Happy Dog Day!

In honor of National Dog Day here in the U.S., below is my recent review of Ruff Justice by Laurien Berenson. I rated the book 4.5 stars and think other dog lovers will enjoy this well-written cozy mystery.


The world of dog shows is a way of life for Melanie Travis and her family. Melanie is proud of her award-winning standard poodles and her aunt is a long-time dog breeder, dog show participant, and judge. Melanie’s teenaged son Davey is also getting into the act trying to help his own poodle become a champion. However, Melanie, Peg, and the rest of the dog show community is shocked when a show vendor is found murdered in her own concession booth. When Aunt Peg’s dog sitter, who is a tenant of the murdered woman, disappears the same day, Melanie is soon on the case to get to the truth of what really happened to both young women.

I have read a couple of the prior books in this series, but I don’t follow it regularly. I had no problem connecting with the characters, and I think new readers will enjoy the book just as much as long-time fans. Melanie is a relatable character, She works as a special needs tutor during the week and accompanies her son to dog shows on the weekends. All of the different settings in the book are equally interesting. I like the scenes with Melanie at work, especially when she is helping a new girl fit in to the school and put a stop to the bullying she is experiencing. In addition, the dog shows are just as exciting as the mystery. I was on the edge of my seat during some of the dog show judging scenes, rooting for Davey as he shows his poodle. I’ve never been to a dog show, but the author makes it sound very exciting.

The mystery is a good one and as Melanie looks into the murder, she learns the victim had many secrets and no shortage of people who may have had a motive to kill her. Melanie is a credible amateur sleuth who is easy to like. The same can’t be said about the no-nonsense Aunt Peg. Peg is blunt to the point of rudeness and is very pushy at times. She is often correct in her opinions, but the way she goes about expressing them is sometimes hard to take. I like the other main characters, such as Melanie’s husband and older son, so Peg is the only one that I often found to be annoying.

I like how the author ties the murder and the disappearance together, and I enjoyed how the book ends. I think dog-lovers and anyone else looking for a well-written cozy mystery with interesting characters and settings will enjoy "Ruff Justice."

This review was originally written for Smitten by Books blog and review site. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Review of Vivien Chien's latest cozy mystery and other recommendations

I just finished a fun cozy mystery in which the main character works at her family's Chinese restaurant. The main character, Lana Lee's mother is from Taiwan so there is plenty of Chinese-American culture includes in this book. I enjoyed this book as well as the first book in this new series.

If you enjoy books that include an inside look into Asian-American cultures, you will want to try the latest by Vivien Chien. My full review of this book can be found at the end of this post. Here are a few other mysteries series with Asian-American main characters that you may also enjoy.

• The Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series:  Lydia is a Chinese-American professional PI . She works with her partner, Bill Smith, who would love to have more than just a business relationship, to solve gritty, dangerous cases.
• Sujata Massey's Rei Shimura series is one of my favorite mystery series. Rei is Japanese-American and ends up involved in several intriguing mysteries. I especially like the earlier books in the series that take place in Japan.
• Naomi Hirahara has two excellent series I enjoy. She is best known for her series featuring Japanese-American Mas Arai who solves mysteries while working as a gardener in Los Angeles. She has a cozier series with Ellie Rush, a bicycle police officer, that is excellent. Unfortunately, this series has only two books. I don't know if the author has any plans to continue it or not.

Review of Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien  Rating:  4 stars

Lana Lee works as a server at Ho-Lee Noodle House, the restaurant owned by her parents. Lana longs to do something else with her life, but she is needed at the restaurant, especially now that her mom and dad must travel to Taiwan to deal with a family crisis. Things get even worse for Lana when a good friend becomes a victim of a tragic, fatal incident. Detective Adam Trudeau, Lana's sometime boyfriend, warns her not to get involved, but Lana continues to investigate to get justice for her friend.

This book is the follow-up to Chien's "Death by Dumpling". It's not necessary to have read this book to enjoy this one, although there is a large number of characters to keep track of. An old-fashioned "Cast of Characters" at the beginning of the book would have been helpful. I like Lana and most of the other main characters, although Lana's condescending sister and pushy mother are sometimes hard to take. I like the setting of the Chinese restaurant and the entire Asia Village shopping area in which it's located.

The mystery itself is interesting and Lana does a good job of questioning witnesses and potential suspects. There are plenty of surprises in the book's clever plot and I enjoyed this fast read and look forward to seeing what's in store for Lana in both her working and her love life in future books.

I received this book through NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin's. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Hello, again!

Although I have never stopped reading and reviewing books, it's been a long time since I've posted anything to this blog. As much as I love just writing reviews, I've missed this blog and am finally getting back to it.

Recently, I've been fortunate enough to receive a few books from Sapere Books to read and review. I have been introduced to several writers I didn't know before. One of my favorite of the books I've received recently is "Lying and Dying" by Graham Brack. The Czech Republic was such a unique and interesting setting and the plot and characters were superb. I will probably never travel to this region in real life, but I liked "visting" through this well-written mystery.

4.5 stars

Detective Josef Slonsky has been a policeman in Prague for almost 40 years. He doesn't have further career ambitions past his current rank of Lieutenant, but he isn't ready to retire yet. Slonsky seems to take a liking to the newest rookie, Navratil, with whom he's partnered. The two are assigned to a case of an unidentified young woman found strangled in a railway station. When the woman is linked to a high-ranking government official, Slonsky and his new partner become involved in an investigation that is more complex and more dangerous than they could have ever guessed.

I was intrigued by the setting of this book because I've never read a book set in the Prague. The book includes information about the modern Czech Republic as well as the country's history. I learned a lot while being entertained by this gritty police procedural. Slonsky is witty, lazy, and says what's on his mind. He makes an unlikely but complementary match with the young, enthusiastic, and sometimes naive Navratil. I enjoyed the humor in the book and Slonsky reminded me of Inspector Morse. I found myself laughing out loud at many of Slonsky's one-liners.

The plot of the book gets more complicated as the story goes on and I sometimes couldn't see how things that seemed unrelated to the investigation fit into the story. However, everything comes together for a shocking ending I never saw coming. I'm happy to see a follow-up to this book is scheduled to come out this fall. I think fans of Colin Dexter or Peter Robinson will enjoy the layered characters and complex plot of "Lying and Dying" as much as I did.

I received this book through the courtesy of Sapere Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.