Murder at the Lemonberry Tea : A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery by Darci Hannah

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.

Murder at the Lemonberry Tea
A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery
Darci Hannah
Kensington Cozies

This is the delicious new book number six in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series. Lindsey Bakewell left the hectic life of Wall Street and has successfully set up her bakeshop and home in a lighthouse so she knows how much a new start can mean to a person. Her BFF Kennedy Kapoor, a well-regarded influencer, has convinced the producer for the new baking show, Nibbles From Across the Pond, hosted by Vivi Lemonberry, British baking diva, to come to Beacon Harbor to film the show’s first episode.  This was supposed to be a fresh start for Vivi, a step away from the scandals and drama. This woman has baggage, scandalous designer baggage. She is described by one of the film crew as “a tyrant, a flirt, a husband snatcher, a plagiarist, and a kiss-up.” So of course she is the victim. 

This is a fun story which might sound odd because there is a murder involved but the characters just make it so enjoyable. Lindsey is easy to relate to and she has a big dog, who doesn’t love a big dog? Oh, that’s right, Vivi doesn’t. Then there are the Kapoor ladies, Kennedy’s mom, little sister (27 years old) and Granny Gladstone. Who wouldn’t want to spend a few days with the gals, listening to Kennedy and Pippa trade snarky remarks while both flirt with Officer Tucker aka Officer Cutie Pie? Oh, that’s right; Rory doesn’t, so he moved in with his uncle and cousin for the duration of the British invasion. There are so many nuances to the story that it grabs your attention and keeps you turning pages, before, and after the murder is committed. 

 Suspects include the ex-husband who is her producer, the ex-lover who is the head cameraman, her personal assistant who is a victim of her rants, the rival baker who is slapping her with plagiarism, and the A-list starlet who is newly married to Vivi’s current lover. Sergeant Murdock has no choice but to consider Lindsey as a person of interest because of Vivi’s issue with Welly, Lindsey’s beloved Newfie and the shameless flirting with Rory, Lindsey’s guy. Vivi might just have been more trouble than she was worth. 

One of the best aspects of this cozy is that there are multiple red herrings and a few rabbit holes. Each suspect is blaming another suspect talk about a puzzling conundrum. Thankfully, Lindsey has a great group of friends who come up with original ideas on how to get the clues that lead to the solution. The other awesome aspect of this book is all of the yummy lemon based recipes from a Lemon Drop Martini to Parmesan-Crusted Lemon Garlic Chicken; I’m not sure which one to make first. This is another great Beacon Bakeshop Mystery and I will just have to console myself with a lemon bar while I wait for the next one to come out.

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza : A Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza
A Deep Dish Mysteries
Mindy Quigley
Minotaur Books 

This is book four of the Deep Dish Mystery series that features an amazing chef named Delilah O’Leary and her restaurant family.  This time around it is the holiday season and Delilah has taken a catering job for a Chrismakkah party and unbeknownst to Delilah event the guest list includes her brother-in-law who is attending along with Delilah’s niece from California. This is the same family who can never quite make it for a visit yet here they are, in town (AWKWARD). Not as awkward finding a dead/frozen body of a party guest in the ice sculpture area or as awkward as dating the detective in charge of the murder investigation asking for Delilah’s family members and coworkers for their alibis. A few people are not very forth coming including Delilah’s older sister, Piper. They already have a strained relationship based on familial expectations and perceptions. I mean it isn’t like Piper is an intimidating older sister who is a driven rocket scientist who might not think much of a restaurateur…oh wait yes she is.

If this is your first Deep Dish Mystery, there are a few things you need to know. First off, there will be food mentioned often, delicious sounding food. The detective in charge of this and past investigations is Calvin Capone, yes, he is related to THAT Capone and he is Delilah’s boyfriend (finally). Capone is very good at what he does and he is slowly starting to accept Delilah’s abilities to contribute useful suppositions and knack for information gathering. The evolving relationship of these two adds to the enjoyment of the series and you don’t have to start with the first book to get a good glimpse as to how far they have come in their abilities to work together while also accepting the attraction that they have for each other. 

The additional characters are live well blended flavors that enhance the stories. Rabbit represents change and second chances. Melody is the girl next door who is learning to be bold. KDKDK is a man’s man and a bit of charmer but completely loyal and sincere. Sonya is a modern day pin up girl who is a ride or die friend. I could see her being the type of friend who would bail you out or possibly help you hide a body. Last but not least is Aunt Biz who has a tendency to be a little curmudgeonly but during the holiday season she has gone manic in a very happy holiday fashion.   

