PLBR Book Reviews 2018 - ELLES BOOK BLOG

ELLES BOOK BLOG

GOURD TO DEATH BY KRISTEN WEISS

11/4/2020

The Pie Town Mystery series is one of my favorite within the cozy genre and Gourd to Death did not disappoint! This is the perfect fall read as well.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Pie Town Mystery series #5
Pages: 302 pages
Format: eBook. I received an ARC from the publisher.

This Halloween, pie shop proprietor Val Harris must patch together clues to solve a murder by pumpkin . . .

As the owner of Pie Town, Val’s been tapped to judge the pie making contest at the annual pumpkin festival in the coastal California town of San Nicholas. Things could get sticky though—her boyfriend, cop Gordon Carmichael, is entering the competition with his “special” family pumpkin pie recipe. But Val’s got bigger problems than a conflict of interest when she and her flaky piecrust-maker Charlene discover another contestant crushed under an enormous pumpkin.

When grudge-holding Chief Shaw comes up with a half-baked reason to toss Carmichael off the case and onto the suspect list, it's up to Val and Charlene to find the tricky killer. But as they dodge lethal pumpkin cannons and follow the clues into a figurative and literal maze, the pie pals are in for the scariest Halloween of their lives—and it may be their last . . .

DEATH BY JACK-O'-LANTERN BY ALEXIS MORGAN

10/12/2020

Death by Jack-O'-Lantern is the second book in the Abby McCree cozy mystery series! This is a wonderful book and has a fall theme for those looking for books set in the season.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery.
Series: The Abby McCree Mystery series #3
Pages: 298 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

Overcommitted committee member Abby McCree gets in a patch of trouble trying to solve the murder of a pumpkin farmer …

The small town of Snowberry Creek, Washington, is gearing up for the Halloween Festival, and naturally Abby is on the planning committee. As part of her duties, she's picking up a pumpkin order from ornery farmer Ronald Minter. But what she finds instead is the farmer in the middle of his corn maze with a knife in his back.

The police suspect a homeless veteran named Kevin Montgomery, who was seen arguing with Minter when the farmer accused him of trespassing and stealing pumpkins. Abby's tenant Tripp Blackston, a veteran himself who’s been helping Kevin, is sure he’s innocent. Together, Abby and Tripp follow the twists and turns of the case to corner the corn maze killer—before someone else meets a dead end …

BURIED IN THE STACKS BY ALLISON BROOK

7/12/2020

Buried in the Stacks is the third book in the Haunted Library mystery series. This is one of my favorite series as it not only has an amazing sleuth but a hint of paranormal as well.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: September 10, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery (with paranormal elements)
Series: The Haunted Library mystery series #3
Pages: 316 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Librarian Carrie Singleton is building a haven, but one of her neighbors is misbehavin'. Can resident spirit Evelyn help Carrie catch the culprit who made her a ghost?

In winter, the Haunted Library is a refuge for homeless townspeople. When a group purchases a vacant house to establish a daytime haven for the homeless, Carrie offers the library as a meeting place for the Haven House committee, but quickly learns that it may be used for illegal activities.

As the new Sunshine Delegate, Carrie heads to the hospital to visit her cantankerous colleague, Dorothy, who had fallen outside the local supermarket. She tells Carrie that her husband tried to kill her—and that he murdered her Aunt Evelyn, the library's resident ghost, six years earlier.

And then Dorothy is murdered—run off the road as soon as she

DEEP FRIED REVENGE BY LYNN CAHOON

5/24/2020

The Farm-to-Fork mystery series is one of my favorites! Lynn Cahoon not only delivers on the mystery but she makes these characters relatable and realistic! I loved this one.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: April 7, 2020
Genre: Cozy Mystery (Culinary Cozy)
Series: Farm-to-Fork mystery series #4
Pages: 186 pages
Format: eBook. ARC

Angie Turner is all prepped to face Boise’s culinary best when she enters her restaurant, The County Seat, into a big State Fair challenge. Instead, she gets dunked into a new murder investigation after a killer starts scrapping her competition . . .

