Tag: Cozy Mystery

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Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery)

304 pages Berkley publisher March 5,2024 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

It’s Lights, Action, Murder as tea maven Theodosia Browning scrambles for clues in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

When Theodosia Browning reads the tea leaves on the set of the movie, Dark Fortunes, things go from spooky to worse. Lights are dimmed, the camera rolls, and red hot sparks fly as the film’s director is murdered in a tricky electrical accident.

Or was it an accident? Though the cast and crew are stunned beyond belief, nobody admits to seeing a thing. And when Theodosia’s friend, Delaine, becomes the prime suspect, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. But who among this Hollywood cast and crew had murder on their mind? The screenwriter is a self-centered pot head, the leading actress is trying to wiggle out of her contract, the brand new director seems indifferent, and nobody trusts the slippery-when-dry Hollywood agent.

Between hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Tea, a Poetry Tea, and trying to launch her own chocolate line, Theodosia doggedly hunts down clues and explores the seemingly haunted Brittlebank Manor where the murder took place. And just when she’s ready to pounce, a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered, throwing everything into total disarray. But this clever killer will go to any lengths to hide his misdeeds as Theodosia soon finds out when she and her tea sommelier, Drayton, get caught up in a dangerous stakeout.

MY THOUGHTS

Murder in the Tea Leaves is another Tea Shop mystery.
I’m a tea drinker and always make it a point to try different kinds of teas, I like most kinds but do have my favorites. When I see a cozy mystery series taking place in a tea shop, I know it’s on my to read list at the top.


Tea shop owner Theodosia Browning has hit the big time, and a movie is being filmed in her tea shop. Because she has such knowledge of tea, she is put in at the last minute to read the tea leaves by the movie director. The lights are low and though she was there she didn’t see who set the wires up to electrocute the director in his metal chair.

When a friend of hers is the prime suspect she knows she must take matters into her own hands to solve this case. Quick read, I enjoyed the clues presented.

The descriptions of the delightful different types of teas, and desserts was divine and even the talk about the different cups and tea pots and how they were acquired, how fun. Earl Gray was her dog’s name, loved it.

There are delightful recipes included plus tea plantations to visit and other things to do while traveling. I really enjoyed the information in the back of the book and look forward to visiting Charleston, such a wonderful travel guide. I always look forward to more books in this series, it’s a favorite of mine.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Thank you for stopping in and I hope you’ll have a refreshing cup of tea soon.

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A couple of cozy mystery reviews for you, including: The Twelve Books of Christmas and A Book Club to Die For

319 pages Berkley publisher October 24, 2023 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her hunky security-expert husband, Derek Stone, face a locked-room murder mystery during the holidays in Scotland.

In the middle of a wonderful Christmas holiday in Dharma, Brooklyn and Derek receive a frantic phone call from their dear friend Claire in Loch Ness, Scotland. The laird of the castle, Cameron MacKinnon, has just proposed to her! They plan to be married on New Year’s Day, and they want Derek and Brooklyn to be their witnesses. And while they’re visiting, Claire hopes that Brooklyn will be able to solve a little mystery that’s occurred in the castle library—twelve very rare, very important books have gone missing.

Once in Scotland, Brooklyn starts working on the mystery of the missing books but is soon distracted by all of the thumping and bumping noises she’s been hearing in the middle of the night. You’d think the Ghost of Christmas Past had taken up residence. But when one of the guests is poisoned and another is killed by an arrow through the heart, Brooklyn and Derek know this is not the work of any ghost. Now they must race to find a killer and a book thief before another murder occurs and their friends’ bright and happy future turns dark and deadly.

MY THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed the setting of this one, a wonderful sounding castle in Scotland and even better the description of the library in the castle was swoon worthy.


Though this is the seventeenth book in the series, it’s the only Christmas themed one and I’m all for Christmas books.
Book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her husband are enjoying their holidays when they receive a call from Brooklyn’s friend Claire in Loch Ness, Scotland. She is so excited at having just received a proposal from laird of the castle Cameron MacKinnon.

With a New Years wedding to take place they want Brooklyn and Derek to be their witness.
When they arrive, they are tasked with helping to solve the case of twelve missing books, these are rare and irreplaceable books.
If that isn’t enough their sleep is disturbed by loud bumping and crashing noises and several guests have hit their expiration dates a little early.


