Book Review - Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival (Cider Falls Orchard Mystery) by Traci Hall

My Review

After a bad breakup in Seattle, Macki Smith goes back to her family's apple orchard to help with their Fall business.  When her parents are both injured in a frightening kayaking accident, she takes on business operations at the orchard.  Then, at an apple festival bake-off, one of her competitors is discovered dead ... killed by a knife that looks like Macki's.  Macki juggles the orchard business, concern for her parents, and amateur sleuthing - with the help of Logan, a handsome friend from Seattle who just happens to be a private investigator.

I wanted to read Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival because I love cozy mysteries.  The Fall apple orchard setting sounded very appealing!

This is the first book in a new series, and I am definitely in for the series!  The author did a great job at setting the scene with an apple orchard in small town Washington.  It was so picturesque and charming, and I enjoyed spending some reading hours in this cozy little town.

The first few chapters are leisurely paced, and introduce Macki's very large family.  Then her parents are in an unexpected accident, and after that there is a murder at the town bake off ... and things just take off like a rollercoaster, up and down with lots of turns in quick succession.

The mystery aspect of this book is well done, with some strong suspects.  The murderer took me by surprise!  I enjoyed Macki's sleuthing and the big reveal.

I recommend Apple Pies and Poisoned Lies at the Cider Falls Festival for other cozy mystery fans, and especially for readers who like an Autumn small town setting.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.

Book Review - Murder at the Toy Soldier (A Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery) by Maddie Day

My Review

Mac Almeda runs a bicycle shop in a small Cape Cod town.  She stops in the local toy store to buy a gift for her daughter's fourth birthday and discovers that the young woman working there, Zia, is dead.  Mac works with her friends, the Cozy Capers Book Group, to solve the mystery ... as she finds herself in danger from the mysterious culprit.

I wanted to read Murder at the Toy Soldier because I love cozy mysteries.  The toy store caught my interest as well.

I have not read the previous books in this series, but had no problem jumping in and enjoying this book as a standalone read.  That said, I would like to continue with future books in the series.

Mac is an interesting amateur detective.  She's relatively newly married and a new adoptive mother (of a 4 year old girl and a 6 month old boy).  She is from the small town and has family and lifelong friends there.  The detecting work by her book group is intriguing;  I love the way they have a text chain and impromptu meetings with action points of what they each should do next to solve the mystery.

I had this case figured out early on, but I enjoyed Mac's detective work.  This is a fast paced read with short chapters and lots of movement with the mystery and the characters.

Murder at the Toy Soldier is a fun read that I recommend for other cozy mystery fans.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.

Book Review - Death on the Books (Blue Ridge Library Mysteries) - Victoria Gilbert

My Review

Amy Muir is working at the Taylorsford Public Library when a patron falls dead in front of her.  He drops a piece of paper with the words "hen" and "sapphire."  Before long, Amy is busy searching for answers in a twisty cozy mystery that involves a long lost Romanov empire Faberge egg, a mysterious painting by her uncle, and a second death in the Blue Ridge area.  Amy is in danger and those she love may be too.

I wanted to read Death on the Books because I love the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series.  I have read all the books in this series;  it's one of my favorites. 

As always, I love the library setting and the details of day-to-day work of a library director.  I enjoy the small town as well, with Amy's friends, her brother Scott, and her Aunt Lydia.  Amy is married to dancer and choreographer Richard and has two young twins, who are into something constantly ... as are the family cats, Loie and Fosse.  

There were a lot of twists in this series!  The art details were fascinating and pivotal to the plot.  Amy finds herself in danger more than once, and the denouement of this mystery was one, pun intended, for the books.

I recommend Death on the Books - and this series - for other cozy mystery fans.  Readers who enjoy library settings and small town fiction will especially enjoy this one.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book.

Book Review and Giveaway - Masked Intentions: A Camera Club Mystery by Kara Lacey

My Review

Bobbie Brooks is a photographer living in Stonebridge, Vermont.  She's busy with the annual harvest festival.  There is shocking murder at the festival, and another neighbor is seriously hurt there as well.  Bobbie is personally at risk, so she starts to investigate these mysteries.

I wanted to read Masked Intentions because I enjoyed the first book in this series.  These mysteries involve a lot of interesting photography details.

I really like the Stonebridge setting;  it's a picturesque small town.  We get to know Bobbie's friends and family, including her sister Alicia, her mother Fiona, her dog Darcy, and her camera club friends.  Bobbie is a widow and she develops a tentative friendship with a handsome new Irish man in town named Ciaran.

This is a complex case, with two mysteries needing to be solved at once.  Bobbie juggles her amateur sleuthing with her busy photography business, her camera club, and her mother's visit from out of town.  There are several strong suspects, and I enjoyed sleuthing along with Bobbie.  

