Rhythm and Clues: The Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke

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

Rhythm and Clues
The Record Shop Mysteries
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Olivia Blacke

Little did Juni know that by accepting free hockey tickets in a private booth that she would be getting herself involved in another murder mystery. The tickets didn’t come with strings, just a sales pitch from over aged frat boy Zach Fjord of Fjord Capital. Zack Fjord and Savannah Goodwin of Fjord Capital contact make an offer of financial backing that would take control away from the sisters, and supposedly give them peace of mind and capital for growth. Peace of mind is a great thing to have, and the sisters have worked hard to get Sip & Spin Records up and going so when the rain storm gets worse, Tansy and Juni grab Daffy the cat and sandbag the doorways to protect their product. That’s when they see car lights followed by sounds of a car crash. It starts to get really mysterious when the sisters find a crashed car with no driver and a dead Zach Fjord in the passenger seat.

Juni can’t help herself, she just feels that Savannah needs her help to find out what happened the night of the storm. There are several suspects some business and some personal. Turns out that Zach had a way with the ladies but not so much way with the finances. Not everyone was happy with their partnership arrangements with Fjord Capital. Juni does the usual poking into things when she isn’t making coffee and selling records. She ruffles feathers and asks questions that made people uneasy. Juni is a fun character to read, quick witted and with a good heart. So good that she has the attention of two men and she doesn’t want to hurt either of them. I am not a fan of the multiple suitors for the sleuth and am happy to say that Juniper makes a decision. The story kept my attention and the light-heartedness kept me chuckling. I look forward to the next trip to Cedar River, Texas and the Sip & Spin Records shop.

Crime and Cherry Pits: An Organic Cozy Mystery -Farm to Table Mysteries #4 by Amanda Flowers

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

Crime and Cherry Pits: An Organic CozyMystery
Farm to Table Mysteries #4
Amanda Flowers 

It is time for the Traverse City Cherry Festival and an opportunity for Shiloh Bellamy to show off what the Organic Bellamy Farm of Cherry Glenn has to offer. Shiloh’s incredibly talented assistant/farm director Chesney Stevens has created a booth that is sure to be memorable since it looks like a giant berry basket overflowing with cherries and stocked full of amazing cherry baked goods and soap. The other memorable thing about this festival is the death of Dane Fullbright at the cherry pit spitting contest. The death makes her cousin Stacey a prime suspect and a prime target for town gossip. 

Stacey and Shiloh are on the outs because of an inheritance issue and newly found fortune in stocks left over from book 2 (In Farm’s Way). They need each other in more ways than one if Stacey is going to get off of the suspect list under the description of “woman scorned.”    What with the very public and loud disagreement and the words “over my dead body” were heard. Stacey says she didn’t know that Dane Fullbright was married so maybe his wife had it with his philandering ways? This is borderline LA style drama, something that Shiloh is familiar with having been in Hollywood TV production. Shiloh’s dad isn’t helping things and seems to be a rather cantankerous individual who could be a bit more supportive of the hard work that Shiloh put into making the farm functional.

Shiloh has her hands full working the booth, searching for clues, asking questions, making baked goods, running errands, and keeping her eyes and ears open. Thankfully, Chesney fully supports the side sleuthing while BFF Kristy is less supportive and more worried about Shi’s safety, while the handsome and smart Sheriff Milan Penbrook knows better than to disregard Shiloh’s ability to get people to talk. Unlike Quinn Killian, EMT and almost love interest, but he can’t seem to make up his mind between the ghosts of the past and the promise of a great future which means he might have missed his chance.

 There are plenty of suspects for Shiloh to follow-up with. Was Dane murdered for tenure like his wife Lily says? Maybe he sweet talked one too many ladies since there are several who make good suspects, such as Lily his wife. He was a bit of a shyster maybe there is one or more persons mad because they were burned by a “fundraiser” he oversaw. You won’t be able to stop turning pages as Shiloh does her thing with and sometimes without back-up. 

This story has some sweet and some tart moments which make Shiloh relatable and someone whom you want to see happy and successful. I look forward to seeing what she does next and hopefully there will be some yummy cherry related recipes in the next installment.

The Grim Steeper : A Witches' Brew Mystery Book 3 by Gretchen Rue

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

The Grim Steeper
A Witches Brew Mystery #3
Gretchen Rue
Crooked Lane Books 

This time The Earl’s Study tea and bookshop has gone to the birds. Phoebe Winchester, store owner, sometime sleuth, and newish witch, is hosting bird enthusiast and author, Sebastian Marlow for one of his book tour stops.  Sebastian aka the Backyard Bird Man considered an expert birder who is easy on the eyes, has a huge announcement to make during his upcoming author event at Phoebe‘s books store.  So of course he ends up being the victim. Everyone loved Sebastian, or seemed to love him so why was he murdered? Like all good cozy sleuths, Phoebe has a need to find out the “who” and the” why.” 

I am not sure how Phoebe finds time to look for clues and ask questions. Most of her time is divided up between baking amazing sourdough bread from a homemade starter (refer to book 2 Death of a Thousand Sips), running the bookstore, (maybe) dating a dark-haired private investigator, and worrying about her magic acting wonky and unpredictable. It’s that last part, the magic acting wonky that could lead to a sticky situation, people aren’t used to seeing things floating and Phoebe’s witchy abilities are on the down low. The town has one other witch, Phoebe’s friend Honey, who can read runes but cannot offer a clear path for the mystery or guidance on what Phoebe needs to do for her magic.     

Suspects include the former manager and best friend who was “let go” the day before the group arrives at Phoebe’s place for their tour stop. Maybe it is one of Sebastian’s team, or maybe someone else altogether. Everyone seems to be up to something and Phoebe was asked by Detective Martin to keep her eyes and ears open. Good thing her long-time friend (and maybe more), Rich Lofting is a former cop and currently a very good private investigator who is willing to indulge her and conduct stakeouts. The interactions between these two are fun and adorable as they dance around the “should we take this out of the friend zone” attitudes. Rich may or may not know about Phoebe’s extra abilities, he knew her aunt Eudora, who was the subject of small town rumors about being a witch. Her teas helped a little too well, such a finding love and getting sleep. 

The plot is well constructed and the clues well placed. The red herrings make it a challenge and the character interactions keep you turning pages as well as chuckling. Being a fan of the culinary cozies I was very happy to see that there were recipes at the conclusion of the story. I had sourdough starter already going after reading book two and used it to make the blueberry lemon sourdough bread. Both the story and the sourdough were highly enjoyable and I cannot wait to see what happens next. The ending is a doozy!