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.

The Grim Steeper (Witches' Brew Mystery Book # 3) by Gretchen Rue

Bookstore owner Phoebe Winchester is putting on her first major author event when a body is discovered and the plot goes off the rails in this cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle and Jenn McKinlay.

Amateur witch Phoebe Winchester is excited to host her first big author event at the Earl’s Study, her book and tea store. The author, Sebastian Marlow, is a famous birder excited to put Raven Creek on the map for his rediscovery of a presumed-extinct bird. When Sebastian is found dead before his planned bird hike, where he expected to prove the existence of the bird to fellow birding enthusiasts, it’s obvious someone wanted him to be extinct, too.

Sebastian had a few unfriendly encounters with his staff—including his recently fired manager, who was seen arguing with him at the author event. Phoebe is determined to figure out who killed Sebastian, worried that it will negatively affect her store’s image that her biggest guest author got killed. With the clock ticking, she enlists the help of Rich Lofting, the handsome local private investigator, to help her look into the murder.

It’s not long before another victim is pecked off and someone close to Phoebe is the suspect. She’ll have to work quickly to uncover the killer and figure out who’s up to fowl play in the third charming book in this warm and witchy series.  (Summary via Goodreads)

The Witches' Brew Mystery series is such a fun series !!  And with The Grim Steeper being the third book in the series, if you haven't read any, you will be caught up in no time !!!

In The Witches' Brew Mystery series main character Phoebe Winchester has moved to Raven Creek after her aunt passed away leaving Phoebe her home, store and practically the entire town ... but she didn't tell her that she had been a witch and that Phoebe herself could possess the same qualities.

Now in The Grim Steeper while Phoebe is still trying to wrap her head around being a witch, because now she has experienced things and has been able to get help from another witch in town, she is gearing up for a big event in the Earl's Study.  The Earl's Study is the book and tea store her aunt left her and she is finally feeling like she belongs and is happy to be doing more within the town.

Luckily the book signing for Sebastian Marlow at the Earl's Study goes remarkably well but when Phoebe is on her way to the site where they are suppose to meet the next day for the nature hike with Sebastian, she notices police activity at the B & B where Sebastian and his group are staying.  Phoebe stops and finds out that Sebastian is dead and was murdered !!

Phoebe cannot help but feel like it is her fault that he is dead seeing as she is the reason he came to town.  So Phoebe decides to look into his death and who better that her old friend and possibly future boyfriend Rich to assist.  

But before they can figure anything out there is another murder, another visitor in town, but not with Sebastian and his group, and two of Sebastian's group are missing !!!  And another childhood friend, Leo, is taken in for questioning.  This seems like too much for Phoebe to handle and when some of her magical abilities show up unexpectantly, she has more important things to focus on .... or does she ??

There is so much more that I could tell you but I really don't want to give anything away and I really want you to be as surprised and excited as I was when I was reading The Grim Steeper.  I honestly think readers will enjoy this cozy series and having a witch as the main character really enhances the story and seeing Phoebe try to navigate her powers will put a smile on your face as you imagine the scenes.

Killer Under Contract (Cindy York Mystery Book #6) by Catherine Bruns

There's no such thing as the perfect house when karma comes to call...

With the real estate world thriving and her daughter’s wedding around the corner, Cindy York is busier than ever. The bridal couple is searching for the home of their dreams and she's only too happy to help it become a reality.

When her daughter locates a house she wants to buy, Cindy is less than thrilled to discover that the listing agent is Hillary Ryder, a condescending snob who once dated Cindy's husband before they were married. For her daughter's sake, she decides to cooperate. But when Cindy arrives for the listing appointment and finds Hillary's lifeless body, she realizes her troubles are just beginning.

Cindy doesn’t want to get involved in another murder investigation, but it soon becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want this house to sell. What kind of secrets are lurking inside? Cindy is determined to close this deal, but she might die trying.  (Summary via Goodreads)

One thing that I love when reading books in a series is how easily you glide into the story.  As soon as you start reading a book in the series, you get the feeling like you are home and with the people you love.  That is how I feel when I start reading a book in the Cindy York Mystery series by Catherine Bruns.  Killer Under Contract is the sixth book in this series and hopefully you have read the previous books so that you also feel the connection.  If not, you have time to catch up or just die right in with this book.

