A little white lie never hurt anyone.
Especially when it’s in the name of love.
Taking a crash course in tennis to conceal the fact you lied about being a pro to the person you were trying to impress in the name of love might be taking things too far.But Serena Perry has a track record of taking things too far.Just ask the local police.And with a history like hers, when a tennis player is … police.
And with a history like hers, when a tennis player is murdered, Serena is tipped to win the not-so-coveted title of prime suspect.
Has the killer aced the crime?
Serena needs to figure out the murderer’s game plan – and fast – or she could be serving time rather than tennis balls.
If you love uplifting cozy mysteries, quirky cats, and snarky humour, you’ll love this series. Pick up this page-turning cozy cafe mystery today!
Includes recipe for coffee and walnut cake! more
This was my first book by this author and I really like it, it was fun and easy to read. The author has a good imagination and is talented as a writer. I will be reading more of her books!!
Murder at Match Point earns 5/5 Tennis Lessons…Engaging Fun!
It’s an ace! I am a fan of Ruby Loren’s work, so I was eager to read the new Courtside Café mystery series written under the pen name of Myrtle Morse. Our heroine, Serena Perry, is realistically flawed as she embellishes her skill and credentials as a professional tennis player to impress her boyfriend. In his excitement he signs up the two of them for a mixed-doubles championship making it imperative she backs-up her white lie with a crash course in serve and volley. Lessons from the handsome Oliver Hewitt is a nice perk…until a murder occurs and Serena is seeded number one suspect! Excellent well-plotted drama, clever, steady-paced, and unique in its tennis theme. Loren/Morse’s style of writing is rich with description to paint clear pictures of the setting and characters, witty banter, and a hint of romance? A fun read I highly recommend which includes a recipe for Coffee and Walnut Cake and a delightful Bonus Epilogue.
Who says a white lie never hurts anyone?? For Serena Perry, what starts out as a little white lie to impress her new possible love interest, quickly spirals into a 1 week crash crush in tennis and becoming a murder suspect when another player is found murdered on the court. Entertaining read; looking forward to more from the Courtside Cafe.
Murder at Match Point is the first book in a new series, Courtside Café, by Myrtle Morse/Ruby Loren. It is as well, the first book I have read by this author. I am delighted to say that I enjoyed the author’s quick wit along with her story telling abilities. I was engaged throughout this story.
In this story Serena Perry has told a little white lie to her new boyfriend – letting him think she can play tennis. So the story begins with Serena in the throws of a tennis lesson. I had a great chuckle right off the bat getting to know Serena and knew right then and there I would love her character, and hopefully the story – as demonstrated by this brief excerpt from the story:
“Racket up. Chopper grip. Step and block. Simple! I’ve taught two-year-old’s who picked this up faster.”
I tried not to visibly sulk. Wasn’t the person you were paying to help you get better at a sport supposed to be nice to you whilst they did it? This felt more like a hazing ritual for an illegal dodgeball club.
Also another point that enhanced the likability of Serena – she was human. She was continually making faux pas or speaking before thinking and this led to some sticky situations. Additionally, the police detective in charge of the investigation certainly seemed to think Serena was the killer. She certainly had a bone to pick with Serena. That led to some further chuckles and eye rolling on my part 🙂
The mystery of “whodunit” with respect to the murder that occurred was well laid out and while the pool of suspects was not too large, it still left sufficient intrigue until the killer was exposed. The ancillary characters received enough depth to find them interesting as well. Can’t wait to see how Oliver and Serena’s relationship evolves as the series continues – will they just remain friends?
I can hardly wait to read the second book in the series, Volley of Lies.
*I would like to thank the author for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
Murder at Match Point: Cozy Mystery (Courtside Cafe Cozy Mysteries Book 1), my twenty-ninth cozy mystery read from author Ruby Loren and the first writing as Myrtle Morse (obviously I enjoy her writing). I can’t help but be amazed by the sheer volume of good writing she can produce with multiple settings & characters. I’ll read more by her in the future and look forward to her next work. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
I received a review copy from the author at my request and this is my honest opinion. This is a delightful book. It is the typical cozy with the violence occurring off-screen, no profanity (or maybe only a little!), no sex scenes, and our trusty amateur sleuth. There’s not a lot of action in terms of the shoot ’em up, rough ’em up variety, but plenty of investigations and amateur interrogations. Serena is a very interesting character and I enjoyed reading about her, but Oliver has to be my favorite of the entire group. Even though he seems to have a hair-trigger temper, nothing appears to be able to get him down. He has the best attitude. He is the type person we all need in our lives; someone who can quickly bounce back from the curve balls life throws and always keeps a positive attitude. I will be looking for other books in the series mainly so I can get another dose of Oliver. He is really good for whatever ails me, especially in this turbulent time we are all dealing with right now. Check out Murder at Match Point and see if you don’t agree with me.
Ms. Morse Really hit it out of the park with her new book Murder at Match Point, it’s the first book in her new series, Courtside Cafe Cozy Mysteries. I’ve read other books by her under other pen names, but I have to say this new series might just be my new favorite! The characters are fun, some are quirky, snarky and some are way over the top but in a hilarious way. There is even a cool sneaky fun cat running around. And best of all I did not even see the twist coming at the very end. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Murder at Match Point is a great beginning of a new series. Serena is one of my new favorite characters. This book has some very interesting characters. There are plenty of suspects and lots of possible motives. Who murdered Roger and why? Along the way to solving this, Serena gets an amazing opportunity to open a cafe at the tennis club. I predict there will be more enjoyable murders to come. I am eagerly awaiting Serena’s next adventure.
