Here's a sample of the books that have recently come in for review. There is a definite "cozy mystery" theme this week! Check them out and then stop by our site again in a few weeks to read the reviews. Enjoy!
You Cannoli Die Once by Shelley Costa In this entertaining and delightful mystery, an Italian chef and her cousins start their own investigation to clear their grandmother’s name after she’s arrested for murder. When Chef Eve Angelotta arrives at her family-owned northern Italian restaurant outside Philadelphia to start cooking the special of the day, she doesn’t expect to find a dead body on the floor. The victim, killed with Eve’s favorite marble mortar, turns out to be her grandmother’s boyfriend. When Grandma Maria Pia’s alibi falls apart and she’s arrested for the murder, it’s up to Eve and her cousins to find the real killer. With the help of handsome lawyer Joe Beck, they discover that Maria Pia’s boyfriend wasn’t everything he seemed. And now that murder is on the menu, they have to find the killer before he dishes up another victim!
Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco by Eileen WackerToday most of the pandas are preparing for the New Year's celebration. They are sweeping and cleaning, planting flowers and writing wishes on ribbons. But Rainbow Panda really wants to be a hero and has an explosive plan. Can Rainbow Panda convince others to join him? Will he become a hero or just get everyone in a lot of trouble? Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco is the sixth book in the award-winning cross-cultural Fujimini Adventure series, which invites readers to explore Fujimini Island with a cast of memorable characters who embark on unexpected and hilarious adventures.
Bowled Over: A Vintage Kitchen Mystery by Victoria Hamilton Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two. With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton…
Assaulted Pretzel: An Amish Mystery by Laura Bradford The quiet town of Heavenly is buzzing with excitement over the latest guests at the local inn, Sleep Heavenly. Toy manufacturer Rob Karble is in town to meet the members of the Amish community who will soon be crafting a new toy line for his company. But when word gets out that Karble intends to use the Amish designs without employing the Amish to make them, someone sends the interloper to his final reward. No one wants to believe anyone from the Amish community could commit such an act, but as Claire and Detective Fisher have learned, no one is above sin—or suspicion.
Peach Pies and Alibis: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery by Ellery Adams Ella Mae LeFaye’s Charmed Pie Shoppe is wildly popular in Havenwood, Georgia—which is not surprising since Ella Mae can lace her baked goods with enchantments. The shop’s extraordinary success seems destined to continue when Ella Mae meets an engaged couple who hire her to handle the dessert buffet at their wedding. But Ella Mae has a lot on her plate. She is also searching for the origin of her magical powers—and hoping to determine if the spark of attraction she feels for the handsome Hugh Dylan is authentic or just her new abilities gone awry. Then Ella Mae discovers a high-standing member of the community dead, and a wedding guest becomes seriously ill at the event she’s catering. Now she’ll have to use all her sleuthing skills and culinary talents to prove her pies don’t contain a killer ingredient . . .
Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death: A Devereaux'z Dime Story Mystery by Denise Swanson Dev’s five-and-dime may be doing well, but her love life is in turmoil. She’s torn between Deputy U.S. Marshal Jake Del Vecchio, who is on an undercover assignment, and her ex-beau Noah Underwood, the local doctor from a high-society family. So she welcomes the distraction when Elise Whitmore offers her a great deal on antique chocolate molds that would be perfect for her Easter gift baskets. But do the molds actually belong to Elise’s soon-to-be ex-husband? In buying them, has Dev committed a felony? When Elise is found shot to death, the mystery deepens—and Dev’s good friend Boone, who discovered the body, is taken into custody. With the help of her best buds, Dev must clear Boone’s name and find the real killer. Good thing that when it comes to amateur sleuths, they broke the mold with Dev Sinclair.
Trouble in the Tarot: A Fortune Teller Mystery by Kari Lee Townsend Lately Sunny has been experiencing a period of big opportunity: her business in Divinity, New York, is thriving, and Detective Mitch Stone has finally agreed to take Sunny on a date. But thanks to her clairvoyant abilities, Sunny knows better than anyone that life deals out bad cards along with the good. When Sunny agrees to read tarot cards at the annual Summer Solstice Carnival, she meets her Granny Gert‘s “arch nemesis” Fiona Atwater, and is overcome by a vision of Fiona in a violent argument. Sunny knows trouble is brewing when Granny and Fiona start having squabbles all over town. But the fighting comes to a head when a local baker gets run over by a big white Cadillac—and Granny and Fiona are found at the crime scene. Sunny knows she should step aside and let Mitch handle the investigating, but she’s not about to ignore her visions and leave her granny’s life in fate’s hands . . .
A Fete Worse than Death: A Hemlock Falls Mystery by Claudia Bishop Disaster strikes a mere week before the Hemlock Falls Ladies’ Auxiliary hosts the annual Spring Fete when the festival’s chairwoman—the redoubtable Adela Henry—gives up her job in a huff. Who’s going to judge the justly renowned Jell-O architecture contest? Or stop the members of the Craft Guild from sabotaging their rivals, the Crafty Ladies? More to the point, who’s got the tact, diplomacy, and iron will necessary to organize the booths and settle quarrels over the programming? Hemlock’s mayor hopes to assure the fete’s success when he recruits professional organizer Linda Connally and her staff to take over Adela’s duties. But when Connally’s body turns up in the trunk of a used car at Peterson’s Automotive, Meg and Sarah are back in the detecting business . . .
Wave Good-Bye: A Southern Beauty Shop Mystery by Lila Dare Violetta’s salon is up in arms. Business is dead. Snippets, a big box haircutting chain, has opened in St. Elizabeth, undercutting prices and luring away loyal customers. Violetta’s daughter, hairdresser Grace Terhune, is shocked to discover that it’s her old high school rival Lisa Butterworth who’s behind the big sweep—and Grace isn’t going to take this sitting down. Snippets’ cold-blooded prized employee is doing wonders with Violetta’s client list. According to Lisa, it’s just business—until a bitter confrontation leaves Grace more than frustrated, and Lisa less than alive. Now Grace is the prime suspect in her rival’s murder. And only her friends at Violetta’s can save her—before the charge proves permanent.