Book Review and Giveaway - A Classic Case of Murder (A Literary Dining Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

My Review

Allie Catt caters literary theme events in Bramblewood, North Carolina, a small town near Asheville.  She is excited to host A Christmas Carol theme event, featuring a rare edition of the book and a holiday menu.  But when a rare book expert attending the event is discovered dead, Allie sets out to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read A Classic Case of Murder because Daryl Wood Gerber is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors.  I have enjoyed the previous books in this series.

This is my favorite book in the Literary Dining Mystery series.  It has several elements I really enjoy:

• Rare books
• A holiday theme
• A Christmas Carol references throughout

This mystery works so well.  There is a small group of people gathered at the Amber Lantern Inn for the event, so Allie has a ready-made list of suspects.  I enjoyed her sleuthing process, starting with making a simple Word document of suspects.  The mystery is well paced, and it was enjoyable to follow Allie's deductive process.

The holiday food references and rare book details added a lot to this book as well, and I think these elements will appeal to cozy mystery readers.  

I recommend A Classic Case of Murder for cozy mystery fans who enjoy holiday themes, small town settings, foodie books, and literary references.

Book Synopsis

Personal chef and caterer Allie Catt combines her love of fiction with her love of food in the scenic North Carolina mountains—but amid her latest themed event, based on Dickens’s beloved classic, A Christmas Carol, a rare-book expert’s goose is cooked…

In the charming town of Bramblewood, not far from Asheville, Allie’s preparing for a special seasonal soiree: a literary-themed dinner party that’s a tribute to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. It’ll take place at the Amber Lantern, the quaint inn recently opened by her best friend’s mother, Noeline—and the holiday spirit has even led a Scroogelike local businessman to lend his prized first edition of the nineteenth-century novella for the event.

With the voices of carolers ringing in the air and the community theater staging a special performance, it looks like it will be a happy Christmas—until the priceless book disappears and someone murders the expert who authenticated it. And if the police have their way, Allie’s lawyer friend Freddy will be dragged away in chains like Marley’s ghost…

The crime has also cast a shadow over Noeline’s fledgling business, so Allie feels doubly obliged to find the real killer among the gathered guests and local visitors—and put an end to this nightmare. It’s time to investigate them all, every one . . .

Author Bio

Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning and nationally bestselling author of the Literary Dining Mysteries, Aroma Wellness Mysteries, Fairy Garden Mysteries and Cookbook Nook Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes suspense novels, including the well-received Accidental Murder, The Son’s Secret, Girl on the Run, and the popular Aspen Adams trilogy. Daryl has published a standalone Christmas romance, Hope for the Holidays, a mystery anthology, and a children’s illustrated rhyming book. 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 

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Book Review and Giveaway - Eggnog & Evidence: A Maine Campground Cozy Mystery by Nikki Weber

My Review

Noelle Cooper is busy hosting a big Christmas in July festival at Babbling Brook Campground in Maine (with the help of her beagle Corny, of course!).  When the festival's event planner, Holly, dies during the tree lighting, Noelle sets out to find out what happened.

I wanted to read Eggnog & Evidence because I have enjoyed previous books in this series.  I like the campground setting, and as a dog lover, of course I love reading about Corny too.

This was a fun addition to the Maine Campground Cozy Mystery series.  The Christmas in July theme was fun, and the festival was an interesting setting for a murder mystery, given all the vendors, personnel, and campers that attended.

I enjoyed following along as Noelle detects, looking carefully at who was there the night of the tree lighting.  I appreciate the maps of the campground and the town at the beginning of the book;  they were fun to see and nice for reading reference.

The mystery aspect was well done.  The killer caught me by surprise!

This is a fast paced, fun read.  I recommend Eggnog & Evidence - and this series - to other cozy mystery readers.

Book Synopsis

Some secrets are like Christmas lights: they get worse the more you try to untangle them.

Noelle Cooper is teaming up with her family to launch a festive new venture: a holiday extravaganza complete with Santa, gallons of eggnog, and a spectacular tree lighting guaranteed to make the season merry and bright.

