Murder Pays a Call by Nancy J. Cohen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Bad Hair Mystery series, so I was excited to read this new one. At first, it was a little hard to get used to the new characters, but I loved the setting in Central Florida, where I used to live, and I soon warmed up to the characters. The plot was good, and at one point I had 10 suspects with no idea of who could be the killer.
Keri runs a personal conceirge service. She goes to deliver groceries to one of her clients, only to find her dead. Who would have wanted to kill such a kind old lady? She does not believe it was a botched robbery, as the police think. As she starts investigating, she finds out that Fiona was hiding quite a few skeletons in her closet.
I will continue this series.

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Killing Me Soufflé by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Killing Me Soufflé, Jules and friends go visit the soon-to-be-opened restaurant that hired Stephany and Sterling. It just happens to be in a resort where Jules used to spend summers with her family. Jules and Carlos want to help out, but S&S seem to have most everything under control. Everything but the nasty resort manager, Erick, who is making everyone's life miserable. Then Jules finds Erick dead at the bottom of a cliff near the resort, and the search is on. Lance and the Professor soon get roped in to help, both opening the restaurant and finding the killer. Good plot, and I didn't figure out the killer until just before the reveal. However, I missed Ashland and Torte. They have become characters of their own. I can't wait to meet the new staff hired to replace those who left.


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Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enola is insulted by a prospective client, who expected to find Mr. Ragostin, instead of a teen girl, at the Perditorian's office. She gets enough information out of his rants, to get curious and try to find his lost friend. The client turns out to be Ruyard Kipling, and Enola finds herself following clues like a rabid dog, a vigilante gang, a flower seller, and an obscure and experimental precursor of vaccines.

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Catch Me If You Candy by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jules and the gang at Torte are busy after the Halloween parade in Ashland. After they close, they find a body, dressed as a dragon, dead at Torte's door. Could this be related to the strange message found in an old Mah Jong set? Or was it a case of jealous fur baby mamas trying to get their pooches in a play?

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Death by Smoothie by Laura Levine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jaine gets hired to streamline a play based on an old TV show. When the main actress, who got the job only because she's flirting with the director, is poisoned during rehearsal, Jaine wants to clear her name. Way too many people wanted Misty out of the way. There are at least two people she was blackmailing, the high school nerd who she'd tortured, the sibling of the woman she practily killed, the ex-boyfriend, the chef she got fired, the actress who should have gotten the part and who knows how many more.
Her cat Prozac is up to no good sneaking out of the apartment and creating havoc at a neighbor's house; Lance, her next-door friend is once again in love; and BFF Kandi is trying to talk her into a Bachelor's auction that she can't afford.
There are lots of suspects in this one, and the killer turned out to be second on my list.

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A Clue in the Crumbs by Lucy Burdette
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Scottish sisters that we met in A Scone of Contention come to Key West to do a US version of their TV baking contest show. None of the contestants is very good, but the best one's husband is killed, and Hailey, Miss Gloria and the sisters set out to find the killer so the show can go on. Lots of red herrings in this one. I was sure I had the killer nailed, but I was wrong. Includes recipes.


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Title Wave by Lorna Barrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy mysteries set in cruise ships and this one was no exception. Angie and Tricia take a book-themed cruise with several of the booksellers in town. One of the authors onboard is found dead, and it looks like a suicide. Tricia has her suspicions, though. The author was known for being mean and there are several people who would like her dead. Was it the unpaid assistant? The rude autograph collector? The editor with a secret grudge?
I thought it was kind of odd that the text kept switching from British to American words (lift/elevator; chips/crisps), but it was an Irish ship, so maybe they were trying to fit in with the crew.

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Birder, She Wrote by Donna Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Langslow clan are getting into beekeeping, while Grandma Cordelia is being followed by an annoying magazine reporter writing an article about her artist colony and other accomplishments. Meanwhile, both the beekeeping expert and the town's weird complainer are missing. One of them is found dead and the other wounded. The town's mayor asks Meg to run interference with the other complainers after a bunch of beehives are exterminated. It's all very confusing for a while. I wasn't sure of the killer, but there was so much going on. It was still a fun read.
I received an ARC copy in exchange of an honest opinion.

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Perfect Sax by Jerrilyn Farmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a few crimes going on in this book, and whether or not they were committed by the same person or if they are related is not clear until close to the end. The mystery kept twisting and turning every few pages and it was not easy to guess the killer (or the blackmailer, thief, vandals, etc.) I enjoyed it very much, and am surprised I never read this series, as I own most of them. I'm kicking them closer to the top of mt. TBR.

