Book Review: Running on Empty by Sandra Balzo

'You know,' Tucker said slowly. ' I honestly hadn't thought of it, but you and your mother must be suspects. At least, technically speaking.'
AnnaLise gulped.
He said, 'Has the chief talked to you?'
'Well, yes,' said AnnaLise. 'But...'
'You both have alibis?' (ch. 15)

(from an advance uncorrected proof. Final copy may differ)

Running on Empty (Main Street Mysteries)
by Sandra Balzo
Publisher: Severn House Publishers, April 1, 2011
Hardcover: 192 pages
Genre: mystery, cozy
Source: ARC provided by author
Objective rating: 3.75 out of 5

My comments: A cozy mystery with a Southern flavor, both in its setting and its colorful characters. The novel works to give us a taste of the people and ways of small town North Carolina. This emphasis on place only detracts slightly, however, from the mystery plot that gradually unfolds. Cozy readers will like life on Main Street and the new amateur sleuth, AnnaLise Griggs.

Book description: "While life on Sutherton's Main Street had often been inexplicably hazardous, the day Daisy Griggs siphoned nearly three pints from Mrs. Bradenham during the annual blood drive seemed
to set a new standard, even by the unusual measure of this North Carolina resort town. Answering the summons, AnnaLise returns home to find Labor Day preparations in full swing. But this traditional celebration promises to be no picnic. People are dying and unless AnnaLise can figure out why, her mother Daisy may be next."

About the author: Sandra Balzo is known for her Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery series. Her second series, Main Street Mysteries, began in April with RUNNING ON EMPTY. The mysteries are set in the popular vacation destination of North Carolina's High Country.

New and Older Books: Just Arrived

Here's what arrived in my mailbox:

A Cup of Jo (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) by Sandra Balzo, an ARC to be published Oct. 1, 2010.  Coffeehouse owner Maggie Thorsen is a suspect in the death of her chief rival in a barista competition. She has to solve the mystery, clear her name, and "heat up her love life" at the same time.

Inside Out: A Novel by Barry Eisler, released June 29, 2010. "...the propulsive thriller that only former CIA operative turned bestselling novelist Barry Eisler could write." Jailed soldier Ben Treven will be released from prison if he accepts an assignment - find a rogue operator who has stolen torture tapes from the CIA and is using them to blackmail the U.S. government. Some heady stuff in this thriller!

And what I brought home from the library:

A Twist of Orchids: A Death in the Dordogne Mystery by Michelle Wan, 2008. I've read her previous orchid mysteries, Deadly Slipper, and The Orchid Shroud. The up and down  relationship between Julian Wood and Mara Dunn is tested when strange things start happening to their friends in the mountains of France. I enjoy botanical mysteries such as this series set in France among orchid lovers and plant finders.
 

TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD (The Jake Lassiter Series) by Paul Levine, published 1991, introduced readers to linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter.

PAUL LEVINE worked as a newspaper reporter, a law professor and a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist. Two of his other books, Night Vision, and 9 Scorpions are also being made into e-books.