Sydney Leigh

Jess Byrne has moved from California back to her hometown in New York to open a B&B with her best friend Kat. The opening is set and totally instagram worthy. She has even convinced her ex-boyfriend and rising music star Lars Armstrong to perform. Unfortunately, he is accompanied by his stepfather/manager Bob who is an object of hatred in the town.

When Bob is found murdered, it looks like The Pearl's grand opening is going to be a failure. In order to save her business and save her ex from being arrested for the murder, Jess will have to become a sleuth. She has a large number of suspects since many of the guests at the opening had reasons to want Bob dead.

Things get even worse when a second murder occurs and Lars is found standing over the body,

This was an entertaining start to a new cozy mystery series. Jess is an engaging character and is surrounded by a cast of interesting people from her retired high school principal mother to her Deadhead Aunt and her bartender brother and new wife yoga guru. There is even a potential love interest in the police detective assigned to the case.

Fans of cozies will enjoy this one.… (mehr)

Oh, it is going to be a fantastic grand opening! Jess Byrne and Kat Miller, best friends and business partners, are opening The Pearl B&B in Fletcher Lake. Nate Byrne and his wife Sarah have already opened The Cool Vibes Café, already a hot spot. Guests to the B&B will be delighted they can enjoy Nate's mixology skills or local IPA beer from the café bar steps from the B&B's pool. The highlight of the grand opening weekend will be the live performance by Lars Armstrong, returning to his hometown after a recent win in the reality competition "Sing This!" Jess and Lars are still single, so perhaps a high school romance will be rekindled. After all, what could go wrong?

The opening setting has set up a delightful venue for cozy adventures. The twists begin with an inheritance by siblings, continuing their grandmother's entrepreneurial spirit but changing the business offering from boarding house to separate business opportunities of a B&B and café/bar and twice as exciting provided adjacent to one another. Wait until everyone realizes the property also offers a pool, deck, firepit, gazebo, and access to the locals-only beach entrance across the street. I still wish readers could book their reservations too!

After all the careful planning, no one expected crime scene tape to be anywhere on the property and guests to be interviewed during an investigation, as this scenario doesn't fit the motto of "Cool Vibes Only." While Lars is trying to gain his ex's attention, Detective James Holloway may be leading the investigation and casting competing romantic sparks. I tried to match my sleuthing skills, but as the investigation progressed, the list of suspects grew in number rather than narrowing the field, adding to the intrigue with so many individuals having motives. Ultimately, I was close but not close enough, as I had missed an earlier clue.

With the B&B focusing on the demographic of late twenties and early thirties, their advertising may be propelled with hashtags and reviews by satisfied guests on Instagram, simultaneously capturing the attention of new cozy readers as many B&Bs have given opportunities for characters at a different stage of life. Kudos for this delightful new spin!

I'm already enticed to pre-order additions to this series!

Thank you to Sydney Leigh, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

#PerilInPink #NetGalley… (mehr)

Review copy

Originally a limited edition chapbook from by Villipede Publications. Baby's Breath is a terrifying story of a relationship falling apart after an unexpected pregnancy.

Ben and Diane seem to be very much in love, but once a baby is on the way things become less than ideal.

Baby's Breath is subtlety disturbing. What I really loved about this tale is the tone of Diane as she tells her story. Sweet, innocent, the voice of a loving mother, but Oh. My. God.

A delightfully demented quick read, Baby's Breath is available now at Amazon.com in a newly formatted, paperback, second edition, from Villipede Publications, with e-book to follow.… (mehr)