J. A. Kazimer

Julia Jensen Harding-Taylor is just about to marry, politician Jonas Dearborn, when she discovers that her ex-husband, Nate Taylor, never signed the annulment papers, so she escapes her Secret Service detail in order to make a trip to his houseboat and get the papers signed. However, while she is there, she is nearly killed by assassins and Nate saves her life. Now the two of them must figure out who is after her and why before anybody else gets hurt in the crossfire.

The Assassin's Kiss does not live up to its prediscessor, The Assassin's Heart. The beginning picks up somewhere in the middle of the story, creating a situation where the reader is told about previous events rather than shown. For the same reason, there isn't much in the way of character development. Also, at the middle of the book, there is a huge change in the tone of the novel as well as its intent. Several coincidences masquerading as twists do nothing to enhance the conclusion of the book. Overall, The Assassin's Kiss is a disappointment.… (mer)

A Shot of Murder is a lighthearted Southern cozy mystery and the debut novel in A Lucky Whiskey Mystery series. The story is told from Charlotte Lucky’s point-of-view. She has returned to Gett, Florida to help her grandfather after his heart attack, but Charlotte continues to hold onto her studio apartment in LA (a girl can hope). When Lucky finds their head distiller of The Lucky Whiskey Distillery shot to death in one of their casks of aging whiskey, her grandfather is arrested. Lucky begins questioning people around town and accusing them of murdering the man. Readers are then introduced to what seems like the entire population of Gett with many of them having the last name of Gett or related in some capacity. The two whiskey families (Gett and Lucky) have been feuding for two hundred years and Lucky is happy to keep the tradition alive. The Gett family is wealthy and owns many businesses in town while the Lucky family is decidedly luckless. The bickering and rivalry continues throughout the story. Brodie Gett offers to help Charlotte, or Charms as he calls her, is clearing Jack’s name. Distrust, miscommunication, and misunderstanding persists between them all through A Shot of Murder. Other recurring themes are Charlotte’s Prius (mentioned approximately 30 times), Brodie’s Jeep, the STD commercial Charlotte starred in (big mistake), extraordinarily bad food at the Gett Diner, and Charlotte blamed for writing Getting Lucky on water tower as a teenager. The townspeople are portrayed as redneck Southerners, with bad tempers, shabby clothing, large trucks, big guns and bad grammar. Alligators seem to pop up whenever Charlotte is in trouble (which is frequently) and incapacitated. The mystery was hard to concentrate on with everything else that was going on along with the multiple attacks threatening Charlotte’s life. Identifying the guilty party is, unfortunately, a cinch along with the reason for the violence. There is one man who believes a woman’s place is on her knees (and, unfortunately, he does not mean praying) and is particularly violent towards Charlotte. Foul language is rampant in A Shot of Murder. Charlotte is an immature woman with her foot stomping when she does not get her way, petulant attitude, eye rolling, accusations, rudeness, yelling and foul mouth (plus she is clumsy). I found reading A Shot of Murder to be a frustrating experience (it gave me a migraine). I did like Rue Gett and her grandson, Brodie. It is plain to see that Jack loves Charlotte. They have a sweet relationship. I liked that the book was set in the sunshine state. A Shot of Murder could have benefited from a severe editing and a major rewrite. A Shot of Murder is a blithe cozy mystery with attacking alligators, wrecked whiskey, bobbing body parts, detestable diner food, and feuding families.… (mer)