Book ~ "Lies That Bind" (2015) Maggie Barbieri

From Goodreads ~ In Once Upon a Lie, Maggie Barbieri introduced enigmatic soccer-mom Maeve Conlon, a single mother and bakery owner hiding dark secrets behind her cookie-cutter suburban life.

Now Maeve’s moving on with everyday life when the unthinkable happens: her father dies of a massive heart attack. Maeve’s mother died when Maeve was very young and growing up, it was always just her and her father. But on the day of his funeral, Maeve learns a shocking secret. She might have a sister she’s never met. Maeve knows her father would never have kept something like that from her ... unless he thought he had to.

Meantime someone keeps sneaking around Maeve’s bakery. At first the signs are subtle but then it becomes vandalism, and then it grows even more frightening. Could it be related to Maeve’s search for her missing sister? Maeve soon realizes it’s time to take matters into her own capable hands. But administering her personal brand of justice is a dangerous undertaking, and between the ever-watchful eyes of her family and the lingering attention she's attracted from local police, Maeve will be forced to decide just how much she's willing to risk in the name of justice. 

Maeve is a divorced mother of two teenage daughters.  Her ex-husband, Cal, had left her for her best friend and now they have a baby.  Maeve owns a bakery in a small town and her friend, Jo, is her only employee.  Her father, Jack, a former cop had recently passed away suddenly.

At her father's funeral, her former childhood neighbour who was always mean to her reveals that Maeve had a sister she never knew about.  As she starts digging, she discovers that her sister was developmentally challenged and put in a home when she was a child ... a home that turned out to be abusing its residents and many were unaccounted for when it was closed down.  Was Maeve's sister one of the ones who disappeared?

In the meantime, strange things are happening at the bakery.  A flour bin was left open, Maeve was attacked from behind and knocked out, and a finger was left in her fridge.  Christmas is coming up and she is happy to have a break from the bakery so things will hopefully settle down.

This is the second in the Maeve Conlin series and it works as a stand alone, though there are many references to the things that happened in the first one so you should read it first. I liked the writing style ... it is written in third person perspective.   As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence. 

I wasn't crazy about Jo, Maeve's best friend and employee.  She's now pregnant and weirder and slacker than usual.  I find her character a bit unbelievable.  I find Maeve's daughters annoying ... one just started university and the other is still in high school and they aren't very nice to their mother but she puts up with it ... no wonder she doesn't want to spend time with them.

This was a reread for me.  I'd read it five years ago but didn't realize it.  I didn't remember reading it so it was like reading it for the first time.  It's interesting and weird to note that the first time around I didn't like it and gave up after 60%.  For some reason, I liked it this time and look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Book ~ "Once Upon a Lie" (2013) Maggie Barbieri

From Goodreads ~ Maeve Conlon's life is coming apart at the seams. Her bakery is barely making ends meet and one of her daughters spends as much time grounded as the other does studying. Her ex-husband has a new wife, a new baby and a look of pity for Maeve that's absolutely infuriating. Her father insists he's still independent but he's slowly and obviously succumbing to Alzheimer's. And now, her cousin Sean Donovan has been found dead, sitting in his car in a public park, shot through the head.

There was never much love lost between Maeve and Sean and she's not exactly devastated by his death but suddenly the police are poking around asking the family questions. It's just one more hassle Maeve doesn't have time for, until she realizes that her father, whose memory and judgment are unreliable at best, is a suspect in the murder. Maeve is determined to clear his name but is she prepared to cope with the dark memories and long-hidden secrets that doing so might dredge up? 

Maeve is a divorced mother of two teenage daughters.  Her ex-husband, Cal, had left her for her best friend and now they have a baby.  Maeve owns a bakery in a small town and her friend, Jo, is her only employee.  Her father, Jack, is a former cop and is now in an assisted-living home suffering from dementia ... some days he can remember things, some days he can't.

Maeve's cousin, Sean, is found murdered.  When Maeve was younger, Sean used to babysit her.  But what no one knew is that he abused her.  Needless to say, Maeve isn't grieving.  The police suspect that it was Jack in one of his lucid moments who killed Sean.  Maeve turns to Cal, who is a lawyer, to help her keep her dad out of jail.

