Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bakeoff

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off is my final selection for the Calendar of Crime Challenge. It is a lovely cozy mystery with recipes in the back of the book.  It the 2nd of 5 books in the author's Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series.

The publisher's summary:  

Tucked away inside an old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor, Michigan, bakeshop café owner Lindsey Bakewellis ready to make her first Christmas in town shine bright. But her merry plans crumble fast when murder appears under the mistletoe. 

With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever—winning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition . . .

 

Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bake‑off, and she’s not afraid to dump a little coal in everyone’s stocking to do it. Just as the competition heats up, everything falls apart when the judge is found dead—and covered in crumbs from Lindsey’s signature cookie!

 

Solving a murder was never on Lindsey’s wish list. But with her reputation on the line during the happiest time of the year, she’ll need to bring her best talents to the table in order to sift out the true Christmas Cookie culprit.

I loved this story. It has everything you want in a Christmas cozy mystery. There are engaging characters, a wintery but cozy setting,  and the smell of freshly baked pastries on every page. When. Lindsay rose at 3:00 a.m. each morning to begin mixing her doughs, I felt like I was there with her.  As a baker myself, I could easily see in my mind her sweet roll dough recipe as well as her cinnamon rolls and caramel pecan rolls.  She baked and fried the doughs before making a variety of danish pastries all hours before her bakery opened for the day.  

The characters were believable. Of course, Lindsay is a great character but the villain seemed all too real to me also.  Felicity, owner of a year-round Christmas shop, is the epitome of every jealous woman I have had to "compete" against when bringing treats to work.  She will sabotage the efforts of other bakers in order to always be first at everything.  A few years ago a co-worker threw my cookies in the garbage because no one was eating hers so I definitely feel Lindsay's pain.  The celebrity judge, Chef Chevy Chambers, is another villain in the story.   His character provides many of the twists and turns because he not only is having an affair with several contestants but he also put a few of them out of business with his scathing newspaper reviews of their restaurants.  When he ends up murdered, there are several possible whodunnits. The howdunnit should be obvious.  It's a rolling pin.

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off is simply the best Christmas cozy that I have ever read.  Check it out.  5 out of 5 stars.

Bulletproof Barista

Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery Series is my favorite cozy mystery series. I have read every book in the series and only have high accolades for each book. Bulletproof Barista , though, was not my favorite installment in the series. The authors have managed to maintain a quality level in their writing over the years but in this 20th novel they faltered.  

Clare Cosi is the main character.  She is the manager of the Village Blend coffeehouse.  She agrees to shut down her business for a week for comedian Jerry Sullivan who is starring in a film that is being shot at the coffee shop.  When the film crew’s location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself once again at the scene of a true crime.  Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they’ve chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.

Let me begin my review by saying that I was in a bad mood when I began reading this novel.  I thought it would uplift me.  There was something different about how it started out but I continued reading waiting for someone to get killed.  It didn't happen until over 200 pages into the story. Usually, the murder happens in the first chapter.  I remembered hearing the name of the person who died, Billy Saddler,  but he was not central to the story thus far.  I went back to the beginning searching for his name and did not it until page 99.  There was something else that bothered me while I was reading.  One of the characters, Tina Bird, was referred to over 10 times as "cockadoodledoo."  Again, I went back to the beginning trying to figure out why she gained this description.  It turns out that one of Clare's baristas, Tucker, referred to Bird this way.  When Clare didn't understand why Tucker said this, he said that she should remember the phrase that Kathy Bates used in her 1990 movie Misery.  While I had seen this movie several times I did not remember the phrase.  I then went to Google and found several You Tube videos where her character  described a vehicle as a "cockadoodie car."  She even referred to another character as a "cockadoodie."  With my facts straight about the plot, I returned to reading but promising myself to watch the Misery movie again soon.

The Forward to the story talks about a movie being filmed near the authors' home in New York City.  They decided to write this installment of the series based on a movie being filmed at Clare's Village Blend.  I believe that this was a mistake.  The plot was not anywhere near as exciting as the authors tried to make their mystery fit into a predesigned idea of what the plot should be.  This affected their creativity.  There were a lot of cliches used in the writing, which I have never seen before, and Clare's investigation was more about who was sabotaging Jerry Sullivan's TV show than solving a murder. The person who was shot in the beginning of the book survived. 

