Michele Pariza WacekBesprekingen

Very good start for a new series. Fun characters a very good back story.

FROM AMAZON: If you’ve got a problem, Charlie Kingsley probably has a tea that’ll help make it right.

EXCEPT when it comes to love. She does NOT do love potions.

Not even for Courtney, her pregnant new client who showed up three weeks before Christmas seeking a love potion because her husband was cheating on her.

So, Courtney asked about poison, instead.

She said she was joking. That’s what happens between wives and husbands. They get angry and talk about killing each other. They don’t really mean it.

It seems to make sense … until Courtney’s husband turns up dead on Christmas Eve.

He was poisoned, of course.

And who is the number one suspect? Courtney. Of course.

But did she actually do it? Or is she being set up?

It’s up to Charlie to sort through all the twists and turns in a case that gets more complicated the deeper she digs.

Meet Charlie. Better known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She’s back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.

Charlie is not a doctor, but her teas and tinctures do “doctor” her clients. One of her customers calls her in the middle of the night to tell her that her daughter was attacked by a gargoyle in a cemetery and needs her help. Well, Charlie wants to do whatever she can, and that includes finding out what - or who - really attacked the girl. This short novella is a nice introduction to the series. It’s an interesting and quick read, and holds the promise of more mysterious adventures for Charlie.

This book was a very fun read! First time reading this author and I will def be reading more of her work. Read the first few chapters - then ended up reading three other books before coming back to this book. Soooo glad I didn't give it up!

Story was well told. I couldn't get enough of it.

5 stars - suspected some of the ending, but never could have guessed! If you like psychological thrillers/mysteries you will love this book!

Once I started reading Murder Next Door, I didn't put it down until I finished it. For all you cozy mystery lovers this should be on your TBR pile for sure! I have not read any other novels by this author but I definitely will be looking for more of her books. I found Charlie to be relatable and a character you want to know more about and love the mysterious setting in the town of Redemption. I look forward to finding out what happens next for Charlie Kingsley.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thanks to BookSirens for the ARC

Murder Next Door is the third installment of Michele Pariza Wacek's Charlie Kingsley Mystery series. In this book, Charlie's good friend Mildred comes to Charlie's house because she is concerned about a neighbor Jonas. Mildred is concerned because Jonas has uncharacteristically left town on a month's vacation and another man has moved into Jonas' house but won't answer the door when Mildred knocked and is only seen outside at night. Charlie agrees to accompany Mildred to Jonas' house to attempt to speak with the occupant. When he finally answers the door, he informs them that he is housesitting for Jonas and that he has a medical condition that is made worse by exposure to the sun. As a result of this visit, Mildred starts making claims that the housesitter is a vampire and he soon becomes a person of interest when a teenager disappears and a body is discovered in the backyard at Jonas' house.

Although this series is a cozy spinoff of the author's Secrets of Redemption Psychological Thriller series, the books in this series can be read as stand alone books or in sequence just within this series as the author has done an excellent job of giving enough backstory on Charlie and her experiences so the reader doesn't feel as though they have entered the movie halfway through. Within this series, the author has created a cast of multi-dimensional characters that can easily be considered for a multitude of roles in both this and future installments. Much of this particular novel focuses on the introduction of a new character, Rowena/Margaret, that I can foresee could easily become a victim, perpetrator or even ally for Charlie in future stories, however, more information will need to be gained by Charlie for her to consider Rowena as anything other than a suspicious newcomer in the town.

As this story unfolded, I found it riveting that the author was able to create the impression of possible connections between the teenager's disappearance and the murder but then was able to offer different but believable resolutions to both crimes and ultimately created a totally unexpected revelation as to the killer's identity and motive. Quite honestly, the killer wasn't even on my radar until the reveal. I look forward to future installments in this series as I can see many possible storyline directions for the author to take Charlie in.

I received an advance review copy of this book for free from the author at booksirens.com, and am leaving this fair and honest review voluntarily.

Six months ago Linda's sister - Elizabeth, the odd one out of all the family committed suicide. But her body was never found. Now men are being killed, the killer looks like Elizabeth, has she come back from the dead, did she really commit suicide. But now Linda is beginning to suspect herself guilty of the murders. Must admit I wasn't really drawn to any of these characters, especially Linda.
A NetGalley book

WOW!!!!!! I’m pretty sure I still haven’t processed everything I read in this book. What an amazing web you discover within these pages! I know I’m going to dig back in soon to relive every twist. Just an amazing ride that will leave your head spinning. A must read!!

This is an intense thriller. The town of Redemption, WI is the place of a missing sister. The other sister is out looking for her and finds herself in a hell of a bind. Psycho parents, deep buried secrets that are scary as heck and darkness. The characters are frightening in that there could be people like that in your neighborhood. The plot had me enthralled from page 1. Great thriller. Best of the year.

Eerie mystery.