A nice short little cozy mystery. Although this is part of a series, it was easy to read as a stand-alone. Thanks for the opportunity to read

Great thrilling novel which kept me turning the pages, would highly recommend to others. Brilliant writing, plot and characters.

I absolutely love Chief Maxine Benson! The story was great, the action moved along and the good guys won again!!!!! 5 stars are not enough. The only negative is the story was not long enough. I'm definitely going to buy the first two books in the series!

A very good mystery. It's interesting, well written and with interesting charachters.
I hope to be able to read other instalments in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Orca Book Publishers

Murder Among the Pine is a well written murder mystery. Great plot and well developed characters. I was pulled immediately into the plot. I highly recommend this book.

I am not quite sure how to review Murder Among the Pines by John Lawrence Reynolds. I felt like once the book started and there was some mystery, it ended. It’s like the middle of the book was missing. What’s frustrating is I actually enjoyed the main character and thought that the storyline was interesting, but the suspense was removed by the quick resolve. Maybe it is just my personal opinion, but I like a little confusion and mayhem with my crime novels. When things are clear cut and solved without thinking twice it doesn’t do it for me.

Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and John Lawrence Reynolds for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

Sometimes I am just in the mood for a quick read that I can finish in one sitting( without giving up sleep) on a cold winter day. Murder Among the Pines was the perfect length since as the snow stopped falling, I finished reading and didn't resent having to put my book down to go get the snowblower( yet again).
Maxine Benson has left her husband and job in Toronto and is settling in a Chief of Police in the small town of Port Ainslie. There isn't a lot of crime and Maxine is getting accustomed to a life lived at a slower pace. That quickly changes when her ex-husband and his girlfriend come to town. As if their arrival isn't enough to get under her skin, the girlfriend, Lana Jewel Laverne Parker is murdered and Maxine's ex, James is the prime suspect.
I liked the characters and as I am from a small town, thought Port Ainslie was charming( well except for the murder) and had an authentic feel. This is the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it enough to want to read more of this series.
Thank you, John Lawrence Reynolds, Orca Book Publishers and NetGalley for the complimentary digital copy to read and review.

Maxine Benson is the police chief of Port Ainslie. Then one weekend her ex-husband arrives with his latest girlfriend. Only for the girlfriend to be found dead and Jim Benson the prime suspect.
A reasonably simple and quickly solved mystery.

I found this book to be a well written adventure. It had my attention from the start and maintained a quality pace throughout. I loved the character Maxine. I think the author did a great job in sculpting the story and developing the characters in a compact format. I liked the interaction of the characters. It had a natural flow and didn't feel contrived or artificial. The relationships were real and the way the author wrote the characters shaped my empathy for Maxine and my resentment for the OPP department. I would recommend this book to my friends for sure and plan to read more of this series. I like what John Lawerence Reynolds did with this. Well done.

This is a new author to me ... and one I would like to continue reading. MURDER AMONG THE PINES is a short read ... less than 200 pages, so it makes a great beach read.

Detective Maxine Benson enjoys living in this small community. It's a nice place filled with likeable residents. Until today, she has had no complaints. Today her personal life has collided with her professional one.

Her ex-husband shows up with a new "piece of fluff" ... a woman very much younger than him, a bleached blonde with a figure that just won't quit and a ton of jewelry. She's not too concerned since her ex was a habitual cheater during their marriage.

Her hoping he leaves by the end of the weekend falls by the wayside when the body of a young woman is found floating in the lake. No surprise that it's 'fluff' and her ex is the number one prime suspect. The big boys take over the case and she is to no longer be currently investigating.

As I said, this is a short read, but very entertaining. Maxine is a fun character, she knows her weaknesses, but she also knows her strengths. When the big boys do take over, it's like they pat the little lady on the head and tell her to resume her knitting. Maxine is nothing if not stubborn and she handily rebels. Her colleague is a hoot. No less dedicated than Maxine, he loves card tricks.. which plays quite a role in this story.

It's a well-written crime mystery, I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Many thanks to the author / Orca Book Publishers / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This was a fun little mystery to read on a quiet afternoon. It was quite humorous, and I enjoyed the characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own