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Leigh Koslow Mystery #1
Never Buried
When advertising copywriter Leigh Koslow moves into her pregnant cousin's Victorian house overlooking the Ohio River, the last thing she expects to find is a corpse- particularly one embalmed over a decade earlier. But soon she discovers that the beautiful old house has secrets, secrets dating back to two mysterious deaths occurring within its walls some fifty years before. Now someone wants Leigh and Cara out of the house and that someone is getting desperate. Because some secrets are better kept off...especially when they hit close to home."Thoroughly delightful...Bright, breezy and witty. I couldn't put it down."--Tamar Myers
248 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1999
1237 people are currently reading
4133 people want to read
About the author
Edie Claire
41 books278 followersNo matter the genre, USA-Today bestselling novelist and playwright Edie Claire strives to infuse all her writing with both warmth and humor. Her family-friendly Leigh Koslow cozy mystery series, a favorite of animal lovers that was originally published in 1999, was reborn in 2012 to become a Kindle Top-10 bestseller. Her romantic novels range from women’s fiction with romantic elements to a blend of romance and mystery, beginning with her traditionally published contemporaries, the award-winning Long Time Coming and Meant To Be, and continuing with her USA-Today bestselling Pacific Horizons series, whose characters follow the migration of the humpback whales to some of the most gorgeous locations on earth. In any Edie Claire work, the reader may be assured that while intrigue may beckon and tensions rise, love and happiness will always triumph in the end!
Edie has worked as a veterinarian, a childbirth educator, and a scientific/technical writer. A mother of three, she lives in Pennsylvania and aspires to become a snowbird.
Edie has worked as a veterinarian, a childbirth educator, and a scientific/technical writer. A mother of three, she lives in Pennsylvania and aspires to become a snowbird.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 493 reviews
June 13, 2019
3,75 stars - English Ebook - 🦋🦋🦋
Quote from the book : August 1949
Everything changed now. But that’s okay.
I’ll write to you now father.
I am sorry that you are gone now,
I was clever, the police was totaly convinced.... 🌹🌹🌹
Cosy mystery, not totaly cosy. Leigh and Cara are cousins and one day the find a corpse in their back yard. The start of a mystery Leigh mostly wants to clear.
Nice little read for inbetween other reads. ☘️☘️☘️
Quote from the book : August 1949
Everything changed now. But that’s okay.
I’ll write to you now father.
I am sorry that you are gone now,
I was clever, the police was totaly convinced.... 🌹🌹🌹
Cosy mystery, not totaly cosy. Leigh and Cara are cousins and one day the find a corpse in their back yard. The start of a mystery Leigh mostly wants to clear.
Nice little read for inbetween other reads. ☘️☘️☘️
August 3, 2012
I love cozy mysteries. My perfect idea of a 'rainy day read' is a small-town mystery with an intelligent, humorous and loving amateur sleuth, preferably female.
I stumbled upon Never Buried by Edie Claire while looking for an entertaining book that was available online for free. The reviews on goodreads.com seemed positive, and I decided to give this a shot.
I was certainly not disappointed. The story is simple, if slightly bizarre. Leigh Koslow, a talented copywriter, lives with her cousin Cara, a successful designer who is married and pregnant with her first baby. Koslow finds an embalmed dead body in a hammock in their back yard, and promptly informs Maura Polanski, her college-friend who is now a cop with the Avalon Police Department. So begins a cat-and-mouse game that has its origin fifty years ago, in 1949, when couple of scandalous deaths in the same home rocked the town. Add to this a child who went missing fifty years ago, Maura's mom suffering from Alzheimers, a cat, a set of finches and other interesting characters, and you have got an engaging novel, albeit with an unconvincing plot.
What Works: The Characters
It is very important for me to like the characters in order to remain motivated to finish the book. Thankfully, this novel abounds with realistic and relatable characters, each with their own personality. They are not mere caricatures, but lively and vivacious people who steal your heart instantly. They are REAL.
Leigh Koslow, the protagonist,is funny, smart and caring, nosy, suspicious and clumsily brave! Cara is fearless and loving, while Maura is dignified and strong. Even the side characters, such as Cara's neighbor Mrs Rhodis and Leigh's mom, are unique and inspire laughs.
