Jennifer Oberth, Mystery Author

 Greetings, everybody! I'm not a prolific blogger, as you can clearly see if you scroll down a post and look at the date (you don't have to do that, seriously, it's embarrassing), but I do tweet and am fairly active on Goodreads. I'll just leave some links here in case you want to connect with me. And I wouldn't be a writer worth her salt if I didn't ask for you to leave reviews of my books, so please leave reviews of my books! I hope you've enjoyed my stories or will enjoy my stories (or both)! Twitter Goodreads Facebook Smashwords Amazon

Queen's Quest has been released! #5 in the Ella Westin mysteries. Check it out at Smashwords , Amazon , Apple and many other places. Ella Westin is tasked with investigating a haunted house – though she doesn’t believe in such things. A clue leads her straight into the heart of a plot to rob the Port Bass Museum. Can she catch the thieves or will she become one of them? This is the fifth story in the Ella Westin Mysteries and is 30,644 words - only 99 cents!!!! Order your copy today!

Release Date: December 27, 2015 Pre-order now: Barnes & Noble             iTunes (Available everywhere December 27, 2015)

I've taken advantage of the Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale, and I've put two stories on sale. Married To Murder , the Ella Westin series starter, is FREE through July 31, 2015. Just enter the code "SW100" at checkout. ***** If you like Married To Murder , be sure to continue reading with  Honeymoon Homicide   99 ¢ . Ella is awakened in the middle of the night by her new husband. But it's not what you think – he wants her to solve a murder. At 4 a.m. Can she do it? Or will she add another homicide to her honeymoon? This is the second story in the Ella Westin Mysteries. 8,383 words. ***** Need more Ella? Try Toxic Train   99 ¢ ! When a fellow train passenger is murdered right in front of her eyes, newlywed Ella Westin thinks it's great that all the suspects are trapped with her. But when she can't check out backgrounds or confirm motives - or lack of - she soon finds herself in over her head.  Then an unthi...

"In the middle of the bitterly cold winter of 1895 in Toronto, the naked body of a young servant girl has recently been discovered in a deserted laneway. Detective William Murdoch must determine the reason why she died under such miserable circumstances. To catch his criminal, Murdoch crosses the class lines of a society that still clings to a British hierarchical system, and behind the chenille curtains of the wealthy, he uncovers personalities capable of committing ugly crimes." -Book Description My Review : I fell in love with the Murdoch Mysteries TV show and saw it was based on novels. So I decided to read the first novel and checked out reviews on Goodreads to see how the books were. The show is a bit graphic in the autopsy room and I wondered if the books were gory. What people said was, 'if you like the TV show, you'll love the books'. Those people could not be more wrong. I don't get it. The show has a fine sense of humor. Murdoch is kno...

   About the book :   " It's Christmastime in Hillside, but there's a lack of holiday spirit for flower shop owner Quincy McKay. She's in charge of the town festival and her shop's open house, but her Santa's a no-show and her flower cooler is on the fritz. To make matters worse, she's learned her ex-husband isn't as ex as she'd thought. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, her boyfriend, hot cop Alex Cooper announces his parents are coming to town. Alex Cooper is the perfect man in Quincy's book, but unfortunately his mother thinks so too. And no woman is perfect enough for her perfect son, but especially not the weird flower shop girl who works too much, can't cook and who she catches kissing another man in the department store. And what's this she hears about Quincy being married? Eleanor Cooper must help her son dodge a bullet (and not the kind from his job) during the romantic holiday season to preve...

  "On a snowy night at Monkswell Manor, newlyweds Mollie and Giles welcome a group of strangers to their guest house, only to discover news of a murderer in their midst! A police investigation reveals the sordid details of each guest's mysterious past, but not soon enough to stop the killer from striking again. Agatha Christie's masterful whodunit weaves an intricate plot filled with nerve-rattling suspense, all leading up to the ultimate final twist!" -From the website Mom took me to see Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap at the  Footlights Theater last Saturday. We handed over our tickets and walked into the  main theater. I followed Mom. She walked down the steps…past seats…past half the rows…past all of the rows. We sat in the first row! When I stretched my leg out, my foot was on the level stage. During the performance, sometimes the actors would walk toward us and I actually hunched back a couple of times because they were so close – it was great! ...

