Book Review: The Corpse in the Closet by Lucy Score

 

Published April 16, 2024 by Bloom Books

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Summer is heating up for reluctant psychic Riley Thorn and her handsome private investigator boyfriend, Nick Santiago. First, her disapproving grandmother arrives determined to make Riley take her powers seriously or face the wrath of "the Guild." Then there's the homicide detective who needs her help figuring out who murdered the well-dressed corpse in the walk-in closet. Nick's got his own hands full with a tricky missing person case and his parents who want to know why he didn't tell them about his live-in girlfriend. Then there's the fact that he's still the tiniest bit stressed about Riley almost getting murdered earlier that summer. The last thing he wants is her getting involved in another investigation. Things go from bad to worse when the body count starts stacking up, the meet-the-parents dinner goes horribly wrong, and their elderly roommate is up to no good…dressed like a mime. To top it off, Riley is forced to return to Channel 50 on official police business to question her spray-tanned news anchor ex-husband and his new weather girl fiancée. The trouble comes to a head when Riley receives a warning from the Back off or she's next. Someone has to solve these murders before she becomes the next corpse.

MY REVIEW:

The Corpse In the Closet by Lucy Score
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a fun and quirky series. Riley lives in a apartment/mansion complex with quite a few eccentric neighbors. She has a hot boyfriend who is a PI and hires her to work with him. She is also a psychic and helps the police with cases but also helps people without meaning to. Her parents and sister are quirky but her Grandmother is a horrible bully who I wish everyone at once would stand up to her and not give in to her demands. She is not friendly at all. Everything is her way and her timeline.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom for the arc to read.

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Lucy Score

Website

http://www.lucyscore.com

Twitter

lucyscore1

Genre

Romance

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lucyscore

Lucy Score is an instant #1 New York Times bestselling author. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism.

She writes full-time from the Pennsylvania home she and Mr. Lucy share with their obnoxious cat, Cleo. When not spending hours crafting heartbreaker heroes and kick-ass heroines, Lucy can be found on the couch, in the kitchen, or at the gym.

She hopes to someday write from a sailboat, oceanfront condo, or tropical island with reliable Wi-Fi.

Book Review: Twisted Twenty Six by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum's career has taken more wrong turns than a student driver on the Jersey Turnpike, and her love life is a hopeless tangle. In order to save someone dear to her, she'll have to straighten things out in Twisted Twenty-Six the latest, novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich.

Grandma Mazur is a widow...again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen...well, the waiting's over.

It's a sad day, but if she can't have Jimmy at least Grandma can have all the attention she wants as the dutiful widow. But some kinds of attention are not welcomed, particularly when Jimmy's former "business partners" are convinced that his widow is keeping the keys to their financial success for herself.

As someone who has spent an entire career finding bad guys, a set of missing keys should be no challenge for Stephanie Plum. Problem is, the facts are as twisted as a boardwalk pretzel with mustard.

MY REVIEW:

Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I got this audiobook through my library.
Stephanie's Grandma Mazur is married again and it lasted 45 minutes. She married a local gangster , lothario. Her life is in jeopardy when his business partners thinks she has the keys to their financial success. You have all kinds of women who have it out for Grandma Mazur as well. Stephanie thinks it can't be that hard to find the keys and ends up in trouble herself. Another fun read.

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Book Review: Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanvich

There's nothing like a good deli and the Red River Deli in Trenton is one of the best. World famous for its pastrami, cole slaw and for its disappearing managers. Over the last month, three have vanished from the face of the earth, the only clue in each case is one shoe that's been left behind. The police are baffled. Lula is convinced that it's a case of alien abduction. Whatever it is, they'd better figure out what's going on before they lose their new manager, Ms. Stephanie Plum. 

                          MY REVIEW:

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stephanie is a bounty hunter and things never go right for her. This time she is also told to manage a deli. Every manager that gets hired ends up missing when they go out to the dumpster. Leaving behind 1 shoe. So Ranger puts one of his guys on duty to be her bodyguard but then one of them ends up missing. Morelli is not a part of that case but ends up helping out. Lula says it is an alien abduction lol.
What we also see is how Stephanie deals with her sexual attraction with both men but trying to stay loyal to one of them. I miss the banter with Grandma Mazur as she isn't in this book as much but oh boy the ending will have you in stitches and wanting the 26th book to read NOW.

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Book review: Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich

Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie’s main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun—whether that’s for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen.

Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.

If all that’s not enough, Diesel’s back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits—that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.

As usual Jersey’s favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What’s the deal with Grandma Mazur’s latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel’s sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?


