Carries Book Reviews

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Title: A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime & Croissants

Author:  Ann Claire

Publisher: Kensington Cozies 

Publication Date: May 21, 2024

Page Count:  320

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

About the book:

Vicariously tour the sundrenched Mediterranean Coast in this perfectly escapist new cozy mystery series starring American expat-turned-bike tour company owner in Southern France. 

Perfect for fans of Donna Leon’s The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries, M.L. Longworth’s Provençal Mystery series, and armchair travel!

Nine months ago, Sadie Greene shocked friends and family by ditching her sensible office job in the Chicago suburbs and buying a sight-unseen French bicycling tour company, Oui Cycle. Now she’s living the unconventional life of her dreams in the gorgeous village of Sans-Souci-sur-Mer. Sans souci means carefree, but Sadie feels enough pressure to burst a tire when hometown friends arrive for a tour, including her former boss, Dom Appleton. Sadie is determined to show them the wonders of France and cycling—and to prove she made the right move. 

She hopes her meticulously planned nine-day itinerary will win them over, with its stunning seascapes, delicious wine tastings, hilltop villages, and, of course, frequent stops for croissants. When Dom drags his heels on fun, Sadie vows he’ll enjoy if it kills her. That is, until Dom ends up dead. The tragedy was no accident. Someone went out of their way to bring a permanent end to Dom’s vacation.

As more crimes—and murder—roll in, suspicions hover over Oui Cycle. To save her dream business, help her friends, and bring justice, Sadie launches her own investigation. However, mysteries mount with every turn. On an uphill battle for clues, can Sadie come to terms with her painful past while spinning closer to the truth—or will a twisted killer put the brakes on her for good?

A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime & Croissants by Ann Claire is the first book in the new cozy A Cyclist’s Guide Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series each book of the series will contain it’s own fully solved mystery so one could read this as a standalone if choosing to do so. Of course there will be some character development that carries over onto the rest of the series for those that want to continue.

Sadie Greene had always considered herself the safe and sensible type having settled into a nine to five office job in her home city of Chicago. That is until one day Sadie’s world is turned upside down losing someone close to her. Sadie’s sense of adventure kicks in knowing that any day could be one’s last so she tosses her safe life aside and invests in a bicycle touring company in southern France and doesn’t look back.

Now nine months later Sadie has her cycling business up and running somewhat well when she gets word from back home in Chicago that some friends want to come tour with her. Sadie knows that no matter how meticulously she plans her tours plans can and will often change while out with a tour but what Sadie never expected to happen was a murder occur along their route. With suspicions flying Sadie vows to do what she can to figure out just went wrong and who in their small group could be a murderer.

I often enjoy a good humorous and fun cozy mystery so of course A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime & Croissants by Ann Claire caught my eye on that fact alone. However, this new series also came with the added bonus of some fun virtual traveling which is also top of my list of likes in my reading. Who wouldn’t want to tour around France with a quirky group of suspects and solve a murder? This opener was a solid read that fell in at three and a half stars for me with a lot of time spent with the touring and getting to know the series that I just wanted a bit more time with the mystery too but hopefully that all comes together in the next in the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

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About the author:

Ann Claire earned degrees in geography, which took her across the world. Now Claire lives with her geographer husband in Colorado, where the mountains beckon from their kitchen windows. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, gardening, herding housecats, and enjoying a good mystery, especially one by Agatha Christie.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

Title: The Heiress

Author:  Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publication Date: Jan 9, 2024

Page Count:  281

My rating: 4 1/2 stars

About the book:

THERE’S NOTHING AS GOOD AS THE RICH GONE BAD.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.

And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is a domestic thriller novel with a gothic setting to it. The story in The Heiress is one that is told with three distinctive points of view to it with two being the main couple but the third taking place in the past through the letters left behind by the matriarch who has passed.

Camden is the adoptive son of the somewhat infamous Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. Ruby lived a long life that many whisper rumors about having married four times and accumulating a fortune in the nine-figure range making her North Carolina’s richest woman but one locals refer to as Mrs. Killmore wondering about her past husbands.

When Ruby did pass away Camden made it no secret he wanted nothing to do with the ancestral home, Ashby House, or the fortune that came with it. Camden moved away and married his wife, Jules, and became an English teacher across the country. Now ten years later however Camden’s remaining relatives have contacted him and called him home to Ashby House to sort out things after his uncle’s death.

Rachel Hawkins is an author that I’ve read several of her thriller novels in the past and always looked forward to returning to again and again. The Heiress thankfully was far from a disappointment pulling me right into the story and not letting go until the very last page. There are plenty of twists and turns that I have come to expect in this story and I found myself just as engaged with the past timeline as the present leaving me rating this one at four and a half stars when I finished reading.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Rachel Hawkins (www.rachel-hawkins.com) was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama, and is currently at work on the third book in the Hex Hall series. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree….

