WordPress – Rosepoint Publishing

Dogged Pursuit by David Rosenfelt #AudiobookReview #animalfiction

An Andy Carpenter Mystery Book 31

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

In Dogged Pursuit, David Rosenfelt takes listeners back to the start of this beloved series as Andy Carpenter begins his career as a defense attorney in Paterson, New Jersey.

Andy Carpenter has spent the three years since graduating law school working as a prosecutor in Paterson. But having seen how the system never looks out for the little guy, he leaves to start his own practice as a defense attorney. His office might be a little bit of a dump, but he’s excited to make a change.

Andy goes to the shelter to adopt a dog, where he meets his beloved golden retriever, Tara, for the first time and feels an immediate connection. The shelter is crowded and Tara’s been sharing space with a dog named Sunny; Andy hates to break them up and so asks to take Sunny, too, but since there’s a pending criminal case involving the owner, he’ll need to get written permission for temporary possession.

Andy discovers that Sunny’s owner, Frank Tierney, has been arrested for the murder of his ex-boss. But he takes an immediate liking to Frank and his clear dedication to his dog, and ends up with his first case along with the two dogs.

This prequel to the long-running and perennially popular Andy Carpenter mysteries is a gift for fans and a terrific entry-point for newcomers.

My Review:

I never get tired of the Andy Carpenter Mystery series and haven’t missed many since discovering them in 2016. In this case, I shared the wealth with the CE back in June of this year. Have to admit, however, he got gypped when he read the ebook, as you can’t beat one of my favorite narrators as the wise-cracking but extremely effective defense attorney.

This is actually a prequel to the popular series, introducing the reader to his first marriage, then to Tara, the Golden Retriever who starts it all. Additional support characters are gradually brought in and we see how the team is formed.

The prequel starts a fledgling criminal attorney position, having left the prosecution side of the court. Tara comes with a buddy, a little dog belonging to a man arrested for murder. Taking on the case of a person accused of blowing up a car resulting in multiple deaths also deals a blow to his already shaky marriage. It is also the introduction to Laurie, an ex-cop investigator.

As he is making friends and influencing people, the stakes are rising to deadly heights. The “I didn’t do it” mantra becomes centrally significant and begs the question, “then, who did?”

It gets complicated and there are no Carpenter books that aren’t. Combined with a snarky sense of humor, lively courtroom scenes, and heart-melting doggy vignettes, it’s a perfect launch for someone who hasn’t started the series. For those who have, but didn’t actually start with Book 1 (when do I ever?), it answers a number of questions.

Grover Gardner became Andy Carpenter a long time ago, but those discovering the series through the prequel will understand how and why he’s now the voice of the quintessential attorney. I always recommend Gardner’s narration over an ebook.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Animal Cozy Mysteries
Publisher:
Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0DFRLWNHG
Listening Length: 6 hrs 30 mins
Narrator: Grover Gardner
Publication Date: July 1, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: David Rosenfelt, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, is a graduate of NYU. He was the former marketing president for Tri-Star Pictures before becoming a writer of novels and screenplays. “Open And Shut” was his first novel; “First Degree,” his second novel, was named a best book of 2003 by Publishers Weekly. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife and 35 dogs.

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The Narrator:

Grover Gardner’s narration career spans twenty-five years and over 550 audiobook titles. AudioFile Magazine has called him one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and features him in their annual “Golden Voices” update. Publishers Weekly named him Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2005. His recordings have garnered 18 “Golden Earphones” awards from AudioFile and an Audie Award from the Audio Publishers’ Association.
http://grovergardner.blogspot.com/

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

Solid Gold Murder by Ellen Byron #AudiobookReview #cozymystery

Golden Motel Mystery #2

Book Blurb:

Dee Stern’s Golden Motel-of-the-Mountains promises a tranquil getaway for outdoor lovers in the scenic Californian village of Foundgold. But when Dee accidentally triggers a modern gold rush, she suddenly turns her peaceful retreat into a hotspot for mayhem and murder . . .

