A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Shot Through the Hearth (Fixer-Upper Mystery #7) by Kate Carlisle

Shannon's good friend and retired tech billionaire, Raphael Nash, is loving his new retired life but he can't stay unoccupied for too long. He's started the Marigold Foundation that helps fund small companies and individuals who do humanitarian work around the world. It's an exciting time in Lighthouse Cove as Raphael hosts the first ever global conference inviting big thinkers from every area of industry to give presentations on eco-living.

Raphael's old business partner arrives in town with a grudge and a plan to steal him away from his important new passion project. Shannon knows her friend has no intention of giving up Marigold and is proud of Raphael for sticking to his guns. But when his former associate winds up dead, all signs point to Raphael.

It's up to Shannon to hammer out the details of the murder before her friend gets pinned for the crime...

Hammer Construction has been given their most challenging project yet, Raphael Nash would like them to completely renovate his farmhouse, and a barn and lay the foundation for another barn in less than eight months and then in less than a week raise a barn on the foundation using eco products - whilst a global eco conference is happening on the site, Shannon and her two foremen (well one foreman and a forewoman) take a deep breath and say they can do it, and they get everything ready a good while before the conference is due to start (including a large concrete tower that will house plants and have louvred windows that are solar powered).  The only thing Shannon is now worried about is the barn raising, never having done anything like that before, but one of her staff has friends in Pennsylvania and so he headed over there to take part in and discuss how to do a barn raising.  So far so good, but at the opening evening Shannon and Mac witness Raphael's prior business partner having various arguments, including a very heated one with Raphael himself, but no one expects to find the man well and truly dead under that beams etc for the barn.

Now Shannon and Mac have been drafted in by Raphael to find out what happened as all finger, police wise, seem to be pointed at him (even though Eric the police chief can't believe it but he has to follow where the clues lead, now all Shannon, her friends and staff want is to have everything sorted so life can get back to normal!

Wicked Harvest (Dewberry Farm #6) by Karen MacInerney

It's Oktoberfest in Buttercup, Texas, and homesteader Lucy Resnick is taking a break from her chores to enjoy a day of bratwurst, craft beer, and German gingerbread at Sweetwater Brewery. But the day takes a bitter turn when one of the brewery owners turns up dead, crushed by a giant sack of barley.

It doesn't take long for Sheriff Rooster (not the sharpest tool in the garden shed) to finger the victim's brother and co-owner, Simon Gustafson. But former investigative reporter Lucy senses that the blighted plants in her pumpkin patch aren't the only things rotten in Buttercup. Will she find the killer in time?

Or will she be next in line for canning?

It has not been the best year for Lucy so far, a tornado hit in the Spring and now after loads of dry weather there was too MUCH rain and all her pumpkins/squashes are riddled with melon worm and basically the whole crop is ruined, she also needs to factor in that before too much longer her goats and cows will be pregnant and so no more milk. still the Ulrich House seems to be on track for being renovated ready to let out and as well as this Lucy and Tobias are looking forward to going to a newish brewery and enjoying their Oktoberfest celebrations (which kick off some German style markets etc which should help Lucy's finances in the short term!)

But of course things can still go wrong and indeed they do! The Ulrich House nearly collapses on the young worker inside it, and when Tobias and Lucy get to the Brewery the initial new brew barrel has been tampered with (luckily only the one and people enjoyed it when the second barrel was tapped) and then one of the owners (and indeed Head Brewer) is found dead under a sack of barley! Sadly Sheriff Rooster is there and so he takes charge of the case and before too long he has arrested Felix's brother Simon Gustafson for murder, Lucy, Quinn and Tobias are really not sure about that and they keep sniffing around for clues to the murder, oh and clues as to who is sabotaging Ed Mandel's job sites (apparently the Ulrich House has not been the only problem) and Tobias needs to figure out why cattle are getting ill around the area - all in a days work then!

Dyeing Season (Dewberry Farm #5) by Karen MacInerney

It's springtime on Dewberry Farm, and homesteader Lucy Resnick is busy putting together her wares for the Easter Market. She's just finished potting the last of her herb starts when a tornado rips through her farm, destroying her crops, scattering her livestock and tearing up the barn.  As Lucy searches for two kids lost in the storm, she makes a grisly discovery: her neighbor's home health aide, Eva, strangled with a hand-knitted scarf.

