Treble at the Jam Fest (A Food Lovers' Village Mystery #4)

Author:  Leslie Budewitz
Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780738752402; [9781541459885]
Midnight Ink Publishing; [Tantor Audio]
288 Pages
$11.39; [$22.67]; $4.99 Amazon
June 8, 2017

⭐⭐⭐

Erin Murphy, manager of Glacier Mercantile (aka the Merc), is tuning up for Jewel Bay's annual Jazz Festival.  Between keeping the Merc's shelves stocked with Montana's tastiest local fare and hosting the festival's kick-off concert, Erin has her hands full.

Discord erupts when jazz guitarist Gerry Martin plummets to his death from the rocks above the Jewel River.  The one-time international sensation had fallen out of sync with festival organizers, students, and performers.  Was his death an accident -- or did someone even the score?

Erin investigates despite the warning signs not to get involved.  And when the killer attacks, she orchestrates her efforts into one last crescendo, hoping to avoid a deadly finale.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Erin Murphy is manager of Glacier Mercantile in small-town Jewel Bay, Montana.  They're gearing up for a festival featuring guitarist Gerry Martin.  But all is not well -- especially when Erin hears arguments between Gerry and others who are either attending or performing in the concert he's about to give.

Also on hand is her boyfriend Adam's best friend Tanner, who has finally arrived from Minnesota to spend time visiting with Adam and Erin.  While she's looking for everything to settle down, that's not going to happen.  The day after the concert, she hears that there's been an accident on the river -- where Adam and Tanner are kayaking, and when she rushes to it, she sees Tanner on the rocks, obviously in distress.  She fears the worst, but those fears are allayed when Adam grabs her from behind before she can tumble to the ground.  But when she learns that the deceased is Gerry Martin, and Tanner tells her it wasn't an accident, she begins to wonder who hated him enough to kill him, or wants to see her stop asking questions...

While I really wanted to love this book, I just couldn't.  There were things that bothered me, and unfortunately, I just couldn't get past them.  First, how does she keep the Merc up and running when she's never there?  She's there long enough to go into her office to work on the investigation, or order a couple cases of wine, but then she's off again, leaving the place to Tracy and her new hiree, Lou Mary.  That grated on me.

Also unfortunately, I still just really hate the name Fresca.  it's the name of a soft drink from years ago, and every time I hear it I think she was named after it.  The nickname for Francesca would more likely be Fran.  It also bothers me that she calls her mother by her first name.  It's disrespectful, and who cares if your mother works at the same place you do?  You'd still call her mom, yet she even calls her Fresca in her mind.  (Yeah, I know, but it really bothered me).

Aside from this, the mystery was fine, and there were plenty of suspects who wanted Martin dead.  Finding the right one took time, since the clues that their were led to a woman being the murderer.  That narrowed it down somewhat, since the men were pretty much out of the picture.  In the end, it all came together satisfactorily, and left a hint of what is to come in the next book, which I will still probably read, since I've read all the books in this series so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Treble-Fest-Lovers-Village-Mystery/dp/0738752401/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1897475878

More on Leslie Budewitz's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/leslie-ann-budewitz/

Photo Finished (A Scrapbooking Mystery #2)

Author:  Laura Childs

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9780425194348

Berkley Publishing

272 Pages

$7.52; $7.99 Amazon

January 6, 2004

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Carmela Bertrand is hosting a late-night "Crop Till You Drop" session at her quaint French Quarter scrapbooking shop, Memory Mine.  All the usual suspects have turned up to trim, decorate, color, and gossip.

But their all-night crop comes to a screeching halt when a neighboring antiques-shop owner winds up murdered in the alley behind the cozy store.  And when Carmela and her customers become the focus of the police investigation, the scrapbooking expert realizes it's her responsibility to rearrange the jumble of clues and pick out the real killer -- before he strikes again.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Carmela Bertrand owns a scrapbooking store, Memory Mine, in the heart of New Orleans.  She's frequented by visitors and regulars alike.  When she decides to have a late-night "Crop Till You Drop" session, she expects it will be with her usual customers.  But when her neighbor, cranky Bartholomew Hayward, the owner of the antiques store next to her, knocks on her back door to tell her to move her car, she finds out she's not going to get what she expects after all.  Especially when her employee Gabby offers to move Carmela's car, and the next thing she hears is Gabby's scream...

Carmela, along with the croppers, rush out and find Bartholomew's body in the alley - and he's been stabbed in the neck with a pair of crafting scissors.  When the police suspect Barty's employee, Billy Cobb, of the murder, Carmela's friend Tandy Bliss is beside herself, because she's Billy aunt and refuses to believe him capable of murder.

On top of this, Carmela is still in love with her estranged husband Shamus, and she's surprised when he shows up and wants her to come to a party his sister Glory is giving.  Glory has made it quite well known to Carmela that she doesn't like her at all, so this stuns her, but she still agrees to go, hoping that maybe they can be reconciled at some point.

When Tandy asks Carmela to help find the murderer since the police seem to be focused entirely on Billy, how can she refuse?  So now Carmela is looking for a killer and trying to please everyone around her while she runs her business.  But if her work load isn't going to kill her, someone else might just be looking to do it...

This is the second book in the series, and I did mention before that I've started with the later ones and enjoyed them so much that I decided to go back to the beginning.  I'm very glad to say that I haven't been disappointed.  Ms. Childs writes with a flair that brings you to the heart of New Orleans and everything around it.  I've never been, but her books make me want to indeed visit this place.  Her characters are lively and full of life, and I relish spending time with them. 

The mystery itself is quite a lot of fun to read, with plenty of characters who wanted Barty dead, and the red herrings make it all that much more intriguing, with several going in different directions.  I was surprised when I discovered the murderer, and that made it even more pleasing since it's always nice when you really can't figure it out. 

In the end, everything was put together quickly and easily, and it left us wondering what will happen in the next book.  Even though I know the eventual outcome, it's the journey that is the most interesting, and I will continue with this series.  Recommended. 

https://www.amazon.com/Photo-Finished-Scrapbooking-Mystery-Childs/dp/0425194345/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3250857747

More on Laura Childs's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/laura-childs/

Molded 4 Murder (A Sophie Kimball Mystery #5)

Author:  J.C. Eaton
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496719904
Kensington Publishing
295 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
August 27, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sophie "Phee" Kimball enjoys working as a bookkeeper for a private investigator.  If only her mother Harriet could enjoy her retirement at Sun City West in Arizona -- instead of constantly getting involved with retirees being prematurely put out to pasture.  this time Quentin Dussler, a prominent member of the clay sculpting club, was found dead, clutching a piece of paper scrawled with Phee's mother's name.

Terrified she's been targeted by assassins, Harriet begs Phee to investigate.  What Phee uncovers is a complicated scheme that only the most diabolical of murderers would ever devise.  And as she chisels away at confusing clues and potential suspects, Phee unearths something far more precious and valuable than she could imagine.  Eager for answers, she takes a bold step -- placing herself in the crosshairs of a stonefaced killer...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sophie "Phee" Kimball works as bookkeeper for Williams Investigation in Arizona.  Unfortunately, her mother Harriet lives in Sun City West and is constantly thinking someone is out to 'get' her or one of her friends and is expecting Phee and her bosses Nate and Marshall to help them.  This time, a man is murdered and is found with a small piece of paper in his hand that has both Harriet's and her friend Lucinda's name on it.  Now Harriet is sure it's a hit list, and they're next.  So, of course, she expects Phee to do something about it.

