• book,  Uncategorized

    SERIES REVIEW: Kip O’Connor Mystery Books 1-3 by S.C. Wynne

    Kip O’Connor Mystery: Last Gasp – S.C. Wynne

    Kip O’Connor lives a simple life in the little seaside town of Pearl Bay. Unless it’s tourist season, things tend to be pretty peaceful. There is, however, one never ending source of irritation in the form of Police Chief Merrick Dawson.

    Merrick is Kip’s older brother’s BFF, and nothing seems to bring Merrick more joy than nagging Kip about silly things. You’d think a Police Chief would have more important things to do than lecture Kip on parking tickets and picking up pet waste, but somehow Merrick always finds the time.

    Kip decides to take an art class at the local community college, and he’s annoyed to find Merrick has also enrolled in the course. The instructor takes a shine to Kip, and soon they become friends outside of class. Merrick warns Kip of the dangers of blurring those lines and befriending his teacher, but Kip is flattered by the attention.

    When his art teacher is found stabbed through the forehead with a palette knife, Kip is determined to figure out who killed his new friend. Merrick naturally thinks Kip getting involved in the investigation is a horrible idea, but when has Kip ever listened to that irksome, pig-headed Merrick Dawson?

    This is book one in my brand new Kip O’Connor M/M Cozy Mystery series. Each book has a cozy feel to it and there is a strong romantic story-line in each book. No on page steam but some mild violence. I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I enjoy writing it.


    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Please Notice
    Artist: Christian Leave
    Album: Hope


    Kip O’Connor Mystery: Last Date – S.C. Wynne

    Some dates are simply murder.

    After barely surviving a terrifying stalker last month, Kip is reexamining his life choices. There’s nothing like almost dying to make you take stock of things.

    One bright spot is that the ever maddening Merrick Dawson has stopped following him around picking on him. Merrick has begun dating Peter Harris, who by all accounts is a wonderful guy. Peter is nice. He’s handsome. He’s downright annoyingly perfect.

    When Kip is asked out on a romantic sunset cruise by one of Pearl Cove’s most eligible bachelors, he decides he has nothing to lose. Unless he wants to spend the rest of his days alone, he needs to be proactive about finding love.
    But when Kip shows up for the cruise, instead of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, he finds his date dead.

    This is book two in my Kip O’Connor M/M Cozy Mystery series. Each book has a cozy feel to it and there is a strong romantic (slow burn) storyline in each book. No on-page steam but some mild violence.


    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Longshot
    Artist: Catfish and the Bottlemen
    Album: The Balance


    Kip O’Connor Mystery: Last Chance – S.C. Wynne

    Wait just a minute. A whole month has passed and no one has been murdered in Pearl Cove?

    Things are settling down in Pearl Cove as Kip and Merrick fumble their way through a new relationship. There’s no denying the two men have deep feelings for each other, but trust issues can play havoc when people don’t communicate well.

    When Kip’s office manager, Helen, has her home burgled, but nothing is stolen, the Pearl Cove PD has little interest in solving the case. Kip, Charlene, and Helen decide a little amateur sleuthing couldn’t hurt anything.

    Not surprisingly, Police Chief Dawson doesn’t agree. He wholeheartedly disapproves of his boyfriend’s plan to nab the trespasser. But if the police won’t do anything, Kip isn’t about to turn his back on his friend.

    In fact, it’s rather fun to play detective… until the thief tries to murder them.

    This is book three in my Kip O’Connor M/M Cozy Mystery series. Each book has a cozy feel to it and there is a strong romantic storyline in each book. No on-page graphic steam, but some mild violence.


    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Album: Care for You
    Artist: Ryan Ashley
    Album: Care for You


    Kip O’Connor Mystery is your typical cozy mystery. Small town, quirky characters, frenemy cop later boyfriend, and of course, murder. The dynamics between Kip and Police Chief Merrick Dawson reminded me of Josh Lanyon‘s style, except this is much better. Merrick is more likable and less an asshole than most Josh Lanyon love interests.

    I say this is typical, but this turned out to be my favorite S.C. Wynne series. The author picked a great narrator, James Woodrich, whose delivery suited the story to a T and made Kip’s personality shine. I also liked how he voiced Merrick’s character, charming, a bit arrogant but always protective of Kip, level-headed and stern when in cop mode.

