Connie Lane
Author of Don of the Dead
About the Author
Series
Works by Connie Lane
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Laux, Constance
- Other names
- Laux, Constance
Laux, Connie
Lane, Connie
Deka, Connie
Logan, Kylie
Bliss, Miranda (show all 9)
Daniels, Zoe
Daniels, Casey
Hastings, Anastasia - Birthdate
- 1952-01-21
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Queen's College, Oxford (English Literature)
- Organizations
- journalist
writing teacher - Short biography
- Constance Laux was born on January 21 in Cleveland, Ohio. She remembers the day she got her first library card and the first book she took out of the Cleveland Public Library; Horton Hatches the Egg. She studied English Literature in the Queen's College in the prestigious university of Oxford. She married with her love of adolescence, and they live in a suburb of Cleveland with their two children, and an oversized Airedale named Hoover. Now, she is an U.S.American writer of romance novels as her real name and under the pen names: Connie Deka and Connie Lane. Writing as Constance Laux, she's published nine historical romance novels and as Connie Lane, she writes both category romance books and romantic suspense/comedy novels.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Places of residence
- Brecksville, Ohio, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Ohio, USA
Members
Reviews
I'm not going to lie, I liked this book a lot in spite of knowing how it was going to end, and I might have bumped it up a 1/2 star because that title... I love that title!
Logan does such a great job with the characters and setting that even though the mystery plotting wasn't as intricate or clever as it could have been, I still did not want to put the book down. I was less concerned about clues (probably because my confidence as to whodunnit was high) and way more concerned about Bea, her show more friends, her Inn and her love life.
This book reads like it could be the final one and if it is I feel like it's ending in a good place. If it's not, I look forward to the next one! show less
Logan does such a great job with the characters and setting that even though the mystery plotting wasn't as intricate or clever as it could have been, I still did not want to put the book down. I was less concerned about clues (probably because my confidence as to whodunnit was high) and way more concerned about Bea, her show more friends, her Inn and her love life.
This book reads like it could be the final one and if it is I feel like it's ending in a good place. If it's not, I look forward to the next one! show less
The first book in this series, Mayhem at the Orient Express, was a rare first-in-series 5 star read for me. The setting was ripe for mischief, the characters instantly likeable, the romantic tension palpable (for a cozy) and the plot divine.
The author set the bar high for herself. Did she reach it with A Tale of Two Biddies? Well, no. But it was still an excellent read and I'd gladly recommend them to anyone who enjoys cozies.
Why not 5 stars? The characters are still instantly likeable. If show more asked "which book character comes closest to yourself?" I'd have to answer that Bea probably does. Minus the stalker. Oh, and the independent wealth part - definitely not. The four mile island in the middle of Lake Michigan they call home allows for the never-ending influx of tourists and summer-residents, all possibly capable of murder, that allow for varied plots.
No, what kept if from being 5 stars for me is I guessed a major plot point. I'd say it gave away the murderer, but Ms. Logan did throw in a sort-of red herring that had me wondering for a bit. I still enjoyed the book from beginning to end because I wanted to know more about the characters. Specifically Levi. Also, a small raspberry to the author for almost-but-then-not revealing Levi's secret (or one of them anyway). Levi's mouth is open in one scene, set to 'fess up to Bea and they're interrupted. This is in the first third of the book, so I spent the rest of the book waiting for them to resume that conversation. > They don't. Hmph.
This series has skyrocketed up to one of my top favourites and I'm pleased I won't have to wait another year to read The Legend of Sleepy Harlow, coming out in time for Halloween. Looking forward to it. show less
The author set the bar high for herself. Did she reach it with A Tale of Two Biddies? Well, no. But it was still an excellent read and I'd gladly recommend them to anyone who enjoys cozies.
Why not 5 stars? The characters are still instantly likeable. If show more asked "which book character comes closest to yourself?" I'd have to answer that Bea probably does. Minus the stalker. Oh, and the independent wealth part - definitely not. The four mile island in the middle of Lake Michigan they call home allows for the never-ending influx of tourists and summer-residents, all possibly capable of murder, that allow for varied plots.
No, what kept if from being 5 stars for me is I guessed a major plot point. I'd say it gave away the murderer, but Ms. Logan did throw in a sort-of red herring that had me wondering for a bit. I still enjoyed the book from beginning to end because I wanted to know more about the characters. Specifically Levi. Also, a small raspberry to the author for almost-but-then-not revealing Levi's secret (or one of them anyway). Levi's mouth is open in one scene, set to 'fess up to Bea and they're interrupted. This is in the first third of the book, so I spent the rest of the book waiting for them to resume that conversation. > They don't. Hmph.
This series has skyrocketed up to one of my top favourites and I'm pleased I won't have to wait another year to read The Legend of Sleepy Harlow, coming out in time for Halloween. Looking forward to it. show less
"What's left to say after you've found a body with three of your not-best friends?"
As cute as the synopsis promised it would be. A funny, great group of eccentric people are forced to join a book club to save the judge’s wife’s ailing library grant. When they’re all pushed together during a snowstorm in the main character’s newly bought and renovated Inn, they work together to solve the mystery of the local restaurant owner.
There are plenty of nods to Hercule Poirot since the club show more decides to read the Christie Classic Murder on the Orient Express. Okay sure, one just watched the movie and can’t pronounce the detective’s name to save her life, which just makes the whole thing funnier.
