Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off

Title: Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off
Author: Darci Hannah
Published: October 5th 2021 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 304 pages
Genre: Holiday Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery #2

First Sentence: Sugarplum visions. Mind tormented me every year in the form of a ludicrous yet tantalizing belief that I could actually pull off the perfect Christmas

From the Publisher: With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever—winning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition...

Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bake‑off, and she’s not afraid to dump a little coal in everyone’s stocking to do it. Just as the competition heats up, everything falls apart when the judge is found dead—and covered in crumbs from Lindsey’s signature cookie!

Solving a murder was never on Lindsey’s wish list. But with her reputation on the line during the happiest time of the year, she’ll need to bring her best talents to the table in order to sift out the true Christmas Cookie culprit. (Kensington)

My Opinion: I’m not sure what it is about this series, but I adore it. It could be how each character brings spice, the small-town feel complete with a lighthouse and ghost, or not knowing what this group of friends will get up to next. Including their version of a sting operation. But what I do know is that Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off should be on your Christmas-themed reading list, and I want to see Mrs. Nichols again.

Murder Outside the Lines

Title: Murder Outside the Lines
Author: Krista Davis
Published: September 28th 2021 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 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: Pen & Ink Mysteries #3

First Sentence: The crate was delivered to Color Me Read around noon on Thursday.

From the Publisher: With Halloween just around the corner, the fall colors in Georgetown are brilliant. As manager of the Color Me Read bookstore, coloring book creator Florrie Fox has arranged for psychic author Hilda Rattenhorst to read from Spooktacular Ghost Stories. But the celebrity medium arrives for the event in hysterics, insisting she just saw a bare foot sticking out of a rolled-up carpet in a nearby alley. Is someone trying to sweep murder under the rug? Florrie calls in her policeman beau, Sergeant Eric Jonquille, but the carpet corpse has disappeared without a trace.

Then in the middle of her reading, Hilda chillingly declares that she feels the killer's presence in the store. Is this a publicity stunt or a genuine psychic episode? It seems there's no happy medium. When a local bibliophile is soon discovered missing, a strange mystery begins to unroll. Now it's up to Florrie and Jonquille to expose a killer's true colors.

My Opinion: You know you are in for a rocky road when the author needs to list a cast of characters, and you, as the read having to remember 23 people and animals and how they are related. Once you get past that, you discover the plot is surprisingly twisty for a cozy mystery.

I can’t say that Florrie is one of my favorite Krista Davis individuals since I tend to be drawn to the quirky Mr. DuBois type, but after three books, she is beginning to grow on me. Maybe it was the Halloween atmosphere or the Georgetown backdrop, but either way, I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed this book.

A Lesson in Murder

Title: A Lesson in Murder
Author: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
Published: March 9th 2015 by Bastei Entertainment
Format: Kindle, 103 pagess
Genre: Mystery
Series: Cherringham #13

First Sentence: Sophie White raced up the back stairs of Florence House, her footsteps on the worn stone echoing in the cold space as she climbed the three floors.

From the Publisher: When Jack and Sarah are called in to investigate mysterious pranks at an exclusive girls' private school, it seems at first that it might be the work of a few mean pupils with a grudge. But things quickly turn serious when a popular teacher meets a sudden, violent death. Now, with murder in the air, Jack and Sarah have their own lessons to learn about the Cherringham Girls School, its dark secrets... and who wanted that teacher dead before they learned the truth. (Goodreads)

My Opinion: The Cherringham series has turned into a hit or miss for me -- A Lesson in Murder was a hit. Thankfully, the ending was not apparent. The relationship between certain characters was not fully spelled out but hinted at, which allowed the reader to draw their conclusions.

Jack and Sarah are back to their old selves and have seemed to have figured out their relationship. I don’t know what the future holds, but I am good with where they are now.

