How the Murder Crumbles

 

How the Murder Crumbles (A Cookie Shop Mystery) by Debra Sennefelder

About How the Murder Crumbles

How the Murder Crumbles (A Cookie Shop Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Connecticut Crooked Lane Books (June 20, 2023) Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639102809 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639102808 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BG13HTC6

Debra Sennefelder whips up cookies and crime in a delicious new cozy series, perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Peg Cochran.

Wingate, Connecticut, is famed as one of the top ten shopping destinations in the state, and home to Mallory Monroe’s beloved Cookie Shop—a place where patrons are greeted with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies that are as beautifully decorated as they are insanely delicious.

But things aren’t going so smoothly for Mallory. Her two employees are a disaster in the kitchen, she catches her boyfriend with another woman, and she’s seen having a fierce argument with food blogger Beatrice Wright, who accuses Mallory of stealing her cookie recipe. Then Beatrice turns up dead in her kitchen, flour outlining her body and a bloodied marble rolling pin nearby. Mallory immediately becomes suspect number one, her sales plummet, and she desperately tries to clear her name—but that’s not the only murder the killer is baking up.

Debra Sennefelder has cooked up a perfect recipe—endearing characters, a picture-perfect evocation of small-town life, and a quaint sweets shop. And just when things get a little too comfy, there’s always a murder or two for good measure.

What I Thought:

This was a fast paced book that once I started, I did not want to put down. It kept my attention from the time I started it till I finished it, and I basically finished it in one sitting. Mallory has moved back to Wyngate, CT and has taken over her aunt's bakery. A local resident comes in the shop and accuses Mallory of copying her Almond meltaway recipe, and the Mallory finds this resident dead in her home when she goes to talk to her about the recipe. Mallory becomes the main suspect and of course she has to investigate to clear her name and keep her business. This book was filled with charming and some not so charming characters. Mallory is thrown together with the woman with who she finds her boyfriend cheating and this woman becomes her attorney, and could she possibly become a friend? There are a lot of suspects and many twists and turns that kept me guessing till the end. Mallory also gets herself into some hair raising situations and solves more mysteries than just the murder. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more in this series. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book. 

About Debra Sennefelder

Debra Sennefelder, the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series, the Resale Boutique Mystery series, and the Cookie Shop mystery series, is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in pre-hospital care, retail and publishing. Her writing companions are her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzus, Susie, and Billy.

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Poaching Is Puzzling: A Cookbook Nook Mystery by Daryl Wood Gerber

About Poaching is Puzzling

Poaching Is Puzzling: A Cookbook Nook Mystery Cozy Mystery 12th in Series Setting - California Beyond the Page Publishing (April 25, 2023) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1960511149 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1960511140 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C1HDCTC6

In the cutthroat world of crossword solvers, Jenna Hart will have to decipher some puzzling clues to catch a killer . . .

The annual crossword puzzle contest has drawn contestants from near and far to Crystal Cove, and Jenna watches in amazement as puzzle-themed books fly off the shelves at the Cookbook Nook. Her aunt Vera is putting up a sizable cash prize, and no one is more surprised than Jenna to discover there’s bad blood between Vera and the prominent puzzle constructor who’s acting as master of ceremonies. And when the puzzle guru has his throat slit while he’s out hiking, the police instantly peg Aunt Vera as the culprit.

Jenna can’t stand by and watch her aunt take the fall. It’s been clear since the victim arrived that he had contentious relationships with a number of the contestants—even going so far as to steal puzzles from some of them and claim them as his own—and Jenna’s certain one of them is the killer. Trading puzzle solving for crime solving, she sorts through the convoluted clues and cryptic suspects, hoping to nab the guilty party before they decide she’s a problem they’ll solve with another murder . . .

Includes mouthwatering recipes!

What I Thought:

I have read a few in the Cook Book Nook Series. I thought this one was pretty good. I am not a crossword puzzle enthusiast or cruciverbalist, so some of the information on the puzzles was foreign to me, but I learned some things about crossword puzzles from this book. The setting of this series is great and is a place I would like to visit. In this one, Aunt Vera' childhood friend, Wesley, a crossword puzzel designer, is in town for Crossword puzzle convention. When Jenna and her husband find Wesley's dead body, there is no shortage of suspects in his death, including Aunt Vera. Jenna has to put on her sleuth hat to find the killer. As always with Daryl's book, the writing was superb and he story flowed well. The plot was well thought out and believable. I thought I had the killer figured out a few times. The reveal was very exciting and while I wasn't exactly surprised, this was still a good ending. There were many twists and turns that led me to suspect the wrong person. I look forward to more in this series. 