Several suspects with convincing reason to be behind the dastardly deed come to light, making it a layered mystery that kept me wondering. There aren’t red herrings but there are plenty of convincing trails to follow. There’s a neat twist with the culprit that I never saw coming either. I can’t complain any about clues left, suspects introduced, or crime scenes explored in their amusing ways.
There’s a potential and actually non-boring love interest brewing too. Many times in cozies there’s something missing without a possible love interest, but usually the future boyfriend is rather bland – not the case here. They have the sarcastic exchange thing going on so I’m curious.
I love the main character too. She’s a bit self-absorbed but this was supposed to be another funny trait. Being flawed helps keep her interesting enough to connect with. The nutsy neighbor with the incense and chanting music was the funniest of the group, but the entire group worked together well.
Throw in a Bed and Breakfast, small town, books, Agatha Christie, parties, and cats peeing on flowers – will definitely be considering this series. If I enjoy the others as much as this one, it will be a top favorite cozy mystery series. show less
As cute as the synopsis promised it would be. A funny, great group of eccentric people are forced to join a book club to save the judge’s wife’s ailing library grant. When they’re all pushed together during a snowstorm in the main character’s newly bought and renovated Inn, they work together to solve the mystery of the local restaurant owner.
There are plenty of nods to Hercule Poirot since the club show more decides to read the Christie Classic Murder on the Orient Express. Okay sure, one just watched the movie and can’t pronounce the detective’s name to save her life, which just makes the whole thing funnier.
Several suspects with convincing reason to be behind the dastardly deed come to light, making it a layered mystery that kept me wondering. There aren’t red herrings but there are plenty of convincing trails to follow. There’s a neat twist with the culprit that I never saw coming either. I can’t complain any about clues left, suspects introduced, or crime scenes explored in their amusing ways.
There’s a potential and actually non-boring love interest brewing too. Many times in cozies there’s something missing without a possible love interest, but usually the future boyfriend is rather bland – not the case here. They have the sarcastic exchange thing going on so I’m curious.
I love the main character too. She’s a bit self-absorbed but this was supposed to be another funny trait. Being flawed helps keep her interesting enough to connect with. The nutsy neighbor with the incense and chanting music was the funniest of the group, but the entire group worked together well.
Throw in a Bed and Breakfast, small town, books, Agatha Christie, parties, and cats peeing on flowers – will definitely be considering this series. If I enjoy the others as much as this one, it will be a top favorite cozy mystery series. show less
The first book in this series, The Scent of Murder, showed a lot of promise, and this second entry certainly begins fulfilling a lot of that. Jazz has learned a better way to question her suspects (in the first book she tended to infuriate everyone which is dangerous), and her relationship with a local detective aids in her investigation. There's the usual cop who poo-poos everything she says, but he's not obnoxious to the point where I wanted someone to run him down with a patrol car. (I show more take out any latent aggression in the fiction I read.)
Logan has a main character with a voice that captures my attention and won't let it go. In The Secrets of Bones, she's also crafted an excellent mystery that kept me guessing all the way to the reveal. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book, although this author stomps all over one of my pet peeves.
Cozy mysteries usually have some sort of "hook" to capture a reader's attention and make them pick up and read the book. When Logan once again fell hook, line, and sinker for one of my peeves, I had to look up two things. One was my reading history with this author. She's written several series, and I've read books in two of her others. One button shop series I picked up because I love buttons. Yes, there was some information about buttons at the beginning of the book, but if they showed up again it was because someone threw all the buttons on the floor and the main character had to pick them up. Buttons were the hook that was quickly dropped after the beginning of the book.
The second thing I had to look up was more information about the literary or narrative hook: "It appears at the beginning of the story and may contain several pages of a novel, several paragraphs of a short story, or it might be only an opening sentence..." So I learned that my expectations were rather high, and Logan is following the letter of the literary hook law. But... my expectations are still high. If this series is supposed to be about a woman who trains cadaver dogs, may we please have more than a couple of pages about the process? Pretty please?
Will I read the next book in the series? I've already said yes because I do like the main character and the mystery was excellent. I just wish I could train myself not to be so annoyed when hooks don't last as long as I want them to! show less
Logan has a main character with a voice that captures my attention and won't let it go. In The Secrets of Bones, she's also crafted an excellent mystery that kept me guessing all the way to the reveal. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book, although this author stomps all over one of my pet peeves.
Cozy mysteries usually have some sort of "hook" to capture a reader's attention and make them pick up and read the book. When Logan once again fell hook, line, and sinker for one of my peeves, I had to look up two things. One was my reading history with this author. She's written several series, and I've read books in two of her others. One button shop series I picked up because I love buttons. Yes, there was some information about buttons at the beginning of the book, but if they showed up again it was because someone threw all the buttons on the floor and the main character had to pick them up. Buttons were the hook that was quickly dropped after the beginning of the book.
The second thing I had to look up was more information about the literary or narrative hook: "It appears at the beginning of the story and may contain several pages of a novel, several paragraphs of a short story, or it might be only an opening sentence..." So I learned that my expectations were rather high, and Logan is following the letter of the literary hook law. But... my expectations are still high. If this series is supposed to be about a woman who trains cadaver dogs, may we please have more than a couple of pages about the process? Pretty please?
Will I read the next book in the series? I've already said yes because I do like the main character and the mystery was excellent. I just wish I could train myself not to be so annoyed when hooks don't last as long as I want them to! show less
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