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 Cuckoo's Calling (Comoran Strike, #1) by Robert Galbraith

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The Cuckoo's Calling (Comoran Strike, #1) by Robert Galbraith opens with Comoran Strike working as a private investigator in London, England. When John Bristow hires Comoran Strike to investigate the death of his sister Lula Landry, a famous supermodel, Strike is thrown into the world of celebrities as he investigates the case.

I read this book for one of the book clubs I was in, and had I not been in the book club, I'm not sure if I would have picked up this novel or not. When it was released it became public knowledge relatively quick that Robert Galbraith was actually J.K. Rowling writing under a pseudonym. It didn't really surprise me that she used one as I'm sure she wanted the book to be reviewed more honestly and not compared to her Harry Potter book series for children.

While I did enjoy The Cuckoo's Calling immensely, it did follow the typical formula for books in the mystery and thriller categories. I expected a lot more from J.K. Rowling, so I didn't give it as many stars as I would have had it been a debut novel for an author. But, don't get me wrong, I completely lost myself in the story and found it extremely binge worthy, and I enjoyed it so much that I've bought some of the other books in the series.

There were some things I had to look up as I was reading this book because I couldn't quite catch the meaning of certain things, even in the context of the book. One such thing was the use of "suppurating skin". I found out that it meant "discharging pus", and I think it would have flowed better had she just used the latter instead. And even though the British and Americans both speak English, I thought it was interesting that they say "clean their teeth" instead of "brush their teeth". Then, Galbraith/Rowling used a description of "paunchy man with a face the color of corned beef", and I thought that this was a really strange way to describe a character.

I'd also like to mention that they updated the cover of the book to tie in with the television series on Cinemax. Where I don't mind the revised cover, I really like the original cover the best. However, I will give the television series, 'Strike', a try once I've read all the books in the series.

All in all, I enjoyed The Cuckoo's Calling (Comoran Strike, #1) by Robert Galbraith and gave it three out five stars. If you enjoyed this book, I recommend Kiss The Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark. 


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