Friday, March 15, 2024

Book Review and Giveaway - Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs


My Review

Theodosia Browning owns a charming little tea shop in Charleston.  When she works on a local movie set, she witnesses a frightening murder as the film's director is electrocuted.  One of her friends is a suspect, and Theodosia steps in to solve the crime - despite all the danger this entails.

I wanted to read Murder in the Tea Leaves because I have enjoyed the books I've read in the Tea Shop Mystery series.  I love the Charleston setting and the tea details.

This was one of my favorite mysteries in this series.  The murder happened early on and the pace of the mystery was brisk.  There were several plausible suspects, and I enjoyed Theodosia's sleuthing.  She is a fun amateur detective.  I also enjoy her relationship with her boyfriend Riley, her friends, and her lovable dog Earl Grey.

As always, I loved the tea shop details, like the Poetry Tea and the Breakfast at Tiffany's Tea.  The foodie descriptions in this series are sublime!

I recommend Murder in the Tea Leaves (and this entire series) for cozy mystery fans, and especially for anyone with an interest in tea or foodie mysteries.

Book Synopsis

When Theodosia Browning reads the tea leaves on the set of the movie, Dark Fortunes, things go from spooky to worse. Lights are dimmed, the camera rolls, and red hot sparks fly as the film’s director is murdered in a tricky electrical accident. 

Or was it an accident? Though the cast and crew are stunned beyond belief, nobody admits to seeing a thing. And when Theodosia’s friend, Delaine, becomes the prime suspect, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. But who among this Hollywood cast and crew had murder on their mind? The screenwriter is a self-centered pot head, the leading actress is trying to wiggle out of her contract, the brand new director seems indifferent, and nobody trusts the slippery-when-dry Hollywood agent. 

Between hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Tea, a Poetry Tea, and trying to launch her own chocolate line, Theodosia doggedly hunts down clues and explores the seemingly haunted Brittlebank Manor where the murder took place. And just when she’s ready to pounce, a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered, throwing everything into total disarray. But this clever killer will go to any lengths to hide his misdeeds as Theodosia soon finds out when she and her tea sommelier, Drayton, get caught up in a dangerous stakeout. 

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!


Author Bio

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop MysteriesScrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs. 

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:  

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.  

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!  

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:   Website –  Facebook 

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – PenguinRandomHouse –

Giveaway

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Thursday, March 14, 2024

Book Review - You Stole My Name Too: A Curious Case of Animals and Plants with Shared Names by Dennis McGregor


My Review

You Stole My Name Too is a beautiful picture book for children about plants and animals that share a name.  The book is told in short, child-friendly rhymes, like the story of CatNip:

"Your minty magic, sweet and herby
sends me on a tail-chase derby!
Then I curl up in your lap
and dream a little nippy nap."

Flora/fauna combinations include: Crab-Apple, Ostrich Fern, Elephant Garlic, ChickPea, DogWood, and more.

This is a big (9.5" x 14.5") book with full page illustrations that are sure to delight children.  I think it would be ideal as a read aloud at bedtime or in a story circle.  I love read aloud books that incorporate both rhyme and engaging illustrations.

I highly recommend You Stole My Name Too for preschool children, who are sure to be delighted by this book!

Book Synopsis

The second addition to Dennis McGregor's fun picture book series features vibrant, hand-painted illustrations and curious questions like "why does the crab apple share its name with the crab?"

You Stole My Name Too features another amazing collection of illustrations that takes you and your child on a colorful journey through nature's most fascinating plants and animals and their namesakes.

The fun pairs of flora and fauna that are featured in this sequel
• Chick and Chickpea
• Cat and Catnip
• Dog and Dogwood
• Hedgehog and Hedgehog Cactus
• And many more!

A beautiful "children's coffee-table-art book" for all ages, You Stole My Name Too is a clever, creative follow-up to You Stole My Name , a perfect book series for parents and children to read and enjoy together.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Book Review and Giveaway - Double Scoop of Murder (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries) by Lena Gregory


My Review
Dani Delany is enjoying running her family malt shop cafe on Long Island when she encounters a mystery.  A local billionaire passes away and leaves a four billion dollar treasure hunt for the community to solve.  Dani gets talked into joining a treasure hunting team with her friends/family but they uncover a murder ... which leads her to investigate.

I wanted to read Double Scoop of Murder because I really enjoyed the last book in the Coffee & Cream Cafe mystery series, and want to continue reading the books in this series.  I like the malt shop setting and the characters.

Dani is a fun detective. She's an amateur, but she has great instincts for sleuthing, and she's smart and brave. I like her friends and family as well (we see more of them in this mystery), and her love triangle with her high school sweetheart and the handsome detective in town.

The mystery aspects of this book were very well done, starting with a slower pace, but then picking up with several good suspects.  I enjoyed watching Dani solve the case!  The treasure hunt was a fun mystery device.

I recommend Double Scoop of Murder, and this series, for cozy mystery fans.  You are in for a treat with the malt shop setting, the fun cast of characters, and a great amateur detective.