What Doesn't Work: The plot
The premise of the novel - a dead body resurfacing after ten years - was certainly intriguing. But the momentum fizzled halfway through, and the various attempts to catch the infiltrator got tedious. Of course, thanks to my experience with such mysteries, I could spot the 'killer' within the first three chapters. But, like someone else mentioned in their review, the ending was a killjoy in that the 'bad guy' was extremely weak and the motive was completely unconvincing.
Overall, I am definitely looking forward to reading this entire series just to spend time and enjoy with Claire's fun characters :)
I stumbled upon Never Buried by Edie Claire while looking for an entertaining book that was available online for free. The reviews on goodreads.com seemed positive, and I decided to give this a shot.
I was certainly not disappointed. The story is simple, if slightly bizarre. Leigh Koslow, a talented copywriter, lives with her cousin Cara, a successful designer who is married and pregnant with her first baby. Koslow finds an embalmed dead body in a hammock in their back yard, and promptly informs Maura Polanski, her college-friend who is now a cop with the Avalon Police Department. So begins a cat-and-mouse game that has its origin fifty years ago, in 1949, when couple of scandalous deaths in the same home rocked the town. Add to this a child who went missing fifty years ago, Maura's mom suffering from Alzheimers, a cat, a set of finches and other interesting characters, and you have got an engaging novel, albeit with an unconvincing plot.
What Works: The Characters
It is very important for me to like the characters in order to remain motivated to finish the book. Thankfully, this novel abounds with realistic and relatable characters, each with their own personality. They are not mere caricatures, but lively and vivacious people who steal your heart instantly. They are REAL.
Leigh Koslow, the protagonist,is funny, smart and caring, nosy, suspicious and clumsily brave! Cara is fearless and loving, while Maura is dignified and strong. Even the side characters, such as Cara's neighbor Mrs Rhodis and Leigh's mom, are unique and inspire laughs.
What Doesn't Work: The plot
The premise of the novel - a dead body resurfacing after ten years - was certainly intriguing. But the momentum fizzled halfway through, and the various attempts to catch the infiltrator got tedious. Of course, thanks to my experience with such mysteries, I could spot the 'killer' within the first three chapters. But, like someone else mentioned in their review, the ending was a killjoy in that the 'bad guy' was extremely weak and the motive was completely unconvincing.
Overall, I am definitely looking forward to reading this entire series just to spend time and enjoy with Claire's fun characters :)
May 23, 2023
Very boring!! Dnf
February 4, 2012
I'd like to give this book 4-stars because I enjoyed the author's writing style and characters quite a bit. However the ending was so stupid I had to subtract a star for subjecting me to such a ridiculous ending. Did she write herself into a corner or did she start off writing the book with such a silly idea for a villain? I just don't know. In any case the book is well worth reading for the journey even if the ending might bother some. From what I've seen, many people don't notice when things don't "add up" so for them this book would be just dandy.
October 11, 2013
The author says on her website that she intends only to entertain so there are no great passages of description or analyses of human nature. Fine, I'll accept that, but this, the first of MS Claire's books has much to say about child and wife abuse, about Alzheimers, and even about the need to keep plastic away from your dog. The story is light hearted in the main, or as light hearted as you can be when your characters have found an embalmed body in the back yard, a body, what is more, with a threat pinned to its shirt. There's always the question in these books, "How would I react in this situation?" I think my answer is that I would find some place else to stay, even if it meant staying with an over protective Mother. Leigh has the additional problem of having to persuade her pregnant cousin to come with her and I imagine I would likely stay the way she did to protect that cousin from stressing herself. The whole story winds through the Avalon suburb of Pittsburgh, involving people of the present as well as people of the past. What I found interesting was that the author interviewed the real Avalon police chief on what police would really do if faced with an already embalmed body. He gave her suggestions, she went off to write the story and several months later saw an article in the paper about a mummified body found on the riverbank not two blocks from where she had set her story. She was afraid she'd be hearing from the police but they must have decided there was no connection because she never heard from them. (Too bad, because she could certainly have got some free advertising for her story!)
The characters are appealing, the story moves quickly and I appreciated her comments about the serious issues I mentioned above. (The dog has nothing to do with the story, but Leigh assists her veterinarian father with surgery on a large dog who had chewed up Buzz Lightyear and blocked his - the dog's -intestines.
