Cover Image: Corned Beef and Casualties

Corned Beef and Casualties

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Member Reviews

Every installment in this is a treat, and this book is no different. This author definitely has mastered weaving a tale that the reader can just get lost in. Wonderful characters, a great setting, and a mystery that keeps you wanting more until you get to the last page.

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Easy to read short story that kept my interest from start to finish! I love this series, and I love that this book is set around St. Patrick's Day, one of my favorite holidays. Though not a full-length novel, this story is long enough to develop the plot and include some everyday-life details for protagonist Jill. The mystery isn't too easy to solve, and I didn't guess the culprit until the reveal. Corned Beef and Casualties can easily be read as a stand-alone, but it makes a great companion for the Tourist Trap Mystery series, which I love!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review contains my own thoughts and opinions.

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Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More in South Cove, California is swamped by customers during the St. Patrick’s Day Festival. The revelers are extremely rowdy and several shopkeepers need assistance from Jill’s boyfriend, Greg, who is South Cove’s police chief. A girl named Alana walks in to Jill’s shop to order a coffee. That afternoon, Alana is found dead near the beach. Can Jill find the murderer before someone else is found dead?
I loved this cozy mystery. It had all of the elements found in longer mysteries, and nothing seemed rushed. I loved learning about different characters, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat until the culprit was revealed. I can’t wait to read the next mystery in this series. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

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Another pleasant visit to South Cove. A holiday celebration that has consequences. The characters always are a joy to follow and this fills in the gap prior to the next book. I enjoy a little time spent even though I would rather spend several hours with the group.

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Kindle Copy from Net Galley

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

St. Patrick's Day festivities turned deadly in this novella. Once again Jill finds herself investigating when she is the last person to see the victim alive. A quick read with a surprising quick end. Fans of the author will enjoy the book.

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Another quick novella from Lynn Cahoon this time working around a St. Patrick’s festival in South Cove. With the crowds getting out of hand and the shop owners having run-ins with the rabble-rousers, an evening call comes in when the body of a young woman is found propped up against the rocks in the cove. It is no surprise when Jill, owner of the Coffee, Books and More, puts the clues together before her detective boyfriend since this is the running theme throughout the series. Yet, from the beginning the who and the why seemed to be obvious. It would have been nice if the reader had to work a little harder to figure it all out.

This novella, actually all the novellas, within this series are placeholders until the author can come out with her next full-length book. Hopefully, that is the plan and since I am not sure when that will happen since she does have a few series going and finding the time to juggle them all must be daunting.

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I always love Lynn's Holiday Novellas and this one was short, sweet and left my mouth-watering as usual.

Always good to head to South Cove and see what Jill, Sasha and the gang are up to. This one has the town embracing a new event for St. Patrick's Day. And it will probably be the last one. While business is booming, the town is left with a lot of drunks, trash and what is that? A dead body? And not just any dead body, but a girl Jill had just met.

I think Greg has about given up on keeping Jill out of his investigations and this one was wrapped up nicely.

I was intrigued by the lady with the red hair at the end. Hmmm....will we see her again? And that cheesecake recipe? Already tried it! Yum!

Thanks for this one!

Netgalley/ Lyrical Press/Kensington February 5, 2019

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I always enjoy these stories and I get so involved I'm always surprised when it ends. This is a novella so it does need to end quickly. I like the small town setting, Jill and her friends. It will be interesting to see where Jill is headed as she sees people no one else does. I like the fact Jill didn't do anything intentional to put herself into harms way.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. - I look forward to more in this series.

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This story is unfinished and not worth reading. I’m not sure why it’s being released. There are zero twists, and Jill announces she knows who dunnit, then it just cuts to the aftermath. Lame.

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A St. Patrick's Day festival in the coastal town of South Cove attracts a large crowd of day-trippers causing a chaos of road and foot tourist traffic. A fireworks show closes the days events, except for the discovery of the body of a dead woman on the beach. The town's resident amateur sleuth Jill Gardner steps up to investigate after it is decided that the woman was murdered. Seizing on a clue missed by the police force headed by her boyfriend, Jill manages to identify the culprit. Unlike other amateur detectives she doesn't put herself into jeopardy by trying to capture the killer. The mystery is straightforward and the strongest element of the story. Jill is the standout character among a bland cast; there's no real eccentrics among the lot.

