Blame The Beignets

 A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 9

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496749611

Kensington Cozies

304 Pages

$17.95; $9.99 Amazon

November 26, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As the weather cools down, business heats up at Deputy Donut Cafe for owner Emily Westhill.  But is a stubborn tabby cat, a mysterious new employee, and a murder case with a baker's dozen worth of suspects too much to manage?

With mouthwatering treats selling fast in October, Emily is delighted to welcome her assistant's younger sister, Hannah, to help at the donut shop while taking a semester off from college.  But Hannah's talent for dishing powdered pastries without dropping a crumb attracts some unusual customers, as two admirers with opposite personalities begin to show up during her shifts -- much to her older sister's disappointment...

Real trouble comes after hours in the dark forest surrounding Emily's lakeside house.  Emily follows a trail of her freshly-made beignets -- just like those purchased by the two admirers -- to a dead body.  And while the victim may have burned a few bridges, there's no way to sugarcoat the discovery of Hannah's hairclip at the crime scene.  Now. as suspicions fall on her own employee and unsavory rumors swirl around town, it will take far more than a sprinkle of good luck for Emily to learn the truth and expose a killer with a very deadly craving...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Fyne, newly married to Detective Brent Fyne, owns Deputy Donut Cafe with her late husband's father, Tom Westhill.  They've got a new special of beignets, and everyone who tastes them loves them; so, they sell out fast.  Her employee Hannah is taking a break from school to work there with her older sister Olivia, so all seems well.

But one day two young men enter the cafe with a tiny dog, and no one seems to know who she belongs to -- at least until another shop owner is heard calling for her.  But there's been chaos already, with Emily's cat Dep taking umbrage at the dog's presence, and letting everyone know it by escaping himself.  Once Dep is corralled and everything goes back to normal, Emily learns the two men -- Zachary and Joshua -- are known to Hannah, and both seem to be interested in her.

This doesn't sit well with Olivia, who likes Zachary, but isn't happy that Hannah seems to favor the unknown (up until now) Joshua.  Then there's another altercation at the cafe between two men and a woman, and another man who enters trying to sell 'deals' to the customers.  Once Emily has the cafe back to order, she wonders if it can get any worse.

It does, when she discovers a dead body on a trail not too far from her lakeside home -- along with one of Hannah's hairclips.  Once she discovers the identity of the man, she wonders if Hannah or her friends had anything to do with it; even putting this idea out of her head doesn't do much good, as she finds out there are plenty of other suspects who wanted the person dead.  Now she's on the trail of a killer, and hopes she can find them before someone else is slain...

This is the ninth book in the series, and I have read them all.  I love the story lines, and the characters, and especially little Dep, who has his own say in the murders and solving them.  A pretty smart cat (but then, I favor cats and know that most of them are!).  Emily is trying to prove Hannah innocent, but her detective husband Brent has to look at the evidence, and the hairclip could point to her involvement.  It rankles Emily, but she knows that it does look incriminating.  But Olivia didn't want Hannah to hike that trail -- for good reason -- so why was she there when she is claiming she wasn't?

Now Emily is looking to find out who had the best reason for the person's demise, and she does find clues along the way, which she passes on to Brent, just as she should.  It makes their life together flow easily, and you can see that they love and respect each other, which is the main thing marriage should do for people.  It's realistic, and I like it.

There are clues throughout, but they aren't easy to find.  I didn't know the murderer until Emily did, and that's a very good thing, as I read a lot of mysteries and far too often, I discover the killer the minute they step on the page.  In this one, she hid the person well, which gave an element of surprise that I truly enjoyed.

In the end, the reasons for the murder were no more than it should be, as the mind of a killer is always hard to decipher, nor would I want to.  What I want is what this mystery gives us: secrets, lies, intrigues, and a lot of action.  Kudos to Ms. Bolton.  I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Blame-Beignets-Deputy-Donut-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CW1GWMZD/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7018328496

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/

A Holiday for Homicide

Cook-Off Mysteries Book 9

Author:    Devon Delaney

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781960511867

Beyond The Page Publishing

208 Pages

$14.00; $5.99 Amazon

September 17, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A televised cooking competition puts Sherry in the spotlight, especially when the final challenge calls for catching a killer...

