Anne R. Tan

2.5 stars

I read this for the Terror in a Small Town square for Halloween Bingo.

Someone was in the house. Raina tiptoed around the car to the side door. The rushing noise in her ears competed with her uneven breaths. Her clammy hands gripped the doorknob. She twisted and pulled. The door scraped against the concrete floor, ripping through the silence. It opened an inch. Gooseflesh peppered her arms.

This is first in a series that looks to follow along with Raina as she amateur sleuths her way show more through situations and her detective ex-husband Matthew tries to get her to mind her own business. Their relationship was completely mystifying as the most we get about Matthew is he has gold flecked eyes, thinks he will snap one day because his dad was an alcoholic, and wants Raina to stay out of murder cases. Told from Raina's point of view we get statements here and there about how Matthew and her were childhood sweethearts, married, he left her cuffed and naked in a hotel room in Rome, and their marriage was annulled in Vegas. Again, this first in series, which all these little statements dropped here and there, I kept checking to make sure I didn't miss a beginning novella or something; I felt so lost in regards to their relationship.

The murder mystery had great red herrings but it was a bit overshadowed by how I kept being baffled how so many were disregarding/disrespecting the police and investigation. No one seems to be telling the police the truth and some officers seem to be ok messing up an investigation because of personal feelings. This along with not getting a pov from Matthew and him using believable procedure for the investigation, gave the story more of a chik-lit murder mystery farce.

Raina and the cast of characters including her grandmother and friend Eden, were enjoyable to follow along with for the afternoon but I needed more details to explained connections to really immerse myself in the story. show less

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, senior-citizens, situational-humor, verbal-humor

***** Like anything else she writes, this is a minimum two read book! Even if you think you are going to attend to the mystery first, you get all tangled up in the uproarious situational and verbal humor. That PoPo is who I want to be when I grow up--even if I'm not even remotely Chinese! The mystery itself is good with misdirections and red herrings galore. Look to the publisher's blurb for hints. If you've read show more this author before, you know that you just have to have a copy. And if you haven't, you need to find out what you're missing! show less

private-investigators, mystery, cats, laugh-out-loud

Just Lost and Found, a Lucy Fong hysterical mystery by Anne R Tan.
Trying to do a favor for her sister, Lucy is pet sitting for the cat despite being highly allergic. Enter Mel Brooks/Marx Brothers/Chevy Chase. First she falls through the floor of a local landmark and is injured but finds a historic Chinese artifact, THEN she gets a ransom note from catnappers. And the laughs just keep on coming. I LOVED it!

cozy-mystery, san-francisco, humor, chinese-customs, family-dynamics, relationships

This time Raina is in San Francisco for Chinese New Year when she gets mixed up in another murder investigation. Her PoPo is her sidekick once again, and all kinds of mischief as well as real danger ensue. The insights into Chinese cultural beliefs and practices are fascinating to those of us who have been raised in other ethnic backgrounds. As a cozy mystery, it is really great, with a strong story line and show more more twists than a mountain road! Each of the books in the series is a stand alone, but they make you want to read all of them! show less