I learned a new word today…
Author: sleepygirl2
Book Review: Charred by G.P. Gottlieb
Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery by G.P. Gottlieb
Publisher: DX Varos Publishing (February 21, 2023)
Category: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery
ISBN: 978-1955065672
Available in Print and ebook,320 pages
Description
Alene Baron is dealing with frustrated employees, closed schools, and a homeless man who harasses customers outside the door of her café.
Then, two dead bodies turn up in the burned remains of buildings owned by the husband of Alene’s best friend and pastry chef, Ruthie. Both bodies are wearing jackets that once belonged to Ruthie and crumbled in the pockets are the café’s distinctive wrappers. At the same time, Alene’s uncle, a convicted felon, has resurfaced after disappearing for 22 years. It’s all too much for the owner of the Whipped and Sipped Café.
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DX Varos Publishing
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Guest Review by Sal
“Normally, the Whipped and Sipped Cafe would have been bustling, the nearby sidewalks filled with people, and the streets packed with cars and bicycles. Now the cafe was barely getting by.”
The year is 2020, and the Coronavirus pandemic has the world firmly in its clutches. And perhaps there is nowhere in Chicago that this is more evident than inside of the Whipped and Sipped Cafe.
Although business has been good with online and takeout orders, the owner, Alene, misses the day when customers were allowed to come inside the cafe and sit for a while, while enjoying her carefully crafted food.
Now, the only people spending any time inside of Whipped and Sipped are the employees, an eclectic group of characters who, although they may bicker and sometimes fight, always ultimately have each other’s backs. And, in that interest, when one of Alene’s employees, Kacey, comes to her with a problem, Alene is compelled to help.
But the problem is far from a simple one. See, earlier that day, Kacey’s gregarious boyfriend, Kofi, was searching the remains of a burned building to find materials for his artwork when he accidentally stumbled across a dead body. Kofi asked Kacey not to tell anyone, but she feels that she must confess to Alene, despite knowing that her boss is dating a police officer.
Kacey begs Alene not to tell her boyfriend, Frank, but luckily Frank finds out himself when the body is found by two young boys and he is assigned to the case. Soon, the case develops and another body is found, shedding a whole new light on just what type of crime they might be looking at.
Alene has to find it in herself to deal with not only the struggles of the pandemic affecting her business but the double murder case that seems to be taking an interest in her even as she tries to stay away from it.
The writing is excellent, and the quirky characters are so memorable. They will stay with me for a long time to come! This is a fun novel that is well worth the read and one that you should add to your TBR immediately if you enjoy cozy mysteries!
About the Author
G.P. Gottlieb has been a musician, a teacher, and an administrator, but she’s happiest when she’s writing recipe-laced murder mysteries. GP Gottlieb has always experimented in the kitchen and created her own delicious vegan cookies and cakes. She is also an interviewer for the New Books in Literature podcast channel.
Gottlieb is the mother of three grown children and lives with her husband in Chicago.
Website: https://gpgottlieb.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gottliebgp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorgottlieb
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whippedsipped/
Follow the Tour
Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Feb 1 Kickoff & Interview
Leslie StoreyBook Reviews Feb 2 Review
Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews Feb 6 Review & Guest Post
DT Amazon & Goodreads Feb 7 Review
Lisa’s Writopia Feb 8 Guest Post
Suzie My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews Feb 9 Review & Excerpt
Bee Book Pleasures Feb 10 Review
Blue North A Room of Books Feb 13 Review
Mark Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Feb 14 Guest Review
Lisa’s Writopia Feb 15 Review
Sal Bound 4 Escape Feb 17 Guest Review
Larry Reflections Feb 21 Review & Interview
Denise Amazon & Goodreads Feb 22 Review
Missi Cozy Mystery Book Reviews Feb 23 Review
Laura Lee Celticlady’s Reviews Feb 24 Guest Review & Excerpt
Praise Whipped and Sipped Mysteries Series by G.P. Gottlieb
“Readers looking for mysteries well steeped in both culinary traditions and realistic conflicts between career and family will relish this multifaceted investigative piece, which draws readers in from the start with its realistic balance of intrigue and life challenges.-D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review
“If you are looking for a slightly different take on a culinary cozy mystery, this is the debut to read.”-Carstairs Considered
“Warm and cool, sassy and savvy, GP Gottlieb has written a murder mystery that is as interesting as the family dynamic itself — exploring its alliances, intrigues and the possibility of how people can protect, surprise, and, quite literally — kill each other. A fun, delicious read!”- Marcy Heisler, theatrical lyricist
‘Gottlieb sets the stage beautifully for readers and with providing the list of characters in the beginning, you have your own little cheat sheet of sorts. And with all the twists and turns in Smothered you will be grateful to have the list so that you can keep track of everyone and check off those you believe are innocent. However, when the real killer is revealed I’m sure you will be as shocked as I was because I’m certain they weren’t even on your radar.”- Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
Smothered won the silver medal in the mystery category from the CIPA Evvy Awards!
