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Cozy mysteries with a little romance, a lot of humor, and far too much champagne. All of Cindy Blackburn's books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited! At long last! Jessie Hewitt is about to take her rightful spot in the Hall of Fame. No, not the one for pool sharks. This is the Romance Writers Hall of Fame. Jessie's so excited she's even convinced über-hunky cop Wilson Rye to tag along for the induction festivities. But things don't go exactly as planned. How could a conference called Happily Ever After take such a wrong turn? Take a guess. Five Spot is spot on for anyone who likes cozy mysteries laced with laugh-out-loud hilarity. Cue up and read on!

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2015

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Cindy Blackburn

15 books94 followers

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5 stars
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81 (30%)
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,212 reviews2,340 followers
September 4, 2017
Five Spot (Cue Ball Mysteries #5) by Cindy Blackburn is an amusing mystery book that I couldn't put down. It is a fun read with twists and turns. I don't think I have read any of her books before but that will change. Lots of things go wrong but somehow things end up right! A great cozy read.
Profile Image for Jo Ann Reinhold.
424 reviews44 followers
February 22, 2016
I knew the minute I picked this book up I knew it would be just what the doctor ordered! This book, I think, is the funniest one yet in this fantastic cozy series! Cindy has created some irresistible, amusing and lovable characters that will make you want more!
Jessica, the champagne shipping, pool shark, Historical Romance writer is at it again and is up to her neck in another murder case but was the target her or someone else? Her homicide detective husband has his hands full trying to keep her safe and keep the ever growing sleuthing (god he hates that word) team on track.
Thank you Cindy Blackburn for another fun filled time! Who says life always has to be serious....sometimes you just need a cozy :-)
Profile Image for Kristen Lewendon.
8,429 reviews63 followers
June 8, 2024
Will Jessie and Wilson survive the romance writers conference? Or, perhaps more importantly, will their marriage? I adore this group of characters. And once again, it’s been long enough since I first read this book that I was able to approach the mystery as if it were brand new to me; I didn’t remember anything about the details or whodunnit. It was not a solution I was expecting which made my reading enjoyment all the better. I need more Jessie and Wilson and I NEED them NOW!
Profile Image for Mary.
340 reviews52 followers
August 10, 2017
Five Spot = Book #5 in the Cue Ball Mysteries series by Cindy Blackburn

Book Five has Jessie and Wilson darting off to a weekend long conference full of Romance Writers Hall of Fame induction festivities. As this is the year that Jessie was selected for the Romance Writers Hall of Fame, they felt it pertinent to attend.

The conference is decked out in pink, almost an overkill of the color. The staff is a little less than delighted about the festivities, and the decor.

There are two main agents in attendance, and they are busy trying to convince authors to leave the other to join their forces. One such author is unhappy about just about everything. That author ends up dead - but was she the intended target, or was it really Jessie, who had volunteered to trade her seats at the very last second, just to appease the woman.

In the meantime, Wilson had secretly invited Jessie's mother to surprise her at the event. Between being holed up in her room and quietly sleuthing on the side, the sleuthing team comes to an agreement as to who the killer is. But have they chosen the correct person?

More twists and turns, but a real page turning read. The story keeps the reader captivated right to the very end. The book is a great way to spend a day escaping to another world. Easy read and captivating.
Profile Image for Judy.
3,374 reviews30 followers
July 7, 2017
This fifth volume in the Cue Ball Mysteries series finds Jessica and her new husband at a Romance Writer's conference, where she is about to be named to the Hall of Fame. Since that only happens every 10 years, it's kind of a big deal. But when one of the other honorees drops dead at the table and it's unclear whether she or Jessica is the target, things get complicated. Her husband is out of his jurisdiction, but determined to make sure Jessica stays safe, so he divides his time between guarding her and chivying the local police chief to keep the investigation moving, since once the convention leaves town it will be hard to clear it up. The all pink convention setting is fun to imagine, and there are lots of clues and false clues, and of course the signature humor of this series.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
783 reviews37 followers
September 22, 2017
This is certainly a wacky murder mystery. I enjoyed the plot, but the characters annoyed me. My head was spinning with their various solutions to the murder. I would have run out of the room screaming if I had been among them. But, an annoying character is still one who gets a reader's reaction, so kudos to the author. I think I could have cared more for them if I had started from the beginning of the series.
258 reviews3 followers
August 8, 2017
There is a life after fifty. There is also murder.