Despite being a seasoned competitor, nothing could have prepared Sherry Oliveri for the thrill of being chosen for a three-day cooking challenge on national television.  She's dying to tell her friends, but she and everyone else involved in the contest has been sworn to secrecy until it airs.  Still, that's not stopping someone from penning cryptic notes about the show for the whole town to read, which has the production crew on edge -- right up until one of them is found dead.

Determined to root out the killer, Sherry suspects the truth lies with whoever's behind the mysterious notes -- which have now turned dark with menacing comments on the murder and suggestions of buried secrets.  Trying to unravel it all while focusing on her recipes, Sherry's stopped dead in her tracks when the cook-off host drops a bombshell.  With no time to spare, she'll have to unearth the one missing ingredient that will ensure the killer's cooked...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sherry Oliveri is a multiple-time winner of cook-offs, and enjoys creating new recipes while having fun at the same time.  She's been chosen for one that takes place in her small town of Augustin.  Unfortunately, though, she's not able to tell anyone, because this one is different in that it's a television program that's set to air on Labor Day, and it must be kept under wraps.

Meanwhile, she plays tennis most every morning with her friend Kat, who works for the mayor.  She also discovers that Kat knows a member of the production team; which becomes a problem when that person is murdered, and Kat becomes a suspect.  When both Kat and her mother ask for Sherry's help in finding a killer, she can't say no.  But who wanted the person dead?  Also, who's writing cryptic notes about the show on napkins?  And is Sherry in any danger of being killed next?...

I have read every book in this series and I have enjoyed them all quite a bit.  Ms. Delaney gives us characters that are believable, and even more so, likeable as well.  I do enjoy following Sherry's life and her cook-offs, mainly because I love to cook and bake myself.  (Although I have no interest in entering any contests!)

In this mystery, the notes allude to a secret that someone has which could turn the competition on its side.  But who is the subject?  No one seems to know, and no one seems to be the author.  Sherry is suspicious of someone on the production crew, and even Kat's new boyfriend, Garrett, who is a local journalist hired to document and film it all.  Tensions are running high, and barbs are being thrown, but when they go in every direction, Sherry knows she needs to focus on the three-day event if she has a chance of winning.

With accidents occurring and contestants being eliminated, Sherry hunkers down and does what she does best: focuses on what's in front of her at the time she needs to.  Which means the event comes first and finding a killer is next, if she can just concentrate enough...

I do like the fact that she shares what she knows with Detective Ray Bease, who values her input and doesn't dismiss her out of hand; it lends to a personal relationship as well (platonic), where their friendship doesn't interfere in his investigations.  Sherry also has a good support group, including her boyfriend Don, who doesn't try to change her or get mad at her for what she does.  (Even as he worries, which is normal).

When Sherry comes to the end of the competition, it is a surprise all around, including to me.  I was as stunned as she was.  It was decent, and didn't go for the 'oomph' view that television seems to go for these days.  When she discovers -- as we know she will -- the killer, it was a bit of a surprise, although I knew who is was a little earlier than Sherry; but we had the clues and only needed to put them together.  It was both sad and needless, but you can never get into the mind of a killer (nor would I want to -- I just love reading about them; ghoulish, I know!).

All in all, this was another winner for this author, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.  

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Holiday-Homicide-Devon-Delaney-ebook/dp/B0DFD1G7NC/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6994046223

More on Devon Delaney's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/devon-delaney/

Deadly Dog Days

Dog Days Mystery Book 1

Author:    Jamie Blair

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781705836378

Independently Published

220 Pages

$13.95; $3.99 Amazon

September 8, 2019

⭐⭐

New to the historic town of Metamora, Indiana, Cameron Cripps-Hayman is looking to make friends with her neighbors.  What she isn't looking for is one of their bodies floating in the canal.

When she and her estranged husband, the town sheriff, are both named suspects for the murder, Cameron takes crime into her own hands, teaming up with her eccentric co-workers who dub themselves the Metamora Action Agency.

As if hunting for a murderer with two high school geniuses, the town drunk, and an elderly kleptomaniac isn't hard enough, Cameron adopts the five mangy guard dogs of her deceased neighbor.  But maybe a stint at playing gatekeeper is just what she needs to come face-to-face with the killer and save another neighbor from being the next victim.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Cameron Cripps-Hayman is estranged from her town sheriff husband, and they have a lot of issues between them to overcome if they can even get along.  Add in a mother-in-law from hell, and you see the reason she left him in the first place.  Unfortunately, she's still living in the house owned by her mother-in-law, and it doesn't sit right with the woman.