In the meantime, Maeve discovers that a customer and her daughter are getting abused by the husband/father.  Not wanting the daughter to end up emotionally battered like she is, Maeve becomes obsessed with letting him know she is onto him.

This is the first in the Maeve Conlin series and it works as a stand alone. I enjoyed the writing style ... it is written in third person perspective.  I liked Maeve and her dad and their interactions.  He's funny and she has a lot of patience with him.   As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.

This was a reread for me.  I'd read it five years ago but didn't realize it.  I didn't remember reading it so it was like reading it for the first time.

Book ~ "Once Upon a Lie" (2013) Maggie Barbieri

From Goodreads ~ Maeve Conlon's life is coming apart at the seams. Her bakery is barely making ends meet and one of her daughters spends as much time grounded as the other does studying. Her ex-husband has a new wife, a new baby and a look of pity for Maeve that's absolutely infuriating. Her father insists he's still independent but he's slowly and obviously succumbing to Alzheimer's. And now, her cousin Sean Donovan has been found dead, sitting in his car in a public park, shot through the head.

There was never much love lost between Maeve and Sean and she's not exactly devastated by his death but suddenly the police are poking around asking the family questions. It's just one more hassle Maeve doesn't have time for, until she realizes that her father, whose memory and judgment are unreliable at best, is a suspect in the murder. Maeve is determined to clear his name but is she prepared to cope with the dark memories and long-hidden secrets that doing so might dredge up? 

Maeve is a divorced mother of two teenage daughters.  Her ex-husband, Cal, had left her for her best friend and now they have a baby.  Maeve owns a bakery in a small town and her friend, Jo, is her only employee.  Her father, Jack, is a former cop and is now in an assisted-living home suffering from dementia ... some days he can remember things, some days he can't.

Maeve's cousin, Sean, is found murdered.  When Maeve was younger, Sean used to babysit her.  But what no one knew is that he abused her.  Needless to say, Maeve isn't grieving.  The police suspect that it was Jack in one of his lucid moments who killed Sean.  Maeve turns to Cal, who is a lawyer, to help her keep her dad out of jail.

In the meantime, Maeve discovers that a customer and her daughter are getting abused by the husband/father.  Not wanting the daughter to end up emotionally battered like she is, Maeve becomes obsessed with letting him know she is onto him.

This is the first in the Maeve Conlin series and it works as a stand alone. I enjoyed the writing style ... it is written in third person perspective.  I found it started out slow and picked up about halfway through.  As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.

I liked Maeve and her dad and their interactions.  He's funny and she has a lot of patience with him.  I found Jo a bit annoying.  She is a slackass at work yet Maeve doesn't chastise her and lets her get away with a lot, despite the fact the bakery is struggling and Maeve is working crazy hours.

This author has also written the Murder 101 series.  I've read most of them and enjoyed them.  I found this one darker and I look forward to reading others in the series.

Book ~ "Physical Education" (2011) Maggie Barbieri

From Amazon ~ College English professor and sometime amateur sleuth Alison Bergeron would’ve been thrilled to hear that her husband, NYPD Detective Bobby Crawford, was leaving Homicide if that were the whole story, but it turns out that Bobby’s next assignment is even worse - undercover. As if worrying about his involvement in a case he won’t talk about at all wasn’t bad enough, Alison is forced to take over the women’s basketball team at St. Thomas after the coach dies of a heart attack during a game. She may not know much about basketball but she’s no stranger to sleuthing, and it isn’t long before she suspects that the coach’s death may be more than unexpected but premeditated as well.

With Bobby deep undercover and Alison always on her way to deep trouble, it’s only a matter of time before they run smack into each other in Physical Education, the latest in Maggie Barbieri’s charming Murder 101 mystery series.

Alison and Crawford are married, his ex-wife is in London, one of his daughters likes Alison and the other daughter is being a bratty bitch to Alison because her parents have moved on.

