ARC Review: For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews

For Duck's Sake
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Megs Langslow Mysteries (Book 37)
Publication: Minotaur Books (August 5, 2025)

Description: Donna Andrews returns with her latest charming addition to the bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series.

Meg is in the backyard of the house her brother Rob, Delaney, and their new baby have moved into, supervising some workmen who are using a bulldozer to start digging out a duck pond. She wants to get away from her own house, which has become the staging site for Caerphilly's first Mutt March, which will be held the next day. Meg thinks it will be more peaceful at Rob's house--and it is until the bulldozers uncover a skeleton whose skull has a hole and a bullet rattling around inside.

Meanwhile, Chief Burke begins searching the police records to see if he can identify any missing persons who would fit the bill. He doesn't turn down Meg's offer to help with his identification efforts, and she begins looking in the library and talking to old-timers. She's all the more eager to help because Iris Rafferty, who sold the house to Rob and Delaney and still lives in the mother-in-law suite, disappears the morning after the finding of the body... does her disappearance have anything to do with finding the body? Was it voluntary? Or was she kidnapped--possibly by the prowlers who are spotted lurking around the half-finished duck pond at night? Or do the prowlers have sinister designs on one or more of the dogs who will be marching in the parade?

Written with her classic cozy and investigative style, Donna Andrews is sure to delight in the latest in her Meg Langslow mystery series.

My Thoughts: Escaping the madhouse that her home as been with the preparations for the first annual Mutt March, Meg has taken refuge at her brother Rob's house where a duck pond is being constructed. Things grind to a halt when bones are discovered in the area where the pond will be. Now, Meg is adding discovering who the skeleton belongs to her weekend plans. 

Then Iris Rafferty disappears. She's the one Rob and Delany bought their house from and has lifetime residency in the mother-in-law suite. Meg wonders why Iris chose now to disappear and considers what she might know about the buried body. 

Meanwhile, back at Meg's house, rumors have surfaced that a dog fighting ring might be interested in some of the 297 dogs that are being assembled for the Mutt March.

This was another entertaining episode in this long-running series. I loved that so many of the characters readers have grown to love over the series made appearances in this one. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

"This is the life," Iris Rafferty exclaimed, taking a long pull on her glass. "Eileen, give Meg a refill on those Arnold Palmers."

Friday 56:

"Yeah, that kind of explains it," I said. "As much revenge as justice."

This week I'm spotlighting For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews. This is from my review stack and is the 37th book in the Meg Langslow mystery series:

Andrews returns with her latest charming addition to the bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series.

Meg is in the backyard of the house her brother Rob, Delaney, and their new baby have moved into, supervising some workmen who are using a bulldozer to start digging out a duck pond. She wants to get away from her own house, which has become the staging site for Caerphilly's first Mutt March, which will be held the next day. Meg thinks it will be more peaceful at Rob's house--and it is until the bulldozers uncover a skeleton whose skull has a hole and a bullet rattling around inside.

Meanwhile, Chief Burke begins searching the police records to see if he can identify any missing persons who would fit the bill. He doesn't turn down Meg's offer to help with his identification efforts, and she begins looking in the library and talking to old-timers. She's all the more eager to help because Iris Rafferty, who sold the house to Rob and Delaney and still lives in the mother-in-law suite, disappears the morning after the finding of the body... does her disappearance have anything to do with finding the body? Was it voluntary? Or was she kidnapped--possibly by the prowlers who are spotted lurking around the half-finished duck pond at night? Or do the prowlers have sinister designs on one or more of the dogs who will be marching in the parade?

Written with her classic cozy and investigative style, Donna Andrews is sure to delight in the latest in her Meg Langslow mystery series.

Audiobook Review: Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

Gone Gull
Author: Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 21)
Publication: Dreamscape Media LLC (August 1, 2017)
Length: 8 hours and 39 minutes

Description: Andrews soars into summer with a crafty new Meg Langslow mystery.

