A Sprinkling of Murder (A Fairy Garden Mystery #1)

Author:  Daryl Wood Gerber

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781496726346

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$15.95; $9.99 Amazon

June 30, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies.  After her mother died when Courtney was ten, she lost touch with that feeling of magic.  A year ago, at the age of twenty-nine, she rediscovered it when she left her father's landscaping business to spread her wings and start a fairy garden business and teashop in beautiful Carmel, California.  At Open Your Imagination, she teaches garden design and sells everything from fairy figurines to tinkling wind chimes.  Now she's starting a book club tea.

But the light of the magical world she's created inside her shop is darkened one night when she discovers the neighboring dog-grooming business owner Mick Watkins dead beside her patio fountain.  To make matters worse, the police suspect Courtney of the crime.  To clear her name and find the real killer, Courtney will have to wing it.  But she's getting a little help from an unexpected source...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Courtney left her father's landscaping business to create her dream: a fairy garden business in Carmel.  So far she's doing well enough to hire an employee, elfin Joss.  She also offers classes on how to make your own fairy garden as well as others.  Her business is thriving and so is she.  One morning her neighboring business owner Mich Watkins enters, and she's afraid he's going to start trouble, but he doesn't; in fact, it seems as if he's looking for someone.  But he tells her that their landlord is on the warpath and wanting the tenants out because he wants to sell their shops to a developer -- and Courtney wonders if it's true.  

But Courtney has a secret of her own -- she has her very own fairy, Fiona.  Fiona, unfortunately, is on probation for some unnamed act and hasn't earned her full set of wings.  Fiona is also a righteous fairy (there are four different types), which means she needs to bring resolution to embattled souls.  What this means Courtney has no idea, but she's grateful for Fiona's help -- that is, until Fiona tells her early the next morning that she needs to get to her shop right away.  Courtney finds the body of Mick in her garden, dead.

After calling the police she figures out how Mick got in, but not why.  What's worse is that Courtney is now a suspect in the murder, and the detective on the case doesn't think her alibi is strong enough.  So with Fiona's help, and that of her friends Joss and Meghan, Courtney is on the trail of a killer...

This is the first in a new series and I honestly didn't know what to expect.  I will say upfront that I don't read books about witches and such; I'm just not interested enough to invest my time.  But this book had a beautiful cover (yes, I am sometimes swayed by them), so I decided to take a chance and am glad that I did.

The concept of one having their own personal fairy is a new idea for a book, and quite an intriguing one.  Also the fact that the fairy is quite adept at helping solve a murder without going against her own rules.  I found the mystery was done nicely, with a few clues here and there, but also giving Courtney the chance to seek them on her own.

I do like Courtney's character.  She never puts herself in harms' way. and she's more concerned with getting herself off the hot seat than putting someone else in it.  She's not going around accusing every person she meets of murder, and that's a good thing.

The descriptions of fairy gardens were done well enough that it is explained what they are; and perhaps someone who reads the book might want to create one of their own.  While this book was peopled with many characters throughout, it wasn't difficult to keep them straight, and there were a few red herrings thrown in for us to sift through.  While I had figured out the murderer early on (I read a lot of mysteries) it was still fun getting through the journey until we got to the end of it and Courtney, with help of course, figured it out and put everything together.

In the end, it all came together nicely and while there was no nail-biting climax, it was still done well enough that I want to read the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Sprinkling-Murder-Fairy-Garden-Mystery/dp/1496726340/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3418772909

More on Daryl Wood Gerber's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-wood-gerber/

Murder Makes Scents (A Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery #2)

Author:  Christin Brecher

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781496721419

Kensington Mystery

243 Pages

$7.99; $5.99 Amazon

February 25, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man.  It's a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker.  but lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.

After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked.  And just as things threaten to ignite, Millie suffers a blow to the head.  Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France -- and threatening her life if it isn't returned.  Now Stella's picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Stella Wright is the owner of the Wick & Flame, a candle making business in Nantucket.  But right now she's on vacation in Paris with her mother, Millie, and enjoying every minute of it.  Millie is attending a perfume industry show, since she specializes in scents and travels all over the world.  On this, their last day, she is giving a talk about the unusual scents that she's brought back from her visit to the Amazon.  But before she can speak, they hear someone scream, and run to the sound.  A man is dying from a knife wound to the back, and just before he expires, he makes eye contact with Stella.  Shaken, the conference is obvious over, and after being questioned by the police, they have just enough time to catch their flight home.

On the ferry back to the island, Stella notices a dark-haired woman staring at her from a nearby yacht; and it seems that Millie has met an old school friend, Nathaniel Dinks, who is there for a birthday party weekend for another school chum.  Millie is afraid of cats (silly woman), so Stella leaves Tinker in the shop all night, and when she returns the front of the shop has been torn through and she blames it on her cat.  But a strange note on her door is telling her different: that her mother has stolen a secret formula and if it's not returned, it will be the worse for her.

Now Stella is wondering what exactly they've gotten themselves into.  Why would her mother steal anything?  And when Millie has an accident and winds up in the hospital, it's up to Stella to sniff out who's after her.  But finding out she's involved with spies doesn't help.  Or that her boyfriend Peter is up to something.  Or the fact that the guests in her cousin's B&B could be the spies, or a nice English woman they met in Paris, or even any one of the men for the party.  All Stella cares about is finding the formula to keep her mom alive...now if she can do that...

This is the second book in the series, and although it's far-fetched, it doesn't matter because it's fun, and that's what books are all about.  There are secrets and spies, and Stella is caught up in it, and who hasn't wanted to experience the type of things James Bond seems to be up to?  (Although I can do without Mr. Bond's enemies).  

Stella finds herself right in the middle of an international mystery, and her job is to keep her mom safe and out of it.  Which means not telling anyone, including her journalist boyfriend Peter or her cop friend Andy.  Which also means she's working on her own, besides trying to ferret out the spy who wants the formula and find the formula itself.  Things are more difficult than she thinks, and she doesn't know who the killer is, and she has a lot of suspects who might be the guilty party.  But when the stakes are upped she knows she doesn't have time, and it's only through the grace of a US Government agent that she's able to figure things out.

What follows is a sprightly tale of intrigue, secrets, lies, murder, and Stella's own frustration, as she's chasing down a murderer to keep her mother safe.  Yes, it's rather unbelievable, but fun nevertheless, and it never gets bogged down in anything that's over the top.  Stella is an interesting character who, while she tries to figure it out, goes places I wouldn't go, but in the spirit of the book it can be forgiven.

Her mother Millie is a hoot.  She lives life to the fullest and has no idea what's going on with her daughter throughout the book -- although to be fair, she spends some time sleeping in the hospital.  I did wonder why Stella calls her Millie instead of mom; hopefully this will be explained in another book.  (If it was in the first, I might have missed or ignored it).  

In the end, when everything comes together after an adventurous climax, it gives a feeling of satisfaction and something to look forward to in the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Scents-Nantucket-Candle-Mystery/dp/1496721411/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3423871168

More on Christin Brecher's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/christin-brecher/

Sowing Malice (A Greenhouse Mystery #6)

Author:  Wendy Tyson

Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781635116304; 9781635116274

Henery Press Publishing

248 Pages

$31.95; $15.95. $6.99 Amazon

July 14, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When lawyer-turned-farmer Megan Sawyer witnesses a seemingly innocent scene between three strangers, she learns they're headed to the von Tressler memorial -- the talk of scenic Winsome, Pennsylvania.  The von Tressler family has more money than manners.  The newcomers recently bought coveted hilltop property to build their oversized Greek Revival, tempting away local contractors and snubbing the locals.

