Melissa Eller looks for ways to save people money. She never wanted to find a dead body… charge of the case is someone Lissa made fun of in high school—because he made fun of her—and he holds more leverage than just the threat of getting her sent to detention. Her boys don’t need a mom in prison!
She should never have moved back home.
Who said small towns were safer?
Frugal Lissa Finds a Body is the first title in the new cozy Frugal Lissa Mysteries series from USA TODAY bestselling author Ritter Ames.
BONUS: Along with solving the crime, Lissa finds ways to save her blog subscribers money and shares those methods with readers. Also included are terrific family-friendly recipes.
This is a NEW cozy mystery series:
Book 1: Frugal Lissa Finds a Body
Book 2: Frugal Lissa Digs Up a Body (preorder soon)
Book 3: Frugal Lissa Hunts for a Body (coming soon)
And more to follow!
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A classic cozy with characters you feel like you already know and love!
Frugal Lissa Finds A Body and I find a new series to love. Lissa is married and raising two boys alone while her husband is working overseas. She needs to make her money stretch. She blogs her tips and makes a little money from it. I love that Lissa is a real mom, flawed but loving. I love how her boys are in the story. They don’t just get mentioned at the beginning then disappear only to return at the end. She takes care of them. They have a lab who is called Honey. Delightfully, she is a true member of the family. Dad is away but yet still in the story. Her best friend is Abby. Reading this book, to me, was like being a part of Lissa’s life. I really enjoyed that. I loved the feeling I had while reading. I was truly welcomed into Lissa’s life. The finding of the body doesn’t happen on the first page. The book first gets us comfortable with the family and neighborhood. So when the body is found we are just as shocked as the characters. I think that’s a hard thing to accomplish. After all most cozy mysteries involve a body. We are expecting it. Yet we are surprised when it happens. This was when I got the delicious chill that you get when an author has written a scene flawlessly.
I never go into the book farther than this. If I did you would have no need to read it. I had an entertaining time reading this book. If it weren’t for a family emergency, I probably would have read it in one day. There are money saving tips in the story. Recipes are at the end. Now go read the book.
Another new cozy series from Ritter Ames, destined to become a favourite of mine and I hope of yours, too. I literally fell asleep reading this book, that’s how good it is. And it is good, that’s actually a positive, I just wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next until I just finally couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. And still I devoured this read in only a couple of days, despite the length in number of chapters plus recipes and money-saving tips. (I’m definitely going to try the homemade dressing.) If I had one criticism of the story, it took a little while to get to the titular crime but this is the first in a new series so there was a lot of set-up needed. And the solution to the mystery seemed to come on stronger at the end with not as much build-up investigating as I might have liked. (I guess that’s actually two criticisms, oops.) But still a very enjoyable read and nice to pay a visit to the relatives of Kate and Keith from Hazelton, VT. (I don’t know if the author intended this but, at least in my mind, Lissa is Keith’s sister.)
Melissa Eller, who prefers to be called Lissa, writes a blog and helps people with tips on how to save money. Her husband, Derek, is a photojournalist and is frequently away on assignment. This leaves Lissa to deal with the day-to-day chores, which includes raising her two young boys, Mac and Jamey, as well as the family dog, Honey. On a rare “Girls Night Out” with her friend, Abby Newlin, Lissa is approached by a man named J.C. Carlisle, who says he is interested in buying her home. She insists that it is not for sale, but he tells her it is on some list and he is intent on buying it
The next day, Lissa gets a call from her elderly neighbor, Mrs. G., saying she heard a noise in her garage and would like Lissa to check it out to see if the neighbor’s cat is responsible. Taking her Golden Lab, Honey, with her, Lissa goes to investigate the noise in her neighbor’s garage. The “crash” was not caused by a cat, but she did find J.C. Carlisle, with a tent pole sticking out of his body.
Who killed Carlisle? Why was he killed? Why was Carlisle in Mrs. G’s garage? What is the list he referred to? Why is Lissa’s house on the list? Can Lissa prove her innocence and find the real killer?
Ritter Ames has a great start to a new series with wonderful characters and realistic situations. She does a great job of building a foundation for the series and keeps the reader guessing clear to the end.
