Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala

It's Corn Festival time in Shady Palms. They have a small-ish town so they have teamed up with nearby Shelbyville. Of course, Brew-ha has a stand. And they impress not only the mayor of Shelbyville but also her wife. And it's the wife that ends up dead in a corn maze with Adeena nearby clutching a knife.

Lila has a lot of realizations in this book, especially as she ends up talking to the murdered woman's best friend who also ran a business with her. The parallels in her own life are startling. The woman even has a doxie as well. 

I didn't love the ending of this book. It didn't feel as sewn together as previous books but the overall tone of the book is the same as previous in the series and the story moved along the characters really well. 

Four stars

This book comes out November 12, 2024

Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #5

Follows Murder and Mamon

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends are in Tupelo. While there, a fabulous replica of Elvis's belt is stolen and she and Tinkie are called in to help. This isn't their home turf so it's definitely harder than usual to figure out what is going on. There are a number of musical opportunities and no end to who might have stolen the belt. 

I wasn't sure that the final suspects were really believable as such. There are a number of Elvis-related puns that were fun to read but did get to be a lot to wade through. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #28

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Lights, Camera, Bones

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews

Meg's sister-in-law Delaney is pregnant and about to burst. While she's on bedrest, the rest of the family is helping out by feeding her chickadees. This leads to Rose Noir finding a body behind the barn. The bad new is that it's the Gadfly.

Gordon Norton, called the Gadfly by Meg's family, has been a thorn in the side of many people in the true crime community. He keeps trying to prove that people who have been exonerated were actually guilty. In fact, he's been harassing them pretty thoroughly. Which is why no one was happy about the fact that he was coming to the true crime conference that Meg's grandmother, Cordelia, had put together. 

There seem like a few more side characters than usual but we do get to see a lot of the regulars. I didn't love the ending and the motives but the overall book is a nice addition to the series. 

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #36

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Between a Flock and a Hard Place

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor by Darci Hannah

Chef Bunny is invited to be on a new show, "Food and Spirits" but the show is not what she thinks it is. She’s actually been conscripted to be on a show where the hosts cook dinner (her part) and talk to ghosts. They’re going to start at Bramsford Manor where there is the legend about a Mistletoe Bride.

This is a mystery so, of course, there is another body that turns up at the manor. And Bunny is the unfortunate person to discover it. And the way she discovers it is by following the white rabbit, a relic of her childhood and one that never leads to anything good. And this time, it leads to her becoming the chief suspect in the murder. She decides to call in reinforcements, her psychic Granny Mac.
There were some places that didn’t flow well but I couldn’t tell if that was because of a slight difference in language (the author may be Scottish and I am not) or if it was pre-editing or just a stylist choice I couldn’t get on board for.
Overall, I enjoyed the book (although the fantasy elements did surprise me) and I’d read the next in the series.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 20, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

If you've ever looked up how houses have fared after a makeover show, you'll see that people are often unhappy. Based on what she's hearing through the grapevine, the Smetkamps are going to in the same place. They've won a makeover from Marvelous Mansions but the producer seems shady and the workforce is unsettled. Meanwhile, Meg is just trying to make sure they stay in code. 

Someone seems particularly against the show though (or maybe it's the Smetkamps) because they've gathered up the wild turkeys and released them on the Smetkamps street. There's a fairly amusing bit where an Amazon driver almost gets taken out by the turkeys. He makes it out alive with some help but someone else on the street does not. So, Meg is once again sleuthing a murder mystery. 

This book doesn't have much with Josh and Jamie, nor Michael. We do see any number of other regular characters in this book though and it is a nice addition to the series. 