                     MY REVIEW:


Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What can I say? Another fun Stephanie Plum book. Stephanie is bounty hunter and she is trying to find grave robber, Simon, and when she does find him he has a Boa Constrictor named Ethel. So when she takes him into the police station she had to promise to take care of Ethel. Which she does. She shows up at his trailer every day with food and that turns into some hilarious times.
Now headless bodies are turning up and people are seeing zombies. I love a good ghost story and horror story but there is just something about Zombie stories I do not like and it isn't because they scare me or anything but because of all the hype about them and some times hearing in the news of people who actually believe in them. So I had to choke back reading this storyline but Janet Evanovich made it funny.
Then Diesel is back in town and just shows up in Stephanie's apartment and stays there. But when it doesn't look like he has been at the apartment for a few days then Stephanie gets worried and thinks he is into something bad.
Grandma Mazur has met a man online and decides she wants to go meet him despite what the family says.
So much going on but so many laughs.

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Book Review: Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich

In the heart of Trenton, N.J., a killer is out to make sure someone gets his just desserts.

Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again. Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body—frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans.

As fate would have it, Stephanie’s mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who’s putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It’s going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It’s also going to be hard to explain to Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs—who are naked and afraid—and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have “virtually no marketable skills,” these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best.


                                MY REVIEW:

Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Larry Virgil has missed his court appearance. So Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter is after him. He is found with a truck and a dead body frozen and covered in chocolate. So Ranger has hired her to work at the ice cream factory for clues.
Another fun and fast read. Stephanie still goes back and forth with Ranger and Joe Morelli. The Grandmother has met a man finally and we get more laughs out of that. Even has her dying her hair and riding a motorcycle lol. 




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Book Review: Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum might not be the world’s greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she’s being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal house known as Zeta fraternity, has been arrested for beating up the dean of students at Kiltman College. Gobbles has missed his court date and gone into hiding. People have seen him on campus, but no one will talk. Things just aren’t adding up, and Stephanie can’t shake the feeling that something funny is going on at the college—and it’s not just Zeta fraternity pranks.

As much as people love Gobbles, they hate Doug Linken. When Linken is gunned down in his backyard it’s good riddance, and the list of possible murder suspects is long. The only people who care about finding Linken’s killer are Trenton cop Joe Morelli, who has been assigned the case, security expert Ranger, who was hired to protect Linken, and Stephanie, who has her eye on a cash prize and hopefully has some tricks up her sleeve.

                               MY REVIEW:


Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another funny laugh out loud Stephanie Plum book. This time there is a fraternity called Zeta and the Dean is trying to shut it down. Gobbles supposedly beat up the Dean and was arrested and then split. Stephanie keeps looking for him and as she investigates she seems to think something is going on at the college. Then Linken is gunned down and her and Ranger have to do security. All kinds of shennanigans go on in this book of course. With the grandmother being in date sites online and using Stephanie's photos as being her and of course Stephanie's crazy sidekick, Lula, you just have to read it all in one sitting.


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Book Review: Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich

Trenton, New Jersey’s favorite used-car dealer, Jimmy Poletti, was caught selling a lot more than used cars out of his dealerships. Now he’s out on bail and has missed his date in court, and bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is looking to bring him in. Leads are quickly turning into dead ends, and all too frequently into dead bodies. Even Joe Morelli, the city’s hottest cop, is struggling to find a clue to the suspected killer’s whereabouts. These are desperate times, and they call for desperate measures. So Stephanie is going to have to do something she really doesn’t want to do: protect former hospital security guard and general pain in her behind Randy Briggs. Briggs was picking up quick cash as Poletti’s bookkeeper and knows all his boss’s dirty secrets. Now Briggs is next on Poletti’s list of people to put six feet under.

To top things off, Ranger—resident security expert and Stephanie’s greatest temptation—has been the target of an assassination plot. He’s dodged the bullet this time, but if Ranger wants to survive the next attempt on his life, he’ll have to enlist Stephanie’s help and reveal a bit more of his mysterious past.

Death threats, highly trained assassins, highly untrained assassins, and Stark Street being overrun by a pack of feral Chihuahuas are all in a day’s work for Stephanie Plum. The real challenge is dealing with her Grandma Mazur’s wild bucket list. A boob job and getting revenge on Joe Morelli’s Grandma Bella can barely hold a candle to what’s number one on the list—but that’s top secret.


                                   MY REVIEW:



Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another fun read with the gang of Stephanie plum, Lula, Ranger, Morrelli and Grandma Mazur. You never know what is going to happen except for Stephanie losing her bounty and her cars getting wrecked somehow and something happening to her apartment. Stephanie is looking for Jimmy Poletti who is a car salesman but known for more than selling cars. She end up with someone named Briggs and he wants to live in her apartment as someone has blown his up. But things just keep going wrong. To funny with Grandma Mazur and Grandma Bella out for each other. Now there are even Chihuahuas involved, only Stephanie is told they are minions in disguise lol. 


