book series

Review: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

~ megs14malloy

The Thursday Murder ClubThe Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Thursday Murder Club is a bloody brilliant start to a Cozy Mystery series. I’m in, hook, line and sinker.

This one features an interesting mystery, fantastic characters and the audibook narration was perfection.

I feel like one of the last remaining people on Earth to have read this delightful Mystery, but I’m so happy to be joining the party, late or not.

I really wanted to listen to the audio, because I had heard great things about the narration by Marian Keyes and Lesley Manville. They weren’t wrong. It was well worth the over year wait for my library hold to come through.

If you aren’t aware, this book follows a charming group of septuagenarians, mainly Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, who live in a retirement village known as Cooper’s Chase.

This fearsome-foursome meet up once a week to discuss and dig into cold cases. They also have a local DS they befriend and consult regarding their cases of interest.

In this book specifically, a property developer involved in the creation of Cooper’s Chase is found murdered. A case of utmost interest to our friends.

The mystery was cleverly-plotted. I enjoyed the many people of interest we came across along the way. There’s a lot of drama going on surrounding this little community.

The members of the Murder Club all got on so well. I loved their moments together and witty dialogue. The narration had me giggling many times, picturing everything perfectly.

There were some great suspects and lots of motives for potentially killing our victim. Not much got past the Murder Club though. They were on it.

In addition to the great mystery, there was also some thoughtful and emotional moments reflecting on aging and issues that may arise later in life.

In fact, there was one scene that had me in tears. It took me by surprise how much I was moved by many of these characters personal journeys.

I’m really looking forward to continuing on with this series. I’ve heard it just keeps getting better and better.

I’m already attached to these characters and am so excited to join in the investigations and solve some more cases!

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Review: The Kind to Kill (Shana Merchant #4) by Tessa Wegert

~ megs14malloy

The Kind to Kill (Shana Merchant #4)The Kind to Kill by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Kind to Kill is the 4th-book in Tessa Wegert’s Crime Fiction/Police Procedural series, Shana Merchant.

If you are unfamiliar with these books, they follow Senior Investigator, Shana Merchant, who, at the start of the series, transferred from the NYPD to the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York. She does this after having a horrendous run-in with a serial killer.

Initially, Shana is looking for a slower pace then her NYPD position. Alas, it seems murder and mayhem follow her everywhere she goes.

I definitely recommend starting at the beginning of this series and working your way through. Although, like many Adult Mystery, or Police Procedural series, you can read any of the books as standalones, or start anywhere along the line, I feel like this series has the greatest impact if you begin with book one, Death in the Family.

In this installment, it’s mid-summer and Alexandria Bay is gearing up for their popular Pirate Days event. The town floods with tourists eagerly anticipating the fun-filled annual festival.

Shana is still reeling from the events at the conclusion of book three, but she is hoping things will settle down soon enough. Maybe the Pirate Days are just what the community needs to distract their attention away from her and the high profile Blake Bram case for a bit.

Unfortunately, when a tourist named Rebecca, visiting the area with her husband, mysteriously disappears, Shana and her team realize this isn’t going to be a normal, relaxed community event.

Their resulting investigation could put a dark cloud directly over Pirate Days, a fact members of the local government aren’t too happy about. Shana refuses to back down though. Time is of the essence here and they need to find Rebecca; community reputation be damned.

As the investigation digs in, Shana begins to realize a lot of the evidence is reminiscent of the serial killer murders in New York she was involved in. Is it mere coincidence, or has someone targeted the area, targeted Shana, on purpose?

Does A-Bay have a full-fledged copy-cat on their hands?

As with the earlier books, I really enjoyed this one. Wegert has done a great job building out Shana’s character and backstory. In fact, it is a central theme throughout all the books in the series.

The beginning of this had a bit of a slow start for me. There was quite a bit of exploration of the community outlook and others opinions of Shana, her connection to Blake Bram and whether or not she had a culpability in his crimes.

For me, we sort of dug into that side of the story a bit too much at the beginning of this, when I would have preferred the focus to be more on the investigation into Rebecca’s disappearance.