Fortunately, Williams Investigations has already been asked to help in the murder investigation, and Nate asks Phee to see what she can glean from talking with the elderly women.  A task Phee doesn't relish.  But then, she's also visited by two sisters she once met who live in an upscale retirement facility, and they're sure someone is stealing from them.  So Phee goes to speak with the director -- quietly, of course -- and the woman promises to see what she can find out.

But then things start to take a darker turn.  One of the missing items is a piece of pottery that a tenant owned, and she sends Phee a picture of what it looked like, along with scribbles on the bottom.  When Phee's co-worker Augusta deciphers it, and Phee and her Aunt Ina investigate on their own, they walk into a dangerous situation without even realizing it.

Once Phee and her bosses start linking the two cases, things take a nasty turn.  And when things start heating up at both the retirement community and what Nate and Marshall have found out, Phee makes a rash decision to continue her own investigation.  And that decision might just get her killed...

This is the fifth book in the series and I have to say that I've enjoyed it as much as the previous ones.  The dialogue is witty, the action is plentiful, and the story is intriguing.  There are bits and pieces thrown around that each supporting character might say or let slip, and it's quite entertaining watching Phee and her boyfriend, PI Marshall, put the puzzle together and come to a solid conclusion that ties everything together admirably.

Phee is a delightful character, one who loves her mother but doesn't relish spending time with her (not that I blame her -- Harriet is a drama queen and always thinks someone is out to get her); she's got a brain that works on the mathematical side and puts clues together that way, while her bosses work on finding the clues and then seeing where they go.  It's a wonderful combination of characters that works wonderfully.  I also was surprised to see in this book that Augusta took a bit of a larger role, and one I thought was quite humorous as well as welcome.  (Read the book and you will see what I am speaking of).

Having lived in Tucson for several years, I can tell you that the author describes the area around Phoenix and the Tonto Forest quite accurately, and it brings me back to my own days in Arizona.  However, being the private person that I am, I think I'd avoid Sun City West in retirement years.  I shudder to think I'd come across anyone like Harriet.  Poor Phee.

At any rate, the author is quite talented in creating story lines that are unique and complicated.  While I figured out one of the murderers toward the middle of the book -- it was something said by another character that steered me in that direction, and I won't say what remark it was -- I was pleased to see that I was correct and watch how Phee put everything together at the end.  I also think the best line in the book was said by Harriet, in regard to how many murders had been done since she moved to Sun City:

"I used to feel so safe around here.  Now it's becoming a regular combat zone."  That one actually made me laugh out loud, and is just an example of the dialogue, so to anyone who hasn't read any of these books, I suggest you start with the first and work your way through.  You won't be disappointed.

In the end, when the murderer was caught and everything went back to normal (or as normal as it can be with the wacky seniors), I loved the ending and it gave me a reason to read the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Molded-Murder-Sophie-Kimball-Mystery/dp/1496719905/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3249310640

More on J.C. Eaton's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/j-c-eaton/

Cat About Town (A Cat Cafe Mystery #1)

Author:  Cate Conte
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781250072061; [9781541469471]
St. Martin's Publishing [Tantor Audio]
295 Pages
$6.19; [$16.25]; $6.99 Amazon
August 1, 2017

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Maddie James has arrived on Daybreak Island, just off the coast of Massachusetts, on family business.  The last thing she expected to find her was a stray orange tabby -- one so cute and cuddly that Maddie is struck with the idea to open a cat café.  But little does Maddie know that she's in for something a lot more catastrophic when her new furry companion finds the dead body of the town bully.  Now all eyes are on Maddie:  Who is this crazy cat-whisperer lady who's come to town?  If pet-hair-maintenance and crime-fighting weren't keeping her busy enough, Maddie now has not one but two eligible bachelors who think she's the cat's pajamas..and will do anything to win her heart.  But how can she even think about happily-ever-after while a killer remains on the loose -- and on her path?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Maddie James has arrived on the island where she grew up, to attend her grandmother’s funeral.  She now lives in San Francisco and owns her own business, but has taken a leave of absence.  However, when talking with her mother, she learns that her mom thinks her grandfather, Leo, might be getting forgetful about certain things and asks Maddie to keep an eye on him.

While at the graveyard she comes across an orange cat that seems to like her, and Maddie does her best to make friends and get the cat to come to her, but people keep interrupting and the cat skitters away.  Also, while at the graveyard, a man approaches Leo and Maddie later learns that Frank O'Malley wants him to sell his home — the home her mother grew up in, where she lived until she was nine with her parents, and where her grandfather grew up. Maddie’s appalled, and Leo insists he doesn’t want to talk about it.  But Maddie when Maddie learns that Frank went so far as to threaten Leo, she decides to speak with Frank  herself and tell him that there’s no way her grandfather is going to sell and he needs to back off.  While the talk didn’t go well, Maddie isn’t going to give up and have her grandfather lose his home. 

Dejected, she goes to the cemetery again to visit her grandmother’s grave and the cat once appears, and this time he follows her home.  After walking with him throughout the day, he's been named  JJ; and she takes him with her to the food festival that evening.  But JJ skitters away again, and she follows his tail to one of the tents and sees him under a table — when she raises the cloth to get him, she comes across the body of Frank O’Malley, who’s been stabbed.  Now her grandfather is a suspect in the death, and Maddie is determined to stay and find out who killed Frank...and hopefully the killer won’t come after her, too...

This is the first in a new series, and like all new ones, I'm always a bit skeptical of what might be inside the pages.  But I was pleasantly surprised in the fact that this book is actually very good.  The plot is delightful, I love JJ's personality, and also the fact that Maddie doesn't allow him outside alone.  (I don't even believe in cats being outside at all, but I do understand that JJ is crucial to the story so it wouldn't make much sense otherwise; and the fact that Maddie has him on a leash when he's with her mitigates it for me).  I like Maddie, since she's not broke, didn't come running home with her tail between her legs, and actually has intelligence.  This book would have been five stars for me but for two things:  I really did feel that the way Maddie was asking questions was intrusive to other people.  I get that she was trying to find answers, but she was pretty much cornering people and demanding them at times.  That bothered me.

The second is the obligatory love triangle.  While there isn't one yet, I will say (as I've always said) that I absolutely detest them.  Let's put it this way: if it were a man and he was stringing along two women, you'd think he was a dog, or worse.  So why is it okay when a woman does it?  Now, as I've said, there's really no love triangle going on.  But the potential is there, and I, for one, hope it doesn't come to fruition.  A book can be just as interesting without two guys hating each other and trying to outdo each other.  They don't need to put on their chain mail and joust for fair maiden in this century.

That being said, I was pleased with the rest of the book.  It was written well, the plot was interesting, Maddie and her family definitely has potential, and I like the secondary characters as well.  I do love the idea that she's going to open a cat café, which makes all the more enticing to read the next in the series.  As an owner of several cats, this series appeals to me; the author is a pleasure to read, being able to create definitive characters and descriptions of the area; and I will continue on with the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Cat-About-Town-Cafe-Mystery/dp/1250072069/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3247748098

More on Cate Conte's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/cate-conte/

Death by Jack-O-Lantern (An Abby McCree Mystery #2)

Author:  Alexis Morgan
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496719546; [9781974971459]
Kensington Publishing; [Dreamscape Publishing]
304 Pages
$7.99; [$29.99]; $5.99 Amazon
August 27, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

-

The small town of Snowberry Creek, Washington, is gearing up for the Halloween Festival, and naturally Abby is on the planning committee.  As part of her duties, she's picking up a pumpkin order from ornery farmer Ronald Minter.  But what she finds instead is the farmer in the middle of his corn maze with a knife in his back.

