Showing posts with label Anna Celeste Burke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anna Celeste Burke. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Book Review: A FAIRWAY TO ARMS IN HEMINGWAY HILLS - A Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #4 by Anna Celeste Burke

About the Book  (from Amazon)

There's been a serious mishap on the golf course at the exclusive Hemingway Hills Country Club at the Blue Haven Resort & Spa. During a brazen heist, a cache of arms is stolen from the guards who patrol the private enclave. 

A man is found dead on the fairway, but it's not clear if he was in on the heist or not. The Grand Old Lady Detectives (G.O.L.D.) and Charly's Angels are on the case with help from Homicide Detective Hank Miller. 

Review 

It all starts with a frantic call, sirens, firetrucks, and smoke at Hemingway Hills golf course. Marty, one of the residents, ask the GOLD ladies as she's sure the fire was to cover up a theft and perhaps more.

As the GOLD ladies head in the direction of the fairway, Miriam comes across an 8-year-old, her nanny, and a dead man. The 8-year old has a letter the victim asked to be delivered to his friend. She and the dead man have been interacting on and off. Unfortunately for Miriam's friend, the 8-year-old isn't the only one with connections to the victim.

As the GOLD ladies try to clear the husband, they discover secrets about their neighbors and friends. While some may not appreciate a group of "women of a certain age" playing detective, the women show themselves to be quite capable.

Burke has combined good plotting and characters with good dialogue, banter, and Hemingway quotes. The pace is steady and the characters likable. A solid cozy mystery. This is the fourth in the series, but my first. Burke provides enough background, it can easily be read as a stand-alone. 
  



About the Author

To get a free eBook: https://www.desertcitiesmystery.com 

Life is an extravaganza! figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had met in San Diego and married in Tijuana, I was nabbed by the police as a runaway. When the police let me go and the rock band broke up, my husband and I had to find another way to survive. Our next stop: Disney World where we trained to be chefs, courtesy of the Walt Disney World University. A GED for my husband and many more years of education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. 

Retired now from my role as a professor in social work and behavioral science, I have picked up a long-time interest in writing fiction. I'm still married to the same sweet guy and live with him in the Palm Springs area. In addition to reading and writing fiction, I enjoy painting, hiking, hanging out with my handsome husband and tending to my Siamese kitties. 

An award-winning and bestselling author I enjoy snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style! I write books in five series: The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series set on California’s Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series set in Orange County, California, The Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series set on the American Riviera, just north of Santa Barbara, and The Calla Lily Mystery series set in Northern California's wine country.
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Thursday, April 29, 2021

Book Review: GRAVE EXPECTATIONS ON DICKENS DUNE - A Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #3 by Anna Celeste Burke

Synopsis

Miriam, the Grand Old Lady Detectives, & Charly's Angels take on a cold case that will have you wondering what the dickens is going on until the very end! 

A cold case doesn't stay cold for long when Miriam and her Grand Old Lady Detective [G.O.L.D.] pals take on a new mystery to solve. Charly's old friend, Judith Rogow, asks for her help in locating her ex-husband's grave. 

A Vietnam War veteran, Allen Rogow survived the war and returned home only to disappear several years later. Although evidence pointed to foul play, the police never found his body and Allen Rogow's disappearance remained an unsolved mystery. That all changes when an ex-convict makes a deathbed confession claiming someone murdered Allen Rogow and buried his body on Dickens' Dune. 

As the cold case warms up, it becomes clear that Allen Rogow had lots of secrets. Was he killed to make sure he'd take them to his grave? What Miriam soon discovers is that it's the secrets you don't know you're keeping that can sometimes be the most dangerous.   

Recipes Included

Review

The GOLD women are back in business. Only this time, the cold case they’re working on his for a friend, . She needs to know what happened to her husband when he disappeared. There’s a death bed confession by a convict that Allen Rogow was murdered by one of his friends and is buried somewhere on Dickens Dune. A bookie who says he works for the mob tries to get money from Miriam and ends up dead. Now, she has a little better idea of all the things Pete was involved in, but she’s worried the mob may be after her to pay his debts. And when the well-known and handsome mob lawyer sends her flowers and chocolates, what does he have in mind. 

