Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: Haunting and Homicide (A Ghost Tour Mystery, #1) by Ava Burke

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NetGalley ARC Book Review of Haunting and Homicide (A Ghost Tour Mystery, #1) by Ava Burke
Haunting and Homicide (A Ghost Tour Mystery, #1) by Ava Burke opens with a little girl named Lou Thatcher talking with a ghost about how she doesn't want to move. Fast forward to several years later, Lou has moved back to the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana. She still can see and talk with ghosts and has opened her own business . . . a haunted history walking tour. When one of Lou's competitors dies just feet from her, she becomes the number one suspect in his death. Can Lou prove her innocence, or will she end up in jail?

A huge thank you goes out to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for approving me and providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Haunting and Homicide. When I read the synopsis of the book, I just knew I had to read it. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of this story didn't immediately pull me in, but after reading a few pages, I found myself engaged with the tale the author was weaving. Give me a paranormal setting in a city that I love to visit, and I'm all there for it. Having been on a haunted walking tour of the French Quarter a couple of times, having a book built around one of these just called my name. I'm not quite as familiar with the Garden District of New Orleans, but I have had lunch at restaurant there, and the area was quite nice from what I remember. There are a few locations mentioned in the story that I know I have to check out the next time I visit, and I will definitely want to do a tour of those locations if they are offered. 

I really enjoyed most of the characters in Haunting and Homicide, but of course, there were a few that I didn't care for, namely Lou's mom and stepfather. They were a piece of work, and unfortunately, there really are crappy people like them in the world. I didn't care for Adam, but he ended up growing on me. Then, there was Lou's crush . . . he seemed very uncaring and almost harsh. The reader does find out why he acts the way he does later on in the book, but I still didn't quite like him.

Ava Burke does a fantastic job of providing the reader with several suspects and their motives. I wasn't quite sure who the killer was going to end up being, and when they were revealed, I wasn't surprised about who it ended up being. Did I figure out who it was? That would be a big no! Should I have paid more attention to the clues the author gave me? That would be a resounding yes!

When it comes to cozy mysteries, I am particular on the ones I read and end up continuing with the series. Haunting and Homicide (A Ghost Tour Mystery, #1) by Ava Burke is definitely being added to my favorites list, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Five out of five stars.

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