Anna Celeste Burke

I nearly gave up on this in the first few pages, and what an error that would have been. I am a novice to #cozymysteries that genre of crime/mystery stories which exclude violence and graphic gory details. Cozy mysteries are about character and quick-moving plot rather than bangs and flashes. Anna Celeste Burke is an American writer specializing in the genre. So, why did I almost stop reading ‘Murder at Catmmando Mountain’? It might be a journalist’s thing, but I don’t like to be show more told too much information upfront. But once I got past the bit about who Georgie Shaw is - she’s the narrator with a smart voice who works in PR at a tourist attraction, Marvellous Marley World, based on the cartoon characters of tycoon Max Marley – the action starts in chapter two. Then the fun starts.
Early one morning, a body is found. Not just any body, a dead body. The body of Mallory Marley, obnoxious daughter of Max Marley. Lying next to the body, and dipped in Mallory’s blood, is Georgie’s scarf. Georgie, who recently moved to the PR department from Food and Beverage rather than take retirement, is forced to consider her life in a new light. Is one of her colleagues trying to frame her? Homicide detective Jack Wheeler, who reminds Georgie of James Garner in ‘The Rockford Files’ [watch out for the American detective references], makes being a suspect easier for Georgie to deal with, though she does have an alibi as the transponder in her car was clocked by a state police camera at the time of the crime. But other clues linking Georgie to the crime continue to appear.
All the time I was reading this book, it reminded me of the comedies of Carl Hiasson, the Florida journalist turned novelist who wrote the hilarious ‘Lucky You’, ‘Skinny Dip’, ‘Native Tongue’ and ‘Basket Case’. I liked Georgie from the beginning, and her Siamese cat Miles. This is comfort reading, easy, it was fun eliminating the suspects one-by-one and choosing the wrong one. This is a read-in-one-sitting novella, 178 pages, and I would have liked it to be longer. The last chapter is a summary of how the case is solved, and it would have been more dynamic to read the action.
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A Dead Husband is Anna Celeste Burke’s first novel in her Jessica Huntington mystery series and it certainly starts off on the right foot. The main character of this cozy detective story, Jessica, is a spunky shopaholic with lots of money to play with. She has just finished celebrating her divorce when a good friend, Laura, calls her for help. Laura discovered the body of her dead husband one morning when coming home from a one-night-stand, and now the police are treating her as a person show more of interest. Jessica is a lawyer and doesn’t hesitate to help her friend out, even when it involves wrestling with shady characters. This engaging read is a page-turner with lots of action and colourful, believable characters. The fun doesn’t on the last page – there are two other novels in the series, so get ready to party for a while. show less

Cowabunga Christmas by Anna Celeste Burke has so much going for it…A gorgeous cover, hot surfer dudes and dudettes, Santa, a murder mystery and…

We begin our adventure by jumping the fence around the closed pool at this elite resort and taking a “midnight” swim. I have jumped a fence or two in my time, so I thought this was a good sign.

Daniela Ruah - Monte-Carlo Television Festival.jpgIt’s Christmas, Kim is on her honeymoon with her hot and hunky surfer dude hubby, Brien. Kim was show more going to learn to surf and she got her very own wettie for Christmas.

They are opposites – He is hard and fast, she is slow and soft. The picture of them, in my head, is my favorite two characters from NCIS Los Angeles, Kensi Blye, Daniela Ruah, and Marty Deeks, Eric Christian Olsen.Eric Christian Olsen.

Shortly after their pool jumping adventure, a body is found floating in the pool…dead. Oh no, it’s Santa.

We have a double and a triple cross and is there a treasure?

Cowabunga Christmas by Anna Celeste Burke with its easy reading and colorful characters has all the elements for a fun and humorous cozy mystery.

One mystery is solved…but, wait, there’s more on the horizon in Gnarly New Year.

