Murder at Rosecliff (Gilded Newport Mysteries Book # 14) by Alyssa Maxwell

When a troublemaking party crasher is found dead in a fountain during an elegant soiree in Newport, Rhode Island, newspaper editor Emma Cross Andrews must clear her own society reporter from suspicion of murder…

August 1903. Emma and her husband Derrick are among the men in white tie and tails and the women wearing white gowns from the House of Worth at Tessie Oelrichs’s Bal Blanc, or White Ball, at Rosecliff, her grand cottage on Bellevue Avenue. There to cover the event of the season is young Ethan Merriman, society reporter for the Newport Messenger, the newspaper owned by Emma and Derrick.

It’s an utterly charming affair until a stranger intrudes flaunting a green-striped necktie and matching vest in defiance of their hostess’s theme. But his fashion crime is a mere misdemeanor compared to his intention to blackmail Mrs. Oelrichs by producing a compromising document supposedly signed by Tessie over a decade ago.

Insisting it’s a forgery but terrified of scandal, she agrees to his terms, but the blackmailer will not live to see payday. His body is found face down in a fountain before the party’s end. Beside him stands a very wet Ethan, who was seen being confronted by the man earlier in the evening. Coming to the aid of their luckless cub reporter, Emma and Derrick must sort through the white lies and blackened reputations to discover the identity of the true killer.  (Summary via Goodreads)

How can you not be a fan of the Gilded Newport Mystery series by Alyssa Maxwell ?  Especially now that the fourteenth book, Murder at Rosecliff, is being published.  This series takes readers back to a time when things are much simpler, or they should have been.  People were living their best lives in Newport, Rhode Island working and attending parties and enjoying life.  Unfortunately, because this is a mystery series, there is always a murder to put a damper on things.  Luckily the members of the Four Hundred as well as all others in the area can rest assure with Emma and her husband Derrick on the case.

In the fourteenth book, Murder at Rosecliff, Emma and Derrick are attending the White Ball at the House of Worth and having quite a fun time until a gentleman shows up not wearing the appropriate colors and proceeds to have a meeting with the host, Tessie Oelrich, and shows papers claiming that the two are married .... even though Tessie is married and has a son from that marriage and this stranger, Solomon Wheeler, was in prison for many years.  He has only been out for a few years.

Fortunately for Tessie Emma, Derrick and a group of Tessie's friends attend the meeting and are witness to Solomon's blackmail terms.  Even though Tessie agrees to the terms, that will not be the end of things.

Sometime later Solomon is found being dragged out of a fountain by Ethan.  Ethan is there working the event as the society reporter for Emma and Derrick's newspaper. Sadly, Solomon is pronounced dead and there are two eyewitnesses who claim that he was being held under the water by Ethan. Things don't look good for Ethan as he and Solomon had a confrontation earlier but everyone who knows him knows that he would not hurt anyone.

Unfortunately, when Ethan is being escorted out by the police he decides to run for it, isn't caught and is now in hiding.

Emma knows that there is more to the death and knows that Ethan didn't do what they are claiming he did, so she does what she always does and goes about her own investigating.  Good thing for her that she finally has Detective Jesse Whyte allowing her to do her thing as well as assist him when he needs it ... and we know he does at times.

We know that Emma is always determined to look into the murders and bring the guilty party to justice but with this one involving Ethan, someone who is an innocent person who was just doing his job, the job he works for Emma at, she feels strongly in this.  And with no one knowing where Ethan is hiding, she is just as concerned about his safety.

You can't help but enjoy this series with the setting being in the 1900's when things were so much simpler and the ways in which they solved the crimes so different.  I want to go back just for the parties, to get dressed up and dance the night away.  But I will leave the murders to Emma.

 

Can't Run with the Big Dogs (Veronica Kildare K-9 Mystery series Book # 4) by Tracy Carter

The escape of Veronica Kildare's vindictive, long-time nemesis from prison overshadows what should be a festive holiday season for her and her team. Law enforcement is convinced that Tommy Arnett perished in a fiery car accident, but Veronica can't shake the sinking feeling that she hasn't escaped that easily from his relentless pursuit of revenge against her.

Other unsettling factors are swirling through Colorado along with the encroaching harsh winter weather as Veronica and her Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Leda, search for several missing young women who've been abducted and pitilessly left to face the elements, and the daughters of her search and rescue partner, Sgt. Tim Donovan, are targeted by a mysterious man with an unknown agenda. All is not as it seems with regard to the kidnappings, however, as one case ties back to a local thoroughbred racetrack where a nefarious scheme has been enacted by a villain willing to eliminate anyone who stands in their way.

While Veronica also trains a C. diff sniffing canine for nursing homes and a dog able to identify illegal equine performance-enhancing drugs at Blue Columbine Downs, she and her father examine the undercurrents affecting the racetrack in an effort to pinpoint the source of the wrongdoing there.

As malign forces gather around them, will Veronica and Leda be able to outrun a terrible fate when their brutal past and their present day life collide?  (Summary via Amazon)

Having read all the books in the Veronica Kildare K-9 Mystery series by Tracy Carter, with Can't Run with the Big Dogs being the fourth, I can honestly say this one ... wow, did it hit hard !!

The Veronica Kildare K-9 Mystery series is definitely a power packed series with so much going on that readers cannot catch their breath, in a good way.  This series gets your heart pumping and you cannot help but turn the pages as quickly as you can.