Gone Gull brings readers yet another knee-slapping adventure filled with New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews’ cast of wacky characters.

Meg is spending the summer at the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, helping her grandmother Cordelia run the studios. But someone is committing acts of vandalism, threatening to ruin the newly-opened center’s reputation. Is it the work of a rival center? Have the developers who want to build a resort atop Biscuit Mountain found a new tactic to pressure Cordelia into selling? Or is the real target Meg’s grandfather, who points out that any number of environmentally irresponsible people and organizations could have it in for him?

While Meg is trying to track down the vandal, her grandfather is more interested in locating a rare gull. Their missions collide when a body is found in one of the classrooms. Can Meg identify the vandal and the murderer in time to save the center’s name—while helping her grandfather track down and rescue his beloved gulls?

My Thoughts: This episode of the Meg Langslow mysteries has Meg and her family spending the summer at the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center helping her grandmother Cordelia. The center has been plagued with a variety of acts by vandals which threaten the future of the center. Suspects include a rival craft center and a developer who would like Cordelia to sell her land so that he can built a resort. 

Meg is trying to hunt down the vandals and smooth the waters are the various crafters bicker when things escalate. A painting instructor who is almost universally disliked is found murdered in his studio. Now Meg along with the local police are looking for a murderer among the teachers and students. Then there is a second murder. 

And, while all this is going on, Meg's grandfather is on the hunt for a rare gull whose picture had been taken by the first murder victim. 

This was another fun episode in a long-running mystery series. 

I bought this Chirp audiobook June 28, 2022. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Duck the Halls by Donna Andrews

Duck the Halls
Author: Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow Mystery (Book 16)
Publication: Dreamscape Media (October 24, 2013)
Length: 8 hours and 17 minutes

Description: A few nights before Christmas, Meg is awakened when Michael is summoned to the New Life Baptist Church, where someone has rigged a cage full of skunks in the choir loft. The lengthy process of de-skunking the church requires its annual pre-Christmas concert to relocate to Trinity Episcopal, despite the protests of Mr. Vess, an elderly vestryman.

Meanwhile, when Meg helps her grandfather take the skunks to the zoo, they discover that his boa has been stolen - only to turn up later during the concert slithering out from the ribbon-bedecked evergreens. It's clear that some serious holiday pranksters are on the loose, and Meg is determined to find them. But before she can, a fire breaks out at Trinity, and Mr. Vess is discovered dead.

My Thoughts: Meg's organizational skills are really put to the test in the days leading up to Christmas. When skunks - thirteen of them - are found in the choir loft of the New Life Baptist Church just before their highly anticipated Christmas Choir Concert demand a new location be found for the concert, Meg is busy helping sort out spaces in other churches and public places to hold the concert, rehearsals and all the other events scheduled for New Life Baptist. 

Some of the events spill over at Meg's Episcopalian Church which really irritates Mr. Vess who is a member of the church council and famous for watching every penny the church spends. Also, the church storage areas are already packed with the belongings of a recent parishioner who left everything to the church. 

But skunks are only the first prank, next comes the theft of a boa from Meg's grandfather's zoo which makes its next appearance in the branches of an evergreen at the concert. And then there are ducks, hundreds of ducks, let loose in the local Catholic Church. 

As the Chief tries to find the pranksters and Meg tries to rearrange all the holiday events, a murderer is lurking. Mr. Vess's body is found in the church basement which throws the schedules in disorder again and adds even more stress to the holiday season. Everyone, including Meg and the new rector, has had recent arguments with Mr. Vess. 

I enjoyed this holiday entry into the Meg Langslow series. I liked all the different events from concerts to live nativity scenes. I liked seeing some of them through eyes of Meg and Michael's now-three-year-old twins. I liked the dueling mothers-in-law each trying to plan the more spectacular Christmas dinners and Meg and Michael's determination to do something quieter. 

I bought this one from Chirp March 22, 2023. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

The Gardener's Plot
Author: Deborah J. Benoit
Publication: Minotaur Books (November 5, 2024)

Description: A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day.

