Book Review and Giveaway - Halloween Parade Peril: A British Cozy Murder Mystery with a Female Amateur Sleuth (A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery) by Victoria Tait

My Review

Halloween Parade Peril is a cozy mystery featuring Dotty Sayers, an antique expert who often travels with her work.  She is in Dublin to attend a prestigious auction and purchase antiques for a castle that is being converted into a hotel.  When she witnesses a murder at a Halloween parade, she becomes involved in sleuthing, especially since she knows some of the suspects.

I wanted to read Halloween Parade Peril because I love this series of mysteries.  I find the antique details fascinating!  The Halloween theme and Dublin settings were also intriguing.

I read this novel over two days because I couldn't put it down.  If I had a spare moment, I was reading!   I loved the details of the auction (so many fascinating antique details in this mystery!) and the Irish folklore featured through the book.

There were several plausible suspects, and I didn't guess the real murderer until the case was solved.  Like the other books in this series, the mystery was well plotted and the short chapters make this a fast paced read.

I enthusiastically recommend Halloween Parade Peril for other fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for anyone interested in antiques.

Book Synopsis

A spooky spectacle turns deadly when a singer’s voice is silenced forever. Does an amateur sleuth have the ghost of a chance to unmask the killer before the jack-o’-lantern’s candle is snuffed out?

Emerging antiques expert, Dotty Sayers, is excited about traveling to Ireland for a prestigious auction. Alongside her friend, Sergeant Keya Varma, Dotty revels in Dublin’s iconic sights and finds herself spellbound by haunting melodies at the Bram Stoker Festival. But a Halloween parade turns tragic when a musician’s last melody leads to his final breath.With the police operating a skeleton crew, Keya expresses grave concerns while Dotty carves up excitement at the auction, bidding for a pumpkin full of Irish treasures. But when one of their friends ends up behind bars and another confesses to the crime, this duo of detectives realises the witching hour is near.

Can Dotty piece the eerie puzzle together and unveil the villain before the plot thickens like a witch’s potion?

Join Dotty and her friends in Dublin for the latest instalment of the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series. If a cauldron of quirky characters, bewitching puzzles, and enchanting Irish folklore is what you crave, then Victoria Tait’s spellbinding narrative will keep you captivated until the final page.

Make no bones about it – read Halloween Parade Peril today!

Author Bio

Victoria Tait was born and raised in Yorkshire, England, and never expected to travel the world. She’s drawn on her life’s experiences of following her military husband, and a love of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Murder She Wrote, to write British-based cozy mysteries.Her determined and hard-working female sleuths are joined by colourful but realistic teams of helpers, and her settings are vivid and evocative.  As you’re compelled to keep turning the pages, you’ll be irresistibly drawn into a world of intrigue, surprises, and humour, as well as a delectable helping of mystery, because tea and intrigue are a perfect blend.

Author Links

Website     Bookbub    Instagram    Pinterest    Goodreads 

Purchase Links

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Book Review and Giveaway - French Quarter Fright Night (Vintage Cookbook) by Ellen Byron

My Review

Ricki James-Diaz is enjoying life in New Orleans, working in the little vintage cookbook shop she owns (located in the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum), and preparing for Halloween at the museum shop.  When an old acquaintance of her husband who is a famous actor comes to town and situates himself next door to the museum, things begin to go bad.  Blaine Taggart has an exceptionally difficult assistant named Miranda.  Miranda is found dead in a Halloween display, and Ricki is determined to find the killer.

I wanted to read French Quarter Fright Night because I enjoy Ellen Byron's cozy mysteries, and especially love the Vintage Cookbook series.  I collect vintage cookbooks and also sell them online, so I love the little vintage cookbook/cookware details in these books.  I also enjoy the New Orleans setting!

I think this is my favorite of the series so far.  The Halloween setting added a lot to the atmosphere.  The staff at Bon Vee has become a tight group of friends, as well as colleagues, at this point and they all want to have this murder solved.  It was fun watching their progress on the mystery along with the Halloween festivities at the museum.

There were a number of good suspects for this murder, and I enjoyed Ricki's sleuthing.  This is a fast paced mystery with some snappy dialogue and little touches of humor.  

Of course, I also loved details about Ricki's shop, like:

"After placing bids on a handful of cookbooks being sold via an online auction, Ricki went through every bookshelf to confirm each cookbook was in its proper place. She organized them first by decade, then type, followed by theme. She found a couple of 1960s community cookbooks on the 1950s hardcover shelf. One featured appetizer recipes, the other was all about fondues. She moved them to their proper locations. ‘I have more cookbooks from the 1960s than any other decade,’ she said to Red, the only other shop occupant. ‘That’s my new go-to destination if anyone ever invents a time tunnel.’" (eBook location 927).

