Trouble is Brewing : A Tea By the Sea 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. 

Trouble is Brewing
Tea by the Sea Mystery #5
Vicki Delaney
Kensington Cozies

Book four of the tea by the sea mysteries reads like a stand-alone and set in NCNCN in a tea house with an incredible backdrop that includes a lovely BnB. The tea house is set in the sort of backdrop that would be perfect for outside events, such as weddings and bridal showers. 

The bride and groom, Hannah Hill and Greg Reynolds, are a lovely couple and the mother of the bride was a hard working single mom who is doing her best to keep the peace and support her daughter. The same can not be said of the groom's parents and sister. The Reynolds, Ralph and Sophia are snooty when it comes to Hannah and her mother Jenny. It turns out that Jenny and Ralph Reynold had been involved once upon a time before she married Max Hill and had Jenny.  It probably doesn't help that the older Mrs. Reynolds, Ralph's mother and the not too kind mother-in-law to Sophia still runs the family business or rather, she tells Ralph and Greg's brother, Ivan what to do and not in the kindest of ways. Greg's sister, Mackenzie, finds it entertaining to stir pots and add fuel to fires. No one is happy and it seems like this wedding is might not happen in spite of the very loving and lovely couple. All in all there are a lot of people who would make for great suspects. The drama is crazier than day time TV but the afternoon tea is full of sweet and savory treats expertly described. This cozy keeps you turning pages as emotions go up and down causing eye rolls, chuckles, hurrumphing, and indignation over the flirty machinations of a bridesmaid.  

As usual I enjoy the back and forth between Rose and Edna over Edna's duties as the B & B breakfast waitress, which did not include acting the maid to Rose. Equally entertaining are the hijinks that Rose and Bernie engage in while hot on the trail of they mysteries in each book. I am a little sad that it is now time for Simon to return back across the pond to England instead of staying with but I also know that Rose needs to take a trip and that Lily will be going with her. I also take consolation in the sweet treat recipe for Maple Pecan Squares that go very well with afternoon tea which I can enjoy while waiting for the next Tea by the Sea Mystery set to release later this year. 

The Nightmare Before New Year's : A Mrs. Claus Mystery by Liz Ireland

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. 

Mrs.Claus and the Nightmare Before New Years
A Mrs. Claus Mystery
Liz Ireland
Kensington Cozies

Santa aka Nick Claus is on the way to deliver happiness to the children of the world, but April is back in Santaland dealing with three humans who have wandered into the farthest frozen reaches and have to be convinced that they are in northern Canada and not the North Pole. All three are exhausted, one loses a toe and another has a reindeer's antler sticking out of his back. Off to the Santaland Hospital they go with lots of sweet snacks and limited exposure to the locals.

This is another adventure into the absurd, with elves wearing clothes from the 80s, walking in shoes without curly tips and talking with a Canadian accent, aye. The reindeer have been grounded, the snowmen are silenced, and the elves are forced to wear retro clothes. Who would have guessed that an elf would have mobility issues wearing shoes without a curly tip? The elves need to party like it's Christmas eve and April needs to catch a killer. The suspect pool is limited much like the amount of time that April has to get this mystery and others solved before Nick makes it back. What other mystery you ask? Well the Dowager Claus is feeling (down) low and has a personal nurse to help her. What exactly are they working on and where did Nurse Coco come from and why doesn't Nurse Cinnamon know who she is???  

This Mrs. Claus mystery is like all the others before it, a stand-alone crazy cozy that helps to keep spirits bright! There is plenty of back story but you really should check out the earlier books to get the full picture of Santaland and all the April experiences. 

The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime - A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany

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. 

The Incident of the Book at Night

A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

Vicki Delany
Crooked Lane Books

Book 10 of the Sherlock Homes Bookshop Mystery has Gemma and friends away from the bookshop and back across the pond for sister Pippa's nuptials. Pippa being Gemma's rather secretive and very business-like older sister who supposedly works for the Ministry or Department for Transport...sure she does. Turns out that Pippa isn't the only one with a secret, no one knew that Gemma had been previously married (GASP). The last person Gemma expected to run into at her sister’s reception was Paul Erikson, the ex-husband. The last thing Gemma expected to do while in London was to find Paul dead in the bookstore she once co-owned with him. 