If you have never read a book in this series, do not start with Bulletproof Barista.  All of the earlier books were riveting and Bulletproof Barista is an anomaly in the series.  I recommend, though, that you read this series.  It has been enjoyable for me. When I finished this book I was planning on giving it a 4 star rating.  However, as I was writing this review I realized all of the problems that I had with it. Consequently, I am rating it 2 stars.  It was not up to par with the earlier ones.

Thanksgiving Treachery

Tonya Kappes' Thanksgiving Treachery is her 7th holiday cozy mystery. It was published earlier this month on November 2, 2023.  The story takes place in the quaint town of Holiday Junction, where traditions run deep and festivities are the heart of the community.  When the prominent Harden family is struck by tragedy, everyone becomes a suspect. It’s up to journalist, Violet Rhinehammer of the Junction Journal, to unearth the truths buried beneath layers of deception and old grudges.  As Violet delves deeper, she discovers secrets that entwine the art district with the village in ways she never imagined.  As Holiday Junction gears up for its Friendsgiving festivities, one question lingers—can the town’s cherished unity withstand the weight of treachery?

It took me a few pages to become interested in the story.  After two murders had taken place I was excited about the prospect of a serial killer being on the loose.  However, I was disappointed with the investigation of the murders.  The police did not do any investigation at all.  It was 100% investigated by Violet under her responsibilities as a journalist.  Her interviews with the many characters in the story was the investigation. Violet advised the police when she made discoveries but in the end, there was no arrest.  The reveal of the whodunnit in the last chapter was satisfying but did not make up for the problems of having too many characters to keep track of and corny place names and character names that I found annoying.

1 out of 5 stars.

Terror in Topaz

Terror in Topaz is the 4th and final installment of Alison Stuart's Harriet Gordon Mystery Series. It is set in 1920s Singapore and features amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon. Harriet volunteers her time at brother Julian's school for boys but after her suffragette past became known, she was fired.

The publisher's summary:  

Singapore 1910: Harriet Gordon has been dismissed from the job she loved and finds herself cast adrift. When her brother receives an invitation to visit a prestigious school in Kuala Lumpur, she and Julian decide to leave Singapore behind for a few days, but their pleasant visit takes a dark turn when a visitor to the school is shot dead on the front steps of the headmaster’s bungalow.

After being suspended from the Straits Settlements Police, Inspector Robert Curran has disappeared on a personal quest to find a missing girl, but his suspension is not all it appears and he receives secretive orders to investigate the mysterious Topaz Club, which seems to be at the center of high-level corruption within the colonial government of Malaya.

The uninvestigated death of a woman with links to the Topaz Club brings Harriet and Curran together in a determination to shut down the notorious establishment for good.

But a devious criminal stands in the way and it is going to take Harriet and Curran all their resources to bring justice for the victims of the Topaz Club and in doing so, find what it is they have been looking for in each other.

I loved this series and am sad it has ended. A prequel to Singapore Sapphire was published in August 2023. Umbrella tells the story of Harriet's earlier life. It is just over 50 pages in length. 

The setting for Terror in Topaz moves from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Many times when a series author changes the setting, the story suffers. This did not happen here. The plot and writing are superb. It was everything I expected and more. The relationship between Harriet and Inspector Curran grew to be a romantic one. Brother Julian's felt his career was in flux and we see him pondering his options. His usual straightlaced demeanor changes to a softer one. With all of this character growth it is difficult to accept that there is nowhere for the series to continue.

The Kuala Lumpur setting did not seem much different than Singapore. It had the usual clubs and mansions where the British sat for tea on their verandas. Both places share a climate with oppressive heat and the author has shared photographs of both of them on her Pinterest page. If you want to learn more about these novels I recommend checking out the Pinterest page. 

Terror in Topaz is a relaxing read. Historical mystery fans will enjoy it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Key Lime Pie Murder

August 1 is National Homemade Pie Day. It occurs every year. Since I am too lazy to bake, I have substituted reading the Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke. It counts as a selection for the Calendar of Crime Challenge as an August holiday.

The publisher's summary:  

It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the Tri-County fair, she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters.

With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping–only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why? 
 
Now Hannah needs to crank up the heat, hoping that Willa’s killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last…

The book is one of the older books in the series. Hannah isn't even married yet but thinks that the man she eventually marries is interested in her.  Key Lime Pie Murder did not seem to be a cozy mystery but rather just a cozy.  There was not much of a mystery here to be solved. No twists, no turns, no nothing. What the reader gets is the social life of the main character Hannah Swenson. I have a few of the later novels in the series and the plots were pretty thin also. I am sure there is a demographic for this type of a story. It just isn't me.