Audiobook Review: Murder Hits Close to Home by Meredith Potts
With Hope Hadley’s latest murder investigation, things turn personal. How could it not when the victim is one of Hope’s friends? The question becomes, can Hope push her emotions aside long enough to track down the killer?
My Review
I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy from the author. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
In Murder Hits Close to Home, Hope Hadley’s brother finally has a girlfriend. Her sister is murdered, and Hope and her brother are on the case. There are several suspects, but no twists or surprises and the murder is solved quickly.
The narrator does a good job at pace and timing. She also changes her voice to make the different voices obvious.
This is the fourth book I’ve listened to about Hope Hadley. They’re very short, so I’ve started listening to them when I don’t have enough time to finish a full-length novel. If you’re looking for a super quick cozy murder mystery, this one is pretty good. One of the previous books I listened to by Meredith Potts, Murder of a Movie Producer, was tmy favorite because it had a surprise ending.
About the Author
I love my two adorable cats, taking walks on the beach, and baking cookies. There’s nothing quite like soft-baked chocolate chip cookies. Or chocolate in general. I do love my sweets. Or watching a beautiful sunset while watching the ocean waves crash against the shore. Is it any wonder why I write cozy mysteries? Please check out one of my lovely books. There’s over 50 to choose from. The Daley Buzz series is a great starting point.
Sign up for my mailing list here and be the first to know about my new books.
It’s always fantastic hearing from my fans. You can contact me at meredithpottscozy@gmail.com.
Website: http://www.meredithpottsauthor.com.
Audiobook Review: Killer Holiday Office Party by Meredith Potts
An advertising agency’s holiday office party turns from celebration to horror when the owner of the company is found murdered the morning after their latest riotous shindig.
It is up to feisty amateur sleuth Hope Hadley to figure out who the killer is before the holidays are ruined.
My Review
I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy from the author. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
In Killer Holiday Office Party, Hope Hadley finds out that an old friend of hers has been murdered. Her brother, who is a detective, asks for her help since she knew the victim. There are several suspects, but no surprises and the murder is solved quickly.
The narrator does a good job at pace and timing. She also changes her voice to make the different voices obvious.
This is the third book I’ve read/listened to about Hope Hadley. They’re very short, so I’ve started listening to them when I don’t have enough time to finish a full-length novel. If you’re looking for a super quick cozy murder mystery, this is okay. The last book I listened to by Meredith Potts, Murder of a Movie Producer, was the best one I’ve listened to so far because it had a surprise ending.
About the Author
I love my two adorable cats, taking walks on the beach, and baking cookies. There’s nothing quite like soft-baked chocolate chip cookies. Or chocolate in general. I do love my sweets. Or watching a beautiful sunset while watching the ocean waves crash against the shore. Is it any wonder why I write cozy mysteries? Please check out one of my lovely books. There’s over 50 to choose from. The Daley Buzz series is a great starting point.
Sign up for my mailing list here and be the first to know about my new books.
It’s always fantastic hearing from my fans. You can contact me at meredithpottscozy@gmail.com.
Website: http://www.meredithpottsauthor.com.
Not a TBR Pile…
Audiobook Review: Person Suit edited by Kristi King-Morgan
This collection of poetry, memoirs, and stories of short fiction presents to the listener such themes as depression, suicide, hopelessness, grief, loss, love, mental illness, and abuse both emotional and physical experienced by the writers or someone close to them. This collection serves to demonstrate that hiding behind shame or fear rather than sharing emotional pain as the authors in these works do is tantamount to putting on a mask; wearing a person suit. It is pretending. It is a state of existing but not truly living life to the fullest. The 11 authors featured in this collection have taken off their person suit, exposed their true selves to the world so that others may find their own voice and the courage to speak about mental illness and abuse of any kind.