The police suspect a homeless veteran named Kevin Montgomery, who was seen arguing with Minter when the farmer accused him of trespassing and stealing pumpkins.  Abby's tenant Tripp Blackston, a veteran himself who's been helping Kevin, is sure he's innocent.  Together, Abby and Tripp follow the twists and turns of the case to corner the corn maze killer -- before someone else meets a dead end...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Abby McCree is a young divorceé who inherited her late aunt's home in small-town Snowberry Creek, Washington.  It's getting close to Halloween, and she's on one of the planning committees.  But she has more on her mind -- her tenant, ex-Special Forces soldier Tripp Blackston, often has trouble sleeping and walks around, and she's seen him head to the park with a full backpack and come back with it empty.  So on this night, she decides to allow her curiosity get the better of her and follows him, which isn't a good idea.  Mostly because she's accosted by a man who sneaks up behind her and she soon discovers that he's Sergeant Kevin Montgomery, and a friend of Tripp's.  Once she meets him and realizes he's having problems, she promises Tripp she'll stay out of it.

But the next day she's having coffee in town and sees him in an altercation with an ornery farmer, Ronald Minter, who accuses him of trespassing and stealing pumpkins from him.  Before the altercation can get physical, Montgomery walks back into the park and the forest.  But that's not all -- someone is carving pumpkins with very lifelike features and leaving them on peoples' porches around town.  It's a puzzle no one seems to be able to figure out.

Then Abby is asked to take her elderly friend Glenda out to Minter's farm to get a box of pumpkins for the Halloween Festival, and she gladly agrees.  Because it's raining, she tells Glenda to stay in the car and she'll get them.  But she can't find Minter anywhere, so she checks to see if he's in his corn maze -- and he is.  Dead.  After calling the cops, Police Chief Gage Logan shows up with detectives from elsewhere, since it's their jurisdiction.  After being questioned, Abby leaves and figures that will be the end of it.  But little does she know that both she and Tripp will be pulled into the investigation, and it will get worse.  Montgomery is suspected of the crime, and Abby doesn't think he's guilty.  Will she be able to find a killer before an innocent man is arrested for murder?

This is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it immensely.  Abby is a delightful character; she's strong, independent, intelligent, has a fierce sense of loyalty; yet she's also soft-hearted and at times a tad (shall we say) overly curious.  She stands up for what she believes in, and doesn't back away from confrontations.

The dialogue is witty and fun, and there were many humorous moments along with the somber.  It kept the story moving along at a rapid pace, and therefore I read it in one sitting (without even getting up for a new cup of coffee.  High praise indeed).  The townspeople are more involved in this tale, and we are seeing that Abby's friendship with many of them is growing.  While as in any story there are unlikable characters, at least in this one there is a reason for them being around, and it only made it more convincing.

The mystery is, of course, the reason for the story, and it is quite intriguing.  While of course we know Sergeant Montgomery isn't the killer, there is a lot of fun looking for the person who may be so.  Since I read a lot of these mysteries, I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but it's the journey that is the most fun to see the reason why Minter was murdered.  And it's one I don't think anyone could have discovered, yet finding out the identity of the murderer is rather sad.  The reasons people kill will never cease to amaze me, even when those reasons are age-old.

In the end, everything comes together perfectly just the way it should be, and we are given a bit of a tease regarding the next book (but I will tell you that this book doesn't 'hold you hostage' because I absolutely detest authors who do that).  This author, while new, is a welcome addition to the cozy genre and I eagerly await the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Jack-Lantern-McCree-Mystery/dp/1496719549/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3246208388

More on Alexis Morgan's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/alexis-morgan/

Sinister Sprinkles (A Donut Shop Mystery #3)

Author:  Jessica Beck
Genre:   Mystery


Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781445836843; 9781250100221; 9781250005380
Minotaur Books
290 Pages
Various Prices Amazon
November 1, 2011

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Just in time for the Winter Festival, a glistening layer of snow has covered the streets of April Springs, North Carolina.  Of course, it reminds donut shop owner Suzanne Hart of sweet delicious frosting.  But her visions of sugar plums plummet when her ex's ex-girlfriend gets iced...

Suzanne could never understand why her ex-husband Max cheated on her with Darlene Higgins.  Why Darlene's body was found wearing another woman's clothes is an even bigger mystery.  Now Max is suspected of murder -- and Suzanne is sifting through her mixed-up love life looking for clues.  If she can't sprinkle evidence on her half-baked theories of whodunit, Max is as good as fried...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Suzanne Hart is the owner of Donut Hearts in April Springs, North Carolina.  It's just before Christmas and everyone is loving the Winter Festival, especially Suzanne.  She has a booth set up outside her shop where she's selling her donuts, and couldn't be happier.  That is, until there's a commotion in the town square a few blocks away, and Suzanne hears someone shout that Muriel Stevens has been murdered.

Suzanne asks her employee Emma to watch the shop and goes to see what happened, and she notices Muriel's distinctive winter coat.  But then she notices something else -- Muriel's hair has streaks of grey, which Muriel would never allow, and a touch of blonde.  She tells them that's not Muriel, and it's discovered that the dead woman is Darlene Higgins, the woman who destroyed Suzanne's marriage by sleeping with her husband, Max.  Now Max is a suspect in the murder, but he's disappeared and Chief Martin thinks Suzanne is shielding him.  But Suzanne knows Max is no killer, so she and her best friend Grace set out to find the truth.  But that's only going to work if the killer doesn't find her first...

This is the third book in the series and I have to tell you that it's improved over the first two.  The characters are starting to come together and Suzanne is beginning to grow on me.  I didn't much care for her in the first book, so that's saying a lot.  I even like Max the Dirtbag.  At least he's remorseful, but I agree with Suzanne wholeheartedly in her decision. 

In this book we have a few changes in Suzanne's life and even Emma's, that make them rethink a few things.  It's a nice concept and we see how they react to them.  In all these cases, I like Suzanne more.  She's generous, kind, thoughtful, and whole-hearted.  Those are good qualities in a person.  She's also strong and independent, and can give as good as she gets.  Watching her reactions to people in different situations gives us an eye to her as a person, and it's nice to see.

Suzanne isn't sure who killed Darlene, or why, but she's determined to find out, and with this in mind she and Grace are asking questions -- as surreptitiously as they can, of course -- and while they're not quite discovering a murderer, they are discovering suspects, and reasons why someone would want Darlene out of the picture. 