While investigating the young woman's death, Lucy discovers that blood isn't always thicker than water... and that somebody may be taking advantage of the town's more vulnerable citizens.  When a second body turns up, drowned in a vat of dye, the whole town is walking on eggshells.  Will Lucy find the killer in time?

Or has dyeing season just begun? 

It is always great to get back to the happenings at Dewberry Farm and this book is no exception to that, another excellent story,

This time Lucy is just about ready for Easter when a tornado rips through her farm, luckily she and her friend Quinn managed to shelter at Lucy's neighbour Dottie's house (she has a cellar), but all three are worried about Dottie's home help Eva who hadn't made it back before the storm hit. After the storm Quinn stays with Dottie whilst Lucy goes to check on her own farm, where she discovers that the tornado has wiped out her crops and damaged her stock barn, leading to two goat kids going missing. She and her boyfriend Tobias (the local vet) go looking for them, Lucy finds one, but she also finds Eva, dead in the water!  When Eva's death is deemed a homicide Lucy starts to nose around and everything seems to lead back to The Sunset Home where Dottie has been "dumped" by her son so he can cash in on her property.  Now with looking into this, discovering there are animal activists around and trying to re-coup her tornado losses Lucy has more on her plate than just goat's cheese!

A Night's Tail (Magical Cats Mystery #11) by Sofie Kelly

Spring is coming to Mayville Heights, and Kathleen's brother, Ethan, has arrived in town with his band, The Flaming Gerbils. But not everything goes as scheduled when one of Ethan's bandmates gets into a fight with a man interested in investing in the town. When the businessman's body is later found, Ethan's friend is implicated in the crime.

Kathleen wants to help her brother by solving the case, but she has no shortage of suspects from which to choose. Prior to his death, the investor was fighting like cats and dogs with lots of people. If this librarian wants more than a whisker's chance of solving the case, she will need to rely on her trusty feline sidekicks, Owen and Hercules.

Yet another great outing for two fabulous felines!

Kathleen's brother (Ethan) is in town, along with his band The Flaming Gerbils, one night when they are all out (including Marcus), the newest member of the band Derek Hanson, gets into an argument with a drunk punter (who had kicked an assistance dog!) and ends up punching him! To calm things down the "Gerbils" (well three of them, the fourth was out somewhere else) started singing one of their a cappella numbers, which does the trick (oh and they end up joining in with the band that was due to start playing shortly thereafter!), the problem is that a couple of days after this the drunken man, one Lewis Wallace, ends up dead, Ethan wants Kathleen to prove that Derek is no killer, and it appears that there are indeed no shortage of people that Lewis Wallace had upset, so now Kathleen, Ethan, Owen and Hercules need to find out the truth and make sure that the right killer gets caught in a cat trap.

The Cats Came Back (Magical Cats Mystery #10) by Sofie Kelly

The charming Minnesota town of Mayville Heights is hosting a music festival, and the whole place is bustling with musicians and tourists. Kathleen is looking forward to taking in some fabulous performances--and her two cats, Owen and Hercules, are looking forward to taking in some fabulous sardine crackers. But then the trio stumbles across a dead body by the river.
 
The victim is a close friend--who also happens to be a look-alike of a popular cabaret singer set to perform at the festival. Who could have wanted to harm this innocent girl? Was it a case of mistaken identity?
 
As accusations abound and suspicions swirl, Kathleen, Hercules and Owen will put their abilities--both mundane and magical--to the test, and lay down the paw.

Another cracking story from Ms Kelly, I keep thinking they cannot be topped and yet they are!

Mayville Heights is hosting a music festival and everything seems to be running smoothly, at the same time Ruby is taking photographs of the two hams, sorry cats!, Owen and Hercules in the hope of getting enough pictures in different settings to be able to do a fundraising calendar, it is during one of these photo sessions that things start to unravel, Owen and Hercules keep being distracted by something and when Ruby goes to look she finds a body! At first they (Kathleen and Ruby) think it is the singer Emme Finley, but it turns out to be Emme's best friend (and current assistant whilst she is between jobs) Miranda Moore, that would be bad enough but then Emme goes missing, now two Magical Cats and one Librarian (oh and Mayville Heights finest) need to figure out what happened to Miranda, find Emme and let the show go on!

Murder Makes Scents (Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery #2) by Christin Brecher

Stella Wright loves creating candles at her Nantucket store—and she also has a burning passion for justice. Now, after visiting a perfume conference, she must solve a vial crime . . .

Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.

After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. And just as things threaten to ignite, Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France—and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked . . .

A wonderful second outing for Stella and Nantucket Island! With thrills and suspects aplenty this makes for a great read!

Stella has gone to join her mother Millie at a perfume conference (Millie is one of the final speakers), they have had a great time catching up and soaking up Parisian culture (and food!) but all good things must come to an end and the final day has come around, but neither Millie or Stella anticipate Millie not getting to make her speech when a man is murdered in the crowd of perfumers! They assume this will be the end of it, after all a death in Paris has nothing to do with Nantucket, only it appears it has - now Stella has to cope with a break in at the shop, Millie ending up in hospital and a threatening note, can she sniff out the killer or have they masked their scent completely?

 

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Bonbon Voyage (Adventures of Gladys Book 1) by Katherine H. Brown

Gladys gets more than she bargains for when she climbs aboard her first cruise and witnesses a murder. Armed with wigs and wits alone, she determines to get to the bottom of things.
An entertaining short read, this cozy mystery is a spinoff from the Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery series.

Oh my word this was a gigglefest with additional oooh, ahhh, and gasps at regular intervals!

I have only (so far!) read the first in the Ooey Gooey Bakery series but I loved it and I loved Gladys so when I saw she is the main character in this I jumped at it! Gladys has recently got remarried to a French Chef and they are headed on a cruise for their honeymoon, the giggles start almost from the beginning with Piper and Sam gifting Gladys (and hubby) some bonbons to enjoy on the voyage, the only problem is they can't take them on board! So whilst her Chef husband heads off the get things on board sorted she stays behind to eat some Ooey Gooey Goodness, only to find herself selling the bonbons as fast as she can eat them!

Once she is on board things should settle down, but her new hubby keeps disappearing and then she hears an argument and a splash and it seems the head chef has fallen overboard, only has he? Things aren't adding up and so Gladys and a group of ladies she met on board are determined to find out what happened and why!

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Gladys Ann Hill

What is your Profession?

Retired teacher, part-time assistant at the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery

What is your current favourite book or movie?

All of the James Bond movies, new and original

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

Does a cookbook count? You don’t get more comfort than whipping up a batch of some new comfort food or dessert!

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?

The character I would want to be in a book would be the femme fatale with all of the men too distracted by my beauty to see that I was an international spy.

What is your ideal evening?

Well, since John Wayne is dead and unavailable for a date, I guess I’d say a plate of cookies and a mile of gossip catching up with my friends Piper and Sam in their bakery where I work part time when not traveling.

 

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February 21 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

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A Tale of Two Kitties (Magical Cats Mystery #9) by Sofie Kelly

With a well-placed paw on a keyboard or a pointed stare, Kathleen’s two cats, Hercules and Owen, have helped her to solve cases in the past—so she has learned to trust their instincts. But she will need to rely on them even more than ever when a twenty-year-old scandal leads to murder…
 
The arrival of the Janes brothers has the little town of Mayville Heights buzzing. Everyone of a certain age remembers when Victor had an affair with Leo’s wife, who then died in a car accident.
 
Now it seems the brothers are trying to reconcile, until Kathleen finds Leo dead. The police suspect Leo’s son, Kathleen’s good friend Simon, who had a furious argument with his father and now has an alibi no one can verify. To prove her friend innocent, Kathleen will have to dig deep into the town's history—and into her sardine cracker supply, because Owen and Hercules don't work for free...

I really enjoy these books, the cats are cats ... with the occasional what the .....? which no longer fazes Kathleen and she has learnt to trust them and her own instincts.

The latter comes into play when the Grandfather and Great Uncle of the library page (Mia Janes, only child of local developer Simon Janes) arrive in Mayfield Heights, she first meets Victor, Simon's uncle and whilst she is being all helpful librarian she has a niggle that she doesn't care for and then she meets Leo who she really gets on well with and she can see where Simon and Mia's charm come from, so she and pretty much everyone else is stunned when Leo is murdered (no one seems to have a good word to say about Victor and apparently if he had been killed people would have been upset, but hey, life goes on!)

Kathleen is starting to wonder if all this has happened after the local post office had found some undelivered mail (and photographs) stuck behind a wall, now she and her friends (and feline associates) needs to figure out what happened to Leo Janes and what is the tie in with some old letters and so forth?