What was going to be the biggest moment in Jessie's life may be the worst. As a novelist she is at the top of her game. She has a sexy new husband and now an award she has waited ten years for. So what is the problem? Murder is the problem.
Profile Image for Lucinda Messer.
24 reviews
September 10, 2018
I enjoy more and more Cindy Blackburn's writing with each book I read. I love the romance with Jessie and Wilson and their friends as they solve murders. I highly recommend reading Cindy's books.
118 reviews1 follower
January 1, 2021
Funny and fun!

Love the writing..keeps me interested and laughing throughout. The characters are great and their interactions comical..great read. May have to try her other series
Profile Image for Roy Murry.
Author 11 books112 followers
December 10, 2017
Five Spot
Written by Cindy Blackburn

Reviewed by Author Roy Murry

As my readers know, I like a good mystery. ‘Five Spot’ is a whodunit that leads you in one direction, then sends you into another, and finally has you confused until you hit the Five Spot.

Part-time sleuth Jessie and her police chief husband Wilson is at a Romance Novel Conference when one of her cohorts dies in the middle of an event. Although it seems like a clear-cut murder, the victim who died is or may not have been the target.

How this situation is unraveled is quite funny. The characters clash humorously but help bring about a conclusion the reader can live with.

Ms. Blackburn’s style has developed into one that I enjoy. It flows nicely keeping you laughing to the end. Using characters that have special likings for Romance novels, she has woven in a murder mystery that keeps you interested even if you don’t care for romance.

I recommend any of Ms. Blackburn’s novels. All have different twists that are enjoyable.
Profile Image for K.A. Davis.
Author 4 books491 followers
November 12, 2015
So many laugh out loud moments in Cindy Blackburn’s Five Spot!

Jessica Hewitt, aka famed romance writer Adele Nightingale, is finally going to receive a Cupid award inducting her into the Romance Writers’ Hall of Fame after TEN long years of waiting. Her police captain husband, Wilson Rye, agrees to go with her to the Happily Ever After conference. Little does he suspect she has allowed her agent, Geez Louise, to auction him off as Paramour for a Day for publicity and Jessica does her best to keep him in the dark as long as possible.

Just moments before she has the chance to get the Cupid award in her hot little hands (superstition holds that until the author is actually inducted into the Hall of Fame, it is bad luck to hold the statue) the inductee sitting next to her keels over, dead. From poisoning. What is even more disconcerting is that the author insisted on sitting in Jessica’s spot at the very last moment….the poison might have been meant for her.

The list of characters, and I do mean characters, added to the humor of the book! Jeez Louise is fantastical, Captain Rye is a great sport, and the appearance of Jessica’s 80-something-year-old mother adds icing on the cake. The book moves along with lots of action and snappy, funny dialog while keeping you guessing who the murderer is. I can’t wait for the next book in this delightful series!
Profile Image for Barbara Hackel.
2,802 reviews46 followers
April 19, 2016
Five Spot was a fun book about a Romance Writer's Conference. The images of a hotel conference draped in pink streamers and balloons, filled with ladies (mostly) of all shapes, sizes, and ages that are rushing from event to event in earnest pursuit of authors and loot made me giggle. I haven't been to a Romance Writer's event, but I have been to other events and can almost hear the hub-bub of the event! What fun. Having handsome husband Wilson there was a bonus not only for Adele/Jessica, but eye candy for others at the convention as well. If only someone hadn't spoiled the fun by poisoning Penelope! But of course that provided sleuthing opportunities for Adele and friends to help find out who did the dastardly deed.
I also had to laugh at the interludes of Adele's book that are included along the way. This isn't my kind of fiction, but I must say her "writing" was hilarious! All in all this book is what I would call lighthearted. Although it is in a series, there was no problem reading this out of order. Characters that overlapped between books had enough backstory that it wasn't confusing.
I have to add that I found this book on Kindle Scout and nominated it for printing. I am a huge fan of Kindle Scout and the opportunity to have input is always a positive! Plus thanks to being published by them, I received a copy to read free. You might want to check it out!
Profile Image for Sandy Bartles.
1,395 reviews37 followers
October 23, 2015
Happily Ever After

