Money, Murder and Mayhem (Cryptic Cove Mystery #1) by K.P. Stafford

Money, Murder and Mayhem (Cryptic Cove Mystery #1) Reviews

• 
  Karen

  On Saturday I read Murder & Mayhem by KP Stafford this was an Amazon special I got and it was a not bad read. I was confused when reading it as I knew it was going to be a paranormal cozy but it felt really light on the paranormal. Cryptic Cover is a complicated cozy mystery with a heavy dose of romance. While it was a shorter read it did have some great characters and as a first in series did set the town and the townspeople up to be enchanting. A good cozy to have on your amazon kindle app for sure.
• 
  Sharon

  The book started out nice enough but it soon went downhill for me. First off, it needed a good editor. All the editing problems made it slow to read. The end would have been interesting if there was some explanation of what happened to the sister. Like how and why. And it's obvious that there's some magic going on with Grams and probably the rest of the town I just wish more was said about it. And way too much corney romance for me. Not my favorite cozy.
• 
  Celia Buell

  Honestly, this one was pretty terrible in terms of cozy mysteries.
  
  First of all, it was way too focused on an immature crush rather than on the mystery. The love interest wasn't even written well. There was nothing special about him, other than that he was "Mr. Hottie." He was actually a pretty big asshole in a lot of ways. (Also, he was an insurance investigator investigating his own uncle? That's not a conflict of interest at all! 🙄)
  
  Then there was the whole Aunt Agatha thing. That came up out of the blue and was resolved in an incredibly confusing way. That was another main complaint about this book. So many things were unnecessarily confusing. How did Lexi find out her grandmother was alive? From the book's description, I expected her to have been living in the attic or something. Instead, it was just "I was surprised" and then in the next chapter she's back to visit her grandmother, who won't tell her anything about her estrangement despite the fact that Lexi is an adult now.
  
  As other reviewers have pointed out, some of this could have been explained with a thorough content editor. There's so much that doesn't make sense. There were also some glaring grammar and punctuation issues, and a few times when a character's name was used where it should have been another character. I had to use the "report error" button at least six times while reading, and I probably didn't notice every issue.
  
  So anyway, I was not a fan and will not be continuing this series.
• 
  Beth Kaminske

  Torture
  
  Well, that was torture! And now I know why it was a free book, no one would waste any money on it. The editing was horrible her fractured sentences were confusing and her time sequence was awful. Not to mention the story, the mystery, and the ending was one big cliche. Superficial and devoid of emotion. If it hadn't been a book club pick, I wouldn't have read the entire book! At least it was short!
• 
  Shanelle

  The basic story line was okay. There were huge parts of the story missing though. Parts of the story, or backstory, were missing or glossed over. Nothing was explained. The ending was weird. All in all the story felt very rushed and skipped around.
• 
  Lise

  3.5 Stars
  
  Alexis loses both her parents and her job and returns to her old hometown. Her grandmother who she long believed to be dead, provides both comfort and a chance to rebuild her life in Cryptic Cove.
  
  I liked the basic setup (background, setting, characters) but there were a few problems with the story. It was quite jarring that were so many places in the story where the possessive case was incorrectly used (instead of pluralisation). Some of the mechanics were a little clunky - the death notification and Alexis' dismissal from her job seemed both heavy-handed and amateurish. I also wasn't particularly impressed with her love interest who was somewhat controlling and condescending. Alexis' schoolgirl reaction to him made me want to cringe. If you are unable to analyse your own romantic relationship without resorting to hormonal impulses, then I have no time for you.
  
  Negatives aside, there was a lot to like about this book. Unanswered questions abound that add to the spice of the tale. The characters are, for the most part, likeable and interesting. Hopefully, more depth will be added as the series progresses.
• 
  Ted Tayler

  "No better than OK"
  
  As cozy mystery novellas go this was not the best I've read. Too many characters, none of which were more than a thumbnail sketch; a mish-mash of a plot, and a rushed ending. The concept was good, but more time was needed to craft a believable story.
• 
  Emma hulme

  I found this book quite easy to read however the ending and plot was quite boring. The story line concentrated more on the girls life not the murders themselves.
• 
  Darinda

  The first book in the Cryptic Cove mystery series. Light and fun.
• 
  Susan Clark

  Holes
  
  The storyline is interesting, but OH, the OMISSIONS! For me instance, in a he first few pages the narrator opens a box to discover her grandmother is alive. How? A recent greeting card or letter? Very much disappointed. Also, the emotional level is quite immature and shallow. I truly believe that a professional writing instructor could help author turn this into a much better written book. Try again, please.
• 
  Kathleen

