Charms and Chocolate Chips

Title: Charms and Chocolate Chips
Author: Bailey Cates
Published: November 5th 2013 by NAL
Format: Paperback, 336 pages
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Series: Magical Bakery Mystery #3

I had a difficult time getting into this book, and when I was ready to give up, it began to grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, by the end, I felt that this book took a darker turn than I was expecting, with an ending that dragged on for a bit.

Since the last book, it appears that Katie Lightfoot, when not working at the Honeybee Bakery, is volunteering with a local conservation group. When Katie finds fellow volunteer Autumn Boles dead, she is hesitant to get involved, yet when that naggy witchy feeling comes, she knows that she must use her light witch talents to protect herself and her friends -- especially when there is black magic around and the voice of her deceased grandmother is urging her on.

Other than the dark tone of this book, I did enjoy seeing the appearance of Katie’s mother and how the women in Katie’s life could come together when one of them was in danger. A new path has opened, and now with Katie taking her responsibilities more seriously, it will be interesting to see how good versus evil will play out in future installments. *

A Body in Seaview Grange

Title: A Body in Seaview Grange
Author: Dee MacDonald
Published: November 12th 2020 by Bookouture
Format: eBook, 253 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Kate Palmer #2

Never rule out the improbable since they are also the most probable. Not the exact Sherlockian quote, but it does apply when it comes to book two in the Kate Palmer series by Dee MacDonald.

Kate figured her retirement in the Cotswall’s would be relaxing, but with an undependable sister and a cottage in need of repairs, Practice Nurse Kate is putting in days at the surgery to make ends meet. Being the newest member of the team, Kate is on call when in-home care is needed, and this time the request comes in for a check-up at the local retirement community called Seaview Grange. What Kate didn’t realize was her re-check with Edina Martinelli would also be the last for the annoying ex-opera singer when after a tumble down the stairs, Edina is found dead from a drug overdose. Needing to clear the name of the doctor suspected of overprescribing, Kate starts sticking her nose into the business of residents of Seaview. When she is sure that she has eliminated all the probable people, she is lured back, and going against her common sense, comes face to face with a devious killer.

Past characters are still there, Angie is as unpredictable as usual, but now with a twist of fate, she may have a future. Detective Inspector Woody Forrest has revealed his real first name, and much to Kate’s delight, she finds herself even more enamored. Now with Kate’s need to recover from her latest adventure, she will be jetting off to America to meet Woody’s family and another chance to see where their relationship is going.

I enjoy this series. Kate isn’t your usual vapid twenty something sleuth with bouncing curls. She brings her experience and compassion, and though there are momentary character hiccups in good judgement, she finds herself in unusual and entertaining situations without going all Lucy and Ethyl on the reader.

Gone Before Christmas

Title: Gone Before Christmas
Author: Charles Finch
Published: October 3, 2017 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, 80 pages
Genre: Historical Holiday
Series: Charles Lenox Mysteries #10.5

A novella that incorporates a conversation between Charles and his brother Edmond while recounting a recent case and conveying a bit of sibling rivalry to a warm conclusion during the snowy backdrop of Christmas in London.

Charles Lennox, called in by Scotland Yard, is asked to solve the suspected murder and disappearance of a Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards -- with the only clues being a spray of blood in the cloakroom and a few personal items on a bench. As rumors and innuendos spread about the Lieutenant’s work and possible collusion, Lennox, with very little to go on, and giant leaps, neatly ties everything before sitting down to his own Christmas dinner.

With a Charles Lennox novel, you must disband a bit of credence since all the facts are not shared with the reader, and you end up playing a game of catch up before the final page and all parts are revealed. Gone Before Christmas is no different, just in novella form.

Sanctuary

Title: Sanctuary
Author: V. V. James
Published: September 8th 2020 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Format: Paperback, 464 pages
Genre: Paranormal

Heading into this book, I was a bit apprehensive. There are two definitive sides -- you either love it or hate it; is the hype worth it or just the work of an aggressive advertising team? For me, it was well-hyped and well worth reading. I am a person who likes to figure things out early, and when there was a subtle sentence in the first third of the book, I knew that I had found the zinger. That one thing that would put the end, whatever it may be, into perspective. Well, I was wrong, and the ending caught me by surprise. Well played, Mr. James.

Nothing like mass hysteria and a modern-day witch hunt to get the juices flowing. Witches are now a protected group in the United States; and when much loved high school football star Daniel Whitman falls from a balcony at a party house, which later catches fire, the town goes into hysterics after a video showing Harper, a non-magical and daughter of the local witch Sarah, placing what appears to be a curse on Daniel before he fell.

Told from many perspectives, the stories, and secrets of Sanctuary, Connecticut, come out. It appears that everyone has something to hide and, at one point or other, have used Sarah’s help when dealing with everything from the mundane to the extraordinary. And the biggest secret of all is what happened six years prior when Det. Maggie Knight met all the actors for the first time which set this tribunal in action.

