Picture Perfect Frame

Title: Picture Perfect Frame
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Published: March 16th 2021 by Lyrical Press
Format: Kindle, 177 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Tourist Trap Mysteries #12

This book felt different than the last. There is a great deal going on – Jill’s best friend’s wedding planning and honeymoon shenanigans, a rehashing of previous books, Esmeralda in turmoil, finger-pointing, and then there is a murder. A murder that felt as if it was getting in the way of everything else going on.

To support the other businesses in the beachy town of South Cove, Jill Gardner decides, against her better judgment, to attend a sip and paint event down the street from her shop, Coffee, Books, and More. When a disagreement breaks out between another couple, the local police-detective arranges to have the couple escorted home. What no one expected was the discovery of the wife’s body at the art studio the next morning.

Of course, Jill starts her sleuthing, but surprisingly, compared to other books, she is much more laid back and not putting herself in the usual amount of danger. Lynn Cahoon does leave the reader with a bit of a cliffhanger leaving everyone wondering what Jill will do when presented with the next chapter of her life.

The Curse of Mabb's Farm

Title: The Curse of Mabb's Farm
Author: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
Published: May 8th 2014 by Bastei Entertainment
Format: Audio, Kindle, 110 pages
Genre: Mystery
Series: Cherringham #6

Taking another weekend break I picked up The Curse of Mabb’s Farm and fell right into Cherringham where Jack and Sarah explore the legend of a farm with a dark past dating back to the 17th century.

It appears that all who have lived on the farm have been cursed. Currently, the inhabitants are dealing with crop failures, sick livestock, and fire, which is a bit hard to blame on the devil and witches which was the usual go-to in the past. Street tough Jack and inquisitive Sarah can’t let good folklore go unexplored and set out on a dark and stormy night, in the company of a local coven (of sorts) to see what is happening to the current residents and which mystical entities they can summon. Turns out, what is happening at Mabb’s is a little more modern-day than they had expected.

I highly recommend this series for both its doggedness and the usual twists.

Fatal Fried Rice

Title: Fatal Fried Rice
Author: Vivien Chien
Published: March 9th 2021 by St. Martin's Press
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 320 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Noodle Shop Mystery #7

There is something about this series, maybe it is the Mahjong Matrons, maybe it is the relationships within the Lee family, maybe it is how friends come together, I don’t know, but this series works for me.

Lana Lee, manager of her family’s Chinese restaurant, Ho-Lee Noodle House, in Asia Village doesn’t want to admit that she can’t cook. She has never needed to since she had no intention of running the business in the first place. But things haven’t worked out on that front and now she finds herself in desperate need of cooking lessons. The local adult learning center is offering a course and with any luck, she can learn and no one will be the wiser. Since this is the seventh book in the series, faithful readers know that luck doesn’t always favor Lana so on the first night of the class after everyone has gone home, Lana needs to return to the classroom to pick up a forgotten shopping list, there she finds instruction, Margo Chan, dead on the floor.

Lana is the prime suspect since she found the body, so to save her name and find the killer, all the while trying to not let her family know that she was taking a cooking class, Lana sets off with her best friends to track down a killer without becoming the next victim.

Seven books in and I am not bored with Lana Lee, Ho-Lee Noodle Shop, the matrons – definitely not the matrons, Asia Village, or Det. Adam Trudeau who always seems to be a bit late to the party. There is enough humor, twists, and good food to keep me eager for what these friends will be up to next.

The Postscript Murders

Title: Author: The Postscript Murders
Published: March 2nd 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Harbinder Kaur #2)

To be honest, when I started this book, I did not know that it was the second in the Harbinder Kaur series. I had always thought that “The Stranger Diaries” was a one-off, which was fine with me since it did not resonate and I was fine saying good-bye to the characters. Then along came "The Postscript Murders” and something about the name Harbinder tickled a little part of my brain. Glad that I stuck with the book since I enjoyed "The Postscript Murders”, and the characters, considerably more.

When Peggy Smith is discovered by her care worker Natalka, the police immediately write it off as a heart attack considering that she was elderly and on medication, but Natalka wasn’t believing it. Not after she finds a postcard with the words, “We are coming for you” tucked next to where Peggy’s body was found. Natalka decides to run her theories past her friend’s -- café owner and ex-monk Benedict and former BBC employee Edwin. What finally convinces the trio is a business card with Peggy’s name and a job title of “murder consultant” combined with numerous murder mysteries being dedicated to her. Now with Peggy’s son, Nigel, in a hurry to sell off his mother possessions, and a book stolen out from under them, Det. Sgt Harbinder Kaur is starting to show an interest. But the trio can’t wait for Harbinder to get fully on board so they head out to a literary festival to round up their suspects. This is where the story takes all sorts of twists, both in Aberdeen, Scotland, and back home in Shoreham-by-Sea, England.

Elly Griffiths has built depth to the characters with background stories that are both explained and those that are left to the readers' imagination. The typical who-done-it is not obvious from the beginning so when all is revealed, there is a bit of a surprise for both the reader and in some ways, Harbinder herself.