The Write Way to Die (Murder By the Book Mystery series Book # 1) by Beth Prentice

From USA Today bestselling author Beth Prentice comes a brand new series filled with humor, romance, and deadly deceptions...

A writing retreat. A famous author. A deadly fall.

Aspiring novelist Aubrey Jackson never expected her big break to be wrapped in crime scene tape. Invited to an exclusive writer’s retreat hosted by the legendary author Willow Fox, Aubrey was excited to sharpen her plot twists and finally finish her first book. But when Willow is found dead—pushed from a third story window—the peaceful getaway turns into a real-life investigation.

With a retreat full of suspects, and the police pointing the finger at one of her best friends, Aubrey’s instincts kick in. After all, she’s read enough murder mysteries to know this wasn’t an accident! So with her writer buddies, Ellie and Spencer, by her side, she sets out to find a killer!

Only problem? The sharp detective with gorgeous eyes and enough muscles to be on a magazine cover, who has a frustrating determination to arrest the wrong person.

Can Aubrey uncover the truth before the killer writes her off for good? Or will her first big break end in a plot twist she never saw coming?

And don't forget to pick up Aubrey Jackson's debut novella, Murder for Shore!   (Summary via Goodreads)

The Write Way to Die is the first book in the Murder By the Book Mystery series by Beth Prentice and it has a lot to love .... a story that grabs you instantly, a cast of strong characters, one stronger than the other as they are a murderer, a great setting for this first of hopefully many in the series, a story within a story, plus much more !!!

In The Write Way to Die main character Aubrey is going on a weekend writing retreat with her best friend, Elle and another good friend Spencer.  Another good friend of Aubrey and Elle's is co-hosting the event with a popular author that they cannot wait to spend time with and learn from .... unfortunately Willow, the author, is found dead outside and Aubrey is the one to find her !!!

It is soon ruled murder as she was pushed from her third floor room window.  And with the retreat consisting of authors and individuals that want to be authors, everyone is talking and they all have their own ideas.  Except one of them is most likely the murderer so .....

Aubrey is there to work on the story that she is writing, a cozy mystery, so when she can't focus on her writing she wonders about Willow's murder and cannot help but start to do her own investigating.  And Elle and Spencer are just as bad and go along with it all.  Even though Aubrey gets in too deep and the handsome detective is constantly telling her to stop !!

Prentice has a great foundation with this first book in this series.  There is so much to love as I stated already.  And the way that she ends this story, you know you are in for it all and be waiting for the next book ... I know I will be.

Murder For Shore (Saltwater Bay Secrets Mystery novella) by Beth Prentice & Aubrey Jackson

From USA Today bestselling author Beth Prentice & Aubrey Jackson, the subject of the "Murder by the Book Mysteries," comes a cozy beachside mystery full of intrigue, danger, and just the right amount of salt in the air!

Daphne Wright thought the biggest challenge at her newly inherited beach house in Saltwater
Bay would be battling the sand in her coffee. But when a human skull washes up with the morning tide, she’s suddenly pulled into a deadly mystery lurking beneath the waves. As secrets bubble to the surface, and the small town’s past proves as treacherous as the shifting sands, Daphne must navigate a tide of lies before the killer strikes again.

Want more Aubrey Jackson? Pick up The Write Way to Die, and learn how she wrote her first novella amidst her own real-life mystery!  (Summary via Goodreads)

Murder For Shore may be a novella but it reads like a full length novel.  You get a glimpse of Murder For Shore when you read The Write Way to Die which is the first book in the Murder By the Book Mystery series.  But you don't have to read it because you get all of it in the novella but it is neat to see it unfold in the main characters mind.

In Murder For Shore main character Daphne returns to Saltwater Bay when she inherits the beach shack that her grandmother leaves her.  Before she even gets to unlock the door her neighbor comes over and shows her the human skull that washed up in the recent storm.  The head is soon identified and Daphne decides to look into the case when it is determined that the person was murdered and he apparently had dated her grandmother.  

Unfortunately Daphne is going to uncover some things that people in town may not want uncovered and she may be in way over her head ....

Author Beth Prentice will have you invested as soon as you start reading and you will be glad it's a novella so you can read it in one sitting because as soon as you start reading, you will want to find out what happens.

Murder at the Moulin Rouge (A Blackwell & Watson Time-Travel Mystery Book # 5) by Carol Pouliot

Paris, 1895. When a cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge falls to her death from the top of one of Montmartre’s highest staircases, the police dismiss it as an accident. But, Madeleine was one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite models, and the artist is certain she was murdered. Enter Depression-era detective Steven Blackwell and 21st-century journalist Olivia Watson who travel back in time to Paris to hunt down the killer. Before long, they learn that a second dancer—a ballerina and favorite model of painter Edgar Degas—has died. Two dancers dead in two weeks. Two artists grieving. Is the killer targeting young dancers, or, does this case involve the enigmatic Paris art world?

