I received a copy of Statue of Limitations from Netgalley. I worked on reading it several times but only made it midway through. I didn’t connect well with the characters. Athena hiding Case and lying to her family, the police and everyone in town created a feeling of anxiety in the book that pushed me away rather than inspiring me to finish out the book.

I actually got to about 90% last year and forgot about it. Not a good sign that I couldn't be bothered to read the last (and most interesting ) 10%.

The characters were all stereotypes or not deeply developed. Athena is a bit off putting and her insistance that since she used to be a reporter and knows how to talk to cops somehow makes her psuedo legal advice meaningful. She's does several other foolish things. Athena comes in and tells the store owners what to do to help themselves. That none of them tried anything with several of them have children who are lawyers was hard to swallow. That their kids must have heard about their difficulties and did nothing? We didn't need this over the top aspect of Athena rallying the troops, her just working the mystery would have been enough.

The reader essentially knows who did it and why, it's more about how it was done and who is complicit. The search for those details is the best part of the book.

There's also a possible romance thrown in, not my favorite thing in a mystery, but it's very back burner in this book. We don't learn much about him either.

I checked out the second book in the series from the library based on the cover and blurb. The covers are cute. That reminded me to see if I had written a review for the first book and found out I hadn't finished it. Based on my experience, I think I'm going to return A Big Fat Greek Murder unread.

I received my copy of Statue from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first mystery in the Goddess of Greene Street. The characters are well developed which is always a plus for the beginning of a series. Athena’s grandfather purchased a statue at an estate sale and a man, Case Donnelly, appears to say it belongs to his family in Greece where it was stolen. Several murders are attached to the statute and Athena helps them investigate.

Athena Spencer has returned home to small-town Michigan a divorce. While working in the family business, she has to raise her young son, come to grips with her probably too close-knit of a family, and find a way to save the homes and business of her family and friends from a slimy developer. When she catches a handsome stranger after hours at the family garden center she gets launched into an investigation of two local murders, the outcome of which could have disastrous effects on her community and Athena herself.

Athena is a nicely written character. She is quite flawed and very human yet she has hidden strength and a great capacity for growth. Her biggest flaw is a lack of self-esteem. She has allowed her former boss, her ex-husband, and to some extent her mother and boisterous siblings to make her feel powerless and invisible. Still, she faces life with tenacity and a great sense of humor which finds its outlet in an anonymous blog she writes about being a part of a large Greek family. Her outrageous family never quite catch on that they are the stars of their favorite blog and they offer just much advice and meddling to her alter ego as they do to her.

As she sets out to prove Case Donnely innocent of the crime he is accused of, she falls back on the resourceful habits from her former career in journalism. She asks the right questions, follows the leads her gut offers, and finds her way through the mystery. Case is a terrific character and wonderful foil for the man Athena’s mom has picked out for her. Her mom, Hera, is just one of a stellar cast of secondary characters that light up this book. She is just this side of the deep end and perfectly balanced by her husband, John, and his no-nonsense approach to his family and Greek in-laws. Athena’s son Niko and his enthusiasm for his family heritage beautifully offset Athena’s reticence in that area.

While I do understand Athena doing everything she can to stop the demolition and redevelopment of her neighborhood, I am still not quite clear exactly how she thought accepting Case’s plea for help would lead to that conclusion. Also, I will say that even I wanted to hide from her larger-than-life clan by the end of the book. Still, it was an enjoyable and captivating read and a series that I am looking forward to continuing on with

This first mystery in the Goddess of Greene Street is a little light on the mystery but heavy on the character development and dialogue. Athena is trying to protect a statue that her grandfather purchased from an estate sale. However, the ownership appears to be under dispute when a hunky guy, Case Donnelly, appears telling Athena that the statue was stolen from his family in Greece. Not sure how to handle the dispute, Athena is thrown a curve ball by several murders that are linked to the statue and the estate that it was purchased from. Athena goes with her gut and helps to hide the stranger from the police while investigating the deaths.

This was really fun with the interaction between Athena and Case as well as the Greek family dynamics. I laughed a lot!.

Cute start to a new series. I had the pleasure of meeting the author a few years ago and she is incredibly sweet. I loved reading about life in a Greek family!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

Lovely beginning to a series novel with wonderful characterss and a feel good vibe. Loved Athena and all her wonderful family!

