Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Mystery #1) by Dianne Harman

Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Mystery #1) Reviews

• 
  Sara Bartlett

  This book shocks me that it is published! I downloaded for free, just amazed that anyone thought this is good enough for publishing. the writing is stiff, so unbelievable is the action and plot that while reading this I kept thinking...how did this get published?! I was in a camper and it was raining, the end made no sense, the only good part of this book was the dog, but after being introduced he got left at home. What a waste.
• 
  Marilyn

  While this was a pleasant read it lacked warmth and realism. The writing style is too formal and stiff. The conversations and dialogue didn't seem like ones normal people would have.
  I had a hard time following our main character's dialogue, especially when she was on the phone. I kept waiting for the other person's response (whoever she was talking to at the time) and it wasn't there. This whole book lacked regular banter type dialogue. I love good bantering.
  Also the mystery itself was way too easy to figure out and the fact Liz missed the glaring clues was pathetic.
  I only finished this book so I could give a fair review. Unless this author's writing style greatly improves, I will not be reading anymore of her books.
• 
  Jackie Wright

  Audio Review
  Dianne Harman and cozy mysteries are new to me but after listening to this book I will certainly be checking out previous books and other books in the Liz Lucas Mystery Series.
  Liz Lucas is a likeable amateur sleuth who decides to take matters into her own hands when she comes across a dead body at the spa she runs.
  This mystery has some great characters, even the creepy local chief of police is interesting and what can I say about her trusted companion Winston the guard dog apart from I want a Winston by my side. The story is interesting and narrator Erin DeWard did a great job bringing the story and the beautiful setting to life. Looking forward to more from this author
• 
  Debbie Price

  This is the first book I have read by Dianne Harman. It is the first book in the new Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series.
  I gave this book only three stars due to some things I felt slowed down the book. Of course, this is my opinion and may not be shared by other readers.
  I found the thoughts of Liz, written in italics, took my focus off what was happening at the time. I actually had to re-read the lines to figure out what was happening.
  Also, I did not like Roger, who is a criminal attorney that is the 'love interest' of Liz. I found his actions to be very unprofessional.
  I do hope to re-read this book in the near future to find out if I was just having a bad day and, in turn, it caused me to feel this way.
  I do look forward to reading the second book in the series.
  
  
  
• 
  Marilyn Richards

  Managed to slog through this.
  
  The story idea was good, but the writing was contrived. The characters were not fleshed out well. The conversation was stilted and repetitive. The author tried to portray the main character as kind and generous but she (Liz Lucas) also came across as a dimwit. It was painful for me to read this book but I forced myself to finish it. This rather surprised me because I love cozy mysteries, even the ones that are a little awkward or unbelievable. This one was just written poorly. The author may have improved her writing in subsequent books of this series but I don't think I want to chance being disappointed again.
• 
  Sylvia

  Honestly, half the things in this book would never happen. For instance, a non-police person would never be permitted to go and tell someone that his wife had just been probably murdered in one of her cottages. The police or ministers do that. And the idea of hopping on a plane to chase someone instead of telling the police and letting them do their job (because she knew they would never listen anyways) was laughable. In fact, I spent time thinking ahead as to what possible inaccuracy was coming next, and I wasn't disappointed.
• 
  Janet Womack

  I listened to the audiobook edition. A pretty good cozy mystery. A few of the voices the narrator used were irritating. Overall a fun book.
• 
  Anna Burke

  Murder in Cottage #6 is another winner for this bestselling author. This book gets her new series off to a great start--bearing all the hallmarks Dianne Harman's cozy mysteries feature. That includes a likable amateur sleuth, Liz Lucas, who takes matters into her own hands when a dead body turns up at the spa she runs. Like her other series, the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery series, this one has great food [with recipes penned at the back], a great dog, Winston, who becomes Liz's steadfast companion, a gorgeous setting, friends and fun. Just a great, quick read to take with you when your out and about or to enjoy at home with a good cup of tea. More to come, I'm sure, from this productive author. Can't wait!
• 
  Debi Emerson

