I voluntarily reviewed this book
Published: November 1, 2016
Number of pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Bay Island Psychic Mystery #1
Synopsis:
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that something’s not right on Bay Island…Since she left her psychiatric practice in New York City to open up a psychic shop in her hometown on Bay Island, Cass Donovan has given her fair share of readings to conflicted customers. But what she sees in Ellie Callahan’s future doesn’t bode well.
When Ellie’s mother, Marge, publicly confronts Cass about the reading, the embarrassment makes her want to curl up and die. And when she later stumbles across Marge’s body—and is a suspect in her murder—Cass is suddenly the star of Bay Island’s rumor mill.
Cass is determined to prove her innocence and save Ellie from meeting the fate in her unfortunate vision. But even with the help of her friends Bee and Stephanie, Cass will have to channel some serious sleuthing instincts to find the real killer…
My thoughts:
This was a fun start to a new series. I love that is has a touch of paranormal/psychic in it. Cozy mysteries are one of the few times I like paranormal things in my books. For me I thought it was interesting that the main character used to be a pyschiartic office and now she is running a psychic business. I felt bad for Cass as she predicted a murder and then when it happened she was the only suspect but as we read there ends up being even more suspects. Which for me made it a little harder to figure out who did it. This book grabbed me on the first page and moved right along until the end. I am looking forward to more books in this series.
About the author:
Lena lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.lenagregory.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lena.Gregory.Author/?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LenaGregory03
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lenagregoryauth/?etslf=2219&eq=lena%20gregory
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14956514.Lena_Gregory
Purchase Links – Amazon Penguin Random House: Barnes and Noble: Kobo: Books-A-Million: Target:
My typical day doesn’t start until sometime around noon. That is, if Cass doesn’t wake me up earlier, for some reason, which has been happening all too often lately. But I can’t work on my designs during the day, too many distractions, so I often work until the wee hours of the morning, then have a bite to eat and go to bed as the sun is rising.
Anyway, I usually get up around noon, then head to the diner or the deli for breakfast and a good dose of my favorite pastime, gossip. I often stop in to visit with Cass and Stephanie, my other best friend, for a while afterward to share any good dirt I unearthed during my morning rounds.
Unless Stephanie’s husband, Tank, is around. Him, I try to avoid at all costs. Let’s just say, he and I don’t see the world the same way. He’s a big, tough detective, and I’m…well…not.
After a visit with my girls, I head in to the shop to work. I have a huge fashion show coming up soon, and I’m expecting a number of buyers from New York City to attend. Business has begun to pick up lately, especially with the introduction of my new beach wedding line. You just have to see it. It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself.
Preparations for my annual fashion show, the most important event of the year for me, are fully underway, and let me tell you, the stress is incredible. The models, mostly local teenagers, are nowhere near ready. I swear some of them have never even walked in a pair of heels, let alone a designer gown. I keep waiting for someone to roll over and break an ankle. Mostly, they practice in sneakers, so I asked Cass to work with them.
As if that isn’t enough stress for me to deal with, the theater’s board of directors just sent me a letter stating they need to change the date of the fashion show. Can you believe it? A couple of weeks before the show? Are they crazy? How any of those bozos managed to get on the board of a theater without having any knowledge of what goes into preparing for a show is beyond me, but…
Okay. Sorry. You’ll have to forgive me. I tend to get a little emotional.
So, where was I? Oh, right, I received a letter saying I have to move the fashion show so Marge Hawkins can have her play early. Well, between you and me, the only reason Marge wants to boot my show out of the way is because it sells probably triple the number of tickets her play does, and with our history…uh…well, never mind that, but since she’s the president of the board of directors, I don’t have much hope of winning this argument.
Then Cass walks into the theater to work with the models and finds Marge dead. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m a little relieved to have her out of the picture. One, my show can go ahead as planned. Maybe. And, two, the world is a better place without that woman in it anyway. Of course, my life just got a lot more complicated.
Guest Post:
A Day in the Life of Bee Maxwell
Hi! My name is Bee (Bryan) Maxwell, and I own Dreamweaver Designs, a designer dress shop down the boardwalk from Mystical Musings. Cass Donovan is one of my best friends. My typical day doesn’t start until sometime around noon. That is, if Cass doesn’t wake me up earlier, for some reason, which has been happening all too often lately. But I can’t work on my designs during the day, too many distractions, so I often work until the wee hours of the morning, then have a bite to eat and go to bed as the sun is rising.
Anyway, I usually get up around noon, then head to the diner or the deli for breakfast and a good dose of my favorite pastime, gossip. I often stop in to visit with Cass and Stephanie, my other best friend, for a while afterward to share any good dirt I unearthed during my morning rounds.
Unless Stephanie’s husband, Tank, is around. Him, I try to avoid at all costs. Let’s just say, he and I don’t see the world the same way. He’s a big, tough detective, and I’m…well…not.
After a visit with my girls, I head in to the shop to work. I have a huge fashion show coming up soon, and I’m expecting a number of buyers from New York City to attend. Business has begun to pick up lately, especially with the introduction of my new beach wedding line. You just have to see it. It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself.
Preparations for my annual fashion show, the most important event of the year for me, are fully underway, and let me tell you, the stress is incredible. The models, mostly local teenagers, are nowhere near ready. I swear some of them have never even walked in a pair of heels, let alone a designer gown. I keep waiting for someone to roll over and break an ankle. Mostly, they practice in sneakers, so I asked Cass to work with them.
As if that isn’t enough stress for me to deal with, the theater’s board of directors just sent me a letter stating they need to change the date of the fashion show. Can you believe it? A couple of weeks before the show? Are they crazy? How any of those bozos managed to get on the board of a theater without having any knowledge of what goes into preparing for a show is beyond me, but…
Okay. Sorry. You’ll have to forgive me. I tend to get a little emotional.
So, where was I? Oh, right, I received a letter saying I have to move the fashion show so Marge Hawkins can have her play early. Well, between you and me, the only reason Marge wants to boot my show out of the way is because it sells probably triple the number of tickets her play does, and with our history…uh…well, never mind that, but since she’s the president of the board of directors, I don’t have much hope of winning this argument.
Then Cass walks into the theater to work with the models and finds Marge dead. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m a little relieved to have her out of the picture. One, my show can go ahead as planned. Maybe. And, two, the world is a better place without that woman in it anyway. Of course, my life just got a lot more complicated.
Giveaway:
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Hi Angela! Thank you so much for sharing the release of Death at First Sight. And thank you for such a lovely review. I'm so happy you enjoyed my story :)
ReplyDeleteSounds so good! I must read this!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great start to a new series. Looking forward to reading "Death at First Sight".
ReplyDeleteA new "Must Read" for my list. Many thanks for the opportunity!!
ReplyDelete