Book Synopsis

From author Lena Gregory comes a hunt for more than just treasure…

Danika Delany is loving running her uncle’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island and putting her own modern spin on the treats they serve. Life is finally looking up for her! That is, until local billionaire Maxwell Crumbholtz dies and leaves his fortune in the form of a treasure hunt. Chaos descends on Watchogue, and Dani and the rest of the gang from the Coffee & Cream Café join the melee when they enter the contest, try to decipher the clues, and go in search of the treasure. But Dani digs up more than she expected when she discovers a dead body buried instead of a treasure! To make matters worse, a witness claims to have seen Dani at the scene of the murder. Now, instead of a four-billion-dollar payday, Dani is on the hunt for a killer.

Author Bio

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 

Giveaway



Friday, March 1, 2024

Book Review and Giveaway - Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery) by Mary Winters


My Review
Murder in Masquerade is a historical mystery about Amelia Amesbury, a young Victorian widow who has a secret sideline as an agony aunt with a newspaper column.  Amelia works to help her friend (and possible romantic interest) Simon Bainbridge.  Simon's younger sister has developed an interest in a suitor that the family doesn't approve of.  After that suitor is killed, the mystery deepens, and Amelia decides to investigate.

I wanted to read this mystery because I enjoyed the first book in this series so much.  I love the Victorian setting and really like Amelia as an amateur detective.

This book started a little slower for me but it soon picked up momentum and I eagerly read on, looking for a resolution to the mystery, but also enjoying Amelia and Simon's budding relationship.  

The author does a wonderful job in this series with setting the scene and creating a cast of interesting, well developed characters.

I recommend Murder in Masquerade for fans of historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, the Victorian era, and British manor house settings.

Book Synopsis
Extra, extra, read all about it! Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury finds herself playing the role of sleuth when a night at the theatre turns deadly.

Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. After all, Amelia will do whatever it takes to help a reader in need. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia’s Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit.

But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis, mend the familial bond, and find the murderer. Luckily, solving problems is her specialty!


Author Bio
Mary Winters is the author of the Lady of Letters historical mystery series. She also writes cozy mysteries under the name Mary Angela. A longtime reader and fan of historical fiction, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip! Find out more about Mary and her writing, reading, and teaching at marywintersauthor.com.

Author Links
Website http://www.Marywintersauthor.com
Blog http://www.Marywintersauthor.com/blog
Facebook http://www.Facebook.com/marywintersauthor
Instagram http://www.Instagram.com/marywintersauthor
GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157979415-murder-in-masquerade

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – BAM – Bookshop.org – Powell’s Books – Hudson Booksellers

Giveaway


Thursday, February 29, 2024

Book Review - Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin


My Review
Embers in the London Sky is a historical novel set during World War II.  Aleida Martens lives in the Netherlands with her three year old son Theo and her controlling husband Sebastian.  Sebastian gives Theo to a British couple who whisk him away to safety before Sebastian is killed on the roadside.  Aleida travels to England, where her aunt and uncle live, and works tirelessly to find Theo.  She is helped by an intrepid BBC reporter, Hugh Collingwood.  They get closer as they participate in the war effort in England and search together for Theo.  They also work to solve the mystery of some seemingly unrelated murders in their circle of friends.

I wanted to read Embers in the London Sky because I love Sarah Sundin's books.  She is one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and I have recommended her novels many times to friends.  I love fiction set during World War II, so the time period was of interest to me.

I really liked the complexity of this novel.  There is the story of Aleida's search for her son, Hugh and his struggles with asthma, their war work in England, and the mysteries they work to solve.  

Aleida and Hugh are both wonderful protagonists - both with very human struggles (his asthma and what appeared to be her OCD) but both strengthened by their personal faith and their desire to do the right thing and make a difference.  I loved their connection, initially based on friendship and a slowly developing romance.  And of course I wanted Aleida to find Theo and be reunited with him.

There were several surprising twists in this novel.  It was more of a mystery than Sarah Sundin's other books, but I enjoyed it very much.  I recommend Embers in the London Sky to fans of historical fiction, and especially for anyone interested in a 1940's setting.


Book Synopsis
London, 1940

As the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to London to wait out the occupation. Separated from her three-year-old son, Theo, in the process, the young widow desperately searches for her little boy even as she works for an agency responsible for evacuating children to the countryside.

When German bombs set London ablaze, BBC radio correspondent Hugh Collingwood reports on the Blitz, eager to boost morale while walking the fine line between truth and censorship. But the Germans are not the only ones Londoners have to fear as a series of murders flame up amid the ashes.

The deaths hit close to home for Hugh, and Aleida needs his help to locate her missing son. As they work together, they grow closer and closer, both to each other and the answers they seek. But time is running short--and the worst is yet to come.


Author Bio
Sarah Sundin is the bestselling author of When Twilight BreaksUntil Leaves Fall in ParisThe Sound of Light, and the popular WWII series Sunrise at Normandy, among others. She is a Christy Award winner and a Carol Award winner, and her novels have received starred reviews from BooklistLibrary Journal, and Publishers Weekly, and have appeared on Booklist's "101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years." Sarah lives in California. Visit SarahSundin.com for more information.