{I've Been Reading} Three Fudges and a Baby

Three Fudges and a Baby by Nancy Coco

Can fudge maker Allie McMurphy clear the name of her best friend's midwife before the baby is born? It's not looking good, since Hannah was found holding the gun and the baby is already overdue. The Candy Coated mystery series is everything I love about cozies, with an interesting setting I'm not likely to ever get to in real life and a fun cast of characters. Although I've only read a few of this twelve book series, there was just enough backstory to keep me from feeling lost.  I was seriously tempted to put this book down just long enough to make one on fudge recipes included between the chapters, but the plot kept me reading.  I definitely want to try making some fudge and  want to spend more time with Allie and her friends in her historic hotel on Mackinac island. 

Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke 

The Record Shop Mystery Series keeps getting better and better! In this one, a killer strikes during a violent storm that knocks out the power and phones. The victim is an investor who had his eyes on Sip and Spin Records and was already involved with a number of local businesses, leaving some of his new partners thrilled and others unhappy...maybe angry enough to want to do away with him? The blocked roads and lack of communication really complicate things, making this one a slightly more suspenseful than the usual cozy. It's set in a tight knit community with a bunch of likeable characters and the quirky names of the shop's coffee creations add to the fun.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} The Playgroup

 The Playgroup by Leah Mercer

The Nest, a community run nursery co-op, should have been where little Florence was safest. Bur a responsible adult made a mistake and now the little girl is in the hospital with life threatening injuries. Accusations are flying. The depiction of the accident itself is absolutely chilling and although I was concerned to see that the chapters alternate between four different women, that didn't turn out to be a problem and it was always clear who I was reading about at the moment. All of the women are desperate to save their own hides, no matter who they have to blame to keep their own names clear. Everyone is hiding dark secrets and would do just about anything to keep them. This one is a fast paced page turner. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} The Perfect Couple

 The Perfect Couple by Jan McLoughlin

His job offers the young couple the opportunity to relocate to England for a year and live in  gothic mansion while he works. She starts to hear and see things as soon as she's alone in the house. He's kind of a jerk, policing her vocabulary and behavior so she won't seem too American and embarrass him. Their new home is near the small village her grandmother came from and she begins to hear rumors of a family curse. I mostly enjoyed this one. The Jayce compares her situation to The Shining and, while that makes total sense, I think I was getting more of a Rosemary's Baby or Yellow Wallpaper vibe. It was great until the ending, which was a bit of a let down after the author had built up so much great suspense. 

The Other Wife by Danielle Ramsay

"And if I do, what becomes of her? Of my wife?"
"You live your life as if she never existed." 

The protagonist finds herself in a stark white room, cared for by an unsympathetic housekeeper who tells her that she's suffering from memory loss caused by her migraines. She's kept drugged, confined to her  room. I had a hard time identifying with the woman because, as convinced as she is that she's not Mrs. Langdon and doesn't belong in the remote Scottish estate with this man who claimes to be her husband, she never explains where she thinks she should be. The first half of the book is extremely repetetive and absolutely drags. Then it got better. I had guessed the big twist, but the way the author pulls it all together is much more satisfying than I expected it to be. This is a unique domestic thriller with a traditional Gothic feel to it. 

The Nurse by Jenna Kernan

A newly graduated nurse is hired to take care of a wealthy doctor's wife, making sure she takes her pills on time and eats her meals, driving her on her errands and to her golf club. Doctor Roth warns Emily that his wife has delusions, that she'll claim responsibility for things that never happened...but Emily soon begins to suspect that her client is over medicated and might need her help. This is a slow burn that has the feel of an old fashioned gothic thriller. Once Emily starts uncovering the Roth family's secrets, it's a wild ride to the conclusion. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

{I've Been Reading} Bye, Baby

 

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

After realizing that her baby has been stolen from her stroller, influencer Cassie Barnwell stands in her apartment, screaming for the woman who used to be her best friend. In the apartment downstairs, Billie stands with the baby in her arms, thrilled that after pushing her away for so long Cassie finally wants her. This is the best domestic thriller I've read in I don't know how long. As the plot moved in unexpected directions, I found myself aching for both characters and hoping that things would somehow turn out okay. 

