📚 Just finished "A Shimmer of Red" by Valerie Wilson Wesley and it's a must-read for mystery lovers! 💥 The protagonist, Dessa, is a captivating character with her kind heart and special extra-sensory perceptions. The plot is complex yet not overwhelming, and the Aunties add an extra layer of charm to the story. Whether you read it alone or as part of the series, this book is a winner! 🌟 Can't wait for the next installment, Ms. Wesley! #AShimmerofRed #ValerieWilsonWesley #Mystery #BookReview 🕵️‍♀️

I enjoyed this story with all the characters within. The main character was Odessa Jones.

Odessa Jones is a widower that been juggling her catering business while being a full time real estate. She has a psychic gift that she inherited from her family.  It help her to understand the mood of someone. So when a person that she works with is murder. She decides to find out what happened.

This was a fun read. It had action, drama and suspense throughout. It had a few giggles within. It was fun trying to solve the mystery within.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Odessa has plenty of suspects and questions in this murder mystery. I enjoyed learning more about Odessa and I love the Aunts.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Shimmer of Red: An Odessa Jones Mystery
By Valerie Wilson Wesley
Kensington
July 2023

Review by Cynthia Chow

Business at Risko Realty is booming as a result of pandemic-scared city-dwellers fleeing to the suburbs of Grovesville, New Jersey. Realtor Odessa Jones is finally able to relax as she saves up for the future while continuing to expand the catering business she built with her late husband. Their successes have led Risko Realty to hire two new realtors, Bella Mondavi and Anna Lee, and they are eager to join the company bonded together by losses and friendship. Both women are young and coming from prestigious realty firms, with Anna having recently left the booming Delbarton Estates firm. Coincidentally, their CEO Emily Delbarton is hiring D&D Delights to cater their next brokers’ open house, and it’s a great opportunity for Dessa to promote her catering business and shake off the last experience that involved a dead body. So it’s disconcerting when, as someone gifted with her family’s talent of seeing people’s “shimmers,” Dessa encounters an ominous one surrounding Emily. It’s Anna Lee who is killed the next day in a hit-and-run though, and the odd sensations Dessa has been picking up forces her to investigate. Those who see shimmers have the need to speak the truth, and like the texts that her Aunt Phoenix continually sends as advice, with Great Power comes Great Responsibility, and like Spider-Man must see it through to the end.

Dessa is going to need all of the support of her Aunt Phoenix and her friends when dealing with the odd Delbarton siblings, as Edgar Allen Delbarton was obsessed with his imagined Poe-namesake connection with the late Anna Lee. She kept her name and her history with a Gentlemen’s club a secret from most, and the more Dessa learns the more she suspects that Anna was escaping from someone or something. She’s not the only one with a past she’d rather forget, as Dessa’s ex-fiancé unexpectedly arrives in town with news of his own. It’s a complication Dessa didn’t need at this point in her life, since she is finally recovering from her losses and building a new family with her neighbors and Risko Realty coworkers.

This third in the series deftly sprinkles in Dessa’s paranormal talent with a strong, practical investigation. Dessa’s humor and sharp wit allows for delightful interactions with the eccentric Grovesville locals, using her cooking and empathy to gather confidences and information. Author Valerie Wilson Wesley has garnered well-deserved critical acclaim for her darker Tamara Hayle PI mystery series, but here she also shines – and shimmers - with the blend of cozy and mystical. Fast dialogue, a few adorable pets, and of course mouth-watering cooking descriptions make this a winning entry featuring a strong and engaging heroine. The strength she shows after a devastating loss is so admirable, especially when it comes through sharing and helping those who have faced similar experiences. This continues to be an entertaining series with depths of layers and led by a strongly appealing character.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Dessa, who like all the women in her family who have special talents, see glimmers. There is no warning however when she meets the two young new members of her real estate family. They are accepted almost universally and one, Anna, becomes very close to Dessa’s friend Harley. When Anna is killed in a hit and run, Dessa is determined that her death will not be unsolved. A crazed man adds to the mystery of Anna’s dubious past. Who was she and why would someone murder her?

At the same time Dessa reconnects with her first love who long ago left her at the altar. He is a very rich man who has a spoiled domineering daughter who befriended Anna. The two story lines intersect in a sad tale of love, loss and betrayal that will keep the reader entertained. Four purrs and two paws up.

A Shimmer of Red is the third book in the Odessa Jones mystery series. I've read the other books in this series and looked forward to reading this one as well. The pacing seemed slow in the beginning but picked up as the story went along. There were enough secondary characters to keep the mystery interesting yet not too convoluted. Odessa is one of my favorite characters in mysteries period so it was great to see her in action/becoming more sure of herself, whether that involves real estate, cooking, amateur sleuthing, or mastering her "family gift". I loved how Wesley depicted Odessa's relationships with her co-workers; they felt believable and not too intrusive considering they work together.

Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and look forward to the next installment!

I'm loving this series. Odessa Jones is a gift! Plus I'm a sucker for any book based in Newark.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an ARC to read.

