A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Murder in an English Village (Beryl and Edwina Mystery #1) by Jessica Ellicott

1920: Flying in the face of convention, legendary American adventuress Beryl Helliwell never fails to surprise and shock. The last thing her adoring public would expect is that she craves some peace and quiet. The humdrum hamlet of Walmsley Parva in the English countryside seems just the ticket. And, honestly, until America comes to its senses and repeals Prohibition, Beryl has no intention of returning stateside and subjecting herself to bathtub gin.

For over three decades, Edwina Davenport has lived comfortably in Walmsley Parva, but the post–World War I bust has left her in dire financial straits and forced her to advertise for a lodger. When her long-lost school chum Beryl arrives on her doorstep—actually crashes into it in her red motorcar—Edwina welcomes her old friend as her new roommate.

But her idyllic hometown has a hidden sinister side, and when the two friends are drawn in, they decide to set up shop as private inquiry agents, helping Edwina to make ends meet and satisfying Beryl’s thirst for adventure. Now this odd couple will need to put their heads together to catch a killer—before this sleepy English village becomes their final resting place . . .

What a cracking start to a series! When two old school friends meet up again, murder and mayhem follow!

Edwina and Beryl had met at finishing school, Beryl became a newsreel sensation courting adventure and danger in  equal measures, Edwina headed back to Walmsley Parva and spinsterhood (she had wanted to follow her father's footsteps and become a solicitor but her mother put the kibosh on that!), it is now post war and Edwina's finances are suffering, so she has girded her loins and advertised for a lodger, luckily Beryl has spotted the advertisment and has come post haste to become the house sharer, a bit TOO post haste as she ends up crashing her nice shiny roadster into the wall outside Edwina's cottage!

Beryl has spread the tale that she and Edwina were in the Intelligence service during the war, unfortunately someone believes the tale and tries to kill Edwina! In a way this was the jump start she needed and before long Edwina and Beryl are investigators in truth, and what they find out will change Walmsley Parva and their own lives in a way that couldn't be imagined.

Intermezzo: Family Matters: A Wisteria Tearoom Interlude by Patrice Greenwood

Between Christmas and New Year's, Ellen Rosings travels a landscape of doubt. Can she and Tony truly forge a permanent relationship, and will their families support or oppose their intention to marry?

As Red as Any Blood (Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries #6) by Patrice Greenwood

Yuletide in Santa Fe: biscochitos, farolitos, Las Posadas, music...and murder.

Ellen Rosings does not have time for murder investigations. It’s December, and the Wisteria Tearoom is awash in shoppers, cookies, and groups of strange women brought to tea by the eccentric Bird Woman.

Alas, Ellen must cope with murder anyway. One of her high school classmates is stabbed to death, and she and her best friend Gina can't resist the puzzle. Handsome Tony Aragón is on the case, and Ellen is only too happy to assist, but when a second classmate of Ellen's turns up dead, Tony's protective instinct kicks in. Much as Ellen agrees, she can't stay in a cocoon—she's got a business to run.

Is the fact that the victim has recently been to the tearoom merely a coincidence? Could Tony’s gratifying concern for Ellen’s safety inspire him to become her personal bodyguard? And what on earth should she get him for Christmas?

Intermezzo: Spirit Matters: A Wisteria Tearoom Interlude by Patrice Greenwood

After a disastrous Halloween party at the Wisteria Tearoom, Ellen Rosings seeks to draw some understanding out of the chaos.

While trying to support her grieving Goth office manager, Ellen ponders the mysterious flashes of light she saw in another part of Santa Fe, wondering if they are related to Captain Dusenberry, the tearoom's resident ghost. She asks for help from the local spirit-tour guide, Willow Lane, who takes curiosity about the captain's unsolved murder to a new level, where Ellen finds herself exploring the very meaning of spirit.

Will a séance in the tearoom finally provide the answers to her questions?