  It is rare for me to not finish a book, but by page 20, I'd had enough! The characters are so wooden that it's impossible to really care about them. She spends way too much time trying to establish background via stilted dialogues, and 1 of the 1st characters she introduces is a thoroughly unpleasant chief of police. Her attempts at "dialect" are painful. I should have been warned about the quality of the book when, in the acknowledgments, she thanks her husband for his "thoughts and connemts (sic)". Glad I only bought #1 in the series; I won't be reading any more.
• 
  Irene Sauman

  This was another freebie offer that I didn't manage to finish. Life is too short for poor writing. Chapter 1 is a backstory info dump, much of which is not necessary at the time and which could have been woven into the story along the way. Then when a body is found we have another info dump about the dead woman and her troubles.
  I found the 'inner thoughts' in italics irritating and pretentious. They could with better effect have been written into the main body of the text.
• 
  Sabine

  It was a quick and entertaining read but the ending seemed a bit far fetched. The dialogues were strange. The main character had to find the killer because the police chief was completely dumb and as mentioned in every other conversation to protect the reputation of her spa....
  I don't think I will read any further releases in this series.
• 
  Shelly

  Wonderful read
  
  I enjoyed this book, it had twists and turns that made be want to keep reading to find out who done it. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
• 
  Mary Ellen

  This book was great, and really funny.
• 
  Cathy

  Talk Talk Talk
  
  The writing style of this book features one long quote after another, back and forth, with little description or action in between. Internal thoughts are mainly expressed in italics and are really just the lead character talking to herself. Time, action and place are tucked into tiny paragraphs, often within the same paragraph as a long quotation, but not part of what someone is saying. The plot is moved primarily by the conversations.
  
  The story has possibilities, but lots of unlikely things happen, such as numerous professionals seeing no problem with a spa owner carrying on her own investigation without any background or skill in detective work. She tells people too much about other people when she interviews them, and they tell her far more than anyone normally would under such circumstances.
  
  She also has conveniently timed ESP types of “niggles” that come on just as the plot requires a push to move it along.
  
  She and her friend follow a crazy woman who is obviously buying the makings of a bomb. Though they are warned by knowledgeable people who care about them, as well as by the police already on watch at the scene, to keep back from the nutjob, they burst forth out of hiding and run toward the crazy lady at the crucial moment, when they have just observed her placing what they’ve already construed as a bomb on a back porch. Who does that but foolhardy people?
  
  Frequently when the lead character has been given all the facts, she still says she doesn’t have a clue what the people involved are doing or why. Why do people say they don’t have a clue, when they have plenty of clues?
  
  The result is a lot of characters without much substance and of very little interest, including the lead character.
  
  So why did I keep reading when so little was happening? I wanted to see what trick Winston the handsome boxer would show his new owner. Winston was the star of the show.
  
  The conversations lack spirit, the characters lack personality, and the plot lacks suspense. Oh, dear.
  
  Enough said.
• 
  Erin Lewis

  3 Star review Murder in Cottage # 6 (Liz Lucas Mystery #1) by Dianne Harman
  
  AUDIO REVIEW:
  
  Dianne Harman is a new author to me although I have listened to several books by the narrator Erin deWard before. This is a cozy mystery and although I had a few issues, overall I did enjoy the story and the performance was solid by Erin deWard.
  
  This story focus’s on Liz Lucas, a 52 year old widow and the murder that occurs at the spa she owns. She is horrified when she learns that the dead woman was in fact murdered. There were some interesting secondary characters although I did find that some were a tad too over the top, particularly the creepy Red Cedar Chief of Police.
  
  Some of the circumstance that Liz finds herself are so unbelievable and unrealistic that it detracted from the story line which is a shame. There is a fair bit of stilted dialogue in this story and at times it was a little distracting. I had a hard time warming up to Liz’s love interest Roger, can’t quite put my finger on why but I did like that he got her a dog, Winston for protection.
  The story itself was interesting, if predictable and although I was a little frustrated at times, I am interested to listen to other books by this author.
• 
  Bonnijean Marley

  Murder in Cottage #6 could be a pleasant afternoon read.
  