Soon one of those three strangers goes missing and another is murdered, her body found at Washington Acres -- Megan's family farm.  The local police turn to Megan, as she was one of the last people to have seen them both.  

With her family's safety at sake, Megan must pick her way through the von Tressler's sordid family secrets and colorful personalities.  She discovers that the malice that's befallen Winsome has roots in the past, and she'll need to dig deep to weed truth from lies and innocence from guilt, or the body count will grow even higher.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Megan Sawyer is an ex-attorney who left her practice and moved to Winsome, Pennsylvania, to help her grandmother run her family's farm, Washington Acres.  She's since then expanded her organic business and is renovating the home next door to become an inn for her farm.  

While purchasing potting soil for her grandmother Bibi, she overhears a conversation between three women, one of them crying uncontrollably.  It appears they're going to the funeral of David von Tressler, who built a monstrous home nearby; since he and his wife pretty much kept away from the locals, Megan has no plans to attend.  But when the women get a flat tire and she's asked to take the youngest of the three, Claire, who was also the crying one, to the funeral, she agrees.  After dropping her off at the door, Megan thinks that will be the last of it.

But when Claire never arrived at the funeral, Megan is accused of having something to do with her disappearance.  Then, when another sister is murdered and found at the home she's renovating, Megan's right in the middle of a murder investigation.  Now, to clear her name, she needs to find the missing woman and find answers as to why the murdered one was left at her farm.  But in doing so, Megan might just be the next victim...

I have read the previous books in this series, and have never been disappointed in any of them.  This one is no less intriguing than the others.  Megan, who is just trying to make a life for herself and Bibi, is finding it harder to do when they're interrupted with a murder victim being found next door.  The situation escalates when Megan learns that there's something else afoot, and it also has to do with her, although she has no idea what.  Knowing this, it neither arms nor comforts her as she tries to put the pieces together.

There's also the fact that Megan is struggling with her feelings for Denver and being worried about her aging grandmother's health.  While she's struggling with these two things as well, she needs to put them aside while she tries to figure out the problems with the death of the woman and the von Tresslers, who are giving no help at all.

Megan, while being warned to stay out of the investigation, knows she can't do that, so starts asking questions on her own.  I love the fact that she doesn't go about accusing people of murder, instead gathering information, sharing those facts with police chief Bobby King, and trying to make sense of everything.

What ensues is a convoluted tale of murder, greed, lies, and revenge.  It is done masterfully, with Ms. Tyson taking each thread and pulling them slowly together to reveal the tightly woven end result that gives us an ending no one could have seen coming.  Finding the killer was both unanticipated and captivating in the fact that it was surprising in itself.  While I had my suspicions, I was gratified to see that I was at least partly right.

It also gives us something to look forward to in the next book (which wouldn't have mattered to me anyway since this is one of my favorite series and I have no intention of deserting it), and the fact that this book was so riveting is testament to the fact that Ms. Tyson is one of the most talented writers out there.  I eagerly await the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Sowing-Malice-Greenhouse-Mystery-Wendy/dp/1635116279/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3416889861

More on Wendy Tyson's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/wendy-tyson/

Murder and the Movies

Author:  David Thomson
Genre:  Film

Hardcover; [Audio CD]
ISBN #:  9780300220018; [9781705232798]
Yale University Press; [Tantor Audio]
240 Pages
$26.00; [$24.99]
August 5, 2020

⭐⭐

How many acts of murder have each of us followed on a screen?  What does that say about us?  Do we remain law-abiding citizens who wouldn't hurt a fly?  Film historian David Thomson, known for wit and subversiveness, leads us into this very delicate subject.  While unpacking classics such as Seven, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Strangers on a Train, The Conformist, The Godfather, and The Shining, he offers a disconcerting sense of how the form of movies makes us accomplices in this sinister narrative process.

By turns seductive and astringent, very serious and suddenly hilarious, Murder and the Movies admits us into what Thomson calls "a warped triangle": the creator working out a compelling death; the killer doing his and her best; and the entranced reader and spectator trying to cling to life and a proper sense of decency.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

I have to tell you that I am a huge fan of classic films and own thousands of them.  Movies of today, not so much.  However, this doesn't mean that I haven't seen any of them; of course I have, but that doesn't make a difference in this book at all.

While I was looking forward to this book insofar as that fact, what it contained was something quite different, and it threw me for a bit of a loop.  I do love Mr. Thomson's other works, so this was quite a surprise.

While I expected to read a discourse on how murder and the movies coincide with one another, there was rare mention of any film noir which, of course, have a great deal of murder within them; and to be honest, every single film mentioned tells you the ending.  Now the only reason I am saying this is some people might not have seen the films mentioned (as I have never several of them) and I wouldn't want them to be blindsided by this fact.

But the thing that struck me the most wasn't the facts listed above, but the fact that at one point it descended into a mini-political rant, telling us that perhaps we shouldn't own guns because they cause more problems.  Well, I think if you can get the guns out of the hands of the criminals, then we won't need them to protect ourselves.  Also, if Hollywood is so concerned about getting rid of guns, why are they making films that use them?  (My mini-rant).  

Anyway, he does make several very good points as to the fact that perhaps seeing all this murder onscreen might have deadened our sense of it; but one could also say that playing violent video games might cause the same effect.  I've often thought myself that if people could stop playing them for hours on end they might begin to be less aggressive, but who knows?  (I have heard of them calling the police on one another during a gaming session just to 'get revenge.'   How is this normal?)  

Nevertheless, as I've stated above, I own thousands of films, and many of them mysteries.  Yet never once have I had that desire to "do someone in," and I also read hundreds of mysteries every year (I read a book a day on the average); and I also watch true crime on television.  Has it deadened my senses?  Notably not.  I still cringe at the thought of someone senselessly losing their life, and I wonder at the type of person who can take a life so easily.  I think you have to be a certain type of person to have their senses deadened, much like you have to be a certain type of person to kill the way Charles Whitman did.  If not, we'd all be in deep doo-doo when we left our homes on a daily basis.

I'm not positive that this is exactly what Mr. Thomson meant when he wrote the book, but it is what was interpreted to me.  Just because we see it on the screen does not mean that we're so numb to life that murder means nothing to us as a people.  Unfortunately, I found little humor in the book and wish I could recommend it, but I can't.  I will just wait for Mr. Thomson's next book -- which I am sure will be superior to this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Movies-David-Thomson/dp/0300220014/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3413992829

More on David Thomson's Books:  https://www.amazon.com/David-Thomson/e/B001K8AFRO/ref

Better Homes and Corpses (A Hamptons Home & Gardens Mystery #1)

Author:  Kathleen Bridge

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback: Digital Book

ISBN #:  9780425276587

Berkley Prime Crime

282 Pages

$7.99; $2.99 Amazon

August 4, 2015

⭐⭐⭐⭐

After Meg Barrett found out her fiancé still had designs on his ex-wife, she decided it was time to refurbish her life.  Leaving her glamorous job at a top home and garden magazine, she fled Manhattan for Montauk, only to find that decorating can sometimes lead to detecting...