I want to visit the library in this Scottish castle, especially at holiday time.
The mystery was mostly about the missing books not the murder. The book moved at a decent pace though and I enjoyed the character development. The husband-and-wife team made for an interesting read especially with him being a security-expert and having all the investigative tools needed.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

300 pages Berkley publisher November 1, 2022 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

When a member of an exclusive book club is checked out, spunky librarian Trudell Becket must sort fact from fiction to solve the murder.

The Cypress Arete Society is one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive clubs. When assistant librarian Trudell Becket is invited to speak to the group about the library, its modernization, and her efforts to bring printed books to the reading public, her friend Flossie invites herself along. Flossie has been on the book club’s waiting list for five years, and she’s determined to find out why she’s never received an invitation to join. 

But not long after Tru and Flossie arrive for the meeting, they’re shocked to find the club’s president, Rebecca White, dead in the kitchen. Rebecca was a former TV actress and local celebrity, but was not known for being patient or pleasant. She’d been particularly unkind to the book club’s host for the evening, who also happens to be the mother of Detective Jace Bailey, Tru’s boyfriend. And Rebecca had made it clear that she didn’t think Flossie was book club material.

With her boyfriend and one of her best friends wrapped up in a murder, Tru has to work fast to figure out who cut Rebecca’s story short before the killer takes another victim out of circulation….

MY THOUGHTS

A cozy mystery series involving a library and a cat? Yes please, sign me up.
Tru, an assistant librarian, runs a secret library checkout room in the libraries’ basement with discarded books because the library has decided to go with digital books only. I hope this never happens to the libraries I go to.
The book checkout doesn’t involve technology just the old-fashioned cards you sign books out with.


The Cypress Arete Society invites assistant librarian, Trudell Becket to speak at their book club. After Tru informs her friend Flossie of this, she won’t take no for an answer and invites herself to the meeting. Now Flossie has been trying to join this book club for five years and there’s never been an opening yet.

In the kitchen, club president Rebecca White is found dead by Flossie and Tru. Not known to be overly friendly she has been rude to Tru and holds steady on her insistence Flossie is not getting into the book club. Is it a matter of sour grapes that has this former TV actress and local celebrity found stone cold on the floor? Fast paced mystery that kept me guessing and enjoying this book.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping in today.

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2 Quick reviews of Christmas books: Santa and Company and Christmas Mittens Murder

Thank you for visiting my holidays and seasonal blog for these reviews.

See my reviews on my blog here

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Cover Reveal today for Fatal Fungus

I really hope you like the cover reveal today of Fatal Fungus, a cozy mystery book.

Fatal Fungus

One great bake-off. Twelve golden pies. Two lovable, dogged amateur sleuths back in stride.

On a crisp, autumn evening, in quaint Bogus Hole, the village committee proposes a pie-and-buy charity auction to celebrate the first anniversary of Sycamore Medical Practice. Twelve bakes will make the coveted gingham table for a doctor-only bidding war, thus setting the scene for a memorable day.

The next week, when a doctor collapses at the annual Christmas fair and later dies, the gossip train rumbles with the burning question. Who baked a poisonous mushroom into their pie?

Team Awesome truffle hogs, Windy & Darling, are hot on the fatal fungus trail. Can our daring duo sniff out the killer of the not-so-fun guy?

Publication Date: 24th June 2024

The book will be available to purchase here on publication day, – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CGKC63ZH

Screenshot

Author Bio –

Creativity’s a must for Scottish-raised, environmental science graduate Mark, who co-manages a self-publishing house, is formidable at book formatting, and writes cosy crime and sci-fi. He also makes music and fancies himself as a cartographer. A self-confessed geek, Mark’s hopelessly devoted to maps and roads, and his fondness for tree-hugging or pondering pylons takes whimsical to a new level. High on his priorities are reading, laughter, healthy food, and nature bathing. Mark adores animals, especially cats. Just ask Tahlula, his fussy old tuxedo puss.