When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it's a bit of a surprise, but not an unwelcome one, at that.  I really liked how this was done, and as unexpected as it was, it was a nice touch in the last few scenes.  I also did like the ending of the book, giving us a hint of what might be next in Suzanne's life.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Sprinkles-Donut-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1250005388/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3244759386

More on Jessica Beck's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/jessica-beck/

Murder is the Main Course (A Red Carpet Catering Mystery #4)

Author:  Shawn Reilly Simmons
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781635112061; 9781635112030
Henery Press Publishing
250 Pages
$31/95; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
March 23, 2017

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Penelope and her Red Carpet Catering crew find themselves transported to a different world when they arrive on their newest movie set in rural Indiana.  Surrounded by prickly locals, a nervous director out to prove herself, and a vast forest with secrets all its own, Penelope feels more homesick for the big city than ever before.  When she finds their host, owner of Indiana's newest culinary hotspot, dead of an apparent suicide, Penelope works to uncover the darker truths boiling beneath the surface of his seemingly perfect life.  Asked to help keep the late chef's restaurant afloat, Penelope is fried trying to juggle two kitchens and a ravenous cast and crew.  When the chef's suicide turns out to be murder, and the restaurant is vandalized in the middle of the night, Penelope must find out who is behind it all before she's the next one on the chopping block.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Penelope Sutherland owns Red Carpet Catering, and she and her crew are in Indiana on a movie shoot, along with her best friend and housemate actress Arlena Madison.  While filming a version of Turn of the Screw, Penelope enters the kitchen early one morning in preparation of making breakfast for everyone, enters the walk-in freezer and finds the hanging body of Jordan Foster -- the chef and owner of the inn where they are staying. 

After calling the police, Penelope notices things that shouldn't be -- like where are Jordan's boots, and the necklace he always wore.  Jordan also owned Festa restaurant, and soon after his death, she's asked by his widow to take over as chef at the restaurant while they search for a replacement.  So Penelope is now tasked with two things - catering on the set and running a restaurant - while she's there, and even though it's keeping her running, she's also not sure the chef committed suicide, and neither is the director of the movie, Jennifer, who was Jordan's longtime friend.

The sheriff insists that things like this don't happen in his small town, but when the kitchen is vandalized early one morning, the evidence points to a local man named Bailey whom Penelope thinks is guilty for everything due to his past record.  But Penelope soon learns that what's on the surface might not be the truth, and only in digging for it can you uncover the mud beneath, and that mud might just get her suffocated out of everything...

This is the fourth book in the series and I have to say that I have enjoyed them all.  It's different in the fact that the protagonist is a chef and a traveling caterer, to boot.  She lives with Arlena as her personal chef, and also she and her crew travel to various movie sites around the world.  It's an interesting concept, and one I've enjoyed highly.

The mystery starts out simply enough -- with a chef who's suspected of committing suicide -- but his childhood friend refuses to believe it.  That's enough to pique Penelope's curiosity, and she soon discovers other things that aren't adding up: the missing boots, missing wine, and a mysterious name keeps popping up on papers she sees.  She also discovers that five teens have gone missing in the last five years in this sleepy town, and she wonders if everything isn't connected, and after exploring a bit, she thinks she might be right.

Helping the story along is an appearance once again by Arlena's charismatic father, actor Randall Madison, her brother Max, and Penelope's cop boyfriend, Joey, who's managed to take some time off to fly out to be with her.  While the story is clearly centered on Penelope's private investigation, there are some light-hearted moments as well which add to the tale.

The mystery is written extremely well, and the actions surrounding the movie set take second place in the story, just as it is meant to do.  There are plenty of false trails that lead you in first one direction and then another, and it is only when you are nearing what Penelope discovers that you also discover the truth.  While I was suspicious of one particular character (and rightly so); another unexpected one was added to the mix.  It gave a surprise that was both unexpected and rather disheartening to know one could be so unfeeling.

When the murder is solved and the killer is revealed, it comes together beautifully like a dish of paella, everything blending nicely and a feeling of satisfaction at the end.  We are also given a hint of things to come, and I will read the next in the series as soon as I can.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Course-Carpet-Catering-Mystery/dp/1635112036/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3243474539

More on Shawn Reilly Simmons's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/shawn-reilly-simmons/

Tippy Toe Murder (Lucy Stone Mysteries #2)

Author:  Leslie Meier
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781575663920
Kensington Publishing
256 Pages
Various Prices; $6.89 Digital; Amazon
September 1, 1996

⭐⭐

Between ballet lessons, Little League practice, carpooling her kids to school, and a husband in need of attention, fourth-time mother-to-be Lucy Stone has more than enough on her plate this long, hot summer,  But when one of her dearest friends vanishes, Lucy's soft spot for a solid mystery gets the better of her.  Dinner can wait.  Tinker's Cove, Maine's most irrepressible sleuth has a job to do...

An afternoon walk was a ritual for Caroline Hutton...until the retired ballet instructor took a detour into the woods and was never seen again.  The case takes a turn for the worse when a local storeowner takes a deathblow to the head with a video camera.  Now, as Lucy's own seven-year-old prima ballerina rehearses for her debut, a murderer prepares for an encore.  the devoted mother and sleuth knows she mustn't miss either performance.  In fact, her life depends on it.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lucy Stone is pregnant with her fourth child and trying to keep it together juggling ballet lessons, Little League practice, putting meals on the table, and anything else as it comes up.  She’s worried when her friend Caroline Hutton goes missing, but her husband Bill assures her that the police will do their best and to stay out of it, telling her that it’s none of her business and she has other things she needs to take care of instead.

One of Lucy’s friends, Franny, works at a hardware store in town as cashier and clerk.  She’s not happy when the owner’s grandson comes to work, discovering that he’s the probable thief who’s stealing from them — but his grandfather thinks it’s her, and demands repayment in a few days.  Franny, determined to give proof, begs Lucy for the use of her video camera to catch him.  But when she’s removing the camera a day later, he sees her and thinks she stole the money to buy it.  Now she needs to tell Lucy that he has the camera and won’t give it back.  So Lucy goes to the store to retrieve the camera and finds the body of Morrill Slack.  Now, Franny’s been arrested for the murder and Lucy’s sure she’s innocent.

Then Lucy and Tatiana, her daughters’ ballet instructor, decide to go through Caro’s scrapbooks to see if they can find a clue as to where she might have gone.  But what she finds connects more than one person and one event, and when it all comes together for Lucy, it could be worse than she at first believes, and could change her life forever, or even get her killed...

This is the second book in the series and while this is labeled as a cozy and they can touch on dark subjects, this one was way too dark in its handling of domestic abuse and its aftermath; and while not an easy subject to address in any way for any person, it was graphic and violent and shouldn't be considered a cozy.  Once someone has experienced it (as I have, firsthand), it’s not something you want to revisit, nor even remember; but it’s not something you ever forget.  Therefore, there were passages that were difficult to read and I probably wouldn't have read this book if I had known beforehand.

While I never really connected with Lucy’s life — I did feel that Bill didn’t give her enough slack when she was pregnant and the hormones keep pushing at you no matter what you do; I felt that yes, although he’s working full-time, he helped make those kids and should have reached out a bit to help his pregnant wife when he could, not just come home and pop open a beer and decide that’s it’s for him.  A good husband would at least allow her time to rest before the baby’s born, so there was that.

Anyhow, the rest of the book seemed to come together nicely without any problems, and when the ending comes and the murderer was revealed, although I didn’t find it too compelling it was fine, and I will read the next in the series to see if I will continue with it or not.

https://www.amazon.com/Tippy-Murder-Lucy-Stone-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00KYUNERW/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3243117636

More on Leslie Meier's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/leslie-meier/

Hooked on Murder (A Crochet Mystery #1)

Author:  Betty Hechtman
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; [Audio Book]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780425221259; [9781515905219]
Berkley Prime Crime Publishing; [Tantor Audio]
273 Pages
$7.52; [$31.95]; $7.99 Amazon
May 6, 2008

⭐

Molly Pink is about to discover the joys of crochet.  It's a relaxing escape from her hectic life as a bookstore event coordinator...and from the stress of being the latest murder suspect in Tarzana, California.

