Book Review: Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18) by Lee Hollis

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Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18)  by Lee Hollis  opens with Tom Farley and his neighbors in a snit because he's the last holdout to sell his house to a property developer who wants to build a resort. When Tom is shot at a pre-Thanksgiving community gathering and hospitalized, Hayley Powell puts her amateur sleuthing skills to good use. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this cozy mystery. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange of my honest opinion and review of the story. I loved the fact that this latest installment of the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery  series had a theme around the Thanksgiving holiday and included live turkeys in the plot. It was good to visit some familiar characters. Since this is the eighteenth installment in the series, Lee Hollis didn't go into much detail of the background of those reoccurring characters; however, she...
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Book Review: The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1) by Carolyn Keene

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The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories by Carolyn Keene is a book series that my mom introduced to me in middle school. I remember falling in love with it immediately, so as part of my quest to read my way through my childhood, I had to reread it again. Of course, I started with the first book in the series, The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1). There were a few things that ran through my mind reading it as an adult that I know I didn't think of as a child. 

Most importantly, this book was originally published in May 1930, and I didn't give it a second thought that cars were still relatively new in the United States and that it was highly unlikely that an eighteen year old would have their own car let alone a convertible. What surprised me the most is that at least the first book had been rewritten since its original publication date. So, I have purchased a copy of what is supposed to be the original story through ThriftBooks.com. I am hopeful that it really is the original story, and I can't wait to compare the two versions.

Other things that I didn't really think much of when I originally read this story as a kid is that Nancy's dad, Carson Drew, is an attorney, and he obviously is a very good lawyer because he has a live in housekeeper that also has served as a nanny of sorts for Nancy. That isn't a common thing for people who are middle class. Then, there is the clothing stores where customers actually have a seat and wait for a sales clerk to wait on you. Wow, times sure have changed since then! And, the writing in The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1) is very mature. I think kids today would be shocked at some of the words that are used because they aren't commonly used words today . . . words like shan't.  

The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1) is extremely well written and held my interest even as an adult. I even think children today would enjoy this first installment in the series despite it missing some of the modern conveniences of today like cell phones and computers. I gave it four out of five stars.

Synopsis of The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1) by Carolyn Keene:  By pure chance, Nancy Drew witnesses a little girl named Judy fall off a bridge and rushes to help her. When she helps Judy home, Nancy gets roped into searching for the missing will of Josiah Crowley, which supposedly leaves money to Judy's aunts.


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