Ironically, a cruel plot twist kick-started Wendy’s writing career. She’d always wanted to be an author but an MS diagnosis said no. Believing she’d never write again, Wendy swapped wallowing for blue sky thinking and, with drive and dedication, followed her vision by writing cosy mysteries and thrillers. Born in the original Washington, NE England, Wendy has a diverse CV. A serial word nerd, she’s now an erudite editor, and co-owns a self-publishing house, ensuring her lust for all things alphabetical and grammatical never wanes. She devours dictionaries, adding a prized new gem to her repertoire every day.


When not nitpicking, mentoring, or critiquing, Wendy’s a sworn bookworm. Her other loves are music, cooking, yoga, and comedy. She’s a hat freak, animal qwackers, loves a good quiz, and is a devoted nature buff.


Deadly Dough is the couple’s feature-length debut.

Social Media Links –

linktr.ee/wenarkgreen
facebook.com/wenarkgreenauthor
instagram.com/wenarkgreenauthor
tiktok.com/@wenarkgreenauthor

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping in.

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Irish Knit Murder (A Knit & Nibble Mystery)

304 pages Kensington Books Pub Date 21 Feb 2023

ABOUT THE BOOK

St. Patrick’s Day takes an unexpected turn for crafting magazine editor Pamela Paterson and the members of her knitting club when a member of a prominent New Jersey family is found dead…

The Listers have been part of Arborville society for generations—though seventy-something Isobel Lister doesn’t fit the role of upper-crust heiress. She’s always been a colorful character, and her fun-loving spirit is on display at the senior center celebration as she performs some beloved Irish songs. But just minutes later, her body is found backstage.

It’s hard to imagine who’d target such a harmless eccentric, but Pamela finds herself suspecting everyone. There’s the Wiccan who thought St. Patrick wasn’t so saintly; the woman upset about cultural appropriation who feels the commercialization of shamrocks is a sham; the two men Isobel was seeing, who could have been green with jealousy—and old friends and family who may have feared Isobel would spill their secrets. But Pamela’s on the case, and that means for the killer, the jig will soon be up . . .

MY THOUGHTS

This is my first read by this author and I like her writing style. Some authors of cozy mysteries give too many clues early on and expose the killer right away. Not so with this one. Through well placed clues this St. Patrick’s Day cozy mystery is right up my alley. I do enjoy holiday themed books as long as it’s not overdone.


Community centers are always such an entertaining place for the elderly to go. St. Patrick’s Day was no different with an outgoing eccentric woman from a well-known about town family singing Irish tunes. She must not be everyone’s cup of tea though as she’s found dead right off stage shortly after her singing is over.

In cozy mysteries there always seems to be a take charge woman investigating these murders and she seems to always have more clues and the inside scoop before the police do. In this case it’s crafting magazine editor Pamela Paterson.

The knitting club tie in was fun and of course the addition of animals is always a bonus for me. So many suspects in this case all seeming to have a valid reason of why they could have done it. With delicious sounding Irish meals and drinks this one will go down as an easy read.

Pub Date 21 Feb 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor who writes mysteries and plays blues guitar. She holds a doctorate in Medieval Literature, and her publications include a prize-winning book dealing with classical mythology in the Middle Ages. Her Maxx Maxwell mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone (2008) and Got No Friend Anyhow (2011), feature a blues-singer sleuth.

Peggy is currently writing the Knit & Nibble mystery series for Kensington Books. Set in the charming (fictional) town of Arborville, New Jersey, it features amateur sleuth Pamela Paterson, founder and mainstay of the town’s knitting club.

Peggy is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Visit Peggy online at http://www.PeggyEhrhart.com

Enjoy your Tuesday and thanks for stopping in.

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Four Leaf Cleaver (A Country Store Mystery Book 11)

322 pages Kensington Books January 24,2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

The eleventh installment in Maddie Day’s deliciously popular Country Store cozy mysteries . . . It’s Saint Patrick’s Day in  South Lick, Indiana, but a holiday cooking competition at Robbie Jordan’s country store and restaurant Pans ’N Pancakes is put on the back-burner when a killer strikes.
 
There’s no mistaking Saint Patrick’s Day at Pans ’N Pancakes. Robbie may only be Irish by marriage to Abe O’Neill, but the shelves of vintage cookware in her southern Indiana store are draped with glittery shamrocks and Kelly-green garlands and her restaurant is serving shepherd’s pie and Guinness Beer brownies. The big event, however, is a televised cooking competition to be filmed on site.
 