For some reason, Alison is made the coach of the basketball team when the the coach dies on the court (she has zero experience coaching a basketball team).

Then she has everything else going on ... Crawford is being secretive and lying; her friend, Father Kevin, is still on suspension with the church and the university; and the body of the mail guy is found in the trunk of her car.

I found this book hard to get into. It was so serious in the beginning and not the usual funny sarcastic style. About halfway, when things start to be revealed, it picks up and get better.

Alison's friend, Max, isn't in the book much (yay!) but when she is, she is her usual annoying self. The mystery of what was happening to Father Kevin which started in the last book is resolved (yay!).

There are quite a few plots going on that came together at the end. It was the first book in the series that I really bought the ending.

Book ~ "Third Degree" (2010) Maggie Barbieri

From Amazon ~ On her way to meet her boyfriend’s parents, college professor Alison Bergeron stops by a coffee shop to steel her resolve. It’s a big event. Not only is it the first time she’s met NYPD detective Bobby Crawford’s entire family but it’s coming on the heels of a wedding proposal that she has left unanswered so far.

Then, as she steps into the shop, a brawl breaks out that ends in the death of Carter Wilmott, a merciless and loathed local blogger. The case couldn’t be any simpler, and Alison witnessed the whole thing, but when Wilmott’s car explodes in the aftermath, what looked to be a crime of passion becomes something far more complicated and maybe even premeditate.

With Alison and Bobby involved in the case and with each other, readers are in for a treat. Third Degree, the latest in Maggie Barbieri’s charming mystery series, is one heated mystery with plenty of steamy romance and cunning villains who are about to get burned.

I enjoyed this book. The writing was quick and fast paced with new and old familiar characters.

The plot was interesting and I bought the "who dunnit" at the end.

Alison spends a lot of her time pondering about whether she should married Crawford or not. This comes at a hard time of year for her, the month her mother had died a few years ago.

I'm not a fan of her friend, Max, who wasn't in this book all that much. Yay! A few times Crawford asked Alison why they are friends and she said it's because they'd been through so much together.

Alison's friend, Father Kevin, is in some trouble because he is being accused of getting too close to a student but it doesn't get resolved by the end of the book (sorry for the spoiler). That was a bit frustrating.

Alison is still a bit too nosy ... it doesn't make sense that she would board a boat that doesn't belong to her, not once but twice.

Book ~ "Final Exam" (2009) Maggie Barbieri

From Amazon ~ Going back to dorm life isn't much fun for Alison Bergeron. Alison, an English professor at St. Thomas University in the Bronx, becomes the temporary resident director of Siena dorm after Wayne Brookwell, its popular RD, fails to return from spring break. Det. Bobby Crawford of the NYPD, Alison's faithful boyfriend, helps her move into her new digs, Wayne's small, less than spotless suite. When the toilet overflows after Alison flushes it, Crawford cleans up the mess—and discovers a brick of heroin hidden under the bathroom floor. Adding spice is a love triangle involving Wayne and Amanda Reese, a Siena RA who's engaged to a Princeton student. Less entertaining is a subplot about Alison's bitchy best friend, whose estrangement from her detective husband has gone into overkill.

I am enjoying this series and liked this book.

In this book, Alison discovered things (such as where Wayne was) rather than actively investigated things. She's a professor not a detective. In previous books, though I've enjoyed them, having her poke her nose in things wasn't really all that believable.

I found the side story of Max and Fred breaking up and Max being so self-centred kind of annoying. If Max was my friend, I would have dump her a longtime ago. It was good to see Alison finally stand up to her.

It's a fun read that doesn't drag. I bought the ending.

Book ~ "Quick Study" (2009) Maggie Barbieri

From Amazon ~ In Barbieri's third book to feature English professor Alison Bergeron, Alison befriends Hernan Escalante and his extended family from Ecuador at the soup kitchen where she's doing community service north of New York City. When the beaten body of Jose Tomasso, one of Hernan's relatives and an illegal immigrant, surfaces in the Hudson near Riviera Pointe, a luxury condo development in the Bronx where Jose was a construction worker, Alison offers to help Hernan find out what happened. After a second murder at Riviera Pointe, Hernan disappears. Alison's investigation leads her and her sidekicks, including her faithful canine companion, Trixie, into all sorts of nail-biting danger. An offer of assistance from former sweetie Jack McManus, marketing director for the New York Rangers, tests Alison's relationship with her main squeeze, NYPD detective Bobby Crawford. Barbieri scores again with this high-octane blend of romance, laughs and chills.

