Customer Reviews

Deadly Greetings: A Card-Making Mystery

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I find it unbelievable that a single, self-dependent person could make a living at a custom greeting card shop with no other means of support. This whole premise just seems really far-fetched for this type of series.

Everything else is so scattered and silly. Jennifer tells her neighbor that he's not good-looking enough for her to get involved with him and take on his problems? She laments about her ex-boyfriend finally ending things and then when he shows up wanting another chance, she throws him out of her apartment? She goes to her neighbor's apartment demanding answers to questions about his personal life and yells at him to give her back a card she swiped that was meant for him? She comes across as stubborn, arrogant and belligerent, not fiesty and independent.

The supporting cast isn't much better -- the author seems more interested in telling their story as a family than in the actual mysteries.

I can't really recommend this as anything more than a light, time-filling read.

Best-selling cozy writer Tim Myers, author of three successful cozy series--the Lighthouse Inn, the candle-shop mysteries, and the soap-making mysteries--is the creator of this new series. While my favorite series is the candle-shop, I found the card-making endeavor to be right on par with his other series. They are light, easy reads. . .anyone who is "put off" by the premise of a card shop being highly lucrative should keep in mind that a typical cozy mystery requires the reader to suspend reality just a bit. Another highly recommended series.

I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them more than this one. That may be because I didn't think the author really delivered on the promise in the book's opening sentence. It's a great sentence: "I never really believed in ghosts until Frances Coolridge tried to kill me two months after she died." But if you're looking for a lot of "ghost action" you're going to be disappointed...in fact, the main character isn't really around her place long enough to be haunted! This author has been criticized in reviews (of some of his other books) for making allusions to his other series, but I think they are funny in a sly way. It's not a bad read, even if the plot does follow a pretty standard formula.

Jennifer Shane left her sister's business (a scrap booking shop) to start Custom Card Creations. Like most new businesses, she's struggling to stay afloat. Her aunt Lillian works there in exchange for card making supplies.

Because her finances are limited, Lillian locates a new 'efficiency' apartment by the lake for Jennifer. Problem is, it's haunted by the ghost of the woman who lived there before Jennifer. She died in the bathroom--and doesn't like sharing the space.

All is not well with the new dwelling or with Jennifer's life. Money is short, her downstairs neighbor makes unwanted advances, the local deputy is stalking her and her ex-finance attempts to date her again. Then there's the death of her friend, Maggie.

Everyone believes Maggie's death is an accident, except Jennifer. She receives a handcrafted card from her, written before Maggie died. It says that someone is trying to kill her and she doesn't know who or why. Jennifer is determined to find the murderer and prevent any further deaths.

Bright's cozy mysteries featuring Jennifer Shane are fun romps through murder and mayhem. The characters are inviting and family loyalty abounds. I like that.

Armchair Interviews says: For a fast and fun read, Deadly Greetings is a good choice.

I really liked this book. hope more to follow. but I am curious . It says Elizabeth Bright is title pseudonym for a nationally best-selling myster author. I would love to know who it is