Happy Homicides 3: Summertime Crimes

by Joanna Campbell Slan

A Beach Read Bonanza
A fun way to find your new “favorite” author. Number 3 in a series of bestselling mystery anthologies. Twelve traditional mysteries by a dozen bestselling and award-winning authors. (500-plus pages!) With free bonus file of recipes and craft ideas. These clean mysteries are crimes committed in the heat of the season. Authors--Joanna Campbell Slan, Linda Gordon Hengerer, Margaret Lucke, Nancy Jill Thames, Teresa Trent, Maggie Toussaint, C.A. Verstraete, Randy Rawls, Terry Ambrose, Jeffrey Marks, and Deborah Sharp.

Genres: Mystery, Anthologies

397 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 21, 2016

About the author

National bestselling and award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but she grew up in a small town in Indiana. After graduating from Ball State University with a degree in journalism, she worked as a newspaper reporter, a newspaper ad salesperson, a television talk show host, a college teacher, a public relations professional, and a motivational speaker. In that capacity, she was named by Sharing Ideas Magazine as “one of the top 25 speakers in the world.”

Slan's work has appeared in five of the New York Times Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and one of those became a television show. She is the author of nearly 80 books, nonfiction and fiction, including Death of a Schoolgirl, which won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.

Joanna's personal essays have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one was made into a television program on the Pax Network. The college textbook Joanna wrote—Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience—has been praised as an invaluable resource by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter and endorsed by Toastmasters, International.

RT Book Reviews has called Joanna “one of mystery’s rising stars.” Her first novel—Paper, Scissors, Death—was an Agatha Award finalist. It features Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who lives in St. Louis. The sixth book in that series will be released Summer 2013.

Kirkus Reviews has said, “Slan’s mysteries are most valuable for the well-developed characters and the issues they raise.” RT Book Reviews has said, “Kiki is so darn entertaining that she’ll keep readers hooked.” A series of short stories featuring Kiki are available on Kindle.

Joanna’s newest series—The Jane Eyre Chronicles—began with Death of a Schoolgirl (Berkley) and continues with the release of Death of a Dowager. The series features Charlotte Brontë’s classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth.

As “Lila Dare,” Joanna has penned the fourth book in the Southern Beauty Shop series—Wave Good-bye.

Joanna is married to David Slan. The Slans live on Jupiter Island, Florida.

Website: www.JoannaSlan.com

Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JoannaCampbel...

Twitter: @JoannaSlan

Reviews

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Homicides once again brings us a killer collection with the 3rd book. Any story in the Happy Homicides 3 anthology is worth well more than the cost of the book. I am a fan of character driven novels so these stories are perfect for me; all of the characters a well developed through both actions and words. Naturally the mysteries have to move quickly but they are all well presented and solved intelligently...ok, it was kind of cool to see Kate's husband protect her and handle the bad guy. We know he was a pro-athlete but it is cool seeing that he still has it. I am already of fan of most of the authors and am connected to the characters so it is difficult for me to judge but I believe that all of the books could be read as a standalone.

Ritter Ames is my favorite cozy authors but there are many in this anthology that I LOVE, some that I discovered through HH 1.

They are must reads for followers of the series.

[Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were short, fun mystery reads. Some of them have characters from the authors’ series but I didn’t find that detracting for me. Some of the stories need more editing but again, it didn’t detract from the stories, at least for me. I had my favorites – I love reading stories by Ritter Ames – and some of the book “hooks” are funny. All in all, a good deal, IMHO. It also gave me the chance to read a few authors I haven’t read before.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Homicides 3: Summertime Crimes, contains 12 short cozy mysteries that will introduce you to authors that you may not have read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories. They are well written and they are easily read in a single sitting. I did received this book several years ago and I finally got around to reading it. I'm sorry I did not start sooner!f

I recommend this anthology if you can still find it out there.

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Long, slow, and pointless.

It doesn’t even sound like anybody dies. The only one that really dies is the reader…of boredom.

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ I received this book in exchange for an honest review. How I acquired it has in no way influenced my opinions]

Who says crime takes a vacation? Not these authors. Some are well known in mystery circles. Others are being a bit shy, but once they get going, it's another rip roaring collection of short stories, this time set in summertime.

Cara Mia Delgatto (Joanne Campbell Slan) and her Poppy as well as Lindsey McKay(Maggie Toussaint) and the interns are worried about turtle nests and eggs. The Beach Tea Shop girls (Linda Gordon Hengerer) solve another murder while catering celebrations. The Bubbas (Deborah Sharp) are at it again,driving Mace and Momma crazy. And then there are the characters from authors Jeffery Marks and Terry Ambrose who spin tales from the masculine side looking at vacations in a whole other light. Even Butch the dog gets a vacation from Pecan Bayou on the beach(Teresa Trent), while Jillian Bradley and Teddy(Nancy Jill Thames) solve a murder closer to home. And our old friend Kiki Lowenstein(Joanna Campbell Slan) rounds out the collection with a look back into her own "vacation from hell".

Agatha Christie would be proud.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my word! how boring and/or lame can they make some of these short stories. I keep having to stop and read something else for awhile to get through them. I usually like collections because it helps me discover new authors. So far, these are duds. I mean, is it really necessary to include the words "woof, woof" every single time the dog barks??? The best story in the book is the one by Ritter Ames. I made me look her up and read her Bodies of Art Mystery series, even though that wasn't the series this short story came from. The story about the Turtles' eggs being stolen was pretty good too. The rest have been like slow torture. We'll see if I ever manage to make it through them.

[Tracy Barcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! I buy these for the author I love (Joanna Campbell Slan) and discover other great authors to catch up on! The best part is getting a fix of my favorite characters while waiting for new books to be written. Second to that is finding the new authors, because a reader needs to keep a long and promising list!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great combination of short stories that are quick to read and entertaining.
These are perfect for when you have a small amount of time to do some reading and need a break from whatever is going on.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great for someone who can't sit and read a whole book at once. You get lots of short stories that are quick reads, but they all feel like complete long books. The book left me wanting more and does not disappoint!

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these boxed sets with different authors. The stories are great, the writing is wonderful and you can keep going on to different stories without changing books! If you like murder stories you can't go wrong with this set!!! I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always an enjoyable series. I love getting stories from all kinds of authors at the same time.

[Larissa Reinhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun!

[Lynne Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome short stories :) Great characters in this book. The storylines are short reads , but You won't be disappointed at all. I wasn't :)

[Sarah A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the Joanna Campbell Slan and have some other authors that im now looking for their full length books. Great little collection of short story murder mysteries.

[Liette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice way to discover new authors and I was lucky enough to get a free copy in exchange for a review.

[Roseanne Harder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like selection of short stories which introduced me to some great new authors.

[Wendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short fun mysteries by 11 different authors, very fun to read.