David Navratil

Wow, what an emotional read! Book won or was nominated for many awards in 2019,
Odyssey Award (2019), Audie Award for Young Adult (2019), Edgar Award for Best Young Adult (2019), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2020), Lincoln Award Nominee (2020) ...more.
Main character “Sadie” has a bad stutter when talking and I the reader also have that. Author con vied Sadie emotions about the stuttering very well in the book.
Book is told in such a way as a news reporter is gathering information for a TV documentary on what happened to Sadie and her little sister Maddie.
The book is about 310 pages and listed as a YA Mystery! David N.

3 Weeks before Christmas and I needed a Christmas cozy to get me in the mood. I looked at the reviews of this book and most readers gave it a 5. Well I'm sorry but this review may lower the overall average just a bit!
Maybe I should have started reading the series when 1st coming out to get familiar with the characters. My 1st problem was there was hardly any mention of the Christmas holiday, no descriptions of decorations, no snow falling no Christmas trees! 2nd problem was Cat's best friend Shauna, she seemed to spend most of her time being a maid for Cat. I thought the better romance in the book would have been between Seth and Shauna. The main character “Cat” just did not come across as the strong willed sleuth found in most Cozies, she depended on Shauna just a bit too much.

The book was only 160 pages but if the author has written just a few more pages emphasizing the Christmas holiday it would have raised my rating up to a 4!!
Get the book and you will probably like it as most others have! David N

I tried this multi award winning book after reading reviews online. I'm a senior and much like Fantasy and SF books, I really had trouble with this one. It's not that the book isn't written well as you can see by my rating, It's due to the fact that so many characters were introduced thru out the book but all had African names, from different villages. This also involves time periods from 1750 - modern times and 1/2 of the book taking place in Africa & 1/2 in America. All the characters in the book are related in 1 way or another thru out the 200 yr span (Author included a Genealogy Tree).
And of course due to the subject of the book (Slavery Trade) very sad to be reminded of those events.
If you like award winning historical fiction then try this out! David N.

This was suggested by a member of the cozy mystery group on Goodreads! 250 Pages holiday theme and magic throughout the book.
Someone has stolen Santa's sleigh, no Christmas for kids if the mystery is not solved and only 3 days til Christmas. Takes place up at the North Pole.
The characters are good including the talking squirrel, lots of dialog in the book and there is a romance starting up with Aurora (Main character) and a wood carver (Both characters have past incidences they want to hide).
Author even threw in some recipes at the end of the book .
Can't tell much more without spoilers! Try it - David N.

45 Page cozy mystery, Witches, magic etc. Lady snowed in at an 80 yr class reunion. Must solve a murder that will happen in 2 hrs to one of a small group of 8 people. Can't stop the murder but with magical powers can bring the killer to justice! Good book, Author is now on my “Follow” list!
PS - Book is .99 cents at Amazon - David N.

I thought I'd take a break and try a short cozy mystery, 45 pages and this was nominated for some awards! This was a good book, 7 people stranded (Heavy Snow) at an out of the way hotel known to be haunted. All the people are suspects! Murder occurs in a locked library & you have to figure out why and how!
I have to start looking for more short mysteries, I try to keep my book sizes to around 250 too 380 Pages, reading 10% of a book each day!
Try this book for a quick 2 hr read, David N.

I was not really into this book, the main character just was not interesting to me. 260 Pages and it took me 10 days to read this (I kept putting the book down due to lack of interest). Did not bring out the Halloween feeling for me as the book is centered around that holiday. There are fudge recipes thru out the book, wished the publisher would have put them at the back since for some reason they miss up my settings for my E-Book reader!
The main character Allie felt to me like she was stringing 2 men along during the whole book and as for her sleuthing abilities, at the end of the book the bad folks has to explain to her what was actually happening (Didn't make sense to me).
I gave this book a 4 mainly because instead of starting the book series at book 1, I began with Fudge Bites book # 7. I have a bad habit of doing that with cozy mysteries. Looking at reviews of other readers of this book most readers enjoyed this book very much and I don't want to scare off future readers! David N.

Have not read a Zoe Chambers mystery in 2 years, I was up thru mystery #6 when I took a break. I'm glad I revisited this series with the next book in line. This has got to be one of the best “Why were they Killed?” I've read in ages. Lots of suspects, Twists & Surprises
Takes place in a small Penna farming community,main characters are Zoe working as a paramedic (and part time assistant coroner) and Pete working as the town police chief (the 2 characters having a romance since book 1)
Murders take place in a nursing home and at one of the farms! Are they related? Suspects start appearing everywhere! That's all, don't want to tell too much!
You don't have to start with book 1 (It helps to learn all the characters though), You get use to the characters in a hurry! 270 Pages, Easy read and I like that there is a lot of dialog between characters!
If you like “Who Done It and Why” then try this book out! David N.

