A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Mulch Ado about Murder (A Local Foods Mystery #5) by Edith Maxwell

May has been anything but merry for Cam so far. Her parents have arrived unexpectedly and her crops are in danger of withering away. But all of that’s nothing compared to the grim fate that lies in store for one of her neighbors. Nicole Kingsbury is the proud owner of the town’s new hydroponic greenhouse. She claims the process will be 100% organic, but she uses chemicals to feed her crops. To Cam’s surprise, her mother embarrasses her by organizing a series of loud public protests against Nicole’s operation.

When Nicole is found dead in a vat of hydroponic slurry—clutching another set of rosary beads—Detective Pete Pappas has a new murder to solve. Showers may be scarce this spring, but there’s no shortage of suspects, including the dead woman’s embittered ex‑husband, the Other Man whose affair ruined their marriage, and Cam’s own mother. Lucky for Cam, her father turns out to have a knack for sleuthing—not to mention dealing with chickens. Will he and Cam be able to clear Mrs. Flaherty’s name before the killer strikes again?

Edith Maxwell can make murder fun and fascinating, and this is yet another excellent visit with Cam and her friends and family!

Cam Flaherty has a lot on her plate, the rains are yet to arrive (and so a lot of hand watering is happening), her parents have turned up for an unexpected visit (her father cannot tell what is a weed and what isn't and her mother is involved in a local protest!), this would be bad enough but Cam has just found a body, her mother is one of the people of interest! and Pete Pappas cannot be involved in the case because of this.

Now with Debra Flaherty obviously hiding something (although Cam is sure that does NOT include killing the local hydroponic farmer) Cam and her father need to put their heads together to find out the truth before Debra ends up being a Professor behind bars!

A Stew to a Kill (A Callie's Kitchen Mystery #4) by Jenny Kales

When a new employee at a neighboring business, Tea for Two, is found dead, Callie is drawn into a murky brew of motives and murder suspects. It turns out that the seemingly mild-mannered victim might have a few skeletons in his closet. What’s more, the timing of the murder, just a day before Crystal Bay’s first annual Halloween Walk, has threatened to derail the town’s festive fall events, including a Halloween Gala benefiting the local food pantry, one of Callie’s favorite causes.

Callie’s already full plate is set to overflowing with the return of an old boyfriend who has his eye on developing a mall that will compete with and possibly destroy Crystal Bay’s small business scene. Could there be a tie between the mall and the murder?

Somebody has been stewing. Will Callie help find the unsavory killer before things reach the boiling point?

Another humdinger of a story by Jenny Kales!

Business is booming in Crystal Bay, especially for Callie and her staff (Max is back, Josh is learning well, Piper is great at the front of house and social media), they are supplying the cakes etc for the tea shop Tea for Two which means the owner, Christy, and her part time employee (Henry) can concentrate on the tea side. As well as this the street is gearing up for Halloween with skeletons dressed up (people can  take selfies with them), a Halloween Walk and finally a Gala, all of which are raising funds for the food pantry.  All of this could get derailed though when Henry is found murdered (and Sands is away in the UK!) and a company wants to open a mall which would kill the local independent shops (it doesn't help that the person in charge of the Mall development is an ex boyfriend of Callie's who seems to think they can get back together again!)

Now Callie needs to save her friend Christy from brewing tea in prison, help save the local shops and make sure that Ben gets the idea that she isn't available! Oh and keep cooking and looking after her daughter, the heat is on but Callie will keep her cool.

Staging is Murder (A Laura Bishop Mystery #1) by Grace Topping

Laura Bishop just nabbed her first decorating commission—staging for sale a 19th century mansion that hasn’t been updated for decades. But when a body falls from a laundry chute and lands at Laura’s feet, removing flowered wallpaper becomes the least of her duties.

To clear her young assistant of the murder and save her fledgling business, Laura’s determined to find the killer. Turns out it’s not as easy as renovating a manor home, especially with two handsome men complicating her mission: the police detective assigned to the case and the real estate agent trying to save the manse from foreclosure.

Worse still, the meddling of a horoscope-guided friend, a determined grandmother, and the local funeral director could get them all killed before Laura props the first pillow.