No rating.

The Heirloom

The Heirloom is Beverly Lewis' newest Amish fiction novel. It will be published next month on September 12, 2023.  I received an advanced review copy (ARC) through Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club in exchange for an honest review. This story is a prequel to Lewis's The Shunning.

The publisher's summary:

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Cook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies. Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. 

This book has a simple plot with a slow pace. I was distracted by the ARC's full justification for the paragraphs so perhaps that is why I felt the pace was slow. Sometimes there were only 2 to 3 words per line. It seemed that no matter how long I read at a stretch, I made little progress toward finishing the book. The justification was much improved by the midpoint of the story and that is where the plot became interesting. There were several mysteries and problems for Clara to resolve and the food descriptions were scrumptious. The pace also picked up nicely. Still, it took me two days to finish this short 190 page book. Unheard of for someone like me who can read three 300 page books in a day. 

The justification clearly impacted my enjoyment of the novel and I would expect that by the time it is published the justification will be corrected and my comments irrelevant. Let's just say the second half of the book is worth reading.

The Way of the Wicked

The Way of the Wicked is the second book in the Hope Street Church Mysteries by Ellery Adams. I loved the first book The Path of the Crooked. The amateur sleuth in the series is Cooper Lee who has an interesting job. She repairs copy machines. I love that the sleuth is a woman doing what is typically a man's job.

The publisher's summary:

Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible study group have just volunteered for a local charity, delivering much-needed food and cheer to shut-ins in their community. It seems like the perfect way for the group to do good, and to Cooper it offers the welcome opportunity to get out of the house and spend more time with her new boyfriend, Nathan. But when one of the charity’s recipients is murdered, the police have no choice but to single out the church group and their fellow volunteers as the prime suspects.

Determined to make sure no evil deed goes unpunished, Cooper and her friends decide to discreetly interrogate each volunteer in their search for the killer, even if it means putting themselves at risk in the process. And as serving the needy becomes more treacherous than any of them could have imagined, they just might discover that the road to murder is paved with good intentions.

The beginning of the book was slow because it took a long time for the murder to occur. The reader was introduced to several new characters and the Bible study group members became involved in delivering food to the elderly. The first fourth of the story was basically dialogue among them and not much happened. The action picked up and by the midpoint in the story the pace became fast.

The romance between Cooper and fellow Bible study group member Nathan heated up in this installment of the series. They are not yet a couple but both realize that they have feelings for each other. Also, there was religious material in the book as the study group met several times to study the life of the Biblical Joseph from Genesis. They saw a connection between the way Joseph's brothers treated him to the way the seniors were treated by volunteers of the charity that delivered meals on wheels. By the end of the story three seniors died in similar circumstances.

This was a charming story and I enjoyed it. I would have liked to see the murders occur in the first or second chapter so that the rest of the story could be about solving the crime. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

This book is a re-read for me. Several decades ago I read every one of these Mrs. Pollifax cozy mysteries. There were fantastic. As I was looking for a book for the Calendar of Crime Challenge, I realized that author Dorothy Gilman was born in June. Books whose authors were born in June are eligible for the challenge. A match!

The publisher's summary:

Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown, married children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent.

She takes on a “job” in Mexico City. The assignment doesn’t sound dangerous at first, but then, as often happens, something goes wrong. Now our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War—and her country’s enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady.

Although the book was written in 1966, the writing is still current with today's language. While the premise for the stories may seem far-fetched, nothing about the plot is unusual. It unfolds just like any other spy novel. The knowledge that Mrs. Pollifax gained throughout her years as a wife and mother helped her to see situations clearer than professional spies. She is simply adorable.

The first three chapters reminded me how Mrs. Pollifax got into the spy business to begin with. While discussing with her doctor that she was bored with her life as a volunteer, she remembered that when she was young she wanted to be a spy. Feeling encouraged by him, Mrs. Pollifax traveled to Washington DC and applied for a job with the CIA. She did not know that you need to be asked to join but was hired for a courier job in Mexico City after being mistaken for another lady. Her age, including her white hair, would make her unexpected by the CIA's moles. From this auspicious beginning, readers were lucky to have 13 subsequent novels to enjoy.

5 out of 5 stars.

