I really good cozy mystery! I finished this is just one day! I had stopped reading cozies for awhile, leaning more towards psychological thriller, but this book really got me back in the cozy game. I liked the book so much. I went back and listened to the first 2 in the series. Can’t wait to read the rest.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC copy of this audiobook

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* alright cozy mystery but not sure id read more of the series since i didnt end up caring much for most of the characters

Loved this book! I always love a good easy read mystery, and the Hallmark Mysteries are always just that! They include a little bit of romance, include multiple suspects, but always give you a little bit of extra info to help you feel smart and figure it out early on just to see how the plot builds. I'd recommend this read to anyone who likes Cozy Mysteries! This is a part of a series but not needed to be read in order to understand the book!

Three sisters, living in a small town, join to investigate the murder of a neighboring shop owner. Their lives are complicated by various things: the overwhelming job of being a mother, romances with two brothers who are very different, and their careers. Each character is complex and unique, giving the story lots of depth. The mystery of the murder has enough suspects to hold your interest, yet not give away the culprit too soon. A very good listen.

This book was a great cozy mystery. An adorable romance, full and colourful characters, playful dialogue, and a mystery that wasn’t blatantly obvious from chapter one. The end wasn’t shocking but it was twisted enough to keep me guessing for a while.

Loved it as a stand-alone but the characters interested me enough to look into the earlier books in the series. This cozy mystery is the perfect read for a weekend away that needs just a little intrigue.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars for this perfectly formulated cozy mystery with a PG rating

Just a good, light-hearted cozy/romance.

Savanna Shepherd, an elementary school art teacher in the idyllic town of Carson, uses her sleuthing skills to help find a murderer in the town and take the suspicion off her uncle Max. She's also trying to keep a secret of her own. She's dating a local doctor who is the father of one of her students.

It's a cozy, so you know it will wrap up neatly and she'll find true love, so don't accuse me of spoilers.

This makes a great beach read!

This book was a great cozy mystery. It has interesting characters, a cute romance, fun dialogue, and the mystery wasn't obviously solvable from the beginning. While the reveal wasn't extremely shocking, even up to the "got'cha" moment, you still had a couple characters that could be the culprit.

As with any cozy mystery series, there are references to past "cases" but not enough that you didn't know what was going on in the story. I definitely will be adding this series to my every growing list and reading the first two books to catch up.

Still Life and Death is the third Shepherd Sisters cozy mystery/romance by Tracy Gardner. Released 10th Aug 2021 by Hallmark, it's 280 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.

This is a very light cozy mystery with very strong romance elements written around a trio of sisters and a small town murder mystery. There are several disparate threads: who killed the florist who was growing out an extinct violet, what skullduggery is going on with the dance school next door, and will Sydney figure out her relationship with Finn the medical life-flight crew member or is their unstable relationship doomed?

There are a fair number of really over-the-top plot elements which found my cynical self rolling my eyes. There are also some developments which are more or less left hanging at the denouement (like the violet - unlikely scenario to say the absolute very least). Savanna (she's the one dating the world renowned cardiac surgeon) does some amateur sleuthing and could easily have gotten herself killed since she's constantly going off on her own steam and not cooperating very well with local law enforcement. The denouement and resolution were a little too matchy-matchy tied up with a bow for me personally, but readers who really love HEA and HFN endings will find a lot to like here.

The unabridged audiobook version is narrated by Karissa Vacker and has a run time of 8 hours, 25 minutes. She has a very clear and well modulated voice - but - (and it's a big but), she has one voice for all the female characters and one for all the male. It's (as far as I can tell) her own (nasal Texas twang and all), with a deeper gravelly tone. I wasn't sure I could listen to the audiobook, but I did get used to it after a half an hour or so. The sound / production quality is very high.

This would be a good choice for readers who really love HEA/HFN family style romance novels heavy on the romance. The language is squeaky clean and there's only implied (off page) consensual sexual content between adults in a stable relationship. No on-page smut at all; there are a few fairly chaste kisses. Very little blood and no gore with the murder mystery plot elements. It would make a good very light beach or coffee shop read.

Three stars for the audiobook version, three and a half for the print version.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I love Hallmark mysteries! I appreciate the set-up of a good “who-dun-it” with the backdrop of a cozy town and likeable characters. In this case, Savanna is just a likeable character. She is well liked and respected as a teacher and community member and is determined to handle her budding romance correctly. She has honor and integrity and mad sleuthing skills. She has an eye for details and earns the trust of local law enforcement. I enjoyed the family dynamics, especially with the sisters and their own stories to tell as well. I think the narrator did a good job with capturing emotion, urgency/suspense and handled male and female voices well.

I received a complimentary copy, with thanks, from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own and freely given.

Even though this was the third book in this series this is the first one for me and I was not lost so deem this a standalone. Savanna works as a grade school art teacher and is a sometimes sleuth. She also is seeing the local doctor who just so happens to be the dad of one of her students. When there is a murder of the florist and her uncle Freddy finds the body, Savanna just knows there is more to this than meets the eye. This was a fun story that kept me guessing right along with Savanna right to the end. Definitely a recommendation from me and if I can get my hands on the first two in the series I will!

A great cozy mystery! I wish I had read the other books in the series first because there will a lot of characters but not essential to the plot the narrator did an excellent job distinguishing the voices.

An interesting mystery and good read. I enjoy this series and this is a solid installment of the series. The continued stories of the characters were fun and I like where the characters personal lives are going in the next books. Fun cozy read. I listened to the audio version and it was very good.

