Book Review Tuesday: Flower Power Trip @jamescudney4

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Warm and cozy window seat with cushions and a opened book, light through vintage shutters, rustic style home decor. Small cat on window seat, along with coffee cup by pillow, Words Book Review Tuesday superimposed over image

Welcome to another Book Review Tuesday! I have one book to share with you today, and although it’s part of a series, I believe it stands well on its own.This is the second Braxton Campus Mystery I’ve read, and I’m hooked. What a spectacular, delightful, eccentric, colorful assortment of characters. Five starts from me for Flower Power Trip by James J. Cudney!

Book cover for Flower Power Trip by James Cudney shows stately looking building in background, flower garden in foreground, with knife sticking up from flowersFlower Power Trip
by James J. Cudney

Once you visit Braxton Campus, you can’t help becoming immersed in the lives of the varied people who populate this quaint setting. Kellan Arywick is a professor with an uncanny knack for sleuthing out murderers—through no fault of his own, and much to the chagrin of the local sheriff. This time around, Kellan agrees to help Braxton College president, Ursula Power, discover who’s stalking her and sending threatening notes. Instead, Kellan ends up with a dead body on his hands, the prime suspect his ex-girlfriend’s sister. Kellan and Maggie have a maintained a strong friendship, so he’s soon up to his neck in trying to find out who did the deed. A stalker, a murder—and that’s only part of what’s going on in this multi-layered mystery.

Complex, but believably presented, the main threads tie up in a neat bow by the time the end arrives. Getting there, however, is quite the rollercoaster ride with suspects presenting themselves at every turn (there is also a few ongoing threads that carry over the series, but in no way leave the reader unsatisfied).

Highlights for me: Kellan’s grandmother “Nana D” is a scene stealer, though there are so many colorful characters in this series, each is given multiple moments to shine. The dialogue is witty and the writing crisp.

An absolute highlight is the masquerade party held to raise funds for renovations to the library. The theme is Heroes and Villains, with guests attending  dressed as their favorite hero or villain from literature. I want to go to that party!—minus the murder, of course. Also of note is Kellan’s frenemy relationship with Sheriff April Montague, who finds his meddling in police business annoying to say the least. It’s fun seeing the progression and changes to their relationship.

If you like cozies and whodunits, with vibrant characters and snappy dialogue, this is a series for you! I read this book without reading the first two in the series, but given how enthralled I am, I want to read them all! 5 Stars

Amazon Purchase Link
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Thanks for visiting today, and I hope you enjoyed the review. If you’re looking for a good cozy, check out Flower Power Trip and the entire Braxton Campus series. I know I’ll be reading more!

50 thoughts on “Book Review Tuesday: Flower Power Trip @jamescudney4”

  3. Hi,

    Thank you so much for being such a wonderful, kind, and generous supporter. I love this review, and you nailed Nana D. She’s such a treasure to write for. Her lines are always the easiest to draft. 🙂

    Have a wonderful day. Can’t wait to share this everywhere.

    J

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • The college setting is really different from most cozies, as is the lead character being male rather than female. Those two unusual items really attracted me to it, and now I can see why it has such great reviews.
      Thanks for checking out the review, Teri!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  7. Oooh, I’ve been planning to check out these books for some time, and you just reminded me to get over to Amazon and grab the first in this series. Thanks for a great review, and James just made another sale! 🙂 Sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  12. I agree with your observation about Nana D, an excellent character!
    I highly recommend these series Mae. What I appreciate about them is that James keeps the gory details, curse words and sexual content out, which elevate his books above the modern wiles of the writers. He has even done away with the trick of dark secrets. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Nana D is a treasure for sure, Balroop. I’ve only read two of the books in the series so far, but I’m sure I will find them all utterly charming. I like to read cozies because of the lack of sexual content and gore. I still like my suspense and psychological thrillers but between Jay and Judi Lynn, I have a whole new appreciation for cozy mysteries!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

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