Ashes to Ashes Crust to Crust

Ashes to Ashes Crust to Crust is the second Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley. In this installment of the series pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is trying to keep her restaurant afloat in the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. To boost her bottom line, she sets her sights on winning the $10,000 prize in the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. In her corner, she has her strong-willed, “big-boned” cat Butterball, her wisecracking BFF Sonya, her cantankerous great-aunt Biz, and a new recipe that she calls her Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza. While Delilah and her team have been focused on pumping out perfect pizza pies, her ex-fiancé has cozied up to a new squeeze, juice bar owner Jordan Watts, Delilah’s contest rival. When one of Jordan’s juice bar customers is poisoned by a tainted smoothie, Delilah becomes a suspect. She must act fast to determine who put the poison in the smoothie.

I enjoyed this book. It's a good sequel to the first book in the series Six Feet Deep Dish. Delilah is becoming closer to police investigator Calvin Capone, the great-grandson of the mobster Al Capone. I am sure that they will become a couple soon and I would love to read more about their relationship. Right now, Calvin is irritated over Delilah's interference with his investigation. I wonder, though, how a police investigator and a amateur sleuth can be romantically together given their opposite roles in murder investigations. There is an attraction between them so I definitely see them growing into a couple.

There were a few new characters introduced in the series. Harold Heyer, president of the Geneva Bay Convention and Vistors Bureau. Molly McClintock, affectionately known as Mac, is Melody’s cousin. Jordan Watts, owner of Juice Revolution, and her employee Jarka, who was a doctor in Bulgaria but until her English improves and she can take the necessary tests she can only find work at a smoothie shop. Mac also works at the juice bar. All these characters had a role to play in the plot and they will be important in subsequent novels in the series because they provide for the possibility of more story ideas.

There are recipes in the back of the book for several gourmet doughs and a few pizza toppings. Personally I am not brave enough to make them but they are interesting to look at. 

4 out of 5 stars.

The Path of the Crooked

The Path of the Crooked is a charming Christian cozy mystery. It is the first book in the Hope Street Church Mystery Series by Ellery Adams. It was originally published under the pen name Jennifer Stanley but the author revised the story and has published it under the pen name Ellery Adams. There were only three books in the original series and I am not sure whether she will continue to write novels for the series.

The main character is Cooper Lee. She is a copy machine repairman who has recently been dumped by her boyfriend of five years. While repairing a copier at a client's office Cooper meets Brooke Hughes, a member of the Hope Street Church. The two ladies have a short conversation wherein Brooke gives Cooper a church brochure and invites her to church. Cooper accepts the brochure and leaves.

Later that evening she considers whether to visit the church on the next Sunday. Her family sees the brochure and asks her if she will go. They also are devout Christians who hope Cooper will return to church after a several year absence. When she visits Hope Street Church a few weeks later Cooper meets the members of the Sunrise Bible Study group. During that initial meeting the news broke that Brooke Hughes had been murdered. Brooke's husband Wesley had been arrested for the murder and the group cannot believe that he killed his wife. They begin their own investigation hoping that they can free Wesley Hughes.

I absolutely loved this story. There were plenty of clues for the group to follow up on. I was surprised that the police did not play much into the investigation but perhaps they will in future installments of the series. The pace was perfect, not too fast and not too slow. The characters were memorable. Each Bible study member were quirky characters that made the sleuthing entertaining. Savannah is legally blind and is the leader of the group. Nathan is a love interest for Cooper. TV meteorologist Bryant, realtor Trish, Jake and Quinton complete the group. It was fascinating that the group did the sleuthing together. I have never read a book where there was more than one amateur sleuth. However, in this instance, it works. Cooper's family was also memorable. Her mother is constantly cooking and baking for people in need and reading about her foods made me hungry. There are recipes of hers at the back of the book. Cooper's sister Ashley is also quirky. Ashley is an overbearing lover of fashion, expensive restaurants and is a social climber. Cooper herself is interesting. She is a smoker who dresses in a masculine style and is fine to be by herself alot. All of these folks will contribute to fantastic storylines in the future.

The Path of the Crooked was an excellent read and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Six Feet Deep Dish

Six Feet Deep Dish is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Mindy Quigley. The main character is Delilah O'Leary and and she has just opened up a new pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Funded by her rich fiance Sam Van Meter, Delilah is realizing her lifetime dream of owning a restaurant. To help her out is sous chef Sonya Dokter, a sassy, plus size woman who likes rockabilly fashion. The police detective is Al Capone's great-grandson Calvin Capone. A few other characters who work at the pizzeria round out the characters. 

