I'm using the weekend to get caught up.

 See you next month aka Monday. ;-)

NIGHTSHADE FOR WARNING by Bailey Cattrell

BOOKS OF A FEATHER by Kate Carlisle

NIGHTSHADE FOR WARNING

Book 2 in the Enchanted Garden Mysteries

by Bailey Cattrell

The second Enchanted Garden Mystery from Bailey Cattrell—author of the New York Times bestselling Magical Bakery Mysteries as Bailey Cates.

Elliana Allbright’s custom-made perfume shop and the Enchanted Garden behind it are garnering all sorts of attention, but a dead body could bury her in bad publicity. . . .
 Ellie’s business and personal life have been flourishing in her hometown of Poppyville, California, since she opened Scents & Nonsense. She uses her very special skills to craft perfumes that almost magically ease heartache, inspire change, and bring joy—and her customers love to relax in the beautiful garden behind her shop with her corgi, Dash, and her cat, Nabokov. She even lives right next to the garden, in a compact “tiny house”—and she’s excited to hear that a journalist is going to write a feature about her home and garden for a national magazine.
 
But then the journalist is found dead, and suspicion falls on the last person to see him—who just happens to be Ellie’s brother’s girlfriend. So before everything goes to seed, Ellie must rely on her powers—observational and otherwise—to pick out the real killer from an ever-expanding bouquet of culprits. . . .

MY REVIEW

This second installment in the Enchanted Garden Mysteries will fill your senses with mystery.

NIGHTSHADE FOR WARNING was a nice follow up from book one, DAISIES FOR INNCOCENCE. It had the same style of writing fans have come to expect from author Bailey Cattrell aka Bailey Cates. Though I will admit, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book. I didn’t dislike it, it just didn’t pull me in as quickly as book one. With that being said . . .

I really enjoy the cast of characters in this series. They are unique, and fun to read. And I could lose myself in Ellie’s Enchanted Garden. It seems truly delightful. I also love how author Cattrell has Ellie living in a tiny house on her property. Tiny houses are so in right now (not something for me though). With Ellie’s character, and her fairy like garden, her tiny house is a perfect fit.

NIGHTSHADE FOR WARNING was a well plotted mystery. It was one that raised many questions. While I figured out a few answers, Bailey Cattrell stumped me on that many more. As the reveal was getting closer, I was more and more sure of who the killer was. And HA! I was . . . wrong. L

The author includes a cookie recipe, and a foot polishing recipe, both of which I’m eager to try.

If you enjoyed DAISIES FOR INNOCENCE, you’ll want to read NIGHTSHADE FOR WARNING. 

📕📖📘📚📙📖📗

BOOKS OF A FEATHER

Book 11 in the Bibliophile Mysteries

by Kate Carlisle

PAPERBACK

In this novel in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series, San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright’s latest project is for the birds, but it may have her running for her life. . . .

Brooklyn’s friend runs the Covington Library, which is hosting an exhibit featuring John James Audubon’s massive masterpiece, Birds of America. During the gala celebrating the book, she is approached by Jared Mulrooney, the president of the Bay Area Birdwatchers Society, to repair a lesser known book of Audubon drawings.

At the same party, Brooklyn is flying high after she’s asked to refurbish a rare copy of Poor Richard’s Almanack when Mulrooney’s body is discovered in the library. Soon more troubles ruffle Brooklyn’s feathers. Her parents pop in for a visit with an unsavory friend in tow, and there’s a strange man on her tail. With danger beginning to circle Brooklyn’s every move, it’s clear she must find answers before things really go south. . . . 

MY REVIEW

My photo and review are based on the 

hardcover release of this title in 2016

The paperback edition releases May 2!

Readers be will thrilled with this newest addition to the Bibliophile Mysteries!

Author Kate Carlisle once again takes readers on a superb journey filled with intrigue, murder, and the fascinating world of book restoring! Seriously, what subject could be better for book lovers then a series about books? And antiquated books at that!

I found myself lost in the pages of BOOKS OF A FEATHER, and I didn’t want to find my way out. With multiple murders, and suspects on the loose, this wonderful mystery fast paced, and an edge-of-your-seat read.

You have got to pick up a copy of BOOKS F A FEATHER to add to your collection of favorite books. 

Both titles are now available for pre-order

and release

May 2!

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

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clicking on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page.

I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite cozy mystery series old and new.

