A Wytch's Book Review Blog

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!

The White Magic Five and Dime: A Tarot Mystery by Steve Hockensmith

When Alanis McLachlan learns that her mother's been murdered, she's completely unsurprised. Not that Alanis had been given a glimpse into the future. That would be crazy, right? It's just that her con-woman mom, Barbra, was bound to cross the wrong people sooner or later. It's why Alanis was lucky to get out of her childhood alive - and why she hadn't spoken to her mother in decades.

But there is a surprise in store for Alanis. Barbra left her something in her will: a New Age shop in the tiny tourist trap town of Berdache, Arizona. The White Magic Five & Dime.

After going to Berdache to claim her inheritance, Alanis is drawn into the mystery around her mother's death. Did one of Barbra's customers finally get wise to her con-artist ways and take revenge? Alanis thinks she knows how to find out: She'll make those customers her own until she can find the killer. Alanis McLachlan, cynic and unbeliever, is about to become a tarot card reader.

With a little help from her mother's teenage apprentice and a snarky tarot how-to book called Infinite Roads to Knowing, Alanis begins bluffing her way through phony readings. But the more she gets to know the cards, the more she sees real meaning in them...and the closer the murderer comes to making her the next victim.

We open with Alanis McLachlan receiving a phone call, as a telemarketer she is expecting something similar from this call, however, it turns out to be a lawyer telling her that she is the sole heiress to her late (and estranged or 20 years!) mother. Somewhat surprised she packs up and heads to the small town of Berdache, only to discover a few things, a) her mother was murdered, b) there is a young woman/girl living in the apartment, c) her con mother was running a Tarot reading practice and d) someone is trying to run her out of town, even though she has just arrived.

Now Alanis finds herself trying to find out the truth, including why she was left everything, and in doing so she runs into the local, rather hunky, investigator and finds out more than she thought!

The Final Tap by Amanda Flower

March on Barton Farm can only mean one thing: maple sugar season. To combat the winter slump, resilient director Kelsey Cambridge organizes a Maple Sugar Festival, complete with school visits, pancake breakfasts, and tree tapping classes. Kelsey hires curmudgeonly maple sugar expert Dr. Conrad Beeson to teach the classes, despite misgivings over his unpleasant demeanor. It's a decision she ends up regretting when, before the first tree can be tapped for sap, Dr. Beeson turns up dead.

The maple sugar expert's death threatens to shut down not only the Maple Sugar Festival, but also Barton Farm itself. Kelsey must solve Dr. Beeson's murder to escape the increasingly sticky situation.

Amanda Flower has crafted another wonderful tale, this time it is the end of Winter, going into Spring and Barton Farm is showcasing the making of Maple syrup, including a tree tapping class.  Sadly Kelsey Cambridge's original pick to teach this has had to pull out and so Dr Beeson has stepped in, and whilst Kelsey is glad that she only has to endure the infuriating man for two or three days she is still stunned when he winds up dead, and one of the farm workers is tapped as the killer.

Now Kelsey has to navigate a tale that has more twists and turns than the hand drill used to open the maple trees for tapping, hopefully she can help solve the crime, the jobs/liberty of not one but two of her workers - and at the same time figure out what her ex and his new fiancee are planning - no pressure then!

A Midsummer Fang's Dream by Elle Wren Burke

Josie’s ready for the lazy days and lemonade that summer has to offer, but instead, she gets a cold and clingy redhead invading her turf. Does this summer have a return policy?

For years, Josie has cultivated a friendship with sexy medical researcher Calder, but she’s been too afraid to take things further. But along with the heat, summer brings a spicy transplant to Arteria Falls—Calder’s gorgeous and genius professor ex-girlfriend. Calder claims not to have known she was coming, but now that she’s arrived, he’s getting a little too close to her. A jealous Josie can’t stand the sight of them together, but she doesn’t have to look at them for long. Just after Josie has a public squabble with Calder’s ex, she’s murdered in her research lab.