With this being said, once the investigation does really get underway, I was hooked. I’m hooked into Shana’s personal story as well, don’t get me wrong, it just felt a little uneven there in the beginning.

The intensity of the case continues to build throughout the book, as more people get involved, including the complicated family of one of Shana’s team members. There were some clever red herrings placed throughout and I enjoyed guessing at what the final outcome would be.

Spoiler Alert: I didn’t guess correctly!

I’m so excited by the ending of this one. Nice set-up, Wegert! I cannot wait for the next book. Already! It’s true, I’m totally invested in this series.

Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The Kind to Kill releases in early-December 2022, so you have plenty of time to catch-up with, or start the series, before its release.

Don’t miss out!!

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Review: Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-And-Under #3) by A. Deborah Baker

~ megs14malloy

Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-and-Under, #3)Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬

Into the Windwracked Wilds is the third installment to Seanan McGuire’s, writing here as A. Deborah Baker, The Up-and-Under series.

This fantastical series is connected to McGuire’s tour de force of SFF, Middlegame, and is perfect for Readers of all ages.

If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, Over the Woodward Wall and Along the Saltwise Sea, proceed with a little bit of caution, as some things I mention herein could be considered spoilery.

Now is your chance to turn back. I am only saying this once.

The series follows two children, Zib and Avery, who upon a normal commute to school one day encounter a giant wall where it shouldn’t be. Together they decide to go up and over this wall, thus finding themselves in a different world, known as the Up-and-Under.

In the first novel, they travel through a magical forest while following the improbable road and the second book finds them traversing the Saltwise Sea. Along the way they collect new friends, encounter challenges to overcome and enemies to out-maneuver.

After a final, very Pinocchio-esque, adventure on the Saltwise Sea, Avery, Zib, the Crow Girl and Niamh, finally find themselves on dry land.

More specifically, they’ve entered the Land of Air, ruled by the intimidating Queen of Swords, who is known to have a habit of turning people into monsters. Although, by this definition the Crow Girl would be considered a monster and we love the Crow Girl!

It doesn’t take long before they come across Jack Daw, the Queen’s son, but he’s giving off a serious vibe that he’s not too crazy about Mommy Dearest.

Can he be trusted though, or is he playing double agent with our intrepid heroes?

They eventually end up at the castle and have to stay on their toes at all times to avoid being tricked by this Queen. She is a devious one indeed.

Will they all be able to make it out in one piece? At this point, Zib and Avery are beyond ready to get home to their parents. But the Queen of Swords is tricky and coming out on top is going to take all their mental stamina. She may be their biggest challenge yet.

After a bit of a slow start, this wrapped up with an absolutely beautiful ending. Once they finally made it to land was when it really started to pick up for me. The Queen was quite the character. She’s got the dangerous, evil Queen thing down and I was living for it.

The intensity was high once they reached the castle. I love these characters so much. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I’m really looking forward to the 4th-book, when I believe we’ll be entering the Land of Fire.

McGuire’s writing, as always, continues to impress. There’s such intention behind every word. The nuance is stunning and truly mind-boggling.

This entire world, the connection to the Alchemical Journeys series, the characters and the lore of it all is so fun to read and think about. There are so many layers, it’s the type of thing you could read over and over and still find new things each time.

I love that kind of story and will definitely continue to pick up anything in this world for as long as McGuire is putting them out.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I just adore this series and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dark, whimsical read.

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Review: Shed No Tears (Cat Kinsella #3) by Caz Frear

~ megs14malloy

Shed No Tears (Cat Kinsella, #3)Shed No Tears by Caz Frear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed the first two books in this series. I’m not sure why, maybe because I rarely hear anyone talking about it.

I love the detective duo featured in this series, Cat Kinsella and Luigi Parnell. Basically, sign me up for any case they’re ever on. Thus, I knew when I had a long road-trip coming up, this would be the perfect book to listen to as I drove.

And it absolutely was. In fact, this has been my highest rated book in the series thus far!

In this installment, we follow Cat and Luigi as they work a case related to infamous local serial killer, Christopher Masters, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering several women in 2012.