If I Lose Her by Brianne Sommerville 

The marketing materials warned that this one is dark and it definitely is, at first, in a misery lit sort of way.  It's a different style of thriller. The first chapters feel more like a true story than a domestic thriller. Gradually, the pace picks up and the plot starts to twist until it reaches an unexpected conclusion.  Jo's fear and confusion are realistically portrayed, especially when she makes mistakes that any mother could have made. 

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera 

Lucy was found wandering and covered in her best friend's blood and doesn't remember what happened. Everyone believes that she killed her best friend, but Lucy herself doesn't know. I absolutely loved this one. Chapters alternate between Lucy's point of view and new episodes of a popular true crime podcast  that is investigating the crime. The only thing that's immediately clear is that Lucy really doesn't know if she killed her friend or not and she's a fun character to spend some time with. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} The Baby I Stole

 

The Baby I Stole by McGarvey Black 

This is an entertaining read if you don't think about the details too much. How can a woman just come home from an afternoon at the beach with a stranger's baby in her arms? I spent the whole book waiting for things to fall apart, and they eventually did because nothing else could possibly happen. By the end things actually made a lot more sense than I would've expected them to. 

The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong 

When I choose this book to read, I didn't realize that it was the second in a series and apparently the characters were introduced in a previous series. I feel like I was missing a lot of necessary details, although I warmed up to the characters eventually. A ten year old boy goes missing after reporting that he saw a bear just outside a tiny well-hidden forest town. As the search for him intensifies, it becomes clear that it wasn't an animal who took him, it was a person....and there aren't many suspects in the isolated wilderness. 

Mrs. Morris and the Mermaid by Traci Wilton

I picked up the eighth Salem B&B Mystery because the mermaid festival sounded fun. The actress who played the mermaid in a cult classic film has agreed to appear on the lead float and her rival, who starred in a more recent remake, is also on the scene, stirring up conflict. The author does a great job of portraying the conflict between fans of the remake and fans of the original and capturing the business of the festival. That might be my one complaint -- there's so much going on that it distracts from the mystery. Add in the witches and ghost that are already present in  this series and there's a lot of magical fun to enjoy.  

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} DM Me for Murder

 DM Me for Murder by Sarah E. Burr 

When Coco Cline arrives for a meeting with mega-influencer LaTage, she finds the popular internet star dead. This is the third book in the series, so it's not the first brush Coco has had with murder and LaTage's fans are quick to start spreading rumors about what might have happened. The one is a fun, quick read with lots of pop culture and social media references. The mystery itself is well developed and kept me interested. There was just enough back story to keep me from feeling lost, even though I hadn't read the previous two books.  I also appreciate that when the author referred to events from the previous books, she didn't give away the endings to those mysteries. 

Case of the Bleus by Korina Moss

Everyone is after the secrets behind Church Bleu, a legendary cheese created by Willa's former employer, Max Dumas. Instead of leaving the recipe in his will, Max teases them with an enigmatic clue that infuriates his daughter and employees, who all think they should have been trusted with the instructions. At first I thought the solution to this one was obvious, but it got a lot more complicated than I expected and the ending is absolutely perfect.  