  I found this first book in the series somewhat lacking. Maybe the series improves with subsequent books.
  
  Liz Lucas is a good cook, but not a good detective. The story does mention that she has no sleuthing experience, but even an amateur detective wouldn't share all she knows or suspects with everyone she interviews. In fact, sometimes Liz seems actually stupid. If the police tell someone to stay put during a dangerous situation, that person should not try to interject herself into the situation without overwhelming reasons (which Liz did not have).
  
  The dialog was a little off. Ordinary people don't use phrases such as "the night in question" if they aren't in a courtroom.
  
  The romantic scenes with Liz's boyfriend are gratuitous. Although they aren't explicit, they add nothing to the plot.
  
  The solution seemed unrealistic.
• 
  Vanessa

  Life is too short to read crappy books. I should have read reviews but I just needed a dog on the cover for a challenge. Shame on me.
  
  As some other reviewers said before, how did this get published? How did this get positive reviews?
  
  First chapter is exposition dump: buy lodge, set scenery, kill off husband, get new love interest lined up. Second chapter: kill guest, skip over anything realistic (i.e. emotions, thoughts, procedures) about finding dead body in order to introduce ridiculously over-the-top, offensive cop character. I just couldn't take anymore, and I RARELY DNF. I am too OCD to leave something unfinished, but this... I just can't.
  
  Unfortunately, this is one of those books that breeds other bad books: "Hey, if that lady can self-publish, so can I!"
• 
  Kathleen

  This is the first book in the series. A good mystery with some twists. The Sheriff made my skin crawl. Liz was lucky to have people that cared about her. They enabled her to solve the murder and other nefarious incidents that happened around the spa.
  
  As in small towns, there is tendency for everyone to know everyone’s business or think they do. There is always a place (s) to get the local gossip. You know what they say about gossip- it’s based on an element of truth.
  
  I liked the run down of the potential serial characters.
  
  I listened to this book. The narrator/reader did a wonderful job. Her performance would round this to a 4.5 rating.
  
  Looking forward to the next book.
  
• 
  Faith

  Quite an interesting book. A murder took place but the cottage was locked from the inside and the body has no visible signs of why they died.
  
  The town Sheriff is a write off as far as being either motivated or having the desire to do his job. Thus the Spa owner where the murder occurred takes the reins and does her own investigating.
  
  The pace is a bit slow but the “help” she receives from advisors is really very good. I only give it three stars because I do not feel it was that powerful a story to keep one enthralled and motivated to get it read just to find out who the murderer is.
  
  I do intend to read a few of her many books to get a feel for the author’s style, pace and researching of material used.
• 
  hana

  Interesting ideas and characters, but the conversations was a bit flat.
  
  
  She took a deep breath. “I know it’s going to sound strange, but I had what I call a niggle, a feeling, that I should come. It was pretty insistent. It niggled me where to park our car in the motel lot, so we could see Gina coming out and could follow her.”
  À St. Barnard dog that carries Brandy to clients for treat.
  
  Interesting ideas and characters, but the conversations was a bit flat.
  
  I'm curious enough about the next book
  
• 
  Lisa Cobb Sabatini

  I listened to an audio book of the novel Murder in Cottage #6: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman. This fun story offers readers and listeners an opportunity to solve a straightforward whodunit while considering a handful of suspects. The story has all the elements cozy mystery fans seek in a mystery: an interesting setting, unique, quirky characters, and a good whodunit for the amateur detective to solve.
• 
  Tita Gee

  WTH!!!!
  
  I thought this was written by a woman. There are more sexist slurs in the dialogue and behavior, it's hard to believe. The plot is so thin that the ending just comes from nowhere. How an adult with over 30 years of life experience (she's in her 50s), can do some of the things she's done and also not have a clue about things others around her see as obvious... well, I'm just without words. The absolutely worst cozy written by anyone especially a woman EVER!