Remembering the Dead by Elizabeth J. Duncan

When the local squire has a chance to display the Black Chair, a piece of Welsh history awarded posthumously to poet Hedd Wyn in 1917, Penny Brannigan is called in to help arrange a dinner for the local dignitaries. There hasn't been a dinner at the manor for some time and everyone is excited to either attend or help the event go off well.
Unfortunately, not only is the chair gone by the end of the evening, there's a dead body discovered as well. And when it's discovered to be the relative of one of Penny's employees, the grief quickly hits home. Characters both old and new feature in the solving of this mystery which ends up being a bigger planned heist than first thought.
I don't think you will need to have read previous books in the series but it probably helps. I didn't think the mystery quite came together in the end but it was nice to visit some of our favorite characters and to see at least one former baddie get his comeuppance.

Three stars
Follows The Marmalade Murders
This book comes out September 10th
ARC kindly provided by Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth J. Duncan

It's fair time and Penny Brannigan has been roped in to helping out. She's going to judge the children's pet contest (where everyone wins) and also help log the entries in the cooking competition. Like any small town, the competition is fierce. Penny's friend Florence, an incredible cook, gets a call telling her that the deadline is the day after the actual deadline but she gets her jam, her cake, and her marmalade in on time. Gaynor Lewis, another top contender, wasn't as lucky and her entries are not turned in by the deadline. Yet, her marmalade wins the competition while Florence's is nowhere to be found. Then, Penny finds the marmalade... along with Gaynor Lewis. Is the competition stiff enough for someone to kill in order to win?
There were some lovely twists and turns but I didn't love the ending; the murderer wasn't exactly fairly clued (at least in my mind) but it didn't turn me off the series. I really like the way Duncan deals with Penny's "romance" with Gavin. It's a bit easy to shuffle him off scene but at least he doesn't remain creating yet another cozy series with a love triangle.

Three stars
This book comes out April 24
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows Murder is for Keeps
Followed by Remembering the Dead

Murder Is for Keeps by Elizabeth J. Duncan

Penny Brannigan is just spending a quiet afternoon painting at the local castle ruin. She follows a fox to what used to be a dog pen and discovers a dead body. It is the body of one of the local volunteers working to restore the castle to it's former beauty.
There are secrets to be discovered about the castle, both old and new. Penny's friend, retired policeman, Gareth is also drawn into the mystery when it turns out his grandmother was connected to a murder at the castle in the 1920s.
The mystery was a little hard to follow. I do appreciate that Ms. Duncan doesn't make Penny fall into the all-too-familiar trap of having a love triangle. It is always resolved by the end of the book.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out April 11
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by The Marmalade Murders 

Murder on the Hour by Elizabeth J. Duncan

I hadn't read the other books in this series but I only felt a little lost. People were introduced smoothly without too much fanfare. The mystery was interesting and there were some parts of the story that I suspect regular series readers will enjoy.
Penny Brannigan is helping the Welsh version of Antiques Roadshow visit her small village. I have actually had the chance to go to bring some items to the American version when they were in my area and the description is very similar. Unfortunately, something happens during the show and a woman whose life was just starting to open up gets murdered.
A cute little story that was a fast read. There were some B plots that seemed superfluous to this particular book. Not having read the series, they may actually be an overarching story but having read only this book, I wasn't sure why they were there.

This book comes out April 12, 2016.
Three and a half stars