By Christin Brecher
Published by Kensington Publishing
Excellent start to a new series! I enjoy reading about small business sleuths. The New England whale oil history was interesting as well. The idea of a personal scent for a wedding is a novel idea and if I would have known I would have been sure to have my unity candle crafted by someone as talented as Stella Wright. of Wick & Flame. This story is full of twists and turns as Stella vows to get to the bottom of the mystery in order to save her fledgling business and clear family friend Bill Duffy. Who would use a wedding candle to bludgeon a man to death? Needless to say, in a town the size of Nantucket Island, word gets out fast and that word is murder by unity candle. Stella is on the trail of the killer as she eliminates suspects and manages to get a couple of dates with the new reporter Peter Bailey who is hot on the trail of story. Of course those dates have included climbing trees, following leads, and small picnic snacks. I think that this storyline is the beginning of a great series and I am ready for the next book I also enjoyed reading the note regarding Candles 101 workshop notes at the end of the book.
By Lea Wait
Published by Kensington Books
Haven Harbor, a quaint new Englad town with quaint new Englanders. At least most of them are quaint and one of them is a murderer. Ike, a native Mainer and a son of Haven Harbor has been taking care of himself as long g as people can remember. He keeps to himself, collecting bottles to recycle and living in his family's garage. Not everyone appreciates Ike, and while the "chambers" are out to relocate him to a home, someone decides to remove him altogether. The least likely suspect, a young boy whom Ike has taken under his wing, offering shelter and shared bottle duties, is under suspicion for Ike's murder. As Angie starts looking for answers, she and Dave (local school teacher and willing foster parent) retrace Ike's route and routine, it becomes apparent that Ike saw everything and was outspoken, however he also didn't always see the whole story so did he see something he shouldn't have? This was a very good story with a plot that moved at a good pace and who wouldn't like a story with recipes included. Such excellent recipes that I am inspired to make lobster chowder on our next cold weather day.
By Cheryl Hollon
Published by Kensington Books
Newlywed Nicole Borawski, assistant manager of the Queen's Head pub was an angel to those less fortunate. So why was she run down in the road right outside of Webb's Glass Shop? Savannah's apprentice Jacob is the only witness and he is so traumatized by it that his autism has made him mute as a coping mechanism. Savannah asks a couple of questions and manages to make a connection between Nicole and a street artist named SNARK. Savannah is brought on as a consultant with local law enforcement giving her a little more credibility but an investigation is the last thing she needs between Edwards's Best Burger in the Berg contest compounded with his grief cooking (some recipes are not such a good idea), Amanda's Mom is in hospice, the new glass bead making class has started with a full class, Jacob's trauma, and last but not least is the fact that she needs to pick a date for her upcoming wedding to Edward. This story once again illustrates that you don't have to have relatives to have a family. Great story and kudos to the inclusion of Jacob as a main character to illustrate the challenges and successes that are possible with autism.
By Betty Hechtman
Published by Crooked Lane Books
The Tarzana Hookers spend their Tuesday and Thursday nights at Happy Hour working on their latest crochet project, at least they did until the Craftee Channel's cable talk show decides to incorporate their weekly meeting into a segment complete with TV personality and Make n Take demo project. So many moving parts for group member and bookstore event coordinator Molly Pink to take care of. Between events, the Hookers, and basic yarn department responsibilities, Molly barely has time to see her significant other, Mason Fields (middle-age relationship titles are tricky). To top it off, the last thing Molly has time for is the death of a crochet member's companion. Was the companion's death a weird accident, was she the intended victim, could the heavily medicated Marianne have set it up. This story is as complicated as a granny square but tug just enough and the whole thing comes apart. Molly is tugging and this time it is with permission of Tarzana's own man in blue (and Molly's former man), Barry who has asked her to keep her eyes and ears open for any clues. Every cozy reader knows that once you give permission to a cozy sleuth, she is knot going to stop until she figures out the pattern. I enjoyed the back and forth between Molly and Dinah as they played the "Sherlock Holmes" game. I did not guess correctly as to the culprit which makes this a very good one and it doesn't hurt that there are some sweet treat recipes at the end plus if you can read crochet there are two patterns as well.
Crafter Hooks a Killer
By Holly Quinn
Published by Crooked Lane Books
Sammy is back at it and if you read the first book you'll know that there is one really big unanswered questions regarding Kate's unfortunate and deadly accident. Was it really and accident or was the last killer trying to pull the wool over her eyes. On top of that, Craft Queen and published author, Jane Johnson; is conducting a book signing and is giving tribute to Kate and what she had created with the Craft Connection store in the next crafting book. Jane tells Sammy that she must meet with her, that something about Kate's accident wasn't accidental. Of course this is where the murderer comes in before Sammy has a chance to learn what Jane knows. Now she has two mysteries to solve, plus an old crush is back in town, and she still isn't sure about Detective Nash and his infuriating charm. This has been a great series so far, new characters are introduced in just the right way and the theory behind a craft store that is also like a community center is novel and heart warming. Definitely a page turner!
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