This is the third book in this series.

Alison is a prof at a Catholic university. She stumbles into situations that wouldn't happen to anyone else. The rest of us would walk away. Instead she charges in to solve the problem.

This time she is trying to solve the murder of Jose, a fella she knows from the soup kitchen she volunteers at once a week. Even though her cop boyfriend tells her to back off and someone is leaving her threatening notes, she still tries to find out what happened.

Jack McManus, the brother of her friend who is a priest, still pursues her even though he knows she has a boyfriend.

Max, her recently married friend, is having problems with her husband, who is Alison's boyfriend's partner. I'm not a fan of Max's ... I find her self-centered.

I enjoyed the writing style and it kept me interested even though I found the plot not overly exciting. The ending was quick and I didn't really care about the bad guys who got caught in the end and what they were involved with.

I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Book ~ "Extracurricular Activities" (2009) Maggie Barbieri

From Amazon ~ Barbieri's in top form as she delivers a smooth sequel to her witty debut. English professor Alison Bergeron wishes she'd stop getting uninvited visits from her ex-husband, Raymond Stark, fornicator extraordinaire and fellow professor at St. Thomas, a small Catholic university north of New York City. Ray's past conquests include Alison's slutty neighbor, Terri, and St. Thomas student Kathy Miceli, whose recent murder shocked the campus. Then Alison comes home one night to find Ray's body in her kitchen, hands and feet chopped off: the slaying signature of chubby mobster Peter Miceli, Kathy's father. Peter begins stalking Alison, showing up uninvited in her house to proclaim his innocence. Alison reluctantly turns to her soon-to-be-divorced former boyfriend, Bobby Crawford, an NYPD homicide detective, for help and comfort. The plot thickens when Terri disappears, leaving Alison in charge of Trixie, a scene-stealing golden retriever who makes a gruesome discovery. Barbieri juggles romance, murder and mayhem with stark realism and disarming charm.

I like mystery series with continuing characters.

I really liked this book. This is the second in the series of five. I apparently read the first one in the series in 2008 but wasn't all that impressed. Maybe she's gotten better or my tastes have changed? I've reserved the other four from the library so may go back and reread the first one. I'll definitely move forward with the series.

The writing style is engrossing and funny. I found it entertaining to read.

The main characters, Alison and Crawford, are likable as are the other characters. Trixie the dog is cute.

When the ending came, I bought it.

Book ~ "Murder 101" - Maggie Barbieri (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ Alison Bergeron, newly divorced English professor at St. Thomas College, is having a difficult time. Someone stole her car, so she has to walk to the train station for the commute to work. Once there, she finds two homicide detectives waiting in her office to ask why the body of one of her students is in the trunk of her car. Trying to remove herself from the list of suspects is not easy. She also has to deal with the distraught family of the dead student, bail her ex-husband out of jail, and grade final exams for her Shakespeare class. For some reason, those boring exams are the object of a great deal of attention. As if that weren't enough, one of the homicide detectives, Bobby Crawford, is taking a romantic interest in Alison, and the pompous college president may decide that her involvement in the case is bad for the school's reputation. This is an entertaining debut and a series to follow for fans of gentle academic mysteries.

This wasn't a bad book but it certainly wasn't a great book.

I found Alison extremely wimpy at times ... she faints and barfs non-stop. Yet off she goes putting herself in danger at others. The extremes are too much. And her ex-husband, Ray, is a dog yet she still helps him when he gets arrested and she has the patience, after all he had done to her in the marriage (which she continuously whines about), to be nice and polite to him. And her best friend, Max, is just annoying!

And the ending (solving the murder) was pretty blah.

I would read another in this series but I wouldn't go looking for it.