Unfortunately, someone’s luck has run out. Before the cameras start rolling, tough-as-nails producer Tara O’Hara Moore is found upstairs in her B&B room, bludgeoned apparently by the heavy hilt of a cleaver left by her side. Now, not only does Robbie have a store full of festive decorations, she’s got a store full of suspects . . .
 
Includes Recipes for You to Try!

MY THOUGHTS

Four Leaf Cleaver is another cozy mystery by Maddie Day in her Country Store mystery series. I’ve read a few in this series and was eager to continue on with it.
Pans ’N Pancakes is the restaurant/country store owned by Robbie in South Lick, Indiana. Now this little country store selling vintage cookware and serving delicious home cooked meals does well with the locals, but Robbie jumps at the chance to have a film crew at her little store filming a cooking contest.

With the festive shamrocks in place and delicious St. Patrick’s Day foods on the menu including Guinness Beer brownies the contestants can’t wait to get started as they’re all convinced; they’ll make the winning meal. Tragedy strikes when the producer is found bludgeoned before filming can even start.

I did enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day theme of the cozy. You don’t see a lot of books with this theme. There were a lot of red herrings thrown in there, clues that you thought took you somewhere but actually didn’t.

Robbie has a lot going on, she’s fairly newly married, runs a restaurant and has family issues she’s dealing with. Despite all this she still finds time to be an amateur sleuth though she’s told many times not to by the police department. Will this stop her, not quite.

I enjoyed the mystery, the characters were great, the elements were all there to make this a cozy that kept my attention and kept me guessing. I could feel the tension building up as the story got closer to its conclusion. Will be on the lookout for more books in this series.

Pub Date: 24 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
💚☘️

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maddie Day is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning author, Maddie writes the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, the Cece Barton Mysteries, and the Dot and Amelia Mysteries featuring Amelia Earhart as a sleuthing sidekick.

As Edith Maxwell, she write the Local Foods Mysteries and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, as well as award-winning short crime fiction.

Maddie/Edith has two grown sons and lives in an antique house north of Boston with her beau, a small organic garden, and a gentle cat. She blogs every weekday with the Wicked Authors and on the second and fourth Fridays at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. Look for her under both names on social media and on her web site.

Thank you for stopping in today and reading my post. Have a wonderful day.

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Books From the Backlog

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. Hosted at Carole’s Random Life.

This book published in December of 2023

This is one of the many overdue books I have to read. I hope to get to it this month for St. Patrick’s Day.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Raise a glass for St. Paddy’s Day but keep a shamrock handy because some of these minty milkshakes are made with murder!

IRISH MILKSHAKE MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR
In advance of their St. Patrick’s Day wedding, Tara Meehan and Danny O’Donnell are off to the Aran Islands with their bridesmaids and groomsmen for a joint hen and stag party. The weekend kicks off with the ferry trip to Inis Mór, as the passengers enjoy boozy milkshakes on board and entertainment from a pair of famous Irish-dancing twin brothers. But faster than Tara can say “Oh, Danny Boy,” a murder shamrocks the boat as someone’s spiked shake turns out to be their final round. Stuck in a rural island cottage, while a storm rages outside, Tara must find the Celtic killer before her luck runs out . . .

MURDER MOST IRISH by PEGGY EHRHART
St. Patrick’s Day is drawing near in Arborville, New Jersey and the folks at Hyler’s Luncheonette are getting into the holiday spirit with a new, limited-time, Irish-themed menu item–a festive green milkshake appropriately named, “The Leprechaun.” It’s a hit, until a patron is felled by one of the frothy concoctions during a sheep parade through the town. Now, it’s up to Pamela Paterson and her Knit & Nibble knitting club pal, Bettina Fraser, to catch a murderer and put a stop to the sheer madness . . .

MRS. CLAUS AND THE LUCKLESS LEPRECHAUN by LIZ IRELAND
Spring in Santaland means two things: the elves have more leisure time and iceball season is in full swing! To celebrate, April Claus’s friend, Claire, whips up some minty milkshakes for her bustling ice cream shop, Santaland Scoop. But when the St. Paddy’s promotion makes one elf the target of a decidedly unlucky strike, Mrs. Claus and her friends must figure out if the attack was a failed hit job, a crime of passion, or an extremely unfortunate accident . . .