It's a tidy whodunit mystery story folded into a novella and set against the background of a California seaside beach town. The story is told at a brisk pace and is a quick easy read. It's also an introduction to the author's well-established Tourist Trap cozy mystery series.

I received my review copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley. The comments are my own.

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I throughly enjoyed this well written mystery. I definitely will be reading more books in this series. I received an arc from Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

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Number ten in the series does not disappoint! This is a fun, quick easy read. I enjoyed returning to South Cove and visiting with Jill and Greg and the rest of the cast for these holiday novellas. This one is centered around St. Patrick's Day. For a novella length mystery, it was really well written and kept me engrossed and guessing.
I highly recommend this book but make sure you start at the beginning of the series with A Guidebook to Murder.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I find the shorter novella nice, but enjoy the longer stories better because you get to see more into your characters lives.
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This is a fun, quick easy read. I enjoy returning to South Cove for these holiday novellas. This one is centered around St. Patrick's Day. Once again the town festival doesn't go as planned when a festival goer is found dead on the beach. The mystery wasn't that complicated but these are such quick reads that it works. Also, I'm a bit intrigued by where the author is headed with Jill's character. This is the second novella where she has seen and spoken to someone nobody else has seen.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was another delightful visit with old friends in South Cove, California. All the characters we love were back - as is another murder in the sleepy town.

It's St. Patrick's Day and the town is hosting is big festival but they soon regret it as the crowd that descends on the town in rowdy and their behaviour is questionable.

Jill is horrified to hear that there was a murder on the beach during the fireworks display. Jill feels a connection to the victim because she had been in Coffee, Books and More hours before she was murdered buying coffee. Jill had invited her to come back and have a slice of cheesecake. Who in the group of these friends would have killed her and why.

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It's always a pleasure to spend time with Jill Gardner, her police detective boyfriend Greg, Aunt Jackie and the rest of the South Cove gang. It's St. Patrick's day and the town is having a festival to celebrate. When one of the tourists in town for the festival, Alana, comes into Coffee, Books and More, Jill's store, she and Jill feel an instant connection so when Alann'a dead body is found on the beach the next morning, Jill is determined to help find out what happened. Jill and her friend Darla, a reporter for the local newspaper, put together a time line of Alanna's last day, and ultimately Jill is able to come up with the clue of the missing engagement ring which solves the case. This is a fast paced mystery featuring an enjoyable cast of characters and I can't wait for Jill's next adventure.

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Another winner for this author and series. You tend not to see too many books set around St Patrick’s Day, but this novella was a good length, well written and fun to read.

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Number ten in the series does not disappoint! I think this series just keeps getting better!
The series is engaging and I couldn't put this book down!
For a novella length mystery, it was really well written and kept me engrossed and guessing!
I highly recommend this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

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I received a free copy of CORNED BEEF AND CASUALTIES (A Tourist Trap Novella) by Lynn Cahoon. This is St. Patrick’s Day. It takes place sometime before Sadie leaves and before Rocket’s Dead Glare. This is a charming series that I greatly enjoy. There are a lot of tourists in town because of the St. Patrick’s Day festival, so they all kind of blend together for coffee shop/bookstore owner Jill Gardner. She’s just happy for the business. However, Jill does manage to make a connection with one tourist. When the woman is discovered murdered, Jill just can’t keep herself from investigating. There’s a killer on the loose! This was a cute story; keep in mind it’s a novella and not a full length novel.

#CornedBeefAndCasualties #NetGalley

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St Patrick’s Day festivities are in full swing in South Cove, California and Jill Gardner’s store, Coffee, Books and More, is hopping. While most of the revelers are enjoying green beer and spirits, more than a few are stopping in for coffee. While serving one young woman, Jill struck up a brief conversation and was drawn to the young woman, only to find she was murdered later that evening.

With the memory of the young woman fresh in her mind, Jill manages to speak to some locals and gets abetter picture of the young woman’s day. Eventually she manages to be in the right place at the right time and the pieces all fall into place.

This was a great short little read and I’ve enjoyed the series. The characters are well developed and you’ll find a series with quite a few books that you give you a nice collection of stories to read. Even if you haven’t read any of the other books, give this one a read and enjoy your time in South Cove.

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