Review: The perfect anthology to read on those dark and stormy nights ...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 24, 2014
Ann Reavis claims that it is in poor taste to start a begin a tale with such a line as "It was a dark and stormy night."  Perhaps, but then again Edward Bulwer-Lytton was a successful novelist as is Ann and the other writers who have penned short stories in this anthology.  Leigh Michaels, Sparkle Abbey, Kari Lee Townsend/Harmon, Barbara Witek, Ann Reavis, and Anita Clenney are hoping that you'll join them on a dark and stormy night when that rain falls in torrents to read their little snippets.  Of course these little snippets could easily be expanded and in some instances, appear to let the reader in on what will happen next in  series.  Call them teasers as you will, but that's exactly what some of them appear to be.It was a dark, but not so stormy couple of nights ago when I began to read these tales.  Of course I was fascinated by the different styles and dearth of characters I either met for the first time or was going to revisit.  There were familiar those familiar cats Dante and Morty, but new critters like the "milksop heiress."  No the heiress probably will never be a major character, but Dorinda did add a bit of spice to Leigh Michael's "Shadows of Love."  Kari Lee Townsend's Morty was, well Mitch's nemesis and Reavis's Dante was off on yet another adventure.  Then there was Barbara Witek's Maddie McClintock, a no nonsense veterinarian who of course was more into critters than relationships.No anthology would be complete without a vampire and Anita Clenny obliges.  Or was that a demon?  You'll find out.  Of course Sparkle Abbey, pet therapist cannot be left out of the mix.  There's this little problem of "Phil's untimely death" and a missing dog named Shadow.  A beagle to be exact.  Well, this is the short of it and that's good enough for most people, but some people do want to know more, so I'll tap out a bit more of what is exactly in this anthology.  And this is the long of it when I sat up in bed on a dark and not stormy night to enjoy the fabulous "Here We go Again - Short Story Collection," a collection of short stories by all our favorite cozy mystery writers.SHADOWS OF LOVEBy Leigh MichaelsAudra Lambton had been dubbed "That Poor Lamb."  Perhaps unlucky in love would be more like it  She'd been engaged not once, not twice, but thrice.  Two had died, one of consumption and the other from an unfortunate case of pneumonia.  Lord Lucas Kinley, her betrothed, had suddenly broken off their engagement.It was Audra's duty to see Miss Dorinda Grey, the "milksop heiress" through the Season.  A successful end, of course, would ensure that the young lady would be properly introduced into society and a suitable beau.  If Audra succeeded, there would be something in it for her, but "Poor Lamb's Curse" could defeat her once again.  Would she accomplish what she set out to do or would that nefarious curse hit her again?PROJECT DOGWAY:By Sparkle AbbeyCaro Lamont and dead bodies appeared to be the best friends.  She once again was standing beside homicide detective Judd Malone.  Caro knew the dog better than the man, Phil Tawney.  Shadow, his beagle, was one of her clients.  As a pet therapist she was more in tune with the canine set than their owners.  Of course when Phil scarfed down that scallop in the ceviche and died of anaphylactic shock, she'd never get to know him.Caro and her cousin, Mel, who owned the "Bow Wow Boutique," were going to sniff out the culprit.  A couple of things they had to find was Shadow, Phil's award winning beagle who suddenly turned up missing, and that EpiPen.  Brooke decidedly had a "lack of compassion" for Phil, but was she the culprit who doled out that "killer scallop?"  The cousins had a lot of snooping to do, but who would solve the crime, if there even was one?SHENANIGANS IN THE SHADOWSBy Kari Lee TownsendNo one had to lay out a tarot card spread in Divinity, New York to let Sunny Meadows know that the near future would be a good one.  Mitch had finally moved in with her and her best friend Jo was getting married to Cole.  The only one who wasn't happy was Morty cat, who didn't "exactly like to play nice in the sandbox."  He hated Detective Mitch Stone.  Period.Despite the shenanigans going on in her own house (or maybe because of), Sunny would soon have a real problem on her hands.  Coles's heirloom wedding rings, which had been entrusted to Mitch's care, had turned up missing.  Even Granny Gert could have done a better job holding on to them.  Things weren't going quite as well as expected and perhaps Sunny would get one of her visions, or would she?  Was the disappearance of those rings a portent of something serious than she thought?SHADOW OF THE TOWER:By Ann ReavisKate, Dante, and Guido shared an apartment in Florence, as in Italy.  Of course Dante and Guido were having a "stuck-in-a-tower-during-a-storm-predicament" and needed out.  Kate was dating that twit, Stefano and Guido had to make plans to get out of the confines of the apartment.  He had an idea and soon Dante, Guido, and that fat cat Gatonne would be off on yet another adventure.All was well until that "black-robed penguin of a priest" toosed Gatonne out into the streets on his ample backside.  Dante and Guido were surprised (well, perhaps not) at the actions of the priest.  They watched and listened as a touch of evil came into the church.  That priest was no better than his stinking dog who was allowed the run of the church.  Was there a case in this for them?  It looked like they had to do something about it.  "Here we go again ..."OPERATION PUPPY LOVE:By Barbara WitekMaddie McClintock was in no mood for anything military these days, especially the guys from Ellington Air Base who thought she was an easy mark.  Not very likely.  Her co-workers, Patty and Ashley, had convinced her to head to Shifty's for a drink after work.  As a veterinarian Maddie liked animals a whole lot better than the jerks that showed up at the bar, especially Nick.  Her parrot, Zeus, and her chickens were infinitely more companionable.Nick was up to no good when he decided to get Maddie to take on a bet.  Perhaps it was one way to get the uptight, stuck up woman to lighten up.  "But if I win," Nick explained, "then you'll have to get Josh to go on a date."  Yeah right, Maddie was going to date Josh Briggs, yet another military man.  She'd had her fill of them, but perhaps there was something different about Josh.  Was Maddie going to continue going solo or was she going to take a chance on herself, on love?SHADOW OF A HIGHLAND WARRIOR:By Anita ClennyMatilda and her cousin, Nina, were a couple of big old thorns in Jamie's side.  Oh, not to mention that big fat white cat Matilda owned.  "You tried to sneak it through airport security in your tote back."  Not to worry, it was just a cat, a very creepy on in Jamie's book who was a "bloody shadow, always following and watching with those strange eyes."  Matilda had killed a vampire, but she should have added that cat to her list.Jamie was still hung up on Shay, who was marrying Cody.  Right now he had to focus on the job at hand and that was to ferret out a demon with Sam, a "sassy FBI agent."  Jamie was a warrior and he could sniff them out.  Ancient demons could be elusive and it looked like they had a job on their hands.  The thorns were a pain, but this was serious.  Something had to have "startled the demon into shifting, but could they find and destroy it?This book (ARC) courtesy of Kari Lee Townsend.