This week my series spotlight is on the

BISCUIT BOWL FOOD TRUCK MYSTERIES

by 

J. J. Cook

aka

Joyce and Jim Lavene

I was already a fan of J.J. Cook/Joyce and Jim Lavene from their Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery series (If you haven't read it, do!).

The Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery series is by far one of my very favorite all time series. Everything about it is amazing. The characters, location, the fun of the food truck along with the yummy food, all combine to make this series a must read for cozy fans. 

BOOK ONE

Zoe Chase always wanted to own her own restaurant—but first, she’ll have to serve up a heaping helping of meals on wheels, with a side of mystery… 

When she’s once again passed over for a promotion at work, Zoe decides to take the big leap and go for her dream. She quits, gives up her fancy digs, and buys a fixer-upper diner in a shady part of town. To keep above water during the renovation, she buys a used food truck to serve the downtown and waterfront of Mobile, Alabama.

Zoe starts to dish out classic Southern food—but her specialty is her deep-fried biscuit bowls that blow traditional bread bowls away.

After a promising start, things start to go downhill faster than a food truck without brakes. First, someone tries to rob the cash register. Next, Zoe is threatened by the owner of a competing food truck for taking their spot. And when the owner ends up dead inside Zoe’s rolling restaurant, Zoe and her sole employee, Ollie, find themselves hopping out of the frying pan into the fryer. They need to find the real killer, before both of them get burned.

BOOK TWO

From the national bestselling author of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mysteries comes the second in a new series featuring Zoe Chase, a Southern food truck chef who serves justice on the side.
 
With a few loyal friends in tow—including her handsome attorney, Miguel, and her cat, Crème Brûlée—Zoe drives the Biscuit Bowl to Charlotte, North Carolina, to enter a nationally televised food truck race. The contest features challenges across the Southeast, and with a fifty-thousand-dollar grand prize, competition isn’t just fierce—it’s killer.
 
As everyone gears up for the first challenge, another food trucker from Zoe’s hometown is found dead. The race rolls on, but when the body count rises, police begin to suspect Miguel. Now Zoe must race to catch the killer before her attorney needs an attorney.

BOOK THREE

The national bestselling author of Fry Another Day serves up a third helping in the Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery series…

It’s Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama, and food truck chef Zoe Chase is driven to distraction attending high-society soirees, feeding the partying masses, and getting the skinny on a Fat Tuesday murder…

Two weeks of carnival celebrations has got Zoe running ragged. By day, she charms hungry tourists with authentic Southern cuisine. At night, she accompanies her father to one masquerade ball after another, hobnobbing with the high rollers of the secret cabal known as the Mistics of Time.

But the fun turns frightening when Zoe stumbles across “Death’s” dead body. Journalist Jordan Phillips attended the Mistics’ latest bash in a traditional Death costume, and received a fatal bullet wound for the privilege. With more than three hundred masked suspects determined to remain anonymous, and the police covering up the facts behind the murder of the investigative reporter, Zoe realizes the Mistics have some serious secrets to hide…

EBOOK SPECIAL - A PREQUAL

After quitting her job, the first thing Zoe Chase has to do is to drive out to the swamp to see her Uncle Saul. He still has the old Airstream trailer he once used for his own restaurant many years before, and Zoe is sure she can convince him to let her make a food truck out of it.
After making the perilous journey from Mobile, Alabama into the backcountry, Zoe finds her uncle embroiled in a cook-off with his neighbor—with the life of Saul’s albino alligator, Alabaster, in the balance. Once again, the gator has eaten chickens that didn’t belong to her. So Saul and his neighbor will each prepare a meal for a church social, and if Saul wins, the gator lives.
Now it’s up to Zoe to prove herself in the kitchen and come up with something no one has seen before—the biscuit bowl!

I honestly can't say enough good things about the Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mysteries. It saddens me that there may never be another book in this series.

Sadly, both Joyce and Jim Lavene have passed away.

 If the Lavenes left an unpublished title, then we may still get to see a new one. 

Please, don't let that stop you from picking up this series. It truly is too good for any cozy fan to miss.

💜💜

In memory of Joyce and Jim Lavene.

Dearly missed every day. 

Yay!

Catherine Bruns

is back at the blog today!

