Purchased – Page 7 – Carol's Notebook

The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson

December 30, 2023December 30, 2023 by Carol3 Comments

James Bennett, nephew of our semi-amateur sleuth Sir Henry Merrivale, has been invited to a house party in the White Priory, home to the brothers, John and Maurice Bohun. The star guest is Marcia Tait, a glamorous actress who has just walked out of a Hollywood contract so she can act in a play written by Maurice. Of course, Marcia ends up dead and everyone in the house is a suspect. It's almost a locked room mystery. With the building surrounded by snow, the killer's footprints should have been clear, but the only prints are those left by John Bohun, who discovered the body. I do love a good house party in the snow murder but the characters in this one are just not quite as interesting as the blurb promises. And we only see Sir Henry at the beginning and near the end. He does solve the puzzle but I didn't get much of a feel for him. It was maybe...

A Chapter on Murder by Sue Minix

December 21, 2023December 21, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

A Chapter on Murder is the third book featuring author/ bookstore owner/ amateur sleuth, Jennifer Dawson. This is the first I’ve read in the series and it worked fine as a stand-alone for me. Although maybe I would have liked Jen and her friends and family a bit better if I had started at the beginning. I can’t put my finger on why, but I never quite warmed up to our main character. Jen has a lot going on this Christmas. Her bookstore desperately needs more business if it’s going to stay open. She’s working on the third book in her series and is determined to have a rough draft ready before the release date of her second. She and her boyfriend’s relationship has been running into some rocks. To top it all off, she finds a dead man outside the door of her bookshop. When a good friend is arrested for the crime, Jen decides it’s up to her to...

An Eggnog to Die For by Amy Pershing

December 19, 2023December 19, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

I have a weakness for Christmas cozies, and this one has food, seasonal drinks, decorations, a cute dog, and, of course, a murder. An Eggnog to Die For is the second of the Cape Cod Foodie Mysteries but it worked fine as a stand-alone for me. Food writer Samantha Barnes has a lot on her plate this holiday season. Her parents are arriving soon, telling her Christmas in Florida is just not the same. She has articles to write and videos to make for her job at the Clarion. She also has a Christmas Eve dinner planned, a Feast of the Five Fishes, including eggnog for her family and friends. And then, to top it all off, she finds the body of the man playing Santa for the town's Christmas celebration while filming at a new trendy local restaurant. I liked Sam. She's smart and a bit snarky. She does notice things others don't and discusses the case with her boyfriend,...

Murder Under the Mistletoe by Sherry Lynn

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

Kinsley, a landscape artist, owns SeaScapes, a business she runs from her cottage behind her aunt's inn. The town of Harborside hires her to decorate for Christmas and throughout the year, but when local alderman Chris Chesterfield—dressed up as the Grinch, right down to the green face paint—falls off the pier and into the icy Atlantic the night of the annual Boat Parade & Fireworks, Kinsley becomes a person of interest. Lots of people knew Kinsley and Chris didn't get along, and several had witnessed them arguing on the day of his death. I liked Kinsley and her friends and family. They're believable and I like how they all have to do their jobs in addition to working on the case. Kinsley's brother. Kyle. is home for the holidays on leave, but I didn't love the questions around how their parents died. I'm just not a fan of that whole overarching family mystery arc. The mystery was fine with...

Baking Spirits Bright by Sarah Fox

December 11, 2023December 11, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

Baking Spirits Bright is a pretty typical cozy mystery, which I mean in a good way - I enjoy the formula. We have a cute small town setting, a culinary theme, a cop as the potential love interest, two mischievous cats, and this time around it's Christmas. I did not read the first in the series, but I didn't feel like I missed much. Becca has moved back to her hometown and is busy preparing holiday sweets for the family chocolate shop. Her best friend and sidekick, Dizzy Bautista, convinces her to enter the annual Baking Spirits Bright competition, but the excitement of the contest is dampened when one of the bakers is murdered. Even though her friend, Sawyer Maguire, who is on the local police force, tells Becca to stay out of it for her own safety, Becca can’t help but launch her own investigation into the death. The dead woman was not a nice person, so we have plenty...

The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle

November 30, 2023December 14, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

I've read a couple of the previous Bibliophile Mysteries and enjoyed them well enough, so since I'm a sucker for Christmas cozy, I picked up The Twelve Books of Christmas. This time around Brooklyn gets a call on Christmas Eve from her good friend Claire, who is in Scotland. Claire is preparing to marry Cameron, a castle laird, on New Year's Day and wants Brooklyn and Derek to be there. So the couple, along with Brooklyn's parents, fly to Scotland. Claire also hopes that while she's there Brooklyn will help solve a mystery- a dozen Christmas-related books, some quite valuable, have gone missing from the castle library. Of course, there's trouble. Most of the women in town, including the castle's new librarian, seem to be anti-Claire. Then, Brooklyn and Derek find a dead body in one of the castle's closets. They, of course, have to investigate the murder in addition to the missing books - which may or may not be...