Wow! The planning and misdirections in this first book remind me of the Golden Age murder/mystery writers!

Laura has a part-time assistant to help her with her fledgling business, Tyrone holds down 2 or 3 jobs, is putting himself through college, lives with his Nan and seems to be an all round good guy, so when he breaks a vase on their first paying job and gets into a little bit of a verbal argument with the house owner (who seems to think there is nothing wrong with outdated decorations and WAY too many knick knacks) nobody really thinks anything of it, until the home owner is murdered and Tyrone is suspect #1, with him hauled away to jail, his Nan comes asking Laura to help clear his name, now Laura needs to keep in top of the job at hand AND help Tyrone (and his Nan Mrs Webster), oh and she has some .... interesting help from her best friend Nita (along with Nita's extended Italian family) and the local Psychic! 

Can Laura channel her inner Miss Marple and figure out whodunnit and why?

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Laura Elizabeth Bishop

What is your Profession?

When I decided on a new career mid-life, I got training and certification as a professional home stager. My career in information technology bored me to tears. Being a home stager draws on my more creative side.

What is your current favourite book or movie?

I have so many. My favorite romantic movie is “You’ve Got Mail,” or almost any movie with Meg Ryan. My favorite humorous movie is “Galaxy Quest.” It makes me laugh no matter how many times I see it. A great line from the film is, “Never give up, never surrender.” Sounds like my goal in getting published.

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

Any book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, but mainly Ain’t She Sweet. SEP writes about wonderful characters that grow and develop in the story. And her books make me laugh, especially when I need comfort. They are the perfect books to have with you when you wait for the results of a mammogram.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

I would love to be Thursday Next in the series written by Jasper Fforde. Thursday is a member of the literary police, and she can go diving into a book to sort out the characters who have gone rogue or help out a character that has gotten into trouble. She helped Jane Eyre, when she got into a sticky situation. Jasper Fforde has an amazing imagination.

What is your ideal evening?

My ideal evening would include seeing a stage production of an old favorite like Arsenic and Old Lace; Hello, Dolly; Mame. The ones community theaters produce because they are so popular and always draw a crowd. And the ones that have you humming or laughing when you leave the theater.

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

Part One

April 25 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

April 25 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

April 26 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW

April 26 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

April 27 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 28 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 28 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

April 29 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

Part Two

May 6 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

May 6 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

May 7 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 8 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

May 8 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 9 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

May 9 – Carole’s Book Corner – SPOTLIGHT

May 10 – Teresa Trent Author Site – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 11 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

May 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 12 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST

May 13 – That’s What She’s Reading – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

A Dream of Death (Kate Hamilton Mysteries #1) by Connie Berry

On a remote Scottish island, American antique dealer Kate Hamilton sleuths a killing that eerily replicates a murder still unsolved after 200 years.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland's Isle of Rothsay, and the locals gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Among the invited guests is American antique dealer Kate Hamilton. Returning to the island where her husband died is brutal, but Kate is determined to repair her relationship with her sister-in-law, Elenor Spurgeon, the proprietor of Rothsay's deluxe country house hotel.

Kate has hardly unpacked when a body turns up, murdered in an eerie recreation of an infamous unsolved murder two hundred years before. And the only clue to the killer's identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. When Bo Duff, the gentle handyman who had tried to save Kate’s husband's life, is taken into custody, she teams up with vacationing Detective Inspector Tom Mallory to clear Bo’s name. To accomplish that, they’ll have to unmask a killer who seems bizarrely fixated on the past…because two hundred years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge in A Dream of Death, the tantalizing series debut by Connie Berry.

Phew! What a superb opening book to what I hope will be a lengthy series, I love the premise that two people who are non-native can team together to help solve a crime (or few!)

Kate Hamilton does not have the best re-introduction to the Isle, her luggage has gone missing (and she is supposed to be gussied up for a ball that night!), she nearly ran into a car, oh and she is dreading meeting her sister in law (Elanor) again (who has ignored her pretty much all the time, but now wants something). One bright spot is meeting Bo again, her late husband's friend and the man who tried to save him when he had a heart attack and drowned. When she arrives at the hotel, Elanor gives no reason for her summons, only to say she will find out after the ball (and Kate is lucky that the fantastic cook for the hotel has a daughter who wears pretty much the same size and so she isn't turning up in travel worn clothes!)