 

She manages a group of misfits who have been in trouble with the law, and they work on a help line for those in need.  But when a body is found, they all want to help with the investigation to find a killer.  That is, if Cameron doesn't tell her ex about it.

But trouble follows, and Cameron might just find out that she's next in line to be killed...

Normally, I try to give first in series books a good chance.  But this one just had too many problems, and I'm not sure if I'll read another one or not.  First off, there were just too many characters (42!) so you couldn't keep straight who was doing what.  There were little to none clues to the murderer, so we were forced to read through a book full of nasty people -- her mother-n-law, her stepdaughter, her estranged husband.  Not one had a decent quality to them, and I was really hoping she'd dump them all and just go back with her sister where she could have a decent life and give up eating cookies to deal with her problems and unhappiness.

No such luck.  (But we knew that, anyway).  I would have been happy if her mother-in-law wasa second victim.  The protagonist didn't have a backbone and wouldn't stand up to anyone -- not even her cheating husband.  I won't be reading any more in this series.  There are too many good books out there to read instead.  Why punish myself with characters I can't stand?

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Dog-Days-Mystery-humorous-ebook/dp/B07WS2H43M/ref

More on Jamie Blair's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/jamie-blair/

Death on All Hallowe'en

A Carolus Deene Mystery Book 19

Author:    Leo Bruce

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book (Hardcover Available)

ISBN #:    9780897332927

Academy Chicago Publishers

203 Pages

$10.99 5; $17.99 Amazon

Original Print 1970

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Carolus Deene is summoned to a small Kentish village where the presence of a possible coven of witches lends an eerie aura to the presumed "accidental" death of a young local boy a year ago on Hallowe'en.  Before his work is completed, Carolus Deene has the answers to this and two other deaths.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Carolus Deene is a college professor who does a little sleuthing on the side.  His friend, Father John Stainer, tells him he thinks something nasty is going on in his little village of Clibburn near Kent.  A year ago, a small boy died from pneumonia, but John thinks there's more too it.  Now, coming again on  All Hallowe'en, he's afraid more will happen and wants Carolus to look into it.

Of course he agrees, and heads to Clibburn to stay with John.  When he meets a man named Connor, he seems shaken because he thinks someone has taken a shot at him.  Carolus presses him (gently) for more information, but Connor refuses.  It is then that he has a true mystery on his hands.  He's determined to figure out what it is that Connor is hiding, and if it is connected in any way to the death of young Cyril a year ago.

What Carolus finds is that someone wants him out of the village, and soon.  He's not easily intimidated, and he knows he may very well put himself in danger; but he proceeds with his investigation, sharing what he finds with the local police.  It's interesting what you can discover when you ask people the right questions, isn't it?...

This is the first book that I have read by Leo Bruce, but it is certainly not going to be the last.  I found this mystery so well done, in fact, that I did not know the murderer until nearly the very end, later than Mr. Deene did, himself.  It was a delight to read, especially since it coincided with the Halloween time as well.  (I do love to 'read the season', as it were).

Watching Carolus look for answers among the village people was definitely worth it alone.  Some of them were first and foremost nasty humans that one would not want to spend time with; but there were others that were just those who wanted to live their lives.  Yet all of them were connected in some way or another, even if it were only vicariously. 

When the truth comes out, it is definitely a terrible sight.  Even Carolus was disgusted by what he found.  But human nature is uncontrollable, and things will occur even if we don't like them.  Evil exists.  Murder does happen, and it is never pleasant.  

The book was a very good read, and the clues not so easy to find.  But all in all, it made me respect Mr. Bruce and want to look for others he has written.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P5OZOV6?tag=speculativefic05&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6966805500

More on Leo Bruce's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/rupert-croft-cooke/

Hisses, Hexes and Homicide

A Purr-fect Relic Cozy Mystery Book 2

Author:    DeAnna Drake

Genre:     Mystery/Paranormal

Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781964418537

Tule Publishing

254 Pages

$11.99; $4.99 Amazon

July 8, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rebecca Cuthbert, no stranger to false accusations, rushes to defend her baker best friend when she's accused of murdering Citrus Grove's Elvis-loving mayor with a deadly petit four.