In Can't Run with the Big Dogs Veronica and her trusty wonder dog Leda are busy.  They are constantly being called to help look for missing people and some of the cases are crucial as the weather in December in Colorado can be challenging.  But the dynamo team have very little difficulty getting the job done.

Unfortunately someone from Veronica's past, Tommy Arnett (ugh), is closing in on her.  Fortunately she has Leda, her dad, her assistant and like a brother Michael, her search and rescue partner Sgt. Tim Donovan and his family, her boyfriend Ricardo along with all the other police officers you can imagine.  And she will need all the help she can get when things get intense !!

There is so much that I could talk about in this series.  I could talk for a long time about Veronica's business Dogged Pursuit K-9 training facility, the search and rescue cases that she works, the drug searches that her and Michael work, Veronica's dad and everything that he does, Veronica's sad past, the relationships that she has with everyone, the dogs that her and Michael train, her relationship with Ricardo who is a professional baseball player (which I love baseball) but I think I have given you enough to know that you want to go grab your copy of this book and all the previous ones if you haven't read them yet,  I cannot stress it enough that you will thoroughly enjoy them .... and this coming from a cat lover.

Death at a Scottish Halloween (Scottish Isle Mystery Book # 5) by Lucy Connelly

When Dr. Emilia McRoy stumbles upon a dead body in a haunted house, she resolves to find the killer before another body can fall.

Halloween isn’t the only cause for fright in the fifth Scottish Isle mystery, perfect for fans of Paige Shelton and Connie Berry.

It’s the week of Halloween—or as they say in Scotland, All Hallows' Eve—and the town of Sea Isle is full of spooky celebrations. Dr. Emilia McRoy loves being part of her new community and is eager to help out in any way she can. But the festivities are interrupted when she and her assistant, Abigail, find a dead body in a haunted house. A real one. They’re too late to save the victim, but they’ll do whatever it takes to find his killer. 

There’s just one There are too many suspects. 

Constable Ewan would prefer the good doctor and her friends stay out of the investigations, but that isn’t how Dr. Em rolls. As she and her gang investigate, they realize the killer is searching for something—and has no problem murdering anyone who gets in the way of finding it. 

Dr. Em must stay one step ahead if she’s to survive this Halloween season alive—either that or she might just end up the next victim.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Death at a Scottish Halloween, the fifth book in the Scottish Isle Mystery series, by Lucy Connelly will get readers in the mood for Halloween for sure !!  

In Death at a Scottish Halloween the town of Sea Isle in Scotland is ready.  They have a lot of different activities spanning days that will interest and scare all that attend. Unfortunately,

while Dr. Em and her assistant Abigail are participating in the haunted house, they find another participant dead at the end of the night.

Luckily Dr. Em has a great team of friends that are willing to help out with anything, even trying to solve a murder.  And she is very close to the Constable which makes things easy and difficult at the same time.

While Dr. Em, Abigail and the Constable are trying to solve the murder, they are faced with another case that may or may not tie into this murder case.  

And this is not the time of year with all the Halloween festivities to be serious.  There are so many people in costumes that you don't know who is who and what their intentions may be.

Readers will love this story especially if you like Halloween.  It may even give you some ideas for a Halloween costume.  I don't know if you will have better luck than me because I was clueless as to who the guilty party was.  Every time that I thought I may know, Connelly throws something in there to make you second guess ..... which is fine with me.  That's why I read the books and leave the creativity to the authors.

Murder at First Slice (Baker Street Mystery Book # 5) by Valerie Burns

Social media queen-turned-small-town baker Maddy Montgomery, her feisty friends, and her faithful English mastiff know you have to break a few eggs to solve a murder. . .

As Maddy’s wedding day approaches, friends and family descend on the little town of New Bison, Michigan, to celebrate—so much so that Maddy wonders if there might be another happily-ever-after in store for her widowed father and innkeeper Mrs. Law. Unfortunately, she also has to deal with an unhappy couple: feuding cousins Hannah and Dorothy, who haven’t spoken in decades. Maddy can only hope the spectacular wedding cake crafted by her head baker doesn’t wind up as ammunition in a food fight.

But she doesn’t have to wait long for a wedding disaster to strike. When the imperious Dorothy crashes the rehearsal dinner—with several uninvited guests in tow—and starts battering everyone with constant complaints, the drama reaches reality-show levels. And the next day, Dorothy is dead . . . with Hannah standing over the body, bloody rolling pin in hand.

Nobody in town believes Miss Hannah could commit murder. But a detective newly relocated from New York doesn’t know the sweet, memory-challenged Hannah the way the locals do—and the evidence seems open-and-shut as an oven. Now, with her sous-sleuths the Baker Street Irregulars, the bride-to-be is busy digging into Dorothy’s past to catch a killer before she cuts the cake . . .  (Summary via Goodreads)

Murder at First Slice is the fifth book in the Baker Street Mystery series by Valerie Burns and the first one of the series that I have read.  However, even though I have not read any of the previous books, as soon as I started reading, it was easy to get into the story.  Burns writes it so that you get caught up instantly and fall in love immediately.

And I have to say Murder at First Slice is a pretty good book to start with if you haven't read any of the previous ones.  

In Murder at First Slice main character Maddy is a week away from getting married.  Her and Michael, the groom, have their wedding party set, the venue is booked, the wedding list is done, and close family and friends are arriving in town for some pre-wedding festivities.

Unfortunately, a few family members not welcomed show up. Dorothy, Miss Hannah's cousin shows up with her husband, her nurse and her husband's assistant.  Miss Hannah, Michael's grandmother, has not spoken to Dorothy in about forty years and refused to attend the wedding if Dorothy is there.