From the moment Steven and Olivia arrive, Steven is out of his element. The small-town cop has no idea what techniques the French police use in 1895. Worse, he has no official status to investigate murder in one of the world’s largest cities. The sleuths soon discover disturbing secrets at the Paris Ballet. And when Olivia insists on going undercover to visit a suspect’s house alone, Steven fears he’s made the biggest mistake of his life.

Travel back in time with Steven and Olivia, as they enter the back-stabbing world of dance in one of the world’s greatest cities. Murder at the Moulin Rouge is their most daring and dangerous case to date.   (Summary via Goodreads)

I am a huge fan of time traveling books, I think they are so fun and when you add a murder to solve with a touch of romance, I'm totally 100% in !!  And author Carol Pouliot does it perfectly with her Blackwell & Watson Time-Travel Mystery series.

Steven Blackwell is a detective in the early 1930's while Olivia Watson is a journalist/researcher small business owner in 2015.  They are able to time travel between times by walking over the threshold in a bedroom in the house they both own in their timeframe.  They are able to venture out together in both timeframes and Olivia helps Steven with his murder cases.

In the fifth book in the series, Murder at the Moulin Rouge, they are going to go way out of their comfort zones when Steven's deceased mother knocks on his door .... and she is a lot younger.  A friend of her's in Paris in the year 1895 needs help.  A dear friend of his has died, the case was ruled an accident but Henri knows it wasn't.

Before they can even comes to terms with the fact that Steven's mother can time travel as well, they agree to go to 1895 Paris and try to investigate and help Henri.  Obviously this is going to be the toughest case they have ever worked on .... what do they know about the year 1895 other than what they may have learned in history class ?  That doesn't stop them from diving in head first, working with the local detective, meeting very interesting people and spending time with Steven's mother ... which isn't wierd at all !!!

I'll admit Murder at the Moulin Rouge is not my favorite book in this series.  I love spending time with Steven and Olivia no matter where and when they are but I wasn't a fan of Paris. The storyline was captivating and interesting and I was glad they solved the case and were able to return to their own timeframes.  I also now know that in future books I will not be surprised wherever they end up traveling to .... looks like nothing is off limits for this duo and I look forward to the next book to see where they go and who they meet.

Murder Pays a Call (A Keri Armstrong Cozy Mystery Book # 1) by Nancy J. Cohen

Personal concierge Keri Armstrong will accept almost any job, but solving murders wasn’t on her to-do list—until now.

When personal concierge Keri Armstrong swings by her favorite client’s mansion to drop off groceries, she expects a heartfelt chat along with a cup of tea—not Fiona Sullivan dead in bed and her room ransacked. Though police chalk it up to a botched robbery, Keri isn’t so sure. Whispers around town suggest Fiona wasn’t as adored as Keri had believed, and many of the philanthropist’s so-called friends in affluent Sunny Grove, Florida seem glad she’s gone.

Keri refuses to let Fiona’s memory be reduced to malicious gossip. Armed with a keen eye, insider access, and a fully charged tablet, she sets out to uncover the truth. Soon her file of suspects grows faster than her to-do list. Between sneaky neighbors, resentful relatives, and tight-lipped charity board members, Fiona left behind a trail of frenemies who’d happily skip her memorial brunch.

As Keri digs deeper, she discovers her late mentor had a gift for extracting people’s secrets and using them like fine china—carefully storing them until they could serve a purpose. But Fiona also kept a few skeletons in her own walk-in closet. Now, with danger creeping closer, Keri must race to crack the case before her number comes up next… and Murder Pays a Call.

A Fresh Pick at FreshFiction.com!

“Fans of award-winning author Nancy J. Cohen’s long-running Bad Hair Day Mysteries will be thrilled to learn there’s a new sleuth in town.” Lois Winston, author of the bestselling and award-winning Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.  (Summary via Goodreads)

I fell in love with the Bad Hair Days Mystery series written by Nancy J. Cohen so when I found out she started a new series, I was very excited !!!  And boy has she started this new series off with a bang !!

Murder Pays a Call is the first book in her Keri Armstrong Cozy Mystery series.  This series follows main character Keri in her personal concierge business.  She helps others make their lives easier and simplier.  Unfortunately when Keri finds one of her favorite customers who is like a grandmother to her dead in her bedroom and it is ruled murder, she jumps right into looking for the killer.

