Drop Dead Ornaments

Drop Dead Ornaments (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
by Lois Winston

About the Book

Drop Dead Ornaments (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Self Published
Print Length: 209 pages
ASIN: B07GMZ2H4B

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.

At the fair Anastasia meets Sophie’s father, Shane Lambert, who strikes her as a man with secrets. She also notices a woman eavesdropping on their conversation. Later that evening when the woman turns up dead, Sophie’s father is arrested for her murder.

Alex and Sophie beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but Anastasia has had her fill of dead bodies. She’s also not convinced of Shane’s innocence. Besides, she’s promised younger son Nick she’ll stop risking her life. But how can she say no to Alex?

What I Thought:

This is the first book I have read in the Anastasia Polk Crafting Mystery Series.  While this one can be read as a stand-alone, I wish I would have read others in the series, especially as this on leaves off where the last in the series finished.  In this one, Anastasia is helping her older son, Alex and his girlfriend Sophie with a community service project for their senior class.  Anastasia meets Sophie's father, Shane, whom she is skeptical about and feels he is hiding something.  When a lady that Anastasia notices was spying on a conversation between her and Shane turns up dead, Shane is the main suspect is arrested for the murder, Sophie and Alex beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but she doesn't want to because she promised her younger son and she has had enough of murder, but she also doesn't want to let down her older son.  I enjoyed this story and was not really that lost as I haven't read others the series.  I thought the plot was well thought out and the story flowed well.  There were many twists and turns in this story, and I enjoyed all the quirky characters in the story as well.  I was totally baffled as to who the killer was and was left guessing to the very end.  While this the first I have read in this series, I hope it is not my last.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.

About the Author

About the Author

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Author Links

Website: www.loiswinston.com

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/anasleuth

Twitter at https://twitter.com/Anasleuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston

Newsletter sign-up: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z1z1u5

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Killed on Blueberry Hill

ISBN	9781496704900
Publish Date	10/30/2018
Format	Paperback

*Cover pic and blurbs from Kensington.com

It’s peak tourist season in Oriole Point, Michigan—the blueberry buckle of the fruit belt. Nothing draws the crowds quite like their annual carnival. And nothing turns it sour faster than murder . . .

The Blueberry Blow Out festival has begun and it’s time for Marlee Jacob, owner of The Berry Basket, to shine. Unfortunately it’s also bringing out the worst in her fiancé Ryan Zeller. Ryan’s rivalry with Porter Gale, owner of Blueberry Hill Farm, spills over into a very public and very ugly fight. And after they compete in the pie-eating contest and a raucous tug of war, their orchard blood feud takes a deadly turn . . .

The death of the king of Blueberry Hill is a shock but not too surprising—he was a diabetic whose last pig out meal was deliciously fatal. But when authorities discover that someone tampered with Porter’s insulin, a tragic accident is looking like murder—and Ryan is the key ingredient. Now Marlee’s investigation to clear his name is taking her deep into the Gale family secrets, and she’s being shadowed every step of the way by a killer whose sweet revenge is just beginning . . .

Includes Berry Recipes!


What I Thought:


This is the third installment in the Betty Basket Mystery Series by Sharon Farrow and it is the second that I have read in the series.  I read the first Dying for Strawberries and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I enjoyed this one even more.  In this book, the town of Oriole Point is celebrating the Blueberry Blowout.  During the tug of war between the fruit growers in the area, Marlee's fiancé, Ryan, gets into an altercation with another local grower, Porter.  Porter is a diabetic and later that night, Porter is on the ride that his family’s farm has sponsored, when he passes away, from what everyone thinks it was just a result of his drinking and being diabetic, but it turns out his insulin had been tampered with.  Ryan becomes the prime suspect.  Marlee wants to believe in Ryan, but she is finding out more and more lies that Ryan is telling her and things he is keeping from her. 