In between scouring estate sales for her new interior design business, Cottages by the Sea, Meg visits the swanky East Hampton home of her old college roommate, Jillian Spenser.  But instead of seeing how the other half lives, she learns how the other half dies.  Jillian's mother, known as the Queen Mother of the Hamptons, has been murdered.  Someone has staged a coup.

When she helps a friend inventory the Spensers' estate for the insurance company, Meg finds herself right in the thick of things.  cataloging valuable antiques and art loses its charm when Meg discovers that the Spenser family had been hiding dangerous secrets, which may have furnished a murderer with a motive.  As Meg gets closer to the truth, the killer will do anything to paint her out of the picture...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Meg Barrett moved to Montauk after she found out her fiancé was still interested in his ex-wife.  Leaving her job as an editior for a home and garden magazine, she now lives in a cottage on the beach while offering her decorating services to people.  After being approached by the mother of an old school friend to inventory her home for insurance purposes, she enters the home and finds that Caroline Spenser is dead, and her daughter Jillian is holding her in her arms.

After calling the police and being questioned, she finds that Jillian has developed amnesia about the event, and doesn't remember anything.  To add to that, Jillian's brother Cole has returned after seventeen years away and is silent on the subject of why he left.  While Meg is inventorying the home with her friend Elle, she also discovering that there might be more to the murder than what is known, and she's subtly looking into it.

But when she starts to become slightly involved with Cole, and all evidence points toward him, she refuses to believe he's a murderer.  It's going to take a lot of work on her part to find out who's framing him, and it just might get her killed if she's not careful...

This is the first in the Hamptons Home & Gardens Mysteries, and I'm rather sorry I waited so long to read it.  Having been disillusioned about another series of Ms. Bridge's, it took me awhile to take the time, but I'm glad I did.  This book was delightful.

The plot is done very well, and the character of Meg is different in the fact that she's had a hearing loss as a child and depends upon hearing aids; this has also given her the ability to read lips, and she garners quite a bit of information this way.  Meg's character is quite developed in this book, and she's intelligent and able to pick up clues without pestering people and accusing them of murder.  It serves her well.

I do like the character of Doc, an ex-cop who's her self- appointed guardian, and also the fact that Tripod the dog, also another damaged being, becomes helpful to her, too.  Her friend Elle is definitely different, but loyal, along with other friends of Meg's; although the rest of the secondary characters -- and there were plenty of them -- had their own secrets to hide.  

It is these secrets that Meg must sift through to find the truth, and it leads her down a path no one quite expected.  When she starts to put everything together, it's at the same point that we do, too, and it comes together seamlessly, giving us a satisfactory ending and bring the murderer to justice.  I highly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next in the series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425276589/ref=bseries_primary_1_0425276589

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3415362996

More on Kathleen Bridge's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/kathleen-bridge/

Grave Consequences (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #5)

Author:  Lena Gregory
Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781950461516
Beyond the Page Publishing
202 Pages
$13.99; $4.99 Amazon
May 21, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cass Donovan is reminded that you can't believe everything you hear, especially when it comes from the dead...

When stories begin circulating of a centuries-old ghost haunting the Bay Island lighthouse, Cass is caught up in mystical happenings of her own, with countless voices from the beyond all clamoring for her attention with dire warnings.  But before she has a chance to learn whether there's a connection between the rumored ghost and her restless visitors, the lighthouse keeper mysteriously falls to his death, and Cass's reputation for communing with the dead lands her right in the middle of a police investigation.

Cass knows the victim was no saint, as he made little effort to hide his philandering ways from his wife or anyone else, and often acted out with no thought for the feelings of others.  But had he finally gone too far, or were there more menacing motives behind his murder?  As Cass begins building a list of suspects, including the man's supposedly grieving wife and mysterious new woman in town, she also turns her ear to those otherworldly voices, hoping for a clue.  And as she begins to close in on the culprit, she realizes too late that if she's not careful, she'll soon be communicating with the dead in person...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Cass Donovan left her old life and marriage behind in Manhattan and moved back home to Bay Island, where she owns a shop called Mystical Musings.  She not only sells gifts and items that she knows are right for people, she gives personal and group readings to others.  She's also recently discovered that her ability to communicate with the dead is growing, and she's not able to tune them out, so all the voices come at her at once -- although, gratefully, not at a constant run.

When one voice in particular keeps telling her something about the local lighthouse, she wonders what it might be.  So when her best friend Bee insists that she take the day off to help their friend Stephanie, she agrees.  Stephanie is obsessed with adopting a child, and it's gotten to the point she can't think of anything else, but she agrees to go with them.

While they head to the beach, they see a new tour bus, and learn that Fred DiCarlo, whose wife runs the lighthouse gift shop, is now going to run ghost tours, including the lighthouse.  While in the gift shop, Cass notices Fred's wife is upset and wants to find out why.  But she also discovers that there's an old exhibit of a journal from a woman who lived hundreds of years ago, which intrigues Bee.

Then, later at her shop, Cass meets a woman named Simone who asks for a reading.  When Cass starts her process, the voices come again.  Then suddenly Cass comes to a revelation, and it might just change everything for her.  Still, she can't sift through the voices, and something else is coming through that might put one of her friends in danger.

But then there's a death, and Cass witnesses it from the lighthouse.  Still, she doesn't think it will cause the problems that are about to enter her life; and with the help of Bee, who's keeping a watch on her, Cass struggles to maintain her equilibrium and sanity, and try to figure out what everything means.  All she has to do is stay out of the cross hairs of a killer to survive...

This is the fifth book in the series, and might be the best one yet.  I truly am enjoying the strong relationship between Bee and Cass, and he's rather like a big brother to her, watching out for her; and somehow, manages to get her huge dog to obey him when Beast pretty much ignores Cass, and that's humorous in itself.

The mystery begins solely at the beginning with the death, but it's not straight up.  There's an even older mystery of a young woman who lived at the lighthouse keeper's cottage with her family, and it leads to intimations of buried treasure somewhere near, even though no one has been able to find it.  But there's one or more people who are interested in that treasure, and Cass wonders if the man was murdered because of it.

What ensues is not only that tale, but Cass's increasing knowledge of what she can do with her psychic ability, and is trying to learn how to tame it.  Along with Stephanie wanting a child, and the gossip surrounding the murder leading back to her door, Cass has her work cut out for her trying to keep the rumors away.  

There isn't much more I can say without giving away spoilers, so I won't add much else except to say that when the murderer is discovered, it is a surprise and yet the motive is one that is believable; the climax is done nicely; and it leaves us wanting to read the next in the series.  Highly recommended. 

https://www.amazon.com/Grave-Consequences-Lena-Gregory/dp/1950461513/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3411922911

More on Lena Gregory's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/          

Lowcountry Boondoggle (A Liz Talbot Mystery Book 9)

Author:  Susan M. Boyer
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781635116106; 9781635116076
Henery Press Publishing
256 Pages
$31.95; $15.95; $16.99 Amazon
June 30, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Private investigators Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews thought they'd put Darius Baker's troubles to rest -- then his recently discovered son ropes him into a hemp farm investment with his college buddies.  When a beloved Charleston professor -- and potential investor -- is murdered, Liz and Nate discover Darius keeps the PIs on speed dial.

