Too many suspects can be as bad as no suspects at all… place she wants to be — the middle of a murder case.
But this is Barrow Bay, and things are never as they seem. Gerald Pratchett had a list of enemies a mile long, and each one had a very real reason for wanting to see him gone. When the police get overwhelmed with too many suspects, including herself, Lark realizes that it is up to her to bring his killer to justice.
Nothing can stop Lark from finding out the truth — and getting her man.
more
Lark is in the middle of a murder mystery once again. Poor Brecken, no matter what he says, Lark just won’t listen and stay safe. Lark’s inner monologue is hilarious. And her sarcastic humor isn’t bad either. I love a book that makes me laugh.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Load Up by Annabelle Hunter is laugh-out-loud funny. I adore the characters set in the eccentric town of Barrow Bay.
Will Lark stay out of the murder investigation? Can she keep her nose in her own business?
Lark Davis
What can I say about Lark? I absolutely adore her. She is a single mom giving it her best shot. Lark has the craziest inner voice, which sometimes slips out. Oh, and her friends aren’t afraid to call her out on her issues. In fact, the whole town calls Lark out on her issues, publicly. Lark is so nosey, she likes to think that she isn’t but honestly she is. I love it when she tries to lie to herself and her inner voice calls her out on the lie. Lark does admit to not having a filter. Seriously, she is someone that I would love to be friends with. And did I mention that she gets to ride horses for a living?
Brecken Wilson
Brecken is the super handsome cop, Captain America look-a-like who makes Lark melt. The town has been trying to get Brecken to take over as Police Chief when the current chief retires. It looks like they may have won him over. He likes Lark you can tell but he doesn’t do relationships. So, they are taking it slow, like turtle speed on the lawnmower slow. Maybe that is a bit faster than they are going. Anyway, unbeknown to Lark, Brecken and his whole family are moving to Barrow Bay. Wait till you see where they are moving.
The Mystery
It is a murder mystery. The grumpy HOA president is murdered in his home and everyone is a suspect including Lark who had a disagreement with him the morning of his death.
Side note: This crazy town has an HOA for each block because they want to, not because they live in a subdivision.
Anyway, grumpy Gerald is shot at his desk. Now people are trying to figure who did the deed. Well, people besides the police, you know, like Lark. There are lots of things going on, like raccoons, kids painting garbage cans and knocking them over, lots of people running for the HOA president’s position and horses destroying things.
Five Stars for Load Up by Annabelle Hunter
I love this town, the characters and the craziness. Annebelle Hunter is a fabulous writer, she combines humor, romance, murder, and small-town issues so well. All of it shows in both of her Barrow Bay mysteries. Lark and Jen are so awesome. Honestly, the things that come out of Lark’s mouth crack me up. So, in case you hadn’t guessed Load Up gets five stars. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Load Up by Annabelle Hunter.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site.
Until the next time,
~Jen
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
Load Up is the first cozy mystery book that I’ve read in the Lark Davis Mystery Series. When I saw that the other two were highly reviewed and contained lots of humor, I knew this would be a series that I’d love. I wasn’t wrong. Apparently this isn’t Lark’s first foray with the law…well, obviously…this IS a cozy mystery series after all. You can totally gather from this book what Lark was up to in the previous books. I won’t tell you because I don’t want to spoil the hilarity of it for you.
I am not a horse person, but my daughter took lessons for awhile. So, even if you’re not a horse person, don’t let that deter you from reading the books. This one, at least, doesn’t have a whole lot happening at the barn. Most of the plot is the amateur sleuthing, and that sleuthing is so funny. Granted, Lark is on the suspect list, but so is half of Barrow Bay. Not many people got along with Gerald. He wanted everything to be just so in the neighborhood, so anything that he thought went against the grain was something he’d be complaining about.
I had fun trying to figure out “who dunnit” and it wasn’t easy. The characters in Load Up are quirky and funny…even the side characters. The romance/not romance between Lark and her boyfriend/not boyfriend is cute and clean though there are a few innuendos, so it’s not quite squeaky clean.
