A Wytch's Book Review Blog

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.

Put Out to Pasture by Amanda Flower

Shiloh Bellamy has saved her family's farm from financial ruin—but now what? She's barely scraping by on the farm's new organic business model and the fall festival she organized to drum up business comes to a screeching halt when the body of a prominent townswoman is discovered underneath a scarecrow in a nearby field. Worst of all, the evidence points to Shiloh's childhood best friend, Kristy, as the prime suspect.

Between cooking up delicious treats made with her farm's produce, convincing her cantankerous father to let her do things her own way, and dealing with a newcomer in town who could be serious competition for her customers, Shiloh doesn't have time to wade into a murder investigation. But with a killer on the loose and suspicious activity circling closer and closer to Shiloh and the people she loves, she realizes there's nothing to do but roll up her sleeves and get down to the dirty work of finding the killer and clearing Kristy's name once and for all.

Shiloh has her hands full running an open day at the Bellamy Farm, so the last thing she needs is trouble, unfortunately that is what she gets! First off she runs out of organic munchies (luckily Jessa at the diner comes to her rescue with dinner finger food), secondly her best friend, Kristy, gets into a screaming match with a local beekeeper/honey seller, with Kristy accusing Minnie of theft from the Farmer's Market.  Thirdly Minnie winds up dead, and Kristy is suspect number one! Now Shi needs to find out what the heck happened before Kristy only sees her husband and twins from behind a perspex screen.

Add in a rich man who has bought the other half of the farm and plans on also being organic and ad in more and more suspects and Shiloh has a lot more than organic veggies on her plate.

The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

Vampires who knit
A troublemaking witch
Who killed Granny — and is she really dead?

At a crossroads between a cringe-worthy past (Todd the Toad) and an uncertain future (she's not exactly homeless, but it's close), Lucy Swift travels to Oxford to visit her grandmother. With Gran's undying love to count on and Cardinal Woolsey's, Gran's knitting shop, to keep her busy, Lucy can catch her breath and figure out what she's going to do.

Except it turns out that Gran is the undying. Or at least, the undead. But there's a death certificate. And a will, leaving the knitting shop to Lucy. And a lot of people going in and out who never use the door—including Gran, who is just as loving as ever, and prone to knitting sweaters at warp speed, late at night. What exactly is going on?

When Lucy discovers that Gran did not die peacefully in her sleep, but was murdered, she has to bring the killer to justice without tipping off the law that there's no body in the grave. Between a hot 600-year-old vampire and a dishy detective inspector, both of whom always seem to be there for her, Lucy finds her life getting more complicated than a triple cable cardigan.
The only one who seems to know what's going on is her cat ... or is it ... her familiar?

Lucy Swift has been having a run of bad luck, she caught her (now ex) boyfriend in flagrante, she is in danger of losing her home, her parents are more interested in digging up the past than what is happening now (although they were good enough to bring her out to the dig to stay for a while!), what she does have is a visit with her beloved Gran to look forward to. When she arrives in Oxford she spots her Gran with another lady but they disappear when Lucy heads towards them, and when she reaches her Gran's shop/flat it is closed!

She heads next door to the cafe, only to be told by one of the owners that her Gran passed away 3 weeks ago! After gaining access to the flat and finding out she is the sole heiress to the shop etc things start to get weird and dangerous, Lucy is not sure who she can trust - but her undead Gran is one person she can, now she needs to solve her Gran's murder and keep herself and her new feline companion safe whilst running a wool shop and keeping away from a VERY persistent estate agent! At least she has a band of beings who can take the night shift.

Murder Flies the Coop by Jessica Ellicott

Sharing lodging in the sleepy English village of Walmsley Parva has eased some of the financial strain on the two old school chums, but money is still tight in these lean years following the Great War. All of Beryl's ex-husbands have proven reluctant to part with her alimony, which is most inconvenient.

So when the local vicar--and pigeon-racing club president--approaches them with a private inquiry opportunity, the ladies eagerly accept. There's been a spot of bother: the treasurer has absconded with the club's funds and several prized birds.

Beryl and Edwina hope to flush out the missing man by checking his boardinghouse and place of employment at the coal mine. But when they visit the man's loft, they find their elusive quarry lying in white feathers and a pool of crimson blood, stabbed to death--the only witnesses cooing mournfully.