There’s just one problem: Holly Winterbourne, the abrasive holiday consultant Noelle’s father has hired to help pull it off. Holly insists on holding a practice run at Babbling Brook Campground—in the middle of July—and she rubs everyone the wrong way.

When an incident at the tree lighting turns deadly, the festivities come to a shocking halt. Noelle feels partly responsible for the tragedy, but then the police determine that it was no accident, and Noelle’s guilt turns to suspicion. She sets out to discover who tried to pull the plug on the festival.

Author Bio

Nikki Weber grew up reading in unconventional places: the backseat of a car, the top of the monkey bars on her backyard play set, and the corners of the quietest hallways in her elementary school. She was born and raised in Maine and spent her childhood summers camping with her family and their beagle. She loves dogs, nachos, coffee, and ice cream, and so far, she’s managed to work three of those four things into the books in the Maine Campground Cozy Mystery series. She’s working on her next book right now, so grab a copy of whatever you haven’t read yet and get started!

Author Links

Website: https://nikkiweberbooks.com/

Sign Up for Nikki’s Newsletter:  Join the Cozy Book Club! | Nikki Weber

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/nikkiweber

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/nikkiweberbooks

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

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Book Review and Giveaway - The Ghost and the Dead Librarian (A Haunted Bookshop Detective Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

My Review

The Ghost and the Dead Librarian is set in a bookshop in Quindicott, Rhode Island.  Penelope (Pen) lives with her young son and runs a small family bookshop.  She communicates, via thoughts, with 1940's detective Jack Shepard.  When Pen hosts local author Dory McKenna for a book signing, she has no idea what will happen.  Dory is a retired librarian, known as the Dead Librarian because she also writes obituaries.  She has written a book about their hometown that raises the ire of some of the community.  And then she is discovered dead in the bookshop - with her own obituary in her lap.  Pen and Jack set out to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this mystery because I enjoyed earlier books in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series.  I have not read the series in a while, but I was able to catch up quickly.

I love older hardboiled mysteries (especially Raymond Chandler) so particularly love the character of Jack.  His voice is absolutely perfect.  I really enjoy the back and forth between Jack and Pen;  it's snappy and so smartly written.

This is a clever, well paced mystery.  I'm excited to be reading this series again and look forward to the next book!   I recommend The Ghost and the Dead Librarian for fans of old detective novels and also readers who enjoy a light paranormal twist.

Book Synopsis

A LIBRARY JOURNAL “MYSTERY PICK OF THE MONTH” In an utterly charming new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle, a small-town Rhode Island bookshop owner investigates the death of an eccentric librarian with the help of a wisecracking, 1940s gumshoe ghost.

As a young widow, Penelope moved back to her quaint Rhode Island town to give her young son a safer home and her aunt’s dying bookshop new life. Using her late husband’s insurance money, Pen polished the store into a local treasure. But her updates did more than attract new customers. They roused a dead private eye from his big sleep.

With Pen’s affection for hardboiled detective stories, it’s no surprise she’s developed a fondness for the wisecracking yet oddly likeable spirit. Sure, Jack’s cold spots are exasperating, along with his proclivity for putting noir fiction in the cozy section. But murder was Jack’s business in life, and his PI skills come in awfully handy when the body of an eccentric librarian is found amid the bookshop’s aisles.

For years, Dory jokingly called herself “The Dead Librarian” because of her hobby of collecting and writing local obituaries. Now, in death, she’s discovered with her own eerily pre-written obit. Was it a suicide note? Jack and Pen say no and their certainty takes them from a ghost town’s ancient cemetery to a posh Newport mansion. When another body drops, a mysterious stranger makes Pen a shocking offer, one that may change her life—and Jack’s afterlife. But unless Jack can help Pen prove who “checked out” the librarian, a ruthless killer may close the book on her.