Delilah is going to need a holiday miracle to keep from losing family, friends, or her sanity. There are a good number of suspects, from the well-to-do Hoffman’s, Jonathan, Piper, Rabbit, or an unknown person. Either way Dee would much rather be the one looking into her family than to have Capone thinking that her friends or family could be involved. There is some serious friction and I had to agree Butterball the cat; Capone had a job to do. Butterball adds a bit of comedic relief as well as playing devil’s advocate which is pretty good for a cat. There are plenty of subplots that may or intertwine or they might be a fishy misdirection. This was a thoroughly enjoyable story with such amazing food. Be sure to check out the recipes at the back of the book. In fact start there with the Tear-and-Share Christmas Tree Pizza Bread to snack on while reading. There is a nice selection of yummy recipes that are taken from the Chrismakkah party menu. I am looking forward the next mystery with the Delilah and Son’s gang, although chances are that Biz will be back to her usual snarky self, but we still love her.

Death at an Irish Wedding : An Irish Castle Mystery by Ellie Brannigan

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.

Death at an Irish Wedding
An Irish Castle Mystery
Ellie Brannigan
Crooked Lane Books 

This is the second book in the Irish Castle Mystery series and every bit as enjoyable as the series starter. I have read mysteries with wedding drama, or upper crust drama, or Hollywood drama, but this is the first time that I have seen all three wrapped up in a single book. This is book two of the Irish Castle Mysteries and the cousins Rayne and Ciara need to make the wedding venue idea work or lose the family estate, which means the town gets annexed into the next town over. A unique aspect of this story is that Rayne is an amazing wedding dress designer who’s boutique catered to the Rodeo Drive crowd until…(read Murder at an Irish Castle). Suffice it to say that she knows a few things about fancy‑shmancy and all things designer, but a working castle with sheep and such, well that is another thing all together. The funny bit about this situation is that Ciara knows the workings of the castle and taking care of what needs to be done but she is as fancy as a bowl of porridge. This is a wedding for the tabloids, that is, it would be if anyone knew it was taking place. Why all the secrecy? 

There are some unique characters for suspects including the bride, hotel heiress Tori Montgomery, who doesn’t really seem to like her own movie starlet maid-of- honor, Amy Flores. Animosity amongst the players seems par for course because Amy barely tolerates her own PA (personal assistant), Tiffany Quick. The groom, Hollywood heartthrob, Jake Anderson gets along with everyone, but his brother Josh can be a bit much sometimes and to round out the out of town suspects is Jake’s personal assistant, Ethan Cruz, who keeps reminding Jake that he is supposed to appear available per his Hollywood contract. So why did Tiffany and up dead and could it have been a local? The visitors seem to be completely at odds with each other. Not unlike Rayne being at odds with a few of the locals, like Bran Wilson, plumbing contractor for the estate has been spreading some nasty gossip about the estate and the murder for no good reason, as if he wants to sabotage the girls’ efforts. Gossip doesn’t seem to be the only form of sabotage, when a Swarovski crystal heart disappears from Tori’s wedding dress and Rayne has to do some quick thinking and fast stitching to save the day. 

The plot was so well crafted that I couldn’t put the book down. From the Irish accents of my imagination to the description of the beyond amazing wedding dress with hand adorned Swarovski crystal hearts that almost didn’t fit the bride, I felt completely immersed in the story. I am already invested in Rayne’s possible relationship with Amos Lowell, the ground’s manager. Rayne says she doesn’t have time for a relationship and is not about to start trusting herself after her last relationship fiasco. I look forward to the next book and to see what Ellie Brannigan has in store for the cousins and if Rayne is going to get to keep the pretty pink Hermes bag instead of selling it to cover estate costs.

Rocking Around the Chickadee : A Meg Langslow Mystery by Donna Andrews

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.

