A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Whiskers and Lies by Sofie Kelly

Baker Georgia Tepper has been hired to provide delicious and spooky cupcakes for the Reading Buddies Halloween Party at the library, and she and Kathleen are meeting to finalize the menu of festive confections. Unfortunately, once Georgia's former mother-in-law ambushes her at the library and threatens Georgia with legal action, the afternoon of fun is soured.

When Georgia's litigious in-law is later found dead and the friendly baker is implicated, Kathleen is eager to help prove her innocence. Luckily, Kathleen and her intrepid magical cats, Hercules and Owen, have solved their fair share of mysteries. As a result, she knows that in life as well as crime solving, it is all relative, but with hard work, she can make sure the right criminal is booked.

Halloween is just around the corner and Kathleen (along with the rest of her staff) is planning the Reading Buddies party.  Everything seems to be going well (especially the cupcake tasting!) when the baker, Georgia, goes white, apparently her in-laws have tracked her down and are planning on taking her daughter away (they have already tried to kidnap Emmy once - which is when Georgia packed up, changed her name and RAN).  This time she stands up to them, but later that night her MIL is found by Kathleen and Marcus and she is well and truly dead.

Georgia is arrested for murder, but Kathleen (and her two Magical Cats Owen and Hercules) are sure she is innocent, and so the three of them start digging to find the truth.

Wedding Bell Blues by Lynn Cahoon

Jill couldn't love police chief Greg King more--so why does that engagement ring still feel funny on her finger? At least she'll have a chance to show it off this Saturday at their engagement party. Just in time for the event, a new dress shop has opened in town, Exquisite Gowns for You, specializing in designer wedding gowns and other custom-fit dresses. But Jill's excitement turns to shock when she comes by to pick up her dress for the party and discovers a dead body in the shop. New owner Harper Sanchez is behaving strangely and becoming more mysterious than anyone expected. Despite Greg's warnings to leave the case to him, Jill can't help looking into the murder. Somebody in South Cove is dressed to kill--and if Jill's not careful, she may not live to wear her wedding gown.

Jill and Greg have got engaged and Jill's Aunt Jackie arranged for Jill and herself to get custom made dressed for the engagement party, so far so good! However, when the two of them turn up for the final fitting they overhear and argument, and when Jill goes to collect the dresses she finds a dead body, Harper (the dress designer/maker), is stunned and says it is her sister.  Luckily the dresses are released in time for the party, and Greg can take a few hours off from the murder investigation to attend.  But then things turn rather odd, with Sherry (Greg's ex-wife) being arrested for the murder, someone else claiming they did it, and everyone around Harper being exceedingly strange.  Hopefully Greg can sort this out quickly so he and Jill can get on with plans for their lives.

Murder at Hatfield House by Amanda Carmack

England is in tumult under the rule of Queen Mary and her Spanish husband. Confined to house arrest at Hatfield House, young Princess Elizabeth is the country’s greatest hope. Far from court intrigues, Elizabeth finds solace in simple things: the quiet countryside and peaceful recreation, including the melodies of her chief musician and his daughter, Kate Haywood.
 
But Kate will prove herself most valuable when an envoy of the queen—sent to flush out heretics in the princess’s household—is found dead on the grounds of Hatfield. Acting as Elizabeth’s eyes and ears, Kate is sent out on the trail of a killer whose mission could destroy her family, friends—and the future of England.

A cozy that kept me guessing (or second guessing my guesses!) pretty much until the end! This borrows a number of historical figures, such as the future Elizabeth I, Queen Mary, Lady Jane Grey and others, but all are interwoven with the writer's own characters and this allows a plot (in more ways than one) to form.

Kate Haywood and her father Matthew are musicians for the Princess Elizabeth, currently under light house arrest at Hatfield House as her half sister is on the throne, the lives of all at the House are thrown into disarray when an envoy from the Queen arrives, and he arrives VERY unhappy as his servant was killed not far from the house, he promptly turns the house upside down to try and find something, anything, that will prove the household are not loyal Catholics, everyone is disconcerted but knows there is nothing to find.  But then there is another death, and this one sets Lord Braceton on edge even more.  We then add in a troupe of players, a lawyer's assistant, the arrest for heresy of Kate's father, and we discover that she will do anything to help her Princess and her ill father.

Well worth a read and I will continue the series!

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas by Vicki Delany

It’s the beginning of December in Rudolph, New York, America's Christmas Town, and business is brisk at Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and décor shop owned by Merry Wilkinson. The local amateur dramatic society is intensely preparing a special musical production of A Christmas Carol. But it’s not a happy set, as rivalries between cast and crew threaten the production.

Tensions come to a head when a member of the group is found dead shortly after a shopping excursion to Mrs. Claus's Treasures. Was someone looking to cut out the competition? Everyone in the cast and crew is a potential suspect, including Aline, Merry’s mother, and Merry's shop assistant Jackie O'Reilly, who was desperate for a starring role.