With the summer season looming, former Hollywood sitcom writer Dee Stern has one small goal—scrubbing her motel’s unflattering moniker as the “Murder Motel.” Dee and ex-husband-turned-business-partner Jeff Cornetta are excited to introduce a family-friendly panning activity complete with fool’s gold just in time for the peak tourist months. Except neither could have anticipated the discovery of a real gold nugget or the ensuing social media frenzy. In a flash, the viral sensation draws grizzled prospectors, wide-eyed adventurers, and trend-chasing thrill seekers to the abandoned mines scattered around the woods . . .

The instant popularity proves great for business, but it also attracts a group of out-of-touch Silicon Valley techies with dreams of striking it rich—again. Dee finds herself particularly annoyed by the insufferably smug Sylvan Burr, a retired CEO who sold his startup before age 30 and won’t let anyone forget it. But things take a sinister turn when Sylvan meets a grim fate at the bottom of a mineshaft, leaving Dee at the center of a deadly mystery that could end her days as a motelier. And while Sylvan had plenty of enemies, Dee suddenly faces adversaries rooting against her own success. Now, with her life and the future of the Golden Motel hanging by a thread, Dee must unearth a minefield of suspects and outwit a greedy killer before she finally digs herself too deep . . .

My Review:

Another new series in which I managed to pick up in Book 2, but read it like a standalone. In this installment, Dee and ex-husband Jeff motel partner have successfully concluded their brainstorming session with the idea of having a gold panning experience.

Touted as a family-friendly experience and expecting to salt the sluice with some fool’s gold for fun, their brilliant idea turns viral when a real gold nugget is discovered.

Hoping the whole panning idea would smother the nickname of “Murder Motel,” the place suddenly swarmed with paying motel guests also attracting the wrong kind of tourists. When one is found dead, it definitely doesn’t help their rep. Especially when the death is obviously not a natural one.

Some of her guests are serious gold hunters, while others just want to soak up the tree-dotted mountainscape, the clear pine air, the quaint tiny town of Foundgold and Goldgone. Goodness, a lovely cross-section of characters, including Bud the bear, and an old hound dog named Nugget, left behind by the late owner.

It’s an easy, laid back mystery, as much character driven as mystery plot, the characters and setting accounting for much of the charm of the book, particularly the conversations, dialogue between the exes. There are bits of humor interwoven through the plot. Of course, the deceased was a nasty guy with lots of people who’d want to see him at the bottom of an abandoned mine and not moving.

There are twists and turns and lots of theories bantered around, all designed to throw you off the trail. Enjoyable little cozy escape from the everyday, and includes the requisite denouement you may not have seen coming.

Many thanks to the publisher and my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries
Publisher: Tantor Media
ASIN: B0DVMHQQ3L
Listening Length: 7 hrs 23 mins
Narrator: Amy Melissa Bentley
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Ellen Byron - author — Ellen Byron – author

The Author: Ellen is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, Cajun Country Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (under the pen name Maria DiRico). Her mysteries have won multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery Lefty awards from the Left Coast Crime conference. Bayou Book Thief, her first Vintage Cookbook Mystery, was also nominated for an Anthony award. A Very Woodsy Murder, debuting in July 2024, will be the first book in her new Golden Motel Mystery series, which is inspired by her former career as a sitcom writer.

Ellen’s TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents; she’s written over 200 magazine articles; her published plays include the award-winning Graceland and Asleep on the Wind. She is a native New Yorker who lives in Los Angeles and attributes her fascination with Louisiana to her college years at New Orleans’ Tulane University. She also worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. Have an early copy of Martha’s first book, ENTERTAINING? Ellen’s standing right next to her in the group shot.

Happy Thursday

Half Moon Bay: A Novel by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Clay Edison #3

Book Blurb:

Clay Edison has his hands full. He’s got a new baby who won’t sleep. He’s working the graveyard shift. And he’s trying, for once, to mind his own business. Then comes the first call. Workers demolishing a local park have made a haunting discovery: the decades-old skeleton of a child. But whose? And how did it get there?