(This is a novella, a short companion story to the Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries series. It is recommended that you read A Masquerade of Muertos before reading this story.)

A Masquerade of Muertos (Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries #5) by Patrice Greenwood

Goths reenacting Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" on Halloween night...what could possibly go wrong? Despite her desire to make the Wisteria Tearoom a haven of tranquility, Ellen Rosings can't rid her parlors of the shadow of death. Fascinated with the tearoom's resident ghost, her customers flock to spirit-tours-with-tea, and to crown all, the office manager and her Goth friends plan a Halloween masquerade recreating a classic horror story. Between his heavy workload and his fits of jealousy when Ellen looks at anything male, Detective Tony Arag�n can't offer her much comfort. Are the flashes of light she's been seeing some kind of message from the spirit world? Or is it just coincidence when a body turns up where she last saw a gleam?

Pastries, Pies, & Poison (Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Book 2) by Katherine H. Brown

 

Lipstick and lies, pastries and pies, plus a little poison thrown in the mix.

Piper and Sam are excited to cater their first large event – breakfast and desserts for a corporation’s weekend wellness retreat being held in a nearby town.
You know what that means? Road trip!

Piper thought it sounded like the perfect opportunity to clear her head of men. With things left unresolved with Griff, plus her old friend Landon popping back into her life, her mind and heart are in worse shape than a batch of burnt cookies.

Unfortunately, the weekend goes pear-shaped in a hurry. A man is dead and everyone at the retreat is a suspect. Can Piper get out of this new pickle and solve the mystery in time to salvage the retreat and the catering job? Will Sam heed the warning to stay out of the police investigation? And will the Ooey Gooey Bakery survive the weekend without them?

Piper and Sam are recovering from the incidents in book #1, one thing that is a slight problem though is cash flow, if they take a catering job for the weekend however, then they should have enough to bank, even paying people to run the bakery for them whilst they are away!  Everything starts off smoothly, although they need to buy a bit of extra kit and stock up with baking supplies, but that is all in a day's work for these two.  Unfortunately part the way through the evening of the first full day, someone keels over and Piper is arrested for murder!  She is released but now she, Sam, Griff and an old friend Landon need to figure out who is the murderer and why - otherwise Piper will be doing the rest of her baking whilst serving 15 to 20 and wearing orange!

A Bodkin for the Bride (Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries #4) by Patrice Greenwood

It’s autumn in Santa Fe, and Ellen Rosings is planning her Aunt Nat’s wedding at the Wisteria Tearoom. Her progress is derailed by a dead body—yes, another one—that she finds in her aunt’s driveway.

The corpse is an artist Ellen saw that morning selling gem-handled knives at the Tesuque Pueblo Flea Market. The detective assigned to the case—not, alas, the handsome, sympathetic Tony Aragón—is looking to Ellen to explain why the body ended up in Nat’s driveway. Tony is busy on his own case and can’t help.

Soon the dead artist starts appearing in Ellen’s dreams, holding the knife that was found beside him. He wasn’t stabbed. What does it mean?

Between the dreams, the looming wedding, work pressures and a tenacious case of hiccups, Ellen fears she’s unraveling. Then a gem-handled knife is left embedded in Nat’s door, and Ellen knows she must solve the artist’s death before another crime strikes closer to home.

Phew! another great addition to the Wisteria Tearoom series :D

Ellen and Nat are making preparations for Nat and Manny's upcoming wedding, including Ellen making the dresses for both Nat and herself, one of the things Nat wants on the dresses are some silver buttons, she has seen some at the local flea market and so Nat and Ellen head there.  Whilst Nat is shortlisting the buttons Ellen has a wander around some of the other stalls, including one where a young man is selling inlaid knives.  Before she gets a chance to talk to him to see if he does other metal work Nat calls her over, the rest of the day is spent sewing and having a good time together, which screeches to a halt when Ellen gets outside to her car and finds a dead body behind it!