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Blog tour: sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald Excerpt

Title: Sorry Not Sorry    

Author: Sophie Ranald  

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://geni.us/B07KKJVBLTSocial

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2Swginz

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2TxfmfT

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/75i330nB33M 

Publication Day: Feb 13^th  2019

Description:

A fabulously feel-good novel that will make you laugh till you cry and leave you living life to the full, margarita in hand! 

Is this all there is? I scraped the last dregs of Caramel Chew Chew ice cream out of the bottom of the tub with my finger and licked it. It left a sticky smear on my phone’s screen when I typed into Google, “How to find love, sex and happiness.”

Charlotte has always been a good girl. But being good is getting boring…

She’s not just stuck in a rut – she’s buried in it up to her chin. The only company she has in bed is the back catalogue of Netflix and falling in love feels like the stuff of fairy tales. So when she stumbles across a popular podcast, ‘Sorry Not Sorry’, which challenges women to embrace their inner bad girl, she jumps at the chance to shake things up.

Old Charlotte would never ask for a stranger’s number, go on a blind date or buy lacy lingerie… But New Charlotte is waving goodbye to her comfort zone (with a side order of margaritas). And it turns out that good things happen to bad girls…

If you’re a fan of romantic comedies by Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk or Matt Dunn, and love TV shows like Girls, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin, you won’t be able to put down this hilarious read!

Chapter One – Extract

When I got in from work, Maddy and Henry were still there –

just. Their hired van was parked in the street outside the house,

and they were standing in the hallway surrounded by their stuff.

I wondered whether they’d decided not to wait for me but then

changed their minds – the same way I’d almost gone for a drink

after work but decided to come home instead, to say goodbye.

‘Oh, you’re here, Charlotte!’ Maddy said, with a cheerfulness

that sounded a bit forced.

‘Yes!’ I said, with equally forced cheerfulness. ‘I mean, Briony

and Alice were going to go to Quag’s for a cocktail, but I didn’t...

I couldn’t...’

I stopped. I tried to meet Maddy’s eyes, but somehow I couldn’t

do that, either. There she was, my best friend, her face as familiar

as my own, standing in our familiar hallway wearing the 7 For

All Mankind jeans we found in TK Maxx six years ago, which I’d

watched go from new to worn to distressed, and fished out of the

washing machine more times than I could remember. There were

her green eyes behind the cat’s-eye glasses, her dark, cropped hair,

the dimple on her left cheek that was almost always there, because

she was almost always smiling.

Not now, though.

Henry cleared his throat. ‘We left the keys on the hook in the

hallway,’ he said.

‘We were going to drop them off at Wankerson’s,’ Maddy said,

smiling as she used our joke name for the letting agent. ‘But we

ran out of time, and they’ll be closed now.’

‘It’s no problem,’ I said. ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’

‘And we’ve done all the stuff with the bills,’ Henry said. ‘Council

tax, water, Npower, broadband – and we’ve signed up for three

months of mail forwarding. But just let us know if there’s anything

we missed.’

‘Odeta’s coming to clean the place on Monday,’ Maddy said.

‘Remember, she’s going back to Romania for two weeks after that,

but the agency said they’ll send someone else. I told them you’ll be

in touch about the direct debit.’

‘Ollie at Wankerson’s called to say the landlord’s arranged for

someone to come round tomorrow and do some stuff in the garden,’

Henry said. ‘Cut back that tree, hopefully. But he might not turn

up. You know what they’re like.’

Maddy said, ‘Our new fridge freezer isn’t coming until next week,

so we’ve left some stuff – ready meals, and that chilli I cooked the

other night. It’s all yours. You’re so busy, Charlotte, I know you

don’t have time to cook.’

‘And it’s not like we’re moving to Siberia,’ Henry said. ‘We’ll

only be in Bromley. It’s only, like, an hour and a half from here

on the train.’

An hour and a half on three separate trains and a bus, I thought.

It might as well be flipping Siberia…

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read, you can grab your copy of Sophie Ranald’s

SORRY NOT SORRY here:

Amazon: http://geni.us/B07KKJVBLTSocial

Apple Books:  https://apple.co/2Swginz

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2TxfmfT

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/75i330nB33M

  

Author Bio:

Sophie Ranald is the youngest of five sisters. She was born in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa until an acute case of itchy feet brought her to London in her mid-20s. As an editor for a customer publishing agency, Sophie developed her fiction-writing skills describing holidays to places she'd never visited. In 2011, she decided to disregard all the good advice given to aspiring novelists and attempt to write full-time. After one false start, It Would Be Wrong to Steal My Sister's Boyfriend (Wouldn't It?) seemed to write itself. Her second, third and fourth novels followed, and The Truth About Gemma Grey was released in summer 2017. Sophie also writes for magazines and online about food, fashion, finance and running. She lives in south-east London with her amazing partner Hopi and Purrs, their adorable little cat. 

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