 

This was a very well written book that kept my attention from the start of the book to the last page.  I really like Marlee and she is a very well-rounded character.  Her fiancé, on the other hand is a little hard to like.  The setting of this series is charming and seems like a place I would like to visit.  I enjoyed the relationship elements in this book.  There were several returning townsfolk to this story and we are also introduced to many new characters in this story.  It was hard to figure out who the killer was, there were some suspects but there were many twists and turns that made me guess as to who the culprit was.  Marlee wants to stay out of the investigation, but when all clues point to Ryan and makes her reassess their relationship, she can't help but become involved.  She also learns more secrets that Ryan has been keeping, that make her question his innocence even more.  She also has a possible new love interest that also muddies the waters for her and Ryan.  The ending of this book was pretty explosive with many things happening and I was honestly shocked by the reveal of the killer. I highly recommend this series.

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book.



            

About:

Sharon Farrow is also the co-author of the Agatha nominated Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mysteries written under the joint pseudonym D.E. Ireland. A freelance writer since her twenties, she has been published in mystery, fantasy, and romance; one of her short stories has been optioned for film. Sharon currently lives along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline where the Berry Basket series is set. Visit her online at sharonfarrowauthor.com, on Facebook @SharonFarrowAuthor, or Twitter @SharonFarrowBB.

A Crafter Knits a Clue

A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mystery
by Holly Quinn

About the Book

A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mystery
NEW COZY MYSTERY SERIES
SET IN WISCONSIN
Crooked Lane Books (October 9, 2018)
Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1683317718
ISBN-13: 978-1683317715
Digital ASIN: B078LZ5ZM5

For fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, the latest craft frenzy is Holly Quinn’s Handcrafted series debut.

Sammy Kane just moved back to her hometown to run a craft store. But when the owner of a nearby yarn shop is murdered, Sammy will needle little help finding the killer.

When a heartbroken Samantha “Sammy” Kane returns to her hometown of Heartsford, WI, for her best friend Kate’s funeral, she learns that Kate’s much-loved craft store is in danger of perishing with its owner. Confounding all her expectations of the life she would live, Sammy moves back home with her golden retriever and takes over Community Craft. A few doors down Main Street, fellow new arrival Ingrid Wilson has just opened the Yarn Barn, a real “purl” of a shop. But when Sammy strolls over to see if Ingrid could use a little help, she finds Ingrid’s dead body—with a green aluminum knitting needle lodged in her throat.

Detective Liam Nash is thrown for a loop as every single citizen of Heartsford seems to have a theory about Ingrid’s murder. And nearly everyone in town seems to be a suspect. But the last time Sammy did any sleuthing was as a little moppet. And this is not fun and games. Sammy is eager to help the handsome Liam—who seems to be endlessly inventive in finding reasons to talk with her—and when Liam arrests affable woodworker Miles Danbury, Sammy puts everything on the line to help clear Miles.

As the case comes dangerously close to unraveling, Sammy must stitch the clues together. But the killer has other plans—and if Sammy’s not careful, she may wind up in a perilous knot in A Crafter Knits a Clue, the first warm and woolly yarn of Holly Quinn’s new Handcrafted mysteries.

What I Thought :

I enjoyed this book which is the first in the Handcrafted Mystery series.  Holly Quinn is a new to me author and I enjoyed her writing style.  In this one, Samantha "Sammy" has come returned home to attend the funeral of her best friend.  She then takes over her friend's craft store.  One day, she goes to a rival craft shop and finds the owner murdered with a knitting needle.  Sammy then becomes a sleuth to solve the murder.  I thought the plot of this book was well thought.  Like I mentioned earlier, the writing style of the author was good and I felt it helped the book to flow well.  The setting was also charming and the authors descriptions of it made me feel that I was very familiar with the town.  The mystery was enhanced by the romantic tension between Sammy and the lead detective in the case, Liam.  There were a lot of twists and turns in this mystery that kept me guessing.  The story finished with a cliffhanger, which makes me really want to read the next book in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.

