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 Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

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book review the mother in law sally hepworth
The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth opens with Lucy finding out that her mother-in-law, Diana, has died. Narrated from varying characters perspectives, the story alternates between the present and the past and weaves a twisted story between Lucy, Diana, and the rest of the family.

I didn't know what to expect because I chose to read The Mother-in-Law based on all the rave reviews I heard about it, and I wasn't sure what was going to play out. But, wow . . . this book was AMAZING! 
 
Twists and turns, oh my! There were so many that I was kept guessing throughout the entire book, and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. And, I loved the fact that the author kept me guessing as to who the killer was because red herring after red herring kept materializing.

The character development and backstories were spectacular. By the end of the book, we really got to see what made Diana tick and made her who she was. Once you know her backstory, Diana actually becomes a likable character, and it made me sad that she ended up dying the way she did. Other characters that I liked at the beginning, I ended up despising by the end of the story. I won't say more than that as it could possibly be a spoiler.

It was written a bit differently from most of the mystery, suspense, and thriller novels I typically read, but it was exceptionally well written and held my interest throughout. The Mother-in-Law was the first novel I read by Sally Hepworth, but it definitely will not be my last. I gave it five out five stars. If you enjoyed The Mother-in-Law, then I recommend Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger.


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