Member Reviews

This is the 7th book in Jess Lourey's Murder by Month cozy mystery series about Mira James, a part time reporter and librarian in Battle Lake, Minnesota. I'm really enjoying seeing how the characters' lives progress each month, as well as the murder mystery part of the stories.

This month Mira decides to take her sleuthing skills to the next level by becoming a professional PI, and her first case is to look into a hunting accident that she doesn't believe was accidental. She's still looking for unique local recipes and even mentions beavertails, which are a Canadian specialty. She's also getting closer to Johnny Leeson, and Mrs. Bern and Kennie Rogers are both up to more crazy antics. This was my favourite of the series so far, I had a few theories about what might have happened and there were a few unexpected twists.

Jennifer Jill Araya did a great job narrating the audiobook, she has the perfect voice and timing for every character and really brings the story to life.

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This is a monthly themed series, that started with May Day. This was the first book that I read in this series, but I do play on going back and reading the others. I felt that you could read these books as a stand alone, but I am sure that it would be better to know backstories of some of these characters.

A cold November in Battle Lake, Minnesota and Mira is still just in the beginning stages of getting her PI license, but that doesn't stop Mrs. Burns from referring Mira her first case. One of Battle Lakes beloved business owners has been shot during a hunting accident, but his daughter is convinced that it wasn't an accident. Mira agrees to look into the case and finds herself knee deep in snow, ice and a decades old scandal.

This was a cozy mystery that was so fun to read. The characters are likable and I laughed a lot reading this book.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @Brilliance Audio for the copy of November Hunt, thank you as well to @jesslourey for a great story.

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I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great as always! I’ve listened to the whole series so far and I have enjoyed it. The characters are quirky and the situations they get themselves into are interesting and usually hilarious! Highly recommend this series!

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This themed-by-the-month series started with May, and I had previously read May through October. I do think a person could start with any month and understand the book just fine (although it was odd that a series regular - an elderly man who lives in a care facility - was not introduced until about 80% into this book; as a fun character, he could have been brought in earlier).

This was not my favorite of the first seven books, but also was not my least favorite. I didn't relate to the hunting theme as much as the focus of some of the other books. The mystery of this book was a good one. Although I thought I had it figured out, there were a couple twists that I didn't anticipate.

Like the books preceding it, there are plenty of quirky, interesting characters and a setting that sounds like a fun place to visit. Each book has a number of recurring characters filled with personality, and a number of new ones to assist with the plot. I should add that the writing is not likely to win any awards, but is clean and clear enough that the style does not distract.

I'm already looking forward to reading the December book.

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I have read The Taken Ones which was the kind of book I thought this would be, on closer review I realise this is a re-release from 2018 and also it seems to not be quite the same genre as my previous read.
I did not enjoy the storyline much and I found too much of the book was spent focusing on things about Mira that really weren’t relevant. I think her boyfriend Johnny was just there but played no real purpose in the storyline. Sadly it didn’t hit the mark for me.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance Audio, and Jess Lourey for an advance listening copy of The November Hunt. First off, my favorite parts about Loureys novels are the ties to Minnesota and hearing these stories be placed in Minnesota since I grew up here! I didn’t realize that the author had a cozy mystery series and I absolutely adored Mira and the story! I look forward to going down the rabbit hole and reading more of this series! Our narrator did a great job making me feel like I was in Battle Lake with all the characters and had me absolutely immersed in the story. Be sure to put this one on your radar as it comes out on October 29th!

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