In the Blink of a Pie (Maple Syrup Mysteries Book # 3) by Catherine Bruns

USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns is back with the third installment in the "delightfully sweet" Maple Syrup Mysteries, transporting readers back to the cozy town of Sugar Ridge, Vermont, where things are bound to go from sweet, to sour.

Sometimes, there's no one you can crust...

It's Thanksgiving in Sugar Ridge, Vermont, and Leila Khoury, manager of Sappy Endings Farm, is ready to usher in the holiday season by hosting a pie-baking contest. The day is meticulously planned, from the judging panel to the maple lattes, and Leila can't wait for the entire town to enjoy some sweet treats.

But when a neighbor drops dead from sampling a poisoned pumpkin pie, it's not just Leila's perfect day that's in jeopardy—her livelihood is now at stake. And after yet another near-fatal incident, she realizes an even more terrifying the killer wasn't targeting her neighbor, but someone even closer to home! 

Can Leila figure out who's behind the murder, before the dough hits the fan?

Includes delicious holiday pie recipes!   (Summary via Goodreads)

In the Blink of a Pie by Catherine Bruns is the third book in her Maple Syrup Mystery series and I hope you are a fan .... if not, you will become one after you read what I have to say .... I hope.

In In the Blink of a Pie Sappy Endings is gearing up for one of their busiest times of the year.  And to kick off the big Thanksgiving holiday, they have decided to have a pie contest.  And the rules are that the pies have to be homemade and they have to include maple syrup in the recipe.  

Main character Leila Khoury took over the family business, Sappy Endings, when her father died.  She returned home to Sugar Ridge Vermont from Florida and is now running the business with her boyfriend Noah and her mother. 

Unfortunately before the contest kicks off Leila has to run up to the main building and when she gets back her nosy neighbor Margaret Middleton has decided that she is going to be a judge and takes a bite of one of the pies.  A few minutes later she collapses and is taken to the hospital.  Sadly she does not make it and it is discovered that the pie that she tasted was poisoned.

So was someone targeted or is there a crazy person who takes joy in killing anyone ??  Well, Leila is going to find out with her trusty best friend Heather helping.  

Lelia has been able to solve a few murders in the past, with her father's being the first, but this may be more that she can handle .... but she is not going to let anything stop her when Sappy Endings is taking the hit for it with sales down drastically.  She will do anything to save her family's business and not let her father's dream end.

I cannot say enough about this series.  It is set in beautiful Vermont at a maple syrup business with some great people running it.  The town is nice and most of the residents are friendly and you will want to go visit and enjoy the day !!  

Isabella at the Pond (Summer at Mistletoe Inn vol. 1) by Margaret Evans with Julie Hatton (translator)

When Laura Keene and her husband Connor Fitzpatrick are invited to spend a summertime holiday at Mistletoe Inn with the Kovacs brothers, they expect to help with kitchen renovations. But what they find is more mysteries surrounding the fourth brother, Joe Kovacs, when his cousin Esther goes missing, and they discover a mysterious set of brass keys with nothing to open. Of course, Laura’s cat, Empress Isabella, hops a ride-along and has other plans for them all. Don’t miss her antics as she helps to unravel the mysteries with a big white rabbit!  (Summary via Goodreads)

Whenever you start reading a book with Empress Isabella in it, you know you are in for a crazy ride and a delightful treat and in this latest novella, Isabella at the Pond, she is being helped by Whiskers, a fun loving rabbit.  Author Margaret Evans knows how to pack a lot into these novellas so readers feel like they are reading a normal sized book.

Evans has written novellas with Empress Isabella helping her human, Laura Keene Fitzpatrick, with only Laura being the one who can see the cat.  But as time passed and things happened like Laura marrying Connor and they have become very close with the Kovac brothers, Empress Isabella has begun to show herself to them.

And in Isabella at the Pond not only does Empress Isabella show herself but now her friend Whiskers, the rabbit, is there to lend a hand.  

In this latest novella Laura and Connor are again joining the Kovac brothers at their old family house, Mistletoe Inn, to get to know the fourth brother they just found out about, Joe.  So instead of it being the Kovac triplets, it is the Kovac quadruplets and they all could not be happier !!  Unfortunately Joe finds out that his cousin Esther, who is supposed to be joining them all at the Inn, did not make her flight and it looks like she vanished in thin air ..... but Empress Isabella and Whiskers are on the case ..... 