A shocking number of people had reasons to want the genteel, bowtie wearing, tea-drinking professor dead.  Was it one of his many girlfriends or a disgruntled student?  Or perhaps Murray was killed because his failure to invest meant the hemp farm trio's dreams were going up in smoke?

Though Liz's long-dead best friend, Colleen, warns her the stakes are far higher than Liz imagines, she is hellbent on finding the no-good killer among the bevy of suspects.  But will the price of justice be more than Liz can bear?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews are married private investigators.  They've recently helped Darius Baker out of a tough spot, and now he wants them to help his son Brantley who is mixed up in a murder investigation.  When his attorneys retain them to find evidence to prove Brantley innocent, they go to work.

Liz, however, isn't so sure that Brantley's innocent.  Darius only recently discovered that he had a son, and it's because Brantley's adoptive parents were killed -- along with every other member of his family -- in a suspicious fire, when none of their smoke alarms signaled anything.  Even though he was never charged, she still wonders if he had anything to do with it.  But being the professional she is, she's going to help him.

It seems that Brantley, along with two buddies, have invested in a hemp farm and one of them had a college professor uncle that raised him.  Tyler, from all appearances, loved his uncle and would never hurt him.  But Murray was definitely poisoned, and before anyone could find evidence on his security cameras, his house was demolished in an explosion.  Now Tyler is the main suspect, and Liz and Nate are on the trail of a killer -- someone who's killed before and has no problem doing it again...

I have always loved this series and this book isn't any different.  It brings me back to Stella Maris Island, just outside Charleston, South Carolina, where Liz and her family lives.  We're once again drawn into their lives, along with Liz's teenage friend Colleen, who died when she was seventeen and is guardian of the island.  But Colleen's main mission is to protect the island from people who would ruin it, and Liz is only one step in that direction.  With only Liz and Nate able to see her, it makes things difficult when she's around.

Liz and Nate have to don disguises to find the information they're looking for, and that includes attending Murray's funeral, where they encounter three women who all insist they were his girlfriend.  Finding out that Murray had more layers to him than they thought, they also discover that his current girlfriend Annalise may have been closer to him than anyone.  But someone wanted him out of the way, enough to destroy any evidence there might have been.  And with what they find out, Annalise might be another target unless they can surreptitiously help her, too. 

Among the investigation keeping them busy, Liz discovers that her friend Sonny Ravenel, is heading the police investigation, and he knows something's up with her brother Blake, police chief of Stella Maris.  Blake and his girlfriend Poppy have just taken a much-needed vacation, but Sonny refuses to discuss it.  Liz, with her natural curiosity, born of the fact of her job, is wondering what's up.  But she doesn't have time to worry about it when her mother calls and tells her to find out what's going on with her father -- he's having packages delivered to the house and won't tell her what they are.  So Liz, naturally, now has to delve into that somehow while working the murder case.

What follows is a tale of murder, greed, larceny, and lies.  Liz and Nate discover more than they expected, and it brings things out into the open that have been hidden without a clue to the truth.  There is more to the story, and more people involved than they first expected,  It sets forth a chain of events that could cost Liz things she values most; and brings a sadness along with great joy for her.

There is also a hilarious scene between her mother, father, and a horrendous surprise by her father that while funny as can be, almost sets her mother's teeth on edge and when the rest of the family finds out, they're all on her side.  Just that one scene alone is worth reading the book.

Since I would love to say more but refuse to give away any major spoilers, I must end this review with what I have already said.  When the murderer is found out and everything comes together, it is more than a satisfying story, and it makes it difficult to wait for the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Lowcountry-Boondoggle-Liz-Talbot-Mystery/dp/1635116074/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3410423785

More on Susan M. Boyer's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/susan-m-boyer/

Spirited Away (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #4)

Author:  Lena Gregory

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781950461066

Beyond the Page Publishing

218 Pages

$14.99; $4.99 Amazon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With the summer tourist season on Bay Island in full swing, shop owner Cass Donovan barely has a minute to breath, and things at Mystical Musings become even more hectic when a fight breaks out at one of her psychic readings.  Shaken by the fracas and discouraged that her sixth sense seems to be on the blink, Cass is even more dispirited to leasrn that one of the men involved in the altercation was later found dead...and that a close friend of hers is the main suspect.  Desperate to help her friend prove his innocence and consumed by haunting visions, Cass follows the clues from one possible culprit to the next, including some very mysterious tourists and not a few questionable locals.  And when the police turn to Cass to help them find out who committed the ghoulish deed, she knows she'll have to tread carefully, because her next grim premonition may be her last...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Cass Donovan is an ex-psychiatrist who gave up her practice and her husband back in Manhattan and moved home to Bay Island to open a psychic shop that sells gifts and items that help people.  She has her two best friends -- Bee, a clothing designer who lives down the street, and Stephanie, an accountant who does her books and is married to Tank, a police detective.  She's also recently learned that her boyfriend Luke, another police detective, has moved to the island; but they aren't spending a lot of time together due to the fact that he's hot in the middle of art thieves who are hiding their treasures.

But Cass is tense and worried, partly because she doesn't know what's happening with her.  While she's always depended upon her intuition to help her out, lately she's felt 'otherworldly' forces at work and visions that come to her which are unsettling, to say the least.  She doesn't know what to make of it, and not knowing why has put her on edge.

It's the middle of the tourist season, and she's not happy that her air conditioning is on the fritz and can't get fixed until the next day, especially since she has a group reading to do that evening.  Still, she carries on even with the oppressing heat in the room but can't seem to get a read on anyone, being unable to concentrate.  When she finally does and blurts out something she normally wouldn't have done, not only do people get upset, it nearly causes a fight to break out between her handyman and mechanic Emmett and and another man she doesn't know.

When the second man, later identified at Dirk Brinkman, is found dead in the trunk of a car at Emmett's shop, he's suspected of the murder.  But Cass knows that Emmett wouldn't kill anyone, and while she's vowed to stay out the investigation, something -- or someone -- is urging her to get involved.  When the stakes turn higher than anyone expected, Cass has to decide whether to stay or put her own life on the line...

This is the fourth book in the series and I do believe that they are getting better as they progress.  Cass is discovering that her psychic powers are growing, and visions are beginning to appear to her, and she doesn't know what to make of it.  This time, she's only given a bit of information to work with and she tries to figure out what it means, all the while with Bee by her side, trying to help her but making no bones that he doesn't believe any of it, not does he believe in ghosts (but we the reader know otherwise).  

I love Bee.  He's brave, strong, and the best friend that Cass could have, sticking by her no matter what.  He's also funny and has no problem making fun of himself, which shows that he has enough self-esteem not to worry about other people.  It gives him an edge that's great.  Cass is gentle, kind, fiercely loyal to her friends, and opening up her abilities and allowing them to guide her, and I do like the fact that Chief Rawlins believes in her and is becoming a friend.  