Trafalgar Fine Books, the bookstore that Gemma and Paul owned together is anything but fine, and has become a shop for selling used books. So, is this how Paul found a book that was “the real deal?” That is such an enigmatic statement and sure to create curiosity. Gemma is a curious person regardless of the situation but this one does hit a little close to home. She had loved the charmer once upon a time. Paul wasn’t a bad guy, just not the right guy, so the least that Gemma can do is ask a few innocent questions. Chances are that the local authorities are busy and the information she obtains could be useful even if unwanted. Even Gemma’s boyfriend, police officer Ryan Ashburton, admits that Gemma has a talent for getting people to open up to her. The game is afoot and with Jayne Wilson, the co-owner of the Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room, as a trusted friend and sleuthing companion. In addition there is also the umbrella wielding Sherlockian, Donald Morris, to add a little muscle on clue seeking outings. Such outings take them from London to Yorkshire, from the old bookstore to tea at the Wolseley.     

Gemma has her work cut out for her since she isn’t a local any longer and hasn’t seen Paul in seven years. Suspects are varied and scarce which is both good for the plot but bad for the sleuth. It is most excellent for the reader because you are drawn into the story wondering where the next clue is going to lead Gemma. Speaking of Gemma, she is unlike any other cozy sleuth that I have come across. She has a very logical side much like the great detective. She seems to be the one person (besides Sherlock Holmes) who sees all and deducts everything, so how is it that she didn’t see what a schmuck her two-timing husband was? On the other hand, while she is still quite British with her emotions, she has warmed up a bit since the series starter and her wit is highly entertaining. This is a very good cozy that was a quick read and does well as a stand-alone, much like Ms. Delany’s Tea by the Sea series. If I am not mistaken, gardener Simon from Tea by the Sea made a cameo appearance at Garfield Hall. 

Snow Time to Die - Northwoods Mysteries Book 3 by Annie McEwan

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. 

Snow Time to Die
Northwoods Mysteries Book #3
Annie McEwen 

This is my favorite of the Northwoods Mysteries thus far. Book three is a cozy character’s nightmare and growth arc all in one. You cannot help but like our sleuth, Emmerlyn “Emmy” Cooper, she is kind, thoughtful, funny, a little sassy, and a bit of a klutz. In other words, she is completely relatable and someone that you could see having as a friend. As with many cozy characters, she didn’t truly realize her self-worth until she needed to either return home or start over somewhere new. In Emmy’s case, she came back home to Lake Covington and sort of started over in the family business, Cooper’s Cover Resort. While all of this is hashed out in the series starter, there are plenty of references in book 3 to keep the reader on the same page as the characters. 

On to the nightmare part of the mystery and no it is not the murder, it is an encounter with the childhood nemesis Vanessa Vernor, and her over the top childish comments and entitled attitude. The tête-à-tête is followed by an encounter with Gwenda Caperwell, the woman who fired Emmy from Trent Architecture and Design just 9 months prior and led to Emmy returning to Lake Covington and truly living her best life. But wait the nightmare gets even scarier. Both viper like women end up getting snowed in at Emmy’s family resort and then Gwenda is found dead...by Emmy.    

 It will quickly become obvious that Gwenda has not made many friends in her life and she seemed determined to chastise, harangue, and otherwise belittle as many people as possible, which means there are plenty of suspects right there at the scene of the crime, and I don’t mean Emmy. There is the recently divorced husband, the old college boyfriend she dumped for said ex-husband, the college girlfriend of the ex-husband, a professional adversary who is also her sister-in-law, and the poor assistant who is at her beck and call and the brunt of Gwenda’s bad moods. With all of those suspects snowed in at the resort, of course Emmy is going to get herself involved, she cannot help her curious nature. Fortunately, her cop boyfriend Dean Erickson is understanding, her best friend Whitney is able to be brought up by snow mobile to help with cooking and clue finding, plus there is the undercover Addy who is more than capable of handling herself.