I liked Maura Polanski, Leigh's police friend, and I am sure we meet Harman, her politician friend, again. Very enjoyable.
The characters are appealing, the story moves quickly and I appreciated her comments about the serious issues I mentioned above. (The dog has nothing to do with the story, but Leigh assists her veterinarian father with surgery on a large dog who had chewed up Buzz Lightyear and blocked his - the dog's -intestines.
I liked Maura Polanski, Leigh's police friend, and I am sure we meet Harman, her politician friend, again. Very enjoyable.
October 21, 2012
This is the first in a series by Edie Clare, and like many other people I downloaded it because it was free. I’ve now read four more in the series, and they just keep on getting better! In Leigh Koslow, Clare has created a character with enough flaws to sustain a series, but enough great qualities to make the reader love and root for her.
This is my kind of novel – mystery, suspense, intrigue, but not gory or gratuitous. Brilliantly written too. The only thing I didn’t like was the sudden switch in viewpoint right at the end – but that’s just a personal preference, and doesn’t stop this being an excellent read. In later books, Clare hasn’t made this narrative error again, so I’m still giving it 5 out of 5 stars.
This is my kind of novel – mystery, suspense, intrigue, but not gory or gratuitous. Brilliantly written too. The only thing I didn’t like was the sudden switch in viewpoint right at the end – but that’s just a personal preference, and doesn’t stop this being an excellent read. In later books, Clare hasn’t made this narrative error again, so I’m still giving it 5 out of 5 stars.
July 18, 2020
A delightful tale with so many suspenseful events that takes you on quite a ride.
When a body appeared on a hammock out of thin air suspense started to build. At the same time, we got to know Leigh, Cara, Maura and all the residence of this town next to the river. All had a part to play and the characters were really supportive as they tried to unruffle the secrets of another family. Whose story formed the basis of this mystery.
I really enjoyed this book, a fast pace book that held your attention till the end. It is well written that pulls you in from the get-go.
Thanks for the freebie, it was well worth it.
When a body appeared on a hammock out of thin air suspense started to build. At the same time, we got to know Leigh, Cara, Maura and all the residence of this town next to the river. All had a part to play and the characters were really supportive as they tried to unruffle the secrets of another family. Whose story formed the basis of this mystery.
I really enjoyed this book, a fast pace book that held your attention till the end. It is well written that pulls you in from the get-go.
Thanks for the freebie, it was well worth it.
February 19, 2012
Another freebie from Amazon on the Kindle. The story sadly feel flat to me. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't gripping as other mysteries/thrillers. Maybe it's supposed to be one of those "cozy mysteries"?
The story is about Leigh who just was let go from her job and is living with her cousin whose about to give birth. She finds a corpse in the backyard which starts the "mystery" in the book.
The author put in a lot of annoying details that I thought could have been left out and could have used that energy in making the characters more in-depth instead of surface level. I made myself finish the book because I'm so far behind on my reading goal for this year!
The story is about Leigh who just was let go from her job and is living with her cousin whose about to give birth. She finds a corpse in the backyard which starts the "mystery" in the book.
The author put in a lot of annoying details that I thought could have been left out and could have used that energy in making the characters more in-depth instead of surface level. I made myself finish the book because I'm so far behind on my reading goal for this year!
December 24, 2014
This was a Kindle freebie, the first in a series of 'cozy mysteries'. I'd read another of Edie Claire's books before, and enjoyed it, and the same goes for this one. Yes, it's in the mould of Stephanie Plum in that there's an offbeat heroine with various 'cookie' family members, but you know, I like that sort of thing. It's an easy read, it's well-written, it doesn't take up too much brain power, so perfect for me at the end of the day when I'm tired and don't want to concentrate too hard. I'm pretty certain I'll read the next one too.
January 11, 2017
A light, entertaining read with a well-crafted mystery! My only complaint was my intense dislike for Gil, who annoyed me. Besides him, this book was wonderful.
April 18, 2020
Light-hearted and fun. I liked the animals - Leigh's father is a veterinarian (so is the author, according to the bio...) More atmosphere than plot, and the main characters could use more fleshing out. But it's the first of a series. I would read more.
