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: Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

-

book review christmas presents lisa unger

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is a novella expected to be published on October 24, 2023 by Penzler Publishers.  Madeline Martin is the owner of a thriving business, a bookstore.  When author and podcaster Harley Granger stops by her store, Madeline is starstruck.  However, bad memories are dredged up for Madeline by the author when he mentions that he is reopening a cold case that she survived.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Lisa Unger's novella, Christmas Presents.  As a recent fan of the author, I knew I wanted to read her latest without even reading the synopsis, so I requested to read this novella and was ecstatic when I was approved to receive a copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

This novella falls into the mystery, thriller, and suspense genre but has a little romance and intrigue to it.  Despite the genre, it even put me in the Christmas mood since it takes place during the holiday.  It's the perfect book for those who love this genre and want a holiday read.

From the get go, I narrowed the killer down to two different people.  As the storyline progressed, I did start to second guess myself and wondered if the narrator was unreliable.  When the murderer was revealed, I was glad it was who it was . . . you're not going to get any spoilers from me.  I will say that for all intent and purposes, Christmas Presents had a happy ending, and Lisa Unger did a nice job wrapping it up.

The story was told from alternating timelines.  I don't always like it when an author does this because it can feel disjointed.  However, Lisa Unger did a fabulous job with it because it had me on the edge of my seat wondering what really happened.  It really helped move the story along.

Five out of five stars is what I gave Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger.  Don't miss out on this fantastic novella . . . pre-order it today.  You won't be sorry.

 

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