Watching the story come together slowly is quite interesting, and when Cass starts to realize that the pieces are falling together, it's almost too late.  But she uses her own strength and intuition to give her the answers she's looking for, and the climax is definitely worth waiting for.  When the murderer is revealed it all makes sense, and we find that the motive is one as old as time itself.

When all is said and done, the ending was satisfying and gives us something to look forward to in the next book.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Spirited-Away-Island-Psychic-Mystery/dp/1950461068/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3407493060

More on Lena Gregory's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/

Red Hot (A Red Herring Mystery Book 3)

Author:  Dana Dratch
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496716606
Kensington Publishing
304 Pages
(TBA); $6.99 Amazon
May 26, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Big sister Annie wants Alex to savor a little fun in the sun at her South Beach condo.  Redhead Alex just wants to escape complications at home, enjoy a little R&R and find an industrial-sized bottle of sunscreen.  But trouble is hot on her heels -- along with a few stray friends and relatives.

On the eve of the condo association's hotly contested election, everything in the luxury high-rise is going haywire.  But board president and social butterfly Leslie McQueen seems curiously absent amidst the chaos.  Along with a good chunk of the association's cash.

When several of Annie's friends are left holding the bag, Alex jumps in to help -- and discovers the tony condo tower offers no shortage of shady characters, murder, and mayhem.

But when her brother, Nick, arrives -- with their irrepressible grandmother, Baba, and Alex's pal Trip, in tow -- is the gang riding to the rescue?  Or plunging Alex into more hot water?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Alex is now a freelance writer, and is trying to finish a story, but finds it difficult when her brother Nick is in the middle of having her kitchen redone into a professional kitchen.  So when she receives a phone call from her sister Annie, who owns a modeling agency and is a model herself, Alex is torn.  Annie is in Miami at her condo for an emergency board meeting, and wants Alex to keep her company.  With a little coaxing from her brother Nick, and her best friend Trip, an editor at the newspaper, she heads off with Nick's dog Lucy in tow to the airport.  After arriving in style on a private plane, she thinks it will be a chance to catch some sun and write her story - due to Nick's idea of making it about Lucy's visit to the city instead - Alex is going to have a nice vacation...or will she?

When she meets the board's president, Leslie McQueen, it's not a pleasant one.  She also learns that there isn't anyone who likes Leslie, and she begins to wonder why.  But when Leslie is found dead, more questions arise: was it an accident?  Or did someone finally have enough?  Where is the association's money?  And, with the help of the omnipresent Gabby, who seems to show up at opportune times for Alex, she discovers that Leslie was up to no good, and there's more at stake than just finding her killer...

This is the third book in the series and I have to say that I'm enjoying it more and more as I read each one.  Alex is quite a character: not quite sure of herself as a person, but she's willing to put everything out there to save someone or get a story.  She's intelligent and doesn't walk into situations that could get her put in jail (again), yet she's kind and trustworthy, and loyal to those she cares about.

And what she cares about right now is saving the people of the building, even though she doesn't know them well.  But she also needs to take Lucy out and about and get pictures for the newspaper while she's at it, and she can't understand why her sunscreen isn't helping and her skin is turning red and peeling, when her sister, who's using the same sunscreen, looks like the model she is.  Alex is personally miserable, but professionally on the job.

The mystery is one of the best that I've read in awhile, and the tale was thoroughly entertaining, peppered with characters that were humorous, especially when Baba showed up and Annie tried to turn her into a "Miami senior" and almost succeeded.  We also have the fact that Alex is struggling with her emotions for Ian Sterling, owner of the B&B across the street from her, but hopefully, she'll come around eventually.

What Alex discovers is truly despicable of Leslie, and gives us one more reason not to mourn the woman's death (not that we would have, anyway).  Yet there's enough action on the part of the three women (Alex, Annie, and Gabby) to keep us invested in the story and wanting more.  It's a sprightly narrative that's more fun than it should be.

When the ending comes and we finally learn the truth, it wasn't all that unexpected, but getting there was half the fun, and looking forward to the next in the series is the rest.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Hot-Herring-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07W6S6VQX/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3407027507

More on Dana Dratch's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/dana-dratch/

Seeing Red (A Red Herring Mystery #2)

Author:  Dana Dratch

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781496716583

Kensington Publishing

333 Pages

$7.99; $.6.99 Amazon

May 28, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Her freelance career is catching fire.  Her relationship with B&B owner Ian Sterling is flirty and fun.  She's even attending a glittering cocktail party at his sprawling Victorian inn.

But, to this ex-reporter, something seems "off."  And it's not the canapés.  When Ian's father vanishes, the enigmatic innkeeper asks for her discretion.  And her assistance.

Meanwhile, Alex is having the opposite problem at her tiny bungalow.  People keep piling in uninvited, including a mysterious intruder found sleeping in her kitchen.  Her grandmother, Baba, who shows up "to help" -- with Alex's own mother hot on her heels.

When the intrepid redhead discovers a body in the B&B's basement and a "reproduction" Renoir in the library, she begins to suspect that Ian is more than just a simple hotel owner.

With editor pal Trip, brother Nick, and rescue-pup Luch riding shotgun, Alex scrambles to stay one step ahead of disaster -- and some very nasty characters.

Can she find the missing man before it's too late?  Or will Alex be the next one to disappear?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Alex Vlodnachek is a freelance writer who's just taken a temporary job as an advice columnist for a local newspaper while the columnist is on a six-week vacation.  What she doesn't know -- and soon finds out -- is that the columnist is a crochety elderly man named Marty, who's just escaped from the local hospital.  When she returns him, they hit it off, and he agrees to let her cover for him. 

She also has a house guest in the form of her younger brother Nick, who's a whiz in the kitchen and has been making pastries for local businesses, including the new B&B across the street.  It doesn't hurt that the owner of the B&B, a Brit named Ian Sterling, has taken a liking to her, too.

But things don't come easy in Alex's life, ever since she was fired from her last job and accused of murdering her boss (she didn't).  So the morning after the party at Ian's, she goes into her kitchen and finds a baby on the table, strapped to his car seat.  First believing Nick knows something about it (he doesn't); they try and figure out what to do.  Neither has experience with babies, so they're basically flying by the seat of their pants.  Eventually they figure that their grandmother, Baba, can be some help in this situation (she is), so they invite her to stay.  But it doesn't end there.

First there's the body in Ian's basement.  Then Marty shows up at her house unannounced, stating he's the target of a killer.  Then there's another body...and the crises just keep building up until Alex thinks she's in some kind of a warped video game and can't escape.  Now Alex not only has her hands full, she thinks things can't get any worse...but she's wrong (isn't she?)...

This is the second book in the series and I have to say that I enjoyed it much better than the first.  The pages have been trimmed down from the first in the series and there's no extraneous information that isn't needed.  What's left is a delightful, humorous tale of murder, thievery, and Alex and Nick getting a crash course in baby sitting.  It's fun, rollicking, and full of mystery that never takes second place, which is exactly how a mystery should be.

Alex is trying hard not to lose her sanity while she's trying to figure out why there was a dead man in the freezer (and then wasn't) -- and figure out who the baby belongs to without social services figuring that out, and decide what to do with Marty.  Alex's soft heart is tempered by her solid brainpower, and she never once gives in to hysteria or anything close to a breakdown (which might bring lesser people to the point).  