Madeline is catering a fancy fundraiser but gets stranded and by the time she finds a ride home, one of her catering help staff is found dead in her room. Was it a robbery gone wrong, or was someone after Madeline, since the waitress had the same build and hair color? Is the handsome guy who gave her a ride who he says he is? Who stole the saxophone that was the fundraiser star object? And many other riddles.

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Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sloan finds her husband in fragante delicto in his family pub. Sloan of course decides to leave the pub and find a job elsewhere. Garrett is trying to open a new brewery and needs help, so he hires her. The day after the soft opening, they find a body in one of the fermenting tanks, and Sloan's husband's lighter on the floor by it. Small town gossip soon abounds. The killer was on my list, but there were plenty of twists to keep me on my toes.

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Cinderella Six Feet Under by Maia Chance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I remember enjoying the first one of the series, but I didn't remember the characters very well. It took me a few chapters to warm up to them, but I enjoyed the mystery. The killer was on my list, but not at the top. Ophelia and Prue arrive in Paris looking for Prue's mother, but she is gone. Prue's stepfamily is very strange, but when her half-sister is found dead, in a Cinderella type dress, and on a pumpkin patch, they will need to use all their wits to find the killer.

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Muffin But the Truth by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jules, Carlos and Ramiro are glamping and catering a corporate team-building event. When one of the executives' bodies is found floating in the river, it seems like an accident. But the Professor soon rules it murder, and they must find the killer before they strike again.

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Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Marla and Dalton attend a reenactment of a Seminole Civil-war era massacre at a local Pioneer village, and of course, a dead body is found nearby. Who could have wanted Phil, the administrator and pseudo-sheriff dead? Suspects include the man who runs the gift shop, the blacksmith, the farmer, the teacher, the minister, the shaman, and the sister and brother duo who are real descendants of the original owners of the land. So many suspects kept me guessing who the killer could be. Meanwhile, Ryder is almost a toddler, Brianna is ready to leave for college, and Dalton is ready to retire. I hope this book is not the last one in the series!

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Kale to the Queen by Nell Hampton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute cozy with a very interesting setting. I did figure out who the murderer was halfway through the book, and I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well, but maybe in the next book they develop more.
Carrie Ann, a chef in Chicago, gets the chance of a lifetime to become personal chef to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge (who are never identified by name.) First day on the job, one of her assistants is found dead in the greenhouse. Not a good start.

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Crossed by Death by A.C.F. Bookens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some things that happen at the begining of the book were confusing, but they are all explained somewhere in the text. I felt some connection with Paisley, as I became a first time mom at 46, but I also felt that there was not enough background story for a first in series book. There were only a few suspects, so I did guess the killer, but overall it was a good mystery.

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A Dark and Stormy Tea by Laura Childs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was a dark and stormy night.... Theo is trying to get back to the tea shop from the Heritage Society, in a foggy, rainy night when she notices 2 figures in a cementery. One of the figures falls to the ground, and the other flashes a knive at her before running away. Did she just witness a murder? Yes, a serial killer is back in Charleston after a 7 year absence. Will they find the killer before Theo becomes the next victim?

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Spouse on Haunted Hill by E.J. Copperman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alison's ex follows their daughter to New Jersey and they figure out that he's running away from some trouble. Alison is not thrilled to have him locally, and tells him he has to leave in two days. With mobster-types looking for the swine, Paul the ghost working on some electric experiment, and a policewoman who refuses to entered the haunted house, Alison has hands full. Then one of the mobster-types ends up dead, and all hell breaks loose.

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Book Clubbed by Lorna Barrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The secretary of the Chamber of Commerce is killed when a bookshelf falls on top of her. Tricia and Angelica rent out her old storage place, and soon find that Betsy was a hoarder. Then the autopsy report comes back, and the sisters find themselves searching for a killer.

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Mocha, She Wrote by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Andy gets picked to compete in the West Coast Barista Cup, but one of the judges is found dead with Andy's drink in hand. Of course, Lance and Jules set out to find the killer. The list of suspects was not too long, and I did guess whodonit, but it was still fun.

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Booked for Death by Victoria Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charlotte inherits a book-themed B&B from her aunt Isabella, who used to be a social butterfly. She keeps the Inn's theme going by hosting book clubs and events themed around an author. While holding a week around Josephine Tey's books, One of her guests is killed. He was rude, boastful, and a womanizer, so there are plenty of suspects, from his wife and daughter, to the son of a man he scammed. Very good mystery, and I will continue the series.

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