In Killer Undert Contract Cindy and her husband Greg are getting ready for their eldest daughter, Darcy, to walk down the aisle and marry the love of her life.  But first they want to pick out their forever home and who better than to help but Darcy's own mother !!  So while Cindy is keeping the house in order, making dinner for her family of 6, taking care of the family pets, working her realtor job, making sure everything is in order for the upcoming wedding, keeping her bride from getting too stressed, she will help find the house of her dreams.  Unforunately she didn't know that the house of Darcy's dreams would have the realtor from Greg's past that he would like to keep in the past. 

When Darcy finds the house she loves Cindy reaches out to the realtor and finds out that the agent is Greg's old high school sweetheart and ex-fiance, Hillary.  Cindy's boss, Jacques, says that he will play interference but Cindy will have none of that and contacts her and sets up a meeting.  It seems that Hillary has returned home after thirty years to try to win Greg back but before she can do that, Cindy finds her dead in the kitchen in Darcy's dream house.

There is no reason for Cindy and her partner in crime Jacques to look into the murder as it has no affect on Cindy but because her daughter still wants the house, they decide to team up as they have in the past and play Holmes and Watson and solve a murder .... again !!!

The Cindy York Mystery series is a great series to get lost into.  You will love the every day happenings in the York family and love their close friends.  Cindy and Jacques have an amazing relationship personally and professionally and you will long for that if you don't already have that in your life.  Not to mention the love between Cindy and Greg and their relationships with the kids.  And then you add a murder or two into the mix and you are hooked !!!  

Bruns knows how to grab your attention immediately and you will be lost into the story and everything around you will fade away ..... but that's okay as long as you don't have dinner in the oven or water boiling on the stove.  I highly recommend grabbing your copy of Killer Under Contract and all the previous books in you haven't read them yet ... you can thank me later.

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Lies (Sunny Side Up Mysteries Book 1) by Misty Simon

Welcome to the Sunny Side Up Diner, where the pancakes are fluffy, the bacon is crisp, and murder should not be on the menu…

Jax Tapman has lived in the same small town her whole life. On one hand, it's helped her dream of buying the local diner with her best friend come true, and their newly opened business is hopping. On the other hand, it means everyone knows her, and she pretty much never gets away with anything. There are a lot of expectations that come along with being the town darling.

So, when Jax finds a dead body behind her Aunt Hildy’s restaurant, surely no one will truly believe she did it, right?

Wrong. The victim was strangled with swag from Jax's diner, and suddenly every eye is squarely on her, town darling or not! Enter Eliot Taylor, Aunt Hildy’s new cook and a former cop who grudgingly agrees to help Jax clear her name and save the diner's reputation. Only the deeper they dig, the more dirt they churn up, proving there’s far more happening in the small, innocent town than meets the eye.

Together they’ll uncover more secrets than Jax can shake a spatula at and far more danger than she might be ready to handle. Can Jax save her reputation and solve a murder...or will this order be her last?  (Summary via Goodreads)

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Lies is the first book in the Sunny Side Up Mystery series written by Misty Simon and I can tell you right away that this is going to be a series to watch and will become one of your favorites to read !!!

Ever since Jax can remember she has always wanted to own a diner, and not just any diner, she wanted the one that she and her best friend Dani worked in when they were teenagers in high school.  So when the owner Jeb decides to sell, Jax talks Dani into moving back to their hometown and co-owning in with her.  And now after being open for six months, they are celebrating !!!  Unfortunately things are going to turn quickly .....

While Jax and Dani are trying to celebrate their success at Jax's aunt Hildy's upscale restaurant, there is a commotion and Hildy asks Jax to go out the back and give Roderick the keys to her car so that he can make a hasty escape and not deal with Delilah's outburst.  Of course Jax does what she is asked of but when she slips out the back door, Roderick is no where to be found.  But when she walks around she finds him out in the garbage enclosure dead .... and strangled by a lanyard with her diner information on it that she just picked up from the printer and are locked in her car.

Luckily for Jax her father is a detective with the police force.  Unluckily for Jax her father is a detective with the police force.  So Jax has no choice but to play by the rules ... mostly.  But then her father asks her to do some investigating of her own with the help of Hildy's chef, Eliot, who happens to have been a police officer until recently.

Eliot has secrets of his own as well as Jax keeping a huge one from her family, friends, and business partner so working together will be a piece of cake !!  Especially seeing as Jax, with coaxing from Dani, cannot help but notice how attractive he is !!!