Although I can't say that I like Alex's mom (too harsh, and doesn't listen to her kids), I do like Baba and the rest of the secondary characters that pepper this book, including Marty, who's actually a hoot and a half.

At any rate, I loved the mystery and how everything presented to us tied in together nicely, and the story was woven in a way that you never lose sight of one subplot in favor of a different one.  Each one brings something to the story, and watching each thread slowly weave into each other was definitely worth the journey.

In the end, when the murderer is discovered, it was definitely unexpected, and the ending itself was a surprise.  But the book was written well and the characters are definitely growing on me, so I will continue with this series.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Red-Herring-Mystery/dp/1496716582/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3405241502

More on Dana Dratch's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/dana-dratch/

Confessions of a Red Herring (A Red Herring Mystery Book #1)

Author:  Dana Dratch
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496716569
Kensington Publishing
440 Pages
$7.59; $6.99 Amazon
May 29, 2018

⭐⭐⭐

Alex Vlodnachek has been a reporter for 12 years, a P. R. rep for three months, and a murder suspect for all of 24 hours.  When her agency's double-dealing CEO is stabbed, scheming co-workers cast the new redhead as a compelling red herring.  The story is media catnip - especially her salacious nickname:  Vlod the Impaler.

Even Alex has to admit she looks guilty.

Out of a job and under suspicion, Alex is running low on cash, when she's visited by a second disaster: Soon her tiny bungalow is bursting with her nearest and not-so-dearest.  To keep herself out of jail - and save what's left of her sanity - Alex returns to her reporting roots.  She goes undercover to reclaim her life, break the story, and unmask a murderer.  Pretty much in that order.

What she doesn't know:

The killer also has a to-do list.

And Alex is on it.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Alex Vlodnachek was a reporter who recently went into P.R. because the CEO offered her a salary she couldn't refuse.  What she could refuse, however, is his offer to sleep with a client.  After a very vocal argument at a local restaurant where she told him no, she discovers that he's been murdered that same weekend.  Now she's not only on the hot seat, she's been fired from her job and the new CEO has threatened her with being sued and ruined her chances of ever getting another job.  If Alex is to save her own career -- and life -- she needs to find out who killed the man and why...

This is the beginning of a new series and a hefty book for a cozy running at 428 pages.  Which isn't to say that I didn't want to read it, because I did.  But I also felt that a lot of it could have been trimmed down a tad since a lot of it wasn't needed to add to the story.

This book also had a lot of situations that were there to provide 'comic relief,' but just seemed off in the story, and because of that I had a hard time getting through this book. Turning off her electricity, a new sister-in-law who's a thief, a grandmother who cooks inedible, grey food -- most of it just wasn't needed to get to the meat of the story, of which there was very little.

Alex's life was being sabotaged at every turn by employees of the P.R. firm, including an ex-boyfriend who made up lies to get his fifteen minutes of fame -- and she didn't even confront him about it.  However, there was a very funny scene at the unemployment office which I thought should have set the tone for the rest of the book, it didn't.

Actually, the character I liked best was the British neighbor, Ian Sterling, but we will have to wait and see if he is in any of the other books.  I will say that while I wasn't enthralled with this first one, I will read the second -- but only if it isn't the heft of this one, since we don't need the extraneous information to carry a mystery.  

In the end, I had already known the murderer, because it wasn't difficult to figure out who was setting up Alex to take a fall, although it just wasn't all that intriguing, to be honest.  The way the murderer was captured also wasn't all that intriguing, and there wasn't really a decent climax, but again, I'll probably pick up the next to find out in which direction the series is going to go.

https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Red-Herring-Mystery/dp/1496716566/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3403586161

More on Dana Dratch's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/dana-dratch/

Sprinkles of Suspicion (Cupcake Catering Mysteries, Book 1)

Author:  Kim Davis
Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780999068823
Cinnamon & Sugar Press
269 Pages
$8.99; $.99 Amazon
June 2, 2020

⭐⭐⭐

One glass of cheap California chardonnay cost Emory Gosser Martinez her husband, her job, and her best friend.  Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of her troubles.

Distraught after discovering the betrayal by her husband and best friend, Tori, cupcake caterer Emory Martinez allows her temper to flare.  Several people witness her very public altercation with her ex-friend.  To make matters worse, Tori exacts her revenge by posting a fake photo of Emory in a compromising situation, which goes viral on social media.  When Tori is found murdered, all signs point to Emory being the prime suspect.

With the police investigation focused on gathering evidence to convict her, Emory must prove her innocence while whipping up batches of cupcakes and buttercream.  Delving into the past of her murdered ex-friend, she finds other people had reasons to want Tori dead, including Emory's own husband.  Can she find the killer, or will the clues sprinkled around the investigation point the police back to her?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emory Martinez wakes up in her bathroom with a hangover, not even knowing how she got there, after a night out with her best friend Tori.  After finding a hickey on her neck, she's afraid her husband will see it, since he should have been home an hour ago, but his bed is empty.  Not able to reach Tori by phone, she bicycles (yes, bicycles) to her apartment, and finds her husband and Tori in a compromising position.  After pummeling Tori outside over this, the police arrive and she calls her sister for a ride home.

Her twin sister gives her a ride home and reminds her about a child's birthday party that day that she needs to make a cake for, completely unconcerned about Emory.  (More on this later).  Then her mother calls about her being humiliated by a photo on Facebook, and Tori looks and sees it's of her and an unknown man.  When she can't  log into her account to remove the photo, she goes back to Tori (!) for her help - and stumbles over her dead body.

Now the police think she's the main suspect for the murder, but don't have enough to arrest her for it.  So Emory tries to find the identity of the man that she was with the night before so that she can figure out why Tori would post that photo, and after finding Randall (do we know his last name?) she realizes that Tori set her up for a fall.  It doesn't help that her boss thinks she's trying to blackmail him and fires her, too.  So Emory has only one choice: find out who killed Tori so she can get off the hot seat and back to a hot stove...

This is the first in the series, and I thought it would be a nice cozy to pick up.  It's not a bad one, it just has a few problems:  Emory, the main character, is an accountant, so you'd think she'd have an analytical mind, but she's completely clueless.  She allowed her police officer husband to do their own finances, and now she's facing bankruptcy.  He's also a serial cheater, and she knew nothing through their seven married years, so this is the person we're looking at to solve a murder.

Now, I tried to give her a pass because her marriage falls apart, she loses her job (which I didn't understand why that happened, since it made no sense to do that to her), and then she's accused of murder.  It's a lot to take in, but Emory has trouble figuring it out.  I had to wonder how she can concentrate on recipes when she can't even concentrate on conversations with other people.  

Then, the day of the murder, her sister Carrie picks her up and is only concerned about herself and Emory making a cake for a kid's birthday party.  Her mother takes her cheating husband's side and wants them to get back together, thinking everything Emory does is wrong.  (We still don't know how her cake knife was gotten - it was never explained).

Unfortunately, while the writing was fine, the characters, for the most part, fell flat.  The only interesting character was Tillie, and we didn't get to spend any time with her.  While the book was uninteresting for the first two thirds, toward the end, beginning with her meeting Tillie, is when it picked up, so I'm glad I finished it if for that alone. 

