Lily runs a tradional English tearoom next to her grandmother Rose's B&B on Cape Cod. I enjoyed
reading about the various teas and the accompanying food served.
Murder enters the picture when a developer who wants to buy nearby land is killed. As Rose is on
the suspect list, Lily is determined to prove her innocence.
First in a new to a new series.

Valerie Cooper, a widow, just inherited a partnership in an antique store from her late husband's uncle. She's an empty nester looking for something to complete her life. And, honestly, that's as far as I got because this story was not interesting and repetitive. The main character was living in her past, dwelling on memories and not living. It was depressing. I didn't want to waste any more time on this story. Some people would love this story because of the setting, but there was no action and little plot building. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the honor of reading this Advanced Reader's Copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

A promising series debut. I loved the quirky characters and mysteries behind the murder and the mysterious inheritance. Having said that, I found the story to be a bit dialog-y and TMI at times.

Red herrings were plenty and there was a shocking twist in the second half of the book. But these were buried deep between layers of gossip and rumors (repetitive).

Overall, this was a good read. I am looking forward to reading the next installment.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Widow Valerie is adjusting to her twins being off at university and wonders what lies ahead for her. Not in her wildest dreams would she ever imagine when “mean girl” Collette ambushes her at the local fish market and a mysterious letter arrives when she returns just how crazy things would become.

The letter informs her that she is the heir of an up=to-now unknown uncle of her late husband and his estate is quite extensive. But, it is anything but straightforward. Collette is murdered. Valerie finds her body. And in the investigation into this unknown benefactor, Valerie is going discover there are a lot of secrets in the closet that involve Collette and her late husband Tony. It is going to turn her world upside down and it might just get her killed.

Set in New Orleans, the reader really gets the feeling of the Big Easy. There are some great and just quirky enough characters like her next door neighbour and best friend, Lorna. I really enjoyed reading the book and learning a bit more about New Orleans and the world of antiques. Five purrs and two paws up.

I wanted to love this one for the punny title alone, but I could barely finish it as the heroine got on my nerves. And for me at least when it comes to cozy mystery I've to at least like the heroine as she is the one solving the mystery and whom your sometimes stuck in their head. For readers who don't mind that they will enjoy this one. As the mystery itself is enough to keep the reader turning pages. It's what kept me turning pages. For me it just wasn't enough to want to pick up other books with this heroine.

Valerie suddenly finds herself part owner of an antique store. She is trying to untangle the family drama that lead her to owning the store. At the same time she is fighting off a pushy real estate agent, Collette, who wants to buy Valerie's home. When Valerie finds Collette dead, she fears she will be charged with the murder. The mystery was a bit too obvious, but the characters made up for it. I would read more from this series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Such a cute cover on this book!

It's a fact that if a book is set in New Orleans there is a very good chance I will (at the very least) like it. Especially if it is a mystery. Such was the case here. I quite enjoyed this book. Was it perfect? No. The murder took a bit too long to happen, and it was annoyingly repetitive in places. I mean, how many times are you going to ask the detective if he wants a coffee?? 🤦🏻‍♀️ That said, it is the first book in a new series and I always expect some sort of growing pains with the first book. I enjoyed this author's writing. The plot kept me engaged throughout, and the characters themselves were very likable. All in all this was a great start to a new series. I look forward to reading the next book. 👍🏻👍🏻

""ARC Via NetGalley**

This book revolves around Valerie, a widowed empty next mom living in New Orleans. After coming into a surprise inheritance, she find the body of an acquaintance and quickly learns of the deceased’s disdain for her.

I love a book set in New Orleans. The author got the feel for the city just right. I loved getting to know Valerie along with her friends, family and neighbors. We met several great characters, but getting to know them was never confusing as it can be with the first book in the series.

We didn’t get to the murder until we were a little over halfway through the book. I typically don’t like that in my cozy mysteries, but there was so much more to the book in character development and atmosphere that it didn’t seem to drag on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and absolutely can’t wait for the next book in the series.

A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Heren is the first book in the New Orleans Mystery series.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery, a new to me author.

The characters are well written, and the mystery kept me guessing.

Looking forward to more books in this series.

I really enjoyed this cozy. It is set in New Orleans. Valerie Cooper is adjusting to the loss of her husband as well as empty nest syndrome. Her twin sons are now in college. She is notified that she has inherited the estate of her husbands estranged Uncle. She didn't even know of this Uncle and her husband never mentioned him, why? If that's not enough to overwhelm her, an old acquaintance from the parents group of her sons' high school seems to be stalking her, wanting to sell her house. Valerie was never friendly with Collette so this is weird. When Collette turns up dead and Valerie finds the body, she becomes the number one suspect.