I purchased the book the day it released…then got sidetracked. But hey, now it’s the perfect time for me to read. It’s over 100 degrees out and this book is a breath of fresh air. Well, it’s new and fresh, how about that? A brand new series. Love everything about Lissa and Honey? Steals the scenes. And as Ritter Ames first series, it comes with terrific ideas. This is a nice family, two boys, the perfect number if you ask me. Highly recommended.
This is a wonderful cozy mystery! First in a series, and very likeable characters! There are great frugal tips for your budget within the series, as well tips and recipes at the end! Great way to start off a new series! Can’t wait for more in this series!!
Not only did I get a great story, Frugal Lissa Finds a Body offers recipes, cost-cutting tips and a five-alarm puppy dog! Melissa Eller – Lissa to everyone who knows her, REALLY knows her – has a blog and online business to help support her family while her husband, Dek, travels the world as a photo journalist. She has two adorable little munchkins and a dog named Honey that keeps her busier than all get out. Only Lissa has a penchant for finding trouble AND an attitude to go with it so when she steps in to help a neighbor…she finds a dead body. A dead body who also happens to be the guy she argued with the night before she found him in her neighbor’s garage.
Simple explanation for what the author has written but I loved Lissa’s attitude and mouth. Her snark made me laugh. And the kids, OMG, two little boys who are hilarious and smart and always trying to get away with anything they can. Honey the dog? She is a goof but the best-est protection and alarm system a family could have. Lissa has it well in hand, even if she does tend to run off at the mouth sometimes, especially with the police detective that she has known since they were both young and in school.
Lots going on, fun read, great family (even the absent but working father, Dek), and a mystery. I read it in one sitting because I needed to know what was going on and how it would end. And the ending is priceless!
I seldom read the acknowledgements page because they usually are personal thanks to people I don’t know, but I had to stop and read this when when I caught the words “canine sidekick Honey” on the first line. It was such an enchanting description of the model for the dog in the story that I immediately knew I was going to love the book. And I did. This is the first in a new series, featuring Lissa, wife and mother of two active (definitely active) young boys, trying to augment their family income with her blog full of frugal ideas to manage a budget on a limited income. But when she and her dog accidentally stumble across a body in her neighbor’s garage, she is thankful that her friend, Abby, is there to help her with legal advice. Can she clear her own name of this crime before the local police detective…a former classmate that she saddled with a hateful nickname…before she finds herself in jail or worse! The conversations between Lissa and Abby flowed and felt authentic, and I really enjoyed the “mother” tactics she employed with her two sons. The clues kept the reader guessing and maybe there was a hint to the identity, but still fun to get to the end and find out all the twists and turns in the mystery. I can’t wait for the next book in this series. Bonus to the story were the extra money-saving hints throughout the book and at the end. I even found myself looking up scented vinegar and dryer balls while reading. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book and all opinions are strictly my own.
A cozy mystery worth every cent! I loved the cost saving tips given in this book! The rust removal tip in itself was note worthy! Spending time with Lissa’s family and friends was a warm and inviting experience. I was entertained from the first page to the very end. I highly recommend this book and new series!
This book was a good solid read. I’d totally try another future book by this author!
You can check out my booktube video review at https://youtu.be/twZDxArW2kE
or read my review on my blog at https://lisasiefert.com/book-review-frugal-lissa-finds-a-body-by-ritter-ames/
Loved it! Loved the plot! Loved the characters! Ready for more! It seems appropriate the Frugal Lissa Finds a Body is my 100th cozy mystery for 2019.
Ritter Ames has done it again. She create mysteries that are exciting, but reading them is like spending time with friends. As a major fan of her Organized Mystery series, I had high hopes for the new series, Frugal Lissa Mysteries. Ms. Ames and Lissa met every expectation.
1) The characters were fun and realistic to be around, not to mention just a bit snarky.
2) The plot was excellent, and reasonable, and it ran the gamut from heartwarming friend time to page turning intensity
3) Lissa offered budget friendly ideas that I can really use. Boy, can I use them!
4) The boys were generally well-behaved but were into enough mischief to make them believable, were so precious, and brought the kind of humor that only kids can bring.
5) Honey, the yellow lab who prefers to be called blond since they have more fun, was adorably realistic. Fans of any dog will surely relate.
Note: Maybe that expectation came from following Ms. Ames on Facebook rather than the Organized Mysteries. The real life Honey would be quite proud of Mommy’s portrayal of her, but then she helped in the writing. Keeping Mommy company is lots of help and inspiration, isn’t it.