“Cowabunga Christmas – it’s the most epic Christmas anyone could every have. We had one of the most awesome mornings surfing.” From Brien. show less

What a fun set of novellas! The first one “Murder at Catmmando Mountain” has to be my favorite one. It is full of witty dialog and I absolutely love the puns that Ms. Burke makes during these novellas. I found myself laughing out loud, as she described some shenanigans that we all know just has to go at Theme parks.
Georgie is a trained chef, who went to work at Marvelous Marley World Resorts right out of school. This place is a lot of like the “D” word but instead of a mouse, the show more main character is Catmmando Tom, the furry caped Avenger. The creator is Maximillian Marley aka Uncle Max to his employees. Georgie who has worked at the “Cat Factory” for the past twenty-five years she has worked her way up to a management position in the Food and Beverage Division. When the director position becomes available she finds her self a victim of nepotism as Uncle Max moves his daughter, Mallory Marley-Marston who seems to have a serious aversion to anything food related not a fit for sure. Georgie finds she just cannot work for Mallory aka Cruella de Vil so instead of taking retirement she decides she’ll move over to public relations as an assistant director. On Valentine’s Day, they get a call that one of maintenance workers has found a body. That’s not a call anyone wants especially not a theme park on a very busy day. When Georgie and her director, Doug arrived on the scene they are in for a shock. The dead body isn’t just anyone, what’s even more disturbing is Georgie’s own cashmere Versace Scarf is found in the pool of blood. When the police arrive along with homicide Detective Jack Wheeler, things just keep getting worse for poor Georgie. It's obvious someone is trying to frame her for the murder but who and why?
The Second Novella is "Love Notes in the Key of Sea" is another good one. Things have calmed down at the "Cat Factory" and Georgie finds herself busier than ever. She and the handsome detective Jack Wheeler, are becoming more of couple especially since Georgie is letting her guard down. She has been very lucky with her career, she’s always been very well-paid, and she lives in a luxurious condo overlooking the ocean. Georgie still pursues her passion for food by cooking some fantastic meals for her and Jack. It even looks like Miles, her bossy, loud Siamese is taking to Jack as well. Georgie has a backstory, she was hurt very badly while in college and that’s why she’s never gotten involved with anyone. She hasn’t shared this with Jack, but he’s not stupid, so he knows something has happened to her during her past to that has made her stay single for so long. That’s about to change when she receives a call from her friend, Jennifer after her own daughter Meredith gets attacked in North Carolina and Jennifer is bringing her home to recuperate in San Albinus. She invites Georgie to come for visit, Georgie wants to go, but she's not happy to go back to her past. She invites Jack to come along and while there she tells him about what had happened to her nearly forty years ago. They are staying at the ritzy Sanctuary Resort and Spa, which wasn't even there the last time she was in town. Georgie is already spooked, some strange things are already staring happen to her before she's even checked into her room. So could she these things just be all a coincidence? She really can't believe that they are, nobody could chalk all this up to coincidences.
The last novella is "All Hallows' Eve Heist" Georgie and Jack are closer than ever but things at the "Cat Factory" get a little wonky on Halloween night. She receives a call from Uncle Max who hasn't been around in a while. He wants her to come to the office as soon as possible. What could be going on and why is he at the "Cat Factory" on Halloween night? It's full of little tricksters and with their parents trying to reel them in. She and Jack arrive and find Uncle Max in a panic, several valuable items have been stolen out of his office. The park's security director has been called in, and he’s briefing Jack on what’s going on when they hear the words "Shots fired" over the radio. The park is packed most of them are dressed up as the character’s of the theme park so it’s total chaos, Georgie and Jack find themselves in another whodunnit at the “Cat Factory” but at least Georgie doesn’t find herself being framed for this one.
I’ve never read a set of novellas like this before and really didn’t know what to expect. I found each novella to be very entertaining as well as the characters. There are several others that have been released that I can't wait to read. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves cozies as much as I do. Oh, wait... I forgot to mention the awesome recipes at the end of each Novella. That's a bonus as well. show less