Athena is back home following her divorce and in the midst of her overbearing Greek family. She stumbles into a mystery after a mysterious stranger breaks into her family's garden center. The mystery splits into two after a death in the community. This book has several sub-plots that all tie together nicely. My favorite character is definitely Athena although her family add quite a bit to the book. This is a great start to a new series, and I am already looking forward to book two.

Statue of Limitations is the first book in a new series by a favorite author of mine, Kate Collins. I like the story, the mystery is filled with twists and was satisfying. I look forward to getting to know the new characters and watch their development. I love the writing style of this author and look forward to reading more books in this series.

Statue of Limitations by Kate Collins is the first book in the new cozy A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series the mystery inside this first book will be fully solved so each book could be read as a standalone with only some character development carrying over and not leaving on cliffhangers.

The Goddess of Greene St. Mystery series introduces readers to Athena Spencer who after going through a divorce decided to move back to Sequoia, Michigan. Athena wanted a fresh start with her son and thought there was nothing better than to return to her large Greek family and begin helping in their garden center.

One night as Athena is finishing up and preparing to lock up for the night she hears a noise inside the center. Upon inspection Athena finds a man who claims to have been told to wait for help but as Athena questions him she begins to get suspicious of his motives for being in the center. Shortly after the strange encounter though Athena finds her hands even fuller after hearing of the death of a local which leads Athena on the path to find a murderer.

Statue of Limitations was a really solid start to a new fun cozy series. I easily found myself enjoying the characters and setting of this series with only one small complaint to those, I didn’t quite understand why we didn’t get to see Athena’s son involved. Kids can often make a cute addition but he was always off with someone else watching him while momma did her sleuthing. Overall though I would give this new series 3 1/2 stars and would like to see how things unfold in the next installment.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I enjoyed the previous series by Kate Collins, Abby Knight’s Flower Shop Mysteries, and can say that she has created another delightful series that begins with Statue of Limitations. There’s so much to like – the coastal Lake Michigan setting, the quaint stores and community of Sequoia, a larger than life Greek family, and Athena herself. The family members are appealing, funny, caring, and a little crazy, which makes them all the more endearing. I especially enjoyed the sister named Delphi and would love to know her better.

Having returned to Sequoia after a divorce, Athena works in her father’s garden shop, where the plot centers around the questionable origins of a Greek statue and a mysterious stranger named Case. The chemistry between Athena and Case is wonderful and a romance is definitely brewing. The story’s pacing is steady and builds as Athena investigates two murders in an effort to prove Case’s innocence.

The mystery is well crafted and kept me eagerly turning pages. Tension arises as the powerful and controlling Talbot family moves forward with plans to tear down the Greek shops on Greene Street and build a condo complex. The seemingly accidental death of Talbot Sr., who had decided not to raze the Greek section, arouses Athena’s suspicions when his assistant is murdered. I wasn’t all that surprised at the revelation of guilt, but it was so much fun getting there!

Athena’s Greek blog adds a spark to the story – a blog which her family reads religiously and adores, but has no idea who writes it and fails to see themselves in the descriptive characters. Statue of Limitations is a delightful mystery and I am eager to spend more time with this family. The only negative for me was the totally unnecessary use of mild profanity, which lessened my enjoyment. A clean read otherwise.

I received a copy of this book through Great Escapes. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I loved this new series by Kate Collins. It is well-written with characters that I'd like to get to know. The mystery had some twists and turns. I liked the setting of this one as well as reading about the culture in 'Little Greece'. It had a very satisfying ending and I'm ready to read the next one!

I found this book full of quirky characters and an interesting story I can't wait to read more from this author

Statue of Limitations: A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery
By Kate Collins
Kensington
February 2020

Review by Cynthia Chow

Over ten years ago Athena Spencer fled from her meddling and boisterous Greek family in search of big city life and a definitively non-Greek husband. After gaining a son but losing both her career and her spouse, Athena is back home in Sequoia, Michigan working as a bookkeeper and fill-in staffer for her father at Spencer’s Garden Center. While this is not the future she planned for herself, Athena’s protective instincts kick in when handsome stranger Case Donnelly breaks in and accuses their family of having a statute that he rightfully owns. Athena is able to put off Case’s demands for the sales receipt of the Treasure of Athena, as she has a far direr threat looming over her family’s future. Although real estate mogul Grayson Talbot Sr. had agreed to table the condominium project that would demolish the entire block of Little Greece, after his death by bathtub drowning Grayson Talbot Jr. is proceeding on it in just 13 days. Since Athena’s maternal grandparents own The Parthenon restaurant right in the path of the bulldozers, she leads the charge in rallying Little Greece to halt the construction plans. Athena had only been dating Kevin Coreopsis in order to stop her mother from setting her up with other Good Greek Boys, but for once the downgraded attorney-turned-legal aide may prove to be helpful.