Josie and Calder quickly become suspects, so Josie puts her PI license to work to find the real killer. It should be easy—not that many people could possibly want to kill the charming professor, right? But as Josie digs, she discovers that underneath the victim’s beautiful, confident exterior lie ugly secrets and shady schemes. And someone wants to keep those schemes buried deeper than Dracula’s coffin, and they’re willing to sacrifice Josie to do it.

But her life isn’t the only thing in peril—rising tensions between Josie and Calder might just wipe out their relationship before it even begins.

Can Josie salvage things with Calder before the victim’s co-conspirators put her in the morgue too?

These are a fun paranormal series of cozy mysteries, the protagonist is a disabled Vampire (in this world Vamps are rather like humans, but they live longer and cannot eat a LOT of foods - although there are some [wine, chocolate and coconut in all its forms are just three of them!] and they do need blood but they can buy this, oh and they live in Vamp centric towns with a few, well vetted, humans to fulfil some of the jobs), Josie owns and runs a Pet boutique, however, her Grandfather (who is missing) is/was a PI and he was training her up until his disappearance.  In this one Josie is upset when her almost boyfriend's ex turns up, she is stunning to look at, but spoiled and annoying and after a rather public spat .... dead!

Now Calder (the almost BF) is in the frame for her murder so Josie, her trusty wheelchair Zippy, and various friends will need to track down what happened and why before Calder ends up in the slammer and Josie ends up on a slab!

Death of a Wandering Wolf by Julia Buckley

Hana Keller is enjoying a day off from serving up tea and delicious pastries at her family's Hungarian Tea House when her downtime turns deadly....

The only thing Hana loves more than a good cuppa is finding a delicate porcelain treasure to add to her collection. She's usually on the hunt for teacups but when she spots a rare wolf figurine at a local yard sale, she knows it's her lucky day. Hana also knows the wolf is valuable and tells the seller that he's charging too little for it. His reaction is peculiar--he says he received the wolf from someone he doesn't trust and he just wants it out of his life.

Hana is inspecting her new prize when she finds a tiny microchip attached to the bottom of the porcelain wolf. When she shows the figure to her police detective boyfriend, Erik, Hana is shocked to learn that the chip is actually a tracking device. They decide to confront the seller about the sneaky sale but when they arrive at his house, they find him dead. Erik and Hana now must hunt a calculating killer who has no intentions of crying wolf when it comes to murder...

Hana and Katie (her BFF) are at a sale, a local artist sells through stuff every so often to a) clear space and b) make sure he has enough ready cash for artist supplies.  Katie manages to spot a couple of things she thinks Hana will love, one of which Hana is stunned to see priced at $5 when she is certain that it is worth a hundred times that! The Artist (one Will Kodaly) says that the wolf figurine for him has bad memories and he is happy to let her have it for the price stated on the tag.  After getting that, a couple of picture and a sweater, she heads off to meet Erik and shows him the wolf he spots a tracker chip on the bottom, so the two of them head back to discuss it, only discover Mr Kodaly has been murdered!

Now Erik switches gear from attentive boyfriend to focused Detective (telling Hana the wolf will have to be taken as evidence, but she will get it back), then we start the roller coaster! Erik and Hana have an argument and almost split up, Hana finds two stunning blonde women in his apartment, she is being stalked and there are red herrings all over the show, this was a page turner and a half and I hope there will be more in the series.

The Case of the Jaded Jack Russell by B.R. Snow

Suzy and Josie are featured speakers at the Animal Entrepreneurs Expo in Ottawa and having to deal with Joshua Middleton, the CEO of the largest pet store franchise corporation in North America. He’s also someone Josie went to vet school with, and their shared history is anything but good. And when Middleton is found poisoned in a storage room during a cocktail reception attended by several hundred people, the list of suspects quickly begins to grow.