The murder was basically solved when the killer admitted everything at the last minute, and Emory never did figure it out herself.  For an amateur sleuth, she has no clue -- which isn't surprising.  The murderer tells her the truth without provocation on their part.  I do like to see the protagonist put the pieces together, but in this case, there wasn't any pieces, and Emory did nothing.  So I couldn't give it a high rating just for that alone.  However, since it is the first book, I will probably read the next to see if the series improves, and also the characters.  There are also quite a few yummy-sounding recipes in the back that I might try myself, so that's a plus.

https://www.amazon.com/Sprinkles-Suspicion-Cupcake-Catering-Mystery-ebook/dp/B086XKRCJH/ref=sr_1_1?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3400465896

Murder at the Mansion (A Kelly Jackson Mystery Book 2)

Author:  Janet Finsilver

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781616509323; [9781541450677

Lyrical Underground; [Tantor Audio]

190 Pages

$15.00; [$24.99]; $7.49 Amazon

June 7, 2016

⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's whale-watching season in Redwood Cove, and B&B manager Kelly Jackson's battening down the hatches for the tourist rush at Redwood Heights -- a Victorian-style estate owned by her boss.  And due to recent jewelry thefts, her duties include keeping track of the many dust-covered artifacts spread throughout the property.  But when Kelly finds Sylvia Porter's lifeless body with a blood-splattered brooch around her neck, menial tasks don't seem so terrible.  Enlisting the help of a ragtag group of brainy retirees, aka the "Silver Sentinels," Kelly's on the hunt for clues hidden behind the mansion's glamorous facade...and for a killer who may want to make history of her next!

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Kelly Jackson is finally moving to Redwood Cove, California to take over as manager of Redwood Cove B&B.  But since the renovations aren't yet complete, she's promised her boss Michael Corrigan that she'll help inventory items at his newest acquisition, Redwood Heights, which is an old Victorian that's been converted to an upscale B&B for the wealthier.  

While there, she hears one of the guests scream, and finding Sylvia Porter at the bottom of the stairs, insisting she was pushed.  The manager of Redwood Heights states as how Sylvia's been a problem guest and that she probably tripped, and Kelly wonders who's telling the truth.  But the next day Sylvia asks Kelly if she will wake her for a tour, Kelly goes to do so and finds Sylvia dead at her dressing table, stabbed with a long hat pin.  When the police arrive, they find no pin.  

Later on, Kelly locates the pin while doing inventory, and it somehow makes her a suspect in the murder, according to something she overhears the detectives saying.  Then another accident befalls one of her friends who is a member of the Silver Sentinels, and Kelly knows that something sinister is going on, and she decides to investigate.  But will her investigation lead to finding a killer, or will the killer follow her every move until they get a chance to silence her permanently?

This is the second book in the series, and I enjoyed it quite as much as the first.  I do like the fact that Kelly is kind to those around her, and the Silver Sentinels are almost the best part of the book - their combined actions being both worthwhile and informative to Kelly.  She's also finding her way around a possible relationship with Scott, who also works for the same corporation as she; even though he prefers his traveling position and she likes being where she is, Kelly is working through things.

The mystery is a delightful one, with a mystery within another mystery - the possible disappearance of one of the original owners of Redwood Heights, whose being missing was never solved.  I do so love old mysteries within current ones, as it gives me an extra one to solve along with the protagonist, who, I might say, is doing a wonderful job in this book.

Discovering the reasons why Kelly was attacked is definitely worth looking at, and finding the jewel thief was hoot, to say the least.  I would say more on this, but in doing so, I would give away the answer, and I prefer not to do that.  At any rate, when the ending comes and the killer is revealed, it all comes together nicely and the puzzle is completed, giving us a satisfactory ending.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-at-Mansion-Janet-Finsilver/dp/1616509325/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3398655355

More on Janet Finsilver's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/janet-finsilver/ 

Evil Eclairs (A Donut Shop Mystery #4)

Author:  Jessica Beck
Genre:  Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780312541071
Minotaur Books
304 Pages
Various Prices; $7.99 Amazon
April 26, 2011

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart admits her sweet treats don't exactly qualify as health food.  But does she really deserve to be labeled a "killer" by local radio jockey Lester Moorefield?  The annoying host is urging citizens to boycott Suzanne's "deadly dough" factory -- until he's found dead himself, stuffed with one of Suzanne's éclairs...

Everyone in April Springs knows about the feud between Lester and Suzanne, which makes her the number-one suspect.  She tries to use the donut defense -- donuts don't kill people, people kill people -- but that cream-filled éclair at the scene of the crime has the whole town filled with suspicion.  If Suzanne can't figure out who killed the radio star, she'll soon be filling a prison cell instead of a pastry...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Suzanne Hart owns Donut Hearts in small town April Springs, North Carolina.  She's not getting rich, but she's managing to make a decent living doing what she loves.  While listening to the radio one night while she's in bed, she hears radio jockey Lester Moorefield -- a thorn in her side -- tell everyone to stay away from her business because she's feeding everyone poison with her donuts.  Angry, she dresses and goes to the station to confront him.  They have words, and Suzanne leaves, determined to make him regret targeting her.

Later on the next morning, police chief Martin comes to the shop and asks her to come with him to the radio station, where he tells her that Lester is dead, and one of her éclairs was found stuffed in his mouth.  While he doesn't believe she committed the murder, he wants to know where she was at the time of the murder, and then if she knows anything.  Of course she doesn't, but when her business starts to suffer because of Lester's final broadcast, Suzanne can't just sit back and wait for the police.

With the help of her friends Grace and George, she's determined to investigate.  But then her boyfriend, state investigator Jake Bishop, is assigned to the case, and there's an accident that puts her in the forefront of knowing it shouldn't have happened, and Suzanne is bound and determined to get the murderer...that is, if the murderer doesn't get her first...

This is the fourth book in the series, and I must say that it's been improving along the way.  I do like Suzanne as a person; she doesn't rush headlong into accusing everyone she meets of murder; she asks questions and then eliminates that suspect, which is much nicer and more believable.

She loves her donut shop and the people around her, and it's apparent that they love her, too.  I do like the fact that she has a mother who's not hounding her about grandkids and is a good part of Suzanne's life.  I'm beginning to enjoy Dorothy's presence in these books; and I do like the fact that Suzanne's relationship with Jake is beginning to take shape and grow.

As far as the murder goes, it was done very nicely, with just enough suspects who may or may not have had solid alibis, and sifting through them with Suzanne was tons of fun.  While the murderer wasn't totally unexpected, my dislike of another character really wanted that person to be guilty.  Oh, well.  In the end, it came together seamlessly, and I spent a good evening with Suzanne and her friends, and look forward to seeing them again in the next book.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Eclairs-Donut-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0312541074/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3397101964

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

Murder in a Scottish Shire (A Scottish Shire Mystery, Book 1)

Author:  Traci Hall

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781496725998

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$10.89; $9.99 Amazon

June 30, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐

For a twenty-eight year old single mum, Paislee has knit together a sensible life for herself, her ten-year-old son, Brody, and Wallace, their black Scottish terrier.  Having inherited a knack for knitting from her dear departed grandmother, Paislee also owns a specialty shop called Cashmere Crush, where devoted local crafters gather weekly for her Knit and Sip.