After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker in Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut.

My Thoughts: Maggie Walker is back in her hometown after a failed marriage. She has purchased her grandmother's house and is eager to build her new life. As a master gardener, she's eager to restore her grandmother's gardens. She has also been encouraged to volunteer with the new community garden that is just opening by new friend Violet Bloom.

However, on opening day, Violet is a no-show. Worst of all, Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the newly prepared plots and there is a body attached to it. Carl Henderson is a local real estate developer with a shady reputation. Maggie knows him because he has been pressuring her to sell her grandmother's house. 

The police want to talk to her, and they want to talk to Violet who seems to have disappeared. Maggie and her next-door neighbor and childhood friend decide to look into the case despite the police strongly discouraging their help. 

I enjoyed this mystery. I liked that Maggie was very upset by her discoveries which seems much more realistic than many cozy mysteries. I also liked that Maggie wasn't going to be deterred from finding out what has happened to her new friend. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Between a Flock and a Hard Place
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 35)
Publication: Minotaur Books (August 6, 2024)

Description: Readers will flock to New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews's next installment in the award-winning Meg Langslow series.

Meg's neighbors, the Smetkamps', have won a makeover for their old home from Marvelous Mansions, a flashy, yet dubious company, focused on making historic homes more "modern." The company already several days into its makeover of the Smetkamps' house, and tensions are running high--not only between the officious, demanding Mrs. Smetkamp and her neighbors, but also between her and the renovation crew. Meg, who is trying to keep the peace and prevent the makeover crew from trampling on every clause of the county's building code, arrives at the Smetkamps to find that Caerphilly's resident flock of feral turkeys has moved into their yard--or been relocated there by someone who wanted to cause them trouble.

The turkeys are huge, territorial, cranky and aggressive - and impossible to move! Meg does what she can to calm down the irate neighbors and help the makeover crew make progress in spite of the turkeys. She comes up with a plan to gather a group of turkey wranglers to snatch them early in the morning. But when they arrive, they find the body of Mrs. Smetkamp in her backyard. Someone stabbed her, and then tried to make it look as if she was attacked by one of the turkeys, but Meg, the Chief, and the Sheriff are not fooled. Together, they must figure out what really happened to Mrs. Smetkamp...and what to do with all these turkeys!

My Thoughts: Meg has a new assignment from the mayor. A home renovation television program has come to town to redo the Smetkamp's home in a charming, historic neighborhood. The neighbors are outraged, Mrs. Smetkamp is making constant demands, and the company is playing fast and loose with building permits. 

Then someone herds the town's feral turkeys to the neighborhood. The turkeys are large, aggressive and resistant to being herded back to where they belong which is at Meg's grandfather's research facility. They manage to shut down the building project and cause all sorts of chaos in the neighborhood. While the sheriff is looking for the culprits, Megs father and grandfather want to find them too - because they want to know how they managed to get all the turkeys into the neighborhood. They've been having trouble moving the turkeys around. 

While Meg is trying to arrange a turkey round-up, the mayor who is also a building contractor discovers that the TV crew has demolished almost all of the load-bearing walls in their reno and made the house not only unlivable but an active danger for anyone entering it. He immediately shuts down any activities at the reno. 

On the night of the round-up, Meg discovers Mrs. Smetkamp's body is the small woodworking shed at the back of her home. It is an obvious murder since she was stabbed with one of the wood rasps from the scene. As usual, there are a lot of suspects from her disgruntled neighbors to the TV crew who had been trying to work with her. 

This was another fun and funny episode in a long-running series. I enjoy Meg's ability to keep her head and solve problems. 

Favorite Quote:

"And why is keeping them in line your job, anyway?" Gloria asked.

"Because I'm the mayor's special assistant in charge of nuts and nuisances," I said.

She chuckled at that.