When human remains are discovered, they are positively identified as Holly Kemp, Masters alleged final victim. Holly was the only one whose body hadn’t been found and the only one that Masters never owned up to killing.

It was only due to solid eye-witness testimony that she was considered as one of his victims. Six-years have now passed and it seems like with Holly’s remains found, they will finally be able to put closure on the case.

As they examine the evidence however, there appears to be some glaring discrepancies with the case. Cat and Luigi can’t put it to bed until they know it’s the truth; not our heroes.

Thus, they begin digging in, turning over rocks that have long been settled. As they inch closer and closer to the truth, the dangers escalate to heights even they couldn’t have guessed.

As mentioned in my reviews for the first two books of this series, Sweet Little Lies and Stone Cold Heart, this is a fantastic Police Procedural series with a lot of depth in addition to the mysteries.

The characters are well-fleshed out and believable. I love how there are storylines in the background that continue on throughout the books, as far as Cat’s personal life goes. I feel like I am getting to know her, like a new friend, and I’m loving every minute of it.

One of my favorite aspects of these books has been the exploration of Cat’s complicated family situation. In this one, I felt like the interactions weren’t quite as in your face as in the earlier books, but we do get to see more of the internal struggle Cat is going through in regards to her family.

There are things she has done to protect the ones she loves that are ethically an issue for her. She plays her cards close to her chest, but I like that she is the type of character who these choices would weigh on.

She’s a good egg, our Cat. Regardless of how she feels about herself sometimes.

This mystery gets quite intense and just as complex as the earlier cases. Some people can really bring the drama. You’ll find it all on display here.

In my opinion, this series just keeps getting better and more twisted. We love to see it; character growth on point!

The conclusion to this…oh my word! I really need a book 4 and I need it ASAP!!

If you have yet to start this series, and you love a solid Police Procedural with strong, intelligent characters, you absolutely need to check it out.

Don’t delay, start today!!!

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Review: Stone Cold Heart (Cat Kinsella #2) by Caz Frear

~ megs14malloy

Stone Cold Heart (Cat Kinsella, #2)Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

After picking up the first book in this series, Sweet Little Lies, in early-September as part of my TBR-Haul Project, I could not stop thinking about DC Cat Kinsella.

That’s a great sign when it comes to a mystery series. I knew I needed to go on another case with her ASAP. Luckily for me, there are currently 3-novels released in this series.

In this installment, a young Australian woman, Naomi Lockhart, is found dead after attending a party. As the investigation begins, Cat discovers that one of the other attendees was Joseph Madden, a man she tangentially knows.

Joseph, in all honestly, sort of gives Cat the creeps. He runs a coffee shop by the station and she’s had a few run-ins with him. Including a time that he cornered her to ask for advice regarding his allegedly abusive wife.

It really wasn’t that he was accusing his wife of abuse, it was just the whole way he went about it. The way he phrased it. The way his body language was towards Cat while doing so.

The whole interaction, and others before it, have stuck in her mind. That’s why when Joseph’s name comes up during the course of the investigation, she’s intrigued and digs further.

It turns out the party was hosted by Joseph’s sister-in-law, who is also Naomi’s new boss.

Upon questioning, Joseph vows that his wife, Rachel, can attest to his whereabouts for that night at the time in question; he was home with her.

Rachel, however, disagrees, claiming she was home alone. The couple’s behavior doubles Cat’s earlier suspicions. Someone is lying and she’s going to find out who.

As Cat and her partner, Luigi Parnell, get closer to the truth, they uncover layer upon layer of lies and deceit amongst the cast of people who were part of Naomi’s life. With associates like these, this girl didn’t stand a chance.

I really enjoyed my time with this one. In addition to the overriding mystery, we also got more backstory and insight into Cat’s life. She’s a super interesting main character, so I appreciate the content Frear included here in that regard.

Cat has a fairly new relationship with a man named, Aidan. Unbeknownst to him, it’s slightly complicated. I had fun watching that evolve as well and can’t wait to see where it goes in the future.