Under the Radar (Zoe Chambers Mysteries #9) by Annette Dashofy

Paramedic and deputy coroner Zoe Chambers responds to a shooting and discovers her longtime friend, Horace Pavelka, has gunned down a man who’d bullied him mercilessly for decades. Ruled self-defense, no charges are filed. When another of his tormentors turns up dead in Horace’s kitchen, Police Chief Pete Adams questions the man’s innocence in both cases…especially after Horace and his girlfriend go into hiding.

While fighting to clear her friend, Zoe is handed the opportunity to finally learn what really happened to her long-lost sibling. What starts out as a quick road trip on a quest for answers leads her to an unfamiliar city in the middle of a November blizzard, where she finds way more trouble than she bargained for.

Pete’s own search for his missing fiancée and a missing murderer ultimately traps him in a web of deception. Face-to-face with one of the most cunning and deadly killers of his law enforcement career, Pete realizes too late that this confrontation may well be his last.

Character Guest Post

My name is Zoe Chambers. I’m a paramedic and a deputy coroner in Monongahela County, which is about thirty miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s farm country. More horses and cows than people. I’ve lived here all my life and can’t imagine living anywhere else. 

Another thing I can’t quite imagine is being part of a real family. 

My dad died almost thirty years ago. I was eight. My mom didn’t handle it well. She remarried to my dad’s best friend, who did the best he could to be a father to me. But when I was a teenager, they decided to move to Florida. My mom didn’t argue when I insisted on staying behind. I told her I wanted to finish high school where I’d started it. That should’ve raised red flags. Let’s face it, I wasn’t even close to being on the honor roll. Back then, education wasn’t my first priority. 

Thankfully, my best friend’s parents took me in. They were the closest thing to a real family I’d known in a long time. 

My relationship with my mom and stepdad continues to be strained. Now, my family consists of my co-workers at the ambulance service. And my fiancé. Pete Adams and I became close pals long before the relationship went beyond mere friendship. Last summer he proposed, and I accepted. Maybe I can finally have that family I’ve craved.

But then there’s my long-lost sibling. Not the brother I thought had come into my life last spring. That relationship was tragic and complicated. It nearly killed me. And Pete. Just when I thought I was getting past that awful night, my mother called and dropped a bomb. I really did have another sibling out there. A half sibling. My father had a love child with a high school sweetheart long before he and my mom hooked up. 

That was months ago. I haven’t made a move to follow up on the news. For one thing, I don’t know where to start. My mother would never help me. For another, I’m not ready. Not after everything that went down the last time. 

But then yesterday, I had a visit from a friend who’s an investigative journalist. She told me she has information about my dad’s other child. A brother. All I have to do is tell her I’m ready to start the search. 

Am I’m ready for a real family? I don’t know. I really don’t know. 

 

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Paws and Effect (Magical Cats Mystery #8) by Sofie Kelly

Kathleen is excited to meet three old pals of her beau, Detective Marcus Gordon, while they visit charming Mayville Heights on business. But the reunion is cut short when one of the friends is killed—and the evidence points towards Marcus as the murderer.
 
Though it seems she doesn’t know all of Marcus’s secrets, Kathleen is sure he’s no killer. With his suspect status sidelining him from investigating the case, it’s up to Kathleen and her feline partners-in-crime to find whoever is framing Marcus—and make sure the good detective hasn’t found his last clue.

Things they are a-changing (maybe) in Mayville Heights, a company has bought a tranche of land and plans to erect a hotel there, they are selling it to Mayville as bringing tourists and therefore money, into town, but the battle lines have been drawn with some people thinking this is a great opportunity and others thinking it is the thin end of the wedge to Mayville become a Clone town.  When Kathleen and Marcus head off to eat at Eric's diner they run into a group of three who are here to find out if there is anyway to stop the development, and it also appears they are college friends of Marcus's, two of them (Dani and John) are all friendly, Travis has a beef with Marcus and keeps sniping, Kathleen later finds out that Travis and Dani had been a couple and supposedly Marcus had an affair with her and broke it up.

This should have been the end of it, after all Marcus and Kathleen are well and truly an item, but then Dani ends up dead, murdered!, and all signs seem to be pointing to Marcus as the killer, now he is suspended on full pay, his Detective partner Hope has been taken off the case and so it seems up to Kathleen (with help from friends and of course two magical cats!) to find out the truth so that Marcus doesn't spend the rest of his life in solitary prison!