After the ball she discovers that someone has searched her cottage and then she finds out that someone has killed Elanor, the problem is that Bo seems to be the one the local police are fixated on, Kate has some back up in the form of the man she almost ran into, a man called Tom who is a visiting English police officer, the problem is everyone seems to be hiding something and the only things she are sure about is that she didn't kill Elanor and neither did Bo, but that leaves the field well and truly open!

 

An Interview With A Character

1.  What is your full name?

Katherine Ann Hamilton, née Larsen. My parents were Scandinavian, but I jumped ship and married a Scot, born on the Isle of Glenroth in the Scottish Hebrides.

2. What is your profession?

Like my parents before me, I'm an antiques dealer and appraiser, specializing in fine objects from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.

3. What is your current favorite book or movie?

I adore the classics, so I'd have to say my favorite book is either Middlemarch by George Eliot (1874) with its surprisingly contemporary themes or Clarissa (1748), the five-volume behemoth by Samuel Richardson that helped set the course of British novel-writing. Oh dear—do I sound like a history geek? No comment.

4. What is your go-to comfort book or movie?

No question here: Pride and Prejudice, the mini-series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. This gorgeous production (unlike the unfortunate movie starring a skeletal Keira Knightly) reflects not only the English Regency but also the tone of Austen's novel. I watch the series at least once a year, especially when I'm lonely. My Scottish Fold kitty, Fiona, and I cuddle up on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and indulge our time-travel fantasies.

5. If someone was to play you in a movie, who would it be?

I've been told I look like Charlize Theron in her dark-hair stage, but I can't see the resemblance myself. I'm certainly not glamorous and could care less about things like clothes and make-up—especially since my husband died three years ago. My best friend, Charlotte, an ex-department store window dresser, considers me her private what-not-to-wear project.

6. What is your ideal evening?

I don't have one anymore—not since Bill died. We used to take walks in the evening or, in the summer, sit on the porch swing and discuss our day. Nowadays the cat-and-popcorn thing passes the time. What I need is a little adventure, and I may get more than I'd bargained for. In two days I fly to the Scottish Highlands, where my husband's sister, Elenor, owns a country house hotel. Elenor has resented me from our first meeting twenty-five years ago. Now she claims she's in trouble and needs my help.

Exactly why remains to be seen. Wish me luck.

 

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 15 – The Editing Pen – GUEST POST

April 15 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

April 16 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 16 – I’m All About Books – GUEST POST

April 17 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT*

April 17 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW

April 18 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

April 18 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 19 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

April 19 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

April 20 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 20 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

April 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 22 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

April 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

April 23 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

April 23 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 24 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

April 25 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 26 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 26 – My Devotional Thoughts – SPOTLIGHT

Secrets and Pies (A Callie's Kitchen Mystery #3) by Jenny Kales

Summertime in Crystal Bay means tourist season for Calliope “Callie” Costas, owner of Callie’s Kitchen, a Greek-meets-Midwest from-scratch eatery. Business is booming but so is the stress. Callie can barely keep up with the demand for her famous summer fruit pies and savory Greek delicacies, plus she’s agreed to bake dozens of “pitas” for the annual Greek Fest.

When Callie is asked to deliver cast party treats for a Murder Mystery Night at the historic Harris House, it seems like a welcome break from her hot stove. That is, until she finds herself an unwilling player in yet another suspicious death. Worse yet, the victim is a family friend and graduate student working on a project involving Crystal Bay’s colorful past.

Before long, a motley crew of suspects makes things as juicy as the succulent berries strewn around Callie’s Kitchen. And that’s not all Callie’s got on her plate. Add family obligations, a deepening romance with a local detective and unexpected personnel problems to the mix.

It's hot in the kitchen and Callie is hot under the collar!

