A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Criminally Cocoa (Amish Candy Shop Mystery #3.5) by Amanda Flower

As if being in New York City for Easter isn’t exciting enough, Charlotte Weaver has another reason to be thrilled. She’s helping her cousin, Bailey, on the set of her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Bailey will even be re-creating the delectable hand-woven chocolate Easter baskets she once crafted for the city’s world-famous JP Chocolates. But once things start rolling, Charlotte starts to notice odd things
happening—things that seem intended to make Bailey look bad . . .
 
With Bailey feeling extra nervous about being on camera, Charlotte decides to keep her suspicion of sabotage to herself. But she knows that among Bailey’s fans at the Gourmet Television network lurks a dangerously jealous rival. Now Charlotte will have to find out who that person is—before sour grapes turns one of the sweetest times of the year fatally bitter . . .

A wonderful little novella seen from the point of view of Bailey's cousin (and assistant at Swissman Sweets) Charlotte, this time Charlotte is the one who tracks down the evil doer and it was a great little interlude!

Mother's Day Mayhem (Tourist Trap Mysteries #6.5) by Lynn Cahoon

Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More is almost out of Mother’s Day cards. She has a few more in stock, but she’s set them aside because she needs Greg’s help choosing one for his mother. It’ll be Jill’s first time meeting her boyfriend’s mother, and she’s understandably nervous.

Turns out Jill isn’t the only one having feelings about mothers. Kyle, who works at the antiques store next door, needs to find the perfect card for a mother he hasn’t seen since he was five—when she went away to jail. But her arrival in South Cove isn’t exactly celebratory, her behavior toward her son unexpectedly restrained. Piqued, Jill discovers that a mother can never be replaced...

In this novella Jill sets out to prove that family doesn't have to be blood related, her business neighbour Josh has an assistant Kyle who keeps trying to re-connect with his mother who seems to keep him dangling, now Jill and her assistant Sasha are determined to find out the truth, even if it hurts, oh and Jill's boyfriend Greg gets in on the act (after all if you can't trust a police officer to find out the truth who can you trust!), oh and just to add some more angst into the mix, Greg want's Jill to go for lunch with him, his brother ..... and his mother! (she can invite her Aunt and her Aunt's significant other as back up).

Corned Beef and Casualties (Tourist Trap Mysteries #6.25) by Lynn Cahoon

Jill Gardner’s store, Coffee, Books, and More, is raking in the green as her little coastal town holds a big festival for St. Patrick’s Day. But the locals aren’t exactly feeling the luck of the Irish, thanks to the rowdy behavior of some of the tourists who are pouring in. 
 
Then a woman who just visited Jill’s shop is found dead near the shore. The fireworks display on the beach may have already happened, but the real fireworks have just begun . . .

Darla has arranged a St Patrick's Day festival at South Cove, this means for a lot of people all day drinking, so Greg has drafted in some extra police help, this does mean that he and his fellow officers can take a brief dinner break, which Jill is providing at her house, instead of Irish food she provides easy Tacos (although the lady that does the sweet treats for Coffee, books and more has provided a mint chocolate cheesecake!), Jill and her Aunt expect their busiest day to be the 18th (namely lots of people wanting coffee to sober up!) but even so they do a steady trade, one of the visitors makes an impression on Jill (she seems to be there for the fun, but not so much the oodles of alcohol!) so when she is found dead later on Jill is shocked and even more so when it turns out to be murder.

Santa Puppy (Tourist Trap Mysteries #5.5) by Lynn Cahoon

’Twas the season of Christmas, and all through South Cove, California, Santa is working overtime to deliver a special gift . . .

Jill Gardner has volunteered her Coffee, Books, and More to host a Christmas adopt-a-pet party. Among the potential forever friends is a male terrier named Baby, whose owner died of a heart attack. With few clues to go on, even finding the name of Baby’s human is a daunting task. But there’s no challenge too big for Jill this holiday season.

Playing Santa’s Little Helper, Jill is determined to find out what happened —and to fulfill a long-time coming Christmas wish . . .

Another fun Novella from South Cove, this time we are running up to Christmas and Coffee, Books and More are planning a Christmas party with a twist, namely having Santa AND a lot of cats and dogs up for adoption from the local no kill shelter, Jill, her boyfriend Greg, her Aunt and Aunt's significant other and Amy's best friend and HER significant other go a week before go to make sure the potential adoptees are looking their best (well the dogs, they decided against washing the cats!), one of the dogs makes an impression on Jill, so much so that if the dog (called Baby) doesn't find a home she is prepared to take him ... then something interesting pops up re Baby's late owner and Jill is determined to find out what happens next!

A Deadly Brew (Tourist Trap Mysteries #5.25) by Lynn Cahoon

As Halloween approaches South Cove, California, four couples get into the spirit of the holiday by conjuring up spirits. . .