Well, that ends up not being a problem because Maddy finds Dorothy's body and Miss Hannah standing nearby with a bloody rolling pin.

Everyone knows that there is no way that Miss Hannah would harm someone, let alone kill them, so Maddy and her crew do what they do .... look into the murder and all involved.

So, the week before Maddy is going to walk down the aisle in a beautiful wedding dress and marry the man of her dreams, she has to solve a murder .... in between all the wedding festivities.  No worries she's got this !!

I highly recommend this series, and I plan to try to go back and read the previous books.  If this one was this FUN, I can only imagine the others !!!

Wildcat Academy (Berkshire Hilltown Mysteries Book # 4) by Leslie Wheeler

A family reunion turns deadly.

When Boston library curator Kathryn Stinson reconnects with her estranged mother during a visit to the Berkshires, she's pulled into a new family circle at a secluded private academy.

The weekend takes a dark turn when the teenage son Kathryn's new sister-in-law is found dead beneath a forbidden zipline, a place he had no reason to be. As doubts mount about whether his death was an accident or murder, the boy's mother turns to Kathryn for help.

A tense, atmospheric mystery, WILDCAT ACADEMY is the fourth book in the Berkshire Hilltown Mysteries series by Leslie Wheeler.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Wildcat Academy is the fourth book in the Berkshire Hilltown Mystery series by Leslie Wheeler.  In this series main character Kathryn Stinson spends her weeks working in Boston as a library curator while her weekends are spent in the house she rents in the Berkshire.  She also spends her weekend time with her boyfriend Earl who lives up the mountain a bit.

However, in Wildcat Academy Kathryn is spending time with her mother, her mother's husband Bob and his daughter Skylar.  The family is visiting from California to spend parent's weekend with Skylar's son, Tigran who is attending Wildcat Academy.  

Unfortunately, when they arrive to the school to shadow Tig and see how he spends his time, he is not there.  When they finally persuade the school officials to conduct a search, they find him dead at the zipline course.  This brings up a lot of questions especially seeing as Tig would never go up on the zipline as he is afraid of heights.

Since the school and the police do not seem to have any answers and the investigation isn't going anywhere, Skylar asks Kathryn to help her look into Tig's death.  This could be difficult with Skylar in California and Kathryn in Boston during the week, but Skylar is in a deep state of grief that Kathryn cannot say no.

Things get really dangerous when Skylar comes back and is adamant about finding out what happened to her son ... putting herself and Kathryn in a scary situation .....

Readers will love this series and this fourth book.  Wheeler knows how to draw you into the story so much so that you will want to spend your weekends in the Berkshires.  

Homicide on the Range (A Hometown Mystery Book # 6) by Rosalie Spielman

From author Rosalie Spielman comes a wild western homicide!

US Army retiree Tessa Treslow is ready for a much-needed and romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Nick, to volunteer on a dude ranch for recovering combat veterans in Montana. What she gets instead is a whole crew from her little town of New Oslo, Idaho, tagging along. Her BFF Freddie, aka Deputy Frederickson, her aunt Edna, and the Prunn sisters are happy for a little vacation as well, but little do they realize, it's not going to be the rustic, idyllic visit to the range that they think it will be.

The other volunteers at the ranch are a variety of characters, from a jealous wife, to a multi-limb amputee, to a blast from Tessa's past, and a combative and unpleasant ranch cook. When the cook ends up dead along with sides of beef in the walk-in freezer, Tessa realizes the one of them is also a murderer! With Freddie stranded in town, Tessa teams up with the New Osloans—the only ones she can be sure didn't commit the crime—to take a closer look at the other volunteers. They soon learn that each and every cowboy wannabe knew the cook for more than just her buttery cooking, and each of them had a motive to want her dead.

To make matters much worse, not one but two wildfires are closing in on the ranch and cutting them off from the outside. What results is a locked-room style mystery where the crew from New Oslo are unsure which will prove more dangerous—a murderer or the wildfires!

" Clever & Compelling Gem! An excellent read and high on my list for 2023 honors."
~Kings River Life Magazine

"You will also fall in love with New Oslo and its residents and businesses. You will want to pack a bag and jump in your car and head there as fast as you can!"
~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews    (Summary via Goodreads)

Homicide on the Range is the sixth book in the Hometown Mystery Book series by Rosalie Spielman and I don't know if I have ever read a murder story where pretty much everyone admits to being the murderer.  Well, in Homicide on the Range it is clear from the get-go that no one liked the deceased person but come on !!!

In Homicide on the Range Tessa and her boyfriend Nick have decided to volunteer at a friend's dude ranch that specializes in veterans that are in some stage of recovery.  They go to the ranch and have therapy sessions, talk to others that can relate and help out on the ranch.  Well, if you know Tessa's friends and a few relatives, you know they always want in on the fun, so the whole gang goes to the dude ranch, some just to help out.

Little did any of them know that they were signing up for way more than they bargained for.  But they will do what they do best .... work together to get the job done.

Almost as soon as they arrive Tessa realizes one of the other guests is someone from her past, unfortunately Josie came out of the Army with a lot of battle scars, inside and out.  Tessa and the crew also learn that no one likes the cook, Aimee Orinoco, and they can see why. It seems like she knows how to push peoples' buttons.