Callie had a lot on her plate catering wise, her father (George) needs her to make food for the Greek Fest, Mrs DeWitt (a lady people just can't say no to!) wants her to provide snacks (to be paid for, as in a concession stand) for the new Beats by the Bay music event, oh and a theatre troupe is putting on a murder mystery dinner at the Harris House hotel and Callie has been asked to provide the after show nibbles.

So far so good, only her amazing sous chef, Max, has to head back to the family farm as his father has broken his hip, his possible replacement (Josh) is very much a beginner in the kitchen and whilst George was great at teaching Callie how to cook, Josh doesn't take his instruction so well! Oh and just to add the honey to the Baklava there has been a murder, and Callie found the body which was in the grounds of a house the firm her ex-husband now works for is planning to do up, and the deceased is Olivia's favourite teacher.

Now with Sands trying to keep Callie safe (and ..... well out of his investigation), thefts, no staff and all the theatre troupe seeming shifty, can Callie see her way clear to just keep cooking?

The Body in the Wetlands (A Jazzi Zanders Mystery #2) by Judi Lynn

When established house flippers Jazzi Zanders and her cousin Jerod donate a week’s worth of remodeling work to Jazzi’s sister Olivia, they’re expecting nothing more than back-breaking roofing work and cold beers at the end of each long, hot day. With Jazzi’s live-in boyfriend and partner Ansel on the team, it promises to be a quick break before starting their next big project—until Leo, an elderly neighbor of Olivia’s, unexpectedly goes missing . . .
 
When the friendly senior’s dog tugs Jazzi and the guys toward the wetlands beyond Olivia’s neighborhood, they stumble across a decomposing corpse—and a lot of questions. With Jazzi’s pal Detective Gaff along to investigate, Jazzi finds her hands full of a whole new mystery instead of the usual hammer and nails. And this time it will take some sophisticated sleuthing to track down the culprit of the deadly crime—before the killer turns on her next . . .

A wonderful second book with a cracking cast of characters, this is a series to read and re-read.

Jazzi's sister Olivia (and her partner Thane) have bought a house that needs some TLC, Jazzi, her cousin Jerod and her boyfriend Ansel (aka The Viking or Norseman!) are contractors and so they take a week between house flips and do some of the heavy work (namely the roof, kitchen and bathrooms!), Thane is acting as their assistant (doing some of the lifting and shifting of things like roofing materials, which saves time), Olivia and her Mum are doing the decorating or the bedrooms etc.

One day Jazzi gets talking with a neighbour who is out walking his dog and is concerned about the work (and is very pleased to hear that they are getting the house sorted and so forth), Leo (the neighbour) is obviously starved for company as he chats on more than one occasion, but then there is one day when he doesn't turn up, but his dog Cocoa does and she is obviously injured, Jazzi, Ansel, Jerod and Thane hurry to his house only to find Leo is missing and his disabled wife is laying on the floor. With a friend called Jazzi takes Cocoa out for a quick walk, only to have the dog dig up a dead body - and it isn't Leo! Now their friend Gaff (the police detective) is on the case, Ansel had to head back to the family farm to help out there, Jerod is ill and there is a murderer on the loose, Jazzi and Gaff need to find out who it is before Jazzi ends up being another body in the Wetlands.

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?  

Dalmar Herstad, and I’m here to defend myself.  I’m sure everyone who’s met my son, Ansel, thinks I’m some kind of monster, a horrible father, but they’re just plain wrong.  A man has to be practical, and when I kicked Ansel out of the house the day he graduated from high school, it was for his own good, and ours.

What is your Profession?  

I own a dairy farm. My wife and I had two sons, which was perfect.  I couldn’t run the farm on my own. I needed more hands. Then we had a daughter, Adda.  That made my wife happy. We intended on stopping there, but doggone it if Britt didn’t get pregnant again.  She had Ansel, the baby of the family, and that boy was always partial to his mom. Not saying he wasn’t a hard worker.  My sons knew they had jobs to do every morning before they left for school and every night when they came home. It made them stronger, more dependable.  Ansel owes me for that. Not that he thinks about it. All he does is feel sorry for himself because I told him to leave the same day he graduated. The farm can’t support three boys and Britt and me.  It was his duty to come home and help repair the house and barn roofs when I had my knee replaced. I’d raised him, given him food and board. Kids owe their parents, but Adda had to beg him to leave River Bluffs and his pretty girlfriend to come home and help us.  Pitiful, if you ask me. He’s beholden to us. When I call for him, he should come.

