Remains of the Dead by Wendy Roberts

The Remains of the Dead by Wendy Roberts


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I did not want to put this one down! This is not a light, cozy read but it was very engrossing. If you can't sit through an episode of CSI, however, you will probably want to skip this book. It is more descriptive of crime scenes than pretty much any book I've ever read and the crime scenes are far from pleasant. But, I loved the main characters and the storyline. I thought some of the clues were very obvious along the way, but missed a big one that was revealed in the final chapter. Kudos to the author for that last chapter because it was fantastic. I was already quite pleased with how things happened, but then I was pleasantly surprised to find just one more twist. If this is the author's first book, I am more than impressed and I expect great things to come from her. I look forward to reading more in this series. Excellent first book in a series and highly recommended for anyone that likes mysteries with a little bit of the paranormal and that doesn't mind a little gore. :)

Merciless by Richard Montanari

Merciless: A Novel of Suspense by Richard Montanari


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Normally, I don't read this type of mystery novel, but it was recommended to me by someone at a garage sale and I thought I'd give it a try. I can say it was good, but not a favorite. It's harder than the cozy mysteries I tend to read, which is to be expected, but I think it contributed to why I wasn't in love with it. I really enjoyed the fairy tale angle and would like to see that theme more often. I recently ordered a Grimm's Fairy Tale book because they are amazing to read as an adult, especially in a more pure form than say Disney would allow. The descriptions of the area were really good and I thought the plot was strong. I think if I venture into harder mysteries in the future, I will look this author up and see what else he has to offer. :)

Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini

Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have to say, there was a lot less organizing than I was expecting. I'm fairly certain Charlotte didn't finish a single job during the book! Of course, one job was suspended because of the mystery, so I can forgive that. But, she was also helping other clients and they never actually finished the jobs. How odd! There are plenty of organizational tips thrown in though, so it's not a big deal. It just struck me as funny that Charlotte never actually finished a job during the book. Anyway, I enjoyed this book. For the most part, I liked the dialogue, the characters, and how they interacted with one another. I think the author waited a little too long before really diving into the reveal and I don't think we were given enough clues along the way to see how Charlotte figured it out. The reveal also requires one to suspend a lot of disbelief, in my opinion. That said, I still enjoyed the book enough to want to continue with the series. Perhaps Charlotte will be able to finish a job in the next book? Ha ha!