But Rebecca recognizes the real clue: this death is the work of the Emerald Scarab, one of the cursed artifacts she vowed to track down after it was stolen from her grandfather's quirky antique shop.

Now she must navigate a peculiar maze of clues and enchantments, aided by her grandfather's wise counsel and the scattered recollections of an immortal talking cat, Aneksi, who once encountered the scandalous scarab in Cleopatra's court.  With each revelation, her search becomes a frantic race to find the killer and the amulet before they can hurt anyone else. 

But her meddling puts her in the killer's path, and Rebecca must rely on her fledgling investigative skills to save her friend from jail and herself from becoming the sleepy Southern California town's latest murder victim.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

After Rebecca Cuthbert's parents died in a car accident, and her fiance left her practically at the altar, she thought she had lost everything in her Montana home.  But when she received word that she had a grandfather in California who wanted her to live with him, she moved to small-town Citrus Grove to help him run his antique store.

What she found out later what that he had a treasure trove of Egyptian artifacts, collected by his own grandfather.  And she also discovered one of them, an immortal kitten named Aneksi, who's also been much help in finding those stolen by an ex-employee.  

When Rebecca attends an event given by the mayor, he is soon struck down -- apparently by eating one of Luna's, her baker friend, petit fours.  Now Luna is the top suspect, and has asked for Rebecca's help in finding out who killed the mayor.  When Aneksi smells one of the artifacts close to Luna, both Rebecca and her grandfather are afraid that this was the cause of the death.  But who would believe them?  Now the three are on the hunt for the ancient artifact -- an emerald and diamond Scarab -- but who in this town has it?  And are they a true killer?  Or did the scarab drive them to do something horrific?...

This is the second book in the series, and I have to admit that I read numbers one and 3 first, but it doesn't really matter.  This can be read as a stand-alone, although there are references to the first book, so you really should read the enjoyable first one ahead of this.  Saying that, I also have to say that this was just as intriguing as the aforementioned two above.

Rebecca is settling into her new life and has an almost-maybe-or-not relationship with Detective Nick Devon, but their first date ended abruptly, so she's not sure.  Even though he seems glad to see her, he's not happy she's around another investigation (of course, why would he be?).  But Rebecca is determined to help Luna, and to do that, she must find the missing scarab.  That means finding who had a motive to killer Mayor Bill.  Could it be his wife?  His daughter?  One of his many flings?  Or his business rival?

The only way to know is by asking questions.  Trying to step on as few toes as possible, she still needs to get answers.  Even if there are those who aren't happy to see her, she knows this is imperative.  The scarab must be found.  And she's sure the killer has it.

What follows is a most interesting story featuring an immortal cat that just purrs her way into your heart, and a protagonist determined to get to the truth, even if it brings personal danger.  I hesitate to say more as to not ruin the book for others.

In the end, I was a bit surprised at the murderer, as it should be, and the red herrings had me running in another direction.  The climax was all it should be, and the ending gives you something to look forward to in the next book.  Highly recommended.

I was given a copy of this book from the author and BookSprout but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Hisses-Hexes-Homicide-Purr-fect-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0D42SRLWY/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6944754784

More on DeAnna Drake's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/deanna-drake/

Diamond Dust

How A Nice Mormon Boy Became a Brilliant Counterfeiter

Author:    Russ Swain/Michael McKinley

Genre:     Memoirs/True Crime

Hardcover; Paperback

ISBN #:    9781953136725; 9781953136732

Pierian Springs Press

192 Pages

$29.00; $22.95 Amazon

August 26, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A quick, engaging page-turner from beginning to end-straight-forward and told with courage, Diamond Dust is a memoir of how one young person's talent ran away with itself, careening into one unexpected event after another.  Told with humor and introspection, it is a story of hubris and redemption, of talent and conscience, of art and absolution -- and how life can lead us to second chances -- at finding our better selves.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

I do love true crime books, but truth be told, they aren't normally written from the criminal's point of view, usually the true crime writer.  So, of course, this is different in that respect.  Russ Swain is (and was) a nice, Mormon boy, son of a house painter and an art teacher.  This alone should give him some art ability, right?  But what a difference...

...When that art ability turned out to be so much more.  While he started out in graphics, (at least legally, some years before, not so much), and even had his own business, things weren't going well.  He wanted to expand his business for a better profit, but didn't have the money.  So what was he to do?  Visit a loan shark?  While most of us (I would hope) would nix that plan, Russ didn't.  And so began his career in counterfeiting money.  He was so good at it, that it was nearly untraceable ('nearly' being the catalyst word here).