It turns out that the dead body is that of the young man with the stall of knives, with Tony on another case Ellen needs to deal with a new detective and the stress of everything has caused a major bout of hiccups! Now Ellen keeps dreaming of the young man who keeps holding out one of his knives, so if she is going to be fit and well for Nat's wedding she needs to sort everything out pronto!

A Cherry Sinister Murder (Slice of Paradise Mystery #1) by Nancy McGovern, Cyra Bruce

Faith Franklin is a dreamer.  She dreams of cakes & pies.  She dreams of crepes & brownies.  And, more than anything, she dreams of making a career of serving her delicious treats to an adoring public.

So, when her grandmother calls and asks her to move to Florida to help run her café, she cannot get out of Minnesota fast enough!  And before she knows it she is standing in Paradise Point, the beautiful, oceanside plaza in which Bessie's Café is located, hardly able to believe her good fortune.

Life is now exactly how Faith had imagined it could be.  She's made wonderful friends.  The café, now renamed the Slice of Paradise, has been renovated to showcase her amazing desserts.  And both locals & tourists are loving it!

Well, all except for one...

The owner of a nearby cupcake shop is not at all happy with Faith's arrival in Paradise Point.  She has accused Faith of trying to ruin her by stealing her recipes & designs.  And she is not shy about letting everyone know it.

So, when the woman is found dead the day after their confrontation, people immediately begin to consider whether Faith is the killer...

Is Faith guilty of murder?  If not, who is?  And can Faith find a way to clear her name before her dreams turn into nightmares?

Faith has had a string of dead end jobs so when her grandmother phones and asks her to come down and help out at Bessie's Cafe she jumps at the chance - it turns out that Bessie (Faith's grandmother) actually hopes Faith will take it over and run it as Bessie has had a fall and moved into an assisted living complex.  As the one thing Faith IS good at is baking she agrees and after talking with the one member of staff, Laura (who within minutes is a firm friend!) they decide to jazz the place up and re-name it a Slice of Paradise.  Most people are really happy about the idea but one person (owner of a cupcake bakery) accuses Faith of stealing her recipes and is determined to run her out of the complex!

That would normally not be too much of a problem but then the bakery owner winds up dead, and Faith is accused of her murder! Now Faith. Laura and Laura's cousin Nathan need to find out the truth or a Slice of Paradise will become a Total Hades!

Seas the Day (A Seafood Caper Mystery #1) by Maggie Toussaint

Caterer River Holloway cooks like a dream and is known on Shell Island as a "finder" of things. Which is why a desperate mother begs River to track down her grown son, Chili Bolz, who's vanished.

Deputy Lance Hamlyn can't find the missing man, so he teams up with River. The missing person case boils over into something frightening when Chili's mother falls victim to a brutal assault. Worse, her dying words incriminate River's friends in both kidnapping and, now, murder. River soon finds herself caught in an unsavory recipe for disaster.

Despite catering events and the return of her absentee boyfriend, River finds the number of suspects growing longer than her food shopping list. Along the way she befriends a black cat who becomes her crime-solving partner. River must locate Chili and discover who killed his mother before her own goose is quite literally cooked!

PHEWEEEE!!! What a humdinger to the start of a series (at least I hope it will be a series!)

River Holloway lives on Shell Island in Georgia, her brother served a brief stint in prison but is turning his life around by going to technical college to train as a general contractor come handyman, and their mother died a few months before this book is set.  River has started a catering company (ranging from 2 person celebration meals to grand buffets!) and her boyfriend (Pete) travels as a troubleshooter for different companies.  Everything seems hunky dory until River gets a phone call from an old friend sobbing that her son is missing and the police don't seem bothered, as River has a knack for finding items Estelle Bolz has called on her (and as River was always known by the Bolz boys as their Little Sis she can't refuse!), before too long though she seems to be waist deep in trouble and wondering who she can trust, and can she keep her catering business going when Pete is prepared to go anywhere - what will give? her relationship. her business or her life?

