The Antique Store Detective and the May Day Murder by Clare Chase

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "The Antique Store Detective and the May Day Murder” the 2nd instalment in The Bella Winter Mystery series by Clare Chase set in Hope Eaton, Shopshire England.  I enjoyed book 2 much more than the first and will definitely continue with the series.

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May Day should mark the start of spring. But this year, it means murder… Fortunately antique store owner and amateur detective Bella Winter is on the case! 

Everyone in Hope Eaton climbs the hill to Sweet Agnes’ Spring on May Day, to greet the dawn and leave tokens among the flowers. Antique store owner Bella Winter grumbles about the early start, but she has to admit that watching the sun rise over the flower-strewn grove is worth it. And her interest deepens when she sees that one of the offerings this year is a little doll stuck all over with pins… a perfect replica of Mary Roberts, who lives nearby.

Determined to find out what lies behind this bizarre threat, Bella dives into a murky mess of strange events. Mary’s house is up for sale, but someone’s trying to wreck the deal, leaving rotting weeds on her front step. And Mary claims she’s seen a cloaked figure watching her from the woods…

Bella’s half convinced this is all nonsense, but then Mary is found dead, her prized carving of the spring stolen from her dresser. The police say it was a heart attack, but was she literally scared to death?

Soon Bella has uncovered a string of further mysteries. Why is Mary’s nearest neighbour missing? Who graffitied her boss’s house with a warning the night she died? And why would anyone want Mary’s carving?

All paths lead back to the spring itself… but does it hold answers or more danger?And can Bella track the killer down before she’s cut off at the source?

I really like how Bella and her circle of friends find out information and gather insights into the crime and the people involved. I thought it strange that Bella didn’t investigate why business at the store was so slow until nearly the end of the story as I thought it would be something she should care about more.  The story deals with trust issues, greed, local folklore, and community.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and had plenty of twists to keep engaged right to the very end.  I kept guessing and second-guessing myself but I was right on who the killer was.     

I highly recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends. I can’t wait for book 3!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Bookouture and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

The Antique Store Detective by Clare Chase

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "The Antique Store Detective” the first instalment in The Bella Winter Mystery series by Clare Chase set in Hope Eaton, Shopshire England.  What a great start to a new series.

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Meet Bella Winter. She loves vintage clothes, antiques and… solving crimes? 

Bella Winter moved to charming Hope Eaton for some peace and quiet after quitting her busy city job. She delights in spending time in her little antique store on top of the hill, hunting for bargains at auctions, and getting to know everybody – because if there’s one thing Bella’s good at, it’s solving other people’s problems. But her peaceful life is overturned when she finds eccentric local historian Professor Oliver Barton dead in the ruins of Raven Hall, a trowel lying near his outstretched hand.

At first, Bella is like everyone saddened by a tragic accident. But then her colleague John asks her to dig deeper. Because the dead man gave him an ancient coin he should never have had, and John thinks he was murdered. It turns out the professor was hunting for buried treasure in the middle of the night. But who would have wanted him dead? And who are the four suspicious women he told John about, calling them the queens of hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades…? 

As Bella delves into the case she uncovers a hoard of the lord of the manor, a secretive group of treasure hunters, the dead man’s desperate niece and her no-good son. And when another local historian takes a fatal tumble, she is certain that the answers lie in the antiques the professor stole. But can she solve the crime before someone tries to bury her?

I enjoyed this story, and it has made me want to visit Shopshire on my next trip to England. Starts off slowly as the author is describing the village and feeding us background information but I’m sure book two will be better.

I really like the bond between Bella, and John Jenks it just felt real and the way they talk to each other and not strained in any way.  Makes you wish you were part of their little community or the Jenks family. I learned about nighthawking which was interesting.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and had plenty of twists to keep engaged right to the very end.  I kept guessing and second-guessing myself but I was right on who the killer was.     

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends. I can’t wait for book two!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime by Vicki Delany

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing “ The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime” the 10th instalment in "A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop" Mystery series by Vicki Delany. It can easily be read as a standalone but I recommend reading in order.  

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Bookshop owner Gemma Doyle heads to London for a wedding, but when a body is found in connection with a rare book, Gemma sets out to sleuth the slaying in bestselling author Vicki Delany's tenth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.

Gemma Doyle and her friends have packed their bags and headed to London for her sister Pippa’s wedding. Waiting for her in the hotel lobby is none other than Gemma’s ex-husband, Paul Erikson. Paul has a rare book he wants her to see—calling it “the real deal”—so Gemma agrees to meet him at their old shop, Trafalgar Fine Books, the following day. But when Gemma arrives, accompanied by Grant, a rare book dealer, they find Paul dead in his office.

Paul had been down on his luck, but Gemma never expected this. Had he borrowed money from people he shouldn’t have? And where is the valuable book he was so anxious for Gemma to see? It’s nowhere to be found in the shop. Because of their previous relationship, Gemma feels she owes something to Paul and vows to find his killer.

As Gemma and her best friend Jayne Wilson follow Paul’s trail of friends, enemies, clients, and ex-lovers through London to Yorkshire, she realizes the puzzle of Paul’s last days is more twisted than she originally thought.

This mystery is anything but elementary, and Gemma and Jayne have to use all their wit to get to the bottom of it before their time in London—or in life—is over.

I enjoyed this mystery, thought it flowed well and kept my attention.  The setting of London England was a fun departure.  Gemma and her friends are there for her sister Pippa’s wedding, what could go wrong …

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, with enough twists to keep you interested.  I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end.   I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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Schooled in Murder by Victoria Gilbert

Hello my cozy friends, 

Today I am reviewing "Schooled in Murder" the 1st instalment in the "A Campus Sleuth Mystery" series by Victoria Gilbert. I think this is a great start to a new series.

