The Secret Bookcase Mysteries is one of those series with an overarching plot that hasn't been resolved yet. That is both my least favorite thing about the series and why this one doesn't work well as a stand-alone. Annie's best friend, Scarlet, was killed over a decade ago, but Annie has some new information and is working on solving the cold case. I'm just not a fan of those overarching mysteries.
Annie's works full-time at a bookstore, where part of her job is coordinating events. For Valentine's Day, the store has teamed up with a matchmaker for a weekend of books and romantic events. Early the morning of the second day, a well-liked member of the community is found dead near the store. While the event continues as planned, Annie is determined to help the local detective, Dr. Caldwell, discover who the killer is.
The mystery is fine. The plot moves along well. We have three potential suspects and a few...
I've read this series from the beginning and thoroughly enjoy seeing Queen Elizabeth II as an amateur sleuth. She knows people well and has access to a lot of information but needs her assistant private secretary to do most of the legwork. This time around we've gone back in time to the late 50s. It's early in the Queen's reign and she has two young children. She and Prince Phillip have been married about 10 years and their marriage has more stressors than most, one being that a club Prince Phillip attends has been connected to a murder.
Joan, the assistant private secretary, is bold, resourceful, and intelligent. She is the only one the Queen can truly trust, since in addition to the murder case, they are trying to figure out which of the Queen's advisors has been attempting to sabotage her trips abroad.
The peeks into royal life are fun. The queen visits a few other countries in this one and...
I love catching a new series at the beginning and Haunting and Homicide is a fun read and a good introduction to Tallulah “Lou” Thatcher and her family and friends, both living and dead. Lou lives with her grandmother in New Orleans and has a business doing ghost tours which makes perfect sense since she has been able to see and talk to ghosts since she was little. When a rival ghost tour guide dies Lou is unfortunate enough to stumble across his body. But now he's a ghost who begs her to make sure the police find out who killed him. She wants to help and she wants to clear her own name - she found the body, they were clearly not friends, and the murder weapon came from her store.
The mystery is well-written with several twists and surprises. This is Lou's first outing as an amateur sleuth and she's not great at it yet, but she does...
This time around the Secret Bookcase bookstore is hosting a gingerbread house competition, with celebrity host, baking influencer Lily. Really, what could be more Christmassy than a decorate bookstore and gingerbread? The event is going well, with only a bit of minor drama, until Annie finds Lily's dead body. Of course she's been murdered, and Annie decides to start investigating, assuming the woman was poisoned. At least the local police detective/ Annie's mentor appreciates her efforts and insights. This is a series where the main character and the authorities work well together.
I like Annie. She's smart and has made a couple life decisions that have been weighing on her for a book or two. This is the fourth in the series and does pick up strands from the previous installments. I'm not sure how I feel about her love interest, Liam, yet. I think he's supposed to be sweet and caring, but he totally overreacted a time or two. Turns...
I picked up the first three Cupcake Bakery Mysteries as a bundle on Audible. The bundles are nice. A credit is not cheap and it's great when you can use one credit to get multiple books, presuming you enjoy them.
In Sprinkle with Murder, we're introduced to Melanie Cooper, Angie De Laura and Tate Harper, partners in the Fairy Tale Cupcakes shop and best friends. Melanie and Angie do the baking and Tate supplied most of the start-up money. When Tate's fiancée, Christie, is murdered, all three come under suspicion. Christie was an absolutely terrible person, though, and everyone seems to have a reason to hate her, from her assistants to her wedding vendors.
If I hadn't bought the bundle, I might not have listened to more than this first one. Mel and Angie are nice enough characters, but not especially interesting. Their main quirk, shared with Tate, is constantly quoting classic movies. Mel's mother's interference is half the reason she's...
I am a sucker for Christmas cozies. So, even though A Merry Little Murder Plot is the 15th in the series and I haven't read any of the others, I picked it up. It worked fine as a stand alone for me. I'm sure reading them all in order would have given me more background on the returning characters, but I never felt like I was missing out on something I needed to know.
This winter, the Briar Creek library is hosting a a writer-in-residence, thriller author Helen Monroe. She's a bit stand-offish, but writes in the library daily and participates in talks required by her contract. Lindsey Norris, library director and our amateur sleuth, starts to get concerned when another newcomer, Jackie Lewis, is overly interested in the author, maybe even a bit stalkery. When Jackie is found dead, electrocuted by Christmas lights and holding Helen's manuscript, Helen becomes the main suspect. Lindsey isn't sure she's guilty, but she...