Actually, the official wording was Executive Assistant for Special Projects, but my version was more accurate. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Last Word by Gerri Lewis

The Last Word
Author: Gerri Lewis
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (February 20, 2024)

Description: An obituary writer finds one of her neighbors dead before her time in this debut cozy mystery perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Eva Gates.

Obituary writer Winter Snow is no stranger to grief, and writing obituaries for the citizens of Ridgefield, Connecticut, is her way of providing comfort to those who have been in her shoes. But funerals and eulogies are meant for the dead, so when the very much alive Leocadia Arlington requests her own obituary by the end of the week, Winter’s curiosity is piqued. Even more so when she finds Mrs. Arlington dead soon after. Officer Kip Michaels and his relentless partner Tom Bellini make it clear that Winter is under suspicion for the death.

Drafting an obituary for someone who hadn’t died yet certainly looks bad, but Winter knows that it wasn’t her, and she becomes obsessed with trying to figure out the real killer. She dives headfirst into the investigation to give Mrs. Arlington and herself some peace. When Winter realizes Mrs. Arlington was working on a revealing memoir that has now gone missing, Winter begins to wonder if the death wasn’t exactly random–accident or otherwise.

With the help of her foodie Uncle Richard, her wise octogenarian neighbor Horace, her best friend Scoop, and Diva, the Great Pyrenees puppy she inherited from Mrs. Arlington, Winter must uncover the killer before the next obituary written is her own.

My Thoughts: Winter Snow is trying to build her career as an obituary writer when she receives a call from the very much alive Leocadia Arlington, local philanthropist, asking her to write her obituary before the week ends. Winter is willing and curious and goes to visit her despite stormy weather brewing. 

She invites Leocadia and her puppy Diva, a Great Pyrenes, to go home with her to weather the storm since she has a generator at her lakeside home. Mrs. Arlington declines. However, when Winter gets home, she phones to try to convince her, but Mrs. Arlington doesn't answer. 

Winter ventures up the next day to find a locked house, an upset caretaker, and a barking puppy. After managing to get inside, she finds Mrs. Arlington sprawled at the base of a flight of stairs but still breathing. Calling 911 brings not only an ambulance but the police who check out the house. For some reason, one of the police officers suspects Winter of having something to do with Mrs. Arlington's fall. 

When Mrs. Arlington dies, Winter decides to find out what happened and begins to look into more of her life than she had given Winter when she wanted an obituary written. Meanwhile, another local luminary contacts Winter to write an obituary for her very recently deceased husband and seems to know a lot she shouldn't know about Mrs. Arlington's death. Her husband and Mrs. Arlington were friends. 

This was a nice cozy mystery that introduces a main character with an unusual profession. I liked Winter's determination to find out what really happened to one of her clients. I also like her budding romance with the rookie policeman Kip. And Diva is a great character too and holds a substantial clue to the events Winter is trying to understand. 

Favorite Quote:

Diva thumped her tail, an indication that it was time for her pet. I sighed, reached down, and gave her a cuddle. When I looked up again, Kip was staring from me to Diva.

"What can I say?" I said. "She's a needy, claustrophobic, aquaphobic, willful dog."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn

A Killer Romance
Author: Maggie Blackburn
Series: Beach Reads Mysteries (Book 3)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (February 6, 2024)

Description: Love and murder are in the air this Valentine’s day in Maggie Blackburn’s third Beach Reads mystery, perfect for fans of Eva Gates and Miranda James.

When Beach Reads bookshop hosts a Valentine’s Day event, “Romance by the Sea,” bookseller Summer Merriweather has no idea that the guest author is under investigation for her own husband’s murder. When that same author is found dead at the local bed and breakfast, nobody assumes it’s natural causes–there were plenty of people who wanted her dead.

As Summer searches for the truth about the author’s stranger-than-fiction life, Summer finds suspicious indications of shady behavior in the author’s belongings. But the casual sleuthing is quickly derailed when Summer’s friend Glads gets hauled in for the murder, and they launch a full-blown investigation to clear her name.