It could be curtains for Christmas—and for Merry—unless the killer can be ferreted out of the wings.

'Tis the Season in Rudolph (well the run up to the season at any rate!), Mrs Claus's Treasures is getting slammed by locals and visitors alike getting their Christmas shopping done, and Merry's full-time assistant is not being a lot of help, mainly because she has stars in her eyes as she has been cast as the understudy of Mrs Cratchitt  in the local players musical of A Christmas Carol, when Merry and her best pal Vicki go to drop something off at the rehearsal for Merry's Mum (the ex-opera singer and musical director for the show), they discover a LOT of back biting, people threatening to walk out and basically tempers flaring at the drop of pretty much anything!  Even so things should settle down, and they would have if the original Mrs Cratchitt hadn't been killed in Merry's shop! 

Now with her assistant, Jackie, and Merry's own Mother Aline in the frame as the killer, Merry starts to dig into what is going on, leading to herself almost turning into the ghost of Christmas Present!

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder.
No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter—and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death.
When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Québec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he's dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder—or brilliant enough to succeed?
With his trademark compassion and courage, Gamache digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life to find the dangerous secrets long buried there. For a Quebec winter is not only staggeringly beautiful but deadly, and the people of Three Pines know better than to reveal too much of themselves. But other dangers are becoming clear to Gamache. As a bitter wind blows into the village, something even more chilling is coming for Gamache himself.

This is the second book in the Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mysteries, in this one Armand Gamache and his 2nd in command Jean Guy Beauvoir are back in Three Pines after a newish member of the community is electrocuted during the Boxing Day curling match, what they soon discover is that no-one is upset that she is dead, but also no-one seems to have seen anything! Now as Armand and his team (including a wet behind the ears police officer and Yvette Nichols, who is NOT trusted by Armand at all) dig deeper and find some strange twists and turns, including a link to the death of a street person in Montreal, but can they find the truth and can Armand trust his team?

Murder at a Cape Bookstore by Maddie Day

Everyone loves a festival, though Mac has a few concerns about the Spring equinox event organized by the new Chamber of Commerce director, Wagner Lavoie. After all, March weather is unpredictable. Still, there's plenty to enjoy, between flower-shaped candies at Salty Taffy's, spring rolls at the Rusty Anchor, and a parade of decorated bicycles. But the festivities soon take a stormy turn . . .

Mac glimpses conflict between Wagner and other locals during the festival, but it's a shock when he's found dead in the Book Nook, pinned beneath a toppled bookshelf. It's an irresistible case for Mac's book group. She and the rest of the Cozy Capers will have to use all their sleuthing skills to bring the killer's story to an end . . .

Spring is in the air in Cape Cod and the Chamber of Commerce director (Wagner Lavoie) has decided that a Spring festival will bring the tourists back early, which seems a good idea but the weather can be unpredictable to say the least! The main problem seems to be that Wagner is putting the backs up of nearly all the business owners, still things settle down and the day goes off relatively smoothly, well that is until Wagner is found dead ... under a toppled bookcase in the bookstore! Now the Cozy Caper group are springing into action, especially as three of their members are being looked at askance by the police, including Norland, the retired Police Chief, as he was working at the bookstore when the "accident" happened.

Can Mac and the rest of the group find out the truth before there is another death? and can Mac also discover why her new employee keeps disappearing on her? Nothing is too tough for this great group of Cozy readers!

Donut Disturb by Ellie Alexander

Love is in bloom in Ashland, Oregon. The Shakespearean hamlet is bursting with fresh spring energy. Fragrant lilacs and the sweet aroma of vanilla cake fill the air as everyone in town gathers at Lithia Park for the celebration of the year—Thomas and Kerry’s wedding.

It’s a picture perfect day. Guests gather on picnic blankets in front of the bandshell to watch Kerry walk down the aisle and wed Ashland’s favorite detective in training, Thomas. Jules and her team at Torte have been tasked with catering the outdoor reception and everything is going according to plan, until a wedding crasher shows up.

The uninvited guest isn’t just someone looking to score a free glass of champagne. It’s Kerry’s estranged father who is supposed to be behind bars. Kerry is distraught. Jules vows to do everything she can to make sure that there are no other surprises on her friend’s big day. But when the bassist for Heart Strings, the wedding band, is found stabbed with the blunt end of his instrument Jules’s promise takes on new meaning. Now she’ll have to slice through the five tiered cake and a bevy of potential suspects in order to track down a killer before they turn the knife on her.

Another wonderful visit with the team at Torte, this time they are pulling out all the stops to make sure that the wedding of Officer Thomas and Detective Kerry goes smoothly, sadly through things start to slightly unravel when Kerry spots her father, who is supposed to be in jail! Still that seems to be the only dark cloud until the morning of the wedding when Jules finds the body of one of the musicians, stabbed with his own instrument, and Jamie (Kerry's dad) seems to be the guilty party.

