Customer Reviews

A Dime a Dozen (The Million Dollar Mysteries)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Callie Webber is coming home - sort of. Her latest assignment for the J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation is to investigate MORE, a non-profit set up by her in-laws in her late husband's memory. This is the first time Callie has been back to visit his death, and she's a little nervous about how it will go.

She's just relaxing at an impromptu family reunion when an explosion at the church shocks them all. It's just some stink bombs, but the body nearby is definitely dead. It's just the latest in a series of crimes targeted at Luisa, a migrant who stayed past harvest season because her husband is missing. It doesn't take Callie long to realize that these events directly relate to her investigation of MORE, so she begins to investigate. Will she be able to track down a migrant missing 6 months? Who is behind the vandalism aimed at Luisa? And who killed that John Doe in the church parking lot?

I was once again thrilled to be in Callie's presence. She's a great character I've really come to care about. Unlike the last two in the series, I didn't feel the second half had quite the breakneck pace, but I did feel the novel was more evenly plotted overall. There were still several twists I saw coming only a few pages before Callie, and the ending was certainly a surprise.

With each book, I'm more and more glad I found this author. If you haven't discovered Mindy Starns Clark, pick up the first book today. You'll be very glad you did.

This is a great book even if you haven't had the luxury of reading the first 2 books in the series. I was asked to review this book and agreed to it and then was hoping I could get my hands on books one and two before I read book three. However, that did not happen, my library only had book three and so I decided to give it a shot without reading the first two books and then if I had too many issues I would go back and read the others.

Well let me just tell you, I felt no need to go back and read the other two books in order to understand the story. Although I loved book three enough to have the desire to want to go back and read more about Callie it is not required to enjoy this book!

Callie Webber is a private investigator that ends up back in the town of her late husband where she is investigating her former in-laws so that they can be approved for a grant by the J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation with whom she works for. She is skeptical to return to the past and having to revisit the pain of losing her husband Brian.

While investigating for the grant she stumbles upon a whole other slew of problems, including murder, fire, and vandalism. Questions begin to form; will she be able to approve her in-laws for this grant? Who is responsible for all these crimes? And will she get all this done in time to head off on her vacation with her beau Tom? Plus....is she over Brian and able to move forward with a new relationship?

This was a great mystery and I was addicted to the story right from page one! I instantly found myself rooting for Callie and all her trials and my heart went out to her when she is dealing with the loss of Brian. The mystery was also great, I felt like I was guessing all the way through the story as to who the murderer was and how the murder took place. When I finally got to the end of the book I was surprised!! Things did not turn out like I expected they would.

As for romance, I'm not sure if this is categorized as a romance or not but there wasn't much going on in that department. There is a lot about how Callie feels about the romance in her life but not a lot of action. There is a bit towards the end that is very sweet though!

I enjoyed reading this sweet and mysterious Christian suspense, it wasn't as bone-chilling or action packed as I would have liked but overall I was left happy and satisfied! Great book! Looking forward to book 4.

Disclosure: I was graciously provided a free copy of this book from FIRST Wild Card Tours in exchange for my honest review and opinion. All opinions are my own.

Enjoyed good clean mystery. Well written as I have found all Mindy Starns Clark's books to be. Looking forward to the next one.

As I sit here and reflect on this book, I'm amazed that Ms. Clark can tie together so many story lines in one book, and still have the finished product be so well put together, and really, an all-around inspiring read. The problem with most mysteries, I feel, is either the plot lines are nothing new and interesting, or they have so much blood and gore that you get either lost by the end of the book, or you become disgusted. Neither is the case with Ms. Clark's book. While it is number 3 in a series of 5 books, the pre-existing relationships are well explained, so this book can be read as a stand-alone, as I did.

Callie Webber is an investigator for J.O.S.H.U.A. foundation, which supplies grants to non-profit start-ups. In this novel, her assignment is to return to her hometown and review her former in-laws company, M.O.R.E. Callie is a bit nervous about this, as she hasn't returned to her hometown for several years, evr since her husband was killed in a tragic accident. While she has grieved and begun loving again, she's a bit hesitant to return and see her in'laws, as well as the canbin where she spent so much time with her husband. Happily, when she arrives she is instantly comforted, as she sees that the cabin she spent so many happy moments at has been completely redocarated by the leasing agency, so she relaxes right away.

Callie goes to begin investigating M.O.R.E., and in quickly immersed in many mysteries. Why is migrant worker Luisa the target of so many crimes? Stink bombs, a murder, attempted burning of her home, and many other tragedies are befalling this poor woman. Also, there is the puzzling question - what happened to Luisa's husband? He was a fine, hard worker who loved his family. Now, a letter has arrived from New York, supposedly from him, saying he was there. Why on earth would a settled family man up and leave? Luisa suspects foul play, and soon, Callie also does. Many more smaller mysteries are intertwined throughout this book, but, at the end, I came away feeling that all my questions were answered, and Ms. Clark successfully tied up all the loose ends throughout the book. I would recommend this book if you love a good mystery, and are fed up with the gore found throughout so many of today's books.

Callie Webber has an eye for detail that helps her as she investigates non-profit agencies applying for grants. As Callie travels to the Smoky Mountains to investigate MORE, the non-profit agency run by the parents of her late husband, she is hesitant to confront painful memories, but expects to be able to award a million-dollar grant to MORE. Strangely, the memories are less painful than expected, but awarding the grant is not so easy. A fatal stabbing, an arson fire, and the search for a missing migrant worker complicate the situation. As Callie investigates MORE and the crime in the area, she finds herself in danger. Will she be able to finish her investigation and award the grant prior the upcoming vacation with her boyfriend? More importantly, will she make it though this investigation alive?