Just after the restaurant's soft opening, Delilah's fiance dumps her and leaves her with their plus size cat Butterball. Delilah and Sam are polar opposites with Delilah being a type A person and Sam being laid back. Her aunt Biz and her caretaker Jeremy join the crowd on opening night. However, early in the evening Jeremy wheels Aunt Biz outside for some fresh air. Soon Delilah and her diners hear a gunshot and run outside. There they find Jeremy's body and a gun in Aunt Biz's hand. Aunt Biz denies killing Jeremy but doesn't know what happened. Detective Capone opens an investigation and threatens to run the new restaurant to the ground while pursuing Aunt Biz. In order to save her aunt, Delilah has to find out the identity of the killer.

This is an excellent start to a new series. There are several quirky characters to base future stories on. Sonya is always going to be the comedian with sassy remarks. I am going to love her the most. Detective Capone is a little stiff but I am certain that he will mellow out and probably be a love interest for Delilah. Daniel the bartender is a kayaker and Melody is the sacharine sweet hostess. Rabbit has just been released from jail and begged for a job to support his family. He's the dishwasher. I can think of many scenarios for future stories from this gang.

I love the pizzeria, Geneva and Chicago settings. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is a well known weekend getaway for Chicagoans. The Chicago setting comes into play because Delilah decorated her restaurant with posters of Chicago mobsters. These settings alone will offer the author many plot premises.

The Six Feet story was well paced with plenty of twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Letters of Trust

Letters of Trust is the first book in The Friendship Letters duology by Wanda Brunstetter. The series features Doretta Schwartz as the letter writer. Doretta has always loved writing and receiving letters and she believes that letter writing could be a ministry for her. 

The publisher's summary:

Life is good on their Pennsylvania Amish farm for newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp—until the day Vic’s youngest brother drowns in their pond and Vic turns to alcohol to numb the pain. Things get so bad that Vic loses his job and their marriage is coming apart. Eleanor is desperate to help her husband and writes letters to her friend, Doretta, living in Indiana for advice. The trust Eleanor places in her friend and the gentle words she receives in return are a balm for even darker days to come.

There wasn't much action in this novel. At the conclusion of the first third of the book I found myself questioning what was the point of this novel. Then Vic's brother Eddie died and the pace picked up little. This story has a simple plot though that is centered around character growth, not actual plot action. 

The author tackles grief, alcoholism and depression here. These are not normal plots for Amish fiction but it shows how the genre has grown over the years. It was obvious how the story would end but I enjoyed the ride. The reader sees first hand how an unexpected death within a family affects each family member. For Vic Lapp it meant becoming addicted to alcohol. He used beer to ease the pain he felt from his young brother's death. 

Eleanor seemed like a doormat to me. She was too sweet and easy going given the poor treatment that she received from her husband. She reminded me of the wives of the fundamentalist polygamy sects in the western states who are trained to "keep sweet."  When Eleanor finally got angry I was so happy.

I prefer stories with more action and am only rating the book 3 out of 5 stars.

Lemon Curd Killer

Lemon Curd Killer is the 25th installment of Laura Childs' Indigo Teashop cozy mystery series. As expected, it's a fantastic read. If you love afternoon tea, you will love this series. While the main character, Theodosia Browning, is an amateur sleuth, alot of the sleuthing takes place at her tea events. The reader gets to read about the foods offered at Theo's Indigo Tea Shop as well as the teas that her customers are drinking. It always makes me feel like I am there sipping and supping.

In Lemon Curd Killer, Theodosia has been tapped to host a fancy Limon Tea in a lemon orchard near Charleston, South Carolina. This event is the first event in Charleston's annual Fashion Week. However, when Theodosia retreats to the kitchen in order to get more lemon curd for the scones, she finds the body of one of the fashion designers with her head slumped over in to the lemon curd. The body belongs to Nadine, the sister of series character Delaine Dish. In the series tradition, a relative of the murdered woman asks Theodosia to investigate the death. Nadine's daughter Bettina has heard that Theodosia has solved several murders and asks her to look into her mother's death. With more tea events and fashion shows ongoing, Theo and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley begin observing and questioning Nadine's business partners.

I loved this story! I have always enjoyed the books in this seris and this one is one of my favorites. As usual, this book is a page turner. It is also a comfortable, easygoing read. I enjoyed visiting with the regular characters once more. They are always cheery and seem like old friends to me. 

