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: Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands

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Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands opens with Perry finding out that his wife had an unfortunate accident and passed away, which leaves him to tell his estranged stepchildren, Kagan and Hazel, what happened. When Kagan and Hazel offer their help with settling the estate, Perry turns them away and absconds with everything, but not before charming a wealthy widower in hopes of conning her out of money. Will Kagan and Hazel be able get their inheritance back and stop their stepfather before he takes advantage of yet another lonely woman?

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for approving me to read an Advanced Readers Copy ARC of Trust Issues. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

Hazel, Kagan, and Perry have to be the most unlikable characters in the history of books. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about them. In fact, I disliked the characters so much that I considered not finishing the book. The only redeeming character in the whole story was Ava. At one point in Ava telling her story about staying with her Aunt Constance, it reminded me of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I didn't trust Ava entirely and expected her to be in cahoots with Perry.  Was I right? That's for me to know, and you to find out.

I didn't care for the writing style of the authors at the beginning, but the writing did get better once Ava was introduced. It still was hard for me to get through the story, but the last twenty-five percent of the book was enjoyable, which led me to give Trust Issues four stars out of five stars instead of three stars.

Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands wasn't exactly the book for me, it may be perfect for someone else. Give it a whirl and make up your own mind.

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