A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.
Ice Pick in the Ivy (Lovely Lethal Gardens Book 9)
By Dale Mayer
I enjoyed this fun read that pulled me in immediately and kept me entertained and intrigued with interesting characters and a must-solve mystery that had me sleuthing along with gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery and her menagerie of pets that starts when her parrot Thaddeus digs up two rectangular metal pieces from the path along the creek behind her house. I love her undeniable chemistry with Corporal Mack Moreau and her relationship with her grandmother is heartwarming. “Ice Pick in the Ivy” is a great addition to the Lovely Lethal Gardens series by gifted author Dale Mayer and now I’m looking forward to book ten. I received an advance reader copy of this book from Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving my review.
Ice Pick in the Ivy by Dale Mayer
Lovely Lethal Gardens Series Book Nine
Doreen Montgomery is getting to be quite famous around her new town. The good people love her for closing cold cases. The criminals fear her. And surprisingly, there seems to be more criminals than anyone ever suspected living there.
And Mack, her handsome detective friend, he may get frustrated with her sticking her nose in police business and causing them much more paperwork…but, in reality, the police are happy to be closing these old cases.
Doreen’s learned that when some of these people tell her to butt out and mind her own business…it’s worth stopping to take a second look at them. They must be hiding something. Great cozy mysteries with wonderful characters…human and animal alike.
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Doreen and company are back! New story, new cold case for Doreen to solve, against Mac’s wishes of course. Love the laughs, the mystery and the relationship build up between Doreen and Mac. The animal side kicks just round the story out. If you love animals and mystery, this is the series for you. Can not wait for the next mystery.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The story revolves around Doreen who used to be a trophy wife, but now after a divorce needs to learn to get along on her own. She lives in the house that was given to her by her Nan along with a dog Mugs, cat Goliath and parakeet Thaddeus. Between Doreen and the animals, one of them finds an object and then out of curiosity Doreen starts to research the object and ends up involved in a cold case. What I like is the banter with Mack, her friend and a cop. Mack is always trying to keep her out of trouble but Doreen will not listen to reason. Being that she is not a cop people tend to tell her things that they won’t tell the police which gives her more information to solve the crime. Dale Mayer does a great job creating characters that you just have to love.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love the banter between Doreen and Mack and how we just might have finally seen a little spark between them that could mean being more than friends. Doreen has another mystery drop into her lap which not only involves a lot of people, hopefully a new friend to help Doreen with her mysteries and is a lot closer to home for Doreen and we get to see a lot more emotion and more insight into Doreen. I did get frustrated how she reacts to seeing Mack’s brother about her ex and hope it gets sorted in the next book and we see some more cooking and fun moments with Mack.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Doreen has been enjoying a few well-earned days of peace and quiet after solving her last mystery. But all good things must come to an end. Like when Thaddeus, her independently minded African gray parrot, digs up two rectangular metal pieces from the path along the creek. Then Doreen is sent down another rabbit hole of the past: connecting the dots from a long-defunct tool repair company and a young girl who disappeared at the same time.
Corporal Mack Moreau doesn’t think these events are connected. He doesn’t believe the spate of recent deaths is suspiciously tied in either. Mack wants Doreen to focus on the materials and the cost analysis to replace her backyard deck and to leave the detecting to him. But how can she, when she knows so much more is going on than Mack believes?
Heart attacks, unfair wills, and a missing ice pick are all related.
This is another great book from miss Mayer and I read it in one day.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’m avid Dale Mayer reader and I look forward to each new release in this cozy little mystery series. While all of her series are great. This one is awesome. The animal’s antics always give me a grin and I’m hoping soon one of these books I will see Doreen and Mack hook up. It’s edging closer and closer to them getting romantically involved. The suspense is killing me, but I do like the slow climb to their romance.
This is a continuation of Doreen’s quest to finding herself as well as stumbling over another cold case (or more). This is an old fashioned mystery with a hint of romance and so much more. It is a standalone book but so much more fun when read in the series. The team is unique — a former trophy wife, a massive cat, a bassett hound and a parrot. Odds and ends which lead to more questions. Bravo! I am looking forward to more books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book.
This is another wonderful addition to the Lovely Lethal Gardens series, it can be read as a standalone story, I do recommend reading them all though cause they are fast-paced, fun to read and the characters are incredibly likable, Doreen and her animals are incredibly sweet and quirky, Nan is a riot and Mack is a stubborn sweetheart.
Each story has a twisting mystery that Doreen finds a way to solve with the help of her friends and family while also dealing with a past relationship gone south and a flirtatious thing with Mack. Highly entertaining.
Yup I’m definitely a big fan of Doreen and her fur babies. I always dropped everything when this book arrived. Always excited what trouble/cold case Doreen running into this time, thanks to Thaddeus this time, he brought metal pieces that leads to missing persons, forgery and maybe murder???? Oh yeah you have to read this book.
I really love and enjoy this cold case, so many twists and surprises and love the relationship between Mack and Doreen growing and I hope will be blooming soon, I root for this couple from the first book, and getting a bit frustrating here, but still love them though.
If you love cozy mystery read, I think you’ll love this one too.
Book 9 and I can’t get enough. Murders, illegal activities, investigations and the ongoing non relationship between Doreen and Mack. I love these stories. I always look forward to Doreen’s exploits with her animals and Mack’s never ending eye rolling as he tries to keep her out of trouble. Her ban makes me laugh with the things she says. And yet she still manages to solve a cold case for the police department.