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A mystery writer must solve a real murder case before an innocent girl is condemned in this series debut from acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert, perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Lorna Barrett.

Jennifer "Jen" Dalton is an author and educator at Clarion University in Virginia. She loves her job, but some of her petty coworkers look down on her for writing genre fiction. As members of the English department, they wish to encourage students to pursue higher literary aspirations. When a humiliating confrontation between an uppity professor and one of Jen’s students, Mia, escalates, no one thinks much of it. Until his dead body is found along with evidence incriminating Mia. 

Jen knows Mia couldn’t have killed him, but Mia’s suspicious disappearance might as well be a proclamation of guilt. With the sleuthing skills Jen has acquired writing murder mysteries, she’s determined to solve the case and clear Mia’s name. 

Along with the help of her fellow sleuthers—Christine Kubiak, a cafeteria manager; Zachary Flynn, the charming but annoying campus psychologist; and Brianna Rowley, a librarian—Jen must catch the real killer before there’s another murder on the books.

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in almost one sitting. It was entertaining, full of twists and turns as well as a few surprises.  I did guess the killer before Jen but I still found this to be a fun easy read.

I can’t wait to read the next book and see how things are going for Jen, Zach and the rest of her new found friends. 

I highly recommend this book to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

Death Among the Stitches by Betty Hechtman

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "Death Among the Stitches” the 1st instalment in A Crochet and Crumpets Mystery series by Betty Hechtman set in the small Indiana town of Franklin.

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Meet Annie Hart: newly inherited yarn and tea shop owner and reluctant amateur sleuth.

Annie Hart, daughter of Bryan Hart – talent agent to the stars – spends her life getting roped into whatever new task her father needs her to do for his VIP clients. So when she inherits a yarn shop in the small Indiana town of Franklin, she is curious to see what it feels like to have something that is solely hers!

But when her arrival is greeted by the local law enforcement, Annie senses things are not quite as they seem in this idyllic town . . . everyone knows everybody in Franklin yet when it comes to the death of the shop's previous owner, nobody seems sure of anything!

Annie soon discovers that Eleanor Danton was in fact murdered, strangled with her own yarn . . . invigorated by her need to find out the truth, and feeling somehow at home with the friendly bunch of local yarn artists who frequent the shop, she sets out to finding the killer. Much can be achieved over a cuppa and a yarn . . . 

Readers who love super cosy culinary mysteries will eat up this new charming cosy mystery series.

I really enjoyed this story, the mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters.  I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end.   

Now I want to pick up crocheting again, I love these kind of cozy mysteries.

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Severn House  and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!

I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

 Hugs, 

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Dead Men Wag No Tails by Sarah Fox

Hello my cozy friends, 

Today I am reviewing “ Dead Men Wag No Tails” by Sarah Fox  the 2nd instalment in the "Magical Menagerie Mystery series”.  What a great sequel book one!  Once again Sarah Fox has a winner on her hands and I can’t wait for book 3.   Sarah’s books are an automatic preorder even without reading the blurb on what the book is about, I just writing style.  I’m hoping there will be more of her other series in 2025.  (Sweet Confections series, Literary Pub Mystery series as well as the Pancake House Mystery series)

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Romance, treasure and danger collide in the charming coastal town of Twilight Cove. Don't miss the newest instalment in USA Todaybestselling author Sarah Fox's enchanting Magical Menagerie mystery series!

"For a small seaside town, Twilight Cove sure has plenty of excitement . . ."

Georgie Johansen's return to the coastal haven of Twilight Cove has been a dream come true: she gets to work with Auntie O at the animal sanctuary, has adopted two very adorable dogs who have very special abilities and even has a blossoming romance with the gorgeous farmhand Callum.

It's August and the town is buzzing with anticipation for the annual Dead Eye Days pirate festival. The excitement reaches a fever pitch when long-term resident Jasper, a pirate fanatic, declares he is in possession of a treasure map!

However, the hunt for treasure soon becomes a hunt for a murderer when Jasper is found dead, and Georgie is once again compelled to put on her sleuthing hat. With her extraordinary dogs Flossie and Fancy beside her, and Euclid, the mysterious great-horned owl, keeping a watchful eye on them, can she uncover the killer and protect Twilight Cove? Or will her curiosity put a bounty on her own head?

This delightful cozy mystery series with a magical twist is perfect for fans of Sofie Kelly, Amanda Flowers, Wendy Corsi Staub and Gretchen Rue!

I loved it!  I really enjoyed visiting Twilight Cove, Oregon and the animal sanctuary again especially during the annual Dead Eye Days pirate festival.  Sarah is very good at descriptive writing so you feel like you’re right there walking amongst the woods, on the beach or walking main street and seeing the picturesque stores.  I know I would love to live there and be part of Georgie’s friend group.

Who wouldn’t want to hang out with two magical dogs named  Fancy and Flossie, a great horned owl named Euclid, and now an adorable kitten named Stardust, or all the Sanctuary animals.  Another thing I enjoy is the relationship between Georgie and her aunt Olivia, her bff  Tessa and the budding romance with Callum.

I wasn't surprised by what happened to Jasper once the cat was out of the bag with respect to his treasure map.  Having all those suspects drew me in and I had to find out what happened to him and the treasure map!

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Georgie did. 

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 3 to come out!

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Severn House and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Please join the conversation and comment below.  Have you read… If so what did you think/like

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!

I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

Follow my blog with Bloglovin