For Molly, the weekly crochet group at Shedd & Royal Books and More was just another event to manage.  Then she stumbled across the body of group leader Ellen Sheridan.  Molly's complicated past with Ellen has made her a prime suspect, and after being cuffed and questioned, she could use a diversion.  Never mind that she doesn't know how to crochet.  Granny squares don't look that hard to make...

But while Molly's fending off a detective with a grudge and navigating crochet-group politics, the real killer is at large.  And it's up to Molly to catch the culprit -- before she winds up in a tight knot...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Molly Pink is a widow who works at a bookstore managing events, and is delivering a package to Ellen Sheridan.  But when she arrives at Ellen's home, the woman's dead.  Then a policeman enters the home, she's put in handcuffs, and now she's a suspect in the murder.  So Molly does the only thing she can do -- try to find a killer who wants to make her the next victim.

This is the first book in the Crochet Mysteries and I really wanted to like it.  Partly because there are so many knitting mysteries out there but very few ones centered on crochet.  Unfortunately, it took a turn almost from the beginning that made me realize this is not going to be put on my 'favorites' list any time soon.

The detective heading the case -- Detective Heather Gilmore is interested in Molly's boyfriend, Detective Barry Greenberg, even though Greenberg only has eyes for Molly.  So now we have the 'evil nemesis' in the form of Heather.  I absolutely detest the 'evil nemesis' in books.  It's not necessary to tell the story; it's not essential to have someone who hates the protagonist and wants to do them harm.  And, I'm going to add: if Detective Greenberg removed himself from the case because he's Molly's boyfriend (which is patently ridiculous because the neighbor who called the police called them because they saw her enter the home, so they know what time she arrived -- which was far too late to have killed Ellen, so she would be eliminated immediately and he could stay on the case); then Heather should have removed herself because she hates Molly.  End of discussion.

Then, I rather skimmed the rest of the book because of what I mentioned above, and discovered my other pet peeve: we're looking at a possible love triangle.  If there's anything I hate more than the evil nemesis, it's the dreaded love triangle.  Let's face it: if it were a man and he was waffling between two women, you'd think he was a dog, so why is it okay for a woman to waffle between two men?  Um, no.  I'm not interested in this. 

So, saying everything I've said, I will be fair and take a look at the second in the series, but if we still have Heather mooning over Barry, and the love triangle hanging around, I will be done with this series.  Pity.  I do love crochet.

https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Murder-Crochet-Mystery-Hechtman/dp/0425221253/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3241577601

More on Betty Hechtman's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/betty-hechtman/

When the Grits Hit the Fan (A Country Store Mystery #3)

Author:  Maddie Day
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781617739293
Kensington Mystery
316 Pages
$7.99; $6.89 Amazon
March 28, 2017

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Before she started hosting dinners for Indiana University's Sociology Department at Pans 'N Pancakes, Robbie never imagined scholarly meetings could be so hostile.  It's all due to Professor Charles Stilton, who seems to thrive on heated exchanges with his peers and underlings, and tensions flare one night after he disrespects Robbie's friend, graduate student Lou.  So when Robbie and Lou go snowshoeing the next morning and find the contentious academic frozen under ice, police suspect Lou might have killed him after their public tiff.  To prove her friend's innocence, Robbie is absorbing local gossip about Professor Stilton's past and developing her own thesis on the homicide - even if that means stirring up terrible danger for herself along the way...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Robbie Jordan owns Pans 'N Pancakes, a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch in a small town in Indiana.  There's a group of university people who are holding a meeting there, and she can't help but hear snippets of conversation.  Some are downright hostile -- and they're coming from Professor Charles Stilton, who's goading people.  She hears him get into an altercation with her friend Lou Perlman, wherein Lou accuses him of stealing her research.  Then later, she only manages to catch the tail end of an argument with the chair, Zenobia (Zen) Brown.  All she knows is that she's grateful she doesn't have to deal with him.

The next day, while she and Lou are snowshoeing, they go across the ice and Robbie sees something under it -- which turns out to be the frozen body of the professor.  After calling the police and being questioned, she discovers that her friend is one of the suspects.  To make things more complicated, she's renovating her upstairs so that she can open a bed and breakfast in the future.  She finds small items in the walls, and mentions it to the previous owner who tells her she would like to see them.  But she also finds something else -- something she was never supposed to find, and it makes her curious why it was there and who used it.  Now, she has two mysteries to solve: who killed the professor, and who wants her out of the investigation...permanently?

I read the first two in this series and I enjoyed them, so (quite a bit later) decided to go back and read the others.  This is the third in the series, and I will say that I enjoyed it as much as the first two.  Robbie is an interesting character: she's the owner of a restaurant and a cook, and is also capable of renovating a building.  She's also a whiz at crossword puzzles, and right now the puzzle she has in front of her has her wondering.  So far, she's narrowed it down to four suspects, but which one of them are guilty? 

While she's not going around interrogating people, she does ask questions, and it definitely is making the murderer nervous.  There are small clues, but they're not obvious, and this is a mystery that makes you think while you're searching for a killer along with Robbie.  When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it's a bit of a different climax, and one that I enjoyed reading.  That said, I will continue on with this series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/When-Grits-Country-Store-Mystery/dp/1617739294/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1927588930

More on Maddie Day's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/maddie-day/

Left Fur Dead (A Jules & Bun Mystery #1)

Author:  J.M. Griffin
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496720573; 9781515937852
Kensington Publishing
300 Pages
$6.49; $23.64; $6.17 Amazon
June 25, 2019

⭐

Juliette "Jules" Bridge prides herself on the tender rehabilitation she provides for injured or abused rabbits on her New Hampshire rescue farm, but she has a very special relationship with one bunny in particular.  Bun is a black-and-white rabbit who happens to have the ability to communicate through mental telepathy.  Once she got over the shock, Jules found her furry friend had a lot to say.

One frigid March morning on their walk together, Bun spots a body.  The police identify the frozen stiff as Arthur Freeman, aka Arty the mime,  Jules and Arty knew each other on the children's party circuit, where he'd perform magic tricks and she had an educational rabbit petting pen.  With Bun egging her on, Jules decides it's time they hop to it and put their heads together to discover who silenced the mime.  But their investigation leads them down a rabbit hole of more suspects and lies, while a killer sets a trap for them...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Jules Bridge and her pet rabbit Bun are taking a walk one cold morning when the rabbit - whom can communicate with Jules through mental telepathy - spots a body.  When they call the police, Jules insists she doesn't know the man.  But almost minutes later her friend tells her it was Arty Freeman, and then she tells the police that she did, indeed, know Arty since they used to perform together.  But since she had a vocal argument with him, and he once tried to free her rescued rabbit from the heated barn where she keeps them, she thinks that she just might be a suspect.  When someone is still trying to free her rabbits, she wants to find out who - and why Arty was murdered...