Sadly, before they can really get settled and start enjoying their duties on the ranch, they find that the ranch may be in danger with wildfires happening nearby.  Tessa's best friend and Sheriff's Deputy back home, goes into town with Hannie one of the owners to get supplies but are unable to return due to the danger of the fire.

Then when Orinoco, who is the cook, doesn't show up to make breakfast and a search is performed, Ginny finds her dead in the walk-in freezer.  After discussing it with JJ, who owns the ranch with his wife Hannie, it is decided to keep Orinoco's death a secret and try to investigate without anyone figuring it out.

Tessa and crew have a lot to deal with due to the wildfires getting closer, Orinoco's death, and people are not quite themselves due to all the stress.  Then when everyone slowly realizes the danger they are in and that Orinoco was murdered, almost all of them admit to killing her.....

Readers will love the danger and excitement of Homicide on the Range.  You will be on the edge of your seat throughout the entire book.  How can there be so much drama in one story ?  Well, here it is !!  

I usually never try to figure out the guilty party in a story.  I tend to just read the book and stay in the mind of the main character and let them lead me through.  But man, was it crazy in Tessa's mind this time.  And when the actual murderer is revealed .... mind blown !!!

A Delicious Deception (Key West Food Critic Mystery Book # 16) by Lucy Burdette

Mother-to-be Hayley Snow bites off more than she can chew in the sixteenth installment of Lucy Burdette’s USA Today bestselling Key West Food Critic mysteries.

When Sheriff’s Deputy Darcy Rogers asks Hayley for a small favor, she can’t say no. Nine months pregnant and temporarily benched from her food critic duties, Hayley’s itching for a distraction and eager to help. All she has to do is tag along while a young woman picks up her daughter from her father at Monroe County’s safe custody exchange location. Easy, right?

Wrong.

In the chaos of the Sheriff’s Office open house, the mother disappears. Then the father bolts, leaving Hayley with a terrified girl and the realization that something has gone terribly wrong. Hayley and Deputy Rogers head north up the Keys to search for answers.

When a body turns up, Hayley realizes this isn’t just a missing-persons case—it’s a race against time. With the little girl’s safety at risk, Hayley must trust her instincts—and her heart—to uncover the truth.  (Summary via Goodreads)

A Delicious Deception is the sixteenth book in the Key West Food Critic Mystery series by Lucy Burdette and this series has a special place in my heart.  I'll be honest and tell you that I have not read all of the books in the series, I started reading them with the eighth book, Death on the Menu but I was instantly hooked.  While visiting my mom in Florida I was reading one of the books and my mom showed an interest, so I left it for her to read.  She has been gone for four and a half years so when I read one of these books, I feel like she is looking over my shoulder.

Anyway..... let's get to this newest book.  In A Delicious Deception there are a lot of changes occurring.  Main character Hayley and her husband, Nathan, are expecting their first baby so they have moved out of their houseboat and into a house with a guest cottage in the back.  Their neighbor and good friend, Miss Gloria and her best friend Annie, who both lived in houseboats are now living in the guest cottage. 

Hayley should be concentrating on getting ready for the baby but when Deputy Darcy from the Sheriff's Office comes calling for help, she cannot say no.  After all, this should be an easy assist.  She is going to be picking up a woman, Reba, and taking her to a safe location to do a custody exchange with the husband.  Reba and her husband, Mack, do not get along and instead of fight in front of their daughter, Tamara, they have agreed to allow a third party to be there for the exchange,

Unfortunately, before the exchange Reba goes to the bathroom and never returns.  Then after looking for her and not finding her, Hayley goes to meet Mack, and he seems very nervous and leaves abruptly ..... with Hayley standing there with Tamara.

Deputy Darcy gets in trouble with her bosses and taken off the case, so Hayley takes Tamara to a friend of hers for a brief playdate, but Tamara is taken by someone pretending to be with child services.

Meanwhile Nathan gets called away when his father is taken to the hospital and having emergency surgery.  

So, Hayley, who is extremely pregnant, is on the case mainly alone.  Yes, she has Miss Gloria and Annie helping her, but she needs Nathan's levelheadedness because we know she is stubborn and doesn't know when to quit. 

A Delicious Deception, with all its new changes, is a great read.  No matter what book in this series you pick up, you will be hooked immediately !!!

Dreidels and Dead Ends (Bad Hair Day Book # 19) by Nancy J. Cohen

 A daring holiday heist at the local history museum sends hairstylist Marla Vail on her most tangled case yet.

When salon owner Marla Vail agrees to speak at the local history museum’s gala opening for a new exhibit, she expects applause—not a catastrophe. But shortly after she takes the stage, a thief steals the featured diamond-studded hairbrush, leaving behind an empty display case and a badly injured security guard.

Marla’s friend, museum curator Becky Forest, begs for her help in recovering the prized heirloom before the mayor uses this scandal as an excuse to cut their funding. To make matters worse, the antique hairbrush comes with a curse, and suddenly bad luck is spreading through town faster than a botched dye job. As Hanukkah festivities begin, Marla would rather be lighting candles than chasing clues, but with Becky’s job at stake, she takes on the case.

Her trail leads to a knot of suspects including the hairbrush’s owner, his greedy cousin, shifty museum staff, and a reclusive collector of mystical antiquities. Instead of enjoying menorah lights and latkes, Marla discovers murder, lies, and larceny. She’ll need sharp wits and a holiday miracle to save the museum and to keep the truth from being brushed aside.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Dreidels and Dead Ends is the nineteenth book in Nancy J. Cohen's Bad Hair Day Mystery series and even though I haven't read all of the books in the series, the ones I have read, I love !!

