Review of Bye Bye Bertie by Nancy Mehl at The Christian Suspense Zone

Bye Bye Bertie
Click picture for more information from Heartsong Presents Mysteries
By Nancy Mehl / Heartsong Presents Mysteries

Reviewed by Laura Hilton

The Ivy Towers series is probably one of my top favorites from this new line.

Ivy Towers has enjoyed settling in the cozy town of Winter Break, Kansas. The bookstore she's inherited from her aunt is discovering new life on the internet, and Ivy is happy. But when she discovers a map hidden inside an old music box, Ivy is convinced she's discovered the clues needed to find a legendary treasure hidden back in the 1800's.

Ivy's boyfriend, Deputy Sheriff Amos Parker isn't so convinced that a childish map will lead straight to a buried treasure, but to humor Ivy he agrees to accompany her the next day and ask permission from the owner of the land to go treasure hunting. When Amos doesn't show up as promised, Ivy decides to go on her own. To her surprise something is buried there. But it isn't the treasure she expected. Instead, it's a lunch box full of track medals.

But that old rusty lunch box holds unpleasant memories for more than a couple residents of that town. To what lengths will they go to protect the secrets they carry?

Bye Bye Bertie is the second book in the Ivy Towers Mysteries, but it easily stands alone. Ivy has a penchant for getting into trouble without realizing it, so it was fun to go along with her on another mystery in this close community and to get to know Ivy and Amos a little bit more.

Toward the middle of the book I felt the story dragged a little and I started to get a little irritated with Ivy, Amos, and Ivy's parents, but the story soon picked up, and my interest was rekindled. I enjoyed reading this cozy mystery, and the Ivy Towers series is probably one of my top favorites from this new line. Don't miss Bye Bye Bertie. A yummy sounding recipe is included at the end of the book.

About Laura Hilton

Laura Hilton lives in Arkansas with her husband, Steve, and their five children. Laura has over a thousand book reviews published with Dancing Word, Faith Webbin, A Romance Review, Christian Review of Books, and Armchair Reviews and has two fiction books, Shadows of the Past and Hot Chocolate published with Treble Heart Books.

Learn more about Laura at: www.laurahilton.com

Nancy Mehl's novels are all set in her home state of Kansas. "Although some people think of Kansas as nothing more than flat land and cattle, we really are quite interesting," she says. "Creating Winter Break, Kansas for the Ivy Towers mystery series has been a lot of fun. Through my research, I've learned even more about the 'Sunflower State.'" Nancy is a long-time mystery buff who loves the genre and is excited to see more inspirational mysteries becoming available to readers who share her passion. She lives in Wichita, Kansas, with her husband of thirty-five years, Norman. Her son, Danny, is a graphic designer. They attend Word of Life Church. Besides the Ivy Towers series, she has one other book in print. Sinner's Song is romantic suspense, set in the world of the homeless. It is available on Amazon.com. Nancy's blog is: www.nancymehl.blogspot.com.

Suspense Books By Nancy

Bye Bye Bertie
Click picture for more information from Heartsong Presents Mysteries
By Nancy Mehl / Heartsong Presents Mysteries

Ivy Towers lives in the tiny town of Winter Break, Kansas. While working hard to get her late aunt's rare bookstore, Miss Bitty's Bygone Bookstore, on its feet, she accidentally discovers a map hidden inside an old music box. Could it be the map to the Lost Gambler's Gold? The legend of the ill-fated gambler, who hid his fortune somewhere in Winter Break before an Indian raid in the 1860s, has circulated among residents ever since Ivy can remember. Unbeknownst to her boyfriend, Deputy Sheriff Amos Parker, Ivy follows the directions to the place where "X" marks the spot. What she digs up will uncover a mystery that leads to much more than she ever imagined. Lives will be changed, old secrets will be revealed, and Ivy will learn that sometimes, lost treasure can turn out to be much more valuable than a chest full of gold.

Cozy In Kansas
Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com
By Nancy Mehl / Barbour Publishing

College student Ivy Towers has definite plans for her future. But when her great-aunt bitty is found dead inside her rare bookstore, Ivy must travel back to a place and a past she thought she'd left behind. She discovers that Bitty's supposed fall from her library ladder seems quite suspicious. Her decision to poke her nose into things changes her destiny and propels her into uncovering carefully hidden secrets buried deep below the surface in the small town of Winter Break, Kansas. Along the way, she will also discover that love can be found where you least expect it--and in the most mysterious circumstances.

For Whom The Wedding Bell Tolls
Click picture for more information from Heartsong Presents Mysteries
By Nancy Mehl / Heartsong Presents Mysteries

Ivy Towers is getting married to the love of her life. . .But she finds that trying to run a rare bookstore and plan her upcoming nuptials is more than she can handle. In steps Delaphine Shackleford, a new and unwilling resident in the small town of Winter Break, Kansas. Delaphine offers to be Ivy's wedding planner, and Ivy jumps at her offer. But hiring the eccentric woman will not only drive Ivy to the brink of madness, it will also propel her into the middle of a bizarre murder mystery!

In The Dead of Winter
Click picture for more information from Heartsong Presents Mysteries
By Nancy Mehl / Heartsong Presents Mysteries

Samantha "Ivy" Towers returns to Winter Break, Kansas, where she spent her summers as a child, to make funeral arrangements for her Aunt Bitty. While there, she begins to suspect her aunt's death, which resulted from a fall in her bookshop, wasn't an accident after all. Childhood friend, Amos Parker, now sheriff of Winter Break, seems anxious to get Ivy out of town. A missing book, a message scrawled by an unknown person, and an extra coffee cup leaves Ivy with more questions than answers.

Sinners Song
Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com
By Nancy Mehl/ Treble Heart Books

Sinner's Song tells the story of Memrie Austin, who works for Andrew's House, an agency that helps the homeless. When Memrie meets a young girl who is out on the streets to escape a stepfather who molested her, Memrie offers Micki a home so she can finally stop running. She feels safe now from the violence of the streets until a man breaks into Memrie's apartment in pursuit of Micki. Has her stepfather found her? Or is it the same man who's been murdering homeless people-a man who calls himself The Deliverer? And will the murderer be caught before he "delivers" Micki and Memrie?

Your Host
Susan Sleeman

is the author of Nipped in the Bud, available May of 2009 from Heartsong Presents: Mysteries, an imprint of Barbour Publishing.
Read more about Susan

ALL Reviews Sorted By Title All Reviews Sorted By Author