As with other books in this series, Burke creates older characters with energy and intellect. With all their connections it’s easy for Miriam, Neely, Midge, and Marty to get to the bottom of things. Especially with the help of Charly’s angels. The story is well-paced with subplots, twists and turns, and lots of secrets revealed. 

If you enjoy cozy mysteries and older, competent protagonists, this one is for you. Although it is the third in the Seaview Cottage series, Grave Expectations on Dickens Dune can be read as a stand-alone or out of order. I always suggest you start at the beginning to experience how relationships grow over time.

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Sunday, September 15, 2019

Blog Tour & Book Review: A TANGLE IN THE VINES : A Calla Lily Mystery by Anna Celeste Burke



Synopsis

The curtain may fall on the Calla Lily Players' first season unless Lily and Austin can find a killer on the loose in California's wine country. Torrential rains threaten to put a damper on The Calla Lily Players’ first outdoor theater production. When the ground suddenly shifts, buried secrets revealed amid the tangled vines put the spotlight on murder. As Lily and Austin dig deeper into the mystery, the drama unfolds onstage and off. The race is on to find a killer before opening night.

Grab your copy of the second book in the Calla Lily Mystery series by USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Anna Celeste Burke and join the race! Recipes Included. Free to read in Kindle Unlimited.

Review

The Calla Lily Players provide plenty of entertainment with their personalities and amateur sleuthing along with Lily. The discovery of the place where some one has been burying bodies, and indications that Lily may be next, has the police taking Lily and the young boy trying to catch the "Numbers Man" seriously - although they are a bit resistant. There are a lot of connections to be made and they unravel along with solving the disappearance of a teen years ago. 

Burke has put together a unique combination of characters, from the Players to the various enforcement types. And not to be forgotten, some young people, and a fire victim.  Usually in a mystery, there are too many suspects - this time it's been too many years and many people have died. Yet, the threat is in the present time. A puzzle with an interesting ending. If you like mysteries with not so obvious killers, you'll like this one. And then there is the romance growing between Lily and Austin. I can't wait for the next in the series. 
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.

About Anna Celeste Burke

An award-winning, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, I hope you’ll join me snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, and food—California style!

Life is an extravaganza! Figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu, to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had married in Tijuana, I was nabbed as a runaway. Eventually, the police let me go, but the rock band broke up.

Retired now, I’m still married to the same sweet guy and live with him near Palm Springs, California. I write the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set here in the Coachella Valley, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery Series set along California’s Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Mystery series set in the OC, The Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series set on the so-called American Riviera, just north of Santa Barbara, and The Calla Lily Mystery series where the murder and mayhem take place in California’s Wine Country. Won’t you join me? Sign up at: http://desertcitiesmystery.com.

Author Links

Website: https://www.desertcitiesmystery.com/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/annacelesteburke/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7553558.Anna_Celeste_Burke
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-celeste-burke

Purchase Link - Amazon 
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Friday, January 19, 2018

Spotlight: MURDER OF THE MAESTRO by Anna Celeste Burke

SYNOPSIS

 Marvelous Marley World’s legendary maestro is murdered.

In good spirits at a gala marking his retirement, Dave Rollins disappears later that night. His beautiful home overlooking the Pacific Ocean is trashed—not just searched, but vandalized, too. The maestro’s old friend and boss, Max Marley, wants answers!

At the crack of dawn, Max calls Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler distraught, demanding that they help solve the mystery of the missing maestro. When Dave Rollins’ body is found on the rocks below his Malibu cliffside estate, Georgie and Jack are pulled into another whodunit.

Who killed Dave Rollins? Did a secret from the maestro's youth catch up with him decades later? Or did a scorned woman, a jealous rival, a disturbed fan or someone else murder the maestro?
Grab your copy! Join Georgie and Jack as they solve the Murder of the Maestro by USA Today bestselling author, Anna Celeste Burke.

RECIPES INCLUDED
Other books in the Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series:
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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Blog Tour and Guest Post: ANNA CELESTE BURKE, Author of Gnarly New Year (Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery)

Today it is my pleasure to have Anna Celeste Burke, author of GNARLY NEW YEAR, as my guest...

Yo-ho-ho, Corsario Cove!

Pirates for hire--who knew?

It’s Christmas when Kim & Brien arrive at the luxurious Sanctuary Resort & Spa for their honeymoon. They soon learn that shouts of “ho-ho-ho” are commonplace. ‘Tis the season and the resort is crawling with Santas. Behind all the holiday hoopla there’s more than merriment going on.