My Review
I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy from Dreaming Big Publications. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
This collection of poetry and prose is an interesting mix on the issues of abuse, mental illness, and even some science fiction. I enjoyed the poetry, but I especially enjoyed a couple of the stories. ‘ER’ was confusing at first, but eventually all is made clear. It’s a good futuristic story! My favorite story was ‘Dave’s Aliens.’ It was funny and creepy.
The narrator did a good job with pace and timing. If you like something that delves into emotional and physical experiences that are not joyful in any way, this is a quick read worth listening to.
Audiobook Review: Regardless of the Consequences by L.D. Lauritzen
Sheriff Lance Tallbear’s half-blood Apache heritage leaves him struggling to find his place in a world where neither white nor Indian wants or readily accepts him. He faces the world his shaman father turned away from and acknowledges the one his shaman grandfather prays he’ll return to.
Tallbear’s new case uncovers a mysterious plane wreck discovered in the Superstition Mountains that turns out to stir both his life decisions and ultimate direction. Along with his troubled FBI partner, Brad Hanley, they face a myriad of obstacles in their journey to the truth.
The skeletons at the site hold the clues to not only who the killers were but also why the people died. Tallbear quickly find the crash site hides a deadly secret that reaches out of the distant past to threaten the lives of all who seek it. He will need to use all his skills and experience to discover the answers and stay alive.
My Review
I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
Tallbear is a sheriff who is half Apache and half white, which makes him feel like he doesn’t fully belong anywhere. He has a big heart, though, so the cases he works on often include helping others. He feels like a young man named Tommy Hawk is currently going through the same things he has been struggling with, so rather than lock him up, he wants to help him.
Once Tommy finds a plane from the WWII era, everything gets crazy. Suddenly there are several deaths, and Tommy is on the run because of something he stole from the plane. There are people trying to kill Tallbear and those he is with. There is a lot of suspense and danger, and it’s often difficult to quit listening.
The narrator did a good job with pace and timing. His voice is perfect for narrating and a joy to listen to.
The characters are well developed. There are so many characters that Tallbear can’t trust. And several surprises concerning the different characters. I was wrong about the motives of some characters, which made it that much more exciting!
I would love to read another story with Tallbear and friends. A series of Tallbear mysteries would go over well, and I’d be thrilled to read another one.
About the Author
I’ve never considered myself anymore than a storyteller. I’m creating this site to promote my own fictional work in Mystery, Westerns, and Science Fantasy. But during my journey I learned we need to help others both writers and ordinary people to not only write but realize they have a responsibility to write about their times.
I never thought i’d be promoting memoirs, journals, or diaries, but here I am doing just that. In doing research for my books I’ve scoured the library of congress, newspapers, and pioneer diaries to get an inkling of what life in those times was like.
It’s made me realize we all need to write about the events, people, places, and things important to us. A historic event like Kennedy’s assassination, the Challenger tragedy, or 9/11, touched every man, woman, and child, differently. But unless we all write about where we were, how it made us feel, future people will only have biased or dry news coverage of some reporter devoting a few words to the lives and times we’ve lived through. Grab a pen or pencil, or sit down and start typing. For the future, write our Story.
About the Narrator, Randy McCarten
I am a male voice actor who has performed voice overs and audio book narration on countless projects. My journey began at age 8 after receiving the gift of a reel to reel tape recorded with a red plastic microphone. What followed was writing, producing and voicing thousands of commercials and promos, elevation to Senior VP of Programming for a global media company, hosting a family friendly radio morning show, the building of professional studio, production of three sound design libraries and doing audiobook, corporate and other narration.
I continue to hone my craft with the help of some of the best coaches and mentors in the industry like world renowned voice over coach Nancy Wolfson and VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets.
Book Review: Drop Dead Dangerous by Ryan Green
In 1974, the US East Coast was whipped up into a frenzy of fear. Locking their windows and doors, everyone was terrified of becoming the next victim of the strikingly handsome but deadly “Casanova Killer”. And he was on the move.
After being released from jail and promptly abandoned by his fiancée, Paul John Knowles embarked on a spate of gruesome murders on a road trip up the Pacific Coast.