Description: Advertising copywriter Leigh Koslow doesn't pack heat--just a few extra pounds. And she doesn't go looking for trouble. When she moved into her cousin Cara's refurbished Victorian house, she wasn't planning on discovering a corpse--certainly not one that had been embalmed ten years before. But as anyone in the small Pittsburgh borough of Avalon could tell her, her cousin's house has a history attached. A history dating back to two mysterious deaths in the summer of 1949. Someone wants Leigh and Cara out of the house--someone who has something to hide. But that someone doesn't know Leigh's impetuous cousin, and when Cara digs her heels in, Leigh looks to her old college chum, local policewoman Maura Polanski, for help. But the answers the trio find only point to more questions. Were the scandalous deaths of fifty years ago really an accident and a suicide? Or were they murder?
Description: Advertising copywriter Leigh Koslow doesn't pack heat--just a few extra pounds. And she doesn't go looking for trouble. When she moved into her cousin Cara's refurbished Victorian house, she wasn't planning on discovering a corpse--certainly not one that had been embalmed ten years before. But as anyone in the small Pittsburgh borough of Avalon could tell her, her cousin's house has a history attached. A history dating back to two mysterious deaths in the summer of 1949. Someone wants Leigh and Cara out of the house--someone who has something to hide. But that someone doesn't know Leigh's impetuous cousin, and when Cara digs her heels in, Leigh looks to her old college chum, local policewoman Maura Polanski, for help. But the answers the trio find only point to more questions. Were the scandalous deaths of fifty years ago really an accident and a suicide? Or were they murder?
June 25, 2019
Suspenseful. Less dramatic than expected.
This story was intriguing to me at first because I grew up near Pittsburgh. It was fun to recognize locations mentioned as the story went along. While somewhat suspenseful, the ending was lackluster at best. I expected more edge-of-your-seat suspense and the huge dramatic ending. This story didn't deliver that. The outcome was however was what I both expected and hoped would happen.
This story was intriguing to me at first because I grew up near Pittsburgh. It was fun to recognize locations mentioned as the story went along. While somewhat suspenseful, the ending was lackluster at best. I expected more edge-of-your-seat suspense and the huge dramatic ending. This story didn't deliver that. The outcome was however was what I both expected and hoped would happen.
October 18, 2024
Leigh is supposed to be staying with her cousin Cara to keep Cara calm during her last few weeks of pregnancy, until Cara's husband finishes his project in Tokyo. But how do you keep somewhat relaxed when someone clearly is trying to get them out of the house ... by some of the weirdest ways possible. I liked the story, it was complicated enough to keep me guessing ... even though it did run a little slow at times.
Want to read
December 22, 2019EReaderCafe
July 25, 2022
4 stars - English Ebook
Review follows later.
Review follows later.
December 4, 2022
If you meet the author halfway you can squeeze out a 3 star review. So I did.
January 20, 2016
I received a free kindle copy of Never Buried: A Leigh Koslow Mystery by Edie Claire published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in exchange for fair review. I gave it five stars. It had enough twists & turns to hold my interest & is a very fast read.
Edie Claire is the author of the Leigh Koslow Mystery Series. This is the only one I have read but I'll look for more.
There is plenty of mystery involved in the telling of this story. Leigh & her cat Mao-Tse are staying with her pregnant friend Cara whose husband is completing a business deal in Japan. An embalmed corpse mysteriously is deposited in the hammock in the back yard.
Threatening messages appear. While I had not read any previous Leigh Koslow books, there are enough clues to discern certain trends. Leigh loses her apartment & job, again! Mom wants Leigh to move home, again. Leigh would rather face death threats than do so.
There are a lot of strong women characters in this book & I liked that a lot. There are also the enter-twined bonds of daughters & mothers. Maura, Leigh & Cara all have close relationships with each other as their mothers do with each other. The closeness-interdependence of all six women is a haunting refrain throughout this mystery.
This who-done-it was a page turner. Any book that can make me miss sleep well deserves the five stars I give it.
Where had the killer kept the embalmed corpse for so many years? Can Leigh & Cara discover who is the killer before they are written out of the story? Will Mao Tse survive the anxiety of the moves?
Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1477...
