"Shady Characters" by Susan Page Davis

About this book:

  “When Mary receives a call from her friend Henry, inviting her over to see his new classic car, she immediately accepts. Henry is thrilled with his 1955 Buick Century, which he bought at the local auto show, and can’t wait to show it to her. Their dinner is interrupted, however, by some strange noises in the garage. Henry goes to investigate, and Mary hears a struggle. When she reaches the garage a few seconds later, she find the door of the Century open, a shadowy figure running off into the night, and Henry unconscious on the ground. As her friend lies in a coma, Mary sets out to discover who broke into his car and why. When she notices a strange man following her and lurking outside the hospital room, Mary wonders just how much trouble Henry is in.”


Series: Book #22 (of 24) in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, and #24.


Spiritual Content- Micah 7:8 at the end in bonus content; A few Scriptures mentioned, quoted, & remembered; Prayers; Church going; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, praising God, & thanking God; Mentions of church, church going, a pastor, a sermon, services, & prayer group; A mention of being Blessed.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shoot’ and two ‘stupid’s; A bit of eye rolling; All about many mentions of injuries, someone being attacked, the attacker, a coma, a concussion, injuries, blood, crimes, criminals, arrests, burglars, thieves, thefts, stealing, stolen items, & jail; Many mentions of a divorce & others commenting on the couple (calling her a gold digger, saying that she remarried as soon as legally possible, & the man saying that getting married was the worst mistake of his life and he will never get married again); Mentions of deaths of spouses & grieving; Mentions of threats & thugs; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of car accidents; A few mentions of drugs & drug addicts; A few mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of guns; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of an ax murder; A mention of shoplifting; A mention of wine; A mention of tattoos; 
             *Note: Many mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of authors.
 
 
Sexual Content- A mention of a woman having “special feelings” for a man; 
             *Note: A woman implies that a married woman was possibly having an affair; A mention of a man moving in with a newly divorced woman.

 

-Mary Fisher
                                P.O.V. of Mary 
                                                        261 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This twenty-second mystery from this bookish series was quite fun because it was set around a missing ring and Fourth of July in a small town! I wasn’t a big fan of all the divorce comments and the couple being a bit ugly to each other, though. I felt bad for Henry being unconscious, but thankfully everything worked out okay. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Trouble Brewing" by Susan Page Davis

About this book:

  “When Jan Blake and Elaine Cook arrive at Lancaster Community Church to prepare for the Mother Daughter Tea, they discover that the historic white clapboard building has been broken into. Have the cousins stumbled on to yet another mystery? At first, it appears that nothing was taken, but it soon becomes clear that something valuable—dating back to the very founding of Maine and part of Pastor Mike’s family history—is gone. And then another unusual item, far less valuable, is discovered missing too. Who ransacked the church and took these things?

   The plot thickens as red herrings sidetrack the sleuthing cousins from their pursuit of clues and, as is often the case when there’s trouble brewing in Lancaster, the truth is more surprising and complex than they could imagine. Meanwhile, Elaine’s daughter arrives for a visit from Colorado, and the cousins’ latest flea market find might very well bring with it a mystery of its own.”

Series: Book #9 in the “Tearoom Mysteries” series. Review of Book #1, Here!, #2 Here!, #3 Here, #4 Here, #5 Here, #6 Here, #7 Here, and #8 Here!

Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; A devotional/message at an event & with a Scripture read; Church going; All about many mentions of a church, church going, church events, Sunday school, youth groups, Bible study groups, pastors, sermons, & services; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mention of Bibles, Bible reading, devotionals, & Bible quizzes; A mention of someone from the Bible; A mention of a blessing;   

             *Note: A mention of bad luck.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘stupid’s and three forms of ‘shut up’; A bit of eye rolling; Being held at gunpoint (up to semi-detailed); All about many mentions of a break-in, vandalism, a theft, a stolen item, the thief, & vandalizers; Mentions of wars & battles; Mentions of break-ins, burglaries, & robberies; Mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of gambling, casinos, a poker chip, & debts; A few mentions of lies & lying; A mention of a car accident; A mention of drugs; A mention of hunting;

             *Note: Elaine goes to a gun range with her daughter & a few gun brands are mentioned (there is also a mention of her daughter wanting her to think about having a gun for protection; There are other mentions of a man that Elaine and Jan don’t really like (because of his personality) applying to own a gun and them being uncomfortable with it; All the mentions of guns and shooting are neutral, though they do lean to the more positive opinion); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of brand names (Kool-Aid, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike); A mention of a Disney movie (Frozen); A mention of a TV show (Jeopardy); A mention of a social media site (Facebook).

 

 

Sexual Content- Mentions of dates, dating, & boyfriends; A mention of a cheek kiss; Very light love, falling/emotions in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A mention of Elaine worrying if a top makes her look fat.

 

-Elaine Cook

                                P.O.V. mainly of Elaine

                                       281 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While this book kept my attention better than other ones in the series, it still had it’s frustrating moments such as Elaine and Jane withholding important evidence, jumping to conclusions on who could have stolen something, and lifting people’s finger prints off of trash. I was very certain of who the thief was quickly in and was correct.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"A Thousand Words" by Susan Page Davis

About this book:

  “When Mary and Betty inherit their great uncle's house, they find some charming paintings hidden in the attic. The New England scenes are bright, colorful, and full of life. Mary is thrilled to discover the paintings were done by their great aunt Maude, who died young. But a desperate note taped to the back of one of the paintings suggests there is more to Aunt Maude than Mary and Betty knew. What happened to her? How did she really die?

  Investigating events from over fifty years ago stretches Mary's sleuthing skills to the limit. Then she discovers the key to Aunt Maude's past is in the paintings she left behind. As Mary puts the pieces together, she learns that a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Series: Book #14 (of 24) in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, and #24.

Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & recalled; Mentions of prayers & prayer groups; Mentions of churches, church going, & a pastor; Matthew 19:20 at the end; 

             *Note: A couple mentions of not believing in ghost.

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’; All about mentions of deaths (natural, accident, & murder), possible drownings/suicides, & bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a man hitting his wife, thinking he possibly killed her, & such violence (*Spoiler* he did not kill her, but did hit her once which caused her to leave him *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of a war & deaths; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of divorces; A few mentions of crimes & criminals; A couple mentions of a woman staging her own death; A couple mentions of threats; A mention of a fire.

 

 

Sexual Content- Mentions of a married woman having an affair & thinking a wife left her husband to be with another man (*Spoiler* she did *End of Spoiler*);

             *Note: A few mentions of a possible miscarriage; A mention of a woman’s figure.

 

-Mary Fisher

                                P.O.V. of Mary

                                           262 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I personally didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others in the series. It was a more messy, serious toned mystery with thinking a husband possibly killed his wife and a wife having an affair and leaving her husband. It wasn’t the light, easy to read mystery I was expecting from this series.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.