Four stars

Meg Langslow #35

This book comes out August 6, 2024

Follows Let It Crow, Let It Crow, Let It Crow

Followed by Rockin' around the Chickadee

ARC of ebook kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

ARC of audiobook kindly provided by MacMillan and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns

I am generally quite enjoying this series. In this one, former influencer/socialite-turned-baker/bakeshop-owner, Madison, is forced to confront her own past when her former friend shows up in towner. Brandy Denton became "former" when she slept with Maddy's ex-fiancée, Elliot. Now that Maddy seems to be gaining a social media following and a new life, Brandy has shown up in New Bison, seemingly wanting to ruin Maddy's life again. 

I say I am "generally" enjoying this series because Maddy is (at least to my memory) suddenly very emotional. She's breaking down, running out of rooms, and generally being more helpless than I remember. I'm hoping that got edited in the print copy but really annoyed me in this book. Hopefully, that changes in the series going forward as I have enjoyed these books so far. 

Three stars

This book comes out 

Baker Street #3

Follows Murder is a Piece of Cake

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder at an English Séance by Jessica Ellicott

Big things are happening in this book. Beryl has her plane and is enjoying flying to her heart's content. Edwina has finished her book and is just working up her nerve to get it shipped out. Of course, she'll have to post it where the town's biggest gossip (i.e. the postmistress) will see it. So she reroutes to a tea shop to fortify her nerves.

It is at the tea room that she meets psychic, Maude Dinsdale. Maude has just moved to town but she is about to set Walmsley Parva on its ear. While some people are eager to believe in her talents, others are being torn apart. And one person ends up dead in a mummy's sarcophagus.

There is a lot going on in this book including Charles being given care of his cousin's two-year-old son. The end of the mystery wasn't really fairly clued so that was a bit annoying but this was overall a nice book. 

Beryl and Edwina Mystery #8

Three and a half stars

This book comes out June 25, 2024

Follows Murder at a London Finishing School

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder and a Christmas Gift by Sonia Parin

It's Christmas and the young Earl of Woodridge is back at Halton House. Evie wants to make his holiday special but can she top Tom's gift of a pony? Maybe, with his family's Christmas decorations. So Evie and Tom are off to find them. But, they get caught in a dense fog and are forced to take shelter in a nearby manor house. That normally wouldn't be an issue but someone in the village died recently and the people decide to hold a seance that seems... odd. Could it be that the man was murdered? Why? 

This was a quick read. Mostly about the mystery but an odd number of other little side stories for such a short book.

Three stars

Evie Parker Mystery #7

This book came out December 25, 2019

Follows Murder in the Third Act

Followed by Murder at the Fashion House

Lights, Camera, Bones by Carolyn Haines

There's a movie production in town and everyone is atwitter. Famous actor Marlon Brandon is doing a film about his family who have been movers and shakers in Greenville for a very long time but this film focuses on the flood of 1927. But, this being Greenville, there's something going on. A gaffer, Jules is missing. And there are people in town who aren't happy that this movie is being made. 

When Marlon goes missing, there are any number motives that come out of the woodwork though most seem to center around the past. So who is behind the murder and the disappearance?
The Sarah Both Delaney stories are often a little out there (I mean, there's a ghost in every story) but this story includes a shark. Yes, in freshwater. I get that this is a thing that can happen but... it was set up as a major part of the story. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #27

This book comes out May 21, 2024

Follows Tell-Tale Bones

Followed by Blue Christmas Bones 

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I hadn't read a Hannah Swensen book in a long time but a friend told me that they had gone off the rails in sort of a fun way. So. I wasn't expecting this one to be a prequel to the series. This story involves Essie, an older woman who has been beloved by the community for her storytelling skills, and the hotel that she and her husband used to own. 

It is set three weeks after her father died so her family is grieving and figuring out what they are going to do next. Hannah's mother has retreated to her bedroom and isn't coming out. But when Essie goes to the hospital, her friends rally her under the guise of helping Essie. When Hannah and her mother go to Essie's house, they find a stack of writing that becomes a story within this story. This becomes a second mystery that is connected to the "present" but, gosh, it made both mysteries simplistic. In addition, there's a lot of filler and the need for a total suspension of disbelief. 

