can be likened to a day at the amusement park. Fun, exciting, and it leaves you breathless.

Fans of southern cozies, as well as readers of women’s literature will want to check in to the Dixie Dew and never leave!

Available Now!

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A MOST CURIOUS MURDER
Book 1 in the Little Library Mysteries
by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli


Jenny Weston moves home to Bear Falls, Michigan, to nurse her bruised ego back to health after a bitter divorce. But the idyllic vision of her charming hometown crumbles when her mother's Little Library is destroyed.

The next-door neighbor, Zoe Zola, a little person and Lewis Carroll enthusiast, suspects local curmudgeon Adam Cane, but when he's found dead in Zoe's fairy garden, all roads lead back to her. Jenny, however, believes Zoe is innocent, so the two women team up to find the true culprit, investigating the richest family in Bear Falls, interrogating a few odd townspeople, and delving into long, hidden transgressions--until Adam Cane isn't the only body in town, and they have an even bigger mystery to solve.

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's quaint and compelling series debut A Most Curious Murder will delight cozy mystery readers.


  • Hardcover
  • Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (July 12, 2016)

MY REVIEW


NOTE: I’ll put it out there…I am not a fan of Alice in Wonderland, and there are most obviously many references to it in this book. However, I am a fan a Little Libraries, so I had to check this book out. With that being said, my review is based on the author’s writing ability, her plot, the mystery, and not my personal dislike of Alice.

Author Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli grabbed my attention when I heard A MOST CRUIOUS MURDER was the start of a series based on Little Libraries. I am fascinated by them.

To be honest, at first I didn’t care for protagonist, Jenny Weston. I found her to be abrasive. Though, in all fairness, the character was going through a bit of an ordeal right from the very beginning of the book.  However, I kept reading because I enjoyed the author Buzzelli’s writing style. She has an easy flow to her words. Plus, I had to find out what was going to happen. I did warm up to Jenny, so I’m happy I stuck with in.

A MOST CURIUOS MURDER was a well thought out mystery that kept adding more bad situations as it went along, keeping the characters and me on our toes, and with a real need to get to the bottom of it all.

This first in a series will have readers wanting more. And for those Alice in Wonderland fans out there, you will find it a double delight.

Available Now!
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As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.