Monthly Archives: September 2020

A fun cozy mystery with great recipes

The Corpse Who Knew Too Much (A Food Blogger Mystery Book 4)

By: Debra Sennefelder

Rating: 5 of 5

I have read number three in this series and have purchased one and two to read while waiting for book five to be written. I love the blogging aspect of the book as it is a wealth of information. The recipes are outstanding and are presented tongue in cheek.

Hope Early is a food blogger. Her blog, Hope at Home, combines food blogging with DIY projects around her old farmhouse. The farmhouse is in need of almost complete renovation, so she is always busy between cooking, videoing, and renovating.

She has grown her blog enough to be able to have a part time assist with some of the time consuming tasks (posting, social media and more.)

Hope has a cute cat that she talks to as if it can hear and understand. That is one of the things I enjoy so much about these books.

Hope also has free time to investigate the murder of an old friend. She was tasked by the victim’s sister to help find the murderer and to solve a decades old mystery.

Hope jumps in and find that others don’t appreciate her snooping. Someone is out to get Hope as she gets closer and closer to solving both the murder and the mystery.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

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Another great Nancy Naigle Christmas story

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise

By: Nancy Naigle

Rating: 5 of 5

I always look for books by Ms. Naigle. I know that they will be heartwarming and believable. She has a knack of putting a story together with great characters, amusing situations and bringing the story to such a satisfying end.

In this story, Vanessa Larkin works in a cutthroat industry. Her company acquires other companies. They then decide what to keep, what to sell and what to close down.

Vanessa is top at the game and should be heading to one of two great cities to work over Christmas. She is looking forward to Paris, but at the last minute, she is sent to a small town in North Carolina. To say she is not happy is putting it mildly.

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Beware of strangers bearing gifts

Gingerdead Man (A Five-Ingredient Mystery Book 7)

By: Maya Corrigan

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the second book in this series that I have read. The first one was book six and I have so enjoyed both books, I have purchased several of the earlier stories in the series.

Val Deniston and her Grandad share a Victorian home. They have shared a bit of part time sleuthing as well. While Val is the manager of the Cool Down Cafe at the local fitness center, she is also branching out into catering.

Their town, Bayport, Maryland is hosting a Christmas fete that is based on Charles Dickens. People are encouraged to dress as one of the characters in his various stories.

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Fun and clean traditional Regency Romance

Poor Caroline

By: Elizabeth Mansfield

Rating: 5 of 5

I’ve recently been reading Regency Romances, both older and newer published novels. This is an older book that has been recently been published as an ebook. I had read other Elizabeth Mansfield books years ago but this is one that I had not read before.

The book is funny and has a cast of characters that keep bringing you back to it. Caroline Whitlow is a proud young woman. She has always been so. She can’t take “charity” from anyone. The problem is, she doesn’t always understand that what she sees as charity is, in fact, simple kindness.

She and her two younger brothers move out from the home they have been living in for twelve years when the new heir is coming home.

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Wonderfully suspenseful mystery

Don’t Look for Me: A Novel

By: Wendy Walker

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the first book I have read by this author and it certainly will not be the last. The story was filled with both mystery and suspense.

Molly Clarke has been having trouble with the members of her family. One fateful night, she walked away from the life that was giving her grief. Well, that is what the note she left behind says.

Her husband is willing to believe she meant it but her daughter wants to investigate her mother’s disappearance. It might be because of the guilt that she feels but it might also be because she simply does not believe it. Her younger brother is on her side as well, but he has much to feel guilty about, too.

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A fantastic second book in series

A Question of Betrayal: An Elena Standish Novel

By: Anne Perry

Rating: 5 of 5

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series. It introduced Elena Standish and her family and friends. This book, the second in the series, starts to give depth and life to the characters. I suggest reading the first book first, so you can understand how the individuals have gotten to where they are at this point.

Elena is tasked with a job for MI6, the British secret intelligence group that she has recently joined. The task takes her to northern Italy to save the man who betrayed her and caused her years of emotional pain.

It takes everything in her to agree to the job but once in Italy, she begins to see Aiden in a different light. When he comes under suspicion, she stands beside him to save him, not only for the information he carries but also because of who he is.

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Fun-to-read historical, cozy mystery

A Deception at Thornecrest: An Amory Ames Mystery

By: Ashley Weaver

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the seventh book in the Amory Ames series but it is the first that I have read. I was able to pick up the threads of the overall plot line and easily get into the story line of this mystery.

Amory is expecting her first baby. Her husband, Milo, who has been a wild card in their marriage, seems to be settling down. A monkey wrench is thrown at them when a young woman shows up claiming that she is Mrs. Milo Amory.

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Third in this series and even more wacky and fun

Confection is Good for the Soul: An Amish Cupcake Cozy Mystery

By: Ruth Hartzler

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the third book in the Amish Cupcake series. Jane Delight is home living above her Amish sister’s cupcake shop. She is in reduced circumstances due to her husband dumping her and marrying someone very young.

Jane shares the apartment with seniors, Mathilda and Eleanor. The sisters have an unusual past and they are keeping the past in the past. Still, they have some unusual skill sets which come in handy when the ladies investigate murders.

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