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

Title: Under This Red Rock

Author:  Mindy McGinnis

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: March 19, 2024

Page Count:  331

My rating: 3 stars

About the book:

From award-winning author Mindy McGinnis comes a mesmerizing YA psychological mystery following a teen girl who is grappling with the death of her brother as she starts a new job in the caverns of Ohio—only to become the number one suspect in her coworker’s murder. Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kathleen Glasgow.

Neely’s monsters don’t always follow her rules, so when the little girl under her bed, the man in her closet, and the disembodied voice that shadows her every move become louder, she knows she’s in trouble. With a history of mental illness in her family and the suicide of her older brother heavy on her mind, Neely takes a job as a tour guide in the one place her monsters can’t follow—the caverns. There . . . she meets Mila. Mila is everything Neely isn’t—beautiful, strong, and confident. As the two become closer, Neely’s innocent crush grows into something more. When a midnight staff party exposes Neely to drugs, she follows Mila’s lead . . . only to have her hallucinations escalate.

When Mila is found brutally murdered in the caverns, Neely has to admit that her memories of that night are vague at best. With her monsters now out in the open and her grip on reality slipping, Neely must figure out who killed Mila . . . and face the possibility that it might have been her.

Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis is a young adult psychological thriller novel with a slight edge of horror to it. The story in Under This Red Rock is one that contains some highly sensitive subjects such as mental illness and suicide so it may not be for everyone with such triggers.

Neely has always been different from others with the exception of her own family. Neely’s family have all had a history of mental illness right down to Neely and her brother but after the loss of her parents and her brother’s suicide Neely has learned to deal with the voices of the monsters in her head all on her own.

The one place Neely gets some relief from her troubles is down in a place known as the caverns. Neely decides to apply for a job as a tour guide through the caverns giving her hours of relief while she is working. This is where Neely meets Mila who she finds herself falling for until one night Mila is found brutally murdered in the caverns and Neely isn’t too sure she isn’t the murderer.

Mindy McGinnis is widely known for her intriguing young adult thrillers, some of which I have read and enjoyed myself in the past so I was excited to dive into Under This Red Rock. I have to say though that for me this wasn’t among the author’s best work as for one I figured things out way too early on which always puts a damper on my excitement which also made the story feel a little slow moving to me afterwards just hoping for a twist or two to come to knock me off my feet. I’m sure some will still love this one even if not my favorite though.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Mindy McGinnis is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy.

While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

The Summer I Met You
Blair Hayse
Publication date: June 20th 2024
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Small town southern girl Brianna Davis’s world is spinning faster than she can keep up with. She’s burying herself working as a hotel manager, having her personal life scrutinized as a socialite, and has one of the town’s most eligible bachelors on the hook in the form of Branson. However, it isn’t long before Brianna finds that relationship collapsing, as she falls intensely for Branson’s fiercest enemy in town: popular DJ and bar owner Levi Arrington. Sure, Levi caught her heart from the moment she met him, but there are too many complications for them to become a couple right now, aren’t there? He needs to grow up and she needs to open herself to love. Add to that the town, which sees the rising flames of passion all too well and is doing everything it can to stamp them out. Will Brianna find the love of her life in Levi, or will the small town rumors, drama, and the smothering presence of Branson be too much for her to bear?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

 

Author Bio:

Blair was born and raised in Tupelo, Mississippi. After graduating high school in 1999, she lived in Birmingham, Alabama, before moving back to Mississippi in 2008. She is an avid yoga lover, free spirit, shopping addict, and mom to four beautiful children: Parker, Kathryn, Jackson, and River Rose. She currently resides in Northeast Mississippi and enjoys traveling in her spare time.

Blair is a visibility coach for creatives and enjoys helping authors and speakers create a platform on which they can thrive. Blair is a nine-time best-selling author and international speaker.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

 

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Most Eligible Killer
Daria White
Publication date: June 4th 2024
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Mystery

Love, lies, and a lethal reunion.

In the heart of Edenville, Texas, Bianca Wallace’s life is blooming—her business is thriving and her romance with Detective Lamar Sims is heating up. But when her high school crush, Eddie Talbert, becomes the prime suspect in a murder case at her mother’s matchmaking event inspired by ‘The Bachelor, ’her world spirals into chaos.

Reluctantly drawn back into Eddie’s life, Bianca must sift through past feelings and present dangers, as Lamar races to solve the crime. Torn between her blossoming love and a past flame, Bianca’s loyalties are tested—does she trust her heart or the evidence stacking up against Eddie?

As secrets surface, Bianca realizes she might be closer to the killer than she ever imagined. Will her quest for truth be her last?

Dive into Most Eligible Killer to discover if Bianca’s pursuit of justice will salvage her future or sever her deepest ties forever.

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Author Bio:

Daria has lived in Texas for most of her life. She never liked reading as a kid. In fact, she almost hated it. However, as she grew up that all changed. Though she received her degree in healthcare management, Daria kept her writing as a hobby. She meant it to be private and her own way of expressing herself. It never crossed her mind to publish until she was in college. So, she took a chance and self published. It worked! Starting off as a sweet romance writer first, Daria branched out in 2020 with books in cozy mystery and Christian fiction. She even has nonfiction titles in the works, reflecting her Christian faith and work in ministry.

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