The Idaho State Fair is in full swing and chefs are lining up to enter Boise’s Best Restaurant contest, including Angie and her County Seat crew. They might be the hometown favorite, but the competition is steeper than a funhouse floor. And when a top contender is felled following a heated confrontation over a corn dog recipe, winning suddenly becomes a matter of life or death. With a foul foodie on the prowl, it’s up to Angie to dig into the case and put a murderer on ice.

“Lynn Cahoon has created an absorbing, good fun mystery in Mission to Murder.”
--Fresh Fiction

MURDER CAN MESS UP YOUR MASTERPIECE BY ROSE PRESSEY

4/4/2020

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is the first book in the Haunted Craft Fair Mystery series. If you enjoy paranormal cozies this one is a good book to try!

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: October 29, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Haunted Craft Fairy Mystery series #1
Pages: 288 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

Haunted art is in the eye of the beholder . . .

Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations, too.

Unfortunately, her sales take a hit when a customer returns a painting, claiming it’s haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers images hidden in Celeste’s artwork—and a ghost pays her a late-night visit—she’s shocked to realize she has psychic abilities. After the grumpy manager of the craft fair is found with a knife in his neck, Celeste’s brushes with the paranormal may help fill in the picture—and make sure the wrong person doesn’t get framed . . .

Praise for Rose Pressey and the Haunted Vintage Mysteries

EGG DROP DEAD BY VIVIEN CHIEN

3/1/2020

Egg Drop dead is the 5th book in the Noodle Shop mystery series by Vivien Chien. This is one of my favorite culinary cozy series because it's so unique!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: February 25, 2020
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Noodle Shop Mystery series #5
Pages: 298 pages
Format: eBook. ARC

The Ho-Lee Noodle House takes its business to the next level―only to end up in hot water.

It was supposed to be a fancy, intimate dinner party by the pool. Instead, Lana Lee’s first-ever catering event turns into full-course madness when a domestic worker is found dead. Is the party’s host Donna Feng, the sweet-and-sour owner of the Asia Village shopping plaza where Ho-Lee is situated, somehow to blame? That’s what Lana―whose plate is already plenty full with running the restaurant, pleasing her often-disapproving mother, and fretting over her occasionally-serious boyfriend Detective Adam Trudeau―must find out.

Before the police arrived at the crime scene, Donna had entrusted an odd piece of evidence to Lana: a thumb drive shaped like a terra-cotta soldier. Now it’s up to Lana to lead her own investigation, digitally and in real life, into a world of secrets involving Donna’s earlier life in China, whether the victim had a dark agenda, and if the killer is still out there. . .and plans to strike again

SLEEP LIKE A BABY BY CHARLAINE HARRIS

12/26/2019

I really love this series and I hope Charlaine Harris continues to write Aurora's books but this one felt a little drab. I wish Aurora would be a little more upbeat.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Aurora Teagarden mystery #10
Pages: 320 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

In Sleep Like a Baby, the next installment of the #1 New York Times Bestselling Charlaine Harris’s Aurora Teagarden series, Robin and Aurora have finally begun their adventure in parenting.

With newborn Sophie proving to be quite a handful, Roe’s mother pays for a partially trained nurse, Virginia Mitchell, to come help the new parents for a few weeks. Virginia proves to be especially helpful when Robin has to leave town for work and Roe is struck with a bad case of the flu.

One particularly stormy night, Roe wakes to hear her daughter crying and Virginia nowhere to be found. Roe's brother Philip helps her search the house and they happen upon a body outside… but it isn’t Virginia’s. Now, not only does she have a newborn to care for and a vulnerable new marriage to nurture, Roe also has to contend with a new puzzle -- who is this mystery woman dead in their backyard, and what happened to Virginia? This heart-pounding

'TWAS THE KNIFE BEFORE CHRISTMAS BY JACQUELINE FROST

12/22/2019

'Twas the Knife Before Christmas is the second book in the Christmas Tree Farm mystery series! I found this book to be festive and fun just like the first book.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Christmas Tree Farm mystery series #2
Pages: 320 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

It’s out of the cupcake tin, into the fire for Holly White’s best friend, Caroline. Can Holly clear Caroline’s name in time to go caroling?