Sadly Keri soon learns that Fiona wasn't liked by all and was downright mean to many.  Keri doesn't want to believe that but as the list of suspects continues to grows, she is going to have to face facts ....

As with the Bad Hair Day series Cohen provides readers with a strong main character that you immediately are drawn to and love.  And I know that Murder Pays a Call is the first book in this new series but Cohen knows how to end the story to ensure that readers will be back for more.

Murder at Cape Costumers (Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery Book # 7) by Maddie Day

In Agatha Award-winner Maddie Day’s delightfully spooky Cozy Capers Book Group mystery, it’s Halloween, and Cape Cod bike shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida and her book club must unmask a killer…

Just in time for Halloween, a new costume shop has opened on Main Street in Westham, Massachusetts. Cape Costumers is a cut above the usual seasonal pop-up stores with their flimsy mass-produced outfits and cheap plastic masks, mostly due to co-owner Shelly, a former Broadway costume designer. But when Shelly discovers her elderly boyfriend Enzo—a Broadway star who retired to Westham—dead of unnatural causes, Halloween suddenly gets a lot scarier.

Sleuthing, Mac has found, is a lot like riding a bicycle: once you learn how, you never forget. Far from being spooked, Mac and the members of the Cozy Capers Book Group put down their weekly book selection and put their heads together to see past a bag of tricks and find a malice-making murderer who’s hiding in plain sight . .  (Summary via Goodreads)

Murder at Cape Costumers, the seventh book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series, has multiple stories to follow which will keep you reading for sure. 

If you've read any or all of the previous books in this series by Maddie Day, you know that main character Mac cannot stay out of trouble.  When there is a murder, whether she knew the victim or the suspects, she will begin investigating ... but don't worry, she has the Cozy Capers book club watching her back .... hopefully.

On the morning after Halloween Enzo, a gentlemen that was a recent customer at Mac's Bike's is found dead on his deck still wearing his skeleton costume.  Before the death is determined to be murder or natural causes, Mac is already looking into things.

In Murder at Cape Costumers not only is Mac looking into Enzo's murder but her sister-in-law and two small children are visiting.  Unfortunately Jamie, Tim's sister, goes out one night claiming to be meeting a friend for dinner and never returns.  This leaves Mac and Tim looking after Ella and Luca.  Luckily Ella and Mac's niece Cokey become fast, best friends and Mac's family is there to help until Jamie returns.  Tim and Mac, both being business owners try to settle into their new home life but, of course, Mac needs to make sure her hometown and it's residents are safe .... so until she knows who killed Enzo and they are arrested, she will still stick her neck out ..... 

Murder at Cape Costumers, in my opinion, is different than the others as it digs deeper into the family aspect and has a storyline that draws from that.  Not only are we working on a murder but a missing loved one as well.  I personally got emotional with Jamie's disappearance and that could be because after six books, Tim is fictional family.

Regardless as to what drew you into this series or what draws you in, I know you will enjoy your time spent with Mac, Tim and the rest of the town of Westham.

Murder at an Irish Wedding (Irish Village Mystery Book # 2) by Carlene O'Connor

The O Sullivan clan of County Cork, Ireland, are thrilled to be catering the matrimonial affairs of a celebrity couple until a cunning killer turns an Irish wedding into an Irish wake . . .

"Any wedding is a big deal in the small village of Kilbane even more so when the bride is a famous fashion model. It is also good for business. Not only has customer traffic picked up at Naomi s Bistro, Siobhan O Sullivan and her five siblings have a full plate catering for the three-day affair. And Siobhan s own beau, local garda Macdara Flannery, gladly steps in as best man after the groom s first choice makes a drunken arse out of himself.

Even if he hadn't been disinvited to the wedding, the original best man wouldn t have been able to show. He's been found murdered in the woods, casting a pall over the nuptials. And when a second member of the wedding party is poisoned by a champagne flute engraved with Macdara's name, the garda goes from being best man to prime suspect.

With a killer at large and a string of robberies plaguing Kilbane, Siobhan feels more than a little protective of her village. She vows to clear Macdara's name, but the suspect list is as long as the guest list. Like the bride walking down the aisle, Siobhan needs to watch her step. For as she gets closer to unveiling the truth, the murderer is planning a very chilly reception for her . . .

PRAISE FOR "MURDER IN AN IRISH VILLAGE"

If Janet Evanovich and Maeve Binchy wrote a book together, "Murder in an Irish Village"would be the result. 