Readers cannot help but fall in love with this first book !!!  Simon has you laughing out loud when you read the part where Jax stumbles upon Roderick's dead body and the dilemma she goes through on what to do and how unprepared she is when she doesn't have her phone at the ready.  She is probably the most laid backed person in cozy history to ever be in that position.  And you continue to fall in love as you dive deeper into the story.  I, for many, congratulate Simon on her new release and new series and I, for one, look forward to more books in the series !!!!

A Dark and Stormy Knit (A Knit & Nibble Mystery Book # 11) by Peggy Ehrhart

Pamela Paterson and Bettina Fraser call their crafting group Knit and Nibble, in honor of its two main activities. But on a stormy Halloween night, their peaceful chat over spiced cider and cookies is interrupted by homicide . . . 

With the houses of Arborville, New Jersey, decked out in festively frightening decorations, it’s easy to mistake a real dead body for a fake. But Pamela and Bettina are alerted by the screams of teenage trick-or-treaters to the corpse next door. Their neighbor Adrienne’s sister, visiting from New York City, is slumped on the porch, fatally stabbed. And with countless people traipsing around in costume, the killer might be as elusive as an apple in a bucket of water. 

The victim was a charismatic college professor and fierce feminist, and soon the women are infiltrating her social and academic circles to collect clues. But some scandalous local gossip also suggests that Adrienne, not her sister, might have been the target. Now, Pamela and Bettina will need all their creative skills to solve this ghoulish crime . . .  (Summary via Goodreads)

Just in time for the fall and Halloween seasons Peggy Ehrhart releases her eleventh book in the Knit & Nibble Mystery series ..... A Dark and Stormy Knit.  Sadly I have only read novellas written about this series but that didn't take away from the story and the excitement surrounding it.

In A Dark and Stormy Knit main characters Pamela and Bettina are enjoying a treat with Bettina's husband Wilfred after attending a Halloween themed event but are roused from the house when they hear screaming and determine that it is something serious and not a Halloween prank.  The screaming leads them to Wilfred and Bettina's neighbor's house where a few last minute teenage trick-or-treater's happened on a dead body ..... It is soon learned that the woman stabbed on the front porch is not the homeowner, Adrienne, but her sister, Mel, who is in town to take a break from her city life.

Adrienne asks Bettina and Pamela for their help in solving her sister's murder seeing as she doesn't really trust Detective Lucas Clayborn to do the job effectively.  And the first thing she wants them to do with her is go to the city and look around her sister's apartment for clues.  Mel was a member of a feminist group and they took their cause very seriously but serious enough to kill over ?

While Bettina and Pamela help Adrienne they are still going on with things in their own lives like lunches with Wilfred as the chef, their Knit and Nibble group and their personal jobs.  The small town of Arborville may be small but it is hopping for these ladies.

Readers will enjoy their time in Arborville and wish they lived on Orchard Street and was a neighbor so that they could partake in the shared meals with this group.  You may even think about taking up knitting so that you can be a part of the group even more.  Or maybe just the occasional visitor when Ehrhart releases the latest book in the series.  Regardless you will be an instant fan and love your time in Arborville.

Isabella and the Missing Sphinxella by Margaret Evans

A Missing Statue, Ancient Egypt, a Camel Who Talks, and a Cat Named Isabella? Wow.

Written history, oral traditions, and hieroglyphs tell us there were originally TWO Sphinxes built at Giza. More stories tell us invaders destroyed one of them.

What if the story is different?

Join Isabella on her captivating journey through intrigue and mystery in Ancient Egypt. You’ll laugh and shed tears as she searches for the truth behind the Missing Sphinxella.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Oh where to begin after reading this latest tale of Isabella and her newest adventure ....  I honestly am still trying to wrap my head around what I read and trying to figure out what is in the brain of author Margaret Evans .... But I will try my best to explain and maybe after you have read it, you can explain what I may have missed because I know there was something I missed .... LOL.

Isabella and the Missing Sphinxella sees Isabella being sent to the hot desert in Ancient Egypt to help a cat named Zixi.  Pharaoh Rumses the 24th, a powerful local leader is building two statues and holding a contest to choice the cat whose likeness will sit atop the statues in high honor.  Zixi is one of the female contestants and Isabella is sent to get to know her and the other contestants and help as she sees fit.

