{I've Been Reading} The Hidden Corpse and Antiques Wanted

The Hidden Corpse by Debra Sennefelder

Food blogger Hope Early agrees not to mention the mishap in her elderly neighbor's kitchen, when Peggy fell asleep with a pan filled with onions and peppers still cooking on the stove. There was no real harm done and Peggy promises not to do any more cooking. But a day later the house across the street goes up in flames and Hope feels responsible for not taking action sooner. Then a second body is discovered in the house and it becomes clear that the cause of the fire was arson and not an old woman's failing memory.

Although Hope's stint as a reality television chef is mentioned in the cover copy of both this and the previous book in the series it doesn't come up in the books. What we do get a lot of detail about is her life as a  professional blogger. I enjoy the way cozy mysteries give me a glimpse into someone else's life, but there's a lot here about Hope's daily routines. It works with the plot (in this book she's taking a course to improve her photography skills) but if you're not interested in social media or SEO, it might get a bit tedious.

This is the third of Debra Sennefelder's books that I've read and I definitely want to spend more time with her characters.



Antiques Wanted by Barbara Allan

Vivian Borne, born to be sheriff.... Her daughter Brandy helped come up with the slogan, but the thought that Vivian could actually win the election is a scary one. The two are visiting a local nursing home to collect items for a white elephant sale when an oxygen tank explodes, injuring Brandy and killing the nursing home resident. There's nothing for Vivian to do but schedule that bunion surgery she's been putting off and check herself in to the home facility where she can investigate the death while she's recovering. It shouldn't interfere with her campaign too much.

The Trash N Treasures series is always fun, with both Vivian and Brandy telling the story and arguing with each other and their editor on the pages of the book.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. All opinions are my own.