There’s also Cat’s complicated relationship with her family, particularly her Dad. I have enjoyed how Frear is keeping her family in the midst of these tales as an overarching storyline amongst the books.

Finally, I really enjoy Cat and Luigi’s work life. As a Police Procedural, the team that the main characters are involved with can really change how engaging a story turns out to be. I love the banter between these two, and with their other colleagues. It’s really well done.

I think it’s safe to say at this point that I will pick up any book that is released in this series. I’m hooked!

If you love Police Procedurals and are sleeping on this series like I was, until very recently, stop what you’re doing and pick them up now!!

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Review: Blackmail and Bibingka (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #3) by Mia P. Manansala

~ megs14malloy

Blackmail and Bibingka (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #3)Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

When her estranged cousin, Tita Rosie’s son, Ronnie, returns to town, Lila anticipates that trouble will be close behind. It’s shocking how right she is in that assessment.

Ronnie has purchased the local Shady Grove Winery along with a his best friends, Izzy and Pete, and some other investors, most notable being, Denise Sutton.

It literally feels like Ronnie has been back in Shady Grove for mere moments before the first body suspiciously drops.

Then the blackmail begins, stating that they know what Ronnie did in Florida and that he’s up to his old tricks again. The blackmailer threatens to bring evidence against him unless they are paid a large sum of money by Tita Rosie.

This threatening message coinciding with Ronnie now being suspected of murder does not shine a positive light on her cousin, but Lila feels like she has to do whatever she can to clear Ronnie’s name.

This requires Lila putting her mistrust of Ronnie behind her, at least temporarily, in order to help him. Family is complicated after all, but Lila feels obligated to help.

As Lila digs into Ronnie’s partners and investors, she discovers they’ve actually woven themselves quite a twisted web. The dynamics amongst them are all over the place.

Will Lila be able to figure out the who done it before it’s too late? And what if it actually is her cousin? How does this play out for her family?

Blackmail and Bibingka is the third installment of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series. I had so much fun with the first two books in this series and this one was no different.

I have loved getting to know the Macapagal family over the course of these books. I was also stoked when Manansala mentioned in her Author’s Note at the conclusion of this, that we will be getting three more books in the series.

Personally, I never want them to end!

These books are full of food and family. If you aren’t hungry by the time you are done one these of books, you have no soul. I’m sort of kidding, but not really.

I love Lila as a character and her friend group. She has surrounded herself with a great group of women and I love how supportive they are of one another. We love to see those types of strong female friendships in our stories.

This book is marketed as taking place during Christmas time, but honestly, if it wasn’t for the food, I would have no clue this was supposed to be set during the holiday season.

It didn’t bother me as such, I only mention it because I know how strongly people feel about their holiday stories and I don’t want anyone to be disappointed.

Overall, I found this to be an engaging mystery. At times, I did get a little confused trying to keep track of all the bad actors Ronnie had surrounded himself with, but that totally could have been my headspace at the time of reading and not the story itself.

I think if you have enjoyed other books in this series, or if you enjoy Cozy Mysteries that incorporate a solid food element, you should definitely check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m very excited to continue on with this series!!

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Review: Almost There (Twisted Tales #13) by Farrah Rochon

~ megs14malloy

Almost There (Twisted Tale, A)Almost There by Farrah Rochon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Almost There is the 13th-installment in Disney’s Twisted Tales YA-series. These can be read in any order, as they each follow different characters and their stories are completely unrelated.

The point of this series is to take our favorite Disney tales, twist one element and explore what would have happened if that twist had actually occurred. Think of it as a sort of alternate history for Disney stories.

It’s Tiana’s turn to take center stage in this magical volume set in 1920’s New Orleans. I’m sure many of you love The Princess and the Frog as much as I do and it was so nice to return to that setting and characters through this story.

The twist in this tale involves a deal that Tiana agrees to make with the notorious Dr. Facilier. Even though Tiana only makes the deal because she feels backed into a corner, it still provides her with all of her deepest desires: her own restaurant, T&J’s Supper Club, her friends safe, and her beloved father’s return.

Unfortunately, sometimes when things sound too good to be true, they are. As Tiana finds herself navigating her new reality, she also begins to notice strange occurrences popping up everywhere around her.