Corsario Cove, the gorgeous setting for newlyweds Kim & Brien’s most excellent adventures takes its name from the word corsair. Corsario in Spanish. That’s corsairs, as in buccaneers or pirates, although the term corsair also applies to the ships they commanded. Blow me down! What do you want to bet that at other seasons of the year it’s “yo-ho-ho” that echoes in the sea breeze?

Despite their reputation as unruly thieves, most corsairs were in fact, paid to do their dirty work on the high seas. They were raiders-for-hire, owners of merchant ships licensed and enlisted by one monarchy to harass, destroy, and capture the booty from ships flying the flag of a rival monarchy. The French, Spanish, Dutch and British all used hired help as they battled for control of the seas and lucrative trade routes.

Technically, some folks reserve the term pirate for those who attack other ships without government authority. I suppose it depends a lot on your point of view. If you’re staring down the barrel of a cannon—several of them, in fact—you probably don’t much care whether the men about to board your ship are carrying the right papers or not. The line between privateering—piracy done in the name of the Crown—and theft for personal gain doesn’t always seem to have been all that clear. Imagine that!

Pirates of the Caribbean, yeah, but California?

If you’ve seen the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean movies or older Hollywood films featuring pirates, the action is centered far away from the California Coast. The hey-day of corsairs occurred earlier than the settlement of California by Europeans. By then, most of the pirates that roamed the open seas threatening to hang men from the yardarms or force them to walk the plank were long gone. Where? According to Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow character, “Wherever we want to go, we go!” In this case, they faded into history as governments relied less on paid privateers.

Still, as my character Kim discovers in Cowabunga Christmas, California did have pirates. Well, one of them at least. In 1818, French privateer Hippolyte de Bouchard launched a series of attacks on Monterey, San Juan de Capistrano and other spots along California’s coast. At that point in history, it doesn't appear he took those actions on anyone's authority other than his own.

Did those raids yield treasure—including a six-foot gold cross, a jewel-encrusted chalice, gold and silver coins, pearls and gemstones? In part, yes. Bouchard and his men helped themselves to whatever they could find as they raided the coastal settlements. The details about the contents of his treasure trove? I made most of that up.

Did he stash his loot in hideaways along the coast as he went from one port to another, and did he abandon it when forced to make a speedy retreat? Could be. It’s true that he fled in haste, away from California to what we now call the Hawaiian Islands. Bouchard had lost most of his crew to disease and marauding and had to beat it to safety. Apparently, he intended to put together a new crew fit enough to enable him to resume his pirate ways. Maybe that also meant he planned to return to California and reclaim treasure he left behind.

There be more than pirates, matey!

The rumor of lost treasure is only one of the themes that run through the stories in this series. What about the local legends of mad monks? Not to mention all the modern-day rogues and scallywags who find their way into Corsario Cove and the nearby town of San Albinus. That’s already resulted in a dead Santa and a prolonged game of hide-and-seek with a marine GPS device that sets the local homicide detective a-twitching when anyone brings it up. Murder, kidnapping, and plenty of other forms of mayhem have pushed Detective Mitchum to the brink of an overdose--on coffee and donuts. Who knows what other secrets remain hidden in this lovely but mysterious cove? You’ll have to wait for Brien and Kim's future adventures to find out.

With that introduction, let's find out more about the book!

Cozy Mystery

2nd in Series

Paperback: 220 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1530845781
E-Book ASIN: B01G15GEPC
Synopsis


The honeymoon’s not over yet! Kim and Brien’s excellent adventure at the swanky Sanctuary Resort & Spa continues when an unwelcome visitor drops in on New Year’s Eve. An elusive marine GPS device found and lost again, unleashes another wave of murder and mayhem in Corsario Cove! What is it about that thing? Will the secret be revealed when they visit the chamber of heinousness? Stooges, Krugerrands, and monks—oh my! Is it going to be a Gnarly New Year for Kim and Brien?

About the Author

Anna Celeste Burke is an award-winning and bestselling author who enjoys snooping into life’s mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style! Her books include the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series set on California’s Central Coast, and The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series set in Orange County, California–the OC. Coming soon: The Misadventures of Betsy Stark that take place in the Coachella Valley.

Author Links

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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