A Dime A Dozen is the third book in the Million Dollar Mysteries series by Mindy Starns Clark. Like the other books of the series, it features investigator Callie Webber. The book is fine as a stand-alone and gives the reader sufficient background information, but I think it is probably more enjoyable when read in conjunction with the rest of the series.

I personally don't think this should be classified as a fictional romance. Though Callie has a romantic interest, there is not a lot of romantic interaction between them. The mystery element of the story was great. I had a hint about who was behind the murders, but didn't know the why or how until the climax of the story. Although mystery and suspense, usually go hand-in-hand, I thought the suspense level was a little lacking. In my opinion, the plot moved a little slow and the suspense just never heightened for me like it should have. I also thought it was slightly unbelievable that the government agencies would hand over sensitive information so easily to a private investigator.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher as part FIRST Wild Card Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

This is the second time I've read 'A Dime a Dozen' (I read an older edition years ago) and I've loved it both times! I've read a lot of books by Mindy Starns Clark and I've enjoyed most (if not all) of them!

Callie Webber investigates charities to see if they qualify for a donation from the J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation. In 'A Dime a Dozen' she goes to North Carolina to award a million dollar grant to a charity that her late husband's parents started in his honor.

While Callie's there, she finds herself investigating a disapperance and putting herself in danger.

I loved 'A Dime a Dozen'! There was romance, mystery, and suspense. the story was entertaining and held my attention to the end (and left me wanting to continue the story... even though I have previously read it).

I definitely recommend 'A Dime a Dozen' if you enjoy mystery novels that have romance and are very entertaining!

*I received a complimentary copy for my review. The opinions I've expressed are my own.*

Mindy Clarke is a new author to me, but a quick peak on Amazon.com showed me that she is really into the mysteries! I do enjoy a good mystery, myself, on occasion, and found the one Mindy created inside of A Dime a Dozen very intriguing. A bit slow-paced for me, but the plot was very intricate and well done.

Callie is a character you can't help but get to like. With a close relationship to the Lord that you can feel just by the way she talks, I found her a really likeable character. The story is set around her trip back to her deceased husband's home town of Greenbriar, where Callie returns on her next assignment from J.O.S.H.U.A (a foundation that donates money to charitable organizations), which is to look into the charity organization there and talk with the founder, who just happen to be her husband' parents.

Reading how Callie walks through these hard experiences, while handling her investigation for J.O.S.H.U.A and trying to solve a mystery, I loved watching her faith in God shine through. And her budding relationship surrounding the elusive and mysterious Tom added to the story! Tom sounded like such a romantic! ;-) Everything was well plotted and portrayed in this novel, and I while I did try to put my detective skills to work and figure out "who dunnit" before Callie...I ended up being as shocked as she when the culprit was finally revealed. Great job on that.

The way this book is written reminded me a lot of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Kinda like Callie is writing in her personal journal about her events of the day (like Doctor Watson does). Not sure if the author meant it that way, but that was what popped into my head as I read this book. Brought a different feel to the first-person point of view that was neat.

As I mentioned before, I felt the whole mystery was a bit slow. Toward the middle my attention started lagging and I found myself skimming a bit, but it wasn't for long. The last hundred pages picked up as the mystery started to come together and the culprit was discovered. If you're a mystery genre lover, then I would definitely check out Mindy Clarke's books!

I reviewed this book for FIRST Wild Card Tour. Special thanks to Karri for sending me a review copy. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.

A Dime a Dozen by Mindy Starns Clark is the third book in the Million Dollar Mystery series about Callie Webber, a private investigator working for a charitable organization that gives donations to smaller charities, but only after Callie makes sure they are worthy. Her current investigation has major emotional weight for her, as she is checking out MORE the charity formed by her former in-laws after the tragic death of their son, and her husband, Bryan. Callie is worried that visiting them will bring up old emotions and sorrows, but they welcome her with open arms, and she looks forward to being able to give them the donation. But as she investigates, she finds trouble based on a former employee whose husband disappeared four months ago and who has been abused by pranksters since ordering her to "go home." When the bodies start piling up, Callie has to use all of her abilities to track down who is behind the murders before MORE can be approved for their million dollar donation. On top of the investigation, Callie is dealing with her growing feelings for her mysterious employer, Tom. Clark's books are always entertaining and filled with characters you'd love to know in real life. The writing is fast paced and Clark manages to keep readers guessing without going over the top. I wish I had read the previous books in the series to really understand the intensity of Callie and Tom's connection, but I can't wait to read the next book, A Quarter for a Kiss, to see what happens next in this exciting series!

I so enjoyed reading this book. Callie Webber has returned to Greenbrier WV where she is investigating a non-profit that her in-laws have started. They are in line to receive a substantial grant, and she is now working with the J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation who can make it possible. She has to face a lot of what she shared with her husband Brian, he was killed her in a tragic accident on the lake.

While investigating to give the grant to help the migrant apple pickers, she stumbles on some discrepancies. She also finds out that one of the Migrants has gone missing and it looks like he has abandoned his family. As the investigation continues, there is a murder, stink bombs in cars, and a fire on Luisa's trailer.

You will have a hard time putting this book down, through out it all you find a strong faith in God prevailing with most of the Characters. I also like how Callie is facing her past and how a new relationship may be in the works for her!

Don't miss this one, I know that it is a reissue, but it is wonderful!

I received this book from the Publisher Harvest House, and was not required to give a positive review.

Callie Webber, the protagonist, in this novel is much braver than me; she pushes forward in her investigation where I'd be curled up in a ball, shivering!

The tale moves at a steady pace, with a few twists and turns. I must admit, I did not know who the antagonist was until the author revealed it.

In addition, I learned a good bit about growing and harvesting apples. This is a good read.

Thank you to FirstWildCard and Karri James at Harvest House Publishers for my copy.