It ends up being a race against both time and evil forces, but luckily Tiana has her good friends Naveen and Lottie on her side. New Orleans is getting creepy and it’s pretty clear Facilier has something to do with it. Can Tiana and friends set things right before she loses everything she holds dear?

Almost There was great. I flew through it so quickly. It was such a treat to be back in this setting, 1920s NOLA, with this fantastic and nuanced set of characters.

I really appreciate what Rochon was able to do with this story. I felt transported. The atmosphere was very well done. A strong addition to the series!!

I did listen to the audiobook and as always, Disney does a great job with that format. The narration was fantastic, perfect for these characters.

I definitely recommend this story to fans of this series, or The Princess and the Frog movie. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you pick it up.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Books and Disney Audio, for providing me copies to read and review.

I am a huge fan of this series and am looking forward to continuing on with it!

My current ratings for the Twisted Tales series:

1. What Once Was Mine (Tangled): 4.5-stars rounded up
2. Reflection (Mulan): 4-stars
3. Almost There (The Princess and the Frog): 4-stars
4. Go the Distance (Hercules): 3.5-stars rounded up
5. As Old As Time (Beauty & the Beast): 3.5-stars rounded up
6. Straight On Til Morning (Peter Pan): 3.5-stars rounded up
7. Mirror, Mirror (Snow White): 3.5-stars rounded up
8. Unbirthday (Alice): 3.5-stars
9. Conceal, Don’t Feel (Frozen): 3.5-stars
10. A Whole New World (Aladdin): 3-stars
11. Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid): 2-stars

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Review: The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch

~ megs14malloy

The Last Town (Wayward Pines, #3)The Last Town by Blake Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Last Town is the concluding book in Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines series.

I read the first two books last Fall, but for some reason, as often happens, I then failed to pick this one up. Sometimes when things are so good, you just don’t want them to end.

Luckily for me, this is a very memorable story, so I had no problem picking this one up even though almost a year had passed. I hadn’t forgotten a thing.

The truth of Wayward Pines, even the idea of it, is so horrifying that it is seared into my brain from now until forevermore.

After the reveals of the second book, which had huge repercussions for the entire town, things get much worse. Much, much worse.

Ethan Burke has ticked off Pilcher and that results in Pilcher cranking up for a temper tantrum of epic proportions. He’s about to unleash a community-wide shitstorm, pretty much the equivalent of a 10-year old flipping over a game of Monopoly because they’re losing.

This installment was non-stop action from the very start. It’s dropping you off directly where the action left off. There’s no time to pause.

It’s bleak. Not going to lie. For the majority of the book, I felt pretty helpless with regards to my favorite characters. How the heck are they going to get out of this?

It seemed the end was near. I mean I could feel it, watching the percentage run down on my kindle. It was coming. What was it going to be?

Overall, I am satisfied with this ending. I wouldn’t have guessed the ending and I can’t argue with it. This was a tough one. The world was what it was. There were no easy answers.

I think Crouch did an exceptional job over the course of these three books building out this world and providing characters that the Reader could care about. I loved many of these characters and it was sometimes tough to read about the things they went through.

I would definitely recommend this series. Even though it is a bit of an older series, it’s absolutely worth picking up!!

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The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote #44) by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain

~ megs14malloy

Murder, She Wrote: The Ghost and Mrs. FletcherMurder, She Wrote: The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻🔎💜👻

The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher is the 44th-book in the long-running and very beloved Murder, She Wrote mystery series.

Incidentally, this is the 40th-book that I have read from this series and with the 56th-book set to release in January of 2023, I still have quite a few more to go!

Suffice it to say, a lot of people love solving mysteries with Jessica Fletcher. These books are such a comforting place for me. I have been reading these books since I was kid, when I also watched the television program with my parents.

Angela Lansbury is a goddess.

In this installment, set completely in Jessica’s hometown of Cabot Cove we have a large, recently vacated home with a potential ghost and a thousand books. Are you intrigued yet?