In Dreidels and Dead Ends main character Marla is getting ready for the holidays, Christmas and Hanukkah, as her husband Dalton's family celebrates Christmas and her family celebrates Hanukkah.  It is very important that they celebrate both for themselves and their son, Ryder, and they will continue when they have their daughter which will be in a few months.

Even though Marla is extremely busy at home getting ready for the holidays and at her saloon, she cannot help but agree to help her friend Becky who works at the local history museum.  They are getting ready for a new exhibit featuring beauty tools but their keynote speaker ha an accident and won't be able to give a speech introducing the exhibit.  Even though the exhibit is going to be showcasing a hairbrush from the 1800's which is said to have a curse on it, she agrees to do it.

Sadly, right after Marla gives her speech, there is an accident that injures a guard on duty and the hairbrush is stolen.  Becky asks Marla and Dalton if they will do their own investigating even though the police are doing it.  She wants to be thorough and knows they have been successful in the past solving cases.

It doesn't take long before Marla feels that they are overwhelmed when it seems that everyone employed at the museum could be guilty as well as a few others.  She vows to keep going as it seems that Dalton, who just recently retired from the force, looks to be enjoying investigating.

I honestly do not know how authors can keep writing books when they have so many in the series but with nineteen in this series, it doesn't seem that Cohen is slowing down and that is perfectly fine with me !!!  As soon as I open one of these books, I am right alongside Marla, feeling her determination and enjoy every minute of it !!

Sifting Through Secrets (A Cookies & Chance Mystery Series Book # 16) by Catherine Bruns

From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes the next decadently deadly Cookies & Chance mystery!

When full-time baker and reluctant part-time sleuth, Sally Muccio, agrees to cater a glamorous baby shower at a customer’s lavish home, she expects a day full of strawberry lemonade cookies, vanilla buttercream icing, and minimal drama.

What she doesn’t expect is for the grandma-to-be to offer her fifty thousand dollars to find out who’s trying to kill her.

Trudy Delvecchio is rich, pretentious, and without many fans, especially in her own family. While the money is tempting, Sal politely declines the offer. After all, she explains, she’s a baker, not a professional detective. But when Trudy turns up dead the very same evening, with no obvious sign of foul play, something about the entire situation leaves a bitter taste in Sal’s mouth. With a house full of suspects and lies rising faster than oven-proofed dough, Sal will need to sift through many secrets to uncover the truth, or she could be the one left in the dust.

Recipes Included!

What critics are

"A fantastic cozy mystery!"
~ InD'Tale Magazine

"I want to visit more with all of the quirky characters just to see what crazy and outrageous things they will do next!"
~ Fresh Fiction

"The Cookies and Chance Mystery series is more than just a series....it's a family !! Once you read the first book, you are hooked and feel like a member of the crazy Muccio family." ~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews  (Summary via Goodreads) 

It's no secret, and I say this every time I write a review for this series, but the Cookies & Chance Mystery series by Catherine Bruns is my favorite of all time .... and I say it a lot seeing as the latest book, Sifting Through Secrets, is the sixteenth book in the series.

I could give you a quick summary of this series, but I hope that you are a fan and have read some, if not all, of the books, however, if you haven't, you'll catch on really quick.  And you can go back and read whichever ones you missed.

So ..... In Sifting Through Secrets main character Sally and her best friend Josie are hired to bake desserts and serve them at a baby shower by a very rich and not so nice person.  Trudy hired Sally's Samples for her daughter-in-law's shower even though it seems the two do not get along that well.  And after being at the party for a while, it seems nobody liked Trudy.  

At the end of the party Trudy calls Sally into her library, Sally thinks it's to pay her.  Unfortunately, that is not the case when Trudy wants to hire her to find out who is trying to kill her.  Even though she is offered a lot of money for this task, she turns it down not really believing Trudy's life is in danger.

She should have believed Trudy because later that night, Trudy is found dead in her bedroom.  At first glimpse the police look to rule it as accidental until Sally informs them of some issues and concerns to which they investigate deeper.

And we all know that Sally won't leave things alone, especially as Trudy did voice her concerns and ask for Sally's help. And we all know that Josie will try to help and Sally's husband Mike will protest.  But Grandma Rosa will be the one to keep everyone grounded and thinking clearly.

OMG I love this series !!!  I totally want to be a part of the Muccio family even with all their quirkiness.  I am not a very good baker, but I can follow a recipe and wait on customers so I can help out at Sally's Samples.  Hey, I'm not one to shy away from a funeral home so I can help Sally's dad at his. What I am trying to say is that you will LOVE this family and the jobs they have.  You will love the storylines and want to help solve the murders or just read along and enjoy.  

Whenever a new book releases in this series, I cannot wait to get my hands on it and once I open the book, I am powerless to stop reading it.  It is a very captivating series you cannot help falling in love with !!!

Murder in an Irish Pub (Irish Village Mystery Book # 4) by Carlene O'Connor

When competing card sharps stir up Siobhán O'Sullivan's quiet Irish village, a poker tournament turns into a game of Hangman . . .

Naomi's Bistro, managed by the many siblings of the lively O'Sullivan brood, is the place to go for a cuppa tea in Kilbane. For a pint or a game of darts, it's the pub you want. But when Dublin card sharp Eamon Foley is found swinging from the rafters of Rory Mack's pub, it's time for the garda to take matters into their own hands. Macdara Flannery would lay odds it's a simple suicide, but Siobhán suspects foul play. With conflicting theories abounding, tensions are running high between Siobhán and Macdara. Soon it's up to Siobhán to call a killer's bluff, but if she doesn't play her cards right, she may be the next one taken out of the game . . .

