COLD PRESSED MURDER by Kelly Lane

GONE WITH THE TWINS by Kylie Logan

PEKOE MOST POISON by Laura Childs

COLD PRESSED MURDER

Book 2 in the Olive Grove Mysteries

by Kelly Lane

Eva Knox and her quirky Southern family are back in the second in the “intriguing”* culinary mystery series.
 
It’s the pits for the attendees of the annual Farm Family Fare in Abundance, Georgia, when olive oil farmer Eva Knox finds herself in the middle of a murder case...
 
Eva and the residents of Knox Plantation are oozing with excitement over the activities planned for the Farm Family Fare. The weekend event consists of two days of tours, exhibitions, music, tastings, and, most important, cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs from the Chow Network. The enthusiasm, however, begins to dribble away after one of the star chefs goes missing—and is later found dead in the back of a refrigerated truck.
 
The scandal gets messier after the police discover that Eva’s sister Daphne spent the night with the victim right before he died, making her the prime suspect for his murder. It’s up to Eva, with the help of her other sister, Pep, and her best friend, Precious, to track down the real killer before Daphne finds herself squeezed into handcuffs...

MY REVIEW

I’m not sure how the first book in this series, ONE FOOT IN THE GROVE got past me, but if it was as good as COLD PRESSED MURDER, then I missed out on a truly entertaining read.

Before I had even finished reading the first chapter of COLD PRESSED MURDER, I knew series lead Eva Knox would be someone I’d have a blast hanging out with. The humorous wit, and yes, even sarcasm author Kelly Lane endowed in Eva, made her a fun character to read. Indeed, between Eva and several other characters in this book (And I do mean a great supporting cast of friends and townsfolk. Even some of their names had me cracking up.), I had more than a few laugh out loud moments.

  

I don’t eat olives, nor do I use olive oil, and I know knowing at all about olive groves. That being said, I loved learning about all of it! That’s one of the things I enjoy so much about cozy mysteries. I learn a lot about all sorts of subjects I wouldn’t have been interested in learning before. Cozy mystery authors take their research seriously, and in books like COLD PRESSED MURDER, it really shows.

  

As for the mystery element of this book, it was expertly thought out. Plotted superbly by author Lane, I found myself suspiciously “looking” at several different people as likely suspects. I went back and forth between two of them, trying without succeeding to come up with a solid answer before I read the reveal. I was shocked to see the killer wasn’t either of my suspects. (I really need to brush up on my Nancy Drew skills.)

  

And don’t let your reading stop with the end of the story, or you’ll miss some great recipes at the back of the book

COLD PRESSED MURDER is now one of my favorite books of the year. And I will be going back and reading book one, because I don’t want to miss a word in this series!  

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GONE WITH THE TWINS

Book 5 in the League of Literary Ladies Mysteries

by Kylie Logan

The national bestselling author of And Then There Were Nuns takes readers back to South Bass Island on Lake Erie, where a pair of ambitious twins are causing double trouble for the League of Literary Ladies.The League of Literary Ladies is currently enjoying Margaret Mitchell’s saga of the South, Gone with the Wind. But there’s one situation on South Bass Island that they wish would simply blow over. 
 
Kidnapped as teenagers, the children of a famous movie star are now media darlings after a miraculous escape. What’s next for the celebrity twins? They’re opening an over-the-top B and B called Tara on South Bass Island, and frankly, they don’t give a damn about the competition—including Bea Cartwright’s own beloved inn.  
 
The other members of the League—Chandra, Kate, and Luella—are turning scarlet. But when local realtor Vivian Frisk is found murdered, and the suspects include Chandra, who lost her beau to the frisky Vivian, the Ladies rally to her defense. They may have to skim a few chapters of the Civil War soap opera and focus on bringing justice to the island they call home...

MY REVIEW

With a book like this, Scarlett O’Hara would have given up scheming and taken up reading!

It's very clear to see why this series has the following that it does. Author Kylie Logan consistently writes tales that are quick witted and clever, and that holds true once again with, GONE WITH THE TWINS. 

A fast paced story, this whodunit contains more than just one mystery. Readers will have to keep on their toes trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. I’ll admit, I was a few pieces short of guessing it all myself. And even after everything was solved, the author threw in one more twist.

With a cold soda on the table next to me, and a peaceful house to myself, GONE WITH THE TWINS was a fun way to spend an afternoon. I look forward to seeing what Kylie Logan has in store for her ladies, and us next.

Fans of the League of Literary Ladies Mysteries, you may just have a new favorite in the series with this one.

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PEKOE MOST POISON

Book 18 in the Tea Shop Mysteries

by Laura Childs

In the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs, Theodosia Browning attends a “Rat Tea,” where the mice will play...at murder.
 
When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston’s most prominent hostesses, to a “Rat Tea,” she is understandably intrigued.  As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early twentieth-century Charleston, where the cream of society would sponsor so-called rat teas to promote city rodent control and better public health.
 
But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen’s entrepreneur husband suddenly goes into convulsions and drops dead. Has his favorite orange pekoe tea been poisoned? Theo smells a rat.
 
The distraught Doreen soon engages Theo to pursue a discreet inquiry into who might have murdered her husband. As Theo and her tea sommelier review the guest list for suspects, they soon find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse... 

INCLUDES RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS

Eighteen books in and the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs are still strongly brewed and refreshing!

What can I say about PEKOE MOST POISON that hasn’t already been said about the other seventeen books in this series? I think all of the positive adjectives have been used, and rightly so. The one thing I can say . . . the very fact that this is book eighteen speaks to the brilliant writing talent of Laura Childs. Her middle name must be diversity, because she always manages to make each book in this series unique.  

One thing for sure that I can say about this book is, rats! Yes, like the rodent. Author Childs introduces us to the tradition of a Rat Tea. It’s a fascinating piece of history that I knew nothing of. (You’ll learn about it when you read this book!) It also happens to be where the victim in this book is murdered. Very original idea!

This excellent installment of the Tea Shop mysteries had a wonderfully complex plot. With more than a few suspects surfacing in the murder investigation, and business at Indigo Tea Shop being as brisk as ever, protagonist Theodosia “Theo” Browning, and her friend and tea sommelier Drayton really had their hands full trying to solve this murder, and keep things at the shop running smoothly. By the end of the book I was breathless from all the perfectly planned twists in the plot.

And as always, the fun isn’t over after the story is. The back of the book contains recipes, a list of tea resources, and a sneak peek of, SHADOW GIRL, from the suspense thriller Afton Tangler series by Laura, writing under her own name, Gerry Schmitt!

NOTE: I love the idea of having tea. Everything about it is so girly, and dainty, and pretty. Between my good friend and fellow reviewer, Karen M. Owen of, A Cup of Tea and a Cozy Mystery fame, and author Laura Childs, I get to vicariously live those teas. And Ms. Childs has finally written one about my favorite tea, Orange Pekoe! Or as I call it (much to the chagrin of another friend), regular tea – the kind that Lipton puts in their tea bags. (Yes, that is how I ordered it once after looking at a long menu of tea choices with my earlier mentioned, chagrined friend).

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Both of these great titles release

March 7!

Pre-order today!

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