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
Tainted Treasure
by
Jennifer Willis
fantasy, amateur sleuth, cozy mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by the author on October 5, 2023 and has 261 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Crooked Curse, Fatal Fundraiser, Sinister Snare
Third in the Haunted Coast cozy paranormal mystery series revolving around an amateur sleuth, the migraine-tortured Suri Mudge in Grady, Oregon, in February. It’s been over a month since Fatal Fundraiser, 2, and four months since Crooked Curse, 1.
My Take
Well, that prologue was interesting. And makes me wonder what’s ahead for me in Tainted Treasure.
I do have to laugh — in sympathy! — with Suri about her expectations of a peaceful small town versus what she gets. Talk about the wrong place for her! She gets a lot more of my sympathy for those migraines she suffers! Things we discover through Willis’ use of first person protagonist point-of-view from Suri’s perspective.
Those deliveries Loki makes to Suri and her realization of their usefulness sure does keep my interest going. I want to know what he’ll be dropping off next. Well, besides wanting to know his past and just what he means about Suri’s potential. Trey is another character whose secrets I want to know. Just what is it that scares him so?
Ooh, I have been wondering how Suri can make enough of a profit in a small town, and then the competition shows up. Oh, boy.
I screw up sometimes and don’t check to be sure I’m reviewing books in a series in the correct order. You’d think that by now I’d think to check! And in reviewing Tainted Treasure, it suddenly makes sense about Phil in Sinister Snare, 4.
Okay, the “treasure” is so not what I expected. Nor was the reveal over what was making everyone in town sick. As for the ending revelation? Nah. To deus ex machina for me.
It’s really depressing how the Tea Reader’s clientele react to the guy’s death. Oh well, at least they’re buying.
That Banich! What a jerk! He does bring an unexpected comic relief to the story, though. Oh, mama! And then there’s Max who finally lets down their hair! It’ll make you laugh to read how the professor takes it. Later Max’s predicament will make you cry.
Hmph, it takes a death to get Catesby to appreciate his fellow men.
I’m wondering if Suri’s fashion sense is part of her character arc?
”I just thought maybe you’d feel better if your clothes more accurately reflected the amazing person you are inside.”
I gotta like Audrey. She’s so kind and compassionate. Then she blows up at Banich, lol. I’m looking forward to more interactions with the guy.
There is action, although it’s mostly the characters talking about what’s happening and trying to figure it all out. Think of it as a low-key beach read.
The Story
It’s bad enough that Katrina Coyle’s new shop is cutting into the Tea Reader’s clientele, but it was the death by poison that may be, well, the kiss of death.
Nor does it help when the “scourge” hits so many residents in Grady.
The Characters
The pained mediumistic Suri “Surly” Mudge owns the Tea Reader, a half-bookshop/half-teahouse in Grady. Trey Lindsey, an investment broker at Morgan Witter in his former life, is the ghost from Crooked Curse who can’t keep away.
Eddie Cortés, a firefighter with Coastal Fire and Rescue, is very interested in dating Suri. Tracey, Luke, and Carrie are more firefighters.
The Tea Reader, which has become a community gathering place, employs Audrey Medina, a witch who works as a barista — she invented the Simply Suri — and loves to bake, has become the assistant manager. Simba is the kitten Audrey shares with Colin. Barbara is the teahouse manager. Cyndi and Taylor Driskell are the new baristas during the week while Barry and Andrew work the weekends.
Grady, Naghatune Bay, Oregon, is . . .
. . . a small tea-drinking town where a lightning storm sparked off magic and where Suri lives. Deputy Sheriff Jim Vandenhauter, an ex of Suri’s, and Colin Jung, an assistant deputy sheriff (who’s dating Audrey), serve Grady, Standish Beach, and greater Naghatune Bay in Duniway County.
Ennis is the coroner. The new Sheriff Kay Butler in Hattieville has assigned Chris Banich as the chief deputy in Dunniway County. Andy Davis is Banich’s assistant deputy.
The sophisticated Karina Coyle is new (she knows Jim) and opened the Tea & Botanicals Dispensary with all sorts of cannabis infusions. Bard Walker is her bouncer, er, assistant manager. Stacey had worked there.
Loki is a mysterious benefactor. Seshat is a leopard Loki knows. Emmaline Kapul owns the Knitting Genie. Mildred Moroni owns Moroni Grocery. Phil Lindquist is the mayor; Janice, his wife, owns the Chichi Boutique. Bobby Jackson, who runs The Naghatune Reader, a weekly newspaper, lives for scandal. His mother writes the horoscopes. The Calico Cafe is seasonal. The irascible Murray Overhill is still ticked at how the community library put paid to his scheme. Gary Spalding has a goat farm just outside town. Ravi King and Bud Barlow are fellow treasure hunters who live at Paula Lantz’s Boarding House. Joe Stanley is the only coffee drinker in town. Earl Greenbauer. Dr Settle is a retired gynecologist and the closest doctor to Grady.
The obnoxious Professor Thomas Catesby is a respected tea historian who teaches at Cascade State University. The nonbinary Max Turner is the professor’s assistant, and he has an interest in botanical spectroscopy. Sarah Hopkins is Max’s roommate. Dr Edward Clair is the Dean of Antiquities.
The Grazzini House had been central in Fatal Fundraiser and will become the Grady Public Library. Teddy Grazzini had murdered children, including Agatha and Adam Cooke. The Meridian Retreat specializes in the metaphysical. JP Howarth hosts The Ghost Patrol. There have been sightings of Sasquatch and the Bandage Man. Drew Gaines had been central in Crooked Curse. Proof TV is a pseudoscience show. The Salty Pie in Standish Beach makes great pizza. Marjorie Greer had been a librarian who had warned Suri about Pete Hanney. Victims included Alice Crabtree and her son, Alex; Mike Lopez; Noreen Williams; and, Alta Murray.
The Cover and Title
The cover background is mostly dark blues with a white full moon rising up behind the hills, except for that bit of lighter blue cloud between the two ranges of hills. Front and center is the long-haired Suri in a pumpkin-colored coat and white T-shirt with blue jeans, holding a red umbrella, her left hand tucked into a pants pocket. There’s a pale blue ghost angling out from behind her on the right. At the very top is the author’s name in white. The title starts at Suri’s knees in a pale peach. Below that is the series info in white.
The title truly is about a Tainted Treasure, one that inspires evil.
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