"The intricate puzzle and continuing Irish atmosphere make this the series' best to date."--Kirkus Reviews  (Summary via Goodreads)

 

Murder in an Irish Pub by Carlene O'Connor is the fourth book in her Irish Village Mystery series and after reading the previous three and this one, I am moving to the quiet Irish village of Kilbane and moving in with Siobhan and her siblings ... I can handle a murder every now and then, especially now that Siobhan is a member of the garda.

Okay ..... In Murder in an Irish Pub a poker tournament in being held in a local pub with some very popular players, kind of celebrities in their circle.  Unfortunately, things get out of hand with lots of participants and locals getting very drunk, betting things they shouldn't be betting as well as someone ending up dead.

When things get out of hand the tournament is moved to another pub where the next morning Siobhan goes to the new location to find the door opened.  Upon further investigating she realizes someone is in the locked storage room hanging from the rafters.  But there is a real problem, the door is deadbolted and there is a little window way up high that no one could get in or out of.  Even when they find a "suicide note" on the victim, Siobhan doesn't believe it is that simple.  Eamon Foley, the top poker player and winner doesn't seem like he was suicidal, he was winning a lot, and his wife is very close to giving birth to their child.

So, with the approval and guidance of her boss and boyfriend, Macdara, she proceeds under the assumption that it is murder and begins investigating.  Unfortunately, everyone was at the pub that night, including her twelve-year-old brother, and most were heavily intoxicated, and some could be seen as having reasons to want Eamon Foley dead.

So, Siobhan has her work cut out for her, which is always the case, but she will power through no matter what to solve the case.

I am a huge fan of this series, I love the little quaint Irish village and want to move there immediately.  I love the people, the stores, the food ..... even with the murders, I know Siobhan and Macdara will solve them and everything will be calm again. 

And can I just say the way O'Connor ends this book, you will definitely be waiting (im)patiently for the next book.

Whose Body in the Library (Lighthouse Library Mystery Book # 13) by Eva Gates

A new librarian’s first day goes terribly wrong when she finds a dead body on the front steps of the library.

While Lucy McNeil is enjoying her new job as the mother of twin boys and library director, new librarian Nichelle Gilchrest has just arrived at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, reporting for duty. But life throws a wrench on Nichelle’s first day when she finds a body on the steps–a body that bears a startling resemblance to her father who disappeared on a fishing trip to the Outer Banks thirty-eight years ago.

Fingerprints confirm the dead body is indeed Nichelle’s father, now living in Nags Head under the name Brian Saunders. Brian had been befriending older lonely women in exchange for money, but was he working alone?

Detective Rhonda Thomas is on the case, and the suspect list is only getting longer. Sorting through the wronged women and their relatives, Detective Thomas discovers Nichelle’s own brother Brad had been in Nags Head a few days before the murder happened and has been lying about his whereabouts.

Hoping to clear her brother’s name, Nichelle decides to investigate what happened. With seasoned sleuth Lucy’s gentle encouragement for the amateur, Nichelle is in for an exciting and dangerous first week at the library.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Whose Body in the Library is the thirteenth book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery series by Eva Gates and not only does Gates provide a captivating story, but she introduces some new positive changes as well as a different aspect to her writing.

In Whose Body in the Library readers are introduced to two new characters, Detective Rhonda Thomas and new librarian Nichelle Gilchrest.  Detective Thomas is taking over the Detective role as Sam Watson has retired and Nichelle is taking over main character Lucy's job as Lucy is taking over as library director since Bertie also retired.

One of the perks for Nichelle is that she will be living in the small apartment at the top of the lighthouse where the library is.  Unfortunately, when she opens the library's door for her first day on the job, she finds a man slumped over outside the door.  Fortunately, Lucy is also on her way in so she is there to help Nichelle deal with the unexpected dead body.  

Once over the shock Nichelle thinks that she recognizes the man as being her father but that can't be because he died over thirty years ago during a fishing trip in her new hometown.  Detective Thomas is on the ball and after obtaining records from Rochester, she confirms that the deceased male is indeed Nichelle's father. 

Learning that her father has been alive all of these years living in North Carolina, the place that he supposedly disappeared from, has her questioning so many things.  Her brother comes to town to help but it looks like he may make things worse for her.

If you are a fan of this series I hope that you love the changes as much as I do.  The last change that Gates makes with this book is that she devotes a chapter to Nichelle with her viewpoint and then we get to see what is going on with Lucy in the next chapter and throughout the book we see things with both characters.  I love when author do this because I feel you really get to know the characters deeper.

It's no secret that I love this series and would totally move in the lighthouse apartment and live with Charles the library cat.  I would love working in the library in the lighthouse as well as walking the beach daily and enjoy the town.  I hope you do as well.

Hot Wings and Homicide (Food Truck Mystery Book # 2) by Carmela Dutra

Twins Beth and Seth Lloyd are on the chopping block in the follow-up to A Murder Most Fowl, where a perfect recipe for murder is stirred up.

Business at Kluckin’ Good is smoking hot. To keep momentum going, Beth and her twin brother, Seth, just scored a prime spot at the Flavors of the Bay Food Festival. For three and a half days, food lovers will flock to the Bay Area’s biggest culinary event to enjoy gourmet food trucks, cook-offs, and live music, but this recipe for success is also the perfect set-up for murder.    