There are several twists and surprises.  I was suspicious of the perpetrator as the story went along.

I enjoy the Camera Club Mystery series.  The characterizations are strong and well developed and the story is detailed and a bit more in depth than usual for a cozy mystery.  I look forward to the next book in the series.  I recommend Masked Intentions for other cozy readers, especially for anyone who likes small town settings, fall settings, or who has an interest in photography.

Book Synopsis

It’s autumn in Vermont, and the mountains are ablaze with color, just in time for Stonebridge’s annual harvest festival. The village is swarming with leaf-peeping tourists, and the celebration is off to a jubilant start as residents gather for their favorite kick-off event: a masquerade party on the village green. But the crisp fall air turns chilling when a party guest is found lifeless and another is whisked away in an ambulance, on the verge of death.

Photographer Bobbie Brooks vows to leave the investigation to the professionals until a tearful plea from a friend causes her to shift her focus from merriment to murder. The Stonebridge Keep it Snappy Shutter Club is on another case as Bobbie plunges into the world of herbal poisons and masked motives. The truth is concealed in the details captured through her lens. But as everything comes into focus, Bobbie finds herself in danger once again. Can she unmask the killer before the killer zooms in on her?

Author Bio

Kara Lacey is the author of the Camera Club Mysteries. Along with her husband, she lives in a tiny village nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont—the inspiration for her novels. Kara is a photography enthusiast who also enjoys hiking, skiing, and getting cozy with a good book. When she’s not at her laptop creating havoc for her characters, you can find her rambling through the forest with her husband and spirited Labrador retriever, camera in hand.

Kara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime-New England.

Author Links

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Website https://karalaceyauthor.com

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Giveaway

Book Review - A Thousand Painted Hours by Barbara O'Neal

My Review

A Thousand Painted Hours is a historical novel told in two timelines -- early 1900's colonial India and London, 1940 during the Blitz.  Elsie Turner lives in India with her parents when she is a young girl.  She has a strong connection with a young prince her age, Tanveer Singh.  Friendship turns to love, but they are separated when the Turner family moves back to England.  They have other relationships but their bond remains strong over the decades ... still longing to be together.

I wanted to read A Thousand Painted Hours because I love historical fiction.  I am interested in both early 1900's India and the World War II time period, so this novel was particularly appealing.

Elsie and Tanveer are both compelling characters.  The connection between them is so strong and the scenes of them together as adults are electric.  They are separated most of their adult life and part of their story is told in letters.  This novel is so much about absence and not being with the person you love.  Elsie's friend remarks:  "Your prince is a fantasy, my dear.  It's easy to love someone at a distance" (p. 213).  Later when they are briefly reunited, Tanveer tells Elsie, "The world has color again" (p. 244).

This is my first read by Barbara O'Neal and I will certainly look for her other books.  The storytelling is beautiful - with both vivid descriptions and well drawn characters.  

I love sweeping historical sagas that move through the decades, and enjoyed that aspect of this novel.  It is a long book but I found it a fast read.

I recommend A Thousand Painted Hours for fans of historical fiction, and especially anyone interested in India or England in the first half of the 1900's.

Book Synopsis

An epic, emotionally charged novel about love, art, and survival spanning 1900s colonial India to Blitz-era London by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

In the shadow of the London Blitz, artist Elsie Turner clings fiercely to her canvases, refusing to let war dim the colors that define her. The bombs test her nerve, but the struggle also stirs memories of her golden youth in India and of the long-lost love of her life.

The daughter of a British civil servant in the Himalayan station of Nainital, Elsie crosses cultural divides to forge an unlikely bond with Tanveer Singh, a Sikh prince with hopes, dreams, and far-reaching ideas. What begins as shared sketchbooks and stargazing becomes first love and a secret correspondence. When Elsie’s father is summoned to England, Elsie is severed from the world she knows—and is determined to preserve it through both her art and a connection with Tanveer that endures through the most tumultuous years of their lives.

Across four decades and two continents, Elsie navigates a journey from lush colonial India to war-torn London, amid landscapes of beauty, protest, and peril. As past and present collide, the most impossible choices and sacrifices are yet to be made in the name of love, war, and survival.

Author Bio

Barbara O’Neal is the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of twenty novels of women’s fiction, including the #1 Amazon Charts bestseller When We Believed in Mermaids, as well as The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth, Memories of the Lost, This Place of Wonder, and The Starfish Sisters. Her award-winning books have been published in more than two dozen countries. She lives on the wild Oregon Coast with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent. For more information, visit www.barbaraoneal.com.