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

-
Image
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...
Post a Comment

Book Review: Time of the Witch by Mary Downing Hahn

-
mary downing hahnWhen I was a kid, I hated reading chapter books because I found most of them boring . . . that was until I discovered two series during the summer between 5th grade and 6th grade . . . Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Paschal and The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. These two series made me an avid reader. Unfortunately, the middle school library didn't have these books in stock, so I started perusing the shelves for something to read when my English class visited the library.

I happened across a book titled The Time of the Witch written by Mary Downing Hahn. The synopsis of the book sounded intriguing, so I decided to check it out. I fell in love with the book, and it is what made me love fiction books about the paranormal . . . witches, vampires, daemons, etc. My love for the book made me check out many of her books from the school library. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lot of her books, and the public library by my house had none of her books, so I had to resort to buying them, which isn't a bad thing.

While in Charleston, South Carolina on vacation this past June, a crow flew by and perched on something (I can't remember what it was perching on now) and started squawking, which made me think of The Time of the Witch, which features a crow throughout the book. When I got home from vacation, I had to pull out my old copy of the book and reread it.

It still was just as magical to me as it was in middle school, and the writing still holds up as being well written. I think that even today's kids and tweens could relate to the book, even though there is no mention of more modern items in the book like cell phones. The scenes with the crow still creep me out to this day. This should definitely be on every child's reading list that are between the ages of eight and twelve. I gave The Time of the Witch 5 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:  Laura and her brother are sent to live with their aunt in the country while their parents are in the process of getting a divorce. Desperately wanting her parents reconcile, Laura tells Maude of her wish, not realizing there could be dire consequences.


Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/youtube the running bibliophile

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Dare by Natasha Preston

-
Image
The Dare by Natasha Preston is a young adult horror novel about Marley and her friends Atlas, Lucia, and Jesse are seniors in high school.  The senior pranks are fun and lighthearted until Rhett starts doling out dares that are more serious.  Will Marley and her friends survive? A huge thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of The Dare  by Natasha Preston.  The last book I read by this author was so well written, I knew I wanted to give her latest story a try. The first thing I noticed about the story is it's reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series, which brought back all the feels from my childhood.  Pretty quickly, the storyline shifts and is eerily similar to the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer .  It's at this point that I became disappointed with the book and almost stopped reading it.   Additionally, there were other parts t hat reminded me of The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell.  So, overall, The Dare wasn't ...
Read more

Book Review: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

-
Image
The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker  was published on March 17, 2025. It opens with Detective Declan Shaw at a closed subway station trying to work up the nerve to commit suicide when he receives a call from his partner about a break in and homicide at the home of a true crime author. Shaw makes his way to the crime scene to work the case, and in a turn of events, Declan comes under scrutiny in another case loosely connected to this new case. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Writer  from NetGalley and Little , Brown, and Company for free in exchange for my honest review. I'm appreciative that my request for this book was approved. With this story opening with the main character trying to commit suicide, I almost didn't go any further with the book. However, I am glad I stuck with it as it took me on a fantastic ride and had my emotions all over the place. There were so many twists and turns that just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was ...
Read more

Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich

-
Image
Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich  is the latest installment in the Stephanie Plum book series and opens with Joe Morelli asking Stephanie to dog sit his dog Bob while he is out of town testifying at a trial.  The typical chaos ensues when Stephanie has to bring Bob along to apprehend all of her FTAs and has her asking herself if she wants to be married. Each book in this series typically follows the same formula and is wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow at the end.  It's because of this that I enjoy the series . . . I always know that Stephanie is going to get herself into some sort of trouble and need Ranger or Morelli to help her, and the bad guy is always caught.  Sometimes, I just need something familiar and predictable to read.  And, I don't mean that in a bad way either because it allows me to escape reality and gives me a few chuckles along the way.  It's like the ...
Read more