Fireworks, Forensics and Felonies

This fun cozy mystery takes place in colorful New Orleans, on the Fourth of July. Amateur sleuths Brandy and Jiff are engaged and on a boat in Lake Pontchartrain waiting for the fireworks to begin. A sudden explosion and flames across the lake at first shock them, and Jiff realizes that the burning home belongs to his friend, Ian. Next comes a second explosion from the barge holding the fireworks. Jiff knows that Ian and his wife had been on that barge to set off the fireworks. The two are presumed dead, though their bodies aren't found. Soon Brandy and Jeff help the police investigate what happened at both locations.<br /><br />Brandy and Jiff make a terrific team. I enjoyed the suspense, humor, and development of local color. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, this one's for you. Five stars!

I seldom read Cozy Mysteries, but I must say Colleen Mooney’s Fireworks, Forensics and Felonies may help change my mind. What a great story! The writing is tight, the dialog realistic and the mystery plays out in a satisfying, logical fashion. <br /><br />We first meet Brandy and Jiff in a boat on Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana the night of July 4th, waiting for a spectacular fireworks display. The first sign of trouble starts when their friend Ian’s house blows up. Almost immediately, the barge Ian uses to display fireworks, explodes as well. And off to the races we go. The story starts off with a blast, (pun intended) and speeds up from there.<br /><br />This is book 7 of 9. What I liked about this particular tale is I didn’t need to read the previous ones to understand this installment. Ms. Mooney is kind enough to give us just enough information to help us enjoy the story. PLUS, her writing is such, I want to read the preceding novels. I highly recommend this book and the author.<br />

Jiff and Brandy are out for an evening of fireworks and fun on Lake Pontchartrain ... until the fireworks barge blows up. The next explosion happens at the home of the couple Jiff and Brandy were going to visit the next day.<br /><br />So, they've got another murder mystery in their laps ... except there's only one body and three sets of DNA.<br /><br />New Orleans author Colleen Mooney has set the scene for an outstanding fair play puzzle featuring both amateur sleuths and a notoriously corrupt police department. Throw in that Jiff and Brandy are getting more serious about their relationship while one of the cops has seen Brandy as "his" since childhood, and there are additional complications.<br /><br />The Go Cup Chronicles are entertaining cozies set in New Orleans, with fun and suspense alternating every page. Highly recommended.

<strong>4th of July booms!</strong><br /><br />I thoroughly enjoyed this book! There was plenty of mystery, murder, and mayhem with accurate descriptions of the New Orleans areas. I felt I was right there just prior to the fireworks on Lake Pontchartrain! I feel this one is the best yet of series even though I was correct of the perpetrators - the story is that good!

<strong>Another fun mystery</strong><br /><br />Another fun mystery down! Brandy and Jiff make an excellent team and I love how they play off each other. They pretty much run circles around the police but they still respect them. I look forward to what is next.

I really loved this book. A husband and wife both appear to have been murdered on the Fourth of July within seconds of each other in two different places. Why wasn’t the dog in the house with the wife? This is only one question that must be answered. Rated G

This is the second time this year that I’ve read a new cozy mystery written by an Indie Author, who has delightfully written against the grain of traditional publishing’s expectations for the genre while still giving me what I love. In this one, I was pleased to discover dogs and squirrels instead of cats; and a flamboyant dress designer instead of a kindly elderly lady. These tiny, inventive details are what made this story so enjoyable.<br /><br />Ms. Mooney is a wonderful storyteller who draws you into her mystery much like an imaginative child might tell you a story, with a sincere enthusiasm for sharing her imagination. Her plot has all the recognizable distractions of every day life, juxtaposed with the mystery of a crafty “whodunit”. At each turn of the page, I became more immersed in the next “you’ll never believe it” moment. The effect was refreshingly dramatic.<br /><br />This is book seven in a series, but honestly, I didn’t feel lost for jumping into the middle of the fray. The characters have been clearly defined with enough backstory that I felt as if these were friends I’d just recently met. Perhaps I didn’t know every detail of their history, but as it is when you meet new people, that didn’t really matter. What made all the difference in my enjoyment of this story was that I felt they were indeed real people, with real frustrations and joys in their personal lives, moments I could relate to easily. <br /><br />The mystery was exciting, with twisty bits I didn’t see coming. I worked hard to pay attention and predict the outcome, but like the weather, even though we understand the rules of science, that doesn’t always mean Mother Nature complies. Sometimes, a small squall comes up and tussles your boat of rationality upon the waters of intrigue. I found each new piece of evidence and possible suspect shifted my perspective on who the culprit might be. Truly, I didn’t know who the perpetrator was until the reveal. That is very satisfying. To have my need for an intricate detective story, while also being comforted by real people, schnauzers, and squirrels was satisfying and simply nice. And there’s a lot to be said for nice.<br /><br />I will certainly go back and read this series from the beginning… or, I might just read them out of order… but I will absolutely read them. I appreciate good writing, and even more so when it’s provided to me by the hands of an imaginative Indie Author.