 This mystery does a great job holding your attention as you find yourself turning page after page and snickering at Emmy’s creative cozy style cursing. There is even some sighing over how cute DKDK and Emmy are together, just the right amount of romance and fun. I kept guessing but did not completely get it until Ms. McEwen was ready to have Emmy lead me to the solution. An excellent cozy and I look forward to my next visit to Cooper’s Cove.  

Gingerbread Danger : An Amish Candy Shop Mystery by Amanda Flowers

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. 

Gingerbread Danger
An Amish Candy Mystery
Amanda Flowers
Kensington

After reading this one I am never going to look at the board game Candyland quite the same again. Margo Rawlings has come up with yet another amazing idea for increasing tourism in the town of Harvest. Bailey King has a successful candy factory business that works hand in hand with the family Amish sweets shop. It is a busy time for Bailey between the grand-opening, wedding plans with Sheriff Aiden, parents coming from out of town, and Amish targeted burglaries. What appeared to be an unfortunate work related accident turns out to be more nefarious.

Bailey has come a long way since book one when she moved to Harvest from New York, stepped up to help with her Amish grandparents’ sweet shop, was willing to turn her back on a New York uptown chocolatier position, and found herself getting involved in multiple murder mysteries. Bailey’s family ties, with one foot in the Amish community and one in the “English” aka non-Amish make it easier for her to get answers to questions as the Amish feel more comfortable talking to her than with the police. As with the last eight in the series, Bailey cannot not get involved and thankfully her fiancé Aiden is well aware and just requests that she be careful. Believe it or not, suspects are few because the Amish are not known for violence and Zeph seemed like an unassuming young man who was still trying to figure out his place in world and the Amish community. Zeph's sister Lida has no idea who or why, but there are rumblings in the community about nefarious deeds and past problems. You find yourself drawn into the investigation with Bailey as she tries to figure out who had it in for Zeph and why does everyone want to blame Bailey for his "fall" off of the roof. 

On top of all the work needed to keep the Candyland event stocked and the usual holiday shoppers, Bailey welcomes her parents for a visit to town but starts to dread the visit when her mom hires Hampton the wedding planner, an especially odd man who seems way to invested. How is Bailey going to keep things sweet while sifting through clues that are leaving her sour. Baily has a quick mind and good heart. Thank goodness for the hijinks of Jethro the pig to keep it light hearted. Just imagine a pig coated in taffy, too bad it wasn't fudge, something much easier to clean up. Speaking of fudge, there is a wonderfully easy recipe for gingerbread fudge found at the conclusion of the mystery.       

 

You Feta Watch Out : Grilled Cheese Mysteries by Linda Reilly

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.

You Feta Watch Out
Grilled Cheese Mystery
Linda Reilly
Beyond the Page Publishing
 

Book five of the Grilled Cheese Mystery series takes place at Christmas time and the Flinthead Opera House is hosting a production of Dickins’ ”A Christmas Carol.” The actor, Prescott Lennon, who was playing Marley is more of a Scrooge than Scrooge making it no surprise when he doesn’t make it to opening night. No one is really sure why Hannah Collier, the director, gave him the part since he wasn’t that good as an actor and he was a menace as a person.

There are plenty of suspects to choose from, starting with the widow, Honey, who was referred to as Honey Lemon by various cast members because of her sour personality. The understudy, Malachy Foster, has so much more talent than Lennon and he has big time acting aspirations. The makeup girl, Ashley Blanchard, may have been hit on by Lennon or just treated very poorly, and Jess aka Mrs. Fezziwig was definitely deflecting unwanted and outrageous overtures from Lennon. Lennon was a bit of a leach and a lot of a hack.  

Carly doesn’t take sleuthing lightly and is bound and determined to find out the facts but sometimes she oversteps or asks questions of the wrong people which can have negative results. It is refreshing to see a character who stops for a moment to think about what asking those pesky personal questions might mean for the person being asked.

In addition to suspects and holiday splendor, there are some amazing sandwiches that pair well with tomato soup. While I can’t imagine what a Fruitcake Brie cheese sandwich aka Scrooge’s Redemption would taste like, I enjoy making and trying Grant’s Festive Feta Appetizers.