As Summer and company pick through the scant clues to solve the case, they may find more treachery and heartbreak than they bargained for.

My Thoughts: The third in the Beach reads cozy mystery series is set around Valentine's Day. Summer Merriweather, former college professor and Shakespeare scholar, is back home running her mother's romance bookstore after her mother's tragic death. She isn't a big fan of romance or a big fan of Valentine's Day. 

A Valentine's Day event at the bookstore brings author Lana Livingston to the store for an author event. Summer is disgusted that Lana has written a new version of Romeo and Juliet but with a happy ending which Summer feels means that Lana has missed the whole point of the play. But a badly sprained ankle is keeping Summer away from the event. She can only watch the video.

When it is learned that Lana has died at the B & B where she is staying and that the death was caused by poison, Lana needs to find the killer since one of her friends who innocently offered her a cup of tea is under investigation for the crime. 

Then a PI comes to town. He's been watching Lana since she had already been a suspect in the death of her husband. He's quick to pile on accusations that Summer's friend Glads was Lana's killer. But when Lana's belongings are mistakenly sent to Summer, a new picture begins to emerge. Her journal indicates her love for her terminally ill husband and her foray into drug running to pay off her husband's enormous medical debts. It also relates her troubled relationship with her stepdaughter Mary Laura who was seen hanging around the bookstore with a book about poisons in her backpack before Lana's poisoning. 

Summer calls on her old friend lawyer Cash to help Glads. Their relationship is just rebuilding after she left him at the altar when they were very young. Between her conflicted feelings for Cash and a PI who looks to want a romance with her, Summer has a lot on her plate for a woman who is confined to her couch and taking lots of pain pills for her ankle. 

The plot of the story was engaging. The writing was not. I had trouble getting lost in the story because I kept being jolted out of it by the prose style. There was a bit too much telling rather than showing to make the story engaging for me. I also got tired of so many characters being described as "smarter than the average bear."

Fans of cozy mysteries and particularly fans of the earlier books in this series will likely enjoy it more than I did. 

Favorite Quote:

"Okay. What kind of information do we want?"

"Anything."

"That's helpful."

"I mean it. You often don't know what you don't know until you need to know it."

Summer grinned. "Say that three times."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
Author: Donna Andrews
Series: Meg Langslow (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 7, 2006)

Description: Poor Meg Langslow. She's blessed in so many ways. Michael, her boyfriend, is a handsome, delightful heartthrob who adores her. She's a successful blacksmith, known for her artistic wrought-iron creations. But somehow Meg's road to contentment is more rutted and filled with potholes than seems fair.

There are Michael's and Meg's doting but demanding mothers, for a start. And then there's the fruitless hunt for a place big enough for the couple to live together. And a succession of crises brought on by the well-meaning but utterly wacky demands of her friends and family. Demands that Meg has a hard time refusing---which is why she's tending the switchboard of Mutant Wizards, where her brother's computer games are created, and handling all the office management problems that no one else bothers with. For companionship, besides a crew of eccentric techies, she has a buzzard with one wing---who she must feed frozen mice thawed in the office microwave---and Michael's mother's nightmare dog. Not to mention the psychotherapists who refuse to give up their lease on half of the office space, and whose conflicting therapies cause continuing dissension. This is not what Meg had in mind when she agreed to help her brother move his staff to new offices.

In fact, the atmosphere is so consistently loony that the office mail cart makes several passes through the reception room, with the office practical joker lying on top of it pretending to be dead, before Meg realizes that he's become the victim of someone who wasn't joking at all. He's been murdered for real.

Donna Andrews's debut book, Murder with Peacocks, won the St. Martin's Malice Domestic best first novel contest and reaped a harvest of other honors as well. This is the fourth book in the Meg Langslow series, which features the intrepid Meg and her cast of oddball relatives. Their capers are a lighthearted joy to read.

My Thoughts: The fourth Meg Langslow mystery has Meg trying to organize her brother Rob's new computer gaming business. They have just moved into new quarters which they are sharing with a group of psychotherapists who are constantly arguing among themselves because of their differing therapies. 