There is so much that I am not telling readers so that they will go and grab their copy of this fun novella.  There is so much to love, so much to make readers turn the pages quickly and so much to make readers long for more .... which I hope Evans hurries up and writes more !!

Mingling with Murder (A Merry Wrath Mystery Book # 32) by Leslie Langtry

From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a mingle turned murder...

Welcome to Mingle, Iowa—We’re Putting Our Past Behind Us!

Merry Wrath, ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader, is accompanying thirteen year olds Mayor Ava, Betty, Lauren, and Inez from her troop to the regional conference for small town mayors. Mingle, Iowa, the home of the Mayor Mingle conference, is famous for a major scandal in the 1980s that no one seems to remember, even though the current mayor does everything in his power to keep them from forgetting!

Have dinner at the Nothing to See Here Restaurant! Relax at the It Didn’t Quite Happen That Way Bar!

Merry is excited that her husband and detective, Rex, is getting an award for having a 100% murder solve rate! But she's concerned that Ava's presenting The Most Murdery Town—How To Utilize Your Town’s Biggest Assets! Not to be outdone, Ava's right hand henchgirl, Betty, is presenting on How to Bend City Hall to Your Will & Everything I Learned From Huey Long. Merry’s hoping she can sit in on the sessions to jump in when things most likely go awry (as they often do).

We hope you survive—er, enjoy your stay!

Unfortunately, things go very awry when one of the mayors is murdered. But who did it? Was it the mayor from the town famous for its termite infestation? Could it be the snooty mayor who descended from her town’s founders? Or the mayor who always dresses like an ear of corn? How about the mayor from the lobster capital of Iowa? Or the mayor who is an actual pig? It doesn’t help that the victim's dying wish was for Rex to solve this case before the conference ends despite it being out of his jurisdiction! Can Merry and Rex solve this crime in time—or is Mingle destined to have the stain of a new scandal on their Welcome To billboard?

What critics are saying about Leslie Langtry's

"I laughed so hard I cried on multiple occasions! Girl Scouts, the CIA, and the Yakuza... what could possibly go wrong?"
~ Fresh Fiction

"Darkly funny and wildly over the top, this mystery answers the burning question, 'Do assassin skills and Girl Scout merit badges mix…?'"
~ RT BOOKreviews

"Mixing a deadly sense of humor and plenty of sexy sizzle, Leslie Langtry creates a brilliantly original, laughter-rich mix of contemporary romance and suspense."
~ Chicago Tribune

"Langtry gets the fun started from page one."
~ Publisher's Weekly  (Summary via Goodreads)

With Mingling with Murder being the thirty-second book in the Merry Wrath Mystery series by Leslie Langtry I don't think readers need any encouragement to read these books.  I would have to think and believe that there is already a huge fan base for this series ..... but just in case there are still some cozy mystery readers out there that are not familiar with this series and are looking for something new to read, here you go !!

Unfortunately I, myself, have only read a few books in this series but as soon as I opened up Mingling with Murder and started reading I was hooked !!  This series is a HOOT !!!  Besides there being a murder to solve, the characters and the towns are so much fun !!

In Mingling with Murder main character Merry Wrath is tagging along to the annual Mayor Mingle.  Her husband, Detective Rex Ferguson is receving an award for 100% solve rate on cases in their hometown Who's There in Iowa.  Also attending the Mayor Mingle is their mayor, thirteen year old Ava and her three friends of the same age.

Unfortunately on the early in the conference during dinner, the Mayor of Mingle, Mayor Michael, gets sick and ends up in the hospital.  It is soon learned that he was poisoned and before he died, he wrote a note to Rex to solve this !!  Even though it isn't his jurisdiction, he feels he should investigate.  So he works along side Detective Bill Upton from Mingle while Merry gets to know his sister, Mary, and finds out they have a lot in common.

Also Merry has to keep her eye on her young mayor and friends as they are acting strange .... well stranger than normal.

Readers cannot help but become fans of this series.  It is such a unique series with so many different things for readers to love.  I wish I had started with the first book but am glad that I was able to read the ones I did.

Death at a Scottish Christmas (A Scottish Isle Mystery Book # 3) by Lucy Connelly

Merriment, mistletoe, and murder await in the third installment of the Scottish Isle mystery series, perfect for fans of Sheila Connolly and Joanne Fluke.

Sea Isle, Scotland, is magical during the holiday season, and Dr. Emilia McRoy can’t wait to enjoy everything her village has to offer. But when the lead singer of a famous band is murdered in the village, just as they were about to launch a world tour, her holiday instantly comes to a halt. 