Does this look like a book you would read?

Have a super day. Thanks for stopping in.

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Murder Checks Out (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery) 

262 pages Crooked Lane Book November 13,2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

It’s not all snowflakes and sugarplums when murder crashes Taylorsford’s first Winterfest in the eighth installment of the Blue Ridge Library series, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams.

Returning to her role as an amateur detective is the last thing library director Amy Muir wants. She’s already buried under an avalanche of responsibilities, including sharing the directorship of the local public library, parenting her holiday-obsessed five-year-old twins, and helping her choreographer husband, Richard, present The Nutcracker as part of the town’s festivities. With her frosty mother-in-law, Fiona, visiting for the holidays, Amy definitely has enough on her Christmas cookie plate.

But when the chair of the festival committee is found as dead as Dickens’s proverbial doornail at the town’s ice rink, Amy is determined to uncover the real perpetrator to protect her brother-in-law, Ethan Payne, who was placed at the scene. The clock is ticking down as Sheriff Brad Tucker is equally sure that Ethan is guilty.

Photo by Polina Kovaleva: https://www.pexels.com

MY THOUGHTS

I thought I had read more books by this author than I had but this is only my second read by the author. Despite that I fully enjoyed the book and don’t feel as though I wasn’t able to keep up with what is going on.


Amy Muir is the library director at the Blue Ridge Library in charming and beautiful North Carolina, mother of 5-year-old boy and girl twins, wife of a dance choreographer and her not so friendly mother-in-law is coming to stay for the holidays, and she’s tasked for entertaining her.

With the sugar cookie plate overflowing she now needs to return to her role as amateur detective when her brother-in-law is found to have been at the scene of a murder. She must avoid sliding down the slippery slope of exhaustion as she deals with the holidays, her extra responsibilities and helping to find the real perpetrator who did away with the chair of the festival committee which her twins are practicing for the festival. I enjoyed the twins characters a lot.

Children usually are always a bonus in books like this and they are here. The plot was entertaining and kept me guessing right til the end. The ballet aspect of the story was fun and entertaining and of course books about books, libraries and librarians are go to reads for me.

Pub Date 14 Nov 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian.

Her mysteries — the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, the Book Lover’s B&B series, and the Hunter and Clewe Mysteries — are published by Crooked Lane Books. They are available in hardback, eBook, and audio book, with some also available in paperback. Victoria has also written speculative fiction.

Victoria is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching TV and films, listening to music, gardening, or traveling. She lives in North Carolina.

Find out more at her website: victoriagilbertmysteries.com.

Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for stopping in.

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Two Christmas cozy mystery reviews for you: A Nutcracker Nightmare (A Killer Chocolate Mystery Book 2) and The Twelve Suspects of Christmas: a heartwarming Provence cozy mystery perfect for the holiday season

250 pages BooksGoSocial October 20,2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Grannies, gangsters, murders—and a rollicking journey across France!

It’s January 4, 1961, and Marseilles housemaid Annie Malian is in love. It’s also the day her fiancé René takes his life under peculiar circumstances.

Many decades later, an old Christmas postcard addressed to Annie arrives, and all her doubts come flooding back.
At 84, there’s no time to waste!
Annie enlists the help of Rose Tassy, an eccentric retired teacher and amateur sleuth.
Thus begins an unforgettable journey from Provence to a quaint village in Picardie and then on to the sparkling Riviera, with a detour through wintry Paris.

Amid yuletide festivities, Annie and Rose navigate perilous terrain. Their list of suspects quickly grows. Was it Rene’s older brother? Maybe the ex-gangster turned chicken farmer? The powerful Monegasque tycoon?
Stumped, Rose begins to question her detective mettle when a new death compounds the plot…

This Christmas, will Annie receive the overdue truth as a gift?

MY THOUGHTS

Based on factual and fiction happenings and locations, I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s quirky and it stands out among the rest.