It's a fun and engaging mystery. Kind of two mysteries rolled into one. The murder and the inheritance. Fun characters and the writing style is easy-to-read. A nice escape.

A Streetcar Named Murder is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by T. G. Herren set in New Orleans . Released 6th Dec 2022 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a light and often humorous cozy featuring an unwilling amateur sleuth who is in the process of figuring out her life and her place in it after a bereavement and empty-nest lifestyle change force her to re-examine her possibilities. She's young, under 40, and a recent totally unexpected bequest has turned her life upside and forced her to examine what she's going to do with the rest of her life, including her immediate future.

I was surprised how well rendered the (mostly female) characters were. The author has a definite knack with making them feel three dimensional and fairly believable. It's a light cozy, so there are over-the-top situations and dialogue, but despite the constraints of the genre, Mr. Herren manages to sneak some deeper thought provoking ideas into the story: self-determination & growth, found family, good people doing bad things out of love, amongst others. Additionally, it's absolutely *full* of minutiae about behind-the-scenes Mardi Gras culture and the workings of the different krewes who are part of the pageantry. The author seems to have a limitless knowledge of NOLA customs and it made for fascinating reading.

The book wasn't entirely archetypal: when the murder/crimes occured, the local police didn't immediately focus on railroading the protagonist in a wildly inappropriate persecution, the mystery is more linear and less "twisty" than many, and the story concentrated more on background world building and character development than red-herrings. I like this setting and the characters a lot and am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Four stars. It will appeal to fans of Lauren Elliott, Vicky Delaney, and Ellie Alexander. 

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

I gave A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren 4 stars

When the mysterious letter arrives by courier, Valerie Cooper doesn’t know what to make of it. She’s become the beneficiary of her late husband’s estranged uncle’s will—a man she never knew—and inherited a majority partnership in the family’s company, New Orleans Fine Antiques. Valerie knows nothing about antiques, but she decides to learn the business and become an active partner. She’s also got her hands full fending off Collette, a woman who wants to sell the huge old house in the Irish Channel neighborhood Valerie and her husband painstakingly renovated.

Valerie isn’t interested in selling—but when her best friend Lauren, drags her to a costume party for the women’s Mardi Gras club, the Krewe of Athena, she stumbles over Collette’s body, a jeweled dagger sticking out of her chest. In a rush of panic, Valerie recognizes the dagger from her shop—and before she knows it, she’s become murder suspect number one.

-------- REVIEW --------

This is the first book in a new series that takes place in New Orleans. I liked the book and felt it was well written with good dialogues. Some words and expressions were repeated often, but it didn't bother me that much. New Orleans sounds like such an amazing place with lots of history and magic, fitting for a cozy mystery.

The murder mystery part was more in the background in this book. The body was found 53% into the book, so we didn't get much sleuthing, which I was missing. Because of this, there were not many suspects and I figured out both the motive and whodunit early on. Although, we got another kind of mystery in the first part of the book when Valerie discovers that her late husband kept secrets from her.

It was a promising start to a new series and I will be picking up the second book as well.

This book comes out December 6.

Thank you Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5097527742
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClgbkLWrcpn/

This tale is set in Louisiana and the main character is one Valerie Cooper who inherits the majority share of her late husband’s estranged uncle’s business, New Orleans Fine Antiques. A solid mystery, a plot involving secrets from the past and old family feuds and a no-nonsense lead made this a great read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley and this is my own unbiased opinion.

A Streetcar Named Murder is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. I read the Arc of this book in November and got very delayed in writing a review and now I am in a fix because I can't remember the minute details about the book. The things I do recall are:

▪️The murder and the subsequent mystery took a long time coming and by the time it finally occurred I had already begun to wonder if the person (who was hinted at becoming the victim early on) would ever be killed off!

▪️The description of New Orleans was good... I have not visited the city but I got the feel of how it is through the author's description.

▪️There was too much repetition in terms of Valerie's day to day activities and I think is the reason why I can't recall the events in the book clearly.

▪️I kept wondering why the book was titled 'A Streetcar Named Murder'. From what I understood, a streetcar is a form of transportation and it clearly had no role to play in the murder.

▪️Didn't take a complete shine to most of the characters (dead or alive).

Okay looks like I do remember quite a bit loll!

I received an e-Arc of the book from the publisher Crooked Lane Books and the author via NetGalley.

Rating: ⭐⭐✨💫

This is a really different cozy mystery. In fact it didn't seem like a mystery at all for over half the book. A murder does not happen until the second half of the book. The first half is setting up the characters and is loaded with description. I read more about the streets and buildings of New Orleans than I really cared for. There is a great deal of descriptive prose in the novel as well as long passages of character thought. Because of the structure of the first half of the book, I did not find the novel engaging at all. There was a tiny bit of suspense near the end.