3.5 upped to 4
This is a good series and i like how the paranormal mixes with the mystery. I wasn't a huge fan of this instalment as it seemed more a domestic thriller than a cozy mystery.
There's a lot of grief, drama and I think that the mystery took the backseat.
I like Dessa and her aunts, it's an interesting series but I would prefer some less drama and some less recklessness on Dessa side
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The real estate run of the pandemic years has been good to our heroine Dessa Jones, who no longer has to struggle to sell houses in her part of New Jersey. With the increase in business, her boss Tanya Risko has decided to take on two new agents, both formerly of the high-flying Delbarton Estates agency. Anna Lee and Bella Mondavi are twenty-somethings with engaging personalities, who are already good friends with one another but whose sunny natures draw in most of their new co-workers as well. The sole hold out is Louella, the only other young woman their age at Risko Realty, though even she is more hesitant than hostile.

Despite working in real estate, Dessa’s real passion is cooking. She’s surprised but pleased when Delbarton Estates hires her small catering side business to provide the food for a broker’s day, where a house that’s about to be put up for sale is opened exclusively for other industry professionals to view while making potentially valuable connections. Louella, who occasionally helps Dessa with her catering gigs, is immediately taken with Rosalie Davis, the chic stager who’s set the open house up to perfection. Rosalie already knows Anna and Bella from her prior work with Delbarton, but any bonhomie between the four is brought to a swift end when unexpected guests disrupt the proceedings, causing most of the young women to flee.

Dessa has the ability to see colorful “glimmers”, as she calls them, that give her an insight into other people’s hidden states of mind. What she sees at the broker’s day disturbs her. When local TV news reports a hit and run several days later, she instinctively knows that the victim was one of the four young women she’d so closely observed. Given how she’d previously promised Louella’s mother to look out for the younger woman, she’s terrified that her charge was the one fatally injured.

She’s relieved to eventually find Louella safe and sound, but is heartbroken to learn that it was Anna who lost her life instead. Dessa’s favorite co-worker Harley Wilde is even more bereft, as he and Anna had been romantically involved. Grieving, he begs Dessa to accompany him to lay flowers at the roadside site where Anna was killed. What Dessa finds there confirms her suspicions that Anna’s death was no accident but was, indeed, cold-blooded murder.

As Dessa’s powers have grown, so too has her sense of responsibility. She was granted psychic abilities to help right wrongs, which means she can’t allow Anna’s killer to get away with murder. But who could have wanted Anna dead, and why? Unsure of where else to start, Dessa begins investigating Anna’s past, and finds herself in several unexpected and often unpleasant situations. But it’s only when an old flame walks back into her life that her world turns upside down, with danger following close behind.

I love how Dessa is a middle-aged sleuth with plenty of experience and empathy when it comes to dealing with difficult and often wounded people. While the murder mystery itself is fairly straightforward, her remarkable compassion, in tandem with her burgeoning paranormal capabilities, make for compelling reading.

There were two recipes included in the book, both for treats that Dessa whips up over the course of the narrative. I decided to try out this one:

QUOTE
Dessa's Delightful Chocolate Chip Muffins

Nonstick cooking spray
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
1 lightly beaten egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Begin by buttering or spraying with nonstick cooking spray a 12-cup muffin tin.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Measure your dry ingredients–flour, sugar, baking powder, salt–and whisk together in a mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, measure the liquid ingredients–milk, butter, egg–and whisk them together, too.

Now easy-peasy (whatever that means), pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until <I>gently</I> combined–not too much or you'll overmix it. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
END QUOTE

This was the perfect excuse for me to break out my non-stick silicone muffin tray for the first time, even if I did lightly butter each of the cups just in case! The recipe itself is as easy-peasy as promised, though I do worry that I might have overmixed the batter just a little. This is also a great way to use up any extra chocolate chips or similar that you may have lying around. My kids absolutely loved these muffins, even as I appreciated how they weren’t too cloyingly sweet a treat.

Next week, we head north for a seafood feast while investigating the death of a spiteful patriarch. Do join me!

A SHIMMER OF RED is the third book in the Odessa Jones Mysteries by Valerie Wilson Wesley. This is the first book I’ve read in the series and while it took me a bit of time to figure out the characters, eventually they fell into place. The author also gives enough backstory to help but I think that starting with the first book would have given me a better feel for the character development and growth. That said, I really liked protagonist, Odessa Jones, along with her special ability to see auras and smell scents that portend events to come… like smelling nutmeg foretells a coming death. The paranormal aspect of the story doesn’t overwhelm the mystery, but adds to it. Juggling two jobs, working as a realtor and a caterer, Odessa keeps busy. She still finds time to ask questions and try to find out who killed her new co-worker. It displays Odessa’s caring nature and, with her special gift reading auras, allows her to easily read people and get to the heart of what they may be hiding. The mystery itself was well-plotted with a quick pace that held my interest. I’ll be going back to start at the beginning of the series to catch up.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. A Shimmer of Red is the third book in the Odessa Jones series, which keeps getting better with each new book. Odessa, the main character, has a "gift". She can see the color of the aura surrounding a person. Also, when there is a specific scent, she knows someone is about to die. Other than these elements, there is nothing supernatural. The storyline is very grounded, and the author does not hesitate to talk about delicate matters in her books. Another great aspect of this book is that the author takes the time to install the various protagonists and settings, nothing is rushed. I also like that the main character is a woman with a strong mind, yet sensitive. I truly enjoyed this book, as well as the previous books in the series, as they are unique in the cozy mystery genre.