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} A Fatal Groove

 

A Fatal Groove by Oliva Blacke 

The second Record Shop mystery has everything I love about cozies, even a little bit of crafting. Along with her sisters, Juni Jessup runs Sip and Spin Records in the same space where her grandparents once owned a record shop. When the local mayor dies just after finishing a cup of their coffee, its definitely bad for business. Mayor Bob wasn't a great mayor, but no one seemed to dislike him. Between the murder investigation and the local Bluebonnet Festival, Juni barely has time to catch her breath. I found myself vicariously enjoying the food trucks and music and history of the fictional town, not to mention the annual hole digging competition. The mystery itself is engaging and complex. Happily, the third book is due out soon so I'll be spending more time with the Jessup sisters. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} Of Hoaxes and Homicide

 Of Hoaxes and Homicide by Anastasia Hastings

I absolutely love this series and the second book is almost more fun than the first! Of course it couldn't have existed without the first book setting up Violet's unexpected new role as an agony aunt....but this one has a cult that Violet's stepsister is much too intrigued by. Sephora has been absolutely devouring stories of the group, which include rumors of virgin sacrifices. When "Miss Hermione" receives a letter from a troubled mother she joins the Childred of Aed herself in an effort to rescue a missing girl. This one got a little darker than I expected, but the gruesome events were filtered through Violet's Victorian sensibilities, so it wasn't too dark.  

The Book of Renfield by Tim Lucas 

This book weaves text from the original Dracula in with original notes by Doctor Seward and Renfield telling the story of his own life and how he became a servant of the vampire. I picked it up after watching the recent movie, which combines characters from the original book (which I haven't reread in decades)...so I was reading about the wrong Renfield, if that makes any sense at all. It was an enjoyable read for the most part, but some sections absolutely dragged and the introduction and the author's notes at the end were downright tiresome.  I'm apparently not enough of a Dracula fan to thoroughly enjoy this. 

The Au Pair by Jane Renshaw 

Melanie is the second au pair to work for the Davidson family. Her predecessor, a young girl named Alice, is missing, assumed drowned after her clothes were found on the beach. Deep scratches on her bedroom floor show where Alice pushed a heavy dresser against the door, presumably to keep someone out. The story alternates between Alice and Melanie and as soon as Melanie is introduced it's revealed that she's there to investigate what happened to Alice. I never quite got caught up in the suspense of this one and couldn't suspend my disbelief nearly enough to be satisfied with the ending.  

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

{I've Been Reading} One Last Breath

 One Last Breath by P S Cunliffe 

This thriller plunges right into the action, with the protagonist trapped at the bottom of the same well her best friend's body was found in years earlier. Jessie is well known for the documentary series she filmed about Amy's death and not everyone is happy that her work led to the release of the man originally convicted of the crime. The plot alternates between the present, with Jessie in the well, the days leading up to that, and earlier points in time. It all makes sense -- there are secrets to be revealed, but it was always clear whose head I was in and when. The best part of this book for me was the sense of suspense and urgency the author creates and the vivid settings. As fantastic as it was, right up until the very end, I would have been happier with one or two fewer twists. I couldn't suspend my disbelief quite that far. 

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

{I've Been Reading} The Heiress

 The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins 

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore led a long and eventful life. When she was six years old, her kidnapping made headlines and had the entire country praying for her safe return. Her first husband was shot on their honeymoon. Her second was electrocuted in the barn of the family estate. Her third and fourth husbands also died under questionable circumstances. She left everything to her adopted son, Camden, who refuses to have anything to do with the family estate or the relatives who still live there. He's created a life for himself in Colorado and is doing just fine without Ruby's money until an email from his cousin draws him back to Ashby house and his wife gets a look at everything he walked away from. Told through Ruby's letters, brief news stories, and the point of view of Cam and his wife, this book kept me hooked from the beginning.  The old scandals and current drama between family members combined to make an absolutely fascinating read. 

A Bean to Die for by Tara Lush

Coffee shop owner Lana Lewis is delighted to get a spot in the local community garden, where she hopes she'll be able to grow her own coffee plants. Her father, a long term member, has warned her about the many rules and ongoing conflicts between members, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of discovering a dead body on her first visit. It's the fourth book in the series, so it's not the first time Lana's seen a murder victim and her previous career as a journalist has helped her discover the skills she'll need to figure everything out. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The setting, cast of characters, and intriguing mystery all come together in a perfect blend. Even though I haven't read the previous three books, I felt right at home in Lana's world.  