Meanwhile, the programmers are busy working on Lawyers from Hell II which is nearing its release date. The programmers have a wide variety of quirky personalities from the nonverbal stalker to the office practical joker who has taken to pretending he's dead and sending himself around the office on the new automated mail cart. It takes quite a few rounds before Meg realizes that this time Ted isn't joking, and someone has made his prank real. 

When the police chief seems to be focusing on Rob, Meg knows she has to so her own investigating if she is going to find a better suspect for the police's attention. As she looks into Ted's affairs, she discovers that he has been caretaking in the basement of a large home that is filled with the deceased owner's belongings and collections. She also finds a stash of things Ted has hidden including what looks like the records of a blackmail scheme. Unfortunately, he has noted his victims only by code names which are mostly obscure. Meg is sure the list would provide lots more suspects for the police chief if only she can decode the nicknames and figure out who Ted's victims were. 

This story is packed with humor. I loved the way Meg's plans to search the new company offices kept getting interrupted by discovering other people on the premises all doing various suspicious things. I loved that one of the office pets was a one-winged buzzard who lived in the lobby and had to be fed defrosted mice. Spike also has a role in this one as he's kept in his kennel under Meg's desk because of his anti-social behavior. And every day was "bring your dog to work" day which meant that the offices were constantly hosting the programmers' pets. 

Then there are the affirmation bears which one of the therapists introduced to the office which the programmers thought would be fun to reprogram with less life affirming messages. And Michael and Meg's mothers who are also involved from afar. Michael's mother is still trying to foist Spike on the couple. And Meg's mother has plans to redecorate Michael and Meg's apartment which they not so affectionately refer to as "The Cave." Meg and Michael have been house hunting for a place that has enough space for them and aren't having any luck until Meg discovers the house where Ted is living which is huge, cluttered and seemingly way above their price range. 

I laughed out loud as I was reading this one. It was a great addition to the series. 

Favorite Quote:

"Everyone always talks about how great Rob is at thinking outside the box," I said, shaking my head. "I don't suppose they realize that he hasn't the foggiest idea where the box is."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter

Death by Demo
Author: Callie Carpenter
Series: A Home Renovation Mystery
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (December 5, 2023)

Description: Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Diane Kelly, after her ex-husband tears down their marriage, the last thing Jaime wants is to renovate a worn-down historic home. But when a body is discovered behind a wall—she realizes she’ll have to catch the killer before she builds herself up again.

Jaime and Henry were the perfect couple with the perfect life; together, they ran one of the most successful construction and interior design companies in all of Charlotte, North Carolina. But when Jaime catches her charismatic husband in an affair, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought she married. The divorce is equally gutting—due to an ironclad prenuptial agreement, Jaime receives only one thing: a historical house in disrepair. Knowing that any renovation she attempts will be tedious and costly, Jaime starts to believe that things can’t get much worse—until she finds a dead body in the house.

The body is found behind a recently renovated wall—and this leaves Jaime with more questions than answers. Who killed this person and why? Could it have been the previous owners, someone who snuck in while nobody was looking, or Henry? Furious that the house is now a crime scene, which further delays all renovations, Jaime decides to investigate the murder herself, DIY-style. Together with the new resident cat she calls Demo and the handsome and friendly hardware store owner who happens to be her neighbor, Jaime is ready to use all the tools in her toolbox to catch the killer.

Jaime needs to renovate this house if she wants to move forward with her life, but will this murder investigation leave her in ruins—or worse?

My Thoughts: Jaime thought she and Henry had the perfect marriage until she caught him making love to another woman. The divorce left her with only a derelict mansion in need of many repairs because Henry's father had had her sign an ironclad prenup when the two married. After going into a depression and crashing on her best friend's couch, Jaime is starting to come around. 

