Review & Giveaway: Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

Apple Cider Slaying 

(A Cider Shop Mystery)

by Julie Anne Lindsey

About Apple Cider Slaying

 

Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery 

1st in Series 

Kensington (October 29, 2019) 

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages 

ISBN-10: 1496723473 

ISBN-13: 978-1496723475 

Digital ASIN: B07NCQPSVW 

Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year’s crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .

ONE ROTTEN APPLE

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny’s beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it’s struggling. That’s why they’re trying to drum up business with the “First Annual Christmas at the Orchard,” a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike—until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder . .

Includes Recipes!

My Review

The cover, the