Sweet Tea and Spirits by Angie Fox

Verity Long and her skunk are back along with her ghostly friend, Frank. She's been hired by the newest president of the local heritage society; the one who beat out her boyfriend's mother (who hates, HATES Verity.) Too bad Julia is dead. But Verity is concerned that Julia appears to have been moved. Was it something on the physical plain or a malevolent ghost? Julia had hired Verity because somebody in the heritage house keeps moving the mannequins into... inappropriate positions.
But who would have wanted Julia dead? Her husband whose previous two wives both died? Or someone else from her past? And why would the ghost of a former Widows and Orphans house be moving items around the house?
Not a lot of plot but I don't think regular readers will be too upset.

Three stars
This book came out April 25
Follows Deader Homes and Gardens
Followed by

Four Bridesmaids and a White Wedding by Fiona Collins

Jojo is aghast. She's booked a hen's weekend (bachelorette party) for her friend Wendy, their two other friends from college, as well as Wendy's soon-to-be sister-in-law who none of the other ladies have ever met. Instead of a weekend of pampering, Jojo signed them all up for a boot camp run by none other than Wendy's serious boyfriend from college. The One That Got Away.
All of the women are struggling in their lives: Rose's marriage has become humdrum with three teen daughters and a husband who travels incessangly; Sal spent ten years in a bad relationship and has just started sleeping with the chef of the pub she owns and she isn't sure what to do about it; Jojo is so involved in her work that her personal life has fallen to the side; Wendy isn't sure six months is long enough to get to know the person you're marrying; and Tamsin... well, Tamsin is a little less developed than the four friends so we don't get to know her as well other than that she also seems to be a workaholic.
This was a fast and fun book. Because it was short and we got glimpses of four different women's lives, no one story was really well-developed. But if you go into it knowing that, this is an enjoyable book.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out April 28

Murderous Mayhem at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison

Once again, Kat Stanford is pulled into a murder investigation when the local postmistress turns up dead. Muriel Jarvis was also the local gossip. It was she who lost Hannah's mother's latest creation, another story written under her pseudonym, Krystalle Storm. It is also Muriel whose husband had recently died and left her deep in debt. Could it have been that Muriel was using her position to ferret out people's secrets and then making them pay for her to keep them?
This was an interesting book that had a nice mix of new and familiar characters. Harry is back as is his philandering father and slightly-dim-but-sweet mother. So is her brother who I didn't particularly like and I have a feeling we're going to see more of him. A lot of story shoved in to this book and I don't particularly love all of the side characters (the Iris/Alfred combo wears a bit) but other than that a nice addition to the series.

Three stars
This book comes out May 2
Follows A Killer Ball at Honeychurch Hall

The Thing Lou Couldn't Do by Ashley Spires

I didn't even realize that this book was by the same author as The Most Magnificent Thing.  I just liked the cover. And the story lived up to the cover. Lou is a little girl who can do anything. Except one thing. And her friends don't make fun of her for it, they just try to help. And whether she ends up doing it or not, they can still have fun.
Looking forward to more Spires books.

Five stars
This book comes out May 2

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt by Ben Clanton

Another lovely book with three little vignettes, three linked stories. Narwhal has decided that he is going to be a super hero and Jelly offers to be his sidekick. They have fun, help a friend, and discover their own super powers.
I'd still characterize Narwhal as overenthusiastic but with a good heart. Jelly is still hesitant but game. A lovely story and one worth sharing.

Four Stars
This book comes out May 2
Follows Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
Followed by Peanut Butter and Jelly

Brew or Die by Caroline Fardig

This series is starting to redeem itself for me a little bit, a very little bit. Rather than Juliet Langley just bungling about, getting involved in murders, she's now a trained investigator. Her first job doesn't go very well (the man she's been trailing claims she's attacked him rather than the mistress he just dumped) but she is starting to get the hang of it when Shane, one of the coffee shop's workers, asks her to investigate the death of his fiancee. She apparently died of a drug overdose but Shane claims she's been clean for years. So Juliet (and, of course, Pete) jump into the world of party planning, once again even going undercover to help solve the case.

I still wish we didn't have the love triangle... which may not actually be a love triangle? This will-they-won't-they is cute enough for the span of a book, but not more than that. And we're now six books into the series. This is what got me off of Joanna Fluke and this series is heading that way for me. At least Juliet was slightly less ditzy in this book.

Three stars

This book comes out April 25

Follows A Whole Latte Murder

Dial P for Poison by Zara Keane

I requested this book from NetGalley on a whim. There are any number of cozy series that I'm already reading and I didn't really need another. But I found one.
Maggie Doyle is a former cop. She found her husband cheating on her, reacted badly, and then accepted her aunt's offer to help run a movie theater/cafe in Ireland. Even though Maggie can't cook. Like, really can't cook. Instead of finding a relaxing life, Maggie is surrounded by her aunt's cats, she struggles not to alienate her aunt's customers while her aunt is getting surgery, and then discovers the town's evil queen dead at the local movie night. And the local garda seems eager to pin the crime on her aunt. It's up to Maggie to keep her out of jail.
There are some issues with this book, as there are many when an author is trying to build a series, but I really enjoyed Maggie and hope to read more about her.

Four stars

This book came out April 12, 2017

Followed by The Postman Always Dies Twice

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby September 2023