Arlene Kay

I really, really wanted to like Murder at the Falls, especially as I learned more about Persephone "Perri" Morgan. An orphan, foster child, and army veteran, her voice drew me right into the story. I also liked the working dog aspect and how Keats and Poe (both war heroes with the medals to prove it) could be retrained as therapy dogs to work with seniors and in such programs as Children Reading to Dogs. But... there were problems.

One resident at The Falls, the upscale senior living show more facility, described what Perri and her friends were doing as "Murder, She Wrote with dogs." That's a superficial fit all right, but Jessica Fletcher wouldn't write such a disjointed story. Too many aspects were trotted out and then disappeared for many chapters. Magdalen Melmoth? Here for a few chapters and then gone. The hunt for the Oscar Wilde manuscript? A hot topic, and then it, too, disappears. The whodunit wasn't particularly difficult either once I began tallying up which characters vanished for a while and which ones didn't.

However, when all is said and done, there are two things that got right up my nose more than the disjointed plot: the characters of Wing Pruett and Babette Croy. Wing Pruett did help out from time to time, but his main function seemed to be window dressing-- as if Perri was supposed to have a handsome boyfriend so-- ta dah!-- here he is. As for Babette Croy... I'm afraid that, once I get started on her, I won't know when to stop. Suffice it to say that she's a "diva-Zilla," the one type of character guaranteed to make me want to throw a book against the wall. Southern-deep-fried, beauty pageant winner, Miss Congeniality winner, she calls in airstrikes on any gray hair or wrinkle that comes within ten miles. Naturally, her clothes and makeup must always be perfect. It goes without saying that she must also be the center of attention at all times, and... gack! Consider that subject closed, y'all!

This is the first Creature Comforts mystery that I've read, and although there are things about Murder at the Falls that I liked, I won't be returning. I'm afraid of what I would do to Babette.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

Received from publisher via NetGalley for an honest review

Swann Dive is a very fast paced murder mystery with a hint of romance. I, personally, like to have a wee bit more of romance/relationship aspect in the books I read, which I found lacking in this one. However, if you are into more plot driven stories, especially of the whodunnit variety, I would recommend this.

Eja Kane is a murder mystery writer from humble roots who is bestfriends with CeCe Swann, a lawyer heiress. While Eja is show more waiting for CeCe to arrive at a brunch date, she receives a call from the cops. Never good. Turns out the cops are saying CeCe committed suicide, took a (Swann) dive off a building. Eja refuses to believe it as CeCe had a huge fear of heights and with her murder mystery writer mind, sets out to discover what really happened to CeCe. She does a lot of her sleuthing with Deming Swann, CeCe's twin brother and former tormentor of Eja. What follows is a game of real life clue. A plethora of secondary characters are introduced, CeCe's mother, father, and various murder suspects. It was a full plate of Colonel Mustards and was a tad overwhelming at times.

Like I said, I more focus on the romance/relationship aspect of books and I found the one here to be lukewarm. Deming and Eja grew up together and their intolerance of each other all those years was suppose to be suppressed desire I guess. With CeCe dying I can see why they would find comfort in each other but even as they spent more and more time together, I never felt the chemistry between the two characters. They don't really spend a lot of time together and when they do, it was a lot of cold bickering. I'm also not the biggest down and dirty bedroom scene reader but there could have been a lot more added here.

Other caveats include the tedious designer label name dropping and academia vocabulary.
My middle class roots might be showing but by the 100th designer label name drop I couldn’t care less that the character pulled out her "Hermes notepad" It's just a notepad for Christ's sakes! You've already told us they are billionaires. Please, please, please can it now just be a notepad.
Also, I read peer reviewed articles and journals all day and the verbiage and vocabulary used in those would have a hard time coming close to how ambitious this author was. The thesaurus and dictionary needed to be put down. While it was wonderful to see some oft forgotten words of the English language, it left sentences and the story feeling very overworked. It felt wrong for the type of book this is (or what I feel it is trying to be) and seems to be marketed as. The last 30% or so of the book did seem to mellow out on this as the conclusion of the murder mystery ramped up. Shucks though, I'm just a simple gal and maybe my common reader status got in the way too much.

Anyway, recommended for plot driven fast paced murder mystery junkies. I'll probably still be sticking with Linda Howard and Sandra Brown for my romantic suspense needs though. show less

Elizabeth Buckley and her business partner and friend, Candy Ott, are pulled into the biotech world of implantable medical devices when their friend Tommy Yancey is murdered.

Something was bothering Tommy the last few weeks of his life, he had been trying to reach Elizabeth, going so far as asking Candy to make her call him. But Elizabeth, still wallowing in grieving the death of her husband had failed him. She was not going to fail him again. So begins the search for the motive for Tommy’s show more murder.

A mystery set to the theme of implantable medical devices these are devices necessary to maintain the life of the patient. Romance on the horizon for both Candy and Elizabeth, Romance is natural to the character of the Candy but contrived to the character of Elizabeth. Some of the transitions in romantic scenes were choppy and intrusive because of this. An enjoyable mystery none the less. show less

amateur-sleuth, journalist, therapy-dog, retirement-community, greed, theft, murder-investigation, cozy-mystery, octogenarians*****

I couldn't pause while reading it! Perri is over thirty, a US army vet, orphaned and fostered, a leather worker and therapy dog owner, and prone to amateur sleuthing with her journalist boyfriend and also with her over-the-top BFF. While working with their dogs at a nearby ritzy retirement home, they meet a delightful octogenarian, Magdalen, who bonds immediately show more with Perri. The next thing they know someone is murdered and while it is not Magdalen, she has disappeared! And so the sleuthing begins! Talk about plot twists, misdirection, and red herrings! There are plenty here. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less