When the infamous food critic Brad Dawson—also Beth’s ex—turns up dead, the only clue at the scene of the crime is a Kluckin’ Good tumbler mug. The timing couldn’t be worse. Beth and Brad were seen in a heated altercation, and days prior, witnesses saw Seth punch Brad. Suspicion naturally falls on the twins. With the cops hot on their trail, Beth will have to avoid the flames to clear their names and save her food truck’s reputation. 

But the chickens are out of the coop, and as Beth digs into Brad’s final hours, she will uncover rivalries, grudges, and a different side of Brad she never knew. If she doesn’t crack the case soon, she might be the next one to get cooked. Best of cluck!  

A mouthwatering mystery for fans of Joanne Fluke that will leave you peckish for more.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Hot Wings and Homicide is the second book in the Food Truck Mystery series by Carmela Dutra with A Murder Most Fowl being the first.  If you read the first book you fell in love with twins Beth and Seth and Beth's best friend Rylie.  If you failed to read the first book, you have plenty of time to catch up or just dive right into Hot Wings and Homicide .... either way works.

In Hot Wings and Homicide Beth and Seth who co-own a food truck will be attending the Flavors of the Bay Food Festival.  They inherited the Kluckin' Good food truck from their aunt and have strived to make her proud and attending this festival is one step closer to doing that.

Unfortunately, a few days before the festival starts they run into Beth's ex-boyfriend Brad at Sugar and Spice, and they have a big blow out fight where Seth gets involved and things do not end well.  Fast forward to the first night of the festival where Beth is heading back from the bathrooms and finds a body on the ground which turns out to be Brad and he is dead from a head injury.

Even though Beth and Brad broke up and he humiliated her, she still didn't wish him dead.  So naturally her and Rylie begin their own little investigation.  But the more she looks, the longer the suspect list gets and she hesitantly has to put her twin and herself on the list even though she knows neither of them are guilty.

Even though there are only two books in this series, so far, readers cannot help but fall in love with Beth, Seth, Rylie and everything else within the story.  

There are two things that you may not about this series .... the food talk and the food talk !!  This book makes readers hungry !!!  So I highly suggest grabbing a snack before you start reading ......

Tides, Lies, and Alibis by Taffy Beach

Northern Exposure meets Carl Hiaasen with a Jimmy Buffett twang.

A faded dynasty, a mouthy parrot, and a pastry-fueled murder...

It’s February 1998, and Kate McGregor has a system: avoid the town’s eccentric gossip, stay inside her inherited Gilded Age home, and focus on the quirky local crafts in her consignment gallery. Between her meddling Scottish father and her best friend Cindy’s unconventional Hide Tides Bakery regulars, Kate’s introverted life is already louder than she’d like—and that’s before you count her rescued family zoo of cats, dogs, and a macaw.

But the peace of Manatee Bay is fragile. When a widely disliked local figure drops dead at the Spring Berry Festival, the trail leads straight to Cindy’s award-winning pastries. To save her friend and the town’s favorite gossip hub, Kate must step out of the shadows of her family’s dark history and into the spotlight of a murder investigation.

In Manatee Bay, the secrets are as deep as the Gulf.

Backed by a quirky cast of characters, including an 88-year-old attorney who made her grandmother a deathbed promise, Kate must untangle a web of old wealth intrigues, long-standing lies, and new grudges. Can she clear her friend's name, or will the dark history of her own family’s ruined fortune catch up to her first?

This is the first of six books (releasing every 14-18 weeks). While the contemporary murders are solved in each book, an overriding arc explores the clouded family history and scandalous mysteries that have haunted the town since Kate's grandfather’s time.  (Summary via Goodreads)

Tides, Lies, and Alibis by Taffy Beach is the first book in her Manatee Bay Cozy Mystery series and it sets the stage beautifully.

In Tides, Lies and Alibis best friends Kate and Cindy are getting ready for a busy weekend with the Spring Berry Festival in Manatee Bay happening.  Cindy is preparing her famous cream puffs for the festivities and Kate does her part and delivers them around town.  

Unfortunately, even though no one is supposed to eat any until during the actual festival, it seems that Alex Mudd, the primary school principal who nobody likes, may have sampled one.  Alex comes across him staggering and acting drunk and shortly dies but she cannot help but notice that there may be traces of a cream puff on his shirt.

Even though he wasn't well liked, Kate knows that she has to investigate for so many reasons .... most importantly to prove her best friend's innocence and save their businesses.  But Cindy, Kate's father and her family lawyer and friend won't let her go it alone. 

Kate and Cindy have been friends forever, live together with a few cats, a dog and a very vocal parrot, each running a business on the ground floor of their home but now with Mudd's death all of that is in jeopardy.  And the local Chief of Police seems to have something against Kate and her family, and it appears that he may already have the case closed.

Readers will love this first book as you get to know the characters and "some" of their secrets.  Kate and Cindy have a friendship that you will want, not to mention their home, pets and jobs.  You will want to live in Manatee Bay, even with a recent murder there.  There is so much you will want to be a part of that you will be wishing you could pack a bag and visit as soon as possible.  Luckily, we have more books coming so we have to wait patiently .....

