Member Reviews

A charming and delightful cozy mystery. Small town (real town which I have visited) fun and challenges. Dogs, teen angst, senior citizens, a duck, bees, and so much more add to the interesting tale.

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For someone considered an "outsider" not long ago, Cameron and her sister are quite involved in community events. Opening a new business is keeping Monica occupied, including hours spent baking. Cam is organizing a popular festival with the help of a few eccentric volunteers. When her mother arrives in town and joins forces with her ever disapproving mother inlaw, Cam's life becomes fuller and more complicated. As if being present at the discovery of a murderer man isn't complicated enough. Cam tries to be a people pleaser. She feels great responsibility for those around her.
While trying to solve the murder and help Monica open her new store, plus juggle all the festival tasks, Cameron is also responsible for an unruly pack of dogs, inherited from the last murder she stumbled upon and a teen step daughter, even though Can isn't presently living with her husband. And you thought your life was busy!
Action packed and full speed ahead, full of wonderful characters and unexpected events.
What will happen next?

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4.5 stars! Fun, quirky characters. Terrific setting with lots of material for future stories. Great mystery. All the pieces fit in this one. My only "complaint" is the volume of characters at the start. I needed a list to keep track of everyone until I got far enough in to know who was who and which characters were essential to this story. This might have been easier if I had read the first book in the series already. I have book one on my wishlist right now and I will be keeping up with this terrific series.

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ARC - I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
Cameron once again stumbles upon a dead body.
When an innocent man is accused of the murder, Cameron cannot just sit + wait.
Cameron + her crew are once again read to solve the crime.
I loved the storytelling + the characters.
It was a fun read.

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Thank you Netgalley and Midnight Ink Books for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Canal Days Calamity by Jamie M. Blair.

Unfortunately I didn't read book one of this series, so it took me awhile to figure out all of the main characters.

Cameron Cripps-batman has found another dead body behind her sister's dog treat store, Dog Diggity. The handyman who was working and prepping the store for the opening days has been arrested for murder.

Cameron is separated from her husband who is a member of the town's police force, but she tries to get as much information from him about the murder.

Cameron and the Metamora Action Agency (4 seniors -2 senior citizens and 2 seniors in high school) team up not only to plan Canal Days but to solve this case and clear the handyman's name.

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Entertaining classic cozy with a good character in Cameron, who has had the bad luck of finding ANOTHER body! She's also dealing with trying to date her (sorta) ex-husband, runnning a business, and her family. Small town Indiana has its secrets and she finds one of them in her search for the murderer. I hadn't read the first book, which made the opening chapters of this a tad challenging as I sorted out the characters but then I settled in and all made good sense. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one if you'd like a quick read which involves not only a mystery (which isn't too complicated) but also dogs (and a duck) AND recipes for dog treats.

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This was an enjoyable book with an overly complicated mystery. I really liked the family dynamics through the series. Families aren't perfect, and this series definitely shows that.

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This is a nice cozy series that centers on small town living and pets. You can read this book, number 2 in the Dog Days series, without reading book 1. Cameron is helping her sister get the new pet store ready to open when they find a dead body. Police arrest their handyman and Cameron sets out to clear his name. She discovers an illegal dog racing enterprise and ties the murder and track together. A good mystery to solve with lots of added distractions including the local town festival.

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The last thing Cam wanted to was find another dead body. Her husband won't like this at all...

Midnight Ink and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published November 8th.

Cam's sister is starting a new business, Cam is heading up the Canal Days celebration, and Cam has her stepdaughter living with her. When they arrest Andy, her handyman, for the murder, the little mystery solving group she has forms again and they go after the real murderer.

This is a light cozy mystery that was a pleasure to read. Cam and her husband are separated but they still love each other. He wants her to stay out of murder cases because it's dangerous. He's right, she almost gets killed herself. Between playing politics, trying to keep her mother from running her life, and keeping Canal Days moving forward and getting her sister's business ready for opening, she really shouldn't have time to do much investigating. It's a good thing she's a snoop...

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Cameron Cripps-Hayman is busy getting ready for Canal Days and helping her sister with her shop, Dog Diggity, where they make gourmet dog food. But as Cameron and her sister think they have the shop just about ready to go Cameron stumbles upon another dead body behind the shop. Cameron doesn’t know why her luck has gotten so bad to find her second dead body but she worries yet again the police may just blame her.

The police arrive including Cameron’s ex who she has been dating again and begin to investigate but it seems they have the wrong suspect when they start looking at Cameron’s handyman and she is sure she’ll have to solve the crime for them yet again. While juggling her Canal Days responsibilities and that of raising her step-daughter Cameron teams up with the Metamora Action Agency to try to solve the case.

