Moon Games is a cozy mystery that takes place in the North Carolina town of Black Mountain. Check it out and enter to win a copy.

Book Details:

Title: Moon Games by Shelly Frome
Category: Adult Fiction, 264 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Milford House Press
Release date: August 4, 2018
Tour dates: Mar 15 to April 30, 2019
Content: PG-13 + M for some mild language and mature content matter

Book Description: 

At the outset, Miranda Davis has nothing much going for her. The tourists are long gone by October in the quaint Carolina town of Black Mountain, her realty business is at a standstill, and her weekend stint managing the local tavern offers little to pull her out of the doldrums. When prominent church lady Cloris Raintree offers a stipend to look into the whereabouts of a missing coed, Miranda, along with her partner Harry (an unemployed features writer) agree.

But then it all backfires. A burly figure shambles down a mountain slope with a semi-conscious girl draped over his shoulder. Miranda’s attempts to uncover Cloris Raintree’s true motives become near impossible. The local police keep stonewalling and Harry is of little help.

Tarot cards left on Cloris’ doorstep only exacerbate the situation. Growing more desperate over the captive girl’s fate, Miranda comes across a link to a cold case of arson and murder. With the advent of the dark of the moon, she is summoned to “Tower Time” as this twisty tale continues to unravel.


Moon Games is a cozy mystery that takes place in the North Carolina town of Black Mountain. The setting of mountain ridges, foggy moonlit autumn nights, and a damp chilly Halloween season along with a colorful cast of bumbling characters makes this book interesting. I must admit though, I was confused and scratching my head a lot of the time, wondering if I had missed something as I read along.

I didn't get the sense that I "knew" any of the characters. I was always trying to figure them out. I'm not sure if this was intentional on the author's part and part of the mystery or if I just had to be patient as I tried to figure things out. Things became clearer as I got deeper into the book, but this was a complex mystery nonetheless and it was a slow start for me. Miranda was an unlikely but likable hero, although I thought she acted older than her thirty-six years.

If you like murder mysteries in a small town setting with scatter-brained and sometime humorous characters trying to figure things out, you might enjoy this one.

To read more reviews, please visit Shelly Frome's page on Virtual Author's Book Tours.