As Suzy attempts to work her way through a complicated web of motives and suspects, she and Josie meet the Jack Russell terrier Middleton has been using as his company’s mascot and brand representative. And as soon as they learn that the dog isn’t being treated well and his spirit is broken, they do everything in their power to figure out a way to take possession of the dog then do everything they can to make sure they don’t have to give him back. But when they learn that the head chef at the hotel they’re staying at is one of Chef Claire’s ex-boyfriends, things take a bizarre turn when it becomes apparent that he is still having a hard time letting her go and just might pose a threat. Further complicating Suzy’s ability to focus on who killed Middleton is a dog toy business opportunity that has the potential to be the biggest thing since Beanie Babies.

Along the way, they’re forced to deal with an odd mix of people including Roxanne, Middleton’s gold-digger fiancée who Josie previously stabbed in the hand over dinner one night, the obnoxious and hard-drinking COO of Middleton’s company who is suspect #1, and a banker who’s been playing a little fast and loose with a lot of the rules. Working with a pair of lovebird Canadian cops, Suzy’s neurons are pushed to the limit before this immensely satisfying installment of this increasingly popular series wraps up.

Suzy and Josie have travelled to Ottawa to take part in an Animal Expo, they are looking forward to it, until Josie sees someone she went to Vet School with - she disliked Joshua Middleton then and nothing he has done has changed her views at all, especially when they see how he treats (rather mistreats!) his dog (which is also the mascot of the company he owns). Suzy and Josie are hoping to find a way to get the Jack Russell away from his owner but they aren't anticipating murder being the reason! The problem they have now is too many suspects but at least Jack is safe and with their help will get his spirit back.

Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower

Rushing home to sit by her ailing grandmother’s bedside, Violet Waverly is shocked to find Grandma Daisy the picture of perfect health. Violet doesn’t need to read between the lines: her grandma wants Violet back home and working in her magical store, Charming Books. It’s where the perfect book tends to fly off the shelf and pick you...

Violet has every intention to hightail it back to Chicago, but then a dead man is discovered clutching a volume of Emily Dickinson’s poems from Grandma Daisy’s shop. The victim is Benedict Raisin, who recently put Grandma Daisy in his will, making her a prime suspect. Now, with the help of a tuxedo cat named Emerson, Violet will have to find a killer to keep Grandma from getting booked for good...

Violet Waverly left Cascade Springs and thought she would never be back, but during the final year of her PhD she gets a frantic call from her Grandmother and she heads back to look after her, only to find her Grandmother in perfect health! Daisy wants Violet home to take over the running of the magical book store, but before a decision can be made Daisy ends up accused of murder! Now against the wishes of the Police Chief David Rainwater, Violet is digging into the dead man's past and taking care of his cat Emerson, add in a crow named Faulkner, an ex-boyfriend, the ex-boyfriend's brother, and Violet will need all the help the shop can give her to keep her Grandmother and herself safe.

Without a Brew by Ellie Alexander

It's winter in the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington, which for local brewmaster Sloan Krause means lots of layers, pine and citrus-flavored craft beers, and getting the new guest rooms at Nitro into pristine condition before visitors flood in for IceFest--a local tradition filled with fireworks, ice carving, and winter games of all varieties. But Sloan and her boss Garrett quickly learn that being brewkeepers turned innkeepers may not be as idyllic as it sounded.

While one couple staying with them seems completely smitten, a flashy group arrives in the evening demanding rooms. Sloan and Garrett are less than impressed, but agree to rent to them anyway. The night takes a turn when brewery patron Liv Paxton finishes her frothy pint and, with no previous plan for an overnight stay in Leavenworth, eagerly takes Sloan up on the offer of sanctuary from the snow--until she has a strange run in with some locals and the other guests. Sloan could be imagining things, but when Liv's room is found trashed the next morning, a hateful message painted on her car, and Liv herself is nowhere to be found, Sloan is convinced another mystery is brewing. With many of the potential suspects hunkering down under Nitro's roof, she knows her co-workers and friends won't be safe until she serves up the killer a hoppy pint of justice.