Rocking Around the Chickadee
A Meg Langslow Mystery
Donna Andrews
Minotaur 

Meet Meg Langslow, lady blacksmith, mother of twin preteens, wife to a drama professor (as in acting not the other sort of drama), assistant to the mayor of Caerphilly, and sometime sleuth. It is Christmas time in Caerphilly and Meg’s grandmother, Cordelia, has organized the Presumed Innocent conference for exonerates and family members of those in jail who may not belong there. This time of the year might seem like an odd time to host an event but it is the season of hope, joy, and love; and isn’t that what exonerates and the wrongly prosecuted are looking for? They certainly aren’t looking for Godfrey Norton, podcaster on a mission to make sure no one ever gets out of jail/prison regardless of innocence. The Gadfly, as Jamie and Josh, Meg’s tween twin sons refer to the contrarian podcaster, most likely registered under an alias so that he stir up trouble and harass the attendees. Thank goodness that Meg is good at heading off problems; she has past experience dealing with sticky situations including murder. So when the Gadfly turns up dead, behind the barn at Meg’s house, she does what she does best, help the Chief to figure out who did it, how they did it, and why they did it. 

 Meg is unlike most amateur sleuths in that she actually stays in her own lane but still manages to get the answers that are needed and she usually manages to do it without putting herself in danger. She is also the most organized amateur sleuth thanks to her notebook that “reminders her when to breath.” Oh and there is the amazing family network that I would LOVE to be adopted into because the Hollingsworths are that amazing and/or entertaining. 

As far as this mystery goes, the suspects are interesting, the victim is over the top obnoxious, the sheriff is meticulous, the twins are helpful, Delaney is about to burst, Kevin is a little smitten, and Meg has everything under control. This is a great series because not only does it entertain and often educate, but it is so good on a book by book basis that you can read them as a stand-alone but you really should take some time to check out the earlier 36 novels.

A Slay Ride Together With You : A Year-Round Christmas Mystery by Vicki Delaney

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.

 

A SlayRide Together With You
Year-Round Christmas Mysteries
Vicki Delaney

This is book number 7 in the Year-Round Christmas Mystery series. Merry Wilkinson finds herself sleuthing a mystery with Halloween vibes during the Easter season in the Christmas themed town of Rudolph New York. Not to worry, you do not have to be familiar with the series to be able to enjoy the story.

Merry’s BFF is Vicky Casey, a very gifted baker who is engaged to be married to an equally gifted chef named Mark Grosse, and together they purchased the fixer-upper known as the Cole House. Apparently the word around town is that Vicky and Mark must have lost their minds because the place has a sad and possibly cursed history. Not to worry the backstory for the Cole house is included in fact there is plenty of backstory regarding all of the characters to keep you in the loop. In addition to backstory there are some great interactions between characters. There are some truly interesting characters such as Merry’s parents. Her mom, Aline Steiner Wilkinson, is a real diva as in opera diva and a little bit of a regular diva. Noel Wilkinson, her dad, is the official town Santa Clause, complete with real beard and the jolly disposition. Merry takes after her dad a bit more than her mom, which is probably why everyone in town thinks that Merry’s store assistant, Jackie O’Reilly is indulged to the point that she gets delusions of grandeur. In Jackie’s defense, Merry is often running off to ask questions and hunt for clues instead of managing Mrs. Claus’s Treasurers. If it wasn’t for Merry, we the readers would not get to armchair sleuth.

Ms. Delaney does a great job of keeping the reader intrigued and turning pages while trying to reason out who could have killed the sue‑happy and obnoxious Jim Cole, cousin to the former owner of the Cole house. Instead of being able to challenge the will for ownership of the really run down house, he got blunt force trauma. Suspects include Jim’s own daughter whom he had nothing to do with since she was little and he left her mother. There is also an additional ex-wife and a current girlfriend, both of whom are “distraught” that such a financially well off and loving man has been murdered. The only reason Merry is involved is because Mark has a little bit of a temper and was the unfortunate person who found the body.   

The story moved at a good pace and the red herrings were well thought. I was able to figure out the “who” but not the “why.” I also enjoyed the little something extra that both Aline and Jackie add to the story. It might not be Christmas time but this was a great cozy for a year round Christmas town. Be sure to check out the recipes at the end of the story. I am adding the Coconut Sugar Cookies to my holiday baking list. The cookies are both easy to make and tasty to eat.   

A Limited Edition Murder : A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery by Lauren Elliott

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing. 