The house has sat empty for fifteen years, taking up prime real estate along the picturesque coastline. Built by one of the founders of South Cove, its last known owner, Maryanne Demerit, vanished without a trace. Now her home will be demolished for a condo development, but until then, it’s the perfect spot for a Halloween haunted house.

Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More, her boyfriend, and three other couples are spending the weekend in the Demerit home. But what begins as an all-in-good-fun fright fest turns into a mystery begging to be solved as Jill is contacted by the ghost of Maryanne . . .

A fun novella filling in some background between main stories and letting us know more about one of the minor characters in South Cove, namely Jill's neighbour Esmerelda (who is the dispatcher at the South Cove police and has a side hustle as a psychic!), with 8 people deciding to do a pre-Halloween bit of fun (namely being locked in a house that is supposedly haunted and is due to be demolished to make way for upscale housing), it starts off as fun, but after and interesting Ouija Board session things get a lot more lively! Leading the way to closing a cold case off and giving one of the 8 people some fascinating news!

Dog Gone Ghost (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #4.5) by Angie Fox

Who let the dogs…and cats…out?

Verity Long’s new ghost hunting career has gone to the dogs, literally. A spirit is releasing animals from their cages at the Sugarland Animal Rescue Center. It’s an unusual haunting that gets even more bizarre when she uncovers a new clue in a case of a missing child. Verity vows to reunite the lost boy with his family. And when she does, Verity just might answer the age-old question: Do all dogs go to heaven?

In this Novella Verity is back trading services (in this case skunk training for ghost hunting!) much to the disgust of Frankie, her resident ghost who would like some actual money coming in! (although her first job did actually net some cash), the local animal rescue centre has suddenly got a rash of cages being opened at night and when one of the staff stayed over she saw the cages opening .... but no one there, hence the call on Verity.  She discovers the culprit and the reason why the cages are being opened, now all she needs to do is reunite the ghost with their family and their dog and everything will be back to normal, just why does she have to go to the place known as Convict Bend in order to do that!

Ghost of a Chance (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #2.5) by Angie Fox

'Tis the season...for ghosts. Verity Long has come to terms with the fact that she can see spirits, and talk to them, and...she's actually making cookies for one of them. But she's drawing the line at any more ghost hunting or mystery solving. Until a dear friend needs help locating a missing antique at the party of the year. Not one to leave a friend in need, Verity straps on her sparkly heels and sneaks in to see what she can find—only to uncover a startling secret that will change everything.

A fun little novella in the Southern Spirits series, this one is set at Christmas and Verity has the chance to help two people, one living and one dead! Her ghostly friend Matthew Jackson (the one member of the family who joined the Yankee army rather than the Confederates) has decided to marry Josephine (aka jilted Josephine, another ghost), but he wants to family heirlook necklace before he proposes, the problem is his mother barred him from the house when he joined the opposing army.  This is where the second favour comes in, Verity's friend has been asked to cater the Jackson's pre Christmas party and Verity is going along as a waitress, oh and Frankie is along for the ride as well, after all she needs his help to talk with the deceased Mrs Jackson!

A Ghostly Gift (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #1.5) by Angie Fox

Verity Long doesn't want to see ghosts, and she'd rather not let anyone know her little secret, either. But when a restless spirit stirs up trouble in her friend's resale shop, Verity and her very new, very dead gangster friend team up to learn what is really happening. They discover an age-old secret and must learn the truth behind a mysterious disappearance... before it's too late.

A fun little interlude carrying on from the first book, Verity still has no furniture, she still has a resident Gangster Ghost (Frankie) and her sister Melody has dropped a ghost busting job on her (with no payment but chance of some furnishings), if you are not sure about starting this series then this could be the snippet that gets you hooked!

Plain as Day: An Amish Mystery Short Story (An Amish Mystery #5.5) by Laura Bradford

When a mysterious rattling sound confounds the guests at Heavenly’s local inn, Detective Jakob Fisher steps in and cleverly deduces the noise’s source. But the necklace he discovers sparks an even larger mystery when Claire realizes it’s connected to the writing of a popular author who’s vanished and left her fans clamoring for a new book.

Determined to track down the necklace’s owner, Claire vows to follow the clues wherever they lead—even if it means finding someone who might not want to be found . . .

These short stories are a wonderful counterpart to the full length books, they allow a bit of background to be filled in (and they are perfect for reading whilst waiting for an appointment!), in this one Detective Jakob solves the problem of a dresser drawer rattling whenever it is moved, but solving one mini mystery leads to another which Claire is determined to solve, well worth a read for fans of this series.

Fire in Carriagetown by Edith Maxwell (Review)

In this short story, When Quaker mill worker Faith Bailey encounters an arsonist who burns down the town's carriage industry in 1888 Massachusetts, she uses her smarts and her faith to track down the killer.

I normally do not really like short stories, but this one gives some background to the Quaker Midwife stories and more to the point background to some of the lesser known characters within those books.  For that alone I would enjoy it, the fact that is a fun little read is a bonus!