About Daryl Wood Gerber

Agatha Award–winning and nationally bestselling author Daryl Wood Gerber is the author of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, the Cheese Shop Mysteries (as Avery Aames), the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense, and two other stand-alone suspense thrillers. Little known facts about Daryl are that she’s jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, has hitchhiked around Ireland by herself, and has appeared on an episode of Murder, She Wrote. She loves to read, cook, and golf, and has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!

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Digging Up Daisy

 

Digging Up Daisy (A Mainely Murder Mystery) by Sherry Lynn

About Digging Up Daisy

 

Digging Up Daisy (A Mainely Murder Mystery) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Maine Berkley (April 4, 2023) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593546652 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593546659 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B8GQNCBY

In a fresh new Maine-set cozy from author Sherry Lynn, Kinsley Clark must root out a killer before the killer roots out her.

 

At twenty-nine, Kinsley Clark is living the dream life she always envisioned for herself. She’s the proud owner of SeaScapes, a thriving landscaping company in wealthy Harborside, set on the rugged coast of southern Maine. Kinsley’s veins are filled with salty air, a myriad of colors, and the fragrance of fresh blooms. But one afternoon, while working at her aunt Tilly’s bed-and-breakfast, the Salty Breeze Inn, Kinsley digs up more than she bargained for—a high-heeled shoe. The once sparkly shoe, now caked in mud, is linked to a case the police had appropriately dubbed the "Cinderella Murder."

 

Kinsley panics. Does this mean that her aunt and the inn are somehow connected to this murder? Will it scare away potential guests? Will it subject the inn to a rush of bad press? With Aunt Tilly’s reputation, and possibly her safety, on the line, Kinsley digs deeper into the crime to find out what the shoe was doing on her aunt’s property and who murdered Cinderella, whose real name is Daisy. As she investigates, more suspects rise to the surface, and eventually, Kinsley has to weed out a killer.

What I Thought:

First, I would really love to live in the setting of this series. The Maine Coast is the ideal location to me and the way the author described this setting made it even more appealing to me. Kinsley is a landscape artist in Harborside Maine. It is time for the Walk Inns tours for the town and Kinsley is busy getting all the businesses gardens in tip top shape. She is working at her Aunt Tilly’s Inn The Salty Breeze and she digs up a clue to the murder of a woman visiting Harborside. Kinsley investigates so her Aunt does not lose any business and to make sure her Aunt is safe and it is not a guest who is the murderer. I enjoyed the plot of this story and it flowed well, making it a quick read. Again, I enjoyed the setting very much. I thought Kinsley was a well-developed character and I enjoyed reading about her friendship with Becca and how loyal she is to her Aunt Tilly. There were many twists and turns with many suspects that kept me guessing. Kinsley thinks the murder is solved but is totally taken by surprise, but then again, she did have a gut feeling. I thought the ending was done very well, it kind of surprised me and came totally out of the blue. I will definitely be reading more in this series. 

About Sherry Lynn

Sherry Lynn spent countless summers on the coast of Maine, knowing she’d one day return to write about the magical location from her youth. Curious by nature, sleuthing became the perfect fit for her, and she has written multiple cozy mystery series under several pseudonyms. Currently, Sherry lives in the Midwest with her husband, but she dreams about one day retiring oceanside with a good book in her hand.

Author Links PenguinRandomHouse https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708881/digging-up-daisy-by-sherry-lynn/ Website https://www.sherrylynnbooks.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sherrylynnbooks GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23043674.Sherry_Lynn Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sherrylynnmysteries/ Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo -

A Flicker of Doubt

 

 

A Flicker of a Doubt (A Fairy Garden Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

About A Flicker of a Doubt

A Flicker of a Doubt (A Fairy Garden Mystery) Cozy Mystery 4^th in Series Setting – California Kensington Cozies (March 28, 2023) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496741277 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496741271 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B6DBQ5CM

Fairies are trending hard, especially when it comes to fairy garden décor in Walmart and Target and on Amazon. The latest installment in the nationally bestselling Daryl Wood Gerber's Fairy Garden mysteries is a perfect read for Laura Childs readers and all fans of whimsy and charm.