Athena had already felt that the senior Talbot’s death was just a little too convenient to be an accident, so the murder of his assistant inside the Talbot mansion only reinforces her suspicions. While the man caught on video fleeing the murder scene is a dead ringer for Case Donnelly, Athena can’t ignore the twinges of doubt she feels about his guilt. It doesn’t’ hurt that Case is charming, attractive, and willing to tease her even when in danger, but the convenience of clearing the path for Talbot Jr.’s greedy plans is undeniable. This leads to Athena making the iffy choice to disguise Case as a Greek fisherman-mystery writer, which not only allows them to question suspects, it yields hilarious scenes of Athena’s efforts to makeover Case without alerting the rest of the all-knowing Greek community. Together they investigate a shady doctor, try to outmaneuver a flirtatious trophy wife, and resist the temptations of business payoffs.

While Kate Collins hasn’t completely left behind her floral roots to her bestselling Flower Shop Mystery series, this debut series focuses on Athena and her exuberant Greek family. As a way to vent her frustrations with her expressive and intrusively relatives Athena writes the “It’s All Greek to Me” blog, which her sisters Delphi, Maia, and Selene all love but hilariously are unable to see themselves in it. What is portrayed empathetically and entertainingly is Athena’s struggle with her Greek identity, which she once resisted but is growing to appreciate and embrace. That her son wholeheartedly accepts his Greek roots often has Athena facing off against her grandparents, who think they know best and often do. Athena is stubborn, quick to judge, and very protective when it comes to those she loves, so seeing her lower her guard to Case is a rewarding and satisfying delight. The strong bonds of the Greek family and Athena’s efforts to find her place within them are relatable and fascinating, which is only enhanced by descriptions of delicious pastitsio and spanakopita Greek cuisine. In Athena Spencer author Kate Collins gives readers a new heroine to root for, one surrounded by a family who exasperate, frustrate, and completely love her.

A newly single mother returns to her home town in Michigan to help with her Greek family's garden store. She meets a stranger who's interested in a statue recently purchased by her grandfather. This leads to their involvement in solving two murders! A bit of romance, a bit of mystery, and a whole lot of Greek-American culture. I enjoyed the latter--it made this mystery unique. However, it was pretty obvious who the murderer was, and it also didn't seem like this woman spent any time at all with her son. That didn't seem right.

Princess Fuzzypants here: When Athena left home to make her own way she was escaping the cloying but loving expectations of her Greek family. So when she returns home, after her divorce, to raise her son, it rife with trepidation and mixed feelings. She is highly unhappy with the matchmaking efforts of her mother but she loves working with her father and giving her son the support of her close-knit family.
There is trouble on the horizon when a the local big wig is found dead in his bath and the agreement he signed with the Greek merchants on a block he owned is ignored by his son who intends to bulldoze the block and build an exclusive high rise condo. As if that was not enough , Athena is confronted by a stranger in the garden centre who insists a statue her grandfather bought actually belongs to his family back in Greece. Then the stranger becomes the prime suspect in a murder and Athena, against her instincts and better judgement, not only hides him but becomes his partner in investigating the murder(s) and trying to stop the destruction of Greek town.
In a way, her strength and courage in dealing everything becomes a coming of age saga, several decades late. She is able to recognize her attributes and in doing so, becomes a spokesperson for her community. It is all very empowering.
I enjoyed Athena and all the other characters and look forward to reading more tales. Five purrs and two paws up.

An excellent start for a new series.
Athena is a great MC and I loved the well thought and quirky cast of characters.
The setting is vivid and interesting, the mystery is solid and full of twists.
I can't wait for the next installment.
An engrossing and entertaining read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Great new start of a new cozy series. Athena and her crazy family will be a great addition to a chilly night by the fire, or a cool relaxation by the pool.