Gimme Shelter (A Layla Virtue Mystery Book # 2) by Libby Klein

This whip-smart, witty series packs an emotional punch within an engaging mystery as Layla Virtue, a 30-something recovering alcoholic and former cop turned party musician, finds a sideline in solving murders from her new home in a Potomac County trailer park…

An unforgettable mystery brimming with hilarity and heart for readers of Margot Douaihy, Jane Pek, and Darynda Jones.

As the song says, you can’t always get what you want. Maybe that’s why, instead of fulfilling her youthful dream of being a rock star, Layla Fortune is living in a trailer park while playing third-rate gigs, including a stint at a ʼ70s Abba brunch. Given everything else she’s been through lately, she’s not complaining (much) about satin ruffles and go-go boots. She has a squad of supportive new BFFs, and she’s reclaimed a relationship with her famous rocker dad. His recent diagnosis has brought them even closer—sharing the trailer park’s lake house, which he’s had remodeled in typically over-the-top style.

Layla’s dad loves his new community and the feeling seems mutual. So, why is one of them blackmailing him? It’s a mystery almost as baffling as the assignment Layla receives from her former look into the brutal murder of a mild-mannered school teacher. Archie Wilkins was bludgeoned with a candelabra, shot up with drugs, and stuffed into a church confessional. Not the kind of outcome expected for a guy reputed to be the world’s nicest.

Perhaps Archie had secrets. Perhaps everyone does, including Layla’s one-time cop colleagues. She’s been blaming herself for a deadly ambush that destroyed her career and her peace of mind, but as her new friends help Layla regain her memories, a different picture emerges, and it’s one that forces her to question so much that she’s taken as truth . . .  (Summary via Goodreads)

Even though Gimme Shelter is only the second book in the Layla Virtue Mystery series by Libby Klein, I am already a HUGE fan !!  

In Gimme Shelter Layla is learning to live her new life, one where she is no longer on the police force, is the new owner of the trailer park she lives in thanks to her rich and famous rockstar dad, going to AA meetings with three women who she now calls friends and trying to take care of her dad who has early dementia.

Thanksgiving is around the corner and Layla and her dad are moving into their new home, the owner's cottage on the property of the trailer park after he had it renovated.  But before she can really grasp what she is seeing, she is approached by an old co-worker on the force to help look into a murder that they haven't had any luck with solving.

Layla is not sure who she can trust on the force and still has a lot of questions regarding an op that she was in charge of went wrong killing her entire team.  So, while she works through that with her friend and neighbor Nick as well as her AA posse, they will all work together to try to solve Archie Wilkins murder.  But trying to find someone who wanted a second-grade teacher and all-around good guy dead will be hard, especially seeing as the police have come up empty.

I fell in love with this series with the first book, Vice and Virtue, because there are so many things going on to keep your interest as well as fall in love with.  The only bad thing is having to wait, patiently, for the next one because Klein knows how to end the book keeping readers on the hook.

Mares and Murder( A Merry Wrath Mystery Book # 39) by Leslie Langtry

From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a hilarious mystery on a dude ranch full of surprises!

Hold your horses!

The end of summer still holds surprises when ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath Ferguson gets an offer to take her troop of girls to a dude ranch in Colorado! Demon’s Point Dude Ranch is owned by a college friend who wants Merry’s troop to test the staff and trail ride. The girls are gung ho, rounding out the troop with goth girl Draconia and Future Espionage Agents of America member Ardith.

You can’t look a gift horse in the mouth…

The troop is really champing at the bit to go on the remote, three-day trail ride through the Rockies and find the abandoned gold mining camp hidden there, until disaster happens and they find themselves cut off from the rest of the world. When the only person who knows another way back ends up murdered, the group has to change horses in midstream to figure out how to get back to the ranch. Merry needs her horse sense to find the killer before Happy Trails turns into Murder Trails!

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

"The Merry Wrath Mystery series has so much to love, and it is so different from other cozy mysteries that you can't help but be drawn to it."
~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

"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)

I honestly do not know how authors do it .... Leslie Langtry is the author of the Merry Wrath Mystery series and Mares and Murder is the THIRTY-NINTH book in the series !!  What is there to say about a book or series when there are that many books ???

The Merry Wrath Mystery series is a very special and unique series, it has a lot of different things within it to make readers huge fans.  

You have the main character Merry along with her best friend Kelly running a Girl Scout troop with a group of girls since they were in kindergarten.  They are now in middle school and more grown up than either troop leader would like.  Betty, one of the girls, is the Mayor of Who's There and has been since she was eleven.  There are four girls names Kaitlyn, they look alike and will be major soccer players eventually.  They have Ava who will run businesses in the future, Lauren who talks to all the animals and Inez who is just off the charts crazy.  And recently they have added two additional girls to the group who may end up in the troop, Draconia (who is all about goth) and Ardith (who is a member of Betty's Future Espionage Agents of America club) if they can survive their latest debacle .....

In Mare and Murder the group is invited to Demon's Point Dude Ranch.  The ranch is owned by Merry's old friend from college, Jodie, and she invited them to come experience the ranch before it actually opens so they can work out any problems.

And boy will there be problems !!!  When the group goes on a trail ride for a few days, they find out a landslide took out the path they were to return on and then the woman that nobody liked on the ranch is found stabbed, they find themselves in a little bit of a pickle ..... with more things happened that make Merry and Kelly question their insanity and if they can get the troop out safely.

With thirty-nine books in this series, you know there are fans out there and if you aren't a fan yet, you have enough books to keep you going for a while.  There are so many things I love within this series but I think the thing I like the most is Lauren's ability to talk to the animals and how no one seems to question that .... so fun !!!