Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder

 Review


MURDER, SHE WROTE: SNOWY WITH A CHANCE OF MURDER
By Jessica Fletcher & Barbara Early
The Sixtieth Murder, She Wrote Mystery

Jessica Fletcher should have been enjoying a tropical cruise, but a slip on the ice has her not only stuck in snowy Maine, but confined to a wheelchair with the use of only one arm. Adamant about recovering at home, she grudgingly accepts the help of a live in aide. Fortunately, Alice is a personable young woman, unlike the man renting the house across the way who spends the days constructing X-rated snow sculptures. As Jessica recovers she learns of several mysteries occurring around Cabot Cove: the death of a food truck man and his missing wife and the "Bologna Kid" to name a few, and can't help but use her binoculars to check out things from her living room window. Has J. B. Fletcher turned into L. B. Jefferies?

MURDER, SHE WROTE: SNOWY WITH A CHANCE OF MURDER is a delightfully different mystery. For a good portion of the book readers aren't entirely sure what the mystery is. Sure, we know about the murdered man and the assumption that his wife killed him after an argument and fled which happened before the book started. We also know about a man stealing food and clothing. All this and everything that happens in the first portion of the book doesn't seem that pressing, but it's is laying the groundwork for the murder that happens right under Jessica's nose. 

Spending time in Cabot Cove is like coming home. Reading the sixtieth Murder, She Wrote Mystery is like being wrapped in a cozy blanket with a nice cup of cocoa in hand. While it was fun hanging out with Jessica, Seth, and Mort nothing crucial appeared to be happening. It seemed that disparate events were occurring around town and I thought was too much time spent on a seemingly irrelevant subplot, however, by the end of the story everything joined together, proving things were indeed relevant and making a seamless whole. 

MURDER, SHE WROTE: SNOWY WITH A CHANCE OF MURDER brings the warmth of good friends and a great mystery to a wintry Maine in a great addition to this long running series.

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 Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Barbara Early

About Snowy with a Chance of Murder

Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder
Cozy Mystery 60th in Series
Setting - Maine
Publisher: ‎ Berkley (March 18, 2025)
Hardcover: ‎ 304 pages
In a nod to Rear Window, this newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series finds Jessica Fletcher coping with an injury that leaves her homebound—and a murder just outside her window! Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. There’s good reason for her to be distracted, because soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures. While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast. The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street—and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow. Can Jessica catch a cold-blooded killer from her chair by the window?

About the Authors

Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation.

Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a schoolteacher, a pastor’s wife, and an amateur puppeteer. She lives in Western New York State (Go Bills!), where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies and campy seventies television, board games, and spending time with her granddaughters.

Before teaming up with Jessica Fletcher, she previously wrote the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series and the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (as Beverly Allen).

Author Links

Website https://www.barbaraearly.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarbaraEarly

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Bookshop.org - Penguin Random House

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Friday, February 7, 2025

A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket - A Review & Giveaway

 Review


A TISKET A TASKET NOT ANOTHER CASKET by Heather Weidner
The Third Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery 
 
Things are booming in Mermaid Bay as three fireworks companies have arrived to compete for the lucrative contract to provide displays for the entire summer season. There's more than incendiary blasts in the air, there's a feud between the two family operations. Accusations of spying, sabotage, and actual fights flood the town. More excitement arrives in the form of a new blog. Mermaid Whispers is disseminating lots of gossip causing everyone to wonder the blogger's identity. That excitement pales when Jade Hicks finds what she thinks is trash in the lot next to her shop. The pile of clothes turns out to be one of the competitors. While her Sheriff boyfriend is officially investigating the murder Jade is preparing a new murder board in her home. After all, she's helped solve two other murders, what's one more?
 
Mermaid Bay is a quaint town to visit, no matter the season and I enjoyed visiting during the winter as the town begins to gear up for Christmas. Of course, it's always Christmas as 'Tis the Season, Jade's Christmas store. It's fun seeing the variety of ornaments, not just Christmas themed ones. After all, why not have a tree up all year, changing the ornaments to match the season! I appreciate the small town atmosphere and the good friendships that have blossomed. I loved seeing Neville and Chloe again, though of the two I am definitely Team Neville!
 
What a group of characters comprising the firework's competitors! It was amazing to see what the feuding families would do next. Talk about childish and unprofessional behavior! A TISKET A TASKET NOT ANOTHER CASKET provides a solid mystery, although thanks to some obvious clues I knew why the victim was killed well before Jade. Jade's sleuthing was fairly circumspect, although she and her shop were always in the midst of things.
 
Fireworks abound in A TISKET A TASKET NOT ANOTHER CASKET, both literally and figuratively, making this third Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery a fun and exciting read.
 
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 A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket: A Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery by Heather Weidner

About A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket

A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket: A Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - Virginia
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books (January 14, 2025)
Print length: ‎ 277 pages

Excitement is in the air as everyone in Mermaid Bay is preparing for the Christmas season. This year promises to be more dazzling than ever when the business council sponsors a competition for the town’s lucrative summer fireworks contract. The quaint little beach town is ready to be wowed with choreographed shows and drone action that light up the night sky.

Instead of goodwill and sparkles, two of the teams take the competition to new lows with corporate espionage, feuds, and sabotage, and Jade and her team at ‘Tis the Season are ground zero for all the explosive action. When one of the competitors turns up murdered near Jade’s shop, she has to solve the mystery before the holidays are ruined.