After a stiff gin fizz, the ladies resume their search for the missing funds and prized birds--and now a murderer. Beryl and Edwina aren't shy about ruffling a few feathers as they home in on their suspects. But they had better find the killer fast, before their sleuthing career is cut short . . .

An excellent continuation of the tales of Edwina and Beryl, this time the local Vicar needs help tracking down a man who has absconded with some prize racing pigeons and funds from the pigeon racing club, before they manage this however, another person wants to find him as he had been entrusted with some valuables.  Luckily our two intrepid ladies track his down, well they find his dead body at any rate! But there is no sign of the racing pigeons, club funds or valuables. With the local Policewoman telling them to back off, but with the support of a local lawyer and an Australian reporter friend of Beryls, these two ladies are determined to fulfil their brief and find out what happened!

A Colorful Scheme by Krista Davis

Coloring-book creator and Washington, DC, bookstore owner Florrie Fox is attending the wedding of her wealthy boss and a famous romance author, who are taking their vows—for the second time—on the grounds of the gorgeous Maxwell mansion. But it soon becomes clear that the soothing vibe of coloring books is very different from the stress and backstabbing in some corners of the literary world.

Arthur Bedlingham, for example, barely makes a living despite the many awards he’s won—and his chances for better sales haven’t been helped by the vicious review he just got from another guest at the party. Then there’s an ex–FBI agent whose popular thrillers are a magnet for female fans; a less-successful romance writer; and an ambitious waitress who’s intent on a career in journalism.

When Arthur’s assistant, an aspiring writer, is murdered during the festivities, Florrie realizes this is no color-by-numbers case, and she’ll have to sort out the complicated secrets among this creative crowd of suspects . . .

Krista Davis has crafted a book in the style of the classic Golden Age mysteries, who would have thought that managing a bookshop and drawing colouring book pages could be so fraught with intrigue ... and danger!

In this one Florrie's boss (Maxwell) is re-marrying his ex- wife (Jacquie), and rather than making a huge thing of it they decided to just exchange vows at the start of a large party/ball.  Florrie's sister (Veronica) is acting as the wedding planner, but no one expected the bride to go missing the night before, luckily Jacquie is found safe and well (if a bit discombobulated, someone having played a rather nasty trick on her) and things go off smoothly, but things go downhill the next morning when one of the guests is found dead. When it is discovered that they didn't die of natural causes, a small group of writers come under the spotlight, Jacquie being one of them.

Just to add to the confusion Florrie is being stalked by a young woman who is trying to make it as an investigative reporter, she then ends up killed and Florrie is suspected of doing the deed, now Florrie needs to save herself, Jacquie, Maxwell and a lovely older lady she just met.  No problems then!

A Good Dog's Guide to Murder by Krista Davis

Visitors are arriving in droves to spend Thanksgiving in the mountains of pet-friendly Wagtail, Virginia. Many of them are bringing dog and cat gingerbread houses to enter in the contest that will be held in the new convention center. Wagtail resident Orly Biffle bequeathed the land to the town in his will, provided that they not cut down the grand old oak tree on the property. Orly's children are mighty miffed that they didn't inherit the prime piece of property overlooking the lake.

Holly notices that Trixie and Twinkletoes, her calico kitty, are fixated on the big oak tree. Trixie barks at it as though she thinks it's a corpse! Just as contestants are spicing up their sweet gingerbread creations, the majestic tree drops an enormous limb. The mayor declares that the tree is dangerous and must come down. When a bulldozer churns up some roots, the tree falls over on its own accord revealing a body inside the trunk! Initially, everyone suspects this unsavory trick was Orly's doing. But it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to keep the truth under wraps. Trixie and Twinkletoes now have to help Holly sniff out some suspects and leash a conniving killer.

This is a fun episode in the life of Wagtail with Trixie (the corpse finding dog!) giving hints and tips at regular intervals during the telling of the tale.  This time we have a new convention centre about to be opened, just in time for Thanksgiving and a pre-Christmas Gingerbread House contest, however the man who gifted the land gave a stipulation that a certain tree must never be felled or the land reverts to his heirs.  The only problem is the tree is rotten and limbs are falling off so felling it is the only choice - before this can happen though the tree falls of its own accord, revealing a pair of shoes and a LOT of concrete!

Now Holly and Officer Dave (along with Trixie and Twinkletoes the cat) need to find out who was inside the tree, but it seems someone is determined to stop them and before long there is another death, along with with attacks and attempted poisonings, so Trixie needs to sniff out the killer before they come for Holly, her Mum or her Oma!