Everything is Temporary by Jon Cohn

Sarah never knew about the nightmares of her husband's childhood, not until he was suddenly arrested for attempted murder and told her to retrieve a box from the rafters of his art studio. In the battered cardboard carton is an elf costume and a book that Tom wrote, detailing the time he spent with Mrs. Claus and her house full of talking ornaments, what started out as friendship and turned quickly to a horrific nightmare. Now, Tom warns her, the monster is after their teenage daughter. I enjoyed this quick read and found myself more interested in Sarah's situation than the horror elements. The monstrous candy canes and figurines are fun, but I was more worried about how Sarah was going to keep her family together. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} The Yacht

 The Yacht by Sarah Goodwin

The morning after an exclusive New Year's Eve party on a luxury yacht, six friends awaken to find the boat drifting in the middle of the ocean with no fuel, no way to contact the outside world, and very little food or water. Then one of them goes missing. I loved the premise, but the book gets off to a very slow start. The characters, except for one, are extremely wealthy and superficial. Most of them are mean. They're not resourceful when it comes to surviving the situation they find themselves in.   Midway through, the suspense starts to pick up and I found myself enjoying the read, but I struggled to get that far and didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as I enjoyed Stranded by the same author.  

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

{I've Been Reading} Public Anchovy #1

Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley

I had mixed feelings about the first two Deep Dish Mysteries, but after this one I'm completely hooked. It's a fast paced, extremely fun mystery that could only happen in this series. Delilah and her staff are catering a prohibition themed dinner party in a historic mansion when an unexpected death occurs and a storm hits, knocking out the power and blocking the roads, leaving everyone trapped in the dark with a killer. I don't want to spoil the plot, but starting with the original murder suspect, the night keeps getting wilder. It's probably a good idea to read the first two books before this one, if only so you'll understand why Delilah is living in a house owned by her pet cat, Butterball. 

Deep Fried Death by Maddie Day 

This is the eleventh in the Country Store Mysteries and, I think, the first I've read. (Others are available on Kindle Unlimited, so I'll be going back and catching up at some point soon.) The trouble starts when a dead body is discovered in Pans N Pancakes' entry in the annual outhouse races.  The victim owns a competing restaurant and of course we know that the protagonist, Robbie Jordan, is innocent, but there's no shortage of other suspects. It's a fast paced read, set mainly in the restaurant itself, and contains plenty of references to the other books in the series.

Sun Damage by Sabine Durant 

This wasn't at all what I expected based on the book's description. I enjoyed it, but first I had to double check that I hadn't opened the wrong title on my Kindle. The situation that the cover copy described does happen, eventually. The plot is a slow burn, with a setting and conflict that gradually pulled me in. The background of the woman who isn't who she claims to be kept me reading until the end. It's different than most of the domestic thrillers I read, a nice change of pace with lower stakes and more subtle drama. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} Hanging by a Thread

 

Hanging by a Thread by Dorothy Howell

The shop owners of Hideaway Grove have been counting on an upcoming women's conference to boost their business. When the owner of a new bakery is found murdered, everyone in town starts to panic. It would be disastrous if the conference was cancelled... If the murder really was a mob execution, maybe everyone is in danger... What's the best way to carry a newly purchased handgun? Abbey's aunt Sarah has more to lose than most since it's her competitor who wound up dead. Now Abbey is trying clear her aunt's name, while also keeping her sewing studio afloat and filming a promotional video for the town and learning to sew poodle skirts in time for the conference luncheon.  This is a fast paced, fun mystery that's enjoyable if you don't try to take it too seriously and worry about the practical details. 

Disclosure -- The publishers have provided me with review copies. 

