Amanda M. Lee

I came very close to not finishing this book. It was recommended by a neighbor to who I had mentioned that I needed a book set in Michigan for a challenge, so she rushed right over and handed this one to me. Now I'm not quite sure what I'm going to say to her...but I guess 'thank you, it was interesting", will maybe be all I need to say. I don't know if she's read it or not so......I'll leave the worms in that unopened can. The two main characters are Stormy and Hunter, a typical heroine and her cop boyfriend. I understand that they are regulars in most all of this author's novels. I do have to say that the mystery in itself is relatively good, and while it isn't a complicated "WhoDunnit" by any means, it had "good bones" and the motivation was a complete surprise. Not to mention the very, very cute cover! Now... the downside. The terrible, horrible obnoxious grandfather!!!!...I wanted to kill him and hide the body...perhaps providing suitable fodder for the next book. The scenes with Stormy and her grandfather weren't just over the top...in your face obnoxious they were repetitive to the point I thought I had accidently missed a page or had read the same page twice ...or three or four...or five...times. Get the idea? It was literally the very same conversation covering huge amounts of multiple chapters in a row. It lost any hope of the reader knowing, understanding or emphasizing as to how Stormy felt by the end of these numerous recitations. This is the first book in this series that I have read by this author and I'm not going to say that I'll never read another one...but I sincerely hope that Stormy and her grandfather come to some terms, and I will be extremely careful in the future telling my neighbor why I'm going to library.… (meer)

I love the characters. Aunt Tillie and Thistle are being my favorites. Clove is like the nicest of the cousins and Bay is very likable. I wish, there would be more interaction from the Moms, they are on the sidelines, sadly. Quirky family, fun reads and i love the series with one exception:
Landon and Bay's interaction. I wish the author would lay off the "schmaltzy" undertones, Bay needs to grow up and stop acting like a teenager when it comes to Landon, and Landon is a professional. Dont get me wrong, their interactions are mostly cute but it was really grating on my gears in this book. I caught myself skimming through those pages, and barely reading them. Because of that annoyance, i rated it 3***… (meer)