About Heather Weidner

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, and the Pearly Girls Mysteries.

Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and she has non-fiction pieces in Promophobia and The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers’ Cookbook.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime: National, Central Virginia, Chessie, Guppies, and Grand Canyon Writers, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers, and she blogs regularly with the Writers Who Kill.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Author Links:  

Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor  

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@heather_mystery_writer  

BlueSky: Heather Weidner (@heatherweidner.bsky.social) — Bluesky  

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heather_weidner_author  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner  

Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ  

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003  

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1 

 Purchase Link - Amazon 

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Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Currently Reading...

I just finished reading A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket by Heather Weidner. This book is the third in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery series and was released last month.

Things are booming in Mermaid Bay as three fireworks companies have arrived to compete for the lucrative contract to provide displays for the entire summer season. There's more than incendiary blasts in the air, there's a feud between the two family operations. Accusations of spying, sabotage, and actual fights flood the town. More excitement arrives in the form of a new blog. Mermaid Whispers is disseminating lots of gossip causing everyone to wonder the blogger's identity. That excitement pales when Jade Hicks finds what she thinks is trash in the lot next to her shop. The pile of clothes turns out to be one of the competitors. While her Sheriff boyfriend is officially investigating the murder Jade is preparing a new murder board in her home. After all, she's helped solve two other murders, what's one more?

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Soft Serve Sleighing - A Review & Giveaway

 Review


SOFT SERVE SLEIGHING by Lena Gregory
The Fifth Coffee & Cream Café Mystery 

It's a blizzard! Danika Delaney and her friends are snug inside her shop ,the Coffee & Cream Café, as severe winter conditions have shut down all of Watchogue. The arrival of three young women in the midst of a snow storm shouldn't be cause for alarm, but trouble starts when Brynleigh Star, the YouTube influencer, tries to extort Dani in exchange for a good review, then leaves without paying for the multitude of food the trio consumed. Still seething Dani tries to embrace winter fun by giving in to her friend's desire to go sledding. But a wild ride down the town's only hill leads Dani right into Brynleigh's dead body. With the woman's entourage calling Dani a murderer and a brawl breaking out in her shop Dani and her friends once again find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation. Will they be able to put the killer on ice? 

There may be a blizzard outside, but SOFT SERVE SLEIGHING will warm your heart. I love this series so much and this fifth entry is a great addition. The friendship between Dani, Eli, and Gwen is a treasure. They would do anything for each other whether it be tracking down a killer or building a snowman! That level of devotion makes the horribleness of Brynleigh Star and her "friends" all the more upsetting.

The mystery was complex with lots of possibilities to explore. I appreciated how Dani tried to let Jake and the police investigate without becoming too involved, but how could she say no to Eli. And what trouble she get into being an armchair detective? Plenty. Serious danger impacts everything and there are plenty of heart pounding and heart stopping moments!

Love and laughter fill SOFT SERVE SLEIGHING with joy, creating a fun and memorable mystery. So grab a bowl of ice cream, no matter the weather, and settle in for a satisfying read!

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Soft Serve Sleighing (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries) by Lena Gregory

About Soft Serve Sleighing

Soft Serve Sleighing (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery 5th in Series
Setting – Long Island, NY
Publisher: ‎ Gemma Halliday Publishing (January 28, 2025)
Number of Pages - 226

From author Lena Gregory comes a delightfully delicious cozy mystery...

With most of Eastern Long Island closed down for a blizzard, Danika Delaney and her friends are holed up in her old fashioned malt shop, the Coffee & Cream Café, with ice cream and hot chocolate. However, their plans to wait out the storm in cozy company are interrupted when a popular YouTuber and her two companions show up at the door—they've been trapped by the storm, and Dani generously offers to serve them breakfast. But her generosity isn't rewarded in kind, as the reviewer then tries to extort money from Dani in exchange for a good review! When the storm finally clears, Dani is happy to have seen the last of them.

Or so she thought.

Dani and her friends decide to go sleigh riding the morning after the storm clears, but instead of a winter wonderland, they find the extorting YouTuber...dead! To make matters worse, Dani suddenly finds herself accused of the woman's murder. Intent on restoring her reputation, Dani sets out to prove she didn’t do it. This is one storm she's not sure she can weather...

About Lena Gregory

Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest, the Mini-Meadows Mysteries, set in a community of tiny homes in Central Florida, and the Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries, which take place in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, New York.

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

Author Links

Purchase Links Amazon B&N Kobo 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Soft Serve Sleighing by Lena Gregory. This book is the fifth in the Coffee & Cream Café Mystery series and was released yesterday.

It's a blizzard! Danika Delaney and her friends are snug inside her shop ,the Coffee & Cream Café, as severe winter conditions have shut down all of Watchogue. The arrival of three young women in the midst of a snow storm shouldn't be cause for alarm, but trouble starts when Brynleigh Star, the YouTube influencer, tries to extort Dani in exchange for a good review, then leaves without paying for the multitude of food the trio consumed. Still seething Dani tries to embrace winter fun by giving in to her friend's desire to go sledding. But a wild ride down the town's only hill leads Dani right into Brynleigh's dead body. With the woman's entourage calling Dani a murderer and a brawl breaking out in her shop Dani and her friends once again find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation. Will they be able to put the killer on ice?