No sooner has Clay begun to investigate than he receives a second call – this one from a local businessman, wondering if the body could belong to his sister. She went missing 50 years ago, the man says. Or at least I think she did. It’s a little complicated.

And things only get stranger from there. Clay’s relentless search for answers will unearth a history of violence and secrets, revolution and betrayal. Because in this town, the past isn’t dead. It’s very much alive. And it can be murderous.

My Review:

I really like the way the authors suffuse the professional with the personal. So many times, we see a technician going about their business and wonder what their home life looks like: six kids, a spouse equally harried, and a mortgage whose interest rates keep climbing?

In this case, Clay Edison is a new papa. The baby, as most, doesn’t sleep. Clay is working the graveyard shift so his wife can be home and she works days. It should work—doesn’t always.

Unfortunately, his call out is to the discovery of a very old skeleton—that of a small child. Whose? And how did it come to be buried in a park?

Clay might be the personification of a new dad, his baby girl Charlotte has a lot to teach him. The stark difference between his anxious self and his professional self is often laid bare by his self-talk, his first person POV.

The development of the characters in this series has been fun, and each new installment has brought growth and get-to-know-you sessions. I like Clay. He’s smart, dominating, and a strong personage around his peers, though he can be soft and sympathetic with the loved ones he must deal with in his professional capacity.

It doesn’t help that the park and the site of the skeleton is located in Berkeley, always a hotbed of political turmoil and protests. He may have a major development in the phone call from a man claiming that it may be his sister…but he can only supply a minimal amount of background to interest Clay further into the investigation.

The storyline wavers a bit with a couple of small branches off the main plot, but then I wouldn’t expect this would be Clay’s only case. It might create a slight lull in the pacing of the main plot, but there is always another tiny clue.

I’m not sure it would be classified as a slow-burn story as there is usually a lot going on and the characters, including Clay’s wife, Amy, supply a lot of lively dialogue. (I still haven’t warmed up to Amy though.) Of course, the flashbacks to the 60’s and 70’s drew me in. There are twists, divulged secrets, and evil doers as these things are never just simple straight forward…who is the skeleton.

Personally, I really enjoyed the novel and this series, one to go (Book 2), and just got it. I’ll recommend again. If you haven’t checked out this series yet and you found Alex Delaware a bit stodgy at times, you might find the collaboration between this father and son might be just what you were looking for.

I received a copy of this audiobook from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries
Publisher: Random House Audio
Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris
ASIN: B0863359SD
Listening Length: 9 hrs 35 mins
Publication Date: July 21, 2020
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Authors:

Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than three dozen bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored The Golem of Hollywood and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California, New Mexico, and New York.

Read more at:
http://www.jonathankellerman.com/

Jesse Kellerman

Jesse Kellerman has written dozens of plays and published seven novels, two of them cowritten with his father, Jonathan Kellerman. He has won numerous awards, including the Princess Grace Award for Playwriting (“Things Beyond Our Control”) and the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle (“The Genius”/”Les Visages”). His novel “Potboiler” was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. An essay, “Let My People Go to the Buffet,” was included in Penguin’s Best American Spiritual Writing (2011). His next book, Crime Scene, was also cowritten with Jonathan Kellerman and will be published in fall 2017. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and children.

The Narrator:

Dennis Boutsikaris

Dennis Boutsikaris was born December 21, 1952 in Newark, New Jersey, to a Greek American father and Jewish mother,^[1] and grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.^[2] He took up acting while a student at Governor Livingston High School, because he felt he was too small to succeed in athletics.^[3] A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Boutsikaris toured the country with John Houseman’s The Acting Company doing classical theatre. Boutsikaris was married to actress Deborah Hedwall; they divorced in 2002.