Edie Claire is the author of the Leigh Koslow Mystery Series. This is the only one I have read but I'll look for more.
There is plenty of mystery involved in the telling of this story. Leigh & her cat Mao-Tse are staying with her pregnant friend Cara whose husband is completing a business deal in Japan. An embalmed corpse mysteriously is deposited in the hammock in the back yard.
Threatening messages appear. While I had not read any previous Leigh Koslow books, there are enough clues to discern certain trends. Leigh loses her apartment & job, again! Mom wants Leigh to move home, again. Leigh would rather face death threats than do so.
There are a lot of strong women characters in this book & I liked that a lot. There are also the enter-twined bonds of daughters & mothers. Maura, Leigh & Cara all have close relationships with each other as their mothers do with each other. The closeness-interdependence of all six women is a haunting refrain throughout this mystery.
This who-done-it was a page turner. Any book that can make me miss sleep well deserves the five stars I give it.
Where had the killer kept the embalmed corpse for so many years? Can Leigh & Cara discover who is the killer before they are written out of the story? Will Mao Tse survive the anxiety of the moves?
Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1477...
February 7, 2017
This is one cozy mystery I’d be happy to read again. Imagine finding an un-embalmed corpse from 1949 sitting on your hammock outside your house. Isn’t that creepy? Then the new owners of the house gets a notice from the dead, telling them to move out of his house. Double creepy!
I like stories like this. It’s also a plus that there isn’t a love triangle or romantic allusions in the plot. It’s a hilarious comedy and detective story sure to tickle the reader’s funny bones while delving into the root of mystery dated about five decades ago. Leigh, who just got fired from her job, tried to keep her problems at bay, protecting her pregnant cousin Cara from any disastrous issues that could cause harm to her unborn baby. But knowing the someone was lurking in their house, leaving messages and dead animals behind, it’s only a matter of time before Leigh used her detective instincts and find out what really happened in her cousin’s house 50 years ago.
Honestly, while reading this book, my mind was working overtime, pounding for further info and thinking really hard about the possible suspects of the double mysteries. Until the last chapter, I wasn’t able to correctly guess who really killed who. It was a quick, fun and intriguing read!
I like stories like this. It’s also a plus that there isn’t a love triangle or romantic allusions in the plot. It’s a hilarious comedy and detective story sure to tickle the reader’s funny bones while delving into the root of mystery dated about five decades ago. Leigh, who just got fired from her job, tried to keep her problems at bay, protecting her pregnant cousin Cara from any disastrous issues that could cause harm to her unborn baby. But knowing the someone was lurking in their house, leaving messages and dead animals behind, it’s only a matter of time before Leigh used her detective instincts and find out what really happened in her cousin’s house 50 years ago.
Honestly, while reading this book, my mind was working overtime, pounding for further info and thinking really hard about the possible suspects of the double mysteries. Until the last chapter, I wasn’t able to correctly guess who really killed who. It was a quick, fun and intriguing read!
September 12, 2013
wow!!
You know you're reading a really good mystery story when you think you've got it all figured out - sort of - mid book, only to be spun around at the end.
Let's face it, I did get a few things right. I was right about my suspicion that the double murders were in fact a triple murder. yay...! and my murder victimes were those I thought, but my time frame turned out to be way wrong... as was the identity of all the murderers - except for the first murder...
I couln't help liking the characters (except for the first and second murderer, and his... how shall I put it without bringing in a spoiler... 'devoted helper', but I did like last murderer... poor, poor fellow!) - so well 'constructed', and for whatever reason I kept 'hearing' then talking with a Southern accent (mmmm, now why was that...?)
A tale of revenge, and relentless friendship.
I noticed it was the first of a series of books with the same protagonist, so I'll definitly be looking for the other titles.
You know you're reading a really good mystery story when you think you've got it all figured out - sort of - mid book, only to be spun around at the end.
Let's face it, I did get a few things right. I was right about my suspicion that the double murders were in fact a triple murder. yay...! and my murder victimes were those I thought, but my time frame turned out to be way wrong... as was the identity of all the murderers - except for the first murder...
I couln't help liking the characters (except for the first and second murderer, and his... how shall I put it without bringing in a spoiler... 'devoted helper', but I did like last murderer... poor, poor fellow!) - so well 'constructed', and for whatever reason I kept 'hearing' then talking with a Southern accent (mmmm, now why was that...?)
