CeeCee James

Chelsea Lawson has given up her old life to begin a new one living with her best friend Tilly and Tilly's daughter Emma on their farm. She watches Emma whenever Tilly needs to go out of town, and Chelsea has her own job that she loves. What she doesn't love is taking care of the farm animals, but she's learning.

One morning Tilly finds a body in a pond and it turns out to be a man who has ties to Chelsea's younger sister Nikki. After learning what she can from the police, Chelsea finds it odd that someone is leaving her flowers with notes. Notes that become ever threatening -- and leaves her wondering where Nikki is. Her father has also disappeared, and she wants to know their whereabouts so she can help them. But when she starts asking questions, it seems the wrong person overhears, and now Chelsea's admirer turns into a stalker. If she doesn't figure things out soon, she might just be the next one to die...

This is the final installment in the mystery. I did enjoy it for the most part, but like the other two, it left questions without answers. Answers we'll probably never get. I was disappointed in the ending because of this. Others might have enjoyed the ending, but I found it lacking. Sorry.… (meer)

Chelsea Lawson moved back home to take care of her friend Tilly's daughter and home while Tilly was on a work assignment. But the day Tilly arrives back, she needs to go see her ex-boyfriend about another photography job. When she calls Chelsea to pick her up, she seems angry. And when the police show up at Tilly's farm, they have her as a suspect in the man's death, since she was the last one to see him alive. Now Chelsea's made a promise to find out the truth, and she intends to do so.

But Chelsea's also wondering about a strange man who showed up at her place of work. And wonders what her mother has been keeping from her. With two mysteries she needs to solve, she doesn't know which one is more important...

This is the second in a three-part series, and while I hate the fact that the author leaves us with another cliffhanger, I was going to read the book anyway, so there it is. What I hate is the fact that Chelsea would rather avoid people than confront them when they treat her badly; and also am still wondering why she can't cook when she's almost thirty. Sorry, but that's just lazy. Even the busiest person should be able to cook eggs.

We also get some answers, but there are more questions. I also thought the ending was done more as an afterthought, since there weren't any clues to the murderer throughout the book, just as the point toward the end where Chelsea was figuring it out -- and the police already had. So the mystery itself seemed more of a subplot and the main plot was about Chelsea figuring out her past. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read that can be read in an afternoon.… (meer)

Chelsea Lawson left her job in Charlotte to take care of her friend Tilly's home and daughter while Tilly is in Australia on an assignment. What she thought should be easy turned out not to be. Chelsea discovered that there was a veritable mini-farm she'd be tending, and Emma turned out to be not much what she expected a six-year-old would be. Not to mention the body in the barn, that turns out to be related to someone powerful in town. Now almost the entire town wants to see her gone, and she can't even get her mail delivered. It doesn't help that everyone is calling her Denise and thinks she's someone else. How can Chelsea do what she came to do if she can't get any help? Or if she might be the one everyone thinks murdered the dead man?

This is the first book in the series and I generally found it to be interesting. The idea of a career woman totally out of her element with no help sounded fun. But I did have to wonder about the main character, as I do in most cozies: what are they doing with their money? Are they not saving any of it? Because they all seem to be in dead-end jobs and making barely anything at all; otherwise they wouldn't be struggling financially. Saying that, I did find the way she interacted with the 'pets' amusing; although I really didn't buy that Emma was only six, the way she acted. Ah, well.

Other than that I did like the story line. I enjoyed the mystery a bit (although the clues came late in the book, and the police had figured it out, too). I liked the descriptions of the animals and parts of the town. I didn't like the fact Chelsea didn't stand up to those who insulted her. She was timid and didn't strike me as the type of person who would be left to the care of one's livelihood and child. She couldn't even cook! Tell me, how many women in their thirties can't at least make eggs? Or hamburgers? These are basics anyone can cook. Why would you leave your child in the care of someone who had to order in every night?

But what really turned me off was the fact that the author held me hostage, so to speak. I absolutely hate cliffhangers. Don't authors trust their writing to be enough to bring people to the next book? It irks me that I didn't read reviews so I would know beforehand that I have to read the others in the series to get a resolution to Chelsea's problems. I definitely took off a star because of this. Hopefully the next in the series will give more answers than this book did.… (meer)