This the third installment of the Odessa Jones mystery series. Odessa has gone from being a caterer to real estate business where she has some quirky people she works with. When one of her workers is killed in a hit and run accident. Odessa becomes suspicious that it was intentional and someone wanted Anna dead.
The story started a little slow but it did pick up when trying to figure out who wanted Anna dead and who was the killer.
The characters were interesting and the ending was a bit surprising to me.

I received an arc from NetGalley and this review is of my own honest opinion.

The characters in this book are so real! They are making bad decisions and good decisions. They are pulling away from their people and depending on them. Each character is living a life that is realistic and it is very well done. It is hard to know who is the good one, the bad one, the naive one, etc.
Because of that, I was very interested Odessa solving that mystery. I was suspicious of a few people, so I couldn't nail down who it was until the end. And even while the killer is being revealed and captured, there were still character traits being revealed. This was a great mystery with great characters.

The cover drew me in immediately-- and the characters kept me engaged until the reveal. Though this is my first book by Valerie Wilson Wesley, I had no trouble keeping up. The idea of a sleuth who can see auras intrigued me, and Odessa's aunts were a hoot. The pace was a bit slow at first, but it does pick up fairly quickly, the storyline was unique ---one of the suspects leaned heavily on the work of Edgar Allen Poe. I enjoyed that aspect very much. A good read, and I am excited to heck out more If Ms. Wesley's work.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks and the author for sending me an E-ARC of this book to read and review as I requested. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I love to review a new to me author for friends and followers to find, too.

Anyone who has Dessa as a friend should consider themselves blessed ten times over. She’s absolutely the best and most faithful friend anyone could want and always wanted to see any possible good in people. I have a feeling Edgar was a little too far gone for that though, since he was just delusional and creepy as well.

What a great reveal at the end and a super tense but really good showdown. A good takeaway is if a loved one wants to add a find a friend app and have you join it, it’s a good idea especially if you have a habit of coming into contact with crazy people and killers. But seriously, I’m really loving this series more with each book and look forward to the next one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

The ending was a little disturbing, but this was still a good read. I like the little bit of magic that this series has, but I like that it's not the main focus. I did figure out the connection before the reveal but the ending still surprised me. Fun read!

3.5 stars

This is third in the Odessa Jones series and I had not read the others, but I felt like enough background was provided. Odessa is a Black woman, a widow, a former chef, a caterer, and a realtor. She has a special gift that runs through the female members of her family - she can see a person's aura in varying colors signifying pain, violence, peace, and other attributes. She also gets a whiff of nutmeg when there is impending death.

Dessa's realty firm which has had a string of bizarre events and a couple deaths, hires two young women from a rival firm. One of them becomes the victim of a fatal hit and run. Dessa gets pulled into the investigation and also has the unexpected experience of meeting up with her first love, who abandoned her almost at the altar decades ago and is now dying of cancer. The two chains of events are entangled and Dessa tries to figure it out.

Odessa Jones is one of my very favorite amateur sleuths. In this book, Odessa must find the person who murdered a new colleague at the real estate firm where she works. Twists and turns and red herrings galore! Odessa has a secret weapon - she has the gift of "second sight" and can assess a person's personality by the "shimmers" she sees. New to this gift, she relies on her Aunts to help her in a quest to find a killer.

The Odessa Jones mysteries are wonderfully written, inclusive and relatable. She's a kind person who is rebuilding her life after the death of her husband. While there is a paranormal aspect, it's not the main focus of the book. It's one of those books I want to read slowly to prolong the mystery but I never can!

I received an ARC from Net Galley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In the third installment of this series, Risko Realty gains two new high achieving realtors and Odessa Jones is asked to cater an open house for Delbarton, a competitor of Risko Realty. When Anna Lee, one of the new realtors, is murdered by a hit and run driver, Odessa finds herself in the middle of another tragic murder investigation, lead by her gift of seeing glimmers and her knack for putting together the clues to help her find the guilty party.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but for me, it seems that the author really hit her stride with this installment. (Yes, I know she is a seasoned writer.) The first two books were great, but I felt like the stories really lagged and I struggled to stay engaged. This book was a 3-hour page-turning read for me. I did not want the story to end. The mystery really pulled me in, Dessa is so incredibly likeable, and I really enjoy the small taste of playfulness between her and the gentleman who at owns the BBQ restaurant. I cannot wait for book four. Thank you NetGalley and Valerie Wilson Wesley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed all the books in this series including this one. While this one has a bit of a slow start, it does definitely pick up before long, probably right after the murder. Dessa is a great character, and she has lots to do being a caterer, a realtor, and an amateur sleuth. I love the eccentricity of all the characters in this, especially Dessa’s aunts. They are just so much fun. I’m hoping they come around more often, and maybe they can help Dessa improve and expand her psychic skills. Great addition to the series. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.