He had to keep the secret from his friends, his wife, etc.; and there began his second life, one which shaped the future for him.  Living a life of looking over his shoulder, he didn't do well (who would?)  But there's another story inside this story.  How Russ was able to turn his life around, and stay on the right side of the law (we would hope); but only after learning a hard lesson was he able to create the life he has today.

This is an interesting story, and one I hope no one will attempt to repeat (sure), and I found it definitely intriguing to read.  I enjoyed the fact that Russ has finally found his way, and realized that hopefully, we all have 'Diamond Dust' in our own lives.  Recommended. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Dust-Mormon-Brilliant-Counterfeiter/dp/1953136737/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6938875616

A Spirited Blend

A Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery Book 3

Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    1496735226

Kensington Cozies

288 Pages

(Price TBA) $12.99 Amazon

March 25, 2025

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With Halloween around the corner, Shay Myers is brewing witchy seasonal sips at Crystals & CuriosiTEAS -- while simultaneously steaming over pub owner Liam Madigan's decision to take anybody but her to the town/s Monster Mash dance.  Her romantic premonitions have missed the mark since she settled into coastal Bray Harbor, opening the door to questions about whether she's really the gifted seer her late mother imagined.  It's why she second guesses the dark vision in her tea leaves about a local citizen and their obsession with genealogy, Irish folklore, and magic.

But when bad omens come true, Shay doesn't have time for self-doubt.  A woman's body has been discovered, frozen in a strange pose with an eerie black butterfly on her forehead, leading to suspicions that the victim took a conjuring ritual too far due to limited experience -- or was murdered by someone with too much.  As an investigation stirs up a sinister connection to a boardwalk mystic shop, Shay, guided by her knowing dog, Spirit, finds herself tracking down a shady figure from her past, navigating the sudden reappearance of her ex-husband, and chasing down a wickedly perceptive criminal who might finally be her match!

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Shay Myers began her day, she didn't expect pub owner (and secret crush) Liam Madigan to come running to her for advice on his love life (again).  In fact, she's so tired of it she sends him away, but he thinks she's just having a bad day and will get over it.  But it's not the day that has her bothered.  It's the visions she's been having.  And when a local citizen steps in for a tea reading, Shay can't believe what she sees -- or hears.  The woman thinks they might be related, even though Shay tells her it's not really possible.  But the woman persists, and shows Shay an object she found among her mother's possessions.  Not able to completely convince her, Shay sends her off, and then worries about what she's seen in the tea leaves. Asking the help of Liam's wise Irish Gram, she fears the worst.  

But then her ex-husband and his new wife appear in town, telling her they've bought a local winery that was for sale.  As if things couldn't get worse, she finds they do.  A friend-turned-enemy has opened a rival shop, and someone else shows up, who's willing to do her harm.  Now, with visions that only spell possible doom, how can she find the truth?  Then someone is murdered nearby, and she's not sure if even Gram can help her with this one...

This is the third entry in this series, and I do believe it is the best one yet.  While I have loved this author's other series as well, I am tending to love this one even more.  I am so over tales of witches, vampires, and werewolves; but a series about a seer is indeed unique, and the story line behind all this makes it believable as well.

Shay didn't always know she was one; she discovered it after her return to Bray Harbor when her marriage and life fell apart.  In this book she is beginning to understand more, not only about herself, but also having ideas, with the help of Liam, of what happened to her before (I cannot say more as it will give away too much of the book).  Suffice it to say, it gives an opening for future books, and also gives us a glimpse of Shay's past, not counting her Irish heritage.

Finding a killer isn't going to be easy, especially once she learns her nemesis has arrived in town, and the fact that her now-enemy might be involved.  It's good she has Spirit to protect her, she needs him more than ever.  There is plenty going on here, not only with Halloween, but with Shay trying to keep her business open, trying to figure out what is going on with her ex, and, of course, trying to find a killer. 

The ending is surprising, which is how it should be; the climax is stirring, but nevertheless a tad sad.  Yet there is more to come, and I eagerly await the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DB3N3CLQ?ref_=dbs

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6931622610

More on Lauren Elliott's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/lauren-elliott/