{I've Been Reading}

 

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas

Paleontologist Simon Nealy is setting uncomfortably into his new job at the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History, a facility on the edge of disaster. The dark halls, which are still closed due to the pandemic,  are stained with mildew and water damage. Badly stored fossils crumble under his hands. Almost all of the staff is working remotely and his only contact with them is through the spotty internet connection. A maintenance man warns him that if he hears noises after dark, not to go looking for what caused them. Simon came to the museum hoping to discover what happened to his six year old sister, who was taken from the insect hall decades earlier.  What he finds are impossible bloody footprints and the shadows of ancient creatures. This upernatural thriller. gets off to a slow start, but once the pace picks up, it's a wildly enjoyable ride.  

Dating Can Be Deadly by Amanda Flower 

I'm jumping into the Amish Matchmaker mysteries with the fifth book into the series. According to the author's note it's the fifteenth of her Amish books. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to view Millia's  lifestyle through her eyes. She has her hands full at the Holmes County Fair. Her nephew is exhibiting her two pet goats, a pair of ornery escape artists. Her (not Amish) best friend Lois is meeting up with a man she met online. Millie and several members of her quilting circle have entered quilts into the annual competition, but the judge is found dead in the quilt barn, a shredded quilt beneath her. The author captures the fun and chaos of the fair and has created a thoroughly entertaining mystery. It looks like I've got a lot of reading to do if I'm going to get caught up with Millie and her friends, and I look forward to it. 

The Neighbors We Want by Tim Lane

This was a different reading experience. The pace is absolutely frantic, but the plot moves at a snail's pace. My best guess is that the author was trying to capture the disjointed thought process of a sleep deprived stay at home dad and after a couple of chapters I was starting to follow it...but at the beginning I was completely lost. Adam is obsessed with the young woman who lives next door. His already strained marriage has become worse since his wife caught him looking from their window across to hers and he can't ignore the fact that he hasn't seen his young neighbor in days or that he saw her ex-boyfriend doing something extremely creepy and his truck has been sitting there the entire time. The plot leaps between characters and won't let you forget for an instant that it's set in Portland. It all ties together by the end, but at that point I didn't care what happened to anyone. 

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah

Featuring a haunted lighthouse, a ghost hunting live stream that ends with the discovery of a very real body, and lots of pumpkin flavored baked goods, this cozy mystery should have been exactly what I was looking for, but I never got caught up in the fun. Clever plotting made the solution to the murder satisfying, but I'm not entirely sure if I want to read the rest of the series and spend more time with these characters. 

Diclosure -- The publishers have provided me with review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} Please Tell Me

 Please Tell Me by Mike Omer

In her therapist's playroom, eight-year-old Kathy uses an intricate Victorian dollhouse to act out horrific murders. The little girl hasn't spoken since she escaped the abductor who had held her captive for the past eighteen months. No one knows who took her or what happened during that stretch of time, but the stories she play acts with the dolls she buries in the playroom sandbox match up with unsolved murders...and she did some of them before the murders occurred. 

I really enjoyed this thriller. The pace is a bit slow and there are a lot of characters doing a lot of things that don't have much to do with Kathy and her story, but one things start to come together my patience absolutely paid off. 

My biggest complaint -- and the thing that drew me to the book in the first place -- is the dollhouse. I think the author is unaware of the fact that there are dollhouses for children to play with and dollhouses for adult collectors. Some of the scenes with the dollhouse left a sour taste in my mouth in a book that I otherwise loved. 

No Child of Mine by Nichelle Geraldes 

"She was not exhausted from the work of multiplying cells. That work could be done by a mouse or someone in a coma." I'm still not sure how I feel about this horror novel where one of the biggest horrors is just being pregnant. Essie's birth control fails and although she almost immediately decides to keep the pregnancy, she sees it as an inconvenience that will derail her law school graduation. There's also a curse that causes  the women in her family line to lose their husbands shortly after giving birth, but she's not as concerned about that.  The plot alternates between Essie's daily life and two women in a previous era. It gets seriously creepy and I was holding my breath for the last few chapters, but I spent the first three quarters of the book feeling extremely critical of the protagonist. 