No room for fear, no room for guilt, just the road.
As the man-hunt gathered pace, the cold-blooded killing spree continued to defy detectives. With no visible pattern in the age, race nor gender of the victims, Knowle’s joyride of kidnap, rape and murder tore across multiple state borders. It became a race of tragically high stakes. How many more lives would be lost before the police finally caught up?
Drop Dead Dangerous is a chilling account of Paul John Knowles and one of the most disturbing true crime stories in America’s history. Ryan Green’s riveting narrative draws the reader into the real-live horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic thriller.
CAUTION: This book contains descriptive accounts of torture, abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to read any further.
My Review
I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the author through LibraryThing. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
True crime has always fascinated me. I had never heard of Paul John Knowles before, so of course I wanted to see what he was all about. He did have a horrible childhood and survived a lot of abuse before he turned 18, but there are survivors of such abuse who don’t turn out to be serial killers. A look into his mind, although the author couldn’t have known what he was thinking, doesn’t show the real reason that he turned into a murderer except that he had no regard for others.
The system also failed him, or society. He was charming which initially led to him receiving no charges or lighter sentences. Once he was sentenced to hard time, he was determined to escape. Eventually, he knew that he didn’t want to go back to prison no matter what. He wanted to be on the road. All these factors led to a fascinating read about a desperate killer on the run.
This is an interesting story, but the pace was a little slow for me through most of the book.
About the Author
Ryan Green is a true crime author in his late thirties. He lives in Herefordshire, England with his wife, three children, and two dogs. Outside of writing and spending time with his family, Ryan enjoys walking, reading and windsurfing.
Ryan is fascinated with History, Psychology and True Crime. In 2015, he finally started researching and writing his own work and at the end of the year, he released his first book on Britain’s most notorious serial killer, Harold Shipman.
He has since written several books on lesser-known subjects, and taken the unique approach of writing from the killer’s perspective. He narrates some of the most chilling scenes you’ll encounter in the True Crime genre.
“Ryan Green is an incredible storyteller…he doesn’t just tell the story, he allows you to be part of it.” ~Blackbird
Join Ryan’s Reader Group to receive a FREE book, notifications of new releases and limited-time offers at http://www.ryangreenbooks.com/free-book.
Book Review: Love is my Superpower by Alicia Ortego
Have you heard the question, “Mummy, do you love me?” or “Who do you love the most?”
It’s never easy to answer, especially to a little one who thinks your heart belongs only to them.
Bowen is the centre of his parents’ world. But what will happen when baby Bella comes into that world? Will his parents still love him, or will their hearts belong to someone else? Through fun interactions with his mum, Bowen will realise that his heart is big enough to love more than one person at a time.
‘Love Is My Superpower’ will help your children understand how powerful love is.
This book will help your kids in many ways. They will learn:
- that there are many different loves,
- that their heart can love more people at the same time,
- that love means also loving all animals, plants, and everything else that makes up our wonderful world,
- that love is healing and kind,
- that love can be spread and shared,
- that the most important thing is to love yourself.
My Review
I’ve read several of Alicia Ortego’s superpower books and they’re all not only cute, but they teach a lesson.
Bowen has a baby sister and worries that his parents won’t be able to love both of them, but his mom says that isn’t going to be a problem. She explains that we can love many people at the same time. He learns we all have a love light that we share with others, such as him making friends with his grumpy neighbor, kissing his baby sister goodnight, and many other things that continue to spread his love light to friends and family. He realizes that sharing love and making others feel better makes us feel good.
Love is my Superpower has a good story, it has great illustrations, and it’s told in rhymes. It explains how we can love more than one person and that our hearts are big enough to love many people. It also teaches about sharing our love and making others feel better. There is even a heart at the end of the book for children to list who and what they love.
About the Author
A school teacher and an avid children’s book author, Alicia Ortego, has a wealth of experience spanning over 20 years working with children. Since she was young, Alicia had nurtured a passion for telling stories, which inspired her to start writing stories for children. She writes in a simple, easily understandable language, and an entertaining style that keeps children hooked to her books while learning vital lessons about virtues.
Alicia lives in New York and in her free time, enjoys spending quality time with her family and drawing.
Stay updated at her author website: www.aliciaortego.com.
Create a Love of Books
Bound 4 Escape 