I really wanted to like this book since it has a different premise, but I just couldn't get into it.  They find the body immediately, so we have no background at all on the man and therefore couldn't feel anything for him - not anger, not sadness, etc.  Then, I began to wonder why she could only communicate with one rabbit instead of them all.  Wouldn't that have made for a better book?  It was also odd that the rabbit's name was Bun - as in Bunny - which is pretty much akin to naming a dog Dog.  Plus, the rabbits were supposedly terrorized and abused by previous owners, yet she brings them to kids' parties where they can be mobbed by screaming children?  Who does this?  I've never known anyone who would bring rabbits to their kid's party.  Children get loud.  Probably not what these rabbits need.  Nope, not buying it.

Also, the officer intimated that she'd been involved in investigations before, but we're given no background on this, so how do we know?  Was she involved in previous investigations?  When and where?  Bun, for his part, is pretty self-centered and makes remarks that are snarky to Jules.  It's not the least endearing at all.  I also thought it was odd that he had his own room (when I first started dating my boyfriend he had a rabbit who wasn't caged and the rabbit ate the baseboards and anything else it could.  Rabbits eat wood, so it's probably not a good idea to allow them to roam around houses).

I also found it strange that there was no potential love interest.  Let's face it, cozies are known for certain things, and having a potential love interest is probably one of the things that makes them so fun to read.  But not in this book.  Not even an eligible male in sight.  I'm sorry, but reading about a woman and her rabbits just isn't interesting.  (FYI, the author writes romances, so you'd think she would have at least realized that there was something missing in this book).

When the ending comes and we're given the identity of the killer, I didn't even care anymore.  I also didn't think it was enough worth killing for.  I will say that this series has potential, but a few things need to change, and hopefully the author will do so, but I won't be reading any more in this series.  Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/Left-Fur-Dead-Jules-Mystery/dp/1496720571/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3240039764

More on J M. Griffin's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/j-m-griffin/

Beating About the Bush (An Agatha Raisin Mystery #30)

Author:  M.C. Beaton
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Mass Market Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781250157720; 9781250157737; [9781538451878]
Minotaur Books [Blackstone Publishing]
256 Pages
$16.82; $7.99; $19.11; $13.99 Amazon
December 3, 2019

⭐⭐⭐

When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is about to become involved in a particularly gruesome murder.  Looks, however, can be deceiving, as Agatha discovers when she is employed to investigate a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is quite what it seems.

The factory mystery soon turns to murder and a bad-tempered donkey turns Agatha into a national celebrity, before bringing her ridicule and shame.  To add to her woes, Agatha finds herself grappling with growing feelings for her friend and occasional lover, Sir Charles Fraith.  Then, as a possible solution to the factory murder unfolds, her own life is thrown into deadly peril.  Will Agatha get her man at last?  Or will the killer get her first?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Agatha Raisin is at it again.  She’s on a case with her employee Toni, and uses one of her favorite phrases, “Nice place to dump a body,” but unexpectedly, they think they’ve come across one when they see shoes with a leg attached.  Unfortunately, after calling the police, it’s not real.  Still, Agatha wonders how it looks so much like the leg of Mrs. Dinwiddy, secretary to the man they’re working for.  But when Mrs. Dinwiddy is indeed found dead, it’s ruled an accident, although Agatha refuses to believe it.

She has other problems, too — she dumped her fiance when she found out his past, and she’s worried if Toni gets married, she’ll lose her as an employee.  But Agatha thinks that Morrison is setting them up in order not to pay them, and she’s going to continue to investigate Mrs. Dinwiddy’s murder.  With the help of her employees and PR man Ron Silver, she’s determined to solve the case...even if it kills her...

We’re back with Agatha, her employees,  and of course, Sir Charles Fraith.  Agatha’s working on a new case that isn’t going the way she expects it to, and after butting heads with the local police inspector, she decides she can do a better job than him and proceeds to carry on with the investigation.  She’s convinced her employee Toni that she’s right, and the two of them have put their heads together to figure out a way to prove Mr. Morrison had something to do with his secretary’s murder.  Just what, though, they aren’t sure.  Then a donkey takes to Agatha, and she uses it to her advantage in the investigation.

I liked how everything was put together, and the fact that Toni can give as good as she gets from Agatha, while still doing her job.  There’s not so much of Mrs. Bloxby in this book, but then again, there doesn’t need to be.  And while the humor is less to the forefront, there was still enough about the book to keep me interested and to find out who the murderer really was and also the reason the woman was murdered.

This is the thirtieth book in the series, and while I still find them very good, I was hoping for a bit more.  While I enjoyed the mystery sufficiently, I felt left down somewhat since the blurb intimated more than it delivered.  While I have no problem reading another one in this series, and certainly will do so, I was hoping for what I thought would be a more satisfactory ending.

https://www.amazon.com/Beating-About-Agatha-Raisin-Mysteries/dp/1250157722/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3238628347

More on M.C. Beaton's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/m-c-beaton/

Midsummer Night's Mischief (A Wiccan Wheel Mystery #1)

Author:  Jennifer David Hesse
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496704924
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
Various Prices; $2.99 Amazon
July 26, 2016

⭐

As the Summer Solstice approaches in idyllic Edindale, Illinois, attorney Kelli Milanni isn't feeling the magic.  She's about to land in a cauldron of hot water at work.  Good thing she has her private practice to fall back on -- as a Wiccan.  She'll just have to summon her inner Goddess and set the world to rights...

Midsummer Eve is meant for gratitude and celebration, but Kelli is not in the typically upbeat mood.  The family of a recently deceased client is blaming her for the loss of a Shakespearean heirloom worth millions, and Kelli's career may be on the line.  With both a Renaissance Faire and a literary convention in town, Edindale is rife with suspicious characters, and the intrepid attorney decides to tap into her unique skills and crack the case...

But Kelli weaves a tangled web when her investigation brings her up-close and personal with her suspects -- including sexy Wes Callahan, her client's grandson.  The tattooed bartender could be the man she's been looking for in more ways than one.  As the sun sets on the mystical holiday, Kelli will need just a touch of the divine to ferret out the real villain and return Edindale, and her heart, to a stte of perfect harmony...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

I gave up on this book after the first chapter.  Sorry, but she's an attorney who's also a Wiccan who's also a vegan.  Somehow I don't think the attorney thing would fit in with the way she describes the air around her.  The Goddess thing (instead of God) really started to get to me.  I won't be reading any more in this series and I'm actually sorry I spent any money on this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Midsummer-Nights-Mischief-Wiccan-Mystery/dp/1496704924/ref

Goodreads:

More on Jennifer David Hesse's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/jennifer-david-hesse/

Keepsake Crimes (A Scrapbooking Mystery #1)

Author:  Laura Childs
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback' Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780425190746
Berkley Prime Crime Publishing
236 Pages
$7.99; $7.99 Amazon
May 6, 2003

⭐⭐⭐⭐

On the fringe of New Orlean's French Quarter sits Carmela Bertrand's little scrapbooking shop, Memory Mine.  Business is booming and life is cozy.  But when one of the city's elites dies during Mardi Gras, the police tag Carmela's estranged husband as their number one murder suspect.  Even though the memory of how he scrapped their marriage hasn't faded, Carmela doesn't think that Shamus is cut out to be a killer.  She's an expert at framing things herself -- and doesn't like the pattern being laid out by a disreputable detective and a shady newspaper columnist.  Then, as Shamus begs for help, Carmela uncovers an important clue in a most unlikely place -- one of her customer's scrapbooks.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Carmela Bertrand lives in New Orleans and is still reeling from the fact that her husband up and left her, telling her he wanted to be a photographer instead of a banker, and that he “needed to find himself.”  But at least she has her scrapbooking shop, Memory Mine, her friends, and her dog, Boo.  Her life might not be perfect, but she’s learning to be happy again.