The wedding does go ahead and Thomas and Kerry are off on their honeymoon cruise, with Kerry breaking her own rules and asking Jules to prove Jamie is no killer.  So now Jules, along with Lance her BFF, is sifting through the suspects to find the truth.  

Death on the Shelf by Allison Brook

Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton is thrilled to attend her best friend Angela's wedding, but Angela's family can be a bit...much. Cousin Donna hosts the bridal shower at her resplendent home, but Donna's surgeon husband, Aiden, spends a bit too much time with cousin Roxy. Later at the wedding reception, the sweet occasion turns darkly bitter when Aiden topples into the chocolate fountain--dead.

The suspect list is as long as the guest list, and as difficult to sort out as the seating chart. A few of the top contenders are Roxy, emotionally unstable since her recent divorce; Angela's brother, who feels Aiden betrayed him; and Roxy's ex-husband, Miles. Even Donna may have had reason to want her husband dead. Worse, Carrie reluctantly adds the bride and groom to the list.

At Aiden's wake, Carrie discovers that he died from a slow-acting poison. She learns quite a bit more from Vera, Aiden's gossipy office manager. Then, things take an even darker turn when Roxy follows Aiden into the hereafter.
Carrie is determined to help Angela and her husband start their life together outside prison walls. But outside the library's walls, can library ghost Evelyn and library cat Smoky Joe help her? Because with the killer still at large, her life may depend on them.

A great story with two murders and a mystery! Starting with the mystery, Evelyn, the library ghost, hopes that Carrie will be able to track down her missing brother, which starts with discovering that his daughter is back in town and going through the mill, her husband left and took ALL the cash, emptied the bank accounts and even maxed out the credit cards!! Luckily the people of Clover Ridge are able to help there.

The murders however are a different story, the first is a well loved surgeon who keels over at a wedding (the wedding is Carrie's friend and colleague), it turns out he was poisoned which puts rather a damper on the celebrations! The second was the first victim's cousin-in-law which seems to bring it back to the family, now Carrie, with the help of her boyfriend, her cat and Evelyn, is trying to figure out what happened so that Angie's married live can go smoothly!

Fishing for Trouble by Elizabeth Logan

Summer has come to Elkview, Alaska, bringing 20 hours of sunlight every day, not to mention a surge of tourists and seasonal workers. Chef Charlie Cooke is eager for a busy yet relaxing season, but when a young man working a summer job at the local fish processing plant dies moments after walking into the Bear Claw Diner, she is quickly swept into the investigation.

Soon, through her best friend Annie Jensen, Charlie learns that another student worker at J and M Processing has disappeared, leaving more questions and fewer answers. The nearly endless sunlight gives plenty of time to search for clues, but Charlie will have to work with Annie and local reporter Chris Doucette to net the killer before anyone else gets hurt.

Summertime and the livin' is easy, or at least it should be! Sadly things are not that straightforward for Charlie Cooke. When a group of students arrive at The Bear Claw Charlie and her staff are expecting to serve them local food, NOT a trip to the morgue for one of them, now it seems there is something rotten in the State of Alaska and Charlie, reporter Chris, Inn owner Annie and of course the local Trooper need to find out who poisoned a young man and why has another gone missing?

Add in the fears that her parents are going to sell up and move from Alaska, oh and Charlie's ex (the local fish processing plant's labour lawyer) on the scene, Charlie is going to need all the help she can get, before someone decides to process her into a grave!

Dying in a Winter Wonderland by Vicki Delany

Christmas has arrived in Rudolph, New York, and Merry Wilkinson is looking forward to a much needed rest. But before that can happen, Luanne Ireland walks through her door. Luanne had asked Merry to help make decorations for her wedding, but has suddenly moved the wedding months earlier and is now demanding that everyone follow her lead, regardless of the cost.

But that cost is much higher than anyone anticipated. When Luanne's fiancé is found murdered at their proposed wedding venue, Merry resolves to restore peace and calm to the community of Rudolph. But the closer she gets to the killer, the more personal the case becomes, and Merry begins to worry that a death knell could ring in the New Year.

It is always good to go back to Rudolph, this time Merry has got sucked into helping plan a wedding, the bride (Luanne) is an ex-girlfriend of Merry's brother Chris and she is turning into a confused Bridezilla! A couple of days after Chris arrives home to spend Christmas with the family Luanne arrives at the house, drunk and declaring her love for Chris, followed by her fiancé turning up and knocking Chris down! That would be bad enough but then the fiancé is found dead, by Chris, it's beginning to look a lot like murder.  Now if Merry and her parents are going to save Chris then they will have to figure out who hated the man enough to kill.