Bodies and Battlements is the first in a new cozy mystery series. Ravensea Castle has recently been converted into a Bed and Breakfast and they are welcoming their first guests. Everything is going fine-ish until a local woman is found murdered in the garden and the Asquith family, guests and staff become potential suspects.
Nora has potential to be a great character. She's determined to keep the castle in the family by making the B&B a success. She also grows herbs and flowers in the garden that she makes into lotions, soaps, etc. She is sane and solid, in the midst of her actress sister, eccentric father, quirky staff, and resident ghost, but that does make her seem a little boring. We do have the start of a romance that might be fun, but it's with a cop, which I'm a little tired of.
The setting is fabulous - the castle, the town, the seashore. And the pets - two cats and...
The Chow Maniac is the 11th in the Noodle Shop series, but I think it could be read as a stand alone. There is no over-arching plotline to the series and although we have lots of returning characters, I think they're introduced well.
This time around, Lana, our amateur sleuth, is approached by Lydia, a private detective we've met previously, with a case that involves the Asian community. Lydia has been hired to look into a century-old Asian organization known as the Eight Immortals. Three members have already died under seemingly natural circumstances, but the client believes they were actually murdered and that he may be next.
Lana is a great character. She manages her family's restaurant, but has solved enough murders for people to notice her. She's funny and sassy and does not know how to keep a secret. Per usual cozy rules, she has an adorable dog and is dating a police detective, although neither play a huge part...
The Secret of the Three Fates picks up a few months after the first in the series, The Curse of Penryth Hall, in October of 1922. This one probably works as a stand alone, but you'll have a much better feel for the characters and appreciate what we learn about their backgrounds here.
This time around, Mr. Owen and Ruby are at a remote manor house in Scotland, supposedly to purchase illuminated manuscripts. Mr. Owen, however, has lied to Ruby and the two of them are actually there to attend a séance- Mr. Owen is hoping to speak to his son, Ben, who died in the War. The séance, hosted by three mediums going by the name of The Three Fates, is frighteningly real. One of the mediums, seemingly possessed by a spirit, delivers an ominous message:
There’s nowhere on earth you can hide from the dead. We have not forgotten … we shall not forgive. The dead know what...
Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is the fourth in the Deep Dish Mystery series but the first I've read. I knew it centered around a pizza shop, obviously, but had a different kind of restaurant in my head. Delilah & Son is way fancier than our pizza places generally. Of course, I live in the land of Steubenville/ Ohio Valley pizza and my favorite pizzeria doesn't have any place to sit and eat, either inside or outside, but they do have a stack of napkins on the counter in case you want to eat in your car. They certainly wouldn't be catering the upscale Chrismukkah party the book opens with. The party winds down a bit early when the hosts' family drama gets out of hand and glassware is broken. The next day one of the guests is found dead in a pile of snow being used for a sculpture competition, and of course the guests and catering staff come under...
I have read the Scottish Bookshop mystery series from the beginning and look forward to each new addition. I don't think you need to have read others in the series to enjoy this one, but it never hurts either.
Delaney is left in charge of a small tour group when Edward and Hamlet take off to London. I don't understand why their reason for going had to be kept secret. I think it was something I would have let my friends/employees know about for a couple of reasons, but I guess it adds to the tension.
The tour starts off on the wrong foot, with the manager of the inn where the group is staying falling to his death from the roof. Then, at lunch the next day, one of the tour group goes missing. I'm happy that the remaining three continue on with the tour, although it's probably a questionable decision. I liked the mini-tour of Edinburgh and hearing the...
There are some things I loved about The Raven Thief and some things I could do without. The mystery itself is well-done. Tempest and her grandfather are invited to a "seance" to rid a woman's house of the bad vibes of her ex-husband. Right in the middle, however, her ex drops onto the table - dead, surrounded by raven feathers. Ash, Tempest's grandfather, becomes the chief suspect, so of course, Tempest has to do everything she can to clear his name.
Tempest is a former stage magician, so is the perfect person to figure out how the "trick" was done. I'm pretty sure it's a fair play mystery, that the reader gets all the same clues as Tempest and her sidekicks, but I didn't put them together. These books rely a lot on misdirection on the killer's part that our magicians and builders need to unravel, which is fun. I enjoy the puzzle of it. Tempest is a great character, too...