What is your current favourite book or movie?  

You’ve got to be kidding. Who has time for frivolous stuff like that?

What is your go to comfort book or movie?  

My go to comfort is a hot meal on the table when I come in from the barn.  Britt might not be much of a cook, but she knows I want food on the table when I’m hungry.  It’s a woman’s job to take care of the house and a man’s job to provide for her.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?  

I’m Norwegian, big and beefy. I don’t want no pretty boy playing me. If I had to choose someone, it would be Clint Eastwood.  You know, in those Italian westerns. A man who doesn’t say much but gets things done.

What is your ideal evening?  

Eating a hot supper, putting my feet up in front of the TV, and early to bed.

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 23 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 23 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

April 24 – I’m All About Books – GUEST POST

April 24 – FUONLYKNEW – REVIEW

April 25 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW

April 25 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

April 26 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 26 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

April 27 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

April 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

April 28 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

April 28 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

April 29 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 29 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 30 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

April 30 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

May 1 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW

May 1 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

May 2 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

May 2 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 2 – Ascroft, eh? – GUEST POST

Spiced and Iced (A Callie's Kitchen Mystery #2) by Jenny Kales

The season is bright when Calliope “Callie” Costas agrees to contribute her Greek snowball cookies to a December bridal shower at The English Country Inn in the scenic waterfront town of Crystal Bay, WI. But when Callie finds a colleague dead, she's sucked into another murder investigation -- all while juggling her growing business and staggering holiday workload.

As she reluctantly agrees to help the Inn’s owner track the killer, Callie is soon up to her spiced Greek biscotti in difficulties. For one thing, the hotel staff is freezing her out as she tries to uncover information, helped by her feisty Grandma Viv and her sweet but nosy aunt who’s visiting from Greece. And then there’s her deepening relationship with the suave and mysterious Detective Sands, a British expat now living in Wisconsin, who seems to have a few secrets of his own.

The icing on the cake is a host of simultaneous family mayhem including her father's surprising fixation on a real estate agent and her ex’s plans to move back to Crystal Bay. As the Inn’s annual Christmas Tea approaches, things are heating up in Callie’s Kitchen, but she’s on thin ice! Will Christmas be a festive celebration this year – or will it be murder?

Apparently the season of Goodwill to All Men doesn't extend to women! The English Country Inn's owner is trapped away from Crystal Bay die to bad weather so one of her staff is running things in her absence, Callie has been asked to provide some seasonal Greek cookies for a Bridal Shower (where the Bride is a bit of a Bridezilla - but her mother is even worse!), she has arrived with them and is just helping out by checking that all the staff are in the right place and ready when Callie comes across the body of the woman running the shower! Now in between trying to keep on top of her business, wondering about her friend's love life (err and her father's!), trying to figure out if SHE has a love life with Detective Sands or not, wondering if she can cope with her ex-husband and his current wife living two blocks away (great for their daughter, not so great for Callie) oh and hoping that Grandma Viv and Aunt "Sweetie" can stay out of trouble, can she help solve the crime before Christmas?

Murder at the Marina (A Kelly Jackson Mystery #5) by Janet Finsilver (Review added)

Kelly Jackson, manager of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast, is fond of the Doblinsky brothers, Ivan and Rudy, members of the Silver Sentinels, a crew of crime-solving senior citizens in their Northern California seaside hamlet. After she discovers a jewel-encrusted dagger—with what appears to be dried blood on the blade—on their fishing boat, they share their family history with Kelly, and she learns that the knife may be part of a set from their long-ago childhood in Russia. Its sudden reappearance is eerie, but the mystery grows much more serious when a body is found on the boat. The victim was staying at Kelly’s inn, in town for a Russian Heritage Festival, and some of the organizers were clearly harboring some bitterness. But the story behind this murder seems as layered as a nesting doll—and Kelly’s feeling completely at sea . . .

