Mayhem on the Mind

A Kalli Ballas Mystery #5

by Kari Lee Townsend

Introverted OCD fashion designer, Kalli Ballas, and extroverted Detective Nik Stone take the plunge and move in together, but knocking a wall down between their halves of the house doesn’t necessarily make it a home…

It’s spring and eating no meat during Lent is driving everyone a little crazy, most especially Kalli’s Aunt Tasoula, who has a ravenous appetite. The Greeks wear a red and white bracelet made out of a thread called Martis for the entire month to celebrate the beginning of spring and protect against diseases. Red symbolizes passion and life while white represents purity.

Aunt Tasoula’s nemesis from high school is anything but pure and the epitome of a disease. She tried to break up Tasoula and her late husband when they were younger, and now she’s trying to come between her and her hunky new man, which has Tasoula seeing red. When the woman winds up murdered, Aunt Tasoula becomes the number one suspect.

They say home is where the heart is, but Kalli’s heart is invested in clearing her aunt’s name. Will Nik still be there when the remodel is finished?

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

National Bestselling Author, Agatha, RT Reviewer's Choice & Golden Duck Award Nominee. Kari lives in Central New York with her husband & Samoyeds. She's a lover of wine & travel, obsessed with reality TV, and loves a good book with mystery, romance & humor. Inspired by TV shows like SMK, Moonlighting, Bones & Castle, she writes paranormal and fantasy cozy mysteries, historical mysteries & upper Middle Grade as Kari Lee Townsend, romantic suspense, romantic comedy & women's fiction as Kari Lee Harmon.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mayhem on My Mind is the fifth book in the Kalli Ballas Mystery series. Kalli Ballas is a fashion designer who also tends to sleuth on the side. She is dating Nik Stone, local police detective, and has just moved in with him. All is going well in town until a murder occurs and a streak of crimes follow. In order to clear someone she is close to of any suspicion, Kalli looks into the case.

I haven’t read any of the other books I’m this series, so maybe that was my down fall. Most cozy mystery series I can pick up wherever and jump right in, but that wasn’t the case with this series. I did enjoy the overall story and the main characters and thought there was a good amount of humor thrown into this cozy mystery. Even thought I enjoyed the story, I felt like there were too many mysteries going on at once. Instead of focusing on the murder there were at least two other crimes that created mysteries that took away from the main point for me. I also felt like there were a lot of characters which, at times, led to some confusion on my part. This could be because I haven’t started from the beginning of the series and don’t know everyone that well. Anyway, this was an okay read for me and I think I would be better off starting this series from the beginning.

[Melanie Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder and puppy napping and building a future with the one you love are all important topics in this story. However, sometimes all of that took a backseat to the antics of the Greek mamas. I laughed out loud when Kalli's mother and aunt accidentally caught her as the dog napper. Her aunt and the batons kept the hilarity going and mama could be counted on too to up the antics. I absolutely love the imagination required to build such wild characters.
Kalli, Nick, Jaz and Boomer may be the stars of the series and the investigation but in this book the true stars were the pets. I shudder to think about something happening to my dog and hope I could handle it with the same strength as Kalli.
My only complaint with this book is there seemed to at times be too many characters to keep track of with all of the aunt's suitors and all the cousins and all the reunion guests. The last book which was the crossover was a little easier to follow because we kept the extras to a minimum.
I did still enjoy the book and would recommend it and the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore this series so much. The mysteries, the characters, the zany Greek ma's and aunties (I laugh and shake my head over their antics). Usually there's just a mystery or two to figure out, but there is a lot going on in this book with multiple mysteries and many extra characters (from Aunt Tassoula's class reunion). It was easy to get a little confused at times trying to remember who everyone was, I think I did ok though keeping everyone/everything straight. And this in no way kept me from devouring every page as fast as I could. I'm already anticipating the next book in the series.

Many thanks to Oliver Heber Books and Booksprout for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of moving parts and different mysteries going on simultaneously in this one. While that made it interesting to try to see if/how they were all connected, it did make keeping track of everything tough at times. The "Greek Mamas" were a hoot anytime those characters appeared, so it was lots of fun to have such big personalities. I ended up figuring out half the "whodunnit" answers but still felt like there were enough twists and surprises to satisfy me at the end. All in all, a nice quick read...just be sure to pay attention to all the characters and plots so you can keep them all straight.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kalli and Nic have taken the plunge of moving in together by knocking down a wall between their respective apartments. Kalli's Mama is pushing for marriage. Dogs and puppies are dognapped. Kalli's aunt is accused of murder.
There is a lot going on in this book, with a lot of hilarious moments with Kalli's larger than life Greek family, who I found by turns annoying and amusing.
I think that it would have been better to have started the series from the beginning, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the fun ride.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a big ball of crazy fun! There’s so much wackiness interspersed with a slew of mysteries goings on it’s almost too much. Can Kalli and the town survive missing puppies, a murder, counterfeit bills, a 40th reunion and The Majorette? Read on to find out.
If you like humor mixed with mystery, a large Greek family and their shenanigans, a small town cozy or any of the above you’ll love this book!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you have a large family of Greeks together there is no telling what is going to happen! Add a 40th high school reunion, a remodeling job on Kalli and Nik's apartments, and a dog-napping and things really do get interesting! When Aunt Tasoula's arch nemesis from high school is found murdered in Aunt Tasoula's salon, she is pegged as the prime suspect and Kalli is determined to prove her innocence! There is never a dull moment! I love these bunch of very quirky characters! You won't want to put this one down until all the mayhem comes to an end! I can't wait for the next installment!

[Glenda Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mayhem on My Minda is the fifth book in this series. I have not read any of the other books in this series. A murder and several other mysteries are going on and a lot of characters to trying to keep up. I will have to read the other books in this series, so I can understand everything that was going on in the book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading Kalli and Nick's story of the continuation of their lives together with a little bit of murder, mayhem, deception and dog napping thrown in for good measure.

[Lee-anne Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Majorette for the Win

Loving the crazy chaos of these books! Tasoula is … crazy! The growth of Kalli and Nik - beautiful. So much to love.

[Suzette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The big Greek family is at it again in this cozy mystery. Kalli, Nik and the rest of their family and friends serve up lots of excitement and mayhem as they try to solve several mysteries at the same time. Readers will love the crazy antics of the characters. It will be worth turning every page to get to the very surprising conclusion.