{"id":3634,"date":"2025-07-22T14:46:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T14:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3634"},"modified":"2025-07-22T14:46:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T14:46:17","slug":"book-review-lucky-secrets-by-b-t-polcari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3634","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Lucky Secrets by B.T. Polcari"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lucky Secrets<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by B.T. Polcari<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Mystery, Thriller & Suspense<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781509261420<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 294 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> The Wild Rose Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta<\/em><\/p>\n

A charming, lighthearted amateur sleuth mystery full of puzzles, puppies, and personality<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lucky Secrets<\/em> is the third in the Mauzzy & Me mystery series by B.T. Polcari. When it begins, amateur sleuth Sara Donovan is heading into finals before college graduation. But then a mysterious package arrives with two envelopes: one with an invitation to participate in a mysterious competition and the other containing doctored blackmail photos that suggest Sara doesn\u2019t have a choice in whether to agree.<\/p>\n

With her best friend Zoe and her loyal sidekick sleuth dog Mauzzy, the trio report to a mansion where the competition will take place. Under strict non-disclosure agreements, vague threats from the mysterious organizer, and the pressure of seven other contestants, Sara\u2019s investigating skills will be pushed to their limits as she tries not only to win but to unmask the person pulling the strings behind it all.<\/p>\n

Reading the first two books might help add some context to this third book in a series, but it\u2019s not required to pick this up. The author does a great job setting up the history between characters without spending too much time re-hashing the previous two books. Sara is a classic amateur sleuth ala Veronica Mars or Nancy Drew. She\u2019s sharp, determined, and at times in over her head, but she isn\u2019t afraid to ask those around her for help either.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s the mark of a well-designed character that she isn\u2019t always confident in her answers to some of the puzzles and instead takes suggestions and ideas from those she trusts like her friend, her dedicated dog companion, or her rough-around-the-edges boss. Of course, the presence of a dog in a mystery like this just adds to its charm! She is clumsy, which is played up quite a bit in some moments, but it adds to her complexity as a sleuth.<\/p>\n

Zoe, Sara\u2019s feisty friend, is a fun sidekick as well. Her abrasiveness and constant bickering gets slightly grating, especially in high-stress moments when Sara could have used a perhaps kinder tone from her friend to help her through it, but it\u2019s clear Zoe would do anything for Sara and vice versa. Some friends like a little bit of bickering with each other and it adds comical moments to the lighthearted mystery.<\/p>\n

Just because it\u2019s lighthearted doesn\u2019t mean the stakes aren\u2019t high though! Sara\u2019s pulled into the competition because of doctored blackmail photos, but after violence happens on the mansion grounds, the tension escalates. It\u2019s even higher as it becomes clear the unknown villain running the whole thing is deadly serious about their threats. With access to her information, and also the information of those she loves, Sara\u2019s forced to keep at the competition no matter the cost.<\/p>\n

Every single loose end may not be tied up in the end, but there\u2019s enough of an ending to wrap things up while still setting up the narrative to lead into another Mauzzy & Me mystery.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a fun, lighthearted mystery to dig into this summer, I\u2019d recommend starting here, or for more context on the characters, start with book one and read your way through! They\u2019re sure to keep you entertained and giggling.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Addison Ciuchta\u2019s book review of Lucky Secrets <\/em>by B.T. Polcari! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Lucky Secrets by B.T. Polcari<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lucky Secrets by B.T. Polcari Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense ISBN: 9781509261420 Print Length: 294 pages Publisher: The Wild Rose Press Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta A charming, lighthearted amateur sleuth mystery full of puzzles, puppies, and personality Lucky Secrets is the third in the Mauzzy & Me mystery series by B.T. Polcari. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3634"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}