Poor Ellison, I am sure she would love to just take some time off and relax. Alas, this isn’t the book to do it. Her mother is usual over bearing self, both her Aunt and her Sister are visiting, each with secrets and baggage of their own, and oh yeah, it would seem someone is trying to kill her.

Once again the author has written a brilliant world for the reader to escape into. The early seventies is a fantastic backdrop for Ellison’s story and her characters are expertly crafted. The compare and contrast between Mother and Aunt Sis with Ellison and Marjorie is a great touch.

As with the previous books Ellison’s sarcasm, lost on most of the more oblivious people in her life, drive the story with its humorous touch. There is plenty of suspense and the occasional red herring. This my favorite book of the series. As with all the books it read great as a stand alone, and even better a part of the wonderful series.

The third installment of this delightful series continues to amuse and excite me. There's coffee and Anarchy Jones, what's not to love? Ellison is back with her biting sense of humour and sharp wit in the midst of (OH!) another murder mystery. This time she has to deal with incompetent killers, put up with her mother (again) and...well that's all am saying. I read this book in a few hours and it was another entertaining mystery. Apart from the mystery what I love about this series is the descriptive elements & wit, and quirky remarks from the characters especially Ellison.

Very delightful!

I love this series! And I'm gonna start using the phrase "Sweet nine pound baby Jesus!" 😅

I've been teetering on the edge of a reading slump for a few weeks now. Pretty much every book I read was good but nothing special and nothing was really pulling me into the story. Until I picked up Clouds in My Coffee and right away I was in Kansas City in the mid 1970s in the world of Ellison Russell. I absolutely loved the previous book - Guaranteed to Bleed - and was thrilled to find out that I loved this one just as much if not more.

Ellison is just as easy to relate to as she;s always been and I really enjoyed seeing all the family bonds that were explored in this book. While we still see her daughter Grace a good bit the focus is more on Ellison's relationship with her mother, sister and aunt and all the relationships in between. I really enjoyed getting to know Ellison's mother better and getting to know Ellison's sister. I could definitely see why they didn't always get along.

The mystery itself was page turning and entertaining. It was also quite a bit different from the usual murder mystery. While a body does eventually show up the main focus is on the narrow escapes Ellison is having. Normally you know why someone is out to kill the main character but in this case no one - including Ellison - has any idea. In the best possible way I had no idea what was going on or how it was going to be revealed for about 80% of the book and even when I did have a theory I was ended up being wrong!

This book is clearly taking place in the 70s and there are a number of cultural mentions which I was fascinated with but it's never overdone. If you want a little help visualizing you can check out Mulhern's Pinterest page where she has a board for each book. I also adored when Ellison's mother, Francine, tells her to not go into any out of the way places or check her coat at a gala because she doesn't want Ellison to stumble over another dead body.

Overall, this is becoming one of my favorite mystery series. It's entertaining and well structured and light without being fluffy. I can't wait to see what trouble Ellison will get in next!
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/05/clouds-in-my-coffee-blog-tour-review.html

Dollycas’s Thoughts

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book!

Ellison Russell’s mother is planning a huge gala but when unexpected family, her daughter, Marjorie, and her sister, Sis, show up she is anything but pleased. She sends them to Ellison’s. They haven’t been home in years, why now? Nothing is going to ruin her event. What would people think?

At a pre-gala party Ellison is almost killed by a falling sculpture, then someone throws a Molotov cocktail at her house and bullets are flying. Then at the gala dinner she is almost poisoned. Why would someone want Ellison dead? Until the culprit is caught another guest moves in with Ellison, hunky detective Anarchy Jones. This leaves prospective husband, at least in her mother’s eyes, Hunter Tafft a little upset. Marjorie has Ellison simmering because she may be married but that doesn’t stop her from flirting with every man in sight and maybe a little more with one or two. Ellison hasn’t got time to be worrying about her sister’s antics. She has to catch a killer before he succeeds in killing her.

Julie Mulherm has written another outstanding story.

These characters are so much fun. Frances Russell, Ellison’s mom, is the epitome of the country club wife. She has her committees and does lunch and does everything the “right” way, her way. Her daughters seem to always be letting her down and even when there are far away from trouble, which I know, isn’t often, they still get the blame. Especially Ellison. Ellison has grown since the series started. She knows how to handle her mother, or get her father to handle her mother. Marjorie is at a crossroads, “things always looks greener” situation. Ellison tries her best to get her back on track. Aunt Sis, is a free spirit and a huge thorn in Frances’ side. She has a secret and that is why she has returned to Kansas City. Ellison just needs to run interference between all over them and hopes that before any permanent damage is done, they all go back where they came from.

There is non-stop action from the start to the finish. The killer seems to be pretty incompetent, so many tries to murder Ellison, and thankfully they haven’t succeeded. I really enjoyed that no one knew the motivation behind the attempts. Not even Detective Jones. It’s hard to catch a suspect when the victim really has no enemies or at least no one that would want her dead.

The story like the first two installments is set in the early 70’s. I love the references to the early television shows and police investigations without all the technology we have today.

I need to mention that along with all the drama there is a fair amount of humor. The way this family interacts both in stressful and not so stressful moments may have you giggling and even laughing out loud.

This story checks all my boxes for a perfect escape. Awesome plot, terrific characters and set in a wonderful time. This truly is one of my favorite series!

Characters in serious need of family counseling and life. Dithering, dithering dithering main character suffering from serious swings between love and hate, decision and indecision, generosity and pettiness.

Comedy of errors? Austen's Emma is in part a comedy of errors, the movie While You Were Sleeping was a comedy of errors. This was just a novel about not even opening one's eyes in favor of keeping up appearances.

As a mystery, it was a no-go either. The answer just came tumbling down on the "investigator".

Great series - see my reviews of The Deep End (book 1) and Cold as Ice (book 6).

Such an enjoyable series. Still don't like Hunter!

There's a great deal to enjoy in Mulhern's '70's country club world set mysteries. This one feels just a touch crowded with incident and characters along with a premise that doesn't quite ring true - someone seems to be trying to kill our protagonist and she just doesn't believe it?