Antiques Slay Ride (A Trash 'n' Treasure Mystery #7.5) by Barbara Allan About the book : "Ho Ho Homicide. The Christmas rush is on as Brandy Borne and her quaintly quirky mother, Vivian, sniff out plum collectibles for resale, only to find the owner of a Santa's workshop worth of treasures has received some deadly tidings. It's beginning to look a lot like murder...but who wanted the deceased closed for the holidays-permanently? Maybe a rival antiques dealer, a Grinch who collects Christmas? Or the victim's suspiciously frosty stepchildren? Brandy and Vivian check their list of who's been naughty or nice, but it may take a Christmas miracle-and some help from Sushi, their elfin shih tzu-to tie a bow around the season's most wanted killer!" 19,500 Words My Review : At first, I was thrown by the style of writing. There are many so-called rules of writing and the good authors break them successfully. This author (Barbara Allen is really ...

Foodies Read 2015 Vicki from  I'd Rather Be At the Beach  is hosting this cool challenge. Vicki defined a "food book" as one centered around food and/or drinks. This can be any genre, even non-fiction. The challenge runs from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. You don't need a pre-selected list of books. It's okay to cross over with other challenges. Any book format is allowed (print, audio, ebook) Levels : Short Order Cook: 1 to 3 books Pastry Chef: 4 to 8 books Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books Chef de Cuisine: 14 to 18 books Cordon-Bleu Chef: More than 19 books I'm going for Short Order Cook. As a cozy mystery reader, I'm sure I'll be surprised at reading my fair share of food-related books this coming year!

About the book: "Darcy Sweet would like to think that she is just an ordinary woman, happy in her life running the Sweet Read bookstore. But she isn't ordinary. She has a connection to the other side that seems to draw her into mysterious situations more often than not. Add to the mix the antics of a rather naughty, slightly psychic cat and the eccentric ghost of her great-aunt Millie, and you have a recipe for anything but the ordinary. When Darcy's neighbor is murdered she is drawn into the mystery against her will when she finds the body. She tries to leave the investigation to the police, one of which is her sister, but an overheard conversation and a small nudge from the other side has her investigating the murder. The stakes are raised when the murderer strikes again. Who was killing the people in her life? Things are complicated even more by her building attraction to her sister's new cop partner, who makes it clear he does not appreciate Darcy's i...

Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews Blog is hosting this challenge for the fifth year in a row! You can click here to find out more about the challenge and sign up if you want to! There are four levels to choose from. Level 1 - Snoop - Read at least 6 books Level 2 - Investigator - Read 7-12 books Level 3 - Super Sleuth - Read 13 or more books Level 4 - Sleuth Extraordinaire - Read 20 or more This year I'm going for Level 1, Snoop. I've downloaded so many cozies on my Nook, I can't even begin to choose which six right now. That'll be a fun task! You can also join or keep abreast of people's progress on Goodreads . So how about you? Signing up? If so, what level?

     About the book : " Myra Bailey is living the dream she’s had for years—opening her coffee shop bakery, Dessert First, and leaving her good for nothing husband in the dust. She couldn’t be happier to finally be on her own and proving her success one scone at a time." My Review :      I liked the short story despite some problems it had. The punctuation was bad throughout and there was something I couldn't quite put my finger on...I liked the characters but the story read too...too easy, maybe. We're taken from point A to B to C and then it ended with no letdown. One of the reasons I adore cozies is because there's always a bit of a decompression between the characters, after the killer is revealed and life returns to normal. We don't get that from this story. It just ends. Death by Chocolate

I'm saddened to hear that James Garner has passed away. I've adored this man for many, many, many years! He's on TV every time I turn it on! Each weekday, Maverick is on at 10am (CST) and Rockford Files is on at 11am (CST) and there are several Maverick episodes on Saturday and Rockford Files again on Sunday. There's no chance of James Garner withdrawl! I named my fictional village in the Masked Rider series 'Maverick Flatts' in honor of James Garner. I was going to use 'Rockford' but there's already a Rockford, Illinois and I didn't want to use a real place. (I also fell in love with Jack Kelly because of Maverick so I get to include him in my little tribute, too.) I love everything I've read about James Garner. He's done some great interviews. He will be missed but he's left us hours - days - of entertainment, that future generations can also enjoy. It's past time I bump up his autobiography to the top of my ...

       About the book : " The Tides Inn , a one-of-a-kind British pub, is built on the end of a small peninsula jutting out from the Yorkshire mainland. At low tide the water is below the top of the walkway and people can freely enter or exit. But when the tide comes in, access goes out, and everyone present is a captive audience. Very few customers complain. The drinks never stop flowing. However, on this night, while the walkway is inaccessible, one of the eight imbibers is murdered. The seven survivors all have motives. Apparently there is absolutely no opportunity for any of the seven to do it.         Gruff Police Sergeant Reggie Duke and attractive Constable Dawn Tompkins clash as they jointly attempt to provide the solution to this baffling case.        A charming, classical, old-fashioned "who-done-it" that will delight all Agatha Christy. enthusiasts." My Review : ...