Sure, it would be best to sell the house for whatever she could get and start over, but Jaime helped her former husband start a home renovation business and she is eager to bring this wreck back to life. Only things start to go wrong immediately when she finds a body behind a hastily built wall that she is demoing. 

The police declare the house a crime scene and Jaime's plans for her new future are in jeopardy if she can't determine who murdered the women behind the wall and get back to work on her renovation. She has a number of suspects including the oh-so-helpful and hot next-door neighbor, her lawyer, and her ex-husband. The suspect pool enlarges when the identity of the victim becomes known. Jaime had known and liked Cilla ever since she helped her out once while the two were in high school. Now, besides wanting to clear up the crime so that she can get back to work, she wants to find justice for the woman who was once her friend.

I enjoyed this mystery. I liked watching Jaime reclaim her life after her ex did the best he could to make her feel useless and stupid. I liked the way she was determined to rebuilt both her life and the business she loves.

Favorite Quote:

Jaime tuned out Roger's blustering protests and felt a wide smile spread across her face. She's identified the unfamiliar feeling. it was Pandora's leftover.

Hope.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: In the Wick of Time by Valona Jones

In the Wick of Time
Author: Valona Jones
Series: Magic Candle Shop Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (October 17, 2023)

Description: Tabby Winslow will help her twin sister Sage with anything and everything—and that includes putting out the flames of suspicion when Sage’s boss is found murdered in this magical mystery, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Sofie Kelly.

December in Savannah, Georgia, is a sight to behold. With all the festivities—including the traditional riverfront luminary display during the boat parade—twin sisters Tabby and Sage Winslow are busier than ever setting up for the big celebration. But that isn’t the only thing on the sisters’ minds. Both Sage and her fellow employee Mary Nicole are vying for the sought-after assistant manager job at the plant nursery. But when Loren Lee, their boss, is found dead, and Sage becomes the police’s favorite suspect, both Winslow girls know that they’ll need more than a flicker of magic and their sisterhood to solve the murder and clear Sage’s name.

Soon, Tabby realizes that this is just one of the many problems they have. If being a suspect for murder wasn’t enough, there are more magical problems that they have to fix: Sage’s boyfriend is having a paranormal experience of his own he can’t control, there’s an energy vampire searching for his supposedly lost cousin, her cat suddenly dislikes her, and oh—every time Tabby hiccups, she turns completely invisible. The suspect list grows with each day and it seems everyone has a reason or a connection to Loren Lee.

Tabby and Sage are burning the candle at both ends—but will it be enough to keep their friends safe and find this killer? Or will they be burned by their efforts?

My Thoughts: It's nearing Christmas in Savannah, Georgia, and Tabby and Sage Winslow's candle shop is doing great business. Sage is also busy at her part-time job at a local plant nursery. When the manager of the shop dies unexpectedly, the ME determines that it was murder and Sage becomes a prime suspect.

Tabby will do anything for her sister. She begins to investigate who really killed Loren Lee since she knows that it wasn't her sister. But there are other problems too. Sage's boyfriend had some sort of spell put on him that causes him to betray Sage and wind up in the psych ward. And whenever Tabby hiccups she goes invisible. And she is getting the hiccups frequently. 

Then there is the psychic vampire who has come hunting for Auntie O's boyfriend who has managed to escape his troubled past. And the vampire sets his eye on Sage as his next victim.

As Tabby looks at Sage's fellow employees, she finds a number of suspicious characters. But can she find the murderer before it is too late, and her magic is exposed to the people around her?

Generally speaking, I felt like this story could do with some more editing. Some of the dialog was particularly stilted. And the motivations and personalities of the characters seemed to shift throughout the story. I would have liked to know more about the magic the main characters had and why they seemed not to know how to use it. I didn't feel like I got to know enough about Tabby or Sage or their romances. 

Favorite Quote:

"Herbs and spices."

"Nothing that's a poison?"

"Everything is a poison, Detective. It depends on the concentration and the dose."

He leaned over the counter. "So you also have the knowledge to make poisons."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.