He can be heard in over 160 audiobooks and has received eight Audie Awards and two Best Voices of the Year Awards from AudioFile Magazine.^[14] He was voted Best Narrator of the Year by Amazon for The Gene.

Find him at:
http://www.dennisboutsikaris.com *

*Thanks to Wikipedia for this info.

Graphic by Canva.com

Netflix Movie Irish Wish – Holiday Themed #romcom – #readingirelandmonth24

Introduction

Just in time for the St Patrick’s Day holiday, Netflix releases their latest Lindsay Lohan offering. You may remember her for her most successful Netflix holiday rom-com, Falling for Christmas which earned her first Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes in ten years. This one won’t topple her record. Of course, I had to view it for one of my contributions to the annual #begorrathon and #ReadingIrelandMonth hosted yearly by Cathy at 746 Books.

Blurb

When the love of her life gets engaged to her friend, Maddie puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland. Days before the wedding, Maddie makes a spontaneous wish for true love, only to wake up as the bride-to-be.

My Thoughts

Lindsay Lohan photo courtesy Rotten Tomatoes

Madeline (Maddie) Kelly is in love with an author whose book she’s been editing, Paul Kennedy played by Alexander Vlahos.

Alexander Vlahos photo courtesy Rotten Tomatoes

She hasn’t shared that tidbit with her two best friends, only her mother, played by Jane Seymour. She is celebrating his book release party and hoping he’ll confess he feels the same for her. He doesn’t. No, he proposes she edits his next book and when she introduces her friends, there is an obvious connection between him and BFF Emma.

Killruddery House photo courtesy Netflix through House Beautiful

Yes, we rolled out the insta-love and ALL the clichés they could think of for this one! (I think the one that annoys me most is the suddenly clumsy persona.) And just like that, they are on their way to a destination wedding in Ireland, the “Kennedy House.” (The home is actually a historic private estate and working farm known as the Killruddery House and breathtakingly gorgeous.)

Ed Speleers photo courtesy Rotten Tomatoes

Okay, throw in all the usual silliness (including the aforementioned clumsiness), the introduction of James Thomas who will be the wedding photographer played by Ed Speleers. The scene with Saint Brigid is beautiful and I wondered at times if colors were enhanced or scenes graphically adjusted. It is, after all, a travelogue and they don’t miss much including Westport and the Cliffs of Moher.

Well, Saint Brigid worked her magic, but it doesn’t quite work as Maddie is soon to realize. As the priest said, she has a sense of humor…”She may not give you what you want, but she’ll always give you what you need.” In this case, another old saying comes to mind.

The movie also stars Jane Seymour, Elizabeth Tan, and Ayesha Curry, and is directed by Janeen Damian and written by Kirsten Hansen.

The critics have had a field day with this romp into unreality or fantasy borrowing from every slick production tried before. I loved the comments by top critic Kevin Maher Times (UK) who noted on Rotten Tomatoes, “It’s genuinely terrible, but also oddly watchable.” Due in no small part, I’m sure, to the cinematography.

Official Release Poster Irish Wish — Official release poster Irish Wish

I’m still scratching my head over the costume changes from smart, professional to hausfrau once she arrives in Ireland. Irish Wish What was that all about? I didn’t notice the other characters dressing down and for me stood in jarring contrast to the historic majesty of the estate in particular, if not to the support characters.

Rotten Tomatoes, by the way, as of this writing puts it at 35%, although that appears to be changing. Perhaps the viewing public is starved for a light-hearted trope. Indeed, it appears that just days after release the movie hit the Netflix top ten rankings. How long has it been since Netflix had a general change-up of their roster?

Perhaps I should mention that I’m not a fan of Lindsay Lohan, her level of acting in contrast to most of the rest of the notable cast, with some exceptions. If you are looking for a whimsy rom-com with fantasy overload and some adolescent dialogue, you may well enjoy this piece of fluff.