I highly recommend French Quarter Fright Night for other fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for readers who have an interest in New Orleans or vintage cookbooks.

Book Synopsis

The third in the fabulous cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron.

Welcome to the Bon Veeevil Festival of Fear! Prepare for the spookiest night of your life . . .

It’s Halloween in New Orleans, and the staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum is setting up a fantastic haunted house tour for their visitors. But when flashy movie star Blaine Taggart and his entourage move into the mansion next door, gift shop proprietor Ricki James-Diaz gets a fright of her own.

While Ricki is excited about the potential business the tours will bring to her vintage cookbook shop, she’s less thrilled by former friend Blaine’s arrival in town. Then Bon Vee’s prop tomb becomes a real tomb for Blaine’s nasty assistant, and suddenly everyone at Bon Vee is a murder suspect. There isn’t a ghost of a chance one of them committed the crime, but with NOPD busy tackling the mischief and mayhem generated by the spooky holiday, it falls on Ricki and her friends to catch the killer.

As the Big Easy gears up for the Big Scary, it seems everyone has skeletons in their closets. Can Ricki reveal the shadowy killer before someone else becomes part of the Halloween horror show?

Author Bio

Ellen Byron is a USA Today bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico). Her new series, The Golden Motel Mysteries, recently debuted. She is also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Visit her at Cozy Mysteries | Ellen Byron | Author

Author Links 

Newsletter:   https://www.ellenbyron.com/

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

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

Bookbub:   https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron

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Book Review and Giveaway - Buried on a Sundae (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries) by Lena Gregory

My Review

Dani Delany is trying to figure out where her possible romance with detective Jake Barlow stands when she finds herself in the middle of a new mystery.  She goes out to a new nightclub with her friends Gwen and Eli and witnesses a confrontation between Jake and a mysterious woman named Angelique.  When Angelique ends up murdered, Dani decides to prove Jake's innocence - with the help of her sister Meghan, Gwen, and Eli. 

I wanted to read this book because I like all Lena Gregory's mysteries, and especially enjoy the Coffee & Cream Cafe series.  

This is a fun, fast paced mystery.  Dani may own a vintage malt shop, but she thinks like a detective!  It was great seeing her work so closely with her best friends and sister on this case as well.  I didn't guess who the murderer was on this case, so I particularly enjoyed watching Dani solve the case.

My one and only wish was for more scenes at the malt shop.  There seemed to be fewer in this book.

I highly recommend Buried on a Sundae - and this entire series - for other cozy mystery readers.  You are sure to enjoy this book!

Book Synopsis

From author Lena Gregory comes a delicious new mystery…

Things have been looking up for Danika Delany’s business—her uncle’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island. But for her love life? Not so much. After a disastrous date with Detective Jake Barlow, Danika lets her best friends, Gwen and Eli, talk her into a night out at the hottest new nightclub in town. Only, while there, Dani finds her sort-of boyfriend secreted in the shadows on the beach behind the club with crime boss Patrick Johansen’s wife, Angelique! An upset Dani leaves without giving Jake a chance to explain, but when he doesn’t get in touch the next day, she takes a long walk along the beach to reevaluate her love life. That’s where she suddenly stumbles across Angelique’s body buried in the dunes near where she last saw her with Jake. Sure that Jake is innocent—of murder at least—Danika and her friends set out to prove Jake had nothing to do with her murder and stop a killer…before they strike again!

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

• Newsletter: http://lenagregory.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9765d0711ed4fab4fa31b16ac&id=49d42335d1.
• Website: http://www.lenagregory.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lena.gregory.986
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Lena.Gregory.Author/?fref=ts
• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LenaGregory03
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14956514.Lena_Gregory?from_search=true
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lenagregoryauth/

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – 

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Book Review and Giveaway - Booked on Murder (A Haunted Library Mystery) by Allison Brook

My Review

Booked On Murder is the eighth and final book in the Haunted Library cozy mystery series.  Small town librarian Carrie Singleton is planning her wedding to Dylan Avery when they find a body on the grounds of their wedding site.  As they look into the mystery, there is another mystery that pops up involving a very old, historical diary of a woman who was persecuted for witchcraft years ago. As always, Carrie's ghostly friend Evelyn and her library friends all play an important part in the story.

I wanted to read this mystery because I absolutely love this series!  I have recommended it so many times to friends, and have loved reviewing the previous books in the series here as well.

This is one of my favorite books in this series!  I am sad the series is ending but this conclusion was absolutely perfect.  The author did a wonderful job at balancing Carrie and Dylan's story with the different mysteries in this book.  And this novel was mystery packed!  There was one case after another ... with questions of how they were related.