It’s Mardi Gras, and while attending with her best friend Ava, she’s watching the parade and when a float that’s been touted as the best comes near, she sees that something is wrong - and sirens coming ever closer.  When the man is handed off the float to the police, she sees that it’s Jimmy Earl Clayton, and she’s stunned.  But more than that, she soon learns that her estranged husband Shamus is suspected of murdering him.  Now she can’t find Shamus, people she knows are avoiding her, she’s being questioned by the police, who think she knows where he is, and people are starting to come after her because of it.  Carmela’s sure Shamus had nothing to do with the murder, but if she doesn’t find who did, both their lives might just be scrapped forever...

This is the first in the Scrapbooking Mysteries, and I have to say that I’ve read the later ones and decided to go back and start at the beginning.  I’m glad that I did, because now I’ve gotten to see Carmela’s backstory, and what happened between her and Shamus.  I really enjoyed this mystery, and liked the fact that the scrapbookers gathered around Carmela and refused to believe that she had anything to do with Shamus’s disappearance or the murder itself.  

I thought the mystery was done nicely, and really liked the fact that while clues were thrown throughout, we still had to wait until almost the end for it all to come together.  The murderer was a surprise, because the red herrings threw us in a different direction.  While I was figuring out the reason for the murder toward the middle of the book, I also liked that we were sent in different directions.  It gave meat to the story, and made the ending all that much more delightful.  All in all, because of this, I will continue to read the books in order until I get back to where I left off and pick it up again.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Keepsake-Crimes-Scrapbooking-Mystery-Childs/dp/0425190749/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3235972730

More on Laura Childs's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/laura-childs/

Fatally Frosted (A Donut Shop Mystery #2)

Author:  Jessica Beck
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780312946111
Minotaur Books
320 Pages
Various Prices; $7.99 Amazon
August 3, 2010

⭐⭐⭐

A local busy body has dropped dead after eating one of Suzanne's famous treats.  A forensic team is soon swarming through the Donut Hearts kitchen, dusting for clues, sifting through sugar, and suspecting the worst of Suzanne.  But with the help of police Inspector Jake Bishop and her ex-husband Max, Suzanne hopes to clear her hood name -- before another bad donut is fatally frosted...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Suzanne Hart owns Donut Hearts, where she happily spends her mornings baking and selling coffee and donuts.  But she’s been asked by a friend to participate in a charity fundraiser, to demonstrate making donuts in the kitchen of one of the participant’s home, and Suzanne jumped at the chance to show off her skills.  However, there's one person who doesn't want her involved, and that's the chairperson, Peg Masterson, isn't happy about it and makes her feelings known.  But since Peg isn't liked by many people, Suzanne ignores her.

The day of the demonstration, with a roomful of onlookers, someone notices that there’s a body outside the window, and screams. The victim is Peg, and upon further investigation, it's apparent she's been poisoned...and it was with one of Suzanne’s lemon filled donuts.  Now, with being a suspect in the murder, and with her life and reputation on the line, she's out to find a killer.  She can't count on help from boyfriend police Inspector Jake Bishop, who wants to stay away from her because he doesn't want anyone to think he's 'favoring' her, she asks retired cop and friend George to help.  But even he might not be enough if a killer decides that she's getting a bit too close and needs to be eliminated...

This is the second book in the series and better than the first, which is good.  I’m not sure yet if I like Jake Bishop or not, considering he’s not much of a boyfriend.  I get that he has things going on, but cops do have relationships, and spending time with her shouldn’t be a big deal.  He is allowed a private life, after all, and if he doesn't discuss the case with her, I can't see how it would be a big deal if they went to dinner once in a while.  It’s like he’d rather make excuses than spend time with her.  Who knows?  Maybe the author wants to get rid of him since someone else was introduced in this book and her ex Max is hanging around, too (don’t tell me; I’d rather find out gradually by reading the other books).  I do like her mother, Dorothy and most of the other characters; I’m even beginning to like the Chief Martin since he didn’t treat her unfairly in this one.

At any rate, the mystery was decent, and we were given several suspects to sift through and a few red herrings along the way, which are also nice.  When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it was a bit of a surprise, which is always a nice thing.  The reason for the murder was believable, the characters are developing, and everything came together well enough that I will continue to read the next in the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Fatally-Frosted-Donut-Shop-Mysteries/dp/0312946112/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3237318204

More on Jessica Beck's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/jessica-beck/

Yarn to Go (A Yarn Retreat Mystery #1)

Author:  Betty Hechtman
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780425252215
Berkley Prime Crime Publishing
294 Pages
$6.19; $7.99 Amazon
July 2, 2013

⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Casey finds out that her late aunt's business, Yarn2Go, has one more yarn retreat scheduled, she decides to go ahead and host the event, despite her complete lack of experience as a knitter.  At least she'll be on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula.

But the idyllic setting is soured when a retreat regular is found murdered in her hotel room.  Feeling a sense of responsibility, Casey begins to weave the clues together and detects a pattern which may shed light on her aunt's suspicious death.  Despite the danger, the last thing Casey plans to do is retreat.  She'll catch this killer...or dye trying.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Casey Feldstein hasn't been able to complete anything in her life.  It's particularly disturbing to her parents, who are both doctors.  But Casey now lives in Monterey, due to the fact that her Aunt Joan passed away and left her both her home and the carriage house behind it.  She's happiest when baking, and has managed to become dessert baker for the Blue Door restaurant, while also making muffins and breads for neighboring businesses. 

But Casey doesn't believe Joan's death was an accident, even if the police label it so, and isn't about to let it go unchallenged.  Still, she's surprised when one of her bosses calls her about a credit card bill his wife has -- paid to one of Joan's yarn retreats.  When Casey looks into the matter, she discovers it's nonrefundable, and with no other choice, she decides to go ahead with the retreat.  But she also finds that the attendees have problems of their own, the manager of the hotel they're staying is breathing down her neck to turn the retreats over to him, or the fact that one of her neighbors happens to be a very hot cop who -- she thinks -- is running orgies out of his home; nor the fact that there now appears to be a murderer in their midst -- and is might just be one of her guests.  Now Casey's faced with more than solving her aunt's murder...she just might be the next victim...

This is the first book in a series I haven't read before, and as such, I really enjoyed it.  I liked the fact that our protagonist was a different sort - she didn't run from a cheating boyfriend, she isn't dead broke, etc.  It's a refreshing change.  The problem lies within Casey herself - she can't decide what she wants to do with her life.  In the meantime, she finds happiness in baking, so that's what she does.

But she also doesn't believe Joan's death was an accident, and she wants answers, ones the police don't have.  So while she's out of her comfort zone running her aunt's retreat, she's trying her best, even though she's determined that this will be her one and only time.  She at least has a friend at the retreat in Lucinda, her other boss at the restaurant. 

I liked the fact that the characters weren't just cut-out cardboard.  We were given backgrounds on them, and the reasons they were there.  It was nice to see that each one had their own story to tell, and gave this tale a bit more meat to it.  While I realize that this is the first book, I hope to see in the others at least more of these people.  I also liked the fact that while Lieutenant Borgnine was all business, he wasn't nasty to Casey nor threatened her.  I do get tired of cops being just plain nasty to the protagonist.