Jessie, or rather her alter ego, Adele' Nightingale, is about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Happily Ever After Conference. Her literary agent, "Geez Louise", wants to raffle off a "man prize", and who better than Jessie's husband, Police Captain Wilson Rye! The story only gets better. There is a murder at the conference and lots of suspects. The excitement lasted up to the very end, when all the conference goers were on their way home from the three-day conference. I have enjoyed every one of Cindy Blackburn's Cue Ball Mysteries and I am really looking forward to the sixth one!
Profile Image for Celest.
713 reviews8 followers
January 1, 2016
Another hit from Cindy Blackburn

I love Cindy Blackburn's books and this one is as good as the first four. As usual this book kept me guessing until the end and it was a big surprise. There were twists and turns and lots of fun and excitement. I love Jessie's mother, Tessie, she is so much like me with her cell phone and I'm not even in my eighties. I can't wait to read the next book by Cindy Blackburn. I borrowed this book from Amazon's lending library and will probably use it again for "Unbelievable" the latest book by Cindy.
Profile Image for Patricia Gligor.
Author 9 books71 followers
November 6, 2015
If you enjoy humorous mysteries, you won't want to miss "Five Spot" by Cindy Blackburn.
Jessie Hewitt has waited a long time but she is finally about to be inducted into the Romance Writers Hall of Fame for the novels she writes as Adele Nightingale. She and her husband attend the conference but, just as "Adele" is about to receive her award, the author sitting next to her drops dead. Poisoned!
A fascinating cast of characters and any one of them could be the killer.
Profile Image for Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review).
882 reviews
October 26, 2015
Cindy Blackburn has pulled off another page turner, this time it all looks as though it is plain sailing as Jessie/Adele is to be the latest person to join the Romance Writer;s Hall of Fame, but of course nothing is ever that straight forward.

Keep writing please Cindy as this one was devoured in a sitting :D
Profile Image for Ann Omasta.
Author 167 books1,135 followers
May 7, 2016
This book is SO much fun. I wasn't sure what a cozy mystery was until I picked this one up, and I'm so glad I did. Five spot had it all...interesting characters, drama, murder, intrigue, comedy, romance, unexpected twists, and a crazy romance writers' convention to top it all off! I wouldn't want to go to this conference, but I sure enjoyed reading about it!
Profile Image for Tammy J Rizzo.
77 reviews6 followers
February 18, 2016
A fun and fitting conclusion to the Cue Ball mysteries.

Jessie has finally been inducted to the Romance Writers Hall of Fame, but there's a murder, of course, and she and her troop of friends have to solve the crime before the weekend conference is over, or the killer will get away! This was a very fun read!
Profile Image for Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton.
765 reviews28 followers
November 7, 2015
This was really good, with a surprise ending that I really hadn't been expecting. I liked the whole romance novels conference idea, but thought all the pink was a bit over the top. There were way too many possible suspects, and enough crazy stuff to keep it interesting. A good read.
Profile Image for Pamela.
747 reviews
November 14, 2015
Great story

Another great story by Cindy Blackburn. I love the Cue Ball Mysteries and I hope she writes many more. She always draws me into her stories and makes me feel like part of it.
Profile Image for BookLoverUpAllNight.
802 reviews
April 15, 2016
I didn't realize that it was the 5th book in a series. Story had too many characters to keep straight and follow. It is a romantic comedy, but wasn't funny. I got bored and skimmed through the book to get to the end. Maybe if I read the first 4 books it would have been better.
Profile Image for Brita.
212 reviews16 followers
January 3, 2017
I had no idea this was part of a series when I bought it. Even though I hadn't read the previous books, I still followed along with no problems. This book was a fun, lighthearted, and fast-paced romantic mystery novel. Now I need to read the others!
1,444 reviews11 followers
November 19, 2015
Sassy

Lots of humor with interesting characters the mystery of who killed Penelope was twisted and I found the killer reason off but maybe that was to be expected
710 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2016
I have enjoyed this series. It is light and fun with some mystery. I missed the pool playing in this one but still hope there are more to come.
8 reviews1 follower
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November 16, 2016
I have enjoyed all of Cindy Blackburn's books. Just wished they were longer.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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