Book Review: Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis

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Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis is the first installment in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series, a cozy mystery series centered on private investigators. The story follows Sandra Wallage , the wife of a U.S. senator and the newly elected president of Portland High School’s PTA, who becomes the latest target of a vicious gossip website called Dirty Laundry . After a heated PTA meeting, Sandra crosses paths with Maya Kendrick , a private investigator who has uncovered the identity of the person behind the gossip site. When the two women attempt to confront the culprit, they instead discover a dead body. Was it really a suicide, or did someone have a motive for murder? I’m a longtime fan of books by Lee Hollis , which is actually the pen name for sibling writing duo Rick Copp and Holly Simason . They’ve written several cozy mystery series, and what I appreciate most about their books is that they aren’t overly kitschy, unlike some other cozy mysteries I’ve ...
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Book Review: Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) by Kate Darroch

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Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) by Kate Darroch is a story of a teacher named Màiri Maguire who is vacationing in Paris when her accompanying friend, Lianne, is accused of murder. Working with Major Ellis Peverel, together they try to prove Lianne's innocence.

A big thank you goes out to NetGalley and Kate Darroch for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of  Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1). It's an honor to be able to be selected to read this book.

This fast paced cozy mystery was a fun, entertaining read that would translate well into a film. I loved that there wasn't anything too gory in the story and that there wasn't any cursing for the sake of cursing. 

At first, the novel was a bit slow, and I had a bit of trouble of wrapping my head around the characters and their relationships to each other. However, the book picked up quickly, and I was able to sort out the relationships after a couple of chapters. There were some slang words I wasn't familiar with, but it didn't detract from the story too much.

I'll definitely give the second book in this series a go because I enjoyed Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) well enough to continue reading the next book. I also liked reading about so many of the places in Paris, France that I visited when I was there many years ago. Three out of five stars is what I give Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) by Kate Darroch.

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