The mystery aspect of this novel was well done, with several strong suspects.  I guessed the suspect, but enjoyed watching Carrie solve the mystery (with a very dramatic denouement!).

I highly recommend Booked on Murder - and the whole series - for fans of cozy mysteries.  Readers who enjoy library settings, small town locales, and a light friendly ghost element will particularly like this series.

Book Synopsis

Librarian Carrie Singleton must catch a killer before she can say “I do” in the 8th delightful installment in Agatha Award-nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library mystery series.

Carrie Singleton is ready to kiss the single life goodbye. Her wedding to Dylan Avery is just a few weeks away, and a happy ending is about to be hers. But when a body is found on the lawn of their wedding venue, happily-ever-after is looking deadlier than ever.

The victim turns out to be Billy Carpenter, a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a bank robbery. The stolen money he’d buried is gone and Carrie and the police suspect Billy’s two alleged co-conspirators, his friends Luke Rizzo and Tino Valdez. But then Luke is murdered and Tino is nowhere to be found.

With no leads and only a week to go before her big day, Carrie is on the hunt for clues. She hopes to wrap up this investigation with a neat bow before she and Dylan tie the knot. Carrie has something old, something new, and something borrowed ready for her walk down the aisle. Now she needs to find the killer without becoming the ‘something blue.’

Author Bio

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook, she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series, the Twin Lakes series, and Giving Up the Ghost. Her romantic suspense, Come Home to Death, was released on April 30, 2024, and her romantic suspense, Dangerous Relations, will be republished in 2025.

Marilyn’s juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice and recently appeared in a new edition. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, came out in a new edition in January 2024.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids, and playing with her kittens, Romeo and Juliet.

Author Links
Website:  http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/161602.Marilyn_Levinson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson ; https://twitter.com/AllisonBrookML
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marilyn-levinson; https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allison-brook
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marilynlevinsonauthor/

Buy links:
Amazon  Penguin Random House   B&N    BAM   Bookshop.org    Hudson Booksellers   Powell’s      Target      Walmart

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Book Review and Giveaway - A Twinkle of Trouble (A Fairy Garden Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

My Review

Courtney Kelly owns a fairy garden shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  She also can see fairies - and has a little fairy friend named Fiona.  When one of her gardening group friends is murdered, and then another dies the same way, she immediately works - with a little fairy help - to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I love cozy mysteries and I find the Fairy Garden Mystery series delightful!

There is so much to like about this book.  Carmel-by-the-Sea is a charming setting, combining small town charm and a beach.  Courtney is a likable protagonist, and I also liked her relationships with her friends, father, boyfriend, cat Pixie, and fairy friends.

Courtney, the daughter of a retired police detective, is a natural amateur detective.  I especially enjoyed reading about her deductive process which includes using a white board to list clues.  The mystery is well paced with quite a few strong suspects.  

I recommend A Twinkle of Trouble for fans of cozy mysteries ... and especially for readers who enjoy a little whimsy like the fairy storyline in this series.  Gardening enthusiasts will also love the garden details!

Book Synopsis

Carmel-by-the-Sea garden shop owner Courtney Kelly sees things others can’t—like fairies, and hidden motives for murder . . .

Courtney is delighted when her tiny friend Fiona returns from the fairy realm, appearing at the base of a Cypress tree. When her Ragdoll cat, Pixie, emerges from her own portal—aka the cat door—the three set off for a busy day. Busier than usual, since Courtney has rented a small plot of land at the Flower Farm, where she hopes to grow her own supplies for her fairy-garden business. Plus, the annual Summer Blooms Festival is coming up, and Courtney has booked a booth . . .

But the murder of Courtney’s friend, Genevieve, casts a pall over the festival. Ever since Genevieve sold her floral business, she’d been building a career as an influencer. She was perennially opinionated—but in her new role she’d become surprisingly vicious, dissing local entrepreneurs with nasty posts and unwarranted bad reviews. That’s landed a couple of Courtney’s other friends on the suspect list—including Flower Farm owner Daphne Flores. And when a second victim is discovered, seeds of doubt about Daphne’s innocence sprout in Courtney’s mind. With only a germ of a clue, Courtney will have to overturn every rock to get the dirt on the real killer . . .

Author Bio

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling mysteries, including the Fairy Garden Mysteries and Cookbook Nook Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes suspense including the well received The Son’s Secret, Girl on the Run, and the popular Aspen Adams series. Recently Daryl, who loves a challenge, published a Christmas romance, Hope for the Holidays. Fun Tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, garden, read, and walk her frisky Goldendoodle. Also she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. You can learn more on her website: https://darylwoodgerber.com

Author Links

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Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop –

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