A Limited Edition Murder
A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery
Lauren Elliot
Kensington

Book number 10 of the Beyond the Page Bookstore series finds main character, Addie Greyborne, in    England, which is not her usual locale. On top of that this is a story within a story and the perfect way for Addie to get herself back into the swing of things. In fact this one reminded me of the Addie at the start of the series. If you haven’t “met” Addie, you should know that she is fiercely loyal and will not back down to anyone, yes that includes Detective Inspectors. She never backed down to the police back in Greyborne Harbor, so she sure isn’t going to start now just because she is on hiatus across the pond.  Speaking of Addie’s hiatus location, Moorscrag, West Yorkshire, is a wonderful place to get away from the crazy (see Dedication to Murder) by taking a month or two or twelve to get perspective and re‑center one’s self.  Addie does miss her besties and her beloved bookstore.

The vacation or escape as some might call it is a great distraction. Working for Mr. Pressman at the Second Chance Books and Bindery book store is a great distraction. The mystery of the long lost Bronte book/engagement gift/recovery is a great distraction. Finding a body that is missing a priceless necklace is a great distraction. Addie might be in England and the land of Sherlock Holmes but I got the feeling that she was channeling some Poirot and was making good use of those little grey cells. As I said, this is a story with a story because there are multiple threads running through this story with the reappearance of Lord Bentley’s missing first and quite limited edition of Wuthering Heights. So we have a story from the past that intersects with a murder in the present. Addie is on the hunt for clues and while he might not like it, DI Noah Parker has to respect Addie’s ability to find those crumbs that turn into clues. Addie just has a way about her that gets people to open up. It might also help that she is not a copper. Addie swears that she is just looking into what happened to the book from the past and how it ended up in a thrift store.  

Addie is the sort of character that you find yourself drawn to. Her emotions are almost palpable and will have you tearing up, laughing out loud, rolling your eyes, audibly sighing, and turning page after page. The interactions of the characters are natural and the story flows even with the backstory and interwoven subplots. I did not figure out the whole mystery but I was able to dodge a few of the red herrings to figure out who the culprit was. A Limited Edition was a great next chapter but the ending has me apprehensive, Lauren Elliott sure does a great job leaving us wanting more. She also left me wanting lemon tea cakes after Addie and Paige met with Mrs. Fenton for tea and clues so I looked up a recipe and made some.

Madrigals and Mayhem : The Cambridge Bookshop by Elizabeth Penney

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing. 

Madrigals and Mayhem
Cambridge Bookshop
Elizabeth Penney
Minotaur Books

Book four of the Cambridge Bookshop series starts out with Molly Kimball decorating the Thomas Marlowe – Manuscripts and Folios bookstore for the Christmas holiday. Taking her inspiration from the dollhouse at the Pemberly Toy Shop down the street, Molly makes a display of dollhouse related books. Dolls figure prominently in this cozy mystery, from a VERY rare Madame Alexander to the story book, Charlotte’s Dollhouse, which we get to read right along with Molly. Interestingly enough, Charlotte is the name of the girl who has inherited the Pemberly Toy Shop. Not only did Charlotte’s grandad leave Charlotte the shop but also a scavenger hunt that is supposed to lead to the rare Madame Alexander doll. In addition to the scavenger hunt there are a few poisonings, some toxic relationships, an engagement, a Madrigal song experience, a little mayhem, and a happy ending. 

Molly is an American of many talents who has joined her English mom and great aunt in running the family bookstore located in Cambridge, England. Things to know about Molly, she can research books and help run the family bookstore, she can think fast on her feet especially when asking tricky questions, and she apparently she can sing quite well. Molly is also a fast friend as demonstrated by her desire to help Charlotte not even an hour after meeting her. Poor Molly has a broad of vipers for a family, well a stepfamily of vipers, and they aren’t even that nice to each other. 

Elizabeth Penney has done a superb job of creating such unlikeable people that you instantly empathize with Charlotte and can’t wait to see how Molly will get to the bottom of the shenanigans. Shenanigans that include break-ins and messing with the toy store dollhouse. Molly knows that Detective Inspector Sean Ryan is more than capable of hunting down the clues and getting the bad guy, but Molly can’t help it if she seems to always be in the right place at the right time. Molly has the ability to pay close attention and she notices things, things that most people don’t notice. It is this attention to detail that has helped Molly in the past (I can attest to how enjoyable the previous books are) to solve more than one mystery.

Between the hidden doll mystery and the murder mystery you can’t help but to keep turning the pages of this holiday who-done-it that takes place in this picturesque English town. The clues are well laid out and the misdirection had me second and third guessing. The only thing missing is the recipe for Daisy’s cranberry white chocolate scone.