While I would agree Paul was not a good choice (don’t get me started on the would be mother-in-law), neither would I have said an itinerant photographer would be a solid choice. But then, I’m obviously looking on the practical side and I’m telling you, Saint Brigid or not, that couple couldn’t have worked either.

Kinda like the movie.

It’s out now and streaming on Netflix.

Attributes: House Beautiful
Rotten Tomatoes
Games Radar
imdb.com
Official Release Poster

I’m Not Ignoring You–Is it WP or the 1200 lb Gorilla?

Spoiler Alert: Anyone else experiencing these issues?

Many of you know that my blog stats suddenly dropped 107 followers the end of March. I’m not ignoring you–honest! I wrote the Happiness Engineers at WordPress regarding the drop as well as the increase in “followers” from Outlook email accounts. Eventually, I got a canned response that didn’t address the issues (either one, but directed me to check my listed follower status).

I wrote again, unhappy with the result of my inquiry, and finally got a response from Damianne who wrote, “Your followers are from social media as well as WordPress. We can’t manage followers from social media, so we don’t have any information about those changes.” That’s true, as my followers are made up of more than 750 social followers, 250+ WP followers, with the balance made up of email followers (no Outlook followers).

She went on to note that “Followers from outlook.com may be spammers and we are looking into the issue generally, and have already implemented some fixes. The follows in themselves are not an actual threat…so really all they’re achieving is to annoy people. We’re working on our end to get these follows blocked, and we’re also removing fake follows as we detect them. On your end, just ignore them for now.”

Wait, What? “Fake follows.” Are you considered a fake follow? Did you get unfollowed?

It wasn’t until later that I realized I was no longer getting notifications from my most active blogging buddies. That’s you! So I apologize–it wasn’t me–it was…WordPress?

I know you are not fake follows, so what happened? Damianne suggested my notifications may be going to my spam folder as a result of my email provider. They are not.

Dot Com vs Dot Org

As a dot com (not a dot org), I do not have the ability to download and use all those wonderful plug-ins that would give me some additional insight into the dynamics of my website. So frustrating! But trying to research what may be happening, I see one overwhelming theme–speed–and mobile technology.

We know WordPress changed their algorithms this year, but I didn’t realize it would affect my little contribution to the blogosphere. Why? Because nothing stays the same–remember that old adage? People change. Technology advances to keep up with wants and needs. At the forefront of change is Google who has issued five (yes, FIVE, and they all have names) major algorithm updates recently, forcing search engines to change.

I’ve written before about some techniques to avoid being blacklisted such as keyword stuffing (I wouldn’t know how) or avoiding black-hat SEO techniques. Web gurus talk about the need to blog at least once a week (yes, okay) resulting in a “freshen” score, with posts of 2,000 words (fail). Then what?

Mobile First

Apparently, there is a shift for Google to “move their entire search index to mobile-first.” It’s called the Progressive Web App (PWA). Currently, there are two search indexes, mobile and desktop. BUT, these are going to be combined. And then they will crawl the mobile version first–that means “the mobile version of your site will be the one crawled, not desktop.”

It’s all about page speed then? Has my site been penalized because it’s slow? I don’t know–I can’t use a plug-in to check that and I can’t add any “code markups” to speed it up.

The 1200 lb Gorilla

Google has been rewarding publishers that have objectively delivered better mobile experiences to visitors for a while. It should come as no surprise that Google is talking even more about page speed. They are actually going to include it as a mobile ranking signal this year.

One of the patterns I routinely follow before scheduling a book review or post is to check to see what it is supposed to look like on a tablet or a mobile device and correct accordingly. Maybe it’s not working.

I will try to “catch up” with some of your posts in the coming week, hopefully to re-establish the connection. In the meantime, I’m always grateful for the likes and comments, especially from Nina at Cozy Pages, Nicole at thebookwormdrinketh, FictionFan, Lynne at Fictionophile, and Cathy at Between the Lines. I’ll be looking to see what you’ve posted recently. I’ve really missed seeing the new posts from all my blogging buddies!