Book Review: The Fair Weather Friend by Jessie Garcia

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The Fair Weather Friend  by Jessie Garcia  opens with Faith Richards, a popular meteorologist in Detroit, never returning back to the news station after her dinner break. The next day, her news station releases a story that she's been found, strangled to death not far from the station. The Fair Weather Friend , as Richards is referred to by adoring fans, had some deep, dark secrets. As those skeletons come to light, other peoples' lives start to unravel, and things are not what they seem. I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for approving my request for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Jessie Garcia's The Fair Weather Friend . A digital copy was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions of the novel are my own. There were many things I absolutely enjoyed about Jessie Garcia's sophomore novel including multiple point of views, the character development, and numerous red herrings. Overall, the story being told from a var...
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Book Review: Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18) by Lee Hollis

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NetGalley ARC Book Review: Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18) by Lee Hollis
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 did provide some cursory details for those who may not have read any of the previous installments in the series. With that being said, there were more details given about new characters featured in Death of a Tom Turkey. There were lots of red herrings and motives of who would've wanted to harm Tom, but I couldn't figure out who the culprit, or culprits, were.

As much as I enjoy this particular cozy mystery series, I just wasn't feeling this one. It was well written with a few twists and turns and a big courtroom trial. With that being said, it was slower paced than I would have liked with very little clues given along the way. Some of the clues and twists given seemed convenient or appeared abruptly.

Three out of five stars is what I rated Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18) by Lee Hollis. Where this may not have been my favorite installment, it may be one of your favorites, so give it a read. This book was published on September 30, 2025.

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