Theodosia's investigation is spot on. She doesn't have much to go on other than gossip among the characters but Theo is able to think through the information that she is hearing and digest it properly. She is always asking herself if she is considering new information in the correct light. As another character is murdered, Theodosia is able to cut through all the unnecessary facts and figure out the identity of the killer.

One of the authors best!  5 out of 5 stars.

The Orchard

The Orchard is an Amish fiction story that takes place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The main character, Ellie Hostettler, grew up near an apple orchard that her father owned. Twin brother Evan was expected to take over the business but Evan's interest in the ways of the Englischers has been disconcerting to his family. Evan got caught attending the funeral of an English friend, Jack Herr, who died in Vietnam. Evan has been highly influenced by his friendship with Jack. He is considering joining the army to fight in Vietnam and when he fails to register as a conscientious objector the Hostettler family is devastated. Meanwhile the ladies are all trying to find husbands and their Amish reserve prevents them from being proactive.  

The Orchard was a relaxing read and it was difficult to put down. I did so but only for an hour because I wanted to know what was happening with Evan. Ellie's feelings about the peacefulness of the orchard made me feel peaceful too. She enjoyed walking there most days, especially when family drama was upsetting her. I can relate to this as walking through a park helps me deal with drama as well. Of course, it wouldn't be Amish fiction without romance. The romance side to the story was sweet but what I enjoyed most about this tale is the intrusion of the Vietnam War in Amish life.

5 out of 5 stars.

Murder on the Beach

Murder on the Beach is the third book in a cozy mystery series called Chef Dani Rossetti Cozy Mysteries. There are 9 books in the series to date. I selected the book for the Calendar of Crime Challenge because it was published in the month of February. 

The publisher's summary:

Jackson Kelly may have been middle-aged and the vice-president of the exclusive Oceana Resort Hotel, but Jackson loved to surf and he loved the ladies, who were mostly young women he referred to as his “diversions.”When he dies on the beach while surfing with no apparent injuries, the question is: “What happened to him?" Too bad he had an angry looking rash on his leg. And Dani and Arthur were only at the resort to cater a dinner meeting for the resort’s stockholders! When the coroner says, yes, it was murder, they have their work cut out for them – another mystery to solve.The owner of the resort and his family have a lot to gain financially if Jackson’s dead. But maybe it was a crime of passion. His wife or current “diversion” could have done it. A lot of interests to be protected. Greed, revenge, hatred – those are all possible motives.

While cozy mystery writers are known for testing the limits of suspension of belief, I think Ms. Harman went too far. There were two sleuths in the story: Chef Dani and Arthur, her one-time bodyguard and owner of a private investigation firm. While Arthur was hired by the owners of the resort and had a reason to investigate, Dani didn't. I don't know why she questioned some of the suspects and I cannot imagine why anyone would allow themselves to be questioned by a chef about a murder. Since this is the first book in the series that I have read, perhaps how these two characters came to do their sleuthing together would have been explained in earlier novels. It just seemed odd to me that the chef did more sleuthing than the professional investigator.

What I did find interesting was that digital vehicle forensics was supposed to be used in the investigation. I had never heard about this type of forensics before. However, after Arthur brought this idea up with his clients, it should have been used to determine who the killer was. It not only wasn't used, Arthur never even looked into the car owned by one of the suspects that he was interested in. Why was digital vehicle forensics even mentioned?

One more thing bothered me. When visiting chef Dani arrived at the resort, she was given the Presidential Suite. Granted, Dani is a celebrity chef but this still was odd to me.

There were several flaws in the story but it still had some appeal for me. I enjoyed the first half of the book but when Jackson Kelly died at the midpoint, it fell flat. The second half of the novel, which was the investigation, was not plausible.

2 out of 5 stars.

Vanish in Plain Sight

Vanish in Plain Sight is the second book in the Brotherhood of the Raven trilogy. The trilogy is an Amish suspense series. Most of the main characters in Vanish are different from those in Murder in Plain Sight, the first book in the trilogy. 