Hannah Swensen #23

Two and a half stars

This book came out September 25, 2018

Follows Raspbery Danish Murder

Followed by Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Board to Death by C.J. Connor

Ben Rosencrantz used to be an English professor (yes, he's heard all of the Shakespeare jokes) but he came back to Sugar House, a neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, to help his father run their family's board game shop. His father is ill and can use the help but their shop has been in a slow decline for years as Amazon has taken over. Newly divorced, Ben is just in a constant state of nervousness because nothing has gone the way it should have and now he's back, still gay, in the heart of Mormon country. 

It really doesn't help that a patron shows up on his doorstep, with a knife sticking out of his chest, and promptly dies. The man had claimed to have the prototype for Monopoly which, if true, would have been worth quite a lot of money. Ben thinks that he may be a suspect in the murder so he decides to investigate on his own.

This was an okay start to a series. I don't love amateur sleuths who run into danger but Ben at least took someone along with him. There wasn't a lot of build up for the mystery other than Ben running around. The narrator also had some weird pauses that kept throwing me off but I did finish the book and I'd probably read the next one. 

A Board Game Shop Mystery #1

Three stars

This book came out August 22, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Solstice Spirits by Erin Johnson

Rudie Hollybrook is the only person in Holiday Haven who sees dead people. It's been a point of contention between herself and her best frenemy Hayley Swift. Except now, Hayley is also seeing ghosts. Well, ghost. It's just one ghost. But it's still scaring the bejeebers out of her. So she calls Rudie, at ridiculous hours of the morning (seriously, the lady has no manners.)
But her life view may be about to change. It may not be three separate ghosts but this particular ghost is trying to tell her something.
Not a ton of depth but a good story.

Three stars
This book came out July 1, 2021

Follows Holiday Hijinks

Followed by Merry Mischief 

Rudie last appeared in Cocoa Curses

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Cocoa Curses by Erin Johnson

This is a cozy mystery that has a conceit (being near Santa's workshop) and it runs with it. Of course, it assumes that there are witches that live near by and Rudie Hollybrook is one of them. She has always felt a little bit like an outsider as her magic has to do with death. And that comes into play when a woman is murdered. One who Rudie didn't particularly like, nor did the woman like her. So having her ghost around isn't exactly a fun time.

However, the way to get rid of the ghost would be to solve the murder. Rudie isn't exactly a detective so there is some bumbling. There is also the inevitable love interest, in this case a journalist.

Three stars

Follows Winter Wishes

Followed by Cherry Charms

Rudie next stars in Solstice Spirits

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod

Professor Peter Shandy is fed up. His best friend's wife has been bullying him for years to take part in the campus "Illumination." But he's resisted. Until this year. This is the year he hires a company to make the most obnoxious Christmas display, complete with music. Then he locks his electricity box and leaves on a cruise. When he gets back, he expects that Jemima (the friend's wife) will cuss him out but good. What he doesn't expect -- The electricity to his house has been turned off and Jemima is dead behind his couch.

But Professor Shandy is the only one that seems to think this was anything more than an accident. So, can he solve the murder before more people get killed? No. No he can't. But it's a fun story and a great holiday read.

Three stars

This book came out in 1978

Followed by The Luck Runs out

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla 

Opinions are my own

Murder in an Irish Pub by Carlene O'Connor

Siobhan O'Sullivan is working with the rest of the Garda to make sure the town stays safe while a major poker game is going on. There are some very famous players coming in including The Octopus, Eamon Foley (anyone's guess as to whether his nickname refers to his good poker hands or how he acts around women), Clementine Heart, and Shane Ross. 

During the first game, Eamon is dealt the Dead Man's hand. Major foreshadowing there as he later ends up dead but not before he's accused of cheating to win the hand. There was a lot going on with accusations that his wife was carrying a child that wasn't Eamon's, a bet involving a valuable racehorse, and longstanding rivalries. 