A tale of revenge, and relentless friendship.
I noticed it was the first of a series of books with the same protagonist, so I'll definitly be looking for the other titles.
September 8, 2013
Good cozy mystery if the reader doesn't have too many distractions. Protagonist Leigh has lost her job and is babysitting her pregnant cousin when an embalmed corpse is left in their midst with a note warning them to leave his house. The fun takes off from there to solve first the mystery of the corpse, and then to figure out who wants them out of the house and why. There are early passages that felt a little fuzzy, emotionally, but overall the mystery did hold and I'm glad I stayed all the way to the end.
October 28, 2013
This was an entertaining book, and I didn't pick the suspect until he was revealed at the end, always a good situation in a murder-mystery. The characters were well-written, but I must admit I found the heroine a tad annoying at times, mainly because she was so obsessed with the mystery surrounding the house her sister and brother-in-law owned, and I couldn't quite make the connection as to why she was so intrinsically determined to solve it. Besides that small problem, overall the book was quite entertaining and I would recommend it.
April 22, 2016
Corker of a read - Loved it!!
So well written & one of the best "cozy mysteries" I've read.
The plotline is well thought out, entertaining & enthralling. The characters were also engaging with lots of depth, which is hard to find in these sort of murder/mystery novels.
It's so wonderful when you find a freebie book that stands head & shoulders above the other muck & entices you to read more novels by the author.
Highly recommended.
So well written & one of the best "cozy mysteries" I've read.
The plotline is well thought out, entertaining & enthralling. The characters were also engaging with lots of depth, which is hard to find in these sort of murder/mystery novels.
It's so wonderful when you find a freebie book that stands head & shoulders above the other muck & entices you to read more novels by the author.
Highly recommended.
December 21, 2012
The thing I liked best about this book was how short it was. There was nothing extra that we didn't really need to know. No descriptions of flowers or people that weren't involved in the story. Also, no romance. The mystery was very interesting and involved over 50 years of history, I love that. Great ending too, I didn't see it coming.
August 21, 2013
This wasn't for me. It read as a serious mystery when I downloaded it based on the Amazon description but it's a "funny" book in reality and I'm not a great fan of comedies. I did give it a go and got 24% in but it really isn't my type of story. I suppose it just wasn't what I expected it to be. The series is called Leigh Koslow Mysteries not comedies so I found that misleading.
February 18, 2016
I enjoyed this little mystery. Leigh is staying with her pregnant cousin Cara while her husband is away. Then she finds a body with a warning. The two race against time to find what happened to the previous family that lived there.
This mystery will make you think that you know what is happening and then twist it all around. You will be left guessing all the way to the end.
This mystery will make you think that you know what is happening and then twist it all around. You will be left guessing all the way to the end.
March 4, 2012
I love that this book was totally clean. No sex and no bad language. I wish more authors were as secure. I really enjoyed Edie Claire's style. The story was well developed and the clues were fun to follow. The ending was not a comete give away. I enjoyed the ride. I will definately read more.
September 21, 2012
It was an OK book. I thought the main character, Leigh Koslow, acted extremely stupidly upon occasion. I can understand Ms. Claire's trying to display Leigh's headstrong & impulsive qualities. However, one notable instance defied logic and common sense.
August 19, 2013
Despite the slightly inauspicious start (the cat throwing up) I really enjoyed this tale and couldn't wait to find out who was behind everything that happened. Seemingly unconnected events were woven together really well.
February 7, 2013
Cheap and cheerful kindle purchase.
Amusing enough main character, enough going on with the others not to be too frustrated at some of the sillier storylines.
Didn't seem ridiculously out dated either unlike some other books I've read with no modern technology.
Amusing enough main character, enough going on with the others not to be too frustrated at some of the sillier storylines.
Didn't seem ridiculously out dated either unlike some other books I've read with no modern technology.
April 17, 2015
A well written and enjoyable mystery novel with a great protagonist and enough twists, turns and surprises to keep the reader hooked until the end.
This is the second novel I've read by this author and I would recommend her highly entertaining stories.
This is the second novel I've read by this author and I would recommend her highly entertaining stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 493 reviews