Lately, though, Paislee feels as if her life is unraveling.  She's been served an eviction notice, and her estranged and homeless grandfather has just been brought to her door by a disconcertingly handsome detective named Mack Zeffer.  As if that wasn't enough, Paislee discovers a young woman who she recently rehired to help in the shop dead in her flat, possibly from an overdose of her heart medicine.  But as details of the death and the woman's life begin to raise suspicions for Detective Inspector Zeffer, it's Paislee who must untangle a murderous yarn...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Paislee Shaw is a twenty-eight-year-old single mum with a ten-year-old son, Brody.  She owns her own business and lives in the home that was left to her by her grandmother.  Her life might not be completely wonderful, but she's doing the best she can.

That is, at least, unless the new detective inspector in town shows up with her estranged grandfather, Angus Shaw, in tow.  Telling her that he has nowhere else to go, she reluctantly takes him in.  Then she receives a letter from her landlord giving her thirty days to move since he's sold the building.  With her business on the line and a new presence in her life, Paislee thinks things can't get worse.  Until she goes to see an ex-employee she's decided to hire back, and finds the young woman dead on the floor of her flat.  Now Paislee's sure that Isla was murdered, and is determined to find the killer...even if it puts her in danger of being the next victim...

This is the first book in a new series, and it takes place in Scotland.  It took a bit to get used to the speech, but after that I fell right into it, and found myself speaking in a Scottish accent in my head (others probably will, too).  While the author definitely got the workings of a small town right, I would have loved to have descriptions of the surrounding areas, but perhaps in the next book.

So let's get the things that bothered me out of the way, and then on to the good of the book.  After Paislee discovers the type of person that Isla was, she has a conversation with DI Zeffer and tells him that Isla was her protege and that she "discovered her."  Paislee is not a world-class knitter known for her sweaters and making exorbitant amounts of money from them, so how was Isla her protege when the girl couldn't even knit?  And how did she 'discover' her?  All Isla really learned to do was blackmail people, and Paislee wasn't a blackmailer.  So perhaps a bad choice of statement on her part.  Ah, well...

Then, Paislee goes from one suspect to the next accusing them (to her friend Lydia) of being the murderer, until it's ruled out that they can't be.  I would like to see in the next book that she puts more thought into this and doesn't go around accusing everyone in sight.  (Although since she's new to sleuthing, it all makes sense, so I would never think of dinging the author for this).

Aside from this, I did think that this is a very good start to a new series.  I do like Angus the best, since he speaks his mind, even if there are subjects that are taboo between himself and Paislee.  He's lived a long life, and he's set in his ways, but it does seem that there's affection from him toward her, and that goes a long way.  Brody is an intelligent kid, who acts like any ten-year-old (being the mother of boys, I can attest to this); and his interactions with Paislee are spot-on.  I also like the possible love interest, and the fact it wasn't just thrown into the series immediately.  Paislee seems to be the type of person who lives her life carefully, and it wouldn't have made sense. 

I like the fact that we get to see Paislee, who might not be the most animated of people; but for the life she lives - which is to earn an honest living and raise her son the best she can.  Then her life is disrupted both at home and at work,and she's trying to cope with it.  While I felt there were a few questions I would have liked answered, I am hopeful that this will be so in the next installment.

The mystery was solid, with few clues leading to the murderer until the end, when we figure it out just before Paislee does.  I do like the fact that she didn't knowingly put herself in the arms of a killer, and was just as well able to figure out how to keep herself alive without help. At the end, everything about the murder was tied up nicely with the reasons why, and that is what you look forward to in a decent mystery.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Scottish-Shire-Paislee-Mysteries/dp/1496725999/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3395382937

More on Traci Hall's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/traci-hall/

Clairvoyant and Present Danger (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #3)

Author:  Lena Gregory

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9780425282779

Berkley Publishing

293 Pages

$7.99; $7.99 Amazon

February 6, 2018

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cass has always relied on her abilities to guide her, but after communications with a ghost land her in the middle of a murder investigation, she has to wonder if her gift is really more of a curse.

Cass knows she is meant to help track down the killer -- much to the chagrin of local law enforcement -- when the apparition leads her to a dead body on the beach near her psychic shop, Mystical Musings.  But the police are not the only ones who wish Cass would stick to reading palms.  Someone is trying to scare her off, and it will take all her powers of premonition to catch the killer before Cass herself becomes the next victim...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Cass Donovan left her psychiatry practice in Manhattan after one of her patients committed suicide, and she found her husband cheating with her best friend -- a double whammy.  She's since used her powerful intuition and the fact that she notices small details to open a psychic shop, where she sells items to help people, and also gives group and private readings to people.

But Cass is also discovering that her psychic power is growing -- she's been able to see ghosts - or a form thereof - starting recently, and now she's beginning to have nightmares of a young woman who's asking for her help.  When an angry man shows up wanting her help, she does her best, but she's knows there's more to his story.

While walking on the beach with her dog Beast, he brings her a bone that appears to be human.  After finding the rest of the skeleton, she calls her police detective friend Tank, and he tells her to forget it and go home.  But then the news crews and lookie-loos start arriving; and a second body is found buried in the sand.  Things are escalating, and while Cass is really trying to stay out of it, she sees a portrait of a young woman in the window of a new art shop, and knows it's the woman from her dreams.  But when she returns to the shop, the owner says the portrait isn't for sale and has removed it.  Bringing her best friends Bee and Stephanie into the equation should bring her calm, but it doesn't.  After her shop is is searched and she's injured, Cass is determined to find out what's going on...if she doesn't get killed first...

This is the third book in the series and I have to say that they keep getting better.  While I wasn't impressed with the first, I definitely like the direction the stories are going.  Cass is learning that she really does have a bit of psychic abilities, and ghosts are appearing to her; but she's not sure what she's supposed to do with that information yet.  She's finding her way, much as the ghosts are finding theirs.  I love the fact that these are not poltergeists, but spirits that need help or are there to help her. 

She also has the eternal friendship of Bee, whom, while he doesn't believe in ghosts and doesn't want to hear anything about them (but I think he's just a tad afraid of them) still stands by her side no matter what's happening.  He's a true friend, and I think that he's one of my favorite characters in the books.  Stephanie, for her part, is a bit sad in this book and won't open up to Cass, although she really should have done so; yet it all becomes understandable.

The plot is nicely done, with the police trying to figure out who the two - one skeleton and one body - on the beach belong to, and Cass is becoming more positive she knows who at least one of the people that were found is a young woman who went missing not too long ago.  But being asked not to say anything to anyone is harder than she imagines, and Cass is wondering what is going on, but trying to get on with her life, as much as she can.  Interwoven into the story is Cass doing what she does best -- helping people who are in need of it.  These small side journeys show us the type of person she is, and one can't help wonder how her ex-husband could have been such a dolt in doing what he did (sorry; I had to throw that in).

When the story starts to come to a close, we figure it out close to the time that Cass does herself; even though the clues are there, they are hidden well enough that we don't really put it together until then, and I enjoyed that very much.  At the end, it all comes together nicely, with hints of what is to come in the next story in this series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Clairvoyant-Present-Danger-Psychic-Mystery/dp/0425282775/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3393305347

More on Lena Gregory's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/