Our protagonists are two elderly women who set off on a trip through France to solve a years old cold case. Amateur sleuth Rose Tassy, and Annie Malian brave the wintry elements after receiving an old Christmas postcard addressed to Annie. Her love interest was said to have committed suicide but did he really?

These two, at first can’t agree on anything and I can just imagine what the arguing in the car sounded like, but a mutual respect soon settles over the two.

So many suspects, so little time, it seems as though this case will stay unsolved with so many suspects but when things start to hear up with the clues there’s no telling what will happen. This is my first time reading this author and I’m hoping I’ll be able to read more cases with these two in the driver’s seat.

Pub Date 20 Oct 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

302 pages Crooked Lane Books publisher October 17,2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Laura Childs, when twin sisters Hanna and Alex help out at the local high school reunion, volunteering takes a turn when they find a former classmate’s dead body.

Hanna and Alex, owners of the Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop, are busy preparing for the Harriston High School’s reunion weekend. Neighbors will connect with old friends and perhaps try to avoid old foes. One person no one can avoid is Kyle, the former star quarterback, who is busy using his entire playbook to try and score with Hanna, even threatening her if she doesn’t play nice. At the reunion, Alex glimpses more drama than nostalgia as insults are flung around like a football at a Friday night game. The party is put on hold when Alex finds the dead body of none other than Kyle himself, bludgeoned to death by a nutcracker that the sisters admired earlier in the night.

Hanna quickly becomes the prime suspect—someone saw her slap Kyle in the face at the reunion dance. She’ll need her sister, their sleuthing canine, Watson, and their old friends and colleagues to help break this case wide open. While looking through old yearbooks and taking a stroll down memory lane, Alex uncovers a few secrets about Kyle, now, it seems like everyone had a motive to kill him.

But when the suspects start becoming the victims, Alex and Hanna know that they can’t melt under the pressure—they must find the killer before they become just another yearbook memory.

MY THOUGHTS

A Nutcracker Nightmare is the second book in Killer Chocolate, a cozy mystery series. Though I am reading the second one first I still was able to enjoy the story fully. I do need to read that first one now.

Sisters Alex and Hanna live together and jointly own Murder and Mayhem: Killer Chocolates and Bookshop in fictional Harriston, Montana where this is set. When they signed up for a best chocolates competition, they didn’t realize the competition would be delayed several times and finally fall right during the Christmas season when they were swamped with candy orders. Can the sisters keep up with everything including trying out recipes of new chocolate favors to create for the shop?


I did think it was pretty neat that the names of their chocolates go with the theme of their shop. Some of the names of the chocolates include True North Nicotine Caramel, recipe included and Gingerbread Gelsemine Truffle, recipe included. In real life would these names of chocolates be off putting or draw people in? I’d say both.


With high school reunion weekend coming up, some of the former students are looking forward to it and some just want to try to avoid their foes. When an arrogant former student shows up everyone tries to avoid him. They know how rotten he still is. One of the sisters is accused of murder because of an action that was said to have happened.

Will this candy maker still be able to stir the chocolate pot, or will the cooking fires be growing cold? The victim was very unlikable so many had a reason to want him out of the picture.
Loved the Christmas theme, it was there but not overwhelming. I enjoyed this mystery set around the holidays and it kept me reading to see how it was solved.

Pub Date 17 Oct 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own,

Have you read these or plan on it? We have snow coming in again tonight and into tomorrow. After what happened during our last snowstorm you know I’ll be staying in. Be safe and stay warm.

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Review of two Amish books: Matched and Married and Murder of an Amish Bridegroom

318 pages Zondervan publisher September 7, 2021 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Neither Margaret nor Owen has any interest in getting married. But in the small Amish town of Birch Creek, where marriage is on everyone’s mind, their plans don’t stand a chance.

Margaret Yoder can’t seem to catch a break. Even though she’s dedicated to her Amish faith, her wild rumspringa won’t stay in the past, and her mother keeps pressuring her to get married. To placate her mother and get away from former “friends”, she decides to return to Birch Creek to visit family—and pretend to find a husband.

Like Margaret, Owen Bontrager isn’t looking for a spouse, something that’s hard to avoid in Birch Creek, where an ad for brides in the local paper has brought a swarm of single women to the thriving town. When he meets Margaret in an unexpected way, they discover they have more in common than they ever expected. In some ways, they are a perfect match.

