Lorena McCourtneyRezensionen

Suspense

Bk 1 of the Ivy Malone cozy mysteries. A fun read; kept my interest. Goodreads: She's not your average crime fighter!Ivy Malone has a curiosity that sometimes gets her into trouble, and it's only aggravated by her discovery that she can easily escape the public eye. So when vandals romp through the local cemetery, she takes advantage of her newfound anonymity and its unforeseen advantages as she launches her own unofficial investigation.Despite her oddball humor and unconventional snooping, Ivy soon becomes discouraged by her failure to turn up any solid clues. And after Ivy witnesses something ominous and unexplained, she can't resist putting her investigative powers to work again. Even the authorities' attempts to keep Ivy out of danger and her nosy neighbor's match-making schemes can't slow her down. But will the determination that fuels this persistent, quirky sleuth threaten her very safety?

First book about Ivy Malone, a widow, on Medicare, fixed income, but with a big curiosity. This curiosity gets her into trouble as she tries to find out who is vandalizing a local cemetery and who killed her neighbor?s young, friendly but secretive, renter. A fun read even if it is unbelieveable.

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Great Mystery. Enjoyed the book.

This was okay especially as it was a free book but I could have done without the Christian aspects which may have put me off reading any more in the series.

This is your basic cozy mystery with a bumbling main character who is entirely too trusting. This wasn't the best one I've ever read but I didn't want to gouge our my eyes either.

The following description of the book was taken from Amazon:
"Jan Hilliard is on an isolated forest trail in the middle of nowhere for one reason only, to learn the truth about her son's death. Suicide, accident - or murder? The last person she expects - or wants - to encounter is the ex-husband whose fierce ambition and betrayal destroyed their marriage."

Jan wants nothing to do with Mark. Even as she realizes he's still interested in her, and, worse, realizes she still feels an unwanted tug of attraction for him, she's skeptical of his new Christian faith. Skeptical about God as well. But she realizes she needs his help and expertise to learn the truth about their son and reluctantly joins forces with him.

Their search takes a new twist when a name leaps out of their son's journal. Stardust! Stardust, of the lupine-blue eyes, mysterious as the journal itself. Who is she? Where is she? What does she know about their son's death?

Yet when Stardust does burst into their lives, she brings fear as well as hope, and as many questions as answers. Questions about faith and love, the past and the future - and the realization that Stardust has a dangerous control over Jan and Mark's future."

This was a good story and took me on a path I wasn't expecting as I started reading this book. Different twists and turns than I was expecting.½

I'd gotten the book a while ago, and it took me a while to figure where to place this genre-wise. It is slow to get started, but gets better as the book goes on. Quite enjoyable in the end. Quite heavy on the Christianity front.

Entertaining story and will look for more by this author!

A little old lady with a gift for snooping in all the right places. Ivy Malone is hilarious and determined. McCourtney’s book is a whimsical, fun summer read.

Mac and Ivy, now married, are back on the road in their motorhome. They were heading south to Arizona for their honeymoon when Mac received a request from an editor to stop by Ghost Goat Dinosaur Park to write a travel article. Mac always willing to help an editor especially one he had worked for in the past makes the detour to this shabby theme park located by the coast in northern California.

Ivy’s bump of curiosity and her LOL (Little Old Lady) invisibility leads her to another body.

Relaxing, satisfying read with familiar characters I have enjoyed before.

Cozy mystery, Christian-based fiction that is not preachy but instead is well-plotted with great characters and humor. Highly recommended.

A new series! Andi inherits a stretch limo from an uncle with a body in the trunk that makes her a suspect in a murder. Enter romance when she meets Fitz an ex-TV detective.

Fun, relaxing read.

3-10-2011 So far the book seems a little slow moving. Also, the main character,Ivy, is a little depressing. She feels invisible because she is old. That makes me feel sad.
3-12-2011 I am just a little over half way done. I feel like I am reading slower than usual. The story line is picking up. Ivy is actively investigating the murder of her friend, and getting into trouble.
3-14-2011 I finished the book this afternoon. The pace picked up in the second half. Ivy really goes far in her investigation. Some of her actions are pretty questionable - who would spend several nights alone in a graveyard watching for vandals? I did enjoy the subplot with her two suitors. I was hoping she would get together with one of them, but she is taking romance slow. Other reviewers have mentioned being put off by the Christian talk, but I didn't feel it was excessive. I would read more in this series.

My rating of two stars reflects my aversion to books with a definite religious tone. This won't bother a lot of other readers of course, but as a result I didn't read more than 10% of my free kindle purchase. The mystery looked interesting though - just not interesting enough for me to continue through the prayers and calls to god when Uncle Joe fell off his ladder.

Cozy mystery with a variety of characters from politicians to scam artists. This series is getting too preachy for me, Ms. McCourtney has other series where though the characters touch on being Christians, they don’t beat you up about it.
Disappointed.

Ivy Malone the “invisible senior” is one of my favorite characters. As each book in the series progresses she takes control of her life and throws off that cloak of invisibleness. Her bump of curiosity definitely leads her into unplanned and dangerous situations.

Another cozy mystery from Lorenna McCourtney. Fast and easy read.

Ivy has come home to Missouri. She is hoping the Braxton’s have forgotten their vow to kill her for testifying and helping to convict Bo Zollinger, a member of their family. Madison Street is a little more rundown than when she left and her house looks shabby but she is sure she can use a screw driver to fix the shutters, reattach the screen door; a trowel to bring the garden and yard back into shape. But, upon entering her house she discovers a body in her upstairs bathtub. It is the body of another LOL (little old lady) who had been using Ivy’s identity to live in her empty house. Ivy knows the Braxton’s killed this woman thinking it was her but the police think she is slightly off-center in her oldness. When Mac arrives in his motorhome they set out to investigate the Braxton’s.

Delightful characters with a mystery and amateur investigation to enjoy as I followed along with Ivy and Mac. Fun read!

I got through 7% of the books before giving up.

Sorry, but there was nothing about the story the kept my interest.

I found it dragging in some places and ending up skimming part of the way. The characters are okay, but nothing spectacular. Not sure I will continue with the series.

I was looking for a light mystery and this story fit the bill. Cate, employed as a temporary assistant for her uncle, a private investigator dealing with health issues, finds herself pulled into a murder mystery while on a simple skip-trace sort of case. In spite of her best efforts to keep out of trouble, she's drawn deeper into the case and finds herself helping the very person she was sent to find. I enjoyed Cate and appreciated the fact that she struggled a bit, but was smart enough to put pieces together to solve the mystery. Willow added a nice comedic touch, and I loved Octavia the cat. I hope to see her in future "files".