Still Life and Death: A Shepherd Sisters Mystery from Hallmark Publishing
Shepherd Sisters Mysteries #3
Tracy Gardner
Savanna, Skylar, and Sydney are sisters; Skylar, the oldest is an attorney, Sydney the youngest, owns a pet shop/salon, and Savanna the middle sister is an elementary school art teacher. Savanna teaches an adult art class in the evenings and is dating Dr. Aidan Gallager. Uncle Max and his husband, Freddie have recently moved to back to town and taken a job at Libby’s Blooms. One morning when the sisters were having coffee at Sydney’s dog salon when they noticed something going on across the street. Uncle Max found Libby’s body in the rooftop greenhouse; she had been shot; it looks like it was an inside job. When Uncle Max comes under suspicious the sisters are determined to find the real murderer. Savanna has an eye for detail. As the sisters collect information, they take it to Detective Jordan. They clear Uncle Max’s name but draw the attention of the murderer.
This is the third and last book in is series. This book stands well alone. Author Tracy Gardner Is a talented writer. This book falls under the genre of mystery and suspense and the subgenre of a cozy mystery; a cozy mystery is crime fiction that is very clean, sex and violence are suggested rather than a deep description, the detective is usually an unprofessional investigator and the crime and detection take place in a small community. In this tale Savanna is the lead character however the sisters work together each doing their part to solve the mystery. The mystery takes backstage to the relationships in this book. There is a touch of romance between the doctor and Savanna and Sydney and Fin. All in all this is the kind of book I like to read curled up next to the fireplace on a cold winter day.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series and I really enjoyed it. I love a mystery that isn’t scary and this made me feel like I was watch a Hallmark mystery movie! I will definitely go back and read the first one.
A local flower shop owner is found dead in her shop. Savannah, a local teacher and the town’s sleuth, is determined to figure out who did this.
Thank you NetGalley for my arc.

This is the third book in the Shepherd Sisters Mystery series and I am really enjoying this cozy mystery series. In this book, the sister's Uncle Max takes a job at Libby’s Blooms, the local florist shop. Libby is a friend to the family, and when Uncle Max finds her dead when he goes in to work one morning, they are all upset and vow to find out what really happened. With their connections to the community and Savanna’s keen eye for details, they uncover longstanding resentments and motives for more than one person.

I am enjoying my visits to Carson, Michigan, but I just read that this is the final book in this series, how disappointing. Although all three sisters are integral to the stories, Savanna is the main protagonist. This is my least favourite of the books as this one seemed to dwell a lot more on personal details and romance than the previous two. The mystery was interesting and when Savanna was doing her sleuthing, but story moved quickly. I enjoyed how she worked together with the police and he often mentioned that she might consider law enforcement as a future career. She does take a few more chances in this book, putting herself in danger, but all is well as the police show up just in the nick of time. The culprit was on both Savanna's and my radar and I was happy to see who it was, as some other suspects would have made me much sadder if it had been them. I enjoyed how the story ended, both in the sister's personnel life and the mystery. Once again I enjoyed Karissa Vacker's narration. I recommend this book and series to those who enjoy romance mixed in with their cozy mystery.

I absolutely loved this book. You don't need to read the other two before picking up Still Life and Death. One of the best things about this story was the close family and friend relationships, and how adorable the community was. Great narration.

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for providing me with an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Still Life and Death (A Shepherd Sisters Mystery from Hallmark Publishing) by Tracy Gardner
Narrated by Karissa Vacker
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing
Publication Date: August 10, 2021
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

Still Life and Death is the third book in the Shepherd Sisters Mystery series from Hallmark Publishing, authored by Tracy Gardner. I've had the joy of reading the previous book and loved this one just as much! This cozy mystery is easily read as a standalone, as well as part of the series.

I truly loved this book! The story was great, the mystery was filled with so many twists and turns and the characters are so likeable! This was one book that I did not want to end even though I really wanted to know who did it!

The narration by Karissa Vacker was incredible! She really brought the characters to life! I really enjoyed she take on this book!

This was such a great cozy mystery, filled with suspense, humor and romance. I couldn't help smiling as I read this. If you're looking for a great cozy mystery, look no further!

I'm so grateful to Tracy Gardner, Hallmark Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

When Uncle Max finds his boss and florist shop owner, Libby, murdered on the rooftop garden of the floral shop, he is one of the police's persons of interest. Savannah, Sydney, and Skylar want to clear their Uncle and help the police find the killer as they have done in the past. As the hours go by and the investigation continues so does the list of potential culprits grow.

The author has woven a pretty tight plot and figuring out the guilty person and the motive will keep the reader (or listener) interested. It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys, but by the end of the book they and their motivations will be clear. The author does a great job of bringing all the loose ends to their conclusions.

I read that this is the last book in this series. I hope that's not true because it was enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

#Hallmark #audiobook #ExcellentNarrator #NetGalley #cozymystery #TracyGardner

When I saw that this was a Hallmark Mystery, I had certain ideas in my head of what to expect. And this was pretty much all of those expectations. Everybody's a shining person who excels in whatever they do. That said, the mystery plot was well done, and it was pretty dang enjoyable to listen to. So I'm surprising myself by giving it a 3.75! The three sisters do at least face some tough things and exhibit real reactions, and I was rooting for all three of them, and for the killer to be caught. So, mission accomplished, Hallmark!

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Still Life and Death by Tracy Gardner.
Karissa Vacker narrator.
This series is new to me so I know I missed the first two of this trilogy. It was very enjoyable and I plan to go back and listen to the first two audiobooks. Although I am not familiar with the author, I am a big fan of the narrator.
This series is set in a small town in Michigan on the lake. There are three sisters as the main characters and numerous family, friends, and others in this small town. It was a bit confusing for that reason at first but pretty easy to get into. The mystery was not extremely mysterious but I liked it anyway. Also I found out what Michigan cherry salad is and that was news to me. Also the ending was very sweet, I teared up a bit.