OH MY WORD!!! how have I missed such a wonderful series of books, I came in with this one and when I started reading I didn't even stop to eat! This is a must have read with a fantastic mix of characters!

Kelly and her team are helping out the local Russian Festival by providing a) rooms and b) conference facilities, at one of the conferences Kelly over hears a rather heated exchange, which comes back to haunt her after one of the arguers is found dead, the problems arise when two of the Silver Sentinels (the five crime solving senior members, Kelly is not yet a full member as she has yet to have silver hair!) have links, a dagger was found on their boat and now the dead man.  Kelly, the rest of the Silver Sentinels and even the Deputy Sheriff are beyond certain that neither Ivan or Rudy have anything to do with either problem, but it seems someone is determined to involve them one way or another.  Now all the Silver Sentinels (and Kelly) will need to find out what really happened and why so that Ivan and Rudy can have some peace again, oh and so that the festival can go off without a hitch as well!

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Kelly Jackson

What is your Profession?

I manage an inn built in the late eighteen hundreds named Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast. The small town of Redwood Cove is situated on the northern California coast on headlands above the Pacific Ocean.  

What is your current favorite book or movie?

I’ve been so busy with my new job as manager of the inn I haven’t had time to read recently or go to a movie. I’ve been working on learning as much as I can about the area so I can assist my guests in their planning. I guess you could say my favorite books are the Redwood Cove tourist guides!  

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

One of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories. Those books are excellent mysteries with no graphic violence.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

I’m thrilled being the character Janet Finsilver created and playing a part in her mystery series. There’s no other book I can think of that I would want to be in. I work with wonderful people, spend time helping the crime-solving group of seniors, the Silver Sentinels, and live in an exceptionally beautiful area. I love animals and an added bonus to being in Janet’s books is that she has dogs with special abilities in all of them.

What is your ideal evening?

What a fun question to think about! An ideal evening would find me curled up on the window seat in my quarters at the inn. Large windows on my left frame the Pacific Ocean regaling me with its endless waves. In front of me an array of brightly colored flowers in the garden fill another window. And, of course, I’d be reading a good book!

Thank you for the interview. The questions have been fun to answer!

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 9 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW

April 9 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

April 9 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

April 10 – I’m All About Books – GUEST POST

April 10 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 10 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

April 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 11 – Reading Is My SuperPower – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 11 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW  

April 12 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

April 12 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

April 12 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

April 13 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 13 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

April 14 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 14 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

April 15 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

April 15 – Books Direct – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

April 16 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW

April 16 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

April 16 – ❧Defining Ways❧ – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 17 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 17 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, EXCERPT

April 18 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 18 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW, GUEST POST

 

Sifting Through Clues (Cookbook Nook Mystery #8) by Daryl Wood Gerber

Book clubs from all over have descended on Crystal Cove to celebrate the library’s Book Club Bonanza week, and Jenna Hart has packed the Cookbook Nook with juicy reads and tasty cookbooks. But she’s most excited about spending an evening with the Mystery Mavens and their moveable feast, when they will go from house to house to share different culinary treats and discuss the whodunit they’re all reading. It’s all good food and fun for the savvy armchair detectives, until one of the members of the group is found murdered at the last stop on the tour.

As if that weren’t enough to spoil her appetite, Jenna discovers that all the evidence points to her friend Pepper as being the guilty party. And with Pepper’s chief-of-police daughter too close to the case to be impartial, Jenna knows she’ll have to step in to help clear her friend’s name before a bitter injustice sends her to jail. Sifting through the clues, Jenna unearths any number of possible culprits, but she’ll have to cook up a new way to catch the killer before Pepper’s goose is cooked . . .

Yet another brilliant visit with the characters in Crystal Cove, I really wish this was a real place so I could eat at the Cookbook Nook Cafe whilst reading the latest culinary cozy mystery! 8 out of 5 stars for this one!