Catherine is celebrating

the release of her newest book

FROSTED WITH REVENGE

Book 4 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries

Sally Muccio’s walk down the aisle might be her last.
The some-time amateur sleuth and full-time bakery owner is finally marrying the man of her dreams. But during a last minute taste testing of their wedding cake, Sally and her fiancé are witnesses—and almost victims!—of a random shooting. At least they think it’s random, until an original fortune cookie message proves otherwise. Is someone after Sally? And why does the mysterious shooter want to ice the baker? Sal tries to proceed with caution, but when someone close to her is attacked, all bets are off. She'll do whatever it takes to bring this monster to justice, even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. 
Can Sal make it to the church on time…and alive?

**Recipes Included!**

FROSTED WITH REVENGE

releases today and that

sounds like the perfect time for a

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

Catherine is giving away 1 Kindle copy of

FROSTED WITH REVENGE

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 

clicking on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page.

Take a look at all the great 

new titles out tomorrow!

HER BROTHER IS NO BARGAIN
When Sarah Winston’s estranged brother Luke shows up on her doorstep, asking her not to tell anyone he’s in town—especially her ex, the chief of police—the timing is strange, to say the least. Hours earlier, Sarah’s latest garage sale was taped off as a crime scene following the discovery of a murdered Vietnam vet and his gravely injured wife—her clients, the Spencers. 
 
BUT IS HE A KILLER?
All Luke will tell Sarah is that he’s undercover, investigating a story. Before she can learn more, he vanishes as suddenly as he appeared. Rummaging through his things for a clue to his whereabouts, Sarah comes upon a list of veterans and realizes that to find her brother, she’ll have to figure out who killed Mr. Spencer. And all without telling her ex . . .

HARDCOVER

Plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid has no problem mixing business with pleasure—especially if that means a free trip while on the job. But when a gruesome murder rocks the boat, Savannah may finally be in over her head…

Nothing satisfies Savannah’s soul like nabbing bad guys—except maybe indulging in a juicy novel. So when famed mystery writer Natasha Van Cleef invites the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency on an Alaskan cruise in exchange for some personal protection, Savannah is instantly onboard with the idea. The voyage goes smoothly—at least, until Natasha and her husband flee the ship without explanation and get killed in a suspiciously explosive crash . . .

Awash in regret, Savannah and the MM crew won’t return home to San Carmelita until they expose whoever caused the fatal “accident.” But Savannah and her team have their work cut out for them when they discover that Natasha’s life was far more dramatic than any of her bestsellers. Not only was her marriage and literary career splattered with bad blood, but the author also had a crazed fan tracking her every move. With suspects and clues flooding in by the boatful, it’s all hands on deck as Savannah rushes to seize the murderer before she lands herself in hot water next . . .

HARDCOVER

With their reality TV series, Antiques Sleuths, Brandy Borne and her quaintly kooky mother, Vivian, have a real hit on their hands. But another “hit” enters the picture, after a rival bidder becomes a one-woman show at their televised auctions—and it’s the estranged wife of Brandy’s police-chief beau, Tony! Soon the fine art of murder colors the scene, fitting Brandy for an ornately elaborate frame.

But when you’re inside a frame, it’s difficult to make out the picture. That’s why Brandy’s mom—her daughter now wearing basic jailhouse orange—must sort through a rogue’s gallery of suspects including a too-friendly farmer’s wife, a ratings-happy TV producer, a questionable husband-and-wife auctioneer team, and even the chief of police himself.

Brandy and Vivian race to determine how an empty antique frame can hold a deadly portrait, a picture worth a thousand dangerous words. Aided only by Sushi, their loyal shih tzu, and police dog Rocky, the wacky mother-and-daughter sleuthing team must learn the killer’s identity before they become the subjects of another masterpiece of murder.

Don’t miss Brandy Borne’s tips on investing in antiques!

Settling into her new life and career in small-town Indigo Gap, North Carolina, Cora Chevalier is preparing to host a “wildcrafting” retreat at her Victorian home. But a specter hangs over the venture when beloved local nanny Gracie Wyke goes missing. Amidst leading their guests in nature hikes, rock painting and making clay charms, Cora and her business partner, Jane, team up with Gracie’s boyfriend, Paul, to launch their own investigation into her disappearance when the local police prove unhelpful.

Cora and her crafters take Paul in, believing he is in danger and not the suspect police have made him out to be. However as they uncover new clues and a body turns up at a local abandoned amusement park, Cora and Jane begin to question their decision. With more questions than answers arising, is Cora crafty enough to untangle a knot that could put an innocent in jail—and permanently destroy her reputation?