Winter in Leavenworth and this means skiing, frozen pipes, and good warming food and beer! Nitro (in the form of Garrett, Sloan and their assistant Kat) is having a soft opening of the b & b by opening to just one couple, however fate has a different plan when the aforementioned frozen pipes means a group of four people needing an alternative place to stay for the weekend ... and Nitro is it! Then a single lady arrives also needing accommodation for a single night and they go from a soft opening to full scale! The new arrivals though bring trouble, one of the group of four is a loud mouthed braggart and the singleton winds up dead, murdered, and now Sloan is determined to find out who killed Liv do that Nitro can get Kevin, the VP of shouting his mouth off, out of Leavenworth.

Murder at the Taffy Shop by Maddie Day

Cape Cod bicycle shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida and her mystery book club find a certain accusation of murder quite the stretch . . .

When your mother is an astrologist and your dad is a minister, you learn to keep an open mind. Which is just what Mac loves to do—exercise her mind by puzzling out fictional clues in the mystery novels she reads and discusses with her Cozy Capers Book Group.

But now Mac’s friend Gin has found herself in a sticky situation. After wealthy genealogist Beverly Ruchart is found dead outside Gin’s taffy shop, the candy maker becomes a person of interest. When it’s revealed that Beverly was poisoned the night Gin brought a box of taffy to a dinner party at Beverly’s house, she’s bumped to the top of the suspects list. It’s up to Mac and her Cozy Capers crime solvers to unwrap this real-life mystery. But this time they might have bitten off more than they can chew . . .

Beverly Ruchart makes it hard for people to like her, even so no one expected her to wind up dead after a dinner party! Sadly one of the Cozy Capers Book Club is in the sights of the police as a person of interest, mainly because she found the body, it was next door to her Taffy Shop, and she had been at the dinner party! None of the rest of the Cozy Capers believe that Gin could have anything to do with the death (which is quickly discovered to be murder), and so they start snooping - leading Mac into VERY troubled waters!

The Case of the Hurricane Hounds by B.R. Snow

Suzy, along with Josie and Chef Claire, has finally succumbed to her mother’s pressure and are in the Cayman Islands for some relaxation and time in the sun. But on their first night there, a major storm blows through, and Suzy and Josie head outside to rescue a stray Bloodhound they saw on the beach earlier in the day. But their rescue effort needs to be expanded when they realize the agitated Bloodhound is trying to protect a female Basset Hound and her six puppies.

When the power goes out while they’re trying to get all eight dogs settled into her mother’s garage, Suzy wonders if their first day of vacation could get any stranger. Her question is soon answered when the lights come back on and Wily, a local financier with a reputation for philandering, is found stabbed to death in the living room. Before Suzy has time to even focus on who might have killed him, Jerome Crenshaw, an incredibly wealthy resident, gets killed in his own house the same way as Wily.

And as she embarks on trying to solve the murders, it soon becomes apparent that her mother has some ulterior motives of her own that could force Suzy, Josie, and Chef Claire to make some life-altering decisions. Surrounded by the ocean, and confronted with a diverse group of individuals as well as a few stingrays that are just a bit too close for comfort, all three women begin to wonder, that if they had wanted weirdness and murder, why did they leave home in the first place.

Suzy Chandler, along with her business partners Josie (the Veterinarian) and Chef Claire are escaping the cold of the Winter in the Thousand Islands and heading to the Cayman Islands to spend a week with Suzy's mother. Of course life does not run smoothly for the three of them as an unexpected Tropical Storm hits the Island bringing down trees and trapping guests for dinner in the house.  Earlier in the day Suzy and Josie had seen a stray Bloodhound on the beach and as they are worried about it they head out to catch it and bring it back, when they get there though they discover that he is protecting a Basset Hound and 6 puppies!  As they arrive back and are settling the canine family in the garage they hear a piercing scream, and discover that during the blackout one of the guests has been stabbed, and a couple of days later the same thing happens to another person.

Now Suzy is finding out who wanted two men dead, oh and trying to figure out what to do with the canines, AND decide whether the three friends are going to set up a Winter restaurant and an animal rescue - so same old, same old for Suzy, Josie and Claire!