About the Author

Holly Quinn is both an avid reader and crafter. Holly sells her artistic creations locally and dreamed of one day opening a gift shop to sell local artist’s handiwork. Instead, she began writing about it and thus her journey of the Handcrafted Mystery series was born. Visit her @ www.authorhollyquinn.com

Author Links -

Website - www.authorhollyquinn.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HollyQuinnbooks/

GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7940795.Holly_Quinn

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A Very Merry Murder

A Very Merry Murder (A Professor Prather Mystery)
by Mary Angela

About the Book

A Very Merry Murder (A Professor Prather Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Camel Press (October 1, 2018)
Paperback: 258 pages
ISBN-10: 1603816550
ISBN-13: 978-1603816557
Digital ASIN: B07G2VLLCV

It’s December in Copper Bluff, and from hillside to hallowed hall, everyone is merry—or will be as soon as semester break arrives. Students are studying, professors are grading, and Emmeline Prather is anticipating the university-sponsored holiday concert. Friend and colleague Lenny Jenkins will be accompanying the visiting quartet, Jazz Underground, and Em can’t think of a better way to kick-start the holiday season.

But before she can say “Jingle Bell Rock,” trouble arrives at Candlelight Inn, the bed and breakfast where the quartet is staying. One of the band members dies unexpectedly, and suspicion falls on Em, whose altercation with the man ends with him on the floor. He never recovers, and now she’s worried her reputation might not either. When Emmeline starts to see parallels between an Agatha Christie novel she’s teaching and the victim, Lenny claims she’s read one too many mysteries.

As the clues unravel, so does the murderer’s patience. Em is close to finding the truth, but will the truth—or the murderer—push her over the edge? It will take a Christmas miracle to solve this case, but if there’s one thing in surplus this time of year, it’s faith.

What I Thought:

This is the third book in the Professor Prather series that I have read.  While it can be read as a stand-alone, I wish I had read the other two in the series.  Emmeline Prather is a professor of a local university and is looking forward to a holiday concert by the Jazz Underground.  One of the band members makes a pass at Emmeline and she pushes him away, he falls to the floor dead.  Emmeline is the prime suspect and needs to clear her name before the holidays.  I thought this was a well written story that kept my attention through-out.  I liked the protagonist and found myself rooting for her all through the book.  I was surprised by the ending, which is what I like in a cozy mystery.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.

About the Author

[caption id="attachment_102470" align="aligncenter" width="200"] © Julie Prairie Photography 2016[/caption]

Mary Angela is the author of the Professor Prather academic mystery series, which has been called “enjoyable” and “clever” by Publishers Weekly. She is also an educator and has taught English and humanities at South Dakota’s public and private universities for over ten years. When Mary isn’t writing or teaching, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Author Links

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Threads of Grace

Grace’s beauty almost cost her everything. This new start is all she has left.
When Grace Beiler was only a girl, she was married off to an older Amish man in order to save her family’s farm. Years later, she finds herself newly widowed and a mother to a young son. She has finally fled her sad past and plans to settle into a quiet life in Pennsylvania.
As soon as she arrives, she captures the attention of Seth Wyse, the most eligible bachelor in Pine Creek. Seth is candid about his feelings for her, and for her son Abel, but Grace is determined to protect her heart. Her determination falters when her brother-in-law reveals the troubling contents of her late husband’s will.
Seth offers Grace his hand in marriage, and thus a means of escape. But despite his having saved her from another loveless marriage, Grace is slow to trust her new husband. And as the months wear on, Seth wonders if he has made a mistake. But God is quietly at work in their hearts, and Seth and Grace soon discover that threads of grace bind them together in a tapestry rich in hope and love.


What I Thought:

I enjoyed reading the story of Grace and her son Abel who is autistic.  Grace was married off to save her family farm to a much older man.  He was not good to her, so when he passes, she moves to a small Pennsylvania town.  When her widow’s brother shows up trying to force Grace to marry him, her neighbor Seth, offers to marry her.  This is a story of a marriage of convenience turning into a story of love.  It was well written and the author did a very good job making your help melt over Abel.  The plot was good, but the conflict between the two men in the story ended kind of weirdly.  Overall this was a good read. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book.

In Cold Chocolate

In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
by Dorothy St. James

About the Book

In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (September 11, 2018)
Hardcover: 350 Pages
ISBN-10: 1683317432
ISBN-13: 978-1683317432
Digital ASIN: B078M3N9TC

In Dorothy St. James’s third delectable Southern Chocolate Shop mystery, a new batch of chocolate and troubles of the heart cause a string of disasters for the Chocolate Box’s new owner, Charity Penn.

