I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Sinister Snare
by
Jennifer Willis
amateur sleuth, cozy mystery, paranormal fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by the author on October 10, 2024 and has 262 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Crooked Curse, Fatal Fundraiser, Tainted Treasure
Fourth in the Haunted Coast cozy paranormal mystery series and revolving around an amateur sleuth, Suri Mudge, in the hamlet of Grady, Oregon. The focus is on a ghost hunting television show.
My Take
The publicity-shunning Suri is so ticked off about this ghost hunting show appearing — and the mayor asking her to babysit them!
Poor “Surly”, a nickname she acquired for her crappy attitude — hey, pain does not make for a cheerful person. Throughout the series Suri suffers, and it makes me so glad I’m not her! In Sinister Snare, Suri is grappling with this new relationship . . . with a partner! Boundaries. There have to be boundaries.
Willis does give Suri some hope, but there are drawbacks. Side effects can be nasty, which we discover in depth through Willis’ use of first person protagonist point-of-view from Suri’s perspective.
Oh, that Eddie sounds like a dream. He’s so very supportive of Suri.
It seems the mayor’s wife invited the show and is she ever swarming Howarth. It’s embarrassing! I do have to sympathize with Janice though. Phil made her a promise and now the jerk is reneging!
Huh. I had no idea there were so many ways to organize book inventory. As for Audrey. The woman sounds like a dream. Always thinking of others and how to help.
Trey has his own character arc, and Willis is such a tease about why he’s hanging around.Trey does seem to know quite a bit about iffy financial things. Nor does Trey think much of Howarth. He’s “heard” things. I gotta say, I do NOT like the man, er, ghost. He is so incredibly obnoxious! And for a man who chased the paranormal, he’s remarkably clueless.
Loki’s character arc includes memory issues along with those “special” powers. He’s always interesting to watch.
I do have to wonder how Suri can employ so many people when she barely survived financially. As for being a tea-only town just because a tavern outside town burned down . . . nah, I don’t get it.
There are frame-ups, dirty campaigning — that Gary may want Grady to be normal, but he is ignoring reality; vengeance; Miss Josephine’s fears; illegalities; and a range of characters from good to bad.
Sinister Snare ends on a cliffhanger with Suri contemplating politics.
The Story
Janice Lindquist has enticed The Ghost Patrol to feature Wayland House in one of its episodes, and she intends to take full advantage of the opportunity.
If only she . . . and the rest of the town can wake up.
The Characters
The migraine-plagued Suri “Surly” Mudge owns the Tea Reader with an attached bookshop. Simba is her cat. Trey is the Wall Street bro/ghost, a crime-solving spectral sidekick, who “keeps” her company (Crooked Curse, 1). Eddie Cortés, a first responder, is the new man in Suri’s life.
Audrey Medina, a kitchen witch, is now partnered up with Suri and is the assistant manager at the Tea Reader, a teahouse. Simply Suri is a concoction Audrey came up with. She also concocts different baked treats. Barbara is the manager. Taylor Driskell is part of the staff. Cyndi.
Grady, Naghatune Bay, Oregon, is . . .
. . . a hamlet of tea drinkers. Standish Beach is the nearest town for coffee. Phil Lindquist is the mayor. Janice is his angry wife who owns the Chichi Boutique. Kimberly is Janice’s sister who lives in Florida. Linda Lindquist appears to be a relative of Phil’s. Emmaline Kapul is Janice’s best friend and owns the Knitting Genie. Mildred Moroni runs the local grocery store. Josephine Johnstone works part-time at Chichi Boutique and the Knitting Genie. Sandra is Josephine’s frantic daughter. Bobby Jackson edits the Naghatune Reader. The possibly prescient Loki is a mysterious benefactor who always dresses in black and has some mysterious powers. You can get lunch at the Calico Café. Eleanor Mayfield. Paula Lantz runs Lantz’s Boarding House. Gary Spalding, who owns a goat farm outside town, is running for mayor with a dirty campaign. Murray Overhill, Earl Greenbauer, Petra Moore, Jake Hurley, and Old Gus.
Deputy Sheriff Jim Vandenhauter, a.k.a. Deputy Chowder, is in charge of law enforcement in Grady. He’s also a former boyfriend of Suri’s who keeps warning her. Colin is an assistant deputy and Audrey’s boyfriend with a gluten issue. In Hattieville, the snooty Ennis Harbal is the coroner and then there’s the unpleasant Chief Deputy Chris Banich.
Thomas Catesby is an insecure professor. The Salty Pie makes great pizza. Mindy Barr used to run Classic Rags.
Wayland House has . . .
. . . been abandoned and is thought to be haunted. Its last mortician had been Jesse Wayland. Previous “clients” included Henry Crabtree (Eliza Crabtree had been his sister), Dolores Sandoval, Nathan Wallander, Abigail Shrive, Bradford Marzo, and Jeanne Roberts. Their stories are so sad. Brian Lennington, Simone Moran, and Janet or Jillian are some of Wayland House’s neighbors. Bob Bell had been a workman back in the day.
The Ghost Patrol is . . .
. . . a television show. JP Howarth is the greedy, cheap star. Mo Hoover is the cameraman. The too-trusting yet duplicitous Anya Dawson runs the show behind the scenes. Meg Sexton is the tech manager. Becky Dolenz had been on the Sonoran crew. Adrian Noman had been Taylor’s friend on the chupacabra episode.
The Meridian Retreat specializes in the metaphysical. Dr Donnie Baxter, a neurologist, practices at the hospital in Seaside.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a gradated dark teal to light teal sky and a darker teal to navy mountainous background. At the top is the author’s name in white. Below Suri is the title in a pale yellow. At the very bottom is the series info in a paler yellow. The graphic is of the long-haired Suri standing in front of us in blue jeans and a button-up blue workshirt with the sleeves rolled-up and one arm bent at the elbow, a finger tapping her smiling face. On either side of her is a comic-sort-of ghost. The one on the left seems more sinister while the one on the right is much more cheerful and reminds me of a manta ray.
The title could well refer to that Sinister Snare that Janice sets up to gain her freedom.