This series is hilarious! Lots of twists and turns, and never a dull moment! Doreen and her furry friends keep it light and funny, looking forward to seeing if Doreen and Mack move their relationship forward.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Doreen and her pets, Thaddeus, Mugs and Goliath, are quickly deep in another cold case or more. This mystery involves an ice pick, maker’s marks, coroner’s reports, a will, a secret drawer, righting more than one injustice and a recycling bin. There is, of course, a lot more but leave it to Doreen to connect the dots and make sense of what others have missed.
Corporal Mack Moreau would love to have Doreen play more with her cooking lessons and plans for her back yard but she is determined to discover the truth of each new finding. Mack is realizing she is looking out for others because she had been taken advantage of. He is no doubt correct. She needs to right wrongs and has been highly successful at accomplishing that goal.
The epilogue includes a note about what happens 2 days later. When Doreen goes over to Millicent’s (Corporal Moreau’s mom) home where she has been helping with the gardening. Millicent happily shares a story about something she has found and here we go again!
I really love the interaction of the characters in this series. The pets are so unique and definitely lovable, protective and forever doing the most interesting things. Doreen is equally unique, determined and very special.
Never a Dull Day at Doreen’s
Excited to be planning the replacement of her little deck with a much bigger, nicer one, Doreen and her furry friends Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog are working around the markers near the house for the deck project. Hold on. If you have been following the Lovely Lethal Gardens series in which this is the ninth book, you know that she has three friends. Where is her feathered friend Thaddeus the parrot? He’s elsewhere in the big yard, picking around by the creek. Worried about his safety, Doreen goes to him and sees that he has a little gift for her…a small piece of metal that looks like a label with print on it. Next thing she knows, Thaddeus has found a second one similar to but slightly larger than the first. According to Nan, they’re metal nameplates for some sort of tool, perhaps one from the old Kelowna Tool Company. To which tool were these affixed? And is there a story here? A puzzle to solve? You bet! But not quite what you’re thinking it is. Ready to be surprised?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Doreen is still recuperating from her last case as this book opens. But she’s already getting bored. As she begins to work on her garden she realizes Thaddeus isn’t around anywhere. He returns when she calls but he has something shiny that he doesn’t want to give up. This becomes a delightful interaction with Goliath and Thaddeus as she tries to get the object and Goliath wants to pounce.
When she finally gets the object away from him she pockets it and returns to her gardening but Thaddeus isn’t happy about that at all. He wants her to follow him. When she does, it’s not surprising that Mugs and Goliath follow. She admonished Thaddeus for going so far along the creek without her even as she finds another piece of metal that although smaller the same as the first one.
Not knowing what either meant she heads back home when Mugs jostles her on the bridge causing her to fall through the broken planks.
Now the scene that followed that was a favorite and I was laughing out loud, but that wasn’t my top favorite. You see, now Doreen is stuck not able to put weight on her ankle or it will take longer to heal. To say she’s not a good patient is putting it mildly. There are some perks to it all though. Nan and Mack have both been taking care of her and Mack is a hoot as always.
As soon as Doreen is given the okay, she’s of course up and running. When she discovers an icepick near where Thaddeus found the metal labels things take several interesting turns.
Nan is ever helpful, and an interesting confrontation in the grocery with Mack at her side adds even more suspense to this tale.
I laughed, sighed, and gobbled up this story with each and every clue discovered.
I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, from the awesome lead in I don’t think Mack is going to be very happy about it.
I thought I might be over this series by now…but definitely not, it just gets funnier.
The animals steal the show, the mystery was simmering in the background while we had more fun with Doreen, Mack and Nan.
Just when you think you know what’s going on, the author throws in a twist. Could there possibly be one than one mystery to solve here?
Great story, wonderful characters both 2 and 4 legged.
This is another absolutely delightful entry in this wonderful series. Doreen and company are back on the case as once again an unexplained mystery (or two!) comes calling. A gripping storyline, totally lovable characters, humor, a touch of romance, twists and drama are cleverly combined to create this entertaining whodunit. Always enjoyable and always leaves me looking forward to the next book. I am posting a sincere review of my own accord.
This book had me from the start. I love the characters and especially love the animals that are main characters in the book. I love how the characters interact and how the animals are included in the story line. The main character keeps getting caught up in cold cases and you laugh out loud at her antics and the antics of her animals. The story draws you in and has you guessing what is going to happen next. The story is easy to read yet keeps you engrossed. Love this series and always look forward to the next book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Doreen’s next big project is a large deck, but Thaddeus brings her a silver tag as the next clue. When her pets lead her to the ivy where Thaddeus found the tag, Doreen unearths an ice pick. Before long, her curiosity has her delving into another mystery. I received a free copy of this book from the author. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. My enjoyment of this series increases with each book. Unraveling the mystery by learning more about the people involved is only half the charm. Seeing Doreen develop from the former trophy wife to a strong and confident woman talented in gardening and solving mysteries is the other half. I like Doreen’s drive to ease people’s pain by solving cold cases. I also enjoy seeing her friendship evolve with Mac. The final resolution did surprise me a little, which is an added bonus. I love this book.
Such a ray of sunshine. A great cozy mystery (well 2 actually) that makes your mind work and takes you away from the strife in the world and provides comfort and laughter. Each book is a stand alone, but each book provides progression of Doreen as and individual and her and Macks “friendship”. I love a book where the main characters feel like family or friends. I read a lot of heavy thrillers, [psychological etc, and these books always restore my soul and make me think as I follow try and solve the mystery. Doreens animals provide, laughter, comfort and bodyguards:) I so would like Doreen to put on her big girl panties and meet with Macks brother the lawyer, then maybe she can open her eyes to the blossoming possibilities to her future. Thank you Dale for this arc, for the balm to my soul, for the laughter and the mystery. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.