When a body turns up in a larger-than-life candy bowl filled with peppermints on the town square, Holly White is horrified to learn her best friend Caroline is the main suspect. Everyone in town, including Mistletoe, Maine’s sheriff, saw Caroline fighting with the victim on the night of his death. Worse, a custom kitchen knife, engraved with Caroline's initials was found with him.

Now, just ten days before Christmas, Holly’s up to her jingle bells in holiday shenanigans and in desperate need of a miracle. Juggling extra shifts at her family’s Christmas tree farm and making enough gingerbread jewelry to satisfy the crowd is already more than she can handle―and now she has to find time to clear her best friend of murder. Add in her budding relationship with the sheriff, and a personal stalker dressed as Santa Claus, and Holly’s ready to fly south until springtime.

TWELVE SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS BY JACQUELINE FROST

12/20/2019

Twelve Slays of Christmas is a fun and festive read! This is the first book in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series and I cannot wait for more books! I highly recommend it.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: October 10, 2017
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #1
Pages: 320 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

When Holly White’s fiancé cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime—exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly’s family tree farm.

When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly’s father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn’t help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on

APPLE CIDER SLAYING BY JULIE ANNE LINDSEY

11/20/2019

Apple Cider Slaying is the first book in a brand new cozy mystery series! I absolutely LOVED this book! I cannot wait for the next release which is titled Pulp Friction.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: October 29, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Apple Cider Mystery series #1
Pages: 320 pages
Format: Paperback. ARC.

Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year's crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .

ONE ROTTEN APPLE

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny's beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it's struggling. That's why they're trying to drum up business with the "First Annual Christmas at the Orchard," a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike--until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny's long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder . . .

WONTON TERROR BY VIVIEN CHIEN

11/3/2019

Wonton Terror is book 4 in the Noodle House Mystery series! I am LOVING this series so much. The ethnic touches, the deliciously described foods, and the mystery! All in all, these books are culinary cozies at their finest!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Noodle House Mystery series #4
Pages: 300 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Amateur sleuth Lana Lee returns for another charming cozy Noodle Shop Mystery in Vivien Chien's Wonton Terror...

The Asian community is kicking off summer with the return of its popular Cleveland Night Market festivities, and Lana Lee is excited to represent the Ho-Lee Noodle House booth with her favorite chef, Peter Huang. Lana is confident that the evening marks the beginning of a great season to come. Not only is she looking forward to the warm temperatures, but her birthday is only weeks away, her handsome boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, is planning a romantic get-away. Life couldn't be better.

But before she can get too accustomed to the idea of a carefree summer, an explosion involving a nearby food truck, Wonton on Wheels, kills one of the proprietors and injures several others in the nearby vicinity.

When the authorities discover that this was no accident, the family members of the dead man become the number-one suspects in a

AND THEN THERE WERE CRUMBS BY EVE CALDER

10/25/2019

I love cozy mystery books! Even though I don't post about them as much as I would like, they are always my "go to" when I get into romance book slumps. This is the first in a new series!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: July 30, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Cookie House Mystery series #1
Pages: 352 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

She's a talented pastry chef--with a secret recipe for solving crimes...

WELCOME TO THE COOKIE HOUSE
Kate McGuire's life was sweet in Manhattan before she lost her restaurant job and fianc� both. But sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles, and soon she finds herself starting from scratch in the island town of Coral Cay, Florida. It has everything she's looking for: sunny beaches, friendly locals, and a Help Wanted sign in the bakery shop window. Once she convinces the shop's crusty owner Sam Hepplewhite to hire her, Kate can't tie on her apron fast enough. Little does she know that trouble, like warm dough, is on the rise. . .