 

With a theater foundation tea and an art show planned at Violet Vickers’s estate, Courtney is hired to create charming fairy gardens for the event. It’s not so charming, however, when her best friend Meaghan’s ex-boyfriend turns out to be Violet’s latest artistic protégé. Even worse, not long after Meaghan locks horns with him, his body is found in her yard, bludgeoned with an objet d’murder.

 

There’s a gallery of suspects, from an unstable former flame to an arts and crafts teacher with a sketchy past. But when the cops focus on Meaghan’s business partner, who’s like a protective older brother to her, and discover he also has a secret financial motive, Courtney decides to draw her own conclusions. Fearing they’re missing the forest for the trees, and with some help from Fiona the sleuthing fairy, she hopes to make them see the light . . .

What I Thought:

This is the fourth in the Fairy Garden Mystery series and each book just gets better. Once I started this one I did not want to put it down. Courtney is a great main character, she is strong and very likable. I love the setting of this book as it adds to the fantasy element with all the fairies. Let me just say I love the fairies in this book. This series, every time I read one of of the books, makes me want to go out and start a fairy garden. In this one, Courtney's best friend, Meaghan's ex-boyfriend is found murdered on her walkway, and Meaghan's  art gallery partner is the prime suspect. Of course Courtney knows Ziggy is innocent, so of course she has to investigate. She has help from her righteous fairy, Fiona. The plot of this one was well thought out and the story flowed extremely well. I literally could not put this one down once I started it, it was that good. I would love to visit Courtney's shop and be able to see the fairies. This series is such a breath of fresh air, even though there is always a murder to solve. I will definitely read more in this series and am anxiously awaiting the next installment.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  

About Daryl Wood Gerber

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and hitch-hike around Ireland alone. You can learn more on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com

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Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones

 

Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones: A Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery by Heather Weidner

About Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones

Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones: A Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Virginia Level Best Books (January 17, 2023) Print length ‏ : ‎ 277 pages Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BS9ZN3DG GoodReads Link - Coming Soon

When a beat-up suitcase full of bones washes up by the pier, the residents of the quaint resort town of Mermaid Bay are whipped into a hurricane-sized frenzy over the gruesome find in the middle of their Christmas in July festivities. The holly jolly mood retreats like the tide with everyone wondering who was in the suitcase.

 

Christmas shoppe owner, Jade Hicks, wades into the fracas when voodoo dolls and mysterious notes and posters about impending doom start popping up all over town, threatening to destroy the economy of a community that lives and dies by tourist dollars. Then tensions crest when the prickly bookstore owner is found strangled to death with a string of holiday lights.

 

Jade and her French bulldog Chloe, have to solve the crime before anyone else gets hurt and her business and the festival are forever tainted. Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones is the first in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries cozy series.

What I Thought:

This is the first book in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery Series, and the first book I have read by Heather. Honestly, I thought it started out a little strange, but I soon got emersed in the story and literally could not put it down until I literally fell asleep, and thankfully, I had the next day off work so I could pick it right back up the next morning. I really liked Jade and thought she was a well developed character. And of course I loved her little Frenchie, Chloe as I have a Jack Russell named Chloe. I thought the plot was well thought out and believable. The other characters in Mermaid Bay were likable as well. The setting was great. I was left guessing until the end of the story, I kind of had some of the story figured out, but I was wrong as to who the mastermind behind everything was. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  

About Heather Weidner

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.

Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Sisters in Crime – Chessie, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Author Links Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWeidner/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-weidner-0064b233?trk=hp-identity-name BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heather_weidner_author YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBjyB0zz-M1DaM-rU1bXGA?view_as=subscriber Purchase Link - Amazon

Cover Reveal: Stalking Around the Christmas Tree

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Tis the season to solve a murder—and innkeeper Holly White knows she’ll have to make her list and check it twice if she wants to catch the killer in the fourth Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.

