Simmering Stu - Pamela Burford

Simmering Stu

A hot tub can be a great place to decompress—provided your tub toy isn't a Glock 9-millimetre. When Death Diva Jane discovers that Stu Ruskin has taken decompression a little too far, everyone assumes his sudden demise was self-inflicted. The result of a guilty conscience perhaps? After all, no one who knew Stu would describe him as a Boy Scout.
Jane begins to suspect murder when disturbing secrets come to light. As it turns out, some of those secrets involve Martin McAuliffe. All Jane really knows about yummy bad boy Martin is that he has a mysterious past and is a darn good kisser. But hey, Sexy Beast approves of him, and when has Jane’s neurotic canine sidekick ever steered her wrong?

My Review

Simmering Stu by Pamela Burford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've loved the Jane Delaney mysteries since I first read Undertaking Irene over five years ago. With each new instalment, I've quickly devoured each one and Simmering Stu was no exception. The previous book, Preserving PeachesPreserving Peaches, ended with something that I'd been hoping for for a while. Simmering Stu picks up from where that book left off, which is exactly what I had been hoping for.
Jane yet again stumbles across a dead body, I have to say, I think that I'd start to avoid Jane if I happened to live nearby, for fear that she'd find another body or that I might become one myself. Jane, of course, starts to investigate the murder. I didn't manage to get there before her this time, but it was an enjoyable read all the same and I did my best to guess where things were going. Ultimately, I was happy with the conclusion, which is all that really matters in these things.
There are a few things I love about this series, one is the murder mystery element, another the humour and almost my favourite bit, the relationship between Jane and Martin. This book had more on that and I'm happy to say that Jane does seem to be following the route that I was hoping for. I can't wait to read the next book and see how things develop.
I love this series. Jane is a great character and her supporting cast (not forgetting dog Sexy Beast) are brilliant too. I hope that we don't have to wait for too long to get our hands on book 7.

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Preserving Peaches - Pamela Burford

Preserving Peaches by Pamela Burford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It feels like a long time since I last read a Jane Delaney mystery, I've just had a look and it's been over two years since one came out. It didn't take me long to get back into this fantastic series. The book starts with Jane's 40th Birthday, during the course of the series she's started as slightly older than me and now I seem to have just overtaken her. She stumbles onto a body, the almost mummified body of local problem page writer, Peaches. Obviously, Jane can't help but do a little bit of digging into who killed her, especially after she is asked by two people to look into it, or at least things related to the death.
There are two elements to this great series. Firstly, the murder, obviously and then secondly the romance angle. For too long now, Jane has been hung up on her ex-husband Dom, for reasons that seem a little bit beyond me, when she has the wonderful Martin waiting in the wings. Jane seems to have seen the light, with Dom at least. I don't want to tell you something that might spoil the book for you. So, I'm not going to tell you if I was left satisfied at the end of this book. Although I am really tempted to give more away...
I didn't manage to solve this one sadly. At least not until the very end, although I had one or two ideas. The mystery worked well and kept me guessing, which is always a bonus. The real delight of these books is the humour though. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the things that Jane gets herself involved in. Being a death diva is certainly an interesting and varied role.
I loved this book and really hope that we don't have to wait too long for the next one. I for one, can't wait to see what Jane gets up to next.

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Icing Allison - Pamela Burford

Icing Allison

What, Jane Delaney asks herself, could be better than skating on a frozen lake with sexy MartinMcAuliffe? After all, Martin’s thought of everything:
• Yummy picnic lunch, complete with the requisite hot chocolate? Check.
• Adorable, if slightly neurotic, canine sidekick? Check.
• Chainsaw (don’t ask)? Check.
• Frozen corpse? Dang!
And just when things were starting to get romantic!

The authorities decide Allison Zaleski’s death was an accident, but Death Diva Jane isn’t so sure. For starters, some of the wealthy young woman’s nearest and dearest had reason to want her out of the picture—her boy-toy husband and his greedy mistress for starters. But it isn’t until Jane discovers Allison’s secret video diary that the questions really start piling up. Such as: Who left a decapitated Barbie doll, altered to look like Allison, in her mailbox? And what, if anything, did Allison have to do with her first husband’s death?

My Review

I really enjoy the Jane Delaney Series, you can read my reviews of Uprooting Ernie and Perforating Pierre on this blog. Icing Allison is the forth book in the series and even though I didn't get my hands on an ARC this time, I was really keen to read it. If you haven't read any of the Jane Delaney series before, then you could certainly start with this one and be able to follow it fine. I would recommend going back to the beginning though and giving them all a go. The books do follow on, but work as stand alone stories too.

The story starts with Jane going for a picnic and skate on a frozen lake, with the yummy Martin. It isn't long before a dead body shows up and Jane finds herself in the middle of puzzle again. To begin with it looks as though Allison's death was an unfortunate accident, but as time goes on, it becomes clear to Jane that there's more to this than first meets the eye.

I was glad to see a bit more Martin in this one. I'm not sure why she's even still hung up on her ex-husband Dom. As for the French man she met in the last book? Non, merci. Martin may be a bit of bad boy, but it's clear that he's got Jane's best interests at heart.

I didn't manage to solve this one, although I had had a few suspicions about the murderer earlier on, I'd dismissed them right until the big reveal. I love these Jane Delaney stories and can't wait for the next one, especially if we're going to get even more Martin.

Perforating Pierre - Pamela Burford

I've been looking forward to the release of the third Jane Delaney mystery since I read Uprooting Ernie last year, (see my review here). I really enjoy this series and I really wanted to see what was going to happen next to Jane. 

Over the past month, I've ready quite a few humorous, light, murder mysteries (also known as cozy mysteries apparently). They have, for the most part, been rubbish. Fortunately, Perforating Pierre, while being light-hearted and fun, is far from being rubbish.

Perforating Pierre

Celebrity chef Pierre Dewatre has everything going for him: swoon-worthy looks, a successful restaurant, and a budding TV career, not to mention that drop-dead-sexy French accent. Unfortunately for Pierre, the drop-dead part becomes all too real when Death Diva Jane and her furry little sidekick Sexy Beast discover him marinating in his own juices. So to speak. And okay, so the famous chef has been accused of cooking and serving endangered species, but that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with his death. Could it?

The inept detective in charge of the case has homed in on a single suspect: Jane’s ex, who’s only the Nicest Guy in the World. She’s never gotten over him, even with a certain bad-boy bartender invading her personal space at every opportunity. Throw the victim’s hot Parisian brother into the mix and it’s little wonder Jane is having trouble concentrating on whodunit.

You’d think having a high-strung, seven-pound poodle on your team would be the key to quickly solving a complicated murder. Turns out that’s not necessarily the case. Who knew?

My Review

This was another great instalment in the Jane Delaney series. This time she has yet another male who seems to be interested in her. The brother of her recently murdered friend, Pierre Dewatre. Her ex-husband is still in the thick of things, not only is he hanging around and confusing Jane, but he is also the chief suspect in Pierre's murder. 

The Padre, the lovely Martin is still around too. Sadly, not quite as much as I'd like. (He'd be my choice if I were Jane.) The sooner that Jane realises that her ex-husband, Dom, is not for her, or French men (no matter how sexy the accent) the better.

This time I did manage to work out who done it, before Jane realised, but I don't think that it was obvious, and it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. (Actually I like to be able to solve the mystery from time to time, it helps me to feel intelligent.) 

I really really enjoyed Perforating Pierre. I can't wait to for the next installment and to find out what happens to Jane next. If you haven't read the first too books, then check them out too. Perforating Pierre is out on the 31st October, but open for pre-orders now.