The vintage seaside town of Camellia Beach, South Carolina seems like the perfect place for romance with its quiet beach and its decadent chocolate shop that serves the world’s richest dark chocolates. The Chocolate Box’s owner, Charity Penn, falls even further under the island’s moonlit spell as she joins Althea Bays and the rest of the turtle watch team to witness a new generation of baby sea turtles hatch and make their way into the wide ocean.

Before the babies arrive, gunshots ring out in the night. Cassidy Jones, the local Casanova, is found dead in the sand with his lover Jody Dalton—the same woman who has vowed to destroy the Chocolate Box—holding the gun. It’s an obvious crime of passion, or so everyone believes. But when Jody’s young son pleads with Penn to bring his mother back to him, she can’t say no. She dives headfirst into a chocolate swirl of truth and lies, and must pick through an assortment of likely (and sometimes unsavory) suspects before it’s too late for Penn and for those she loves in Dorothy St. James’s third rich installment of the Southern Chocolate Shop mysteries, In Cold Chocolate.

What I Thought:

This is fast becoming one of my very favorite cozy series'.  I have enjoyed the previous two in the series and this one did not disappoint at all, and may be my favorite.  Penn is still fighting with the Maybank family to prove that she is really part of their family.  It is intriguing how the author is playing out that storyline.  Along with trying to learn the art of making fine chocolates, she joins her friend, Althea, in watching the baby sea turtles hatch. But someone starts stealing the sea turtle eggs and someone is also stealing the chocolate turtles the Chocolate Box has been making.  On top of that, the local real estate developer is found dead.  Penn's love interest, Harley's ex-wife, Jodi,  is found holding a gun, she becomes the main suspect.  Of course, she and Penn are not the greatest of friends, but when Gavin, Jodi's son, asks Penn to help find the killer, Penn could not refuse. I enjoyed revisiting the resident's of Camellia Beach, and of course revisiting the charming town itself.  Since I love chocolate this also endears this series to me.  This was a well written, well thought out mystery that had me turning pages quickly. I was totally surprised by the ending of this one, I was totally clueless as to who the killer, and thief was.  I look forward to more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.

About the Author

Mystery author Dorothy St. James was raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, a neurotic dog, and a fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.

Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn't as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.

* Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader's Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: "amazing", "perfect", "filled with emotion", and "lined with danger."

Author Links

Website: www.dorothystjames.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothystjames

Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothymcfalls

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Read and Gone

Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery
by Allison Brook

About the Book

Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (September 11, 2018)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683317340
Digital ASIN: B078M7MXGR

Twenty million dollars’ worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton’s long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it’s up to Carrie to clear his name.

A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again.

Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin.

Retreating to the quiet confines of the library where she works, Carrie watches as Smokey Joe, the resident cat, paws at a hole in the wall. Is he after the library’s ghost Evelyn, or something shinier?

What I Thought:

Read and Gone starts off where Death Overdue left off.  Carrie has settled into her new cottage is forging a relationship with Dylan.  She is also settling into her job as Head of Programs and Events at the Clover Ridge Library.  After Carrie’s birthday party, her long lost father shows up needing her help.  Then when a library board member, Benton Parr, is murdered, Carrie’s father needs even more help as he is the main suspect.  Of course Carrie has to enlist the help of her ghost friend Evelyn to help her with this murder.  This book was as well written as the first with some of the same characters, but it introduces us to some new characters as well.  The plot was well thought out and flowed well, making this a fast read.  I found myself getting anxious often and was left guessing till the very explosive end.

I received a complimentary copy of this book

About the Author

Allison Brook is the pseudonym for Marilyn Levinson, who writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. She lives on Long Island and enjoys traveling, reading, watching foreign films, doing Sudoku and dining out. She especially loves to visit with her grandchildren on FaceTime.

Author Links

Website: http://www.marilynlevinson.com

My Amazon page: http://amzn.to/K6Md1O

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/

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