The actual answer comes somewhat out of left field. An interesting story and you don't need to have read the rest of the series to understand what it going on.

Three stars

This book came out February 26, 2019

Follows Murder in an Irish Churchyard

Followed by Murder in an Irish Cottage

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson

I assume that both Peg and Rose have appeared in Berenson's other series as there are references to both of them having helped solve other mysteries. But in this book, the two are working together, maybe for the first time in decades. Rose wasn't sure about Peg when she married Rose's brother and she made a scene that ensured the two wouldn't have a good relationship. Years later, her brother is dead and Rose is feeling penitent so she invites Peg to a bridge club. We get to meet all of the the other members along with Peg and Rose. It is one of their bridge club that gets murdered in this book. While the police (including a detective that Peg knows and trusts) are investigating, Peg is still going to poke her nose in. That leads to some danger for them both and Peg may not be able to stick around to take care of her prized poodles.

Four stars

This book came out August 20, 2022

Followed by Peg and Rose Stir up Trouble

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse by Harper Lin

I really dislike books where the main character hides things from the police and Francesca Amaro, Franny, does so in this book. She's returned to her hometown after her mother's death and is trying to readjust to her new life running the family coffee shop. Her life is once again upended when she goes home early one day and discovers her neighbor, a man she grew up with, dead in the back yard. She does reconnect with the man's son, her childhood friend Matty. The two work together to try and figure out why his father was killed.
I'm going to try the second book in this series but I am a little worried about how hard Franny goes, not just in her investigating but her relationship with Matty as well.

Three stars

This book came out May 25, 2015

Followed by Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

A main reason I love these books is that Meg Langslow is just so darn pragmatic. Is she an amateur detective? Yes, she is. Does she share all of her information with the police chief? Does she actively hide evidence or mess up crime scenes? No she does not. She's smart, she solves crimes, and she does so without being an bumbling idiot. 

Even better, she's competent at any number of things (though she has her failings) and her blacksmithing, which sometimes takes a back seat, is out in full force during this book. There is a reality competition being filmed at Ragnar's estate and Meg is there as a general dogsbody. She has been asked to be in the show but prefers not to. However, when someone attacks her friend and mentor Faulk, Meg reluctantly joins so that he won't lose the investment money he and his husband put into the filming the show which was thought up by another one of Faulk's students. 

I got ARCs of both the ebook and audiobook. The ebook was not as good though I had some personal stuff going on which made it harder to concentrate. The audiobook, and Bernadette Dunn, were amazing as always. 

Meg Langslow #34

Four stars

This book comes out October 10, 2023

Follows Birder, She Write

Followed by Between a Flock and a Hard Place

ARC kindly provided by MacMillan and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Burglary In Belgravia by Lynda Wilcox

Lady Eleanor Bakewell is out for a fun night at the theater but she is the only one who hears a loud noise. When she goes to see what is going on, she discovers a dead body, Sir David Bristol. Sir David is a socialist who ran one of the leading papers in London. He is also the benefactor of the play and a man known for his many, many, many relationships. His current relationship is with the star of the play that Lady Eleanor came to see with her friend. 

There is some character growth in this book though not a lot. The mystery was a little convoluted with Eleanor being hired by a lady to find her pearl necklace and the murder being mixed in with some jewel robberies. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 2, 2019

Follows a Poisoning in Piccadilly

Followed by A Traitor at Tower Bridge

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

Auntie Aprils niece, Divina, has come to visit but there is something strange going on. Divina is close lipped about parts of her life and April is not trying to hook her up with Marcus (Mae's younger son) which she tries to do with any woman that's available. That includes Teresa, a young woman from the auntie's church who comes to help clean when their new laundromat is vandalized. Everything escalates when Divina is found dead and then one of the aunties is attacked.

This book has Lila being a little more forward and more off the mark than I remember from other books but still an enjoyable read. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out September 19, 2023

Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #4

Follows Blackmail and Bibingka

Followed by Guilt and Ginataan

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own