Statue of Limitations by Kate Collins is the debut of A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery series. Athena Spencer, recently divorced, returns home to Sequoia, Michigan with her son, Nicholas. Her large Greek family is happy to have her back, though, Athena had to endure a few “I told you so’s” from them (they told her not to marry the bum). While Athena loves her family, they can be a bit overwhelming at times especially her mother who wants to see her settled with a nice Greek boy (like Kevin Coreopsis). She alleviates her frustrations with “It’s All Greek to Me” a blog she writes under the name Goddess Anon. Athena is the business manager for Spencer’s Garden Yard (her father’s business). One evening while working on her blog in the office, Athena hears a noise outside. She believes it is Oscar, the raccoon, and is shocked to find a man fiddling with her grandfather’s newly acquired Greek statue “Goddess of Athena”. Case Donnelly tells Athena that the statue, which was made by Greek sculptor, Antonius was stolen from his family in Greece. He is trying to prove ownership. Athena is quick to send Case on his way. The next morning, Case is wanted in the murder of Harry Pepper, Grayson Talbot Sr.’s longtime assistant. Athena finds herself hiding Case and searching for a killer while trying to protect her grandparent’s beloved restaurant from greedy developed, Grayson Talbot Jr. I like how we are introduced to Athena in Statue of Limitations. I thought it was clever and a unique way to introduce the protagonist. This book is easy to read, and I like the theme of a large Greek family and community. We are introduced to Greek culture, food, and language. I thought Athena’s blog was humorous. Her family loves to read it and they fail to realize that Athena is describing them. Athena’s sisters are quirky (especially Delphi). Her father is a sweetie. I liked the interactions between Athena and Case Donnelly. Sparks were flying between these two. The mystery was fun to follow, but it is a snap to solve. There are floral tips at the end. Cozy mystery readers will enjoy getting to know Athena’s family and the Greek community in Sequoia. Statue of Limitations is a lighthearted cozy mystery with a meddling mother, a rascally raccoon, the charismatic Case, one big-headed blowhard, and a Greek goddess gumshoe.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

I have been so excited about this new series from Kate Collins and she sure doesn’t disappoint.

We meet Athena Spencer who has come home to her big Greek family in Sequoia, Michigan with her son Nicholas after her divorce. Her grandparents have a Greek restaurant and her father owns the local garden center. Athena and her sister work at the garden center with her father. The center also has a resident troublemaker in the form of a raccoon that makes himself quite at home.

The patriarch of a prominent Talbot family has passed away and Athena’s pappoús (grandfather) brought a valuable statue at the estate sale. Because of the statue’s size, it was brought to the garden center until her grandfather finds the perfect place for it.

But a hunky stranger surprises Athena late one night stating his family is the rightful owner of the statue. As if Althena needed another problem to solve. With his dad out of the picture, Sonny Talbot has decided to move forward with a previously dead plan to demolish all the shops know as Little Greece on Greene Street including her grandparent’s restaurant. His decision draws the rath of the whole area and raises suspicions that maybe the senior Talbot’s death was not due to natural causes. When another man linked to the family is killed Althena feels the heat to not only save her family’s restaurant but to bring a killer to justice.

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Ms. Collins has served up a big cast of Greek characters. They are unique and genuine and we have just scratched the surface at getting to know them. Like all families, especially Greek families, everyone has an opinion about Athena’s love life.

In addition to the Spencer family, we meet Case Donnelly. There is a spark between Athena and Case but her family believes her destiny is with Kevin Coreopsis, a lawyer who has also recently returned home to Sequoia. Athena has a special way of dealing with her overbearing family though, and I love it. She writes a blog “It’s All Greek to Me” under the name of Goddess Anon. Her family loves the blog not knowing that it is penned by their own Athena.

As is the case in most first books in a series which spends a great bit of time introducing characters, the mystery while well-crafted was pretty easy to solve. That being said I was completely captivated by it. I enjoyed the way Case and Athena worked together. There were twists and tension and plenty of humor too. The pacing was perfect, it was hard to put the book down.

This series is off to a splendid start. Statue of Limitations was a fun and entertaining read filled with characters I can’t wait to visit again.