Loved Serena’s character.
What extremes would you go to.. Serena wants to impress her new beau, so she tells him she was a junior tennis player haha.
Taking a week long course of tennis lessons should make her at least close to capable..right?
Throw in a murder, and a handsome tennis coach, and let the games begin.
Serena needs to solve the murder before she ends in being charged with the crime.
A fun start to a new series!
Sampras, Serena, and Oliver were great!
One of my favorite authors has a new book and this cozy is soooo good! Starting with Serena has history with the police detective and this is not a good thing. Then the tiny lie to her new boyfriend kind of makes her look bad. Oh, the cat and the tennis balls now there is a real problem. This was a cute one with witty dialogue and fun characters. I am looking forward to reading this series. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Serena was trying to impress her new boyfriend when she told him she was a very good tennis player, unfortunately he asked her to partner him in a tournament, so she had better learn how to play, quickly!
This is the opening premise of this enjoyable cosy mystery, we then learn that she is an unemployed baker, and that her boyfriend actually plays at the club where she chose to learn, awkward.
Needless to say, there is a murder at the club and Serena gets pulled into the investigation, and also finds that the club’s old clubhouse needs saving and would make a perfect cafe for her to run. She is aided and abetted by her coach Oliver, who inevitably is very attractive.
This author (under her other pen name of Ruby Loren) always manages to create great characters and also generates a superb sense of place for the locations where her books are set, in this case a very believable tennis club, and it’s members, she also manages to create excellent mysteries for her characters to solve.
This book once again displays all these characteristics and is a very enjoyable start to the series, I am waiting, rather impatiently for the next in the series.
I am fortunate enough to receive advance of this author’s books, but this honest review has been written from my own opinion.
This was a delightfully entertaining mystery with hilarious characters. Serena is wonderfully bumbling, Oliver is quite the tennis coach, but the show stealer? Sampras the ginger feline tennis ball bandit! I loved reading this mystery!
This was a great start to this new series. Serena had met a new guy and to make it seem that they more in common she told him that she used to be a junior champion tennis player, as tennis was of great interest to him. He decided to enter them into a tennis doubles competition. Unfortunately, Serena knew absolutely nothing about tennis, never-mind being a good player. She booked and undertook an intense one week course with the tennis coach at a local tennis club. Unbeknown to her, that was the club to which her new guy belonged. The coach set up a doubles game between herself, her guy and another couple. Unfortunately, when they got to the court they found a dead body – the male half of their opposing doubles game. The police are looking at everyone – including Serena – even though she had only met the guy once. She did, however, have a sort of history with the police detective heading the case. The policewoman was convinced that Serena was a criminal.
A cute, fun book and brilliant start. When Serena (FMC) lets on that shes great at playing tennis (a lie) to appear that she has the same interests as her date. After posting a drunk online profile after losing her job. Its end up with her entering a tennis tournament and her being right in the middle of a murder inquiry. Great characters with plenty of humour. Just a damn good read
Serena and Oliver are fun, likeable characters add Sampras, the quirky cat who steals tennis balls . Toss in a murder plus a few obvious suspects and the fun begins. Cannot wait to read more of this series. I was given a free ARC by the author. My review is freely and honestly given
Love, lies and murder. Serena is an out of work baker when she meets a new love interest. Trying to impress him she embellishes her tennis prowess and then is forced to crash course in how to play the game. Enter Oliver the tennis pro. Great start to a fun new series. I can’t wait to see how the friendship between Serena and Oliver develops in future books. By the way, I’m in love with Sampras the cat! The bonus epilogue left me laughing.
A great plot and wonderful characters will keep you chuckling through this cozy murder mystery. Sampras, definitely steals the show whenever he puts in an appearance.
This is a good introduction to a new series.
The story is a gentle, and relaxing, read… perfect for these troubled times.
The main character, Serena, is likeable and well rounded, although she seemingly can’t stay out of trouble, a trait she has in common with other heroines in the author’s books.
The plot, with murder at the heart of it, rolls along steadily, and is backed up by the sub plot of Serena opening her own cafe.
The setting in a tennis club is well described, and believable, the characters are quirky, and the dialogue is snappy.
I look forward to book 2.
Ruby Loren is such a amazing author. I love reading all her books. And this one
is so good. Couldn’t put it down…I highly recommend reading it…
Loved it…
The first book in a very new and promising series. Serena Perry has a new and promising boyfriend who loves his tennis game. Well, how do you keep a new beau interested? Why you tell him you are good at tennis, even if you’ve never played. What Serena didn’t count on was he signed them up for a doubles tournament! Now the only alternative is to find a tennis coach who can get her to the level she needs so she can play a decent game. At a local club, she finds a coach who although he is serious about tennis, still walks to his own drummer. He proves however, to have great insight and takes Serena on. When there is a murder of one of the irrascible members, Serena finds she has to investigate on her own with the help of her coach, before she ends up in jail for the murder, especially since the police chief has had it in for her since High School even though she is obviously innocent. Also, we find there is a seocondary theme the coach has for Serena in opening the old clubhouse as a cafe. Is she interested in getting into something else at the club? Or will she walk away and not want to get involved in a huge endeavor. This book keeps you turning pages without putting it down! The dialog is great between the sarcastic Serena and the coach who can take it and give it back. This is a great new series and I look foward to more! I received and ARC from the author but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own!