All things considered, this book was fun, so if you like your cozy mystery books with lots of humor, you’ll really enjoy Load Up.
Another fast paced and funny cozy mystery to brighten your day. Barrow Bay, California is one of a kind. The community is full of retirees who know everything that is going on, or that people want to have go one or believe is going on. Then there is the town’s online blogger who seems to announce the “news” as quickly as it happens. Who needs a town crier?
Lark and the “handsome, new” detective on the county department have been trying to figure out how to date, when she isn’t being a murder suspect and he isn’t unavailable due to work.
He has something to tell her but it isn’t “phone news.” In fact it is multiple cups of coffee type news. As you can guess, the news is delivered without the coffee and unscheduled.
Lark truly isn’t a death magnet. She doesn’t go out of her way to stir up trouble or attract attention.
There is just no way she can avoid being in the middle of things!
Especially when the leader of the local home owners association seems to have it in for her and always needs to make her aware of his dissatisfaction in the wee hours of the morning.
So when one morning it is this same leader drawing attention- by being discovered dead – and there is no possible way Lark could have done it… well, even that doesn’t save her from getting caught up in the middle of this investigation.
Fun, funny, and super fast paced, this is a series not to be missed.
While there are references to events happening in previous books, you will enjoy this as a stand alone if you must. I can’t wait to see where this series may take us!
This is an interesting mystery with fabulous characters. I love Lark and I love horses. This book is well-written with plenty of twists to keep me guessing to the end. I am looking forward to the next book by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Horse trainer Lark Davis finds herself reneging on a promise to her grandmother when she finds herself once again playing amateur sleuth. How else is she going to get herself off the hook when the Homeowners Associate President is found dead shortly after they have a very public fight?! Gerald Pratchett was not a well-liked individual, so Lark has a long list of suspects that could have done the dead. But with so many suspects and the police overwhelmed, will they be able to find the real criminal?
With humor and lots of style, the author creates an entertaining cozy mystery filled with mystery, suspense, crazy characters, and tons of madcap misadventures all rolled into a perfect murder mystery.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lark runs a hoarse training business, is a single mom and not, not dating Bracken, a cop. She keeps getting grief from her neighbour Gerald about her breaking the home owners association rules, that is until he is found shot to death. She just can’t stay out of it.
This is a hilarious cozy romantic mystery, with exceptional writing and truly amazing characters. The characters are well developed with interesting and flawed personalities. The dialogue and narrative is witty, humorous and addictive. Lark’s inner dialogue is so funny and what comes out of her mouth is usually a surprise, even to her. The mystery is great, full of suspense and danger as the author takes the characters through twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. The small town gossip and the news blogging keeps you chuckling. The romance is great, full of moments that make you smile and sigh. Annabelle Hunter is fast becoming one of my favourite authors with books such as this one, filled with romance, humour, fun, small town gossip mill, suspense, mystery and simply great writing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lark is unclear about her relationship with Brecken. He wants to have a nebulous “talk.” After a heated confrontation with the president of the Homeowners’ Association, Lark finds out he was murdered and she doesn’t have an alibi. Plus, she proclaims she has an “overdeveloped sarcasm and an underdeveloped filter” which land her further into trouble. She needs to find the truth, but the suspect list grows ever longer. Load Up is an enjoyable mystery with fun twists and quirky characters. I recommend the entire series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book, the main character Larklyn ‘Lark’ is a great character, highly amusing with laugh out loud moments throughout the book with her antics
Lark tries to solve a murder through the gossip of the town, and some snooping around, even though her love interest/boyfriend Brecken has specifically banned her from getting involved, because last time she got involved she was kidnapped at gun point. As you can imagine she ignores his advice, and that’s when the adventure begins.
The book is great with great characters, right until the very end. This is why I have given it a 4 star rating as I thought the ending was lacking any substance at all, and given how good the book was up until this point I was a little bit disappointed
Although I would still recommend this book because on the whole it is a great book.