A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery from Seven Time Amazon All Star Author – Dianne Harman.
Murder in Cottage #6 was voted by readers as one of the 50 Best Self-Published Books Worth Reading in 2014 and 2015 by Readfree.ly
Liz Lucas, a 52 year old widow, is beginning to think she’s been given a second chance at life by owning a successful spa located in a beautiful forest area on the coast north of San … coast north of San Francisco.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters, discovering that a guest staying in cottage #6 at the spa has been murdered.
In order to save the spa’s reputation, Liz, along with her two dogs, Brandy Boy and Winston, sets out to find the killer. The cast of characters includes a handyman, spa employees, the bumbling police chief, the owner of Gertie’s Diner, the dead woman’s husband (the mayor), his girlfriend, and a Tiffany glass collector. One of them probably committed the crime, but it’s up to Liz to quickly find the culprit.
Dianne is the author of three best-selling cozy mystery series – Cedar Bay, Liz Lucas, and High Desert. She is also the author of the suspenseful Coyote Series.
To find out more about Dianne and her books, visit her web site at www.DianneHarman.com
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Each one of Dianne Harman’s series I like better and better and this one was narrated beautifully by Erin DeWard starting with the description of 52 year old Liz Lucas who is a widow owning a spa in the forest in San Francisco. I could picture myself going to a spa. The buildup at the end of the story and of course the dogs I wanted more.
Nice, easy read with a good plot, interesting characters – including dogs! – and an intriguing mystery. Good start to a new series. Looking forward to seeing what trouble Liz Lucas gets in as she starts her new life after the death of her husband. Her spa north of San Francisco is wonderfully successful, but then a guest is murdered. Liz isn’t always as thoughtful or cautious as she should be and her friend Roger can be a little overbearing at times, but the story moves smoothly along with clues provided for you to try and solve the mystery with Liz and the conclusion is satisfying. This looks to be a good series to turn to when you want a break from heavy psychological thrillers but still want a good, solid story. I look forward to reading more of this series.
Dianne Harmon has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This book was no exception. She has wonderful talent. I love how she mixes food and dogs into her storys. These dogs are great. I would love to stay here just so the dog can bring me a drink.
This was a fun cozy mystery! Liz owns a spa in San Francisco. When a guest is found dead, she ends up trying to figure out who the killer is. I enjoyed the characters and they were fun to listen to in the audiobook. I especially liked the scene where everyone catches up to the killer!
I am working my way through her various west coast stories (mysterys), Quite a pleasure!!
Cute story. I really like that the protagonist is a middle aged woman and living life to the fullest.
I listened to the audiobook edition. A pretty good cozy mystery. A few of the voices the narrator used were irritating. Overall a fun book.
Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Mystery #1), my third read/listen from author Dianne Harman in the last 2 weeks, Well-written & enjoyable. a cute, clean cozy mystery, the first book in this series. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. I was impressed and enjoyed the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Erin deWard. I look forward to reading more in this series & from this author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
Murder In Cottage #6 is the first in Dianne Harmon’s Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series. I listened to the audio book and really enjoyed it!
I like that Liz is in her 50’s and has some life experience. She owns a spa that she and her husband bought before he passed away. There is a death at the beginning of the story (who happens to be the Mayor’s wife) and this takes Liz on the journey of trying to solve it. I really like the characters in the story. The spa staff are friends and family to Liz, as well as her best friend, and Rodger who she’s just starting to date. And also Brandy Boy who is a St Bernard & the spa dog and Winston (a gift from Rodger) comes along to keep her safe.
And then there are great recipes at the end of the book. What a treat!
Erin deWard narrated the book. Her tone was wonderful when she was reading naturally but when she was being emotional, she was a bit breathy for me. Otherwise she did a good job.
Thank you Dianne Harmon for this audio book. I look forward to listening to Liz’s next adventure. This is my honest opinion.
Audio Review
Dianne Harman and cozy mysteries are new to me but after listening to this book I will certainly be checking out previous books and other books in the Liz Lucas Mystery Series.
Liz Lucas is a likeable amateur sleuth who decides to take matters into her own hands when she comes across a dead body at the spa she runs.
This mystery has some great characters, even the creepy local chief of police is interesting and what can I say about her trusted companion Winston the guard dog apart from I want a Winston by my side. The story is interesting and narrator Erin DeWard did a great job bringing the story and the beautiful setting to life. Looking forward to more from this author
3 Star review Murder in Cottage # 6 (Liz Lucas Mystery #1) by Dianne Harman
AUDIO REVIEW:
Dianne Harman is a new author to me although I have listened to several books by the narrator Erin deWard before. This is a cozy mystery and although I had a few issues, overall I did enjoy the story and the performance was solid by Erin deWard.
This story focus’s on Liz Lucas, a 52 year old widow and the murder that occurs at the spa she owns. She is horrified when she learns that the dead woman was in fact murdered. There were some interesting secondary characters although I did find that some were a tad too over the top, particularly the creepy Red Cedar Chief of Police.
Some of the circumstance that Liz finds herself are so unbelievable and unrealistic that it detracted from the story line which is a shame. There is a fair bit of stilted dialogue in this story and at times it was a little distracting. I had a hard time warming up to Liz’s love interest Roger, can’t quite put my finger on why but I did like that he got her a dog, Winston for protection.
The story itself was interesting, if predictable and although I was a little frustrated at times, I am interested to listen to other books by this author.