In the end, when the killer was revealed, the clues were there all along, but as the book progresses they became more apparent, so while you think you might know who the murderer is, you fully discover it just before Casey herself.  Nicely done.  I look forward to the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Yarn-Go-Retreat-Mystery/dp/0425252213/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3234643070

More on Betty Hechtman's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/betty-hechtman/

Death Drops (A Natural Remedies Mystery #1)

Author:  Chrystle Fiedler
Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781451643602
Gallery Books
275 Pages
$18.99; $21.86; $4.99 Amazon
February 21, 2012

⭐

Dr. Willow McQuade, ND, a twenty-eight-year-old doctor specializing in natural remedies, has decided to take a sabbatical and visit her Aunt Claire, the owner of Nature's Way Market and Cafe in idyllic Greenport, Long Island.  The idea of rest and relaxation is quickly forgotten when Willow arrives from a morning meditative walk to discover her Aunt Claire dead in the store, a strange almond-like smell emanating from her mouth and a bottle of flower essences by her side.

Despite her Zen nature and penchant for Yoga, her Aunt Claire had a knack for getting into confrontations with folks.  An activist, she held weekly meetings for different causes every week in the store.  The police want to believe the death is accidental -- but Willow thinks she may have been poisoned.

Things get worse when Aunt Claire's valuable recipe for a new natural age-defying formula, Fresh Face, is stolen during a store break-in, and an attempt is made on Willow's life.  Desperate for a way out of the mess, she turns to a handsome young cop, Jackson Spade.  Will they be able to solve the case...the natural way?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Dr. Willow McQuade is a naturalist, and she's come to visit her Aunt Claire, who owns Nature's Way Market and Cafe in Greenport, Long Island.  Claire tells Willow that she's working on a formula called Fresh Face, which will make her money.  Then Claire receives a telephone call she wants to take privately, Willow leaves; but Claire calls her and when Willow can't understand what she's saying, she returns to find Claire dead, and smells almonds in her mouth.  She calls the police, and tells them that she thinks Claire was murdered.

The police don't know whether to believe her, but they suspect her of the crime, and tell her not to leave.  Then Willow discovers that she's inherited everything Claire owned, and makes an instant enemy of Claire's employee, Janice, who thinks it should have come to her.  Then the "accidents" start to happen, and Willow knows she's being targeted, but by whom?  The police think she's guilty and won't look anywhere else, and refuse to believe anyone is 'out to get her.'  So, with the help of a policeman who's on disability, Claire decides to look into the matter herself...and hope she can survive to find a killer...

Okay, I really tried to find something good about this book.  But honestly, it reads like a manual for a health food store.  If you removed everything that was telling people how to cure their ailments, this would probably be about forty pages long.  That's it.

Plus, the detectives were rotten people.  They never took her seriously, and even went so far as to make fun of her and threaten Jackson.  What kind of cops does things like that?  They never investigated any of the things that were happening to her and her shop, all because they were convinced she killed her aunt for the money.  Well, if she did, how much sense would it make to destroy the things she supposedly killed her aunt for? 

Let me tell you something else: if I was having heart problems, I'd trust a doctor far more than natural remedies, but probably only because I wanted to live.  The fact that Claire wanted her mother to take herbs instead seemed ludicrous to me.

At any rate, I slogged through this information packet hoping to find something interesting enough about a murder, but by the time the book ended, I just didn't care anymore.  I won't be reading any more from this author.  Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Drops-Natural-Remedies-Mystery/dp/1451643608/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3233329116

More on Chrystle Fiedler's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/chrystle-fiedler/

Stayin' Alive (The Country Club Murders Book 10)

Author:  Julie Mulhern
Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781732755918
J&M Press
268 Pages
$15.95; $6.99 Amazon
January 30, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Springtime.  Love is in the air.  So is murder.

 When Ellison Russell, reluctant finder of bodies, chairs a gala in conjunction with the museum's Chinese funerary exhibit, she expects disaster.  So, she's not remotely surprised when a body turns up.

Ellison is willing to leave the investigation to the police till an attempt is made on her life.

Now she's juggling evading a killer, her aunt's overly-amorous beau, her dog's new love interest, and Mother's displeasure.

With bodies piling up, if Ellison's not careful, staying alive might be impossible.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Ellison Russell is a widow who lives in Kansas City, MO with her teenage daughter Grace.  It's the 70's, long before cell phones and the Internet, when people actually had to either call someone on a landline or speak with them face-to-face.  Her life should be going smoothly, but in Ellison's life, it never does...

She's chairing a gala and is hoping everything will go well.  In Ellison's mind, that means not finding a dead body.  Because, you see, Ellison's life hasn't gone smoothly since she found the body of her late husband.  Since then, she's been tripping over them like other people trip over loose carpets.  So her fears are justified...and of course, during the gala, while trying to sneak in a quiet moment with her beau, homicide detective Anarchy Jones, she touches a hand...that's attached to a very dead person.

The person turns out to be someone she's acquainted with, and the woman is definitely dead.  But because this is so often a regular thing, Ellison promises she'll give Anarchy a guest list if he only allows people to leave and she can get through one evening without a complete catastrophe.  After informing the museum's director and the victim's husband, they do just that.

But the next morning the news is all over town, and that means Ellison's formidable mother descends on her demanding answers.  Which she doesn't have.  Which she never has.  Still, with her Aunt Sis in town -- and seeing a man her mother approves of -- at least she'll have a bit of respite.  She thinks.  Until, of course, there's another body.  And more questions.  Now Ellison wonders what the two dead people had in common, and why they were killed.  Because she's positive there's a link.  She just hopes she figures it out before the killer figures out what she's doing...

Once again we visit Ellison Russell in 1975, where the thing most important to her is her Mr. Coffee, with whom she has regular conversations (not that I blame her; I depend on my Keurig to keep me sane during the day).  She's trying to juggle her life with Grace, her new relationship with Anarchy (of which her mother doesn't approve); and her dog Max, who's decided he's in love with a dog who's been terrorizing the neighborhood.

In between the falling bodies, there are humorous moments, one of which occurs in the middle of the night when Sis's boyfriend is trying to help Ellison corner the wayward dog and which instead they corner each other -- in a way which could be misconstrued by others -- and it's this lightness and Ellison's bright wit which keeps the book from being too dark.  Because it's her inner thoughts that are the funniest, and keep the book moving along at a rapid pace.

I've read and loved every single one of these books, having followed Ellison from finding her first body and meeting Anarchy, and watching her grow (along with watching Grace's transition from snarky teen to a blossoming young woman who manages to get in a few zingers of her own now and then) has been a delight in my life.  Ms. Mulhern manages to create characters that leap off the page, and once you've read one of the Country Club Murders, you're hooked.  For those that are starting with this book, go back to the first.  You won't regret the ride.

When the killer is discovered, we realize that the clues were there throughout, but when someone chooses to kill, it's usually for a reason as old as time itself; although it's never easy to understand.  The plot is creative indeed, and the threads weave together easily, bringing the story to a close that is both satisfying and leaves us hungry for the next one.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Stayin-Alive-Country-Club-Murders-ebook/dp/B082RFCMY6/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3230878211

More on Julie Mulhern's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/julie-mulhern/