Posts

Midnight Falls by John Evans – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Midnight FallsMidnight Falls by John (ronin) Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Midnight Falls is a gripping psychological horror thriller that is full of tension, mystery, intrigue, suspense, danger, and werewolves. It is the first book that I have read by this author, but it certainly will not be the last. I was pulled into the story from the first few pages and the suspense kept me hooked until the end. The story is set in the small town of Midnight Falls and centers around the MC of Josh, who has recently returned to his sleepy little hometown. Instead of finding peace and tranquility he quickly realizes that he cannot trust anyone, that some have deep seated grudges against him, and that something sinister lurks in the shadows. Josh is a relatable character who is battling between his own feelings of inadequacy, feeling like a failure, and confronting his personal inner demons as well as the very real evil that lurks in the shadows. Looking forward to reading more by this talented author!

View all my reviews

Felines and Fatalities (A Kitty Beret Cafe Mystery Book 2) by Ruth J. Hartman – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Felines and Fatalities (A Kitty Beret Cafe Mystery, Book 2)Felines and Fatalities by Ruth J. Hartman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Felines and Fatalities is Book 2 in the Kitty Beret Café Mystery series. When Ellie, owner of the Kitty Beret Café, agrees to put on a cat show for rescued cats she was not expecting anything more than an adventure involving cats in cute clothes. Things suddenly take a turn when Ellie stumbles onto the corpse of one of the cat show judges in a storeroom on the first day of the cat show. Now Ellie, along with her detective friend, Simon, are involved in a murder mystery that they set out to solve. Of course, no mystery can go unsolved without the aid of Ellie’s beloved rescue cat, Templeton, who is clever enough to help dig up clues of his own. When Templeton starts bringing mysterious items to Ellie, she is baffled by what they mean and who at the cat show these items belong to.

When the news spreads at the cat show about the death of one of the judges some of the reactions from the contestants are not quite what Ellie expected. Some of the contestants are happy about the judge’s death, which of course bumps them up to the top of the suspect list. Is it the sisters who constantly bicker? Is that the secret that one of them is hiding? Is it the begruntled cat mom who terrorizes everyone in her wake? Ellie, Simon, and Templeton are determined to uncover the identity of the murderer in their midst. As they start to uncover clues about each of the cat show contestants, they are stunned by what they discover.

I loved this book and really enjoyed how the author made one of the rescued cats an integral part of the story as he helped to dig up clues of his own. It seemed that Templeton was clever and had a keen sense of who the murderer was before anyone else did. Ellie was sweet and caring but also had her own sleuthing skills that came into action when needed. I loved the subtle love story that started to unfold throughout the book between Ellie and Detective Simon. Templeton played a large part in trying to bring Ellie and Simon together as he played matchmaker between the two of them. Ellie, Simon, and Templeton made a great team as they worked together to solve the murder mystery. A cute and enjoyable read.

View all my reviews@tarab