Canal Days Calamity by Jamie M. Blair is the second book in the cozy A Dog Days Mystery series. While it’s not completely necessary to have read the first book in the series I would recommend it as while this one involves a whole new case it really jumps right into the story so a reader would be unfamiliar with the setting and characters and dropped in on the action.

I have to admit my biggest draw to this series is the fact it’s set in the historic town of Metamora, Indiana and being from Indiana myself I can easily identify the things mentioned in the books such as Indiana Grand or Cedar Point so that makes it just that much more of a fun read for me. The mystery side of this one is a little light as there is so much going on in the main character’s life it was sometimes easily forgotten that she was even supposed to be solving a murder. Still with likable characters and a nice setting I find this one quite appealing and will look forward to more in the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

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I wanted to like this book - I really did. To be fair, I did not read the first book in this series, Deadly Dog Days. When the author began this book, I felt like the character names got shot out pretty quickly. Perhaps if I had read the first book, I wouldn't have felt so lost. Or maybe the writer's cadence just didn't synch with me. Regardless, I couldn't even finish.

As the book opens, Cameron is helping her sister and townsperson paint, when the latter finds a body behind her sister's shop. Cameron is separated from (but dating) her husband who is a member of the police force, but tries to get a little info from him on the murder, while handling her house of dogs, a visit from her mother, her mother-in-law's interfering, and upcoming Canal Days.

The characters are likeable and quirky (and what cozy can't use some quirk??). The setting is typical cozy, too, I just couldn't get into it (and therefore couldn't enjoy it) so I finally gave up. I might revisit this one after I read Deadly Dog Days and see if that makes a difference.

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I read Canal Days Calamity by Jamie M. Blair on September 18th, this was a good read and easy enough for me to read in one day. This is a second in series but a first for me and I enjoyed getting to know the characters, the complicated relationship between main character Cam really to me seemed perfect, I loved her step daughter and the premise for the story and mystery. This book is a dog lovers delight and a cozy mystery for sure. Start to finish I was impressed. A very good read. This one is out in November so watch for it or preorder now!

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Entertaining cozy series

Jamie M. Blair did a good job in this the 2nd book in A Dog Days Mystery series.
Once again Cameron has come across a dead body and is involved in finding the real murderer when her friend Andy is accused of murder. She and the colorful Metamora Action Agency encounter twists and turns as they hunt the real killer.
Along with murder is a little romance which makes for an enjoyable read. A special treat for dog lovers are the dog biscuit recipes included in the back of the book.

I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review

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This cozy mystery may have had a dead body and some bad guys, but for the most part it was a very upbeat book. A sister who finds love. A mother who divorced the father but when visiting her daughters finds a new man. A teenager who is snarky ends up being loving and helpful. And a main character who is trying to save her marriage is hopeful about her husband. All this and more takes place the week before Canal Days, an all town celebration that our main character (Cameron) is in charge of with the help of her 4 seniors called the Metamora Action Agency. With the four others (2 senior citizens and 2 seniors in high school) they were the committee responsible for putting together Canal Days, a festival that pulled tourists and their money into town. Only this year everything that could go wrong did go wrong! Beginning with a dead body, and continuing through three innocent men being arrested for the murder it is problem after problem. Being married to a policeman doesn't help Cam solve the murder, but somehow between helping her sister bake dog treats and taking clarinet lessons, Cam never stops trying.
A funny book at times, it certainly is chock full of colorful characters with plenty of quirks. Small town living at it's best includes everyone knowing more than you yet not sharing what you need to know!

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I love this author. A really good title to recommend to others.

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This book was not my cup of tea. I do not publicly post negative reviews so I will not share this.

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This was better then the first. I enjoy Cameron she's someone that anyone can relate too solid mystery series with well written developed secondary characters

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Jamie M. Blair's Canal Days Calamity was great fun to read. It has a lot of interesting characters and relationships that grow between the books in the series - though you don't have to read previous books to enjoy this one. In Canal Days Calamity, Cameron and her Action Agency are planning a town festival when a man turns up dead behind her sister's new shop. Cam investigates while her husband, the local cop, wants her to stay out of it. She does her best while she and her crew work to get things ready for the festival. Meanwhile, Blair put in moments that show the relationship between Cam and her step daughter Mia as it gets better and better. I really like this series and am excited to read the next book. I definitely recommend this one.

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Canal Days Calamity by Jamie M. Blair is an entertaining cozy mystery.
The characters in the book are a mixed bag of personalities and it made the book that more enjoyable.
I would consider this more of a soft cozy mystery, the story was light and cheerful and even though discussion murder, the author continued to keep the mood light.
I would have to read more in the series to see if I would become a long time fan.
This is recommended for people who like a solid, well written story with believable characters.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

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