I loved this book. This is book seven in the New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles and the series shows no signs of losing the magic of the first book. You don't need to have read or listened to the previous books to enjoy this one but I would recommend that you do because you are in for a party like only New Orleans and this author can produce. I love the colourful and quirky characters that are just so much fun that they will have you chuckling as they try to solve the problems of a wedding, oh and an explosion. The mystery was interesting and took you down many different paths before getting solved. I like the way the characters have developed and think Jiff is just perfect for Brandy but then again they haven't walked down the aisle just yet, can't wait for the next book.<br />Jiff and Brandy are celebrating the 4th of July in style on a boat in the harbour, the perfect position to watch the fireworks organised by Jiff 's friend Ian. Instead they hear a house explosion and then the boat holding the fireworks goes up in flames too. Jiff is devastated to learn the house that caught fire also belonged to his friend and his wife was at home. The police are quick to jump to murder and focus in on the dead couple's business partner Phil, another friend of Jiff's, from his college days. He had the biggest motive having taken out an insurance policy on the couple and at the start of going through his own divorce. Can Brandy and Jiff find out what really happened and keep there friend from being arrest for murder? DNA throws a spanner in the works And they have to start questioning everything they think they know. They also have to keep the big secret from Brandy's mother that they plan to get married? The last thing Brandy wants is her over bearing mother to take over but how will she find the time to plan a wedding, find a house big enough for her, Jiff and there two Schnauzer to live in and solve the mystery over the fires and there friends death? <br />I like the narrator, she does such a great accents for the characters it makes you feel like you are in the heart of New Orleans and the investigation.<br />I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I love the title, Fireworks, Forensics and Felonies, not only does it give you a shorthand summary of the plot, but it does so in a musical way. I so enjoyed the voice of the heroine, Brandy Alexander, in Politicians, Potholes and Pralines that I wanted to hear her adventure and bought this book. <br /><br />Colleen Mooney knows how to weave a mystery. In this book, she brings her love of fireworks and boating into play. Brandy, who works at the Fraud detection Unit in the city, has an “uncanny ability to find inconsistencies in data entries” which serves her clients well and can be applied to solve crimes. “I see, feel or sense, what is off or doesn’t fit.” To her, “The smell of gunpowder is an aphrodisiac.” To me, the fiery aspect of the story is matched by the funny one. Brandy is falling in love with Jiff but is afraid to tell her overbearing mother about the engagement. <br /><br />When his friends, Ian and his wife Sophie, are believed dead in a spectacular double explosion of their house and barge, Brandy looks for “The insignificant that doesn’t fit the pattern.” Recently issued insurance policies for the two victims suggests that maybe, one of them aimed to lo kill the other. When there isn’t any forensic evidence of bodies matching Sophie or Ian in the rubble, she states, “To me, no evidence is evidence of something else.” <br /><br />This cozy mystery would not be complete without the Schnauzers. “Blast and Sparkler could run outside with Meaux and Isabella in hot pursuit.”<br /><br />Five stars.

The explosive beginning of Fireworks, Forensics, and Felonies, sets the stage for another dynamite cozy mystery by Colleen Mooney. This author never fails to entertain me, and her stories are perfect for a wonderful weekend escape regardless of where I am. Always a stand alone read, I love the adventures of Brandy Alexander and her sidekicks in this series.<br /><br />Fireworks, Forensics, and Felonies, summarizes the storyline, and two explosions in the first scene definitely lured me in. Mooney’s magical recipe for crafting mystery with humor, intrigue, and fun characters always keeps me reading.<br /><br />Brandy works at the Fraud detection Unit in the city, and her curious nature and unusual ability to discover inconsistencies in data gives her a unique ability to solve crimes. So, when Jiff, who she’s falling in love with, believes his friends, Ian and Sophie, were killed in the explosion, Brandy’s investigative instincts kick in.<br /><br />Fireworks, Forensics and Felonies is a delightful who-done-it with a great plot, great characters, humor to tickle your funny bone, and all the elements of a wonderful cozy mystery, including schnauzers. I highly recommend this—or any of Colleen Mooney’s books!<br /><br />Favorite line: “The smell of gunpowder is an aphrodisiac.”