Rambling About.. A Walk on the Dead Side by Lucy Quinn

Amazon Description All Cookie James wanted was a romantic island picnic with her sexy handyman, Dylan Creed. What she got was a lobster trap full of drugs. As an ex-FBI agent, Cookie's determined to hand the evidence off to local authorities and stay out of the fray. But when a package arrives with a gory warning, she has no choice but to call in her former partner, Hunter O'Neil and investigate the case.
Hunter’s arrival brings more than crime fighting expertise. He'd like his connection to Cookie to finally be more than professional. There's no denying the sparks between them. Except with Dylan in the picture, Cookie's realizing someone else might be lighting her fire. Unfortunately, her love life is going to have to wait. Between kidnappings, attempted murder, and stolen kisses, Cookie James has a case to solve.

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This is the third of the Secret Seal Isles Mysteries by Lucy Quinn (you can see my rambles of the other two here). I highly HIGHLY recommend reading them in order so you aren't completely lost as to who is who and what is going on.

In fact, if you haven't read the others yet you may want to hold off on reading this ramble until you've done so.

I'm just saying. Some things may get slightly spoiled. They may not. It's hard to tell sometimes, you know?

Just over a month has apparently passed between the first book and this one and, once again, it begins with Cookie's mom acting outrageously and Cookie and Dylan attempting to go on a proper first date -- to the same island they attempted the last time. This time they don't stumble upon a dead body ... but they do retrieve a lobster trap pull of cocaine which Cookie insists on keeping possession of until the local authorities can retrieve it. Of course, she also calls hunky former FBI partner, Hunter, back to the island to help out.

Poor Dylan. Last time I said that Cookie couldn't catch a break but maybe it's really Dylan we should be feeling sorry for here! Just when he thinks he finally gets a chance, something always seems to happen.

Dead people. Drugs. Body parts being delivered to the inn. Hunter. Cookie being flighty as heck.

Yeah, for a former FBI agent, the girl has some serious issues she needs to get in check.

It's a fast read at 181 pages according to Amazon. I was able to knock it out during a work shift while also actually doing my job and cavorting with friends online. As I was able to do all three simultaneously, you can probably guess that it's not a mentally strenuous read. Sometimes those are the type you need, though.

While I enjoyed the story and it kept me guessing as to what in the world would happen next, Cookie just wasn't as much of a star for me as she was probably intended to be. Yeah, she's the "main character" and all, but the more of these that I read the more I become enamored with her mom. I kind of wish they were her books and that Cookie was just a secondary character rather than vice-versa.

This woman has some seriously funny bits and I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for her I'd be more or less "eh" about the rest. I kind of want to be her when I grow up ...

Rambling About.. Life in the Dead Lane by Lucy Quinn

Amazon Description

All Cookie James, FBI agent and Innkeeper extraordinaire, wants is a romantic date with her hot handy man… but what she gets is a corpse presented with a big red bow. 

When she and Dylan discover a boat with a dead body, not only is her picnic ruined, but a woman from Dylan’s past returns to the island. The famous rock star appears to want a comeback tour with her former bodyguard. But Cookie doesn’t have time to worry about that, because her oh-so-sexy ex-FBI partner has arrived, too. And he’s ready to make a little music of his own. 

With an entangled love life, too much manscaping, and a songbird in trouble, it’s once again Cookie’s job to wrap up another murder.

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I needed something light and easy after the last book that I had read completely tore me to shreds emotionally. As luck would have it, I was offered a copy of the second Secret Seal Isle Mysteries book just as that other book was finishing. What better to lighten the mood than death and murder? (I never said I was normal.)

So we're back with Cookie, her hippie mom Rain, hunky handyman Dylan and the rest of the Secret Seal community we got to know in the first book. Cookie and Dylan are heading out for a picnic date on a secluded island when they come across an abandoned ship -- although it's not totally abandoned as the owner is on deck -- naked and dead. Great way to start a date, huh? Of course, the deceased's sister pops up and is a gorgeous pop star who has a history with Dylan ... and then Cookie's former FBI partner, Hunter, ALSO shows up.

Awkward gets more awkward gets "omigosh just give Cookie a break already" awkward.

Poor girl is constantly trying to keep her mom and her hippie friends under control (and clothed), figure out what's going on with the men in her life, AND solve murders while also hiding out from a big baddie and his goons.

Exactly the light-hearted break that I needed!

Once again the duo that makes up Lucy Quinn has created a fun story with humor, twists, turns, and a mystery that keeps the pages turning. 

Rambling About.. Lucy Quinn's New Corpse in Town

Amazon Description

FBI agent Cookie James is enjoying her extended leave from the agency on Secret Seal Isle, managing her quaint inn and flirting with the oh-so sexy-handyman, Dylan Creed…until her sixty-year-old mother goes skinny dipping and is almost drowned by a corpse. 

A phone call to the sheriff should mean the end of Cookie’s involvement, but when it’s clear the sheriff has no interest in the investigation, Cookie calls in reinforcements…her ex-partner Hunter O’Neil. Suddenly it’s like old times while the pair questions the residents of Secret Seal Isle. Except it’s not. Now she has both Hunter and Dylan vying for her attention, a wayward hippy mother, and a potential killer on the loose. 

With her love life heating up, her mother lighting up, and all signs pointing to the most unlikely suspect, Cookie does the only thing she knows to do—focus on solving the case.

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"Lucy Quinn" is actually Deanna Chase and Violet Vaughn -- pairing up to write the Secret Seal Isle Mystery series starring Cookie James (formerly known as Charlie Jamieson before leaving the FBI and running from the mob). I've read several of Chase's books before and was thrilled when I found out that she was going to be teaming up for this cozy series and was offered the chance to read the series debut, New Corpse in Town.

Cookie and her mother, Rain, have recently purchased the Secret Seal Inn in a small isolated island community in Maine. It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other and nothing ever really happens so the only law enforcement is a deputy who likely only has the job because of family connections. When Rain runs into the dead body of the man trying to turn Secret Seal Isle into a tourist trap, Cookie calls her former FBI partner, Hunter, for assistance. 

No one is supposed to know who Cookie really is so it's not easy to sit back and pretend to be a "helpful citizen." It also isn't easy to pretend not to have been in love with Hunter -- especially when local Mr Fix-It Dylan has been sparking her interest. The two men aren't making matters any easier on her, either.

Lucky for us mystery lovers, the book is very much a cozy mystery with a romantic angle instead of a romance that happens to have a dead person. I always worry when they two are lumped in together but New Corpse in Town maintained a wonderful balance. The matter of whodunnit kept me guessing and over and over again I wasn't able to guess correctly. There's also a great deal of humor involved in the telling of the tale -- especially when Cookie's mother is involved. 

All in all this is a well-told tale with a good amount of character development -- including the overall character of Secret Seal Isle. I'm hoping that future installments in the series will expand on Cookie's life as Charlie in the FBI and I'm hoping to see what happens at Secret Seal Isle when the artist colony shows up. I can just imagine the entanglements free-spirited Rain could get herself into with a whole bunch of free-spirited artists roaming around!