“This spin-off of Coyle’s ‘Haunted Bookshop’ series blends cozy mystery, supernatural intrigue, and classic noir influences into a suspenseful small-town murder mystery….Combining humor, literary references, ghostly interventions, and layered community drama, the novel explores how hidden truths from the past continue to haunt the present.” —Library Journal (*Starred Review)

Author Bio

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating more than 20 years in print, and the national bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries. With more than one million books sold, their works have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Czech; received multiple Best of Year selection honors from reviewers; and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, wrangle their rescue cats, drink a lot of java, and cook like crazy. Connect with Cleo at CleoCoyleBooks.com

 Author Links

Webpage: https://www.cleocoylebooks.com/

Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle

Purchase Links:
Amazon     Barnes & Noble      Kobo    Google Play     Apple    Bookshop.org

Giveaway 

Book Review and Giveaway - The Summer of '76 by Penni Justice (An Orchard Grove Mystery)

My Review

Piper Landry lives in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she has an antique shop.  An older acquaintance shares the story of a friend who disappeared 50 years ago during the Summer of 1976.  When the older lady passes away, she leaves a trunk full of memories behind for Piper, who works to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read The Summer of '76 because I have loved the earlier books in the Orchard Grove mystery series.  The 1976 mystery was especially appealing to me.

This was such an interesting mystery!  I read the book late into the night because I enjoyed the storytelling so much that I couldn't put the book down.

The story centers around a young woman named Linda, who wanted to be a folk singer (or folk rock singer) in the 1970's.  During a festival in 1976 she vanished, never to be seen again.  Her father and her best friend missed her terribly and desperately tried to find her.  

Piper talks to people who knew Linda and who were in Orchard Grove in the 1970's and also does archival research into old newspapers, an old festival directory, etc.  I found this research to be fascinating!

One of the men Piper interviews tells her:

"Piper, I know you aren’t from here, but I’m sure by now you can understand this small town. We all went to the same school. Same church. Same festivals. Kids rode bicycles all over town. People left their keys in their cars. After Linda went missing, the whole town changed. It seemed like a cloud hung over the entire town. People were scared and wondering what happened to her. People started looking at each other differently, and everybody had a theory” (p. 118).

Piper actually works with the town sheriff on this investigation.  He grew up in the area and knows the case well.  At one point he tells her: "I think memories get polished over time" (p. 111).  I love that line and the idea of memories getting polished with time and with retelling.   That line sums up a lot of the book for me.  This is a mystery not just about a missing girl but also about memories and the way they shift over time.

As always, I enjoyed the cozy Orchard Grove setting.  I like Piper's detecting and her friends and found family - especially her sweet Aunt Violet, her boyfriend Mike, and her Great Pyrenees Maddie.

The Summer of '76 is my favorite book yet in the Orchard Grove series.  The mystery from the past was so well crafted.  I enthusiastically recommend The Summer of '76 and this book series.  Five stars!

Book Synopsis

When Piper Landry sets out to fulfill one final request, she uncovers a faded photograph, long-buried secrets, and a fifty-year-old cold case that has never been solved.

As Piper searches for answers, she discovers that the summer of 1976 left behind more than memories, and some secrets refuse to stay buried.

Author Bio

Penni Justice McDaniel is a lifelong book lover and storyteller at heart. An Atlanta native, she now lives in the scenic North Georgia mountains with her husband in a certified wildlife sanctuary. Surrounded by nature and inspired by the charm of a nearby tourist town, Penni crafted her debut cozy mystery, Blueprint for Murder. The beauty of mountain living, along with cherished memories of traveling across the country and hearing true-life stories from family and friends, often sparks ideas for her writing.

Her love of books began early, nurtured by frequent trips to libraries in Atlanta, Decatur, and Tucker, Georgia, where her mother introduced her to the magic of reading. She fell in love with fiction after discovering Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. As the church librarian, her mother also provided a treasure trove of young adult fiction and mysteries that further fueled Penni’s passion.

