I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Connect the Dots
by Barbara Barrett
Series: Mah Jongg Mysteries #3
Series Rating:
Published by Barbara Barrett on February 2, 2019
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 257
Format: ebook
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
How could a thirty-something man fall to his death from a fourth-floor balcony he knows is defective? That’s the question freelance writer Micki Demetrius is asked to answer by the man's grieving mother, Clarissa White, who refuses to believe his death was an unfortunate accident. But when the authorities determine it was a homicide, Micki is shut out of her investigative efforts.
Giving up is easier said than done for Micki. She can’t resist a mystery, and suspicious characters won’t leave Clarissa alone, from the woman claiming a stake in the victim’s life to a cagey character who wants his business. As the threat to Clarissa grows, Micki feels compelledto help her in spite of the danger.
Micki’s three mah jongg pals—Sydney Bonner, Marianne Putnam and Katrina, Kat, Faulkner—are drawn into the mystery, but the retirees have their challenges. Syd and husband Trip do grandparent duty while their daughter deals with marital issues. Marianne “finds herself” by writing a one-act play. And Kat must decide how public to go with her growing friendship with the sheriff. Together, they must connect the dots in a nefarious web of greed, neglect, secrecy, and murder.
Is Campbell’s death murder? If so why was he killed?
Connect the Dots by Barbara Barrett reminds me of Murder, She Wrote. The four ladies from the first two books are back for another murder. Micki reminds me of Jessica Fletcher regarding finding the evidence and being a writer.
What I liked
- The four main ladies are all great and have their little quirks. Each one is different from the other, and they make a great team.
- Micki is great on tracking down a story and getting the facts together. She is the main character of the story (as far as I am concerned.)
- The way that Ms. Barrett portrays the way local people tend to think of retired folks and how Micki and her friends handle them.
- Ms. Barrett is a great author, and this book shows how well she writes her stories.
What I disliked
The only dislike that I have is that we don’t see much of two of the main ladies which is okay, but it does suck not to get to know them better. Other than that this novel is excellent.
Five Stars
Connect the Dots by Barbara Barrett is a five-star read that kept me entertained and wanting to know what happens next. I had a feeling about who did it, but I wasn’t sure if I was right. Ms. Barrett’s mystery, characters, and the setting were fabulous. I look forward to reading her next book in the series.
Other Book in the Series:
Craks in a Marriage
by Barbara Barrett
Series: Mah Jongg Mysteries #1
Published by Barbara Barrett on February 6, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Amateur Sleuth
Pages: 262
Format: Paperback and eBook
Buy on Amazon
When Sydney Bonner overhears a fellow mah jongg player arguing on the phone with her husband, she realizes the couple’s “perfect marriage” isn’t all it appears to be. A few days later, the husband is found dead, his head bashed in. Fearing she’ll be considered the most likely suspect, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him.
Though none of these four fun-loving, take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders.
Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations and their weekly mah jongg game keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them.
Bamboozled
by Barbara Barrett
Series: Mah Jongg Mysteries #2
Published by Barbara Barrett on April 3, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Amateur Sleuth
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback and eBook
Buy on Amazon
Essential oils distributor Dorcas Wiley is the boss everyone loves to hate. So when she turns up dead, killed by her own trophy, disgruntled saleswoman Cathy Broderick is the obvious suspect in her murder. Despite opportunity, motive and incriminating evidence, Cathy declares her innocence and enlists her mah jongg pals—Sydney Bonner and her cronies Marianne, Micki and Kat—to help save her from the death penalty.
Hot off a recent and nearly deadly investigation, the women are cautious about putting themselves in peril again. Syd’s spouse isn’t thrilled about another mystery in their lives, either, but he can’t resist the plea of Cathy’s husband. Soon, Syd is leading the way as they tangle with grumpy salespeople, the victim’s estranged husband and boyfriend, a mysterious housekeeper, a litigious customer, an annoyed sheriff and Cathy’s own arrogant lawyer.
The women have their own issues to deal with in their central Florida town of Serendipity Springs. Kat faces a health challenge, Micki fields a mysterious inquiry from her ex, Marianne has a chaotic anniversary and Syd wrestles with her husband over who’s really in charge. But nothing puts everyday life into perspective like the moment when their investigation brings them face to face with danger.
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April 16 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
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April 17 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
April 18 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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April 20 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
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April 21 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW
April 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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April 23 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
April 23 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
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April 25 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
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Happy Reading!
About Barbara Barrett
Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.
Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job as a human resources analyst for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and one novella, she returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.
Bamboozled, the second book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.
Anticipating the day when she would write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America for over a decade. She credits them with helping her hone her craft.
Barbara is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Cloak and Dagger
- 2019 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2019 New Release Challenge
Baroness,
Thanks so much for the kind words about this book. Having four protagonists is a challenge, so I’ve been letting one take the lead role in the first three books (although Sydney grabbed that seat in the first two; she’s very take-charge). Marianne will be showcased in the fourth book, which I’m working on now.
Barbara
I am so excited and I can’t wait to read what Marianne gets into.