A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flower

A famous fiddler has been kilt. A magic garden's left to wilt. Does Fiona Knox's father hold the guilt? Will florist Fiona's blood be spilt?

World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in blustery Bellewick, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, for a grand homecoming concert organized by jeweler Bernice Brennan. Fiona Knox, owner of the Climbing Rose Flower Shop, is starting to regret volunteering to help with the concert. Bernice is an exacting taskmaster, and Fiona has enough tension dealing with her parents, who have traveled from Tennessee to visit Fi and her younger sister, Isla, and to reveal a secret about Fi's birth. But when Barley is found dead in his trailer during the concert's intermission, and his death is shockingly tied to Fiona's father, Fiona discovers there are more secrets surrounding her family than she realized.

Much to the chagrin of handsome Neil Craig, Chief Inspector of the County Aberdeen Police, Fiona delves into the case to clear her father's name. To make matters worse, Fiona learns that Duncreigan, the magical garden that she inherited from her godfather, is dying. At some point during the concert, someone broke into the garden and cut the centuries-old climbing rose--the source of the garden's magic--from the standing stone.

The stakes are higher than ever and Fiona could lose all that she's grown unless she's able to dispel this terrible curse and dig up the truth--fast.

Fiona is trying to make a go of her flower shop, as well as making sure that Duncreigan stays healthy, neither should be too hard and so she has joined (or been coerced into joining!) the Bellewick Merchant's Society, their first big situation is making sure a concert runs smoothly.  Local boy Barley McFee is now a world famous fiddle player and rather than having his latest concert in Aberdeen, he wants it in his home town.  So far so good, except half way through the concert Barley is killed! Then Fiona's shop sells out of flowers when the BMGs (Barley McFee Grannies) buy everything to set up a shrine to the dead fiddler, and then when she finally gets home she discovers the magical garden is dying as someone has cut the climbing rose around the Menhir.

When Fiona finds out that someone is fingering the man she thinks of Dad as the killer, then she has two problems to solve, who killed Barley and who sabotaged the magical garden.

Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs

It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion. Known as the Gray Ghost, this dilapidated place was recently bequeathed to the Heritage Society, and tonight heralds the grand opening of their literary and historical themed haunted house.

Though Timothy Neville, the patriarch of the Heritage Society, is not thrilled with the fund-raising idea, it is the perfect venue for his grandniece, Willow French, to sign copies of her new book, Carolina Crimes & Creepers.

But amid a parade of characters dressed as Edgar Allan Poe, Lady Macbeth, and the Headless Horseman, Willow's body is suddenly tossed from the third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope. Police come screaming in and Theodosia's boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, is sent to Willow's apartment to investigate. But minutes later, he is shot and wounded by a shadowy intruder.

Timothy begs Theodosia to investigate, and shaken by Riley's assault, she readily agrees. Now, she questions members of the Heritage Society and a man who claims the mansion is rightfully his, as well as Willow's book publisher and her fiance, all while hosting a Sherlock Holmes tea and catering several others.

But the Gray Ghost holds many secrets, as do several other key suspects, while this murder mystery plays out on the eve of Halloween.

It is the run up to Halloween and the Heritage Society has turned a run down house they were gifted into a Haunted House, with actors (and Heritage Society interns) playing suitably creepy parts (Edgar Allen Poe, Dracula, Miss Haversham etc), and on the opening night Timothy Neville's great niece (Willow) is signing her book detailing the creepy legends of Charleston.  Everything seems to be going well, until someone lets out a scream and Willow is found hanging outside the attic window!  Now Timothy wants Theodosia to find out who killed his niece, and Theo is all up to sleuthing, as the same night as Willow was killed someone shot Theo's Detective boyfriend.

The problem is too many suspects and not enough time!

 

No Parm No Foul Linda Reilly

The second book in a delicious culinary cozy series—the muensters have arrived in Balsam Dell in this Halloween cozy mystery featuring a grilled cheese shop owner turned amateur sleuth

After a long hot summer in Balsam Dell, Carly Hale is ready for crisp Vermont weather and gourmet grilled cheeses at her Grilled Cheese Eatery. And the upcoming Halloween food competition is the perfect way to impress the locals.

But Ferris Menard, the owner of Sub-a-Dub-Sub, is nursing a serious grudge against Carly. Two days before the competition, one of Carly's employees quit his part-time gig at Menard's sub shop, sending Menard into a serious snit. In a confrontation at the Eatery, Menard accused Carly of sabotage and vowed to bring her down.

That's when Menard's body is found in his kitchen the morning after the competition, a steak knife sticking out of his heart. But Menard had a slew of enemies, and if Carly doesn't figure out which one is the culprit, she might find herself—or someone she cares about—serving grilled cheese sandwiches under lock and brie!

This book doesn't start with a bang, or a whimper but a WOW! Grant (Carly's part time cook) comes in and says he can work full time as he has quit his other part time job, he does warn Carly that Ferris Menard (his previous boss) is spitting mad, which Carly discovers for herself a couple of days later when Ferris arrives in the grilled cheese shop full of shout, bluster, and threats! Luckily some of her regulars manage to get his out of the shop, at which point Carly and Grant can relax (a bit) and concentrate on the Halloween snack competition.

The day of the competition goes reasonably well, the only odd thing being Ferris's daughter coming over to try their pumpkin bread cheese grills, but at the end of the competition when the amount raised for the local food bank was stated, they said they couldn't announce the winner as someone had stuffed the ballot box! That should have been the last problem, however, Ferris was found the next day in his sub shop - with a steak knife through his heart!  Now someone seems determined to frame Carly's boyfriend, Ari, so much as Carly would like to leave this to the Police, she can't help but get involved.

The Dragon Lady Gets Her Due (Mah Jongg Mysteries #8) by Barbara Barrett

Christmas is coming and so are the Sheriff elections, both mean changes afoot.  Trip Bonner has been coerced into joining the lighting committee (although it seems more a dictatorship!) and Syd Bonner, along with her Mah Jongg friends Marianne, Micki and Kat, is helping to run Rick Fomero's re-election campaign (apparently the scuttlebutt says that his challenger is a dirty cop).  All this suddenly takes a strange turn when the aforementioned lighting dictator Eleanor Gilchrist is found killed! Now Trip and Beau (Marianne's husband) need to join forces with Marianne and Kat to run the election campaign, Micki and her friend (could turn into more), the retired lawyer Guy Witney are running interference with the media and Syd? well Syd has joined forces with Rick to find the killer!