Tag: Stephen Kaminski

Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery by Stephen Kaminski #Review / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour

Posted on By Dollycas 2 Comments on Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery by Stephen Kaminski #Review / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour


Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery
by Stephen Kaminski

About Corpse and Robbers


Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – A small town in Michigan
Cozy Cat Press (April 16, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 234 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1952579457
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1952579455
Digital Cozy Cat Press (May 13, 2022)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B1BD759B

Paul Bearer & Sons have two memorial services on the schedule, but three dead bodies. When Rusted Bonnet’s funeral home becomes the site of a murder, Cam Reddick finds himself as a prime suspect. To distance himself from the allegations, Cam must untangle a host of clever cons and mini mysteries, from corpse robbing to a fine art scam to a modern-day treasure hunt. Cam soon discovers that Paul Bearer’s more closely resembles a con artists’ colony than a funeral home. With help from his ex-wife and mother, Cam ultimately unearths the most devious and deadly ploy of all.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Cam Reddick had failed—as a husband, as a father, and as a professional. But now he is back in Rusted Bonnett, Michigan, and running his mother’s housekeeping business, Peachy Kleen, and trying to strengthen his relationship with his ex Kacey Gingerfield (who doubles as the village’s Deputy Chief of Police) and their daughter Emma.

Cam arrives at Paul Bearer & Sons’ funeral home to finish the cleaning before two memorial services take place. Instead, he finds three dead bodies and soon finds himself on the top of the suspect list. To try to clear his name he needs a little help because all he has found is a tangled-up mess of cons, deceit, and lies.

I had to refresh my memory a little bit because the first book in this series, An Au Pair to Remember was released in January 2019. That was done quickly and the author does give background at the start of this series too, which I appreciate. I am glad that Cam and Kasey have a great co-parenting plan for Emma. Cam has grown a lot and he has some good sleuthing techniques. Kacey is a strong woman who knows what she wants and needs and how to get it. Maybe because I am a mom, I love Darby and her quick wit. What I like best about all the characters is that they are genuine, people you would meet in any small town.

There is a lot going on in this book. Three mysteries running concurrently. The author does a good job of blending them together but I found myself taking notes trying to keep everyone and everything straight. Bodies, art, missing silver bars, the mafia, a twist here, a turn there, a setup, a takedown, all meld together for a fine story.

Readers are taken on quite a journey in Corpse and Robbers before all the clues fall into place and the mysteries are solved. It was a very enjoyable read. I hope the author doesn’t take as long to pen Book #3.

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About Stephen Kaminski


Stephen Kaminski is the author of two cozy mystery series: The Male Housekeeper Mysteries and the Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective series, both published by Cozy Cat Press.

“Corpse & Robbers” (2022) is the latest of Kaminski’s Male Housekeeper Mysteries. The first installment of the series, “An Au Pair to Remember,” was penned in 2019.

Each of Kaminski’s Damon Lassard books — “It Takes Two to Strangle” (2012), “Don’t Cry Over Killed Milk” (2013), and “Murder, She Floats” (2014) — was awarded the Reader Views Literary Award for the Mid-Atlantic Region, and Don’t Cry Over Killed Milk was named Best Classic Cozy in the 2014 Murder & Mayhem Awards and was a 2013 Chanticleer Media CLUE Award Finalist.

Stephen is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School and currently serves as the chief executive officer of a national energy association. He lives with his 120 lb Swissie, Siberian forest cat, rescue kitty, and a gaggle of occasionally tolerable but always loveable humans in Bethesda, MD.

Purchase Link

Amazon 
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Great Escapes Praise for Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery
by Stephen Kaminski

The journey to the mystery’s resolution was filled with twists and turns, making for a satisfying mystery.
~Cassidy’s Bookshelves

A perfect choice for cozy fans looking for a fast-paced read that would be a little different than the norm. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
~Books a Plenty Book Reviews

This mystery was light and easy to read and very entertaining. I’ve always been fascinated by funeral home storylines and the family who runs Paul Bearer Funeral Home is a pretty fascinating group. This is a good one.
~Books to the Ceiling

A fun new cozy mystery! If you’re looking for a quick, entertaining, unique cozy read, I’d highly recommend Corpse and Robbers!
~Nellie’s Book Nook

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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#Review / #Giveaway – An Au Pair to Remember: A Male Housekeeper Mystery by Stephen Kaminski – Great Escapes Book Tour

Posted on By Dollycas 7 Comments on #Review / #Giveaway – An Au Pair to Remember: A Male Housekeeper Mystery by Stephen Kaminski – Great Escapes Book Tour

An Au Pair to Remember:
A Male Housekeeper Mystery
by Stephen Kaminski

About the Book


An Au Pair to Remember: A Male Housekeeper Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Michigan
Cozy Cat Press (January 27, 2019)
Paperback: 260 pages
ISBN-10: 1946063703
ISBN-13: 978-1946063700
Digital ASIN: B07NCBZ23L

