Christy Barritt

Hazardous Duty introduces Gabby St. Clair, a woman with a most unusual job - crime scene cleaner. This isn't your typical cosy murder mystery - if only because of the description of blood and gore. Afterall the opening line is truly epic;

Whistling a tune from Fiddler on the Roof, I used my tweezers to work a piece of Gloria Cunningham’s skull out of the sky blue wall.

Barritt, Christy. Hazardous Duty: Squeaky Clean Mysteries, Book 1: An Amateur Sleuth Mystery and Suspense Series, Christian show more Fiction (p. 1). River Heights. Kindle Edition.

Still it wasn't violent or brutal or graphic enough to be your typical crime fiction novel either. It's mostly pretty tame. It certainly has nothing on Law and Order or Criminal Minds. The mystery was interesting and sufficiently complex. I liked the characters for the most part. Gabby was funny and I loved her obsession with musicals and her quest to come up with a decent advertising jingle. Sierra was clearly a good friend and Riley seemed to be decent.

The romance absolutely sucked. On every level. I would've preferred the romance was just left out of it altogether. The only other thing that I didn't really like was Christianity - but considering it is Christian fiction that probably shouldn't have come as much of a surprise as it did. It wasn't too in your face but it was enough for it to be off putting for me. Particularly Gabby's scathing remarks about Christians. Fair enough, comments considering God and whether or not he exists but it felt like it was trying too hard to be non-Christian friendly and I didn't rate it.

Overall though it was an interesting read - it definitely had an unusual premise. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. show less

When I need a mystery fix, I know I can rely on Christy Barritt to deliver. Her books can be funny or deadly serious, but are always page turners. Her latest in the Beach House Mystery series is definitely one I would recommend. She has the creepy house vibe down with The Inn on Hanging Hill. (Even the title promises a shivery reading experience.) The story takes place on the Eastern Shore of Virginia at a long neglected inn with history. It’s been 15 years since Lindsey has been there — show more after her abduction and mysterious return, her parents and she left, never to return. Now Lindsey has taken on the task of rehabbing the building and finding answers to just who was responsible for her kidnapping. Joining her is her long lost friend from those years at the inn, Benjamin. But as threats surface, things are not what they seem. I loved the two main characters. Each were very likable. They faced each danger with determination to get to the bottom of all that was happening. There is no shortage of suspects, but Barritt surprised me. Everyone, it seems, has a motive for the unsolved abduction and the present-day threats. The creepy/beach-y setting was fun and the romance between Lindsey and Benjamin was sweet, but it was the puzzle that kept me engaged. I did not see the ending coming!

I gather from the description of book one in the series, The Cottage on Ghost Lane, that The Inn on Hanging Hill is a standalone novel. But I had so much fun reading it, that the previous book is now on my TBR list. 🙂

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased the Kindle version from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

Distorted is a thrill ride from beginning to end! The reader gets drawn into the action and suspense from the very beginning. Mallory, the main character in the book is a survivor of human trafficking. While vacationing in the Caribbean, her family was murdered and she was held captive for over a year. After her rescue, she took some time for herself and received counseling and has now written a book and is getting ready to head out on a speaking tour to encourage other survivors. Now that show more she is back in the public eye, she starts receiving threatening emails from an anonymous stalker and weird events start occurring in the cities she is visiting. So, former Navy Seal Tennyson Walker is brought in to protect her. However, this is not the first time they have met. He is the man who rescued her from her captor. It is a race against time for Walker to keep Mallory safe and get to the bottom of who is after her. The reader will be on the edge of her seat with lots of questions of who is behind all this. Just when you think you have it all figured out of who is after Mallory, the author throws you another curve ball and you just keep reading!
In my opinion, Christy Barritt handled the very difficult and heartbreaking issue of human trafficking very well in this novel. I appreciated her approach of having Mallory striving to become a victor and not a victim through the grace of God.
I would definitely recommend this book. It is full of suspense and just the right amount of romance for me.
I received a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review. show less

Which does Sierra love more--her cats or her boyfriend? Her boyfriend is convinced it is her cats--though he slowly comes to realize that she loves him more than the cats--but she does still love the cats.

I liked this book, though Sierra is not a name I associate with an Asian character, so whenever I was reminded that Sierra was of Asian ancestry, it always surprised me a bit. This book managed to be both serious and humorous by turns.