For inn keeper Holly White, Christmas time in Mistletoe, Maine, is the ultimate holiday gift. Business at the Reindeer Games Inn is booming, her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray is nearly here, and the annual parade is about to begin. The town is lucky to have another gift this year with the state’s ballet company staying for several performances of The Nutcracker. But disaster strikes when Tiffany, the lead ballerina, shows up dead on a float during the parade, the Rat King’s mask nearby. Holly will have to spruce up her sleuthing skills if she wants to catch the killer before Christmas—and her wedding day.

Immediately, Holly discovers that Tiffany had more than a few secrets. She finds out that the star of the show had a super fan that no one knows anything about. And the show’s understudy slips some other intriguing information Holly’s way: not only was Tiffany secretly seeing someone romantically, but there seems to be more than one rat in this company. When Holly discovers a secret passage leading to Tiffany’s dressing room, with footprints leading out; she wonders if this is evidence of a secret lover—or a stalking killer.

With an impending snowstorm and the ballet company on the way out of town, Holly must act quickly if she wants to find the person responsible for this terrible murder. Will she be able to save Christmas—or will her investigation turn cold like the weather?

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Canter with a Killer

 

Canter with a Killer (A Horse Rescue Mystery) by Amber Camp

About Canter with A Killer

 

Canter with a Killer (A Horse Rescue Mystery) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Arkansas Crooked Lane Books (October 11, 2022) Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639101802 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639101801 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09S3G8PDD

Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Mollie Cox Bryan, Amber Camp’s debut novel will have you galloping through the pages, as a horse rescue owner races to find a killer and clear her name.

 

Mallory Martin left her marriage and her unfulfilling job to move back to her hometown of Hillspring, Arkansas, and start a horse rescue. It’s everything she’s been missing, with paddocks of happy horses and one very quirky donkey. But when her cantankerous neighbor and longtime critic, Albert Cunningham, is found murdered in his fancy show barn, Mallory becomes suspect number one. Since Sheriff Grady Sullivan is ignoring all good sense and focusing only on Mallory, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

 

Aided by her best friend, Lanie, and rescue volunteer Tanner, Mallory races headlong into the investigation in search of the real killer. But horses and murder aren’t the only thing on her mind when she meets Albert’s handsome son, Braydon. Sparks fly, and soon she’s got a new boyfriend. But there’s a case to be solved, and she redoubles her efforts to learn the truth.

 

The suspects mount quickly. There’s Albert’s girlfriend, Kathleen, who was on the farm when he was murdered; organic farmer Heather Rogers, who accused Albert of contaminating her creek; and Philip Atwood, who’d been trying for a right-of-way across Albert’s farm. None of the evidence is holding up though, and Mallory learns that she'll need to take the reins on this investigation if she's going to clear her own name.

What I Thought:

This was a very interesting book that basically kept my attention form the very beginning until the end. While I am not an equestrian by any means, I thought this book was very good and I enjoyed reading about Mallory and her horse rescue. When Mallory's neighbor and owner of a thoroughbred farm is murdered, Mallory is the main suspect. It seems the police do not want to look at anyone else for the murder, so Mallory has to use her past investigative skills as a nurse investigator to prove she is innocent. Mallory thinks she has figures out who the killer is several times, but she finds out the person has an alibi and has to go back to the drawing board. I enjoyed the setting of this book and the relationships both human and animal in this story. The reveal in this one is great and even though I had not figured it out completely, I thought it would go something like it did. I will definitely read more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.   

About Amber Camp

Amber has lived in Northwest Arkansas for twenty+ years, working as an RN at a rural hospital in the area. She has a menagerie of animals that includes dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and what has been described as the Mule from Hell, which may or may not be a slight exaggeration. Writing has always been a focus in Amber's life, something she describes as "food for my soul." An avid reader since grade school, she enjoys multiple genres and is always looking for new authors to add to her favorites. Amber is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

Social media links: Website https://www.ambercampauthor.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078078663492&mibextid=LQQJ4d Twitter https://twitter.com/ambercatcamp Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ambercampwrites/ Purchase Links: Amazon>> Barnes & Noble>> Books-a-Million>> Bookshop.org>> Hudson Booksellers>> Target>> Walmart>> Penguin Random House>> Apple Books>> Google Play>> Audible>>