Friday, March 8, 2019

Review: Smokey Eyes: Cold Cream Murders by Barbara Silkstone



Genre: Cozy Mystery/Humor/Woman Sleuth

Description:

Olive and Lizzy’s Cold Cream shop on the beach is jumping—business couldn’t be better. But when land shark mogul Brent Toast is found floating in the Starfish Cove marina, with his sneer-side up and a knife in his chest, the prime suspect—among his many enemies—is his brassy daughter-in-law. Can Olive & Lizzy save their friend or will this be the end of the Loud Mouth of the South?”

Author:
Barbara Silkstone's most current series is Florence Nightingale Comedy Mysteries...The Giggling Corpse, The Killer Corset, and The Cheeky Coroner. Cozies all.

Silkstone is the best-selling author of both Regency Pride and Prejudice variations, including the popular the MISTER DARCY SERIES OF COMEDIC MYSTERIES ~ PRIDE AND PREJUDICE contemporary variations. All her books are light-hearted adventures based on Jane Austen's timeless tales of love denied and love discovered. ‘Feel good’ tales to warm your heart.

She is also the author of the Wendy Darlin Comedy Mystery series. Five coffee-snorting tales that combine cozy with outrageous adventures.”

For more from Barbara, visit her website and her Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Nancy Nemo, a local restaurant owner, buys herself a sailboat for her fiftieth birthday. Olive finds herself on the boat's maiden voyage around the cove, which should have been a fun time, everyone else is having fun. However, Olive is sure she’s going to end up as shark bait as all of her water phobias swirl in her mind. After making it back to the dock Olive discovers she left her bag on Nancy’s boat and has to return to retrieve it. With a misstep boarding she finds herself clinging to the side of the boat. When Brent Toast’s body floats by with a knife in his chest, Olive finds her voice to scream. Brent Toast is a money hungry land mogul with many enemies.

Ms. Silkstone introduces a few new quirky characters as she weaves Olive’s cold cream business with her armature sleuthing savvy, and her psychological finesse to clear Jamie Toast of her father-in-law’s murder. Smokey Eyes is a multi-layered story as Kal, the local detective, advises Olive to stay clear and let him handle the investigation for her own safety since word has gotten out that she may have seen the killers eyes through the fog. With Lizzy and WonderDog at her side, Olive ignores Kal’s advice. Tension builds as pieces of the puzzle come together as Olive eliminates suspects as only she can. In the midst of murder mystery there seems to be a problem with Nonna’s cold cream recipe. In her haste to reproduce the cold cream, Olive overlooked a key ingredient that turns Nonna’s miracle cold cream into a magical cold cream.

Ms. Silkstone has a delightful way of playing with words that make her stories entertaining and easy to read. Her characters are realistic, intelligent, and loveable. With exception to the evil-doers who are shrewd and not so easy to spot. If you enjoy clever, smartly written cozy mysteries you are sure to find Ms. Silkstone worth your time. As a bonus there is a Smokey eyeshadow recipe at the end of the book.

Buy now from:    Amazon US     Amazon UK
FYI:

Smokey Eyes is Book 2 in Ms. Silkstone’s, COLD CREAM MURDERS series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

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