Margaret struggles to keep her goal of avoiding romance in order to focus on being a faithful member of the Amish church, and it doesn’t help that she finds Owen intriguing. Knowing they don’t have a future together; she returns home and gives in to her mother’s insistence that she get married.

Can Margaret betray her feelings for Owen and become a dutiful daughter and wife to the man of her mother’s choosing? Or will Owen find a way to free Margaret of her past by giving her the future they both are surprised to find they desire?

MY THOUGHTS

Matched and Married is the second book in the Amish Mail-Order Bride series by Kathleen Fuller. Before I read this book today, I hadn't read an Amish book of hers in several years. The past several years she has had a contemporary fiction series which I have been reading.
Margaret Yoder is a young Amish woman ready to settle down after a rather wild rumspringa, running around period the Amish do before deciding if they want to join the church. Her past won't stay in the past though, it shows up on her doorstep in the form of former Englisher friends who want her to continue the behavior she has put behind her. With three daughters and Maragret the last, her mother just wants her to get married. Everything Maragret does seems to be met with her mother's disapproval. Margaret has no intentions of getting married anytime soon though. Going to Birch Creek to visit family will be the perfect escape from old temptations and to appease her mother she'll pretend to look for a husband. Her aunt whom she is staying with understands her and enjoys her visit though she's not looking for a husband. Meeting a local in Birch Creek, Owen Bontrager while out foraging for herbs for the natural medicines she makes Margaret is pleased to find out he's not looking for a spouse either. Knowing that she won't be in Birch Creek long she tries hard to concentrate on being a strong Amish church member but the more she's around Own the more intriguing she finds him. He's smart and they have interesting conversations which draws them closer. Knowing her mother wants her to return home soon to find a suitable match will she be able to go home and just forget about Owen and the awakening her heart has had towards love?
I've always enjoyed this author's series and this one too, though I don't feel the mother should have been so domineering.

Pub Date 07 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

272 pages Crooked Lane Books publisher December 5, 2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

The quiet Amish lifestyle isn’t all that it seems in this debut cozy mystery series, for fans of Amanda Flower and Wanda E. Brunstetter.

Petunia Yoder is Blueberry, Pennsylvania’s youngest old maid, at twenty-two years of age, and completely unmarriageable. But she’s determined to celebrate her friends’ weddings with joy and a full heart. Unfortunately, Petunia’s best friend, Eden Beiler, is playing a dangerous game with a man who is ruining her reputation.

Ike Smoker is the community’s iceman—the one who cuts, stores, and sells the ice—and when Petunia discovers him dead with an ice pick in his chest, Eden is found on the scene with blood on her hands. Homicide detective Asher Nate is new to the area, and he has a challenge on his hands. The Amish community sticks close together, and he doesn’t understand the subtleties and nuances of the clues he uncovers. He needs an Amish interpreter, and he asks Petunia if she’ll help. In a bid to keep her best friend out of prison, she agrees.

The community is filled with people who had good reason to hate Ike Smoker, especially as Petunia and Asher begin to uncover his secrets. Was someone trying to protect their family’s reputation? Or to exact revenge for a sin buried deep in the past?

There’s a litany of damning clues that litters the ground—and if Petunia and Asher can’t come up with the truth, they could end up as the next ones on the killer’s list.

MY THOUGHTS

Murder of an Amish Bridegroom is the first book in An Amish Seamstress cozy mystery series. I've read quite a few Amish books by the author, but this is her first cozy mystery, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Overall, I thought the book was good, the characters were well developed, and I wasn't able to guess who did it before it was revealed. I liked the fact that it took place in the state I live in, that's kinda neat. There were a lot of characters in the book which did make it a bit hard to keep track of who was who and what their purpose was. The dialogue was a bit simplistic at times and some of the conversations unbelievable. I'm not sure I would believe a police detective would allow a civilian to help with the case by letting our main character be as involved and questioning people as she did. Overall, a solid presentation that surprised me with the secrets revealed and I will continue the series, after all it is fiction so there will be some inconsistencies compared to what's realistic and what's not.

Pub Date 05 Dec 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Are either of these books on your radar to read?

Have a great day and I’ll see you in the next posting.