  I enjoyed this book. There was a lot going on and at first I felt lost. There are lot of questions left unresolved and maybe they are for other books to delve into and solve. The characters need more depth- maybe a full novel next time.
• 
  Krystyna

  The missing and the dead
  
  A good short story. Okay it's not brilliant as the characters need more work and the plot really could have done with some more twists and turns. But it still a good read although questions still haven't all been answered. Is her Grandmother a witch? Was he really his nephew? Why did no-one find out the truth earlier?
  She's just coasted along on the wishes of her father but with her parents death and being made unemployed she now has a choice. A choice until she finds out that the grandmother she had been told had died was very much alive. She therefore heads back to the town she lived in for the first 11 years, a new job as the local constable's assistant and the disappearance of two long standing members of the community. When she starts helping to investigate she runs into brick walls. First from the manager of the local retirement centre and then from his handsome nephew the local insurance representative. But this quickly turns into a murder investigation when she discovers their bodies. Now the spotlight turns on her Grandmother who had an argument with them shortly before they were killed and her sister also disappeared years ago without a trace. Can she stop the finger pointing at her Gran and find the who, how and why? Will this also lead to closure on her great aunt's disappearance?
• 
  Gribouille Lechat

  J'ai bien aimé ce petit cozy mystery, surtout grâce aux personnages, qui sont assez bien campés et vraiment sympathiques (en tout cas pour la plupart), compte tenu du peu de pages que contient le roman. J'ai également apprécié le côté "petite ville où tout le monde sait tout sur tout le monde", qui est bien rendu, avec les bons et les mauvais côtés que cela implique. Par contre, j'ai trouvé que l'enquête elle-même était un peu décousue et surtout que la "détective" se focalisait trop sur un suspect, même si elle avait des arguments valables. Mais cela n'a pas gâché mon plaisir, et même la petite déception que j'ai ressentie quand on découvre qui est le meurtrier (car je n'ai pas du tout été surprise) a été compensée par une révélation finale à laquelle, en revanche, je ne m'attendais pas du tout. Je lirai le tome 2 avec plaisir.
• 
  Mary Cokenour

  For a cozy mystery, it was a likeable, easy read. There was enough information on each character to keep in mind who was who, without getting confused when new characters were introduced.
  
  Alexis aka Lexi, loses her parents and job at the same time; then she finds out her beloved grandmother wasn't dead, simply estranged from her parents. So, to Cryptic Cover Lexi returns, to live with her Grams, her a job with the local sheriff, and a mystery lands on the doorstep immediately. A missing senior couple remind the residents of when Grams' sister went missing 25 years ago; whatever happened to Agatha after her much public fight with Grams?
  
  Then there is hottie, Jake Donovan, who just might be involved in insurance fraud and murder?
  
  Got a Sunday afternoon to just put up the feet and enjoy a light mystery read; this first in the series might be your cup of tea.
• 
  T.A.

  Cozy mystery or cozy romance?
  
  I found the start of the story felt like a blurb with so much information given but at the same time none. It does improve after that but I found I could not connect with the main character myself. She acts like a teenager would over a man and some of her other behaviours are just as impulsive. I know there are adults like this out there (differences are what keep the world interesting) but for me lacking that connection I didn’t enjoy the book so much. At times the mystery seemed like a sub plot to her romantic drama (caused by her own behaviour) will appeal to those looking for the romance aspect of the cozy mystery.
• 
  Bernadette Hutton

  Interesting book
  
  Arrive in a new but well known town after being lied to and losing a job. The main character came from a law background but gets a job helping out at the local police station were nothing happens. Well except a couple of murders, gossiping townsfolk, suspicious characters and a gran who cannot stop. Well written, maybe a little kookie but definitely worth a light hearted read
• 
  Sabetha

  Fun cozy mystery true to the genre, well laid out plot and great characters. My only complaints are that it was a bit too rushed. The relationship builds were rushed, and some of the character development was rushed. Also the final"big reveal" was lackluster. It could have been pizzazzed a bit more, and made seem a bit more real. It was almost not even believable as a plot point.
• 
  ivy cook

  Quick easy read
  
  For a quick easy read, this wasn't too bad. The author did a good job on creating a loveable main character, though it would be nice to have a little more depth into her and a few other secondary characters. The mystery had great points of interest, but no real complexity to it. If you are looking for an easy quick read, this one will do just fine.
• 
  Karen

  Murder & Mayhem (Cryptic Cove cozy Mystery #1)
  
  New author for me. Thought it started as little slow,but as I got into it found a variety of interesting characters and small town living. The author provided a well done mystery and a variety of suspects. Worth the read .Will be looking at #2