Unfortunately in Isabella style, she gets into a bit of trouble and has to enlist the help of her friend Patton.

In Isabella and the Missing Sphinxella there is a lot going on that will keep the readers attention throughout this fun packed novella.  You have talking cats, and now talking camels, secrets, lies, love, envy, jealousy and so much more.  Like I said I don't know what goes on in Evan's brain but I guess readers really shouldn't look behind the big curtain to see how it all works ... all we really need to know is that when you see the words Isabella and Margaret Evans together, you know you are in for a crazy fun ride !!  So sit down in a comfy seat, grab a drink and a snack and get reading !!!

Murder at Vinland (Gilded Newport Mysteries Book # 12) by Alyssa Maxwell

Reporter and sleuth Emma Cross Andrews must stop a bold poisoner who is targeting the society wives of the Four Hundred in Gilded Age Newport, Rhode Island . . .

August 1901: A fundraiser for a new Rhode Island Audubon Society brings Emma to Vinland, the Viking-themed seaside home of her relative, Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, where the guest of honor is Edith Roosevelt, wife of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. Listening to the speakers and observing the ladies in attendance, Emma is struck by the contrast of the Viking warrior–inspired elements in the house and the admirable but admittedly genteel cause of bird protection. Vinland bears the name of the Vikings’ first landfall in North America, but in this room today there is most assuredly no one to fear.

Emma’s observation of harmless philanthropy is proven wrong the following morning when one of Mrs. Twombly’s houseguests from the luncheon becomes mysteriously and dangerously ill. Accompanying police detective Jesse Whyte, Emma discovers a box of petit fours supposedly sent by Mrs. Roosevelt. They promptly rule out the Second Lady as a suspect, but someone has poisoned the cakes.

Soon another box of desserts as well as letters tainted with ink containing caustic toxins show up at other grand Newport cottages. Are the ladies from the luncheon being targeted? Emma and Jesse must sort through possible motives and means because now more than the birds need protection . . .  (Summary via Goodreads)

After reading Murder at Vinland, the twelfth book in the Gilded Newport Mystery series by Alyssa Maxwell, I had to sleep on it.  I have been a fan of this series since the very first book, main character Emma Cross has become a friend, her family has become family, her love of things, have become that with me as well.  I have an imaginary guest room in her Gull Manor home and I love sitting around the kitchen table with Nanny and Katie while they are preparing the meals and walking along the property with Patch and Emma and her newlywed husband Derrick.  If that was all these books were about I would be content with that but they are so much more .... Emma has a knack for assisting Detective Jesse Whyte when there is a murder in Newport, Rhode Island.  Emma has a way in with the members of the Four Hundred group, that is the rich and rich.  Emma is a distant cousin to the Vanderbilt family and they have accepted her and allowed her access to things others are not.

In Murder at Vinland Emma and Detective Whyte have their hands full when a woman who attended a fundraiser is poisoned after eating petit fours that were delivered to her.  The nature in which she was poisoned is horrible as it burned her mouth, lips and internally.  Emma does not know if attending the fundraiser had anything to do with the poisoning until another woman who was at the fundraiser is also targeted but her injuries are not as severe.  Emma begins to look at all of the attendees of the fundraiser, mainly the out of towners who are there to try to start the Rhode Island Audubon Society.  

Unfortunately Emma also has the newpaper to run with her new husband Derrick.  And they have invited Amity Carter and her niece Zinnia Lewis to stay with them at Gull Manor once they learn that Amity owns the property next to Gull Manor.  Emma and Derrick very much want to purchase the property so that they can build a house there and use Gull Manor as a school for girls.

So even without the poisoning case to work on Emma and Derrick are always busy so readers are drawn into their lives instantly.  Then add helping Detective Whyte and you are immediately hooked !!!  

Murder at Vinland, in my opinion, has a tad more excitement and will have readers on the edge, if not falling out of their seats with excitement, not to mention the hazard of receiving paper cuts from turning the pages so quickly.  Maybe the nature of the crimes, the poisoning and how it ended up in the hands of the injured, heightens the story .....  And do not get me started on the last few chapters of the story ..... I am still waiting for my blood pressure to stabilize .... however, Maxwell ends the story beautifully and I, for one, cannot wait for the next installment in the Gilded Newport Mystery series and I know you will agree !!!!!