As the band’s future hangs in the balance, Emilia discovers that the victim was working on new music that has since disappeared. Were these new lyrics worth killing for? And if so, who is the culprit? It seems more than one person wanted this music star dead. Shockingly, beloved constable Ewan Campbell becomes the prime suspect in the investigation, putting a damper on the town’s festivities.

With an ever-growing list of suspects, Emilia will need all the help she can get to figure out who is framing poor Ewan. Between a secret Santa that wants her dead, stalkers, and killer holiday celebrations, Emilia must see the devil in the details and discover the truth before it’s too late. (Summary via Goodreads)

Reading Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly will definitely put you in the Christmas mood ... even though there is a murder and a murderer on the loose you cannot help but feel Christmas-y.

Death at a Scottish Christmas is the third book in Connelly's Scottish Isle Mystery series and you will fall for the little Scottish town immediately.  And with it having to do with Christmas you will fall in love even more.

Okay maybe I should talk about the murder seeing as this is a cozy mystery story ....  The little town of Sea Isle is decked out for the holidays and the residents are excited because a few of their own are coming back to town to perform with their band.  The band Bram and the Stokers are getting ready to take their band to the States and wanted to play on home turf once more and perform a few new songs to see how it went.

The night was spectacular, more that anyone would have thought.  Unfortunately the next morning when main character Dr. Emilia McRoy is on her way to breakfast, she finds Bram sitting by himself on the beach.  And when she goes to talk to him, she finds out he is dead !!  And sadly the constable, Ewan, Campbell, is on the suspect list as he and Bram have bad history.

Emilia is suppose to be on vacation until after the holidays but as one of her duties is coroner, she has to see to Bram's autopsy.  Plus she always wants to get answers and when she discovers that Bram was murdered, she jumps right into the case. 

Luckily for Emilia she has a great assistant and friends and they all help her anyway that they can and she will need it with this case.  And Ewan isn't happy when Detective Inspector Bethany Thomson shows up to also work the case .... which means she is looking at Ewan as a worthy suspect.  Now Emilia needs to work on the case because she knows he would never hurt another person, especially when the history is as ancient as his and Brams was.

Readers will love this series and if you haven't read any of the books in this series, you have time to catch up.  Once you open one of these books, you will find it almost impossible to put it down.

Gathering Mist ( Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Book # 9 ) by Margaret Mizushima

Secrets hide within the fog deep in the mossy forests of the Pacific Northwest, in this ninth thrilling installment in award-winning author Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series. 

Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is summoned to Washington’s Olympic peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity’s missing child. With only a week left before her wedding, Mattie is hesitant to leave Timber Creek, but her K-9 partner Robo’s tracking skills are needed.

Dense forest, chilling rain, and unfriendly locals hamper their efforts, and soon Mattie suspects something more sinister than a lost child is at play.  When one of the SAR dogs becomes ill, her fiancé Cole Walker suspects poison. Fearing for Mattie’s and Robo’s safety, Cole joins the search and rescue team as veterinary support.

Secrets that have lain hidden within the rugged terrain come to light and when it is uncovered that the missing child was kidnapped, the search becomes a full-blown crime scene investigation, forcing Mattie, Robo, and Cole into a desperate search to find the missing child before it's too late. (Summary via Goodreads)

Before I get into talking about my thoughts on the latest Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima, Gathering Mist, I really want to talk about the cover of this book.  This cover really captures the essence of the story and just by looking at the cover as you read this amazing story, you will actually FEEL the story through the cover.

In Gathering Mist main character Deputy Mattie Wray is about the marry her boyfriend, veterinarian Cole Walker, and become a family with him and his two daughters.  Unfortunately before they do that Mattie is called away to the site where a movie is fiming in the middle of the forest in Washington.  River the nine year old son of the main actress, Chrystal Winters, appears to have wondered off site and cannot be located.  They are requesting top K-9 search and rescue dogs to join in the search.  And Mattie's dog Robo is the best of the best.

But when another SAR dog becomes ill, Cole is brought in in case it was something serious.  He joins in the search and helps in anyway that he can.  Unfortunately they are up against harsh rain and cold temperatures and the searching is goinig slow with no signs of River. 

Readers will be so engrossed in the story that you will feel like you are getting wet from the rain and feel the chill in the air.  You will want to help Mattie and Robo find River safe and sound so that her and Cole can head back to Denver and get married and start their new lives together .... but you know that finding River alive is the only thing on their minds.