    Kip’s fantastic in his down-to-earth ways. His character wasn’t overly quirky or introverted, for which I’m glad as too many cozies tend to lean towards those. He’s an average joe who seeks contentment and a simple life. What made me love Kip is that he’s kind-hearted, loyal, and always willing to help his friends, who are also his employees. He runs a thriving dog-walking business and likes dogs so much, he volunteered a lot of pro-bono training hours just so a dog wouldn’t end up in the pound. And I was super amused at how spectacularly oblivious he was about Merrick.

    Kip and Merrick had an antagonistic relationship since childhood. Merrick is Kip’s older brother Thomas’s best friend, who tormented him as a child. As years passed, Merrick’s feelings changed, but Kip’s has not, and this led to the running gag in the first two books, where everyone knows, hints are thrown, but Kip fails to pick up or entertain because memories of bullying were hard to shake off.

    I’m not sure how to feel about Kip’s family and friends waving the trauma aside and proclaiming Merrick’s the best guy for him. However, present-day Merrick is genuinely contrite, so I wasn’t too hard on him. I loved how effectively the author created the USTs and squee factor between the two MCs, even if most of how Merrick felt was only relayed to Kip, who had a hard time believing. It took spelling out for our boy to realize what was pretty obvious to everyone. Trust is an issue but they’re working on it.

    The mysteries were intriguing, with a lot of red herrings thrown in. For the first two books, Last Gasp and Last Date, Kip is directly connected to the murder victims. One is his art teacher. The second is his Valentine’s Day date. I like that he didn’t do amateur sleuthing here because it wouldn’t have felt natural, given Kip’s situation.

    In the third book, Last Chance, his employee Charlene is burgled, and due to police neglect, Kip, Charlene, and another employee, Helen, are forced to do some amateur sleuthing. They crossed paths with some horrible people but there is a nice little resolution for Charlene at the end.

    One of the conflicts between the MCs is about police behavior. Kip’s encounters with the cops were usually unpleasant. Merrick is understandably defensive of his cops, but Kip had a point about them not doing their jobs properly and/or jumping the gun too often. However, the great thing about these two is that they might bicker and miscommunicate, but they do make it a point to talk, eventually.

    Kip O’ Connor Mystery is as cozy and entertaining as promised. Add to it the adorable doggy antics, and boy, do I want to work for Red Leash! Kip’s a super cool boss and my spirit animal in bleeding hearts for strays department. He’d be awesome to have as a friend too. All in all, great books for curling up in a corner with a canine friend or two!


    If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Kip O’Connor Mystery. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.

    Kip O’Connor Mystery: US

    If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!

  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Please Notice by Christian Leave, Longshot by Catfish and the Bottlemen, & Care for You by Ryan Ashley

    Soundtrack to Kip O’Connor Mystery: Last Gasp by S.C. Wynne

    Please Notice by Christian Leave for a book about a man who failed to notice his former bully was in love with him.

    And baby when you sleep, do you dream of me?
    And when you’re awake, do you think of me?
    I need to know, how do you feel?
    ‘Cause baby when I sleep, I dream of you
    And when I’m awake, that’s all I do
    Think about every detail you have
    Do you notice when I get mad, I clench my jaw?
    Do you notice when I get sad, I tend to fall?
    Over my words, I say to you
    ‘Cause I notice when you get mad, you close your eyes
    And I notice when you are sad, you let out sighs
    I need to know, are those sighs ever over me?

    Soundtrack to Kip O’Connor Mystery: Last Date by S.C. Wynne

    Longshot by Catfish and the Bottlemen for a book about a man took a chance and his frenemy who is now more than a friend and no longer the enemy.

    Listen, the distance between us, could’ve took a while
    Once we closed that difference, you’d turned up like a friend of mine
    Every once in a while, the little things make me smile
    As if one of our longshots paid off
    One of our longshots paid off

    Soundtrack to Kip O’Connor Mystery: Last Chance by S.C. Wynne

    Care for You by Ryan Ashley for a book about two men, their tumultuous past, and a hard-won trust.

    Baby I just wanna care for you
    You know, that I just wanna care for you
    Baby today, show me a way to your heart
    You know, that I just wanna care for you
    Show me a way, show me a way to your heart

    I can sense your resistance
    I know that you’ve been hurt before
    Can you respect my persistence
    I’m ready to give so much more
    I’m here
    So wrap your arms around me