Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite series, but this new-but-a-flashback book was a little disappointing. It has a Christmas setting and is very light. There is no mention of the Mike-Norman-Hannah triangle, although they do show up often. There is no murder, just an attempted one. The mystery centers on a man that shows up at the cookie shop with amnesia, and the MC's search for his identity. It was a cute story, and the recipes were good as always, but there was a lot of repeating, and the first few chapters read like a commercial for Kraft Brands.

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Gold Rush Girl by Avi Lots of historical detail about San Francisco in 1849 dot this girl adventure. Fourteen-year old Tory and her brother Jacob are left by their alone in a tent home while he goes and joins the gold miners. Tory tries to keep them safe and fed by dressing as a boy and working several jobs. She makes friends with two boys who help her when Jacob disappears and they fear he's been crimped. The only distraction on this couldn't put down novel were the many words in italics at the beginning. I hope this becomes a series.

Murder Most Austen by Tracy Kiely
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elizabeth and aunt Winnie head out to Bath to attend a Jane Austen conference. A controversial Professor gets killed, and Winnie's friend, a vocal opponent, it the main suspect, so they offer to help. There are a few suspects, between an ex-wife, daughter in law from hell, student lover and other Austen fans. This is the fourth in the series, and I recall reading the first one a long time ago. I'll have to pick up the others.

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Mayhem at the Orient Express by Kylie Logan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First in a new-to-me series, this was very slow at the beginning, but got interesting quickly. Bea moves to an island on Lake Eire to open a B&B. Her previous life is a mystery, but it's explained as the book goes along. It's April, and a freak snowstorm strands her one guest and some islanders (who lost power in their homes) inside her home. Among them are her judge-mandated book club members, who are in the process of reading Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

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 "Here Today, Gone Tamale (A Taste of Texas Mystery #1) by Rebecca Adler

Good thing I don't like tamales or I would have been drooling throughout the book. Josie moves back to Broken Boot from Austin, and is helping her aunt and uncle at their Mexican restaurant. When preparing a huge batch of tamales for a festival, one of the volunteers is killed. There's plenty of quirky characters, small town lifestyle, and talk of food. The characters were not fully developed, but it's the first of the series, so maybe they'll grow little by little. The murdered was on my suspect list, but not at the top. I will see if I can get the next one in the series, and then decide if I'll follow it.

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A Ghostly Light by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book of this series that I read, and at first it was a little slow, mostly due to the fact that I'm not into home improvement. However, I liked the setting, a lighthouse island off San Francisco, and the story was very good. Although I had guessed one of the mysteries, the killer and motive took me by surprise. If I have to read another home improvement book for a challenge, I'll pick up one of these.


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Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Clare wakes up in a park bench, after missing for a week, with no recollection of the last 15 years. Mike is having problems dealing with his fiancee not remembering him. Ex-husband Matteo takes advantage that she remembers him, although what she remembers is the divorce and his betrayal. Meanwhile, Clare has to stay out of sight until she remembers what happened right before she disappeared, when she was with a hotel heiress right before she was kidnapped. There are a lot of twists and turns as Clare starts remembering things bit by bit. I stayed up until 3 am to finish. The mystery was excellent, and I loved seeing Clare fall in love in Mike again.


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Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon by Nancy Atherton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Renn Faire comes to Finch, and accidents start to happen. Is someone trying to kill the king? Are they really accidents? Or is there a jealous lover out for revenge. With the help from Aunt Dimity and Bill, Lori sets out to discover the culprit.

This is a very sweet series, where the mystery rarely involves murder. I loved the behind-the-scenes look at Renn Fairs.


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Fruit of All Evil by Paige Shelton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 Becca is helping plan Linda & Drew's wedding, as he will have to deploy soon on a secret mission. At a dinner at Drew's mother's home, the host is strangely absent. That is, until the guests find her dead on her bed. Will the killer be found before the wedding date? The murderer was a little bit easy to discern, but the mystery was good anyway. There's recipes, a cute calf, a cat scared of chickens, and some romance.


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On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jules and Sterling head off to a mountain lake resort to cater an event. Her almost-ex-husband turns up and quickly charms all he meets, except the cranky, drunk bartender. A freak snow storm hits (shades of Agatha Christie!) and strands them all at the resort. When Jules goes to get sausages for breakfast, she finds the bartender dead and in the freezer. Can they find the killer before the roads are cleared?

I really like the characters in this series, as well as the recipes in the back. Jules is sweet, and we finally get to meet Carlos. Some readers may find the stranded trope annoying, but I enjoyed it.


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Easter Hair Hunt by Nancy J. Cohen


This book kept me guessing, as there are a lot of possible killers. I only guessed the killer a heartbeat before Marla did.
Marla is heavily pregnant but that doesn't stop her from investigating when her friend Blinky goes missing at the same time a body is found during an Easter egg hunt.
I love this series and the characters, and the SE Florida setting. I'm even making a list of possible names for the baby.

I received a free copy in exchange for a review.


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