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Delores River Holloway, but everyone calls me River. There used to be such an awkward moment for me on the first day of school when the teacher would call out Delores. Soon it wasn’t just me saying back to her that I went by River, everyone said it. I come from a coastal Georgia island named Shell Island. I live in my grandmother’s house now, and I have a great relationship with my brother, who is my only surviving family member. My mom died a few months ago, and my boyfriend moved across the country.

What is your Profession?

Catering is my profession but it’s also my passion. I love to cook meals and desserts and appetizers. You name it, I love to prepare it. My specialties are seafood dishes, pies, cakes, and cookies. I also have another profession, an unpaid one. I’ve always been good at finding things. So far, I’ve found keys, shoes, and even a lost dog.

What is your current favourite book or movie?

“Julie and Julia” This 2009 movie is dated now but it’s a classic to me. I watched it with my grandmother, and she’s the one who shared her passion for cooking. Preparing food was love at first sight for me. Some people get tired of cooking after making one dish. I just want to keep going and going. One day I hope to have daughter who shares my love of cooking and finding things.

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

Every cookbook I own. I love to thumb through them and become inspired by the photos.

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

I’d love for Amy Adams to play me in a movie!

What is your ideal evening?

Cooking a meal for family and friends. I enjoy lowkey evenings so this would be absolutely perfect!

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 22 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 22 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 23 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

April 23 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 24 – Jane Reads – GUEST POST

April 24 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

April 25 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT

April 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 25 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT

April 26 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 26 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 27 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, GUEST POST

April 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

April 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW  

April 28 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 29 – Dee-Scoveries – SPOTLIGHT

April 29 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

April 30 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 30 – eBook addicts – SPOTLIGHT

May 1 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 1 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

Lowcountry Boomerang (Liz Talbot Mystery #8) by Susan M. Boyer

Private investigators Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews are all set to enjoy some quality time on the beach. That’s until they get the news about Darius. Darius DeAndre Baker, star of the hit TV show, Main Street USA, has had enough of the Hollywood highlife. After ten years of visiting everyone else’s hometown, he returns to his own—Stella Maris, South Carolina.

But the moving trucks have barely unloaded when Trina Lynn Causby, Darius’s high school girlfriend, turns up dead, and the entire town reels as Darius is arrested.

Despite the mounting evidence against him, Liz and Nate believe Darius is innocent. They dig through a scandalously long list of suspects, including Darius’s three ex-wives—who have all arrived in Stella Maris—and his love child with Trina Lynn.

But Trina Lynn led a complicated life. She had at least one stalker and two suitors—one with a jealous wife who recently made a deliciously outrageous scene when Trina Lynn turned up at a charity ball.

As the danger mounts, Liz and Nate race to find a killer and clear Darius’s name—and keep him alive.

Things should be free and easy for Liz and Nate, they have just finished a case and Nate is handing the information over to the lawyer whilst Liz heads to the local diner to catch up with the gossip over lunch with the diner's owner Moon Unit, Moon Unit has been seeing a Charleston police officer by the name of Sonny Ravenel (who is also Liz and Nate's first point of call with the Charleston police force), he sent a semi cryptic message via Moon Unit as he has a new partner who doesn't think that PI's should be anywhere NEAR anything to do with a police case, but Liz trusts Sonny and more to the point the current Stella Maris guardian spirit (aka Colleen, Liz's friend who was killed in high school) has turned up and is very interested!  Before too much longer Liz and Nate's idea of a relaxing couple of months have gone by the wayside as they have a new client in the form of Darius Baker who is accused of killing his former girlfriend the local investigative reporter Trina Causby.

Now Liz and Nate need to dig deep, Colleen needs to keep Darius safe whilst he is (regrettably) locked up and everyone needs to try and keep family and friends safe, because if Darius didn't do the deed (and Colleen swears he didn't) then there is still a cold blooded killer out there.