This is the author's 1st novel written and it is a good one. Lots of suspects, good characters and mystery. I would not call this a cozy mystery. I normally read 10% of a book each day but found myself putting in a little extra reading time each day, I liked the book that much.
Liked that there was a lot of dialog between characters, a bit of romance and lots of humor.
Today is Halloween and I think I might try out the next book in this series which is centered around Halloween. If you like light mysteries this book may be for you! David N.

73 Yr old reader here and I must say I liked this! Usually read award winning or nominee mysteries but tried something new this time. Book is 170P, Young adult girl is dying from incurable disease and some how is transported into her favorite book “Sleeping Beauty”. She must save the Princess and somehow find a way to get back to realty/present times! Has a great best friend!
The LGBT community may like this book! If you want a short read, try this! David N.

This was a 100 page short read, 3 hrs, cozy mystery. I did like the fact that there was a lot of dialog between characters. Story centers around the thief of a dog being held at a pet groomer's business.
If you are a dog lover you will be sure to like this! I'm putting Summer Prescott on my follow list! David N.

This is a good one! About 170 pages, great characters, location & atmosphere. And the icing on the cake was the book had a good mystery. Lots of suspects w a few twists & turns. This is the 1st book I've read of Ellie Alexanders's and will start checking out more of here stuff! David N.

I've read the 1st 2 books in the series and enjoyed them, however there are a few problems with this 3rd book.

I'm a mystery addict and love a whodunit but there are times when authors just throw too many suspects and subplots into a book. After about the 1st 2 chapters I had to use a large pc of writing paper to try to keep up with all the characters, relationships to each other etc. If you can handle a book like this you will love it!

My biggest complaint is that the whole story takes place in Indiana during the summer time. A movie studio is filming a Christmas story and needs the main character (Merry) to help with decorations and crafts. I can't understand why the author could not have used the 1st 2 books location and the story happening during the period between Thanksgiving & Christmas! If I'm reading a cozy mystery centered around Christmas I want it to take place during that period!

I also think that the author could start adding a little romance into the main character. She seems cold as ice when it comes to romantic involvement!

Most of the author's fans will like this book and I do believe I will continue reading the series and maybe try 1 of here other series! This book however was just a bit of a let down for me!
David N.

I thought this book was a mystery as mentioned in different annual mystery awards, IT IS NOT!! The only mystery is why this book is being advertised/labeled as a mystery. I got 1/2 thru the book before I decided this wasn't a mystery. However if you are a fan of great characters, suspense, thrills excitement and such you will like this! This has won a lot of awards this year and maybe there could be a sequel (Hope so, the characters were great). I am not a fan of books like this, normally just mysteries however this book may have won me over to other genres! David N.

I was not really impressed by any of the characters in the book! There was a bit of a mystery to solve but nothing major. I wanted a book to get me into the Halloween spirit (coming up soon) but this was not it! This is book #22 in the Lucy Stone Series so people do like the author books but I don't think I will be trying another 1 soon!! David N.

This is a good one. 175 Pages, Halloween theme, Good characters & Female sleuth and most of all a big surprise at the end. Get it to get you in the mood for Halloween! David N.

I did not like the general background of fishing/logging industry but after about 25% into the book the characters got into me and I really found this to be a good mystery. Did not like the fact the main character has a troubled past, but it seems that is getting to be a trend in mysteries now! Lots of suspects and a bit of a thriller at end! This is a 1st in a new book series, give it a read! David N.

Big surprise at end!! David N.

I did not like the main character “Gemma” in this book at all. Very forgetful when friends need something from her. Chose the wrong person as the murderer in the middle of the book. Never even checked about that person's alibi! David N.

Best book I've read so far in 2021. This book is up for some awards. Book spans about 30 years of life for a group of people associated with a Ponzi swindle, criminals and victims alike! Very good book and just about 320 pages! David N.

Thought this was a mystery, found out this is a YA fantasy book. I really have trouble with fantasy books but about midway thru the book I was starting to enjoy this. This is the 1st book of a series and will be trying out book number 2. I may have found a new genre! Try this - David N.

Nice feel good cozy mystery, 150 pages, no bad language! In this story there really is a Santa, Mrs Claus, Elves and an entire Christmas community! Lady has accident in car and Mrs. Claus rescues her and takes her to her town. Rescued lady in turn help town solve a murder mystery! I'm a slow reader and took me 5 days but most readers could finish this in 2! If you like the Holiday season you should like this! David N.

Mystery set in England, I had a difficult time understanding what was going on (I'm American). I think the reader must be familiar with British slang. I'm sure if the reader reads enough British books they would have no trouble with this! David N.

Non-Fiction memoir from Pulitzer Prize winning author. Goodread 2020 award nominee for best memoir book. Tells the story of her mother's death by her stepfather! A story you won't forget!
David N.

I thought I would try a short mystery (90 Pages) and really enjoyed this. Private detective goes to Utah for a vacation at Christmas. After a few days receives info about the death that happened a few years previously of her husband - a policeman! This is a fast pace read and also a clean book, no offensive language I noticed (Not that it matters to me). Good 3 day read (Slow reader) - Try it, Only 99 cents at Amazon. David N.