Seeds of Murder by Rosie Sandler 

This one is the first in a new series and, as uninterested as I am in actual gardening, I can't wait to read more.  Steph Williams is the new gardener for an exclusive gated community and spends her days working on the extensive grounds....except for the upper paddock (where she quickly finds what appears to be an unmarked grave) and the locked enclosures. The wealthy homeowners are all keeping secrets and have decided that she's the one who is blackmailing them all. She has no idea what's going on behind closed doors, but she's got to figure it out fast if she wants to save her dream job. The characters and mystery are intriguing and the setting is absolutely fantastic. 

The Wife in the Photo by Emily Shiner 

Here's another domestic thriller where the new housekeeper has lied to get her position and has ulterior motives. What makes it stand out from the rest is that those reasons aren't kept secret  for long. There's more going on than it first seems and it's an extremely fun roller coaster ride to find out what actually happened that night that Evan's wife died. I've read several of Emily Shiner's books, thoroughly enjoying some while being disappointed in others. This is one of the best. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} Mister Lullaby

The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene

Silver coins in their pockets and sprinklings of dirt in their shoes...the old traditions date back hundreds of years and are supposed to keep the children safe from the Hickory Man who lurks in the woods, but they aren't working. The lost child posters in town are layered thickly, new pictures covering the ones that are decades old. Cheyenne's mother sprinkles salt across doorways and sweeps herbs into the wooden floors, convinced that it's her duty to keep her neighbors safe. It's why Cheyenne moved away and why she's returned. Her mother is getting worse and more children have been found dead in the woods. This is some seriously creepy folk horror and I absolutely loved it, even though there are a few sounds I may never hear again without thinking about the Hickory Man.  

Mister Lullaby by J. H. Markert

The people of Harrod's Reach all know about the abandoned train tunnel. They've used bits of twisted metal from a long ago crash as rustic decor. They've played a game that dates back to the 1800s, daring each other to run from one end to the other. They know about the mysterious deaths in the tunnel, the severed limbs found just outside the entrance.  Mister Lullaby by J. H. Markert feels like a Stephen King novel. It's got all of the right elements and the right language, it just didn't capture my imagination the way the author's last book did, maybe because there's so much going on in so few pages. 

The Homemaker by Miranda Rijks

I've lost track of how many domestic thrillers I've read where a nanny or housekeeper lies her way into a job because she has a hidden motive to get closer to her employer. This is one of the better ones. Maria and Imogen aren't likeable characters, but watching them interact while each hides secrets from the other was absolutely fascinating. I did  find myself wondering if some of the events were physically possible, but it was a thoroughly entertaining read that left me holding my breath more than once. 

Breaking by Amanda Cassidy 

Mirren Fitzpatrick was drinking at the beachside bar when her eight-year-old daughter vanished from the water's edge. As searchers fail to find the missing child, the media circus grows. Everyone questions what kind of mother Mirren was. I had my suspicions about Mirren, because early chapters make it clear that she's never really bonded with her adopted daughter.  The characters are hard  to like. There's a lot going on, though, and even though I thought I could tell where the plot was headed, the end was not what I expected. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} Trotting into Trouble

 

Trotting into Trouble by Amber Camp 

When Mallory Martin's horse rescue is called to retrieve a horse that was found wandering alone in a hunting area, she stumbles across the rider's body and gets tangled up in the murder investigation. I enjoyed the mystery and the chance to vicariously spend some time with Mallory's rescue animals, which are a major part of the book. If you haven't read the first book in the series (I hadn't) be aware that this book will let you know who the killer was. I'm going to be watching for the third book so I can spend more time with Mallory and her animals. 