WHERE CRIMINALS GET THEIR JUST DESSERTS
Stewart Lord is a real estate developer with a taste for a different type of dough: the green kind. He knows that he could make a killing by purchasing the Cookie House from Sam, who flat-out refuses to sell. But when Stewart turns up the heat on Sam--then turns up dead after eating a fresh batch of Sam's cinnamon rolls-

VALLEY'S, VEHICLES & VICTIMS BY TONYA KAPPES

10/14/2019

The Camper and Criminals cozy series is one of my favorites! This is the 9th book in the series and I recommend reading the books in order. They are short so it won't take long to binge the series!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: September 27, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Camper & Criminals cozy series #9
Pages: 195 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Welcome to Normal, Kentucky where nothing is normal!

The Daniel Boone National Forest is gorgeous in the fall. The leaves have painted the sides of the mountains with yellow, oranges, reds and browns you won't see anywhere else. That's why it's such a popular destination for weddings!

When a wedding party show up at Happy Trails Campground, Mae West is thrilled. She's all things girly and excited to assist the bride in all things southern, which is what the bride is hankering for.

Mae recognizes the parents of the bride when they arrive. They are from her past. The past she's been desperately trying to escape...especially since it was the time she was married to Paul West. This just isn't any couple, it's the owners of the famous Moonbucks Coffee Company.

PRUNING THE DEAD BY JULIA HENRY

8/10/2019

Pruning the Dead by Julia Henry is the first book in the Garden Squad mystery series and it's a must read! I wasn't sure I would connect with an older sleuth/character but she may actually be one of my favorites now!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Garden Squad Mystery series #1
Pages: 346 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

Post-retirement aches and pains can't prevent sixty-five-year-old Lilly Jayne from keeping the most manicured garden in Goosebush, Massachusetts. But as a murder mystery blooms in the sleepy New England town, can a green thumb weed out a killer?

With hundreds flocking to her inaugural garden party, meticulous Lilly Jayne hasn't left a single petal out of place. But the picture-perfect gathering turns unruly upon the arrival of Merilee Frank, Lily's ex-husband's catty third wife. Merilee lives for trouble, so no one is surprised after she drinks too much, shoves a guest into the koi pond, and gets escorted off the property. The real surprise comes days later--when Merilee is found dead in a pile of mulch . . .

Lilly wishes she could stick to pruning roses and forget about Merilee's murder--until her best friend and ex become suspects in an overgrown homicide case. Now, aided by the Garden Squad, an unlikely group of amateur crime solvers with a knack for planting, Lilly knows she has limited time to identify the true culprit and

PEACH CLOBBERED BY ANNA GERARD

8/6/2019

Peach Clobbered is the first book in the Georgia B&B Mystery series. While I did like the book overall I do wish there was a bit more sleuthing going on.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: A Georgia B&B Mystery series #1
Pages: 262 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

What’s black and white and dead all over? Georgia bed and breakfast proprietor Nina Fleet finds out when she comes across a corpse in a penguin costume.

Nina Fleet’s life ought to be as sweet as a Georgia peach. Awarded a tidy sum in her divorce, Nina retired at 41 to a historic Queen Anne house in quaint Cymbeline, GA. But Nina’s barely settled into her new B&B-to-be when a penguin shows up on her porch. Or, at least, a man wearing a penguin suit.

Harry Westcott is making ends meet as an ice cream shop’s mascot and has a letter from his great-aunt, pledging to leave him the house. Too bad that’s not what her will says. Meanwhile, the Sisters of Perpetual Poverty have lost their lease. Real estate developer Gregory Bainbridge intends to turn the convent into a golfing community, so Cymbeline’s mayor persuades Nina to take in the elderly nuns. And then Nina finds the “penguin” again, this time lying in an alley with a kitchen knife in his chest.

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