For anyone not sure if this is the correct series for them, I would wholeheartedly encourage them. The short stories /novellas are a perfect break before jumping in a meatier book or just for those times where you want something brief and engaging. A story where the characters are steady, and the humor is just what you need.

Reading Between the Crimes

Title: Reading Between the Crimes
Author: Kate Young
Published: September 7th 2021 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Jane Doe Book Club Mystery #2

First Sentence: The sun was low in the clear blue sky as I locked up the office.

From the Publisher: What better time than Halloween to dig into a bracing discussion of a diabolical murder mystery? And what better choice for the Jane Doe Book Club than Agatha Christie’s Crooked House? Lyla Moody and her friends are soon embroiled in debate over whether the heroine’s actions are particularly believable. But not long after the meeting, sleepy Sweet Mountain, Georgia, is rocked by a murder that uncannily echoes the novel in question.

When Lyla and her grandmother arrive at the charity event that Lyla’s mother is hosting, they barely have time to hang up their fall jackets before they stumble upon a body in the library. Leonard Richardson, it seems, was robbed and then hit over the head with a brass candlestick–which throws suspicion on Harper Richardson, his young widow and a friend of the Jane Does.

Lyla and the rest of the Jane Does pool their prodigious intellects to clear Harper’s name. Peculiarly, all of the clues seem to have been lifted directly from the plot of Crooked House. But as Lyla probes the pages of Christie’s classic whodunnit for hints on catching the killer, she uncovers secrets from her mother’s past–secrets that suggest that Lyla’s own house may be crooked as well.

My Opinion: Another book by Kate Young where the murderer was not obvious from the beginning, and since the plot was based on Agatha Christie's Crooked House, oddly, it all made sense.

As each character spends their time in the spotlight, it is up to Lyla Moody to slowly remove who it could not be, only to leave the reader with the possible. With a last-minute twist, and only one remaining left-field character, you are left scratching your head and wondering why it couldn’t be …… all the clues were there from the beginning.

Chapter and Curse

Title: Chapter and Curse
Author: Elizabeth Penney
Published: September 28th 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: The Cambridge Bookshop Series ##1

First Sentence: Spring was much later than usual this year.

From the Publisher: Librarian Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina, need a change. So when a letter arrives from Nina’s Aunt Violet in Cambridge, England requesting their help running the family bookshop, they jump at the chance.

Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios, is one of the oldest bookshops in Cambridge, and—unfortunately—customers can tell. When Molly and Nina arrive, spring has come to Cambridge and the famed Cambridge Literary Festival is underway. Determined to bring much-needed revenue to the bookstore, Molly invites Aunt Violet’s college classmate and famed poet Persephone Brightwell to hold a poetry reading in the shop. But the event ends in disaster when a guest is found dead—with Molly’s great-aunt’s knitting needle used as the murder weapon. While trying to clear Violet and keep the struggling shop afloat, Molly sifts through secrets past and present, untangling a web of blackmail, deceit, and murder. (Macmillan)

My Opinion: So refreshing when you start a new series and realize you enjoyed each of the characters from the start. Each person, having their own distinctive voice, with a touch of humor, and not being "back-burnered" by other louder, more demanding views.

By her writing, I could not figure out if Elizabeth Penny is a British author or has just staged the book in Cambridge since her terminology fluctuates, yet after a while, it did not matter. The pace did lag in a few places, but eventually, it picked back up again with an obvious ending, but at the same time, there was a rushed feel.

Will there be more in this series? I certainly hope so since days later, the characters are still playing around in my head.

Death on a Summer Night

Title: Death on a Summer Night
Author: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
Published: October 23rd 2014 by Bastei Entertainment
Format: Kindle Edition, 119 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Cherringham #12

First Sentence: Tim stopped the car, the beaten-up Fiesta that he always bragged about keeping running and on the road.

