{I've Been Reading} Antiques Liquidation

 Antiques Liquidation by Barbara Allan 

A middle-of-the-night trip to buy some new old stock vintage toys and a barrel of buttons plunges Vivian and Brandy into another murder investigation. The books in this series are always fun. This one has the usual on-page squabbling between Vivian and Brandy (and their long-suffering editor) and  quite a few suggestions for  recipes to use up a large online order of rusks. (I had to stop reading and do an online search just to find out what those were!) There's also more than one murder to be solved, but telling you who died or how the bodies were discovered would spoil some of the best parts. The book is fast paced and funny and I definitely didn't guess where the plot was headed. 

The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce 

Childhood friends cross paths once again. They're originally met in the small town where Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft and thrown down an old well which still stands in the woods, dark secrets waiting in its depths. In one particularly entertaining scene,  mother lets her children climb on the low stone walls, insisting that they're too smart to fall in. Elena and Cathy are both writing books about Ilsbeth, both convinced that they have the right to tell her story. 

The book is creepy and atmospheric, but at times I found myself struggling to keep the characters straight because multiple women are telling the story.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. This post contains affiliate links.