When fellow Cabot Cover, Cliff Cooper, passes away, Jessica agrees to help local realtor, Eve Simpson, prepare his former home, the historic Spencer Perry house, to sell.

According to Cliff’s final wishes, relayed to Jessica herself, the proceeds of the sale are then to go to his last remaining heir, his grandson, Elliot.

Cliff raised Elliot on his own after the mysterious disappearance of Elliot’s parents, Cliff’s son and daughter-in-law. It’s rumored the couple left their newborn baby with the elder Mr. Cooper so they could travel to South America on an anthropological expedition.

Jessica’s main contribution will be sorting through Cliff’s thousands of books to prepare them for sale. Her motivation is that the proceeds will be donated to the Cabot Cove library.

The house is literally packed to the gills with stuff. Jessica can hardly believe the state of it, but she promptly gets to work even amidst the circling rumors that the house is haunted. The rumors are so prevalent that Eve has had a hard time finding people to work at the property.

Therefore she resorts to hiring an unknown handyman, an apparent drifter to handle the repairs, as well as a medium to help chase away the ghosts.

Jessica just wants to quietly sort books, but the chaos Eve has created with all these unknown people makes the whole process completely uncomfortable for her. The last thing she needs is some medium including her on a ghost hunters YouTube series.

When it turns out that the late Cliff Cooper didn’t die of natural causes, however, Jessica can hardly extricate herself from the scene. She can’t help but dive into a mystery.

Thus, Jessica begins an investigation into the Cooper family, their home and who could have possibly wanted Mr. Cooper dead. It’s a real puzzle and the deeper she digs, the more confounding it gets.

As with all MSW mysteries, I had a lot of fun with this. It’s always so nostalgic to crack a spine of another Jessica Fletcher story.

Since this one is set in Cabot Cove, all Jessica’s friends and regular acquaintances make an appearance here. I will say, just for me, I tend to enjoy the stories where Jessica is traveling just a little bit more, but that is 100% personal taste.

Either way, this is a solid, fun mystery, with great twists, turns and reveals. I am so happy that I finally got a chance to read this one and look forward to my next Murder, She Wrote story.

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Review: A Cornish Recipe for Murder (Nosey Parker #5) by Fiona Leitch

~ megs14malloy

A Cornish Recipe for Murder (The Nosey Parker Mysteries #5)A Cornish Recipe for Murder by Fiona Leitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Cornish Recipe for Murder is the 5th-book in the Nosey Parker Mystery series.

I had so much fun with Murder on the Menu and A Cornish Christmas Murder, Books 1 and 4 in this series, and was super pumped to return to this setting, as well as this fabulous group of characters!!

In this installment, thanks to a nomination from her family, Jodie finds herself competing on the hugely popular The Best of British Baking Roadshow.

The show is currently running their regional competitions and Jodie will be going up against some of the most talented bakers in all of Cornwall.

As to be expected, there’s a bit of drama on set, including a spat between one of the long-time hosts, a well-loved drag queen, and a new man on the crew. That’s not all though, it is a competition after all. Tensions run high.

When a body is found on the grounds where the filming is taking place, the Roadshow becomes an active crime scene, allowing Jodie to combine her two favorite pastimes: cooking and homicide investigation.

Along with her now boyfriend, DCI Nathan Withers, Jodie dives deep into the backgrounds of everyone involved in the show. Is the killer still lurking amongst them?

Somehow Jodie is able to keep it all straight, perfectly executing her bakes while also compiling and scrutinizing a long-list of suspects.

After being initially unsure with this one, it turned out to be so much fun. As with the earlier books in the series, I loved Jodie and following along with her investigation.

Jodie is not your typical amateur sleuth. In fact, she’s not an amateur at all. Jodie worked for the Met in London for decades. Thus, she does have the experience to back up all her poking around.

The conclusion of this was fantastic. I was left squealing with delight over the ending and CANNOT wait to continue on with the series.

I adore it. A true Cozy, full of humor, drama-filled crimes and lovable characters. Before the release of the next installment, I definitely plan to read books 2 and 3.

Thank you so much to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely in for the long haul with this series. Keep ’em coming!

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