We open with another busy week in Crystal Cove, the theme this week is Book Club Bonanza and the book club Jenna and Bailey belong to are planning on a feast in four places, each member is providing some food and 4 members are also providing the setting.  It is going really well (although Bailey is a little miffed that she can't drink as she is pregnant) until they reach the final house, Ivy the house owner isn't greeting them but pretty much everything is set up apart from a last couple of platters needed for the desserts brought by the members. Assuming Ivy is just running late getting ready Jenna goes to get the platters, only to discover Ivy dead! The problem is that Pepper Prittchett seems to be the one most to gain from Ivy's death, which means her daughter (Cinnamon) the Chief of Police is torn between believing in her mother's innocence and following procedures.

Add in some rather creepy computer stuff and lots of suspects (other than Pepper!) and Jenna has her plate full trying to sort things out so she can help Pepper and not upset Cinnamon (too much!)

 

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Jenna Hart

What is your Profession?

I run a culinary bookshop in Crystal Cove, California with my Aunt Vera.

What is your current favorite book or movie?

I loved the movie Romancing the Stone. I think I’ve memorized it. I have so many favorite books, I can’t count them. I’ve read all of Agatha Christie’s books. I also love cookbooks. Some of my favorites are Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten and I own lots of cookbooks by various test kitchens. I’m not a great cook (yet) but I am a foodie.

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

Romancing the Stone and Shakespeare in Love are my favorite movies. I’ll watch them over and over. As for a good book? I love reading Rebecca and the stories of Sherlock Holmes.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

To play me? Oh, my. Angie Harmon is perfect. She’s my height and is a bit of a tomboy. I like wearing sandals and casual clothes. She’s plucky and so am I, or so my father tells me.  As for what character would I be in a book? Hercule Poirot. I’d love to be that brilliant.

What is your ideal evening?

I love playing with my cat Tigger or reading with a glass of wine. A crackling fire. A lit vanilla candle. I love the songs of Judy Garland. So did my mother. If Rhett is available—he’s my boyfriend-- would like him to be with me. We have varied schedules, but he’s the guy who understands me the best. He makes me laugh. And he can cook like a dream.

 

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 15 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

April 15 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW

April 15 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT

April 15 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW

April 15 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

April 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, GUEST POST – RECIPE – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 16 – Carstairs Considers – REVIEW

April 16 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

April 16 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

April 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 16 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 17 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW

April 17 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

April 17 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

April 17 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, GUEST POST – RECIPE – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 17 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 18 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

April 18 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

April 18 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 18 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

April 18 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

April 19 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST – RECIPE – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 19 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

April 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 19 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 19 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

April 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 20 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

April 20 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

April 20 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 20 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 21 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW, GUEST POST – RECIPE – INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 21 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

April 21 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

April 21 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews

Yarned and Dangerous (Tangled Web Mystery #1) by Sadie Hartwell

Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins…
 
Miss Marple Knits is one of the few businesses still open in the dreary downtown. Josie can’t imagine how it stayed open for so long, yet something about the cozy, resilient little shop appeals to her. But when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…

Josie Blair's mother is headed off on a cruise when she realises that someone needs to look after Joisie's great-uncle, Josie needs to take some time away from her job as a fashion designer (her boss Otto is getting a little TOO hands on for her liking and she has no desire to become the latest notch on his bedpost!), as well as helping Uncle Eb she also needs to close down her Aunt Cora's shop, Eb may have survived the crash that gave him his broken leg, but his fairly new wife who was driving sadly didn't. So with cat in tow Josie has arrived in Dorset Falls, now she has reunited with Lorna, who helps out at the General Store (and is a great cook) which is great, she also meets a couple of knitters who are fun, unfortunately Josie has also run across Diantha Humphries, the snooty mother of Josie's high school boyfriend Trey, oh and just to round it off she meets the ex-cheerleader who Trey dumped her for (Courtney) and Trey when he comes to serve notice to quit at the yarn store (Miss Marple Knits).

With the help of Evelyn and Helen the knitters, Josie hopes to get everything sorted quickly, but finding yet another knitter well and truly dead in the shop's store room puts the kibbosh on that! Now Josie needs to figure out who she can trust and figure out what happened to the dead knitter so that she (and Eb) can get closure and close the shop.