Great news! I now work as an editor through Indie Books Gone Wild. It’s an exciting position for me and I can’t wait to assist Indie authors in the last stages of prepping their manuscripts for publication. Indie Books Gone Wild is a great place and serves all of your editing needs. If you follow the links to Jo Michaels’ blog , you can find wonderful articles about grammar, editing, writing tips and how-tos . If you’re in need of an editor, check us out here . We also offer beta-reading services and proofreading services . If you’re not sure what kind of editor you need, check out this article . IBGW even provides formatting for your print book. ***** Mission Statement : “Our mission here at IBGW is to remove the stigma currently surrounding Indie published books.”               I love this. It’s simple, achievable and profound. ***** IBGW isn’t just for authors. We run many giveaways an...

Beginning Detective Tips , A Floyd Sisters Mystery Series: Floyd Sisters Mystery, Book 1 by Sinda Cheri Floyd    About the book: “The Floyd sisters are Lynda, age 13, Cheri, age 11 and Sinda, age 8. They are amateur detectives who live with their mother. The girls seem to find themselves in sometimes scary situations which call for them to become sleuths. Lynda tries to be the responsible one while Cheri and Sinda bicker a bit like sisters sometimes do. They pull together when they need to or the situation calls for it. In Tips for the Beginning Detective, the Floyd sisters offer advice to others who may find themselves in scary or unknown situations. The girls also include a mini-mystery for the reader to solve using their newfound detective tips.”   What a fun read! This short story for kids was adorable and I can picture these three young sisters and their light banter. We get tips on sleuthing from the three girls (their personalities shine through) and then...

       About the book : "Julia Blake runs her own cleaning business. The first time she sees a dead body is when she discovers one of her clients, Mark Castle, lying dead on the floor of his luxury apartment. Julia soon suspects that Mark was murdered. He was a good friend and she is determined to find out who killed him."      My Review :       I liked this short murder mystery. It was fun! There were technical problems, mostly to do with punctuation that did throw me, but I was able to get past it. At one point in the story, Julia Blake became ‘Ms Devlin’ and obviously that threw me, too.      There wasn’t a lot of description and I liked that. I never got lost in a scene and I don’t really care what every single person looks like so it worked well for me. We could get to the action quick and without a loss of understanding.      When Julia comes across th...

I'm all geared up for National Novel Writing Month in November! The weather has turned. It's dark and cloudy - the gray sky dotted with the yellows, oranges and reds of the mighty trees, standing proud yet knowing they're about to stand as naked sentries through another bitter winter. Fallen leaves blanket the parking lots, sidewalks and dying lawns. Perfect planning weather for a nice murder mystery. This year, I'm going to write in a new series, as opposed to previous years in which I continued to write in the Masked Rider series. I've got my murderer, my victim, my motive, a couple of clues, and a few red herrings. I've got to flesh out my characters - all of them are brand new to me. I'm also trying something new in the POV department - I'm going to switch between two characters throughout the novel, both will be first person POV. I'm also going for a little darker, a little more serious than any of my other work. Will it stic...

Every once in a while I'll read a book outside my genre, and Take A Stand fits the bill. I've never read a Christian fiction book before - I didn't even know the category existed until recently! Two major story lines are running concurrently. In one, Christians are being persecuted and in the second, we are privy to the growing love between Sean and Emma. The interesting thing about this book, Sean is a single-minded ex-Marine with a hot temper. He says he doesn't like playing games in relationships, then sneaks out of his best friend's house for days and ignored his calls - with a smile on his face. He's oblivious about being exactly what he dislikes! When you add all his faults together, it should make for a one-dimensional, boring main character that you can't stand - yet it's the complete opposite in this story. Sean is my favorite character! I really cared about what happened to him. Bandusky's writing is well done. It seemed ...

I love Doctor Who . Real Doctor Who . The original 20+ years. Not the new stuff. I realized for a while now that, as much as I love sci-fi, had I not grown up with Doctor Who (real, classic) and was exposed to it for the first time in 2005 (the new stuff) I wouldn't watch. I wouldn't be a fan and I wouldn't get it. Now, don't get me wrong, I think the writing is well done (except for the plot holes they ignore in order to get done what they want to get done) and the acting is great and the special effects are good and the music is superb - but it's not my cup of tea. They kill things in the new Doctor Who , all the time. Innocent things. Animals aren't even safe. And when companions leave, you know it's going to be bad. Not sad like, oh, there goes Sarah Jane Smith (companion to the third and fourth Doctor) after all those years and the Doctor is really going to miss her and she's really going to miss him but they'll both be all right and m...