From the author of the award-winning Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective series comes the Male Housekeeper Mysteries, focusing on charming characters, snappy dialogue, eclectic murders, and cunning confidence schemes. To his mind, Cam Reddick has failed—as a husband, as a father, and as a professional. After recognizing that his vanilla credentials didn’t stack up in a big city brimming with overachievers and toiling in drudgery for half of a decade, an emotionally raw Cam returns to his childhood hometown—the quaint and quirky village of Rusted Bonnet, Michigan. He’s determined to resuscitate relationships marred by youthful immaturity, most importantly those with his ex-wife Kacey Gingerfield (who doubles as the village’s Deputy Chief of Police) and their first grader, Emma. Armed with striking looks and an endearing proclivity for mixing metaphors, but saddled by “momma’s boy” tendencies, Cam takes the helm of his mother’s housekeeping business—Peachy Kleen. Access to homes across the village facilitates Cam’s penchant for amateur sleuthing as Kacey’s aide-de-camp. Surrounded by Kacey, his sophisticated mother Darby, garrulous senior housekeeper Samantha, and recuse fish cum confidant Bait, Cam’s circuitous journeys to solving murders and unravelling complex cons hasten his struggle down the path of self-healing to self-respect. And there’s hope that—just maybe—he can rekindle the romance he once had with Kacey.

In An Au Pair to Remember, Cam’s plan for a quiet return to Rusted Bonnet is dashed when a beautiful German au pair, Greta Astor, is found dead in Dutch McRae’s foyer with all signs pointing to a hastily disassembled trip wire at the top of the stairs. When Kacey learns that Cam was cleaning the McRae home the previous afternoon, she confides to him that Chief Bernie Leftwich is set on arresting Dutch for the murder—either alone or in tandem with Greta’s bartender boyfriend. But she worries that Bernie’s been duped. And later, when his mother Darby becomes a suspect, Cam inserts himself into the investigation and stumbles through a series of ostensible incongruities—a thief swallowing a cache of stolen diamonds, a snack food distributor laundering money, and a Cash-for-Gold scam. Meanwhile, Peachy Kleen’s young African housekeeper has disappeared with one of the company vans. All the while, Cam finds himself flirting with his new neighbor and struggling with his complicated feelings for Kacey.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Cam Reddick has returned to Rusted Bonnet, Michigan to take over his mother’s housecleaning business, Peachy Kleen. But he has an ulterior motive. He hopes to have a real relationship with his daughter Emma and repair the relationship with his ex-wife Kacey Gingerfield, that blew up when he ran away and headed off to the big city. Kacey has moved on with her life working as the Deputy Chief of Police and taking care of her 6-year-old daughter. Cam’s mother, Darby is also very involved in the child’s life.

Cam is taking a hands-on approach at Peachy Kleen. He is part of the team sent to clean the McRae home where he meets Greta Astor, the McRae’s au pair. He is shocked to learn that the woman was found dead in the home the next morning. Chief Bernie Leftwich has already solved the case to his satisfaction. He deduces a trip wire was placed on the staircase and removed after Greta’s fall. He decides the children’s father, Dutch McRae is the murderer, but Kacey has her doubts. Then due to some “evidence”, he has determined that Cam’s mother Darby did it or is at least an accomplice. Cam can’t take the news sitting down so he starts doing a little sleuthing on his own. His ex-wife isn’t happy about it but at least he is keeping her in the loop with his findings.

I didn’t like Cam from the first sweep but he grew on me more as the story continued. He uses his immaturity as a reason for leaving his family behind and I just wasn’t having it. I pegged him as selfish and conceded.  I do believe in second chances though so I was willing to give him a chance and I am glad I did. I really liked Kacey. A strong woman in a tough job being the best single mom that she can. She does open her life to Cam and allows him to see his daughter a lot without a whole lot of custody craziness. He steps up too with Emma when Kacey needs to work overtime to solve the case.  Darby brings some levity to the story. I was stunned though by the Chief’s stupidity when he actually pulled her in as a suspect.

The mystery is a twisted one with plenty of theories but not a lot of actual evidence making it difficult to solve. The subplot featuring one of Peachy Kleen’s employees was very interesting and I was anxious to see how that played out and how and if it had anything to do with the au pair’s death. I did have an inkling about the murderer early on but can’t point to one thing that took me in their direction, it was just an overall thing until the final clues fell into place.

I hope in the next story we learn much more about the characters. Cam appears to have Celiac Disease and should adhere to a gluten-free diet. His good and bad food choices run throughout the story. I feel we have just scratched the surface on Kacey and Darby and I really want to see more of Emma. Of course, Cam’s fish Bait, yes he named his fish Bait, already plays a crucial role as Cam’s sounding board. I just hope he has a life longer than a typical fish 🙂

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About the Author

Stephen Kaminski is the author of An Au Pair to Remember, the first installment of the Male Housekeeper Mystery series.  He also writes the award-winning Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective books.  Stephen is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the trade association representing the United States’ poison control system and its fifty-five centers.  He lives with his daughter and rescue kitty in the Washington, DC area.

Author Links – GoodReads – Facebook –

Purchase Links – Amazon Kindle – Amazon Paperback 

Also by this Author

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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