Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Sheltering Spirits by Lori Allison With her dog grooming and boarding business finally taking off and her home renovations underway, Mallory finally has everything she has always dreamed of. However, when a freak accident with an old friend unleashes a new talent, Mallory begins to look at life in a new way. And death, especially after finding a dead body on her property. As her business suffers the consequences, she wonders which will come first: the poor house, prison, or the mental ward. This story took a long time to get started. The early chapters have a lot of background information to the point of being extraneous. The information doesn't seem relative to the story and made me wonder what the plot even was. I would have liked to have seen some of the information later, maybe told in dialogue to someone or showing how this information related to the overall story. I almost felt as if Mallory's backstory would have been better served as a preque...

Paint the Town Dead by Sybil Johnson Rory is excited for the upcoming painting convention in the brand new Akaw hotel. But not everyone in town shares her excitement. Residents are protesting the hotel, threatening those involved in its development. Even though Rory only created the hotel website and app, someone throws a rock through her window. When people start dying, she finds herself trying to figure out whether it's all connected. This book starts strong with an exciting opening scene. However, it then progresses into the main character sitting down with her best friend and having a conversation that gives us a lot of background information that, in my opinion, probably could have waited another chapter or two and been introduced more organically. Many of the conversations and narratives in the early chapters felt this way to the point where the characters almost felt gossipy. It also took a while to really get to the heart of the mystery. (Here...

Murder, She Edited by Kaitlyn Dunnett Freelance editor Mikki Lincoln has just inherited a farm boarding house, from a woman she barely knew. But there is one stipulation: she must find, edit, and publish an unknown number of journals within one month, else she loses the farm. The mystery in this book unfolds slowly, first with the mystery of learning what the main character has inherited, then learning the mystery of what happened to the original owners, and ending with the mystery of who is trying to thwart Mikki's attempts. While I enjoyed watching the story unfold, the ending felt a little forced. I would have liked to have witnessed the cold case confession instead of hearing about it second hand. I also still had a few questions at the end of the book. (view spoiler) [After Mikki published the journals, were they successful? Why was the stepmother killed in the first place? Mikki had several theories; I would have liked to know which one was correct...

Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly After the death of her husband, Carly has moved back to her small Vermont hometown to pursue her life-long dream: opening a restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese. Despite the fact business is booming, her new landlord decides not to renew her lease. When her best employee becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Carly embarks to prove her friend's innocence, maybe saving her shop in the process. The first chapter of this book is a huge backstory with a lot of information that will be repeated later in the book. However, once I got past that, I found this story fairly enjoyable. I liked the characters and I found myself trying to solve the mystery along with Carly. While I did figure out the whodunit before her, I didn't catch the motive until just before she did. I did have a few issues with the book. There were times when the dialogue felt a little forced and not natural. There was also the scene where Carly share...

Mr. Monk on the Road by Lee Goldberg After finally achieving a relaxed clarity he hasn't known since the death of his wife, Mr. Monk decides it is time for his brother to address his agoraphobia. After putting sleeping pills in his birthday cake, Mr. Monk and his assistant, Natalie, move Ambrose into an RV and set out on a tour of California. Of course, it wouldn't be a vacation if Mr. Monk doesn't assist in a few homicides along the way. But will his brother appreciate his efforts or is it too much for him to handle? Having been raised by someone who owns more Lysol wipes than Mr. Monk, I have always been a fan of the television show and was thrilled to learn about this book series. The first chapter of this book is mostly background information, which I didn't mind too much because it reminded me of all the major characters, since I haven't seen the show in over a decade. (Actually, it made me question whether I even watched the final season...

Well-Offed in Vermont by Amy Patricia Meade Stella and Nick can't wait to move into their new house in rural Vermont. There's just one problem: a dead guy in their well. Forced to stay in a privative hunting cabin, the newcomers take it upon themselves to solve the mystery so they can finally unpack their moving van. I found the first chapter of this story extremely engaging, especially since it ends with the beginning of the mystery. However, the second chapter then opens by giving background information on two characters that had yet to be introduced to the story. Since a lot of this information is revealed later, I would have much preferred to learn Alma's backstory slowly. I think it would have made her a more interesting character and possibly even a suspect. Instead, because I knew about what happened to her son, I felt about four steps ahead of Stella. Although I found the story enjoyable, there were many aspects that felt as unrealistic as a c...

Murder at the Abbey by Frances Evesham When human bones are discovered in the river, Libby and the rest of the historical society are excited to learn they most likely belonged to a 16th century monk from the nearby abbey. They organize on overnight ghost hunt, which results in the attack of a friend. Now, Libby and Max must try to identify the culprit before someone else is injured. Although this is the eighth book in the series, it is the first one I have read. The story contains a lot of background information, most of which felt as if it were from earlier stories, that continues through most of the book. Much of it felt irrelevant to the story, both while I was reading it and even by the end of the book. Some of the information is repeated multiple times during the first few times and was information I would have rather seen than be told upfront. Some of it was also introduced at awkward times, distracting from the flow of the story. Even many chapte...

A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell NYC fashion designer Josie is settling into her new life in rural Connecticut as the owner of a yarn shop and landlord. Hopefully, her new tenant, an antiques dealer, will help bring some life to the sleepy downtown. However, when an unexpected death calls up memories of a unsolved missing persons case, yarn is the last thing on her mind. It will be difficult for me to review this book without giving away too many spoilers, but I will try. While the first chapter helps set up the scene, it almost wasn't enough to engage me enough to keep reading. Honestly, if I weren't reading this for a Book Bingo square, I might not have continued past that first chapter. As the book continued, I did grow more interested in the story. However, it felt as if the main character was a little too focused on the cold case than the current mystery. Her obsession made me think early on that the two might be connected. There were also sever...

Back to School Murder by Leslie Meier It's the first day of school in a peaceful little Maine town. For Lucy Stone, this means a few childless hours to work at the local newspaper and contemplate night classes. However, when she gets reports of a bomb in her children's school, Lucy starts to wonder who put it there. When her prime suspect ends up dead and an innocent man is arrested, Lucy becomes determined to clear his name and discover the truth. This book jumped out of me because Lucy Stone is a mother of four--three girls and a boy, just like me--who lives in a small New England town. I really wanted to like this book and, although it was a little dated, I must say, I did enjoy it. This is an older story, written in an era before 9-11 and the Columbine school shootings. The story opens with a bomb in the elementary school. In case readers find such a scenario disturbing, I will put this spoiler: No one is killed in the explosion and there is only one...

Publishable By Death by A.C.F. Bookens It's opening day for St. Marin's newest -- and only -- bookstore and owner Harvey can't be more excited. Books are on the shelves, coffee is in the cafe, a dead body is in the stockroom. While no one seems too upset by the loss of one of it's residents, Harvey wants to find the murderer before bad publicity ruins her reputation. I found this book to be extremely entertaining. I enjoyed watching the romance unfold between Harvey and a certain mechanic. I loved working with Harvey to figure out the identity of the murderer (although I have to admit I figured it out long before she did). I also loved learning the history of the bookstore. I look forward to reading more about St. Marin. Overall, I would rate this story four quills and place it on my middle shelf.