I think the characters were crafted well, however. Colette comes across as a truly mean woman who any number of people would rather see dead than put up with her any longer. So there are a number of possible suspects. Valerie was a suitable heroine. It did not seem realistic that she did not know why Colette hated her. If the community was such a gossip mill as other characters indicate, it was odd she did not know the reason for hate.

This is a novel for cozy mystery readers who don't mind the murder being somewhat a minor focus of the novel as a whole. Potential readers should also like long descriptive passages about New Orleans, being immersed in the architecture and culture of the city.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Widow Valerie Cooper is an empty nester. Her sons are away at college and all she has is a huge house. One of the local real estate agents, Collette, is trying to talk her into selling, but Valerie has no intentions of selling the house she and her husband bought together. Collette is not one to give up.

Then, she receives a notice from the lawyer of her late husband’s uncle and learns she has inherited his estate. It’s a huge shock especially since her husband never mentioned the uncle. Valerie can’t help wondering why he would leave his whole estate to strangers. However, she decides an antique shop would be the perfect thing to keep her occupied.

When Valerie and her best friend attend a costume party, she is completely stunned when she finds Collette’s dead body. The police immediately turn their suspicion Valerie’s way since she and the victim squabbled over selling her home. Valerie is determined to prove her innocence.

I really enjoy books set in New Orleans, so I was excited to see a new cozy series set in that city. However, it took me a long time to get involved in the story. It felt as if the first half of the book was to introduce us to the characters and the atmosphere. That sometimes happens when it’s the first book in a series.

I didn't warm up to the characters right away, but eventually I did. I really liked Valerie and her best friend Lauren. They make a great team.

I would have liked to see more of a build up for the murder. It was slow-moving for me in some spots. Halfway through the book, things really sped up and I couldn’t wait to find out who did it. I guessed some things correctly but not the culprit. There were a couple of interesting twists thrown into the story.

All in all, the series got off to a decent start and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next.




FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I always love reading books set in Louisiana but cringe when things are not quite right (I have not heard anyone refer to Mardi Gras as Fat Tuesday, ever). I was pleased to hear the Northshore mentioned but sad that it had to be a made-up town. The story was slow and the murder didn’t happen until over halfway through at which point I was actually rooting for someone to die (and if Valerie said “the widow Cooper” one more time, I would have hoped for her demise). There was so much monotony – what time she gets up, what she’s wearing, what she’s doing – that it was hard to really get into this story. Valerie, herself, was unlikeable, as were most of the characters, particularly her best friend, Lorna. I doubt I will continue with this series despite its setting.

I've been missing New Orleans a lot lately and I really loved that this book felt like an armchair visit with all my familiar places and street names mentioned. The New Orleans setting isn't just window dressing. The author is clearly very familiar with the city and has had the joy of trying to find street parking in the CBD! The setting was so well done that this biased my opinion of the story itself a bit.

I liked Valerie and could identify with her struggle to tentatively start finding her identity after years of being a mom and school volunteer. I liked that she had healthy relationships with her boys, her friends and her in-laws as well as being a capable adult - and a bit older then the usual cozy mystery heroine.

What kept this book from being a complete winner was the pacing and the repetition. At first the pacing was great and I was pulled into the book but it definitely lagged a bit about halfway through and took a bit to get going again - even after the murder occurred. As well, there is a lot of repetition. I can definitely understand Valerie's hurt and confusion about Tony never sharing his relationship with his uncle with her but that being regularly repeated with no real answer took up more page time then I would have preferred. This also happened with Valerie's friend use of her British accent and several other small issues. Since this is the first in the series and these are relatively small issues I'm hoping the second book is stronger but still keeps all the New Orleans feels!

Valerie Cooper is facing changes in her life. A young widow, her twin sons are now off at college, and she struggling to fill her days. An unexpected letter reveals she’s inherited the estate of one of her late husband’s great uncles, a man that Valerie didn’t know existed. The inheritance includes an antique shop. Meanwhile, Valerie attends a Halloween costume ball, but the night ends when she finds a woman she knows stabbed to death outside the dance. What is going on?

I sat down to read this hoping to find a new series I’d enjoy. Sadly, it was very disappointing. The author tried for something different when it came to the plot, which I appreciate, but the result wasn’t plotted well at all but did pick up in the second half. It wasn’t helped by Valerie’s constant reflections on her life before her husband died and questioning why she’d never heard of this great uncle. While this is important for Valerie’s character growth, it got to be a bit much. Unfortunately, the ARC I read was also riddled with errors that should have been caught in editing, some of which made me question if what I saw from the suspects was the suspects hiding something or the sloppy editing. Meanwhile, the author goes too far in making the victim unlikeable, turning her one dimensional. I did like Valerie and her family and friends. But there is not enough good here to recommend the book.