Stay by Jane Bailey

In the last days before the lockdown, Caitlin is hitchhiking home and accepts a ride from a happy couple and their young daughters. They seem like a perfect family and she's in no hurry to face her parents so she accepts their offer to stay the night. Then she accepts their offer to stay longer and help homeschool the girls. Something about Marcus and Mimi and their hippy lifestyle seems a bit off, but they're so welcoming she just wants to settle in for a while. I keep picking up books that are set during lockdown and, so far, this has been one of the best. The author uses the pandemic, along with the isolated setting, to keep Caitlin isolated and it works extremely well. As she walks through the fields with the girls, Caitlin sings songs from traditional Irish folklore that echo her situation and add to the atmosphere. I can't wait to read more by this  author! 

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

{I've Been Reading} A Corpse at the Witching Hour

 A Corpse at the Witching Hour by Debra Sennefelder

On Halloween night, Hope is helping hand out candy at a historic house with a chilling reputation. A woman has died there every twenty years and Halloween is the night. When she finds a dead witch on the lawn, she desperately hopes that it's a decoration...but of course it's not.  I really enjoy the Food Blogger mystery series and this book absolutely lived up to my expectations. It's the perfect world to lose yourself in with a great setting and yummy food ideas and a rich history that gives many people motives to have committed the murder. 

 

The Beautiful and the Wild by Peggy Townsend 

A woman being held captive in a shipping container on an isolated Alaskan homestead struggles to free herself and rescue her son from the man who is keeping them both there. The author really captures the setting and Liv's desperation. I might have questioned a few of her decisions, but I stayed up way too late to see how it would all turn out. 

The Elevator by Claire Cooper 

Two women find themselves trapped in an elevator and share dark secrets from their past. It's an intriguing premise and the book gets off to a great start before bogging down in the flashback scenes. As soon as the elevator lurches to a stop, the plot's pace slows to a near crawl. I found myself really working at it to keep track of who was who and how it all connected and the reveal was interesting, but it took forever to get there. 

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

{I've Been Reading} The Better Mother

 

 

 The Better Mother by Emily Shiner

Zoe has a perfect life with her husband and young daughter. When a thirteen-year-old boy shows up on their doorstep, claiming to be her husband's son, her first response is to welcome him into their lives. I loved this domestic thriller. The author immediately presents Zoe as a likeable character with a strong marriage, a wonderful mother to her young daughter. So when things start going wrong and her suspicions begin to mount, its easy to empathize with her.  I'm not sure I loved the ending, but it was a very enjoyable read right up until the last bit which had me questioning why that touch was needed. 

The Perfect Girl Friend by Hayley Smith

Lauren and Jay meet at a music festival and feel an immediate connection, spending more of the weekend in his camper van than watching the acts that they came to see. When it's over, he suggests that instead of returning to her own life she joins him at his off the grid cottage.  At first sight, the place is nothing like she'd imagined. Wallpaper is falling from the walls. Everything is stained and shabby. Then she sees the garden. It's paradise and Lauren ignores every chilling red flag that pops up along the way. She goes along with things that make no practical sense, but there's a reason she's so happy to embrace this new lifestyle. This is a fantastic domestic thriller that kept me turning pages and guessing until the very end. I loved it! 

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

{I've Been Reading} Sieve and Let Die

 

Sieve and Let Die by Victoria Hamilton

When an irate customer who made a scene at her friend's pharmacy is later found dead on the building's back steps, Jaymie jumps right into the investigation. I didn't realize how many of the Vintage Kitchen mysteries I've somehow missed. There have been lots of changed in Jaymie's life since the last book I read, but being behind on those developments didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book at all. I was  able to jump right in and enjoy the mystery. It was a fun read with lots of intriguing plot elements. 

The Night of the Sleepover by Kerry Wilkinson

Leah has always been a heavy sleeper. The night that three of her best friends vanished from a slumber party, she didn't awaken or hear a thing. She has no idea where they went and the official investigation never came up with an explanation. Twenty-five years later, a true crime documentary about the missing girls is being filmed and all of the old theories and ideas are suddenly being stirred up again. This one is  a slow burn with some intriguing twists. The ending surprised and satisfied me, but I haven't made up my mind whether I'm going to read the sequel when it comes out in December. 

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