In Deep Shitake (Shitake Mystery Series #1) by Patricia Mason

From the publisher: Take one devastatingly handsome movie star. Add one outrageously sexy female private eye with a penchant for food-word obscenities. Mix in a dose of mistaken identity and a handful of Russian mobsters…And they’re all In Deep Shitake.

My review: I have had my eye on this one for months waiting for the price to drop just enough so I wouldn't feel guilty for buying it :) The cover immediately brought me in and the overview of the story sold me! I am a sucker for humorous mysteries with a love story so I knew this one was going to please. Patricia Mason has written a witty, laugh out loud story that will not disappoint!

 

Imogene Tuttle, Mo as she likes to be called, is a PI at a private investigation agency called Incredible Love. Of course you can imagine some of the calls they get thinking it's an escort service. Mo tracks down cheating spouses. On one of her investigations, she has to break into someone's car and the result is her getting stuck, head down, in the sunroof! Of course the owner of the car comes and finds her this way and that's where it all starts...

 

Ross Grant, a very handsome movie star who's been out of work for a while, is the owner of the car and Mo convinces him not press charges. From then on, the two of them get mixed up in a blackmail scheme that involves a Ross Grant impersonator (even though he's been out of work for a while, his character, a 007 type, is remembered very well! :)), the Russian mafia and a stripper along with a slew of other characters that all make this a great read!

 

Patricia Mason is an award winning author and once you read this book you will see why. Purchase it on Amazon!

 

                                            *****5 Stars BRAVO! A must read! Loved it!



Review of "Lay Death at Her Door" by Elizabeth Buhmann

From the Publisher: "Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook's eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker's identity.

She is lying.

Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life."

My Review: I will start out by saying there were times I really enjoyed this book, and times I wanted to reach into the pages and ring Kate's neck. Now that I've said that, the story is unique and so are the characters. Kate is a woman in her 40's that still lives with her father, Miles Cranbrook, also known as Pop. Buhmann makes you think Kate is stuck living with him and you feel sorry for her as you read how nosey he is and how he has to know her every move. But as the story progressed, I found myself really hating Kate for the way she was treating her father, and others, and all the lies she was telling to everyone. And let me tell you, she loves telling some lies. There were times I couldn't keep up with what was true or false. Have I mentioned I didn't like how Kate treated others? Buhmann on more than one occasion described Kate as "beautiful' and Kate knew she was. All of her life she knew she turned men's heads. She knew what she wanted in life and she got it...no matter what it cost her.

She had people in her life that cared about her but she only saw them as a way of getting what she wanted. It was really hard to like this character. And she's the one you're supposed to be rooting for. Then later on in the story you feel sorry for her again when one of her close friends is murdered in her apartment! You start to think that Kate is cursed, bless her heart. She is determined to get to the bottom of it...or does she already know who did it?? It keeps you locked in.

This book was very intriguing and Buhmann did a great job at keeping your attention. I do wish it would have had more of a love story...I'm a sucker for those :)

All in all, I'm really glad I stuck it out because with all the lies and not knowing what was true or false, and the mystery of finding out who the real killer is, it does all come together and make sense in the end...and I have to admit it was one I did NOT see coming! Honestly, my jaw dropped and stayed that way for a couple of pages.

Having said all of that, overall I liked the book and I recommend it!!

              ****4 = COFFEE TALK! Wonderful book. I believe most others will like it.

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