Missing Pieces

Title: Missing Pieces: 4 Puzzling Cozy Mysteries

Authors: Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, Teresa Ives Lilly, Janice Thompson

Genre: Mystery, Anthologies, Christian Fiction

Publisher: Barbour Fiction

Source: Net Galley

My review:

I love jigsaw puzzles. So, when I saw the cover of Missing Pieces, I knew I had to read it!! With the exception of Janice Thompson, all the authors are new to me.

Elvis Has Left the Building by Cynthia Hickey

This story was okay. It needed more work, especially at the beginning. One of my biggest pet peeves was one of the characters asked a question, and the person who she asked didn't acknowledge it, the story moved on. It was an incomplete scene. The overall premise was good, but the execution was lacking. There was no time for great character development and the romance between the two characters was off.

★★/5

The Puzzle King by Linda Baten Johnson 

I liked that the setting was a puzzle competition and it made me curious if such a thing actually exists. The murderer is obvious, the sheriff is constantly making it known she is up for reelection, and Jane doesn't use the brain God gave her, constantly putting herself alone with murder suspects.

★★/5

A Puzzling Weekend by Teresa Ives Lilly 

The premise was a little different from the first two stories, and I appreciated that. This one started with 5 (Kindle) pages of descriptions leading to the location of the mystery, making me bored from the start. I didn't understand why the officers didn't immediately get all the guest's statements, saying they would come back later to do it. I don't think that is the normal order in a real murder. 

★★/5

Mystery at the Jigsaw Swap by Janice Thompson 

I enjoyed this one. It was well-written. I like Moriah, I appreciated how she was trying to prove herself to her parents, since her mother did not approve of her career choice. I think most of us might be able to relate. Moriah was smart when trying to solve the mystery, she didn't put herself in harm's way. I also enjoyed the ending.

★★★/5

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

★★⋆/5 

Synopsis:

What could go wrong when jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts get together?
How about four murders and a couple thefts? Can clues be pieced together to solve these puzzling crimes?

Elvis Has Left the Building by Cynthia Hickey
Cee Cee is hosting a jigsaw puzzle party in Apple Blossom, Arkansas, and everyone is expected to bring a brand-new 500-piece jigsaw puzzle to work on that depicts something from the 1950s. With a vintage car show, vendors, live music, and a dance, the night promises to be a great one—until the Elvis impersonator is murdered and a priceless puzzle is missing.
 
The Puzzle King by Linda Baten Johnson
Jane enters a jigsaw puzzle competition at the Fargo, North Dakota, fairgrounds. When a fellow competitor is poisoned, all suspects are confined at the hotel during the investigation, and Jane is determined to use her puzzle-solving skills to root out the killer.
 
A Puzzling Weekend by Teresa Ives Lilly
Tabitha’s first event at her new bed and breakfast in Pumpkin City, Pennsylvania, is a jigsaw puzzle mystery weekend. All is going well until the hired cook is found stabbed to death. As the prime suspect, Tabitha works with the handsome investigator—and two wily beagle dogs—to clear her name.
 
Mystery at the Jigsaw Swap by Janice Thompson
Mariah hopes to sell her vast puzzle collection at a jigsaw puzzle swap in Camden, Maine, at the historic opera house. But her most valuable puzzle ends up missing when another vendor is stabbed to death.

Enjoy four short cozy mysteries...all involving jigsaw puzzles!