Sally Muccio’s walk down the aisle might be her last.
The some-time amateur sleuth and full-time bakery owner is finally marrying the man of her dreams. But during a last minute taste testing of their wedding cake, Sally and her fiancé are witnesses—and almost victims!—of a random shooting. At least they think it’s random, until an original fortune cookie message proves otherwise. Is someone after Sally? And why does the mysterious shooter want to ice the baker? Sal tries to proceed with caution, but when someone close to her is attacked, all bets are off. She'll do whatever it takes to bring this monster to justice, even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. 
Can Sal make it to the church on time…and alive?

**Recipes Included!**

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Want to follow my blog? 

Click on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page!

DEAD AND BERRIED by Peg Cochran

THE ART OF MURDER by Elain Viets

DEAD AND BERRIED

Book 3 in the Cranberry Cove Mysteries

by Peg Cochran

It’s hive time for murder in the latest Cranberry Cove mystery from national bestselling author Peg Cochran.

It's June in Cranberry Cove and Monica Albertson's plan to sell cranberry relish to chain stores is taking off. The cranberry bogs are in bloom, and local beekeeper Rick Taylor and his assistant Lori Wenk are bringing in bees to pollinate the blossoms.  When a fatal prick fells Lori, the buzz is that Rick is to blame. 

In trying to clear her friend’s name, Monica discovers that more than a few people in Cranberry Cove have felt the power of Lori’s venom, and it looks as if this time she may have agitated the hive a bit too much.  With the fate of the farm on the line, Monica must get to the bottom of the crime before another victim gets stung.

INCLUDES CRANBERRY RECIPES 

MY REVIEW

A splendid installment to an amazing series.

Every time I have a new Peg Cochran book, I know I’ll need to set aside a day where all I can do is read, because I never want to put down one of her books once I’ve started. (Seriously, I even take them in the bathr . . . Opps . . . TMI J) DEAD AND BERRIED was no different. I inhaled this book!

DEAD AND BERRIED was an excellent story. From the fascinating facts about the running of a cranberry farm, and bringing in bees to pollinate the plants, to the discovery of the body . . .  kudos to the author for a creative new death, and the subsequent investigation, I couldn’t tear myself away! As I mentioned above, I can’t put down one of Cochran’s books.

I’m a fan of every character in this series. I love the scenes where I go to town with Monica Albertson, and visit with the folks in the local shops. I always feel as though I am right there with them. Ms. Cochran’s description of each location is so detailed (without being overly long winded), I can envision each and every place.  

Is there anything missing from this book? No! It even has an array of tasty cranberry recipes that are sure to make your stomach grow.

Already bogged down by your reading list? Well, never let that stop you from harvesting a new book. Especially when it’s DEAD AND BERRIED!

📕📖📘📖📗📖📙

THE ART OF MURDER

Book 15 in the Dead-End Job Mysteries

by Elaine Viets

From the national bestselling author of Checked Out, Helen Hawthorne must pose as a painter to catch an artful killer . . .

The art world is a happening place—but a brush with death shouldn’t be in the picture. Unfortunately, that’s just what happens to Helen Hawthorne and her friend Margery. While touring gorgeous Bonnet House, a mansion turned museum, they  note an up-and-coming artist in a painting class. When they later see her deadly end, Helen is hired to canvas the crime scene—undercover, of course.

Sketchy suspects lurk in the victim’s past. Was the promising painter killed by her jealous husband? Her best friend? A rival using her artful wiles? With her husband, Phil, busy setting a trap for a gold thief, it’s up to Helen to paint this killer into a corner...

MY REVIEW

Author Elaine Viets paints a vivid mystery with THE ART OF MURDER.

The Dead-End Job Mystery series has been great from the start. Ms. Viets keeps upping her game with each new installment. This series is consistently well written with each new book adding stronger, and more entertaining plots.

THE ART OF MURDER is quick to jump into the murder, and mayhem. From chapter one it just keep gaining momentum. Fast paced and intriguing, this book was hard to put down. With plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing, and second guessing, the reveal was a total surprise.

With books like THE ART OF MURDER, it’s easy to see why Ms. Viets, and the Dead-End Job mysteries have such a loyal following.

Now available for pre-order.

Both books release

May 2!

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Want to follow my blog? 

Click on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page!