Graduate student Raina Sun is trying to keep her head above water as the bills roll in when her dashing college adviser cons her out of several months of rent. But her quest to get her money back sets into a motion a streak of bad luck.
First, she finds the dead body of an ex-lover and becomes the prime suspect to his murder. The only man she ever loved reappears as the lead detective to the … detective to the case and wants to reignite their passion (or at least he’s sending out smoke signals).
Her life careens out of control as her grandma moves into Raina’s postage-stamp-sized apartment, dragging a red suitcase and trouble.
Raina summons her sleuthing skills to extract herself before things get dicey. There is no place for an amateur when it comes to murder.
For readers who like cozy mysteries, quirky characters, and a dash of humor.
Raina Sun Mystery series
Book 1: Raining Men and Corpses
Book 2: Gusty Lovers and Cadavers, is available for the special launch price of $0.99.
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Raine’s college adviser and ex-boyfriend owes her money, is murdered. Raine decides to look for the killer to try to get her money back. During her investigation she realizes her childhood boyfriend is the detective on the case. His name is Matthew. He runs into her every so many years and then leaves with her heart. Plus, Raine’s grandma shows up to move in with her and her best friend gives away her secret. Raina also has to deal with a coworker blackmailing her to go to a wedding, and one of the police officers is out to get her because she likes Matthew. The characters are interesting and the mystery is fun.
This is the first book of the Raina Sun Mysteries. Raina Sun is a struggling graduate student that lives on a very tight budget and eats a lot of ramen. Raina had a brief romance with her her handsome college adviser and he conned her out of two thousand dollars then broke up with her. And just when she sets out on a quest to make him give her money back, he ends up dead, forcing her into the dreaded position as the main murder suspect. It probably doesn’t help that the lead detective on the case just happens to be her ex-husband. I loved her grandmother, Po-Po who moves in with her for awhile and has a mischievous side helping her find the murderer with her best friend Eden. I like cozy mysteries to read before and after reading thrillers and historical fiction.
This review is for the audio book.
I read this book when it first came out and was delighted to see the author had released it on audio book too. So I just had to get it and see if it was as good as I remembered. I can safe say that yes it was and I really enjoyed the story the second time round, especially as the narrator did just a good job. I like the characters, especially Popo. I really like feisty old ladies that help/meddle in investigations, they get up to so much mischief and I hope she helps a lot more as the series develops. They book also held the romantic interest but it was the mystery that I really liked, there was plenty of suspects to keep you guessing and I didn’t remember who it was from when I read it. I hope the author has plans to bring the rest of the series to life as an audio book because I for one will be keeping my eye out for the book.
Raina is trying to keep her head above ground which is why she ends up telling a small white lie to a man that owns her money and up until a few weeks ago was also her boyfriend. That lie backfires on her when he turns up dead and the policeman leading the investigation in to her death is the only man she ever truly loved, her ex husband. In order for her to keep him finding out the lie she told she starts to investigate the death of her advisor herself. Adding to the complications her Grandma Popo has left home and is making plans to move near Raina and her best friend, so she can meddle in Raina’s love life or lack of.The only thing she likes more than that is looking into a mystery but with a killer on the lose does Raina really want her Grandmother looking in to that? It’s one thing for her and her best friend, who is a reporter but Raina so does not want to tell her mother that her Grandmother got hurt while trying to clear her name.
I have heard this narrator before and liked her interpretation of the characters then and think she does just as good with this book. She is the type of narrator that you know if she is reading the story then it is going to be good
This was an interesting story. I liked the grandmother and the references to Chinese culture.
Fun, easy read. Light and enjoyable.
Enjoyable.
I love that there’s an Asian-American female main character in a mystery story–you don’t see that very often.
Am a huge fan of the Raina Sun series. They make for hours of wonderful reading. Highly recommend
It was very hard for me to get started into this book. Even though I had already read book 2 in this series (and liked it very much) I couldn’t seem to connect with the characters. I almost quit reading several times. Then about half way through, Po Po entered the scene. I love Po Po. And I love her relationship with Raina. I finished the book and was glad I did. It is just slow in the beginning.
This was a fun cozy mystery. I enjoyed most of the characters. The romantic intrigue was also fun. I adored the grandmother.
The best friend annoyed me.
And I found some stuff with the MC a little confusing and unnecessary.
But all in a all, I enjoyed it and will read the second book in the series.
Enjoyed this cozy mystery. Rains Sun is a grad student with a tight budget in the small town of Gold Springs, California. When Raina attempts to get her advisor and ex-loved to pay back the money he loaned, or conned more like, things start to get messy. This encounter seems to set in motion a string of troubles for Raina, starting with the death of said advice/ex-lover. Join Raina, her grandma, and her friend Eden on an entertaining amateur sleuthing mission to find the real killer. Great mix of mystery, humor, and just a touch of romance. Recommend. Looking forward to more in this series.
[[ASIN:B00J7Y5W9Y Raining Men and Corpses: A Chinese Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 1)]]Hilarious. Raining Men and Corpses is Great read, a real hoot with solid characters. Many kudos to the author for all the dialogue and interactions of and between all of the characters. I truly enjoyed reading “Raining Men and Corpses “. Raina, the protagonist, Eden and her grandmother, “PoPo”, her sidekicks are a perfect team to solve a murder and turn a book into a great read. The author does an amazing job of building just the right complexity into the environment to support the action, twists and turns, and back and forth of character interactions. If book one was such a page turner then I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. (Note: I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Raining Men and Corpses as your next read. –Tex
Love these books. Keeps you captivated. Gives a good laugh from time to time and I could read again and again
This is a fascinating witty mystery with an on/off romance (with lots of history) and lots of suspense as Raina investigates in opposition to detectives, best friends and jealous girlfriends. It’s a clean read with great character development and very interesting sub plots. Kept me interested all the way through! I am looking forward to reading book #2!
Like theses kind of books, funny yet still have a story line
Great character’s liked how it was a page turner.
cozy-mystery, contemporary, romance, seniors, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, verbal-humor, situational-humor, chinese-customs
Read 2 times. Last read April 14, 2020.
The grad student with problems. A murder of a colleague. Surprise reappearance of ex husband who is lead detective on the case. A best friend/reporter who just steamrolls over everyone. Family trouble over an inheritance. A sassy Chinese grandmother who appears unannounced on her doorstep and moves right on in–to EVERYTHING.
That’s the basics, but the mystery/suspense are well done, and there is much fun and snarks throughout. I really enjoyed it! 2016
Now I have the audio and I REALLY love it thanks to narration by Liz Brand! 2020!
Fun, light reading.
Good sort to read before sleeping. Story moves. A little predictable but a couple of good twists
Very entertaining and unpredictable. Interesting characters.