From the Publisher: Twenty-five years ago, on a hot summer night, Tim Bell drove to a secluded spot with talented young musician Dinah Taylor after their date at the village fair. But Dinah was never seen again, and Bell - with blood spatters on his clothing - was sent to prison for her murder. Now freed, Bell has returned to Cherringham and his life is in danger from those who feel that justice hasn't really been served. But Jack and Sarah wonder: was Bell really guilty - or did the real killer escape detection all those years ago? As Cherringham swelters in another hot summer, time is running short for the two of them to uncover the truth... before someone else dies. (Goodreads)

My Opinion: I didn’t guess the end. As the suspects were eliminated, I had no idea where this writing team was going. I kept going back and forth in my head, trying to come up with a likely suspect, but still, I was at a loss.

By the end, it all made sense, and it was right there in front of you the whole time. Sometimes the most unlikely person is the one you have been looking for all along.

Here Comes the Fudge

Title: Here Comes the Fudge
Author: Nancy Coco
Published: September 28th 2021 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 352 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Candy-Coated Mysteries #9

First Sentence: “It’s bad luck to walk under a ladder.”

From the Publisher: It’s late spring on picturesque Mackinac Island, Michigan. Allie is prepping her Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop for the start of the tourist season and her best friend Jenn’s wedding. But when Jenn’s fiancé Shane, a crime scene investigator on the island, misses a dinner date, the two friends go looking for him. Led by Allie’s bichonpoo Mal into an alley, they come upon Shane standing over a body with a bloody knife in his hand. Shane won’t say what’s happened, just tells them to call 911. As the CSI is taken into custody by his colleagues, including Allie’s beau Rex Manning, the fudge maker vows to prove her friend’s fiancé is not a killer—before the ceremony turns into a jailhouse wedding.

My Opinion: I’m not sure why Nancy Coco turned Allie McMurphy into a foolish person, but that is all I could think when reading this book. What woman, in their right mind and a killer on the loose, would decide to repeatedly leave their hotel and fudge shop out the back door into an alley? Nothing good ever happens in allies.

There are other issues with the book, such as repetition, talking down to the reader, and a person put in a medically induced coma for a stabbing. Oh, and Nancy, we know the deck is on the rooftop -- no need to tell us a dozen times.

Mastermind

Title: Mastermind
Author: Andrew Mayne
Published: September 7th 2021 by Thomas & Mercer
Format: Kindle Edition, 332 pages
Genre: Techno Thriller
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood #1

First Sentence: Kelsi the silver robot girl pushed her bicycle up the Brooklyn Bridge with her back to Manhattan.

From the Publisher: A mysterious electrical storm plunges Manhattan into darkness. As a strange, smothering fog rolls in, all communication crashes. In the blink of an eye, the island seems to vanish into a void.

FBI special agent Jessica Blackwood and brilliant scientist Dr. Theo Cray know this isn’t a freak accident. It’s a sinister sleight of hand. Their greatest adversary, a serial killer and cultist known as the Warlock, has escaped during a prison transfer in New York. A depraved master of manipulation, he promised the end of days. He’s making good on it.

One by one, cities across the globe are erupting in chaos as they disappear into the same black holes. Even for two ingenious trackers like Jessica and Theo, there’s still so much to learn about the pattern to the Warlock’s madness. The voids are just a warm-up for something bigger. To discover it—to stop it—Jessica and Theo must descend into the darkest of shadows—and minds. (Amazon)

My Opinion: When an author combines characters from two of their series, it can challenge the reader. When an author combines two characters, one from a series I look forward to and one that I have never read, made me apprehensive. To know computational biologist Theo Cray is to love him, but introducing FBI special agent Jessica Blackwood, could take me in a direction I wasn’t willing to go. But Andrew Mayne made it work -- he so made it work.

Thankfully, Theo’s brilliant mind, his quirky sense of humor, and his compassion were not overshadowed by a forceful single-minded Jessica -- a woman who literally had a few tricks up her sleeve. She never played him or disregarded his ideas. At times, she may have been a step behind but trusted in Theo enough to let his logic play out, and in time, they would both get to the same place.