The publisher's summary:  

Since she was a little girl, Marisa Angelo has been haunted by the image of her mother walking away, suitcase in hand, to return to her Amish roots. Marisa and her "Englischer" father never saw or heard from her again. Now Marisa has received a shocking call from police. Her mother's bloodstained suitcase was found hidden inside the wall of a Pennsylvania Dutch farmhouse. Desperate for answers, Marisa heads to Lancaster County. But no one—not the police or Marisa's tight-lipped Amish relatives—can explain what happened to her mother. Only one man is as determined as Marisa to unravel the mystery—Link Morgan, the handsome ex-military loner who found the suitcase in the house he inherited from his uncle. Now both Link's and Marisa's family members are implicated in the decades-old disappearance. The secret lies somewhere in the quaint Amish settlement. But someone will do anything to ensure the truth remains hidden forever. 

 I did not like the novel much. I could not connect with any of the characters, even those I liked from the first book in the series. There was no sense of drama of any kind nor any suspense which is strange as the series is advertised as Amish suspense. At one point in Marisa's investigation she was told her next step was to speak with the Amish Bishop. It took her 40 pages to do this and nothing happened in those 40 pages.

The mystery of the disappearance of Marisa's mother was compelling and I wanted to know what happened to her. The pages devoted to the disappearance were interesting. However, I skipped pages to reach the end of the story. It was unremarkable.

Yeah, I had to tell the truth. 1 out of 5 stars.

The Sterling Affair

The Sterling Affair is the 8th installment of the Forensic Genealogist Series by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. I have read four other books in the series but not in order of publication so I was surprised to read in Sterling that the main character, Morton Farrier, was married with one child. The plot for Sterling is a bit more complex than prior novels. I am not sure how I feel about that as I loved the earlier books. However, the author is keeping the series fresh. His last two books are part of a new series, Venator Cold Case Series, wherein an investigative genetic geneology company, called Venator of course, is used to solve homicides. Venator is introduced in Sterling .

Back to the book at hand. . . The publisher's summary:  

When an unannounced stranger comes calling at Morton Farrier’s front door, he finds himself faced with the most intriguing and confounding case of his career to-date as a forensic genealogist. He agrees to accept the contract to identify a man who had been secretly living under the name of his new client’s long-deceased brother. Morton must use his range of resources and research skills to help him deconstruct this mysterious man’s life, ultimately leading him back into the murky world of 1950s international affairs of state. Meanwhile, Morton is faced with his own alarmingly close DNA match which itself comes with far-reaching implications for the Farriers.

I did not enjoy the book as much as I expected. The subplot concerning the spies was complex and while I normally love spy thrillers, I missed the simplicity of the earlier novels which focused on how Morton went about his genealogical research. As someone who enjoys doing this kind of research, the earlier novels hit my spot. That said, both of the book's subplots were intricately woven and well researched. I can see how Goodwin has improved his writing.

The story began with an Abstract that discussed the removal of 1,000 files by civil servants from England's National Archives relating to MI5, MI6 and MI8. The files were taken to Whitehall. This intrigued me and is part of the reason why I tried to concentrate on the spy subplot to make sure that I didn't miss anything. The information for the Abstract came from an article in The Guardian on December 26, 2017. Each of the files contained dozens of papers and some of these files included documents on the Falklands, Northern Ireland's Troubles, Britain's administration in Palestine, and tests on polio vaccines. 

I am sorry to say that Sterling is only a 3 out of 5 stars as Goodwin is one of my favorite authors.

Murder in Plain Sight

Murder in Plain Sight is the first book in the Brotherhood of the Raven trilogy that takes place in Amish country. It is different from the usual Amish fiction as this one is a murder mystery. Author Marta Perry has published 118 novels! All of them are Amish fiction. I enjoyed this book so I think I will be very busy reading some of her novels this year. 

The publisher's summary:  

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

The mystery concerning who killed Cherry Wilson was expertly plotted. However, our protagonist Jessica Langdon is a lousy attorney. No, this is not stated in the story but it is obvious that she is incompetent because she was sharing confidential information about the case with most of the characters in the story. She let herself be guided by them.

Jessica's character is the only character I didn't like much. She is not plausible as an attorney. Trey is interesting in that he is an Englischer who is fully trusted by his Amish neighbors. His mother Geneva is a sweet, wise woman and I would love to read more stories that include them both. The Amish Bishop was portrayed as a kindly old soul. He was not the usual ornery, stay away from the English, boss that I am accustomed to read about. All of these characters would make awesome series characters. Jessica needs work though. The budding romance between Jessica and Trey was hard for me to accept. While opposites attract, I felt that the author was telling the reader and not showing the reader how their relationship developed.

Despite the negatives I described above, the solving of the crime was suspenseful and kept me reading. 3 out of 5 stars.