A fascinating grab you from the beginning book. At first, I was concerned with all the characters thrown at me, but soon V. V. James slowed the pace a bit and let each tell their own story. There are a couple that remains in the periphery which only makes you wonder about them more. But don’t underestimate. Each one has their place by the time you reach the final chapter.

Sowing Malice

Title: Sowing Malice
Author: Wendy Tyson
Published: July 7, 2020 by Henery Press
Format: Paperback, 248 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: A Greenhouse Mystery #6

As a back story, Megan Sawyer is now running her family’s organic farm, Washington Acres, after walking away from her legal career following the death of her husband. With her grandmother Bibi and dependable employees, she has turned the farm, and the café in town, around. With the opening of Marshall house in sight, Megan will be able to see her dreams come to fruition. That is until a good deed results in a missing woman and a dead body found on her property.

The anti-social Von Tressler’s don’t belong in this part of the state, and no one is sure why they decided to build their home in Winsome, Pennsylvania. Now with the patriarch dead, and a curious amount of bed-hopping going on, Detective King, with the help of Megan, needs to figure out what is going on within the mahogany halls of the Von Tressler corporation and to understand why Megan was drawn into the middle of it.

For the longest time, I was confusing the father and the son, then the wives, then the partners. Not sure how it all clicked into place with the shenanigans going on, but Wendy Tyson did manage to tie it all up before the Fourth of July festivities and the grand opening of the Marshall house, without letting on to the final surprise she had in store for her reader.

Die Again

Title: Die Again
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Published: December 30th 2014 by Ballantine Books
Format: Hardcover, 330 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Rizzoli & Isles #11

Continuing my unhurried process through the Rizzoli and Isles series, for me, book eleven is slower than usual as I trudged through the ongoings of the detective and medical examiner. Beginning with the disembowelment of Leon Gott, a renowned taxidermist, and interweaving a tale of six years prior where a Botswana safari tour, that included Gott’s son, ended with only one female survivor. Boston PD must now find the evidence which links the two events and identifies a predator that is striking again.

Detective Jane Rizzoli and Medical Examiner Maura Isles of the books are not the same as those portrayed on television. Their backstories are slightly different, and though the camaraderie is the same, there truly is no comparison between the two. The reader will need to decide, like most adaptations, which they prefer.

As this series is coming to an end, with one final book,’ I Know a Secret”, I am curious to see how Tess Gerritsen will tie up this series and to see where it will conclude.

Ink and Shadows

Title: Ink and Shadows
Author: Ellery Adams
Published: January 26th 2021 by Kensington Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover 304 Pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4

By the end of the book, I was wondering if Ellery Adams was trying to reach a bit too far by tossing in triggers to grab attention and then trying to tie them all up with a neat bow to let the reader know that all is right and fair in Miracle Springs, North Carolina. Unfortunately, that bow didn’t sit well with me since it didn’t quite encompass the off behavior of the pastor’s wife, and I felt that part of the story just died with no conclusion.

Nora Pennington, the owner of Miracle Books, is contemplating a new window display when she decides to center on strong heroines. After a confrontation at the store, a local women’s group takes offense and starts a campaign to besmirch the shops in town that don’t live up to their definition of family values. With the crusade in full swing, new business owner Celeste is feeling the brunt since she is a bit too new-age for the pearl clenching crowd.

Nora is the overprotective type, and when pages of an old book appear on her doorstep, followed by a body behind her house, Nora can’t help but get involved. Unfortunately, this won’t be the only body found that will have the people of Miracle Springs talking. Both she and the local police need answers, yet Nora was unprepared when an old friend knocks on her door - a friend that knew her from before.

Ellery Adams does try to tie up all the loose ends – there are just too many. There is a great deal thrown at the reader in the last few pages, but if you have been following along, most of it rings true. There is an out of the blue confession that doesn’t make sense since nothing alluded to it during the previous three hundred pages, so I don’t know how that will sit with readers. Overall, the book is a well-intended continuation of the series -- I just would have preferred more cohesiveness.

Next to Last Stand

Title: Next to Last Stand
Author: Craig Johnson
Published: September 22nd 2020 by Viking
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Fiction
Series: Walt Longmire #16

Reading the reviews, I see that people disliked this book for the same reason that I enjoyed it. I appreciated the bit of history, the amalgamation of the past with the present, and how people, as odd as they are, have different reasons for accomplishing the same goal.

Things go from curious to downright dangerous when Walt Longmire receives a call after a resident of the local Veterans’ home died, and a shoebox containing $1 million found. The residents claim there had been clandestine meetings with Russians, but with this group of off-center cronies, Walt has no idea what to believe. Yet, with the discovery of a portion of an old painting and Walt doing his usual deep dive, the fragment is analyzed, and with it, a fascinating art history lesson imparted to the reader involving myth and the reshaping of the old west.

In places, the history lesson and the narrative seem to become a bit long-winded but hang in there, everything, including the long list of characters, will soon meld, and the full story revealed. For me, the only thing that was missing in this book was the usual wit. That is what I enjoy most from Craig Johnson, the deadpan deliveries and the over the top situations that can only be dealt with by a good dose of questionable humor; usually delivered by Victoria, on occasion by Walt, but always by Henry.