This one is delicious fun. Laurien Berenson, author of"Live and Let Growl"

A lively debut . . . The cheeky and close-knit O'Sullivans are sure to appeal to cozy fans, who will also appreciate the warmth and spirit of the people of Kilbane. "Publishers Weekly"

A smart whodunnit in an idyllic locale. I dare you not to be charmed by sleuth Siobhan and her siblings, the O Sullivan Six. Barbara Ross, author of"Fogged Inn"

This entertaining combination of Maeve Binchy s old-world Irish charm and Janet Evanovich's roguish humor is a smart, fast-paced read. Devotees of the Hibernian mysteries of Dicey Deere and M.C. Beaton will toast this debut with a pint of Guinness. Slainte! "Library Journal" (Summary via Goodreads)

I am a huge fan of books centered around Ireland.  If I liked to travel, Ireland would definitely be at the top of my list ... but seeing as I hate to travel and get anxiety when I have to visit family in Florida I will live inside books.  And the Irish Village Mystery series by Carlene O'Connor is one of the best ones to get lost in.

I fell in love with the first book in this series, Murder in an Irish Village, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book.

Murder at an Irish Wedding brings an interesting group of people to the Kilbane Castle for a wedding.  Alice is a famous fashion model and also the bride.  She, along with the groom Paul, and their small wedding party and parents are staying at the Kilbane Castle to celebrate their love and have the ceremony.

Unfortunately on the morning after a night out drinking, Kevin, Paul's best man is found dead in the woods and it is definitely murder !!  Main character Siobhan is there delivering some of her family's bistro's brown bread so she immediately goes into investigator mode .... especially when her boyfriend/police officer, Macdara, is on the suspect list.  Macdara is long time friends with Paul and asked to step in as best man.

Paul and Alice are determined to get married no matter what !!  Even when everything and it seems everyone is against it !!

Readers cannot help but love this series and this edition is a repackaged trade paperback reissue so if you are like me and just becoming a fan, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.  And I hope you will continue reading because as you'll see when you get to the end of Murder at an Irish Wedding, things are going to be changing for Siobhan and her siblings ..... and it's going to be a hoot for sure !!!!

Death Whisk (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book # 15) by Catherine Bruns

From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes the next dangerously delicious Cookies & Chance mystery!

Full time baker and part time sleuth, Sally Muccio, is looking forward to an impromptu getaway at Bella Vita, a charming local inn recently renovated by an old friend of her father’s. Sal’s been asked to provide treats for Bella Vita's open house and, in addition to the extra dough she’ll earn, her entire family is invited to spend the night at the bed and breakfast for free.

But after a winter storm knocks out the power and Sal stumbles across owner Guido Sorrentino’s lifeless body, the night becomes something directly out of a horror movie. Sal fully intends to leave the investigation to the police...that is, until her father’s life becomes endangered as well! Who wanted Guido dead and what does her father have to do with it? Was Guido a member of organized crime? And why was he acting like he had a death wish? With a crowd of angry and bitter relatives busy celebrating his death instead of mourning, it quickly becomes apparent that there are too many suspects to count. It's up to Sal to find a killer before she’s treated to a taste of death herself!

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)

What can you say about a book when it is the fifteenth book in a series ?  Well..... a lot actually.

Death Whisk is the fifteenth book in the Cookies & Chance Mystery series by Catherine Bruns and by far my favorite series.  This series is so much more to me then just stories.  When I open one of these books, I am home with my family.  The Muccio and Donovan families are a part of me .... you cannot help but love them and the craziness they get into !!!

And in Death Whisk we get to see a whole different side to Sally's father, Domenic.  Something I don't think we could have ever imagined !!!  

In Death Whisk Sally and Josie have been asked to provide cookies for an open house.  A friend of Domenic's from when he lived in Italy has bought and renovated a bed and breakfast and he has invited a selection of people to attend the open house and spend the night before the grand opening.  Sally, who is almost due to delivery her second child and Mike will be in attendance along with everyone else except Gramma Rosa who stayed home to watch the other children.

Unfortunately in the middle of the night Sally and Mike go to Guido's suite with an issue and find him dead.  And maybe with all the excitement, or maybe that's just how the family is, Sally goes into labor !!  As you know Sally can handle anything .....

Instead of being able to just rest and enjoy her family with the new addition, Sally is drawn into the murder investigation.  She claims to do it because her father is involved somehow and she knows that he isn't telling them everything, but we know she can't help herself !! 

I just love this series and look forward to when the latest book gets published so that I can dig in.  There is so much to love !!  You cannot help but love the families and the relationships.  No matter what is going on, whether it is family dinner with Gramma Rosa's cooking, a murder, hanging out with Sally and Josie at the bakery, or spending time with Sally and Mike, you will enjoy it.  And Bruns knows how to keep your blood pumping and you on the edge of your seat !!!