An avid reader, Penni devours around 70 fiction books each year, favoring cozy mysteries, historical fiction, and spy thrillers. In May 2023, she earned her second college degree, graduating with honors from Southern New Hampshire University with a B.A. in Creative Writing and English, concentrating in fiction writing. Her coursework included numerous fiction workshops that helped her hone her narrative style and voice.

For the past 24 years, Penni has owned and operated a music entertainment agency, specializing in public relations, writing, ghostwriting, and marketing. In addition to her fiction, she is working on a historical novel set in South Georgia during the 1940s and overseas during World War II.

Penni and her husband are the proud parents of three grown children, a son-in-law, and a daughter-in-law—each inspiring her with their humor, intelligence, and love. They are, in her words, “the absolute joys of my life.”

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a paperback copy of The Summer of '76.  Your prize will be mailed directly from the author.  

You can enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below.  BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!  If you prefer, it is fine to write your email out, i.e. myname (at) gmail (dot) com.

Questions for entrants:   What interests you about this mystery?  Do you have any questions for the author, Penni Justice?

U.S. entrants only please.

A winner will be drawn after 10/29/26 and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond, or a new name will be drawn.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Thanks to Penni Justice for an advance reading copy of this book.

Book Review and Giveaway - Murder on Flesher Pass (Montana Animal Rescue Mystery Series) by K. L. Borges

My Review

Kelly Boyd works for RogerDog Rescue in Montana.  When a fellow dog rescuer dies on a transport mission for the group, Kelly gets involved looking into what happened along with her friends and fellow rescuers, Betty Mills and Cici Vargas.  This turns out to be a complex case involving some dogs being shipped in from Mexico and a number of criminals who are up to no good.

I wanted to read Murder on Flesher Pass because I am an avid mystery reader.  I love dogs and support dog rescue, so the rescue storyline appealed to me.

I found this to be a unique book.  The rescue storyline is strong here.  My favorite part of the book is the story of the hard working animal rescuers and the dogs they save.  I found the day to day rescue group operation details to be both interesting and realistic, emphasizing the behind the scenes hard work of actually taking care of a rescue full of dogs.

Kelly, Betty, and Cici are all dedicated to animals and they have a strong friendship bond.  Cici is former military and both she and Betty are tough characters who use some strong language.  I would consider this book to be a mainstream mystery instead of a cozy for that reason.

The characters are well drawn with distinct personalities.  The book focuses on the three women and two teenagers who work for the rescue as well, and I felt like I got to know them all as a reader in this book.  

The mystery aspect of the book was well done.  The perpetrator was clear to me mid-way through the book, and I enjoyed watching this trio of friends unravel the mystery and solve the crime.  Their dedication to the dogs they take care of and their friend who was lost in transport was palpable - and admirable.

The personalities of the dogs - and a big, feisty cat named Butch - brought a lot to this novel, and I enjoyed reading about them.

Murder on Flesher Pass is a mystery that will appeal to animal lovers, pet rescue supporters, and readers who enjoy a lively mystery.

Book Synopsis

RogerDog Rescue of Helena, Montana, is operated solely for the benefit of Montana dogs, no transported outsiders allowed.

When a fellow rescuer dies while completing a transport for an infamous Butte operation, Betty Mills, Kelly Boyd and Cici Vargas don’t believe it was an accident. They infilter the Butte group, just in time to partake in a rescue flight from Mexico. Plans go awry and they unwittingly wind up with something that multiple suspicious characters want to get their hands on. Is it the foreign dogs themselves or something else? The body count begins to grow and the danger spreads to other RogerDog workers.

Can they solve the mystery before it is too late?

Author Bio

K.L. Borges, an Agatha Award-nominated author, moved to Montana thirty-five years ago with her husband to raise their three children alongside a series of herding dogs. Prior to becoming an author, she taught math at a private Billings high school (Go, Rams!). Borges is a member of the Billings Gem and Mineral Club and Sisters in Crime. She and her husband are often found enjoying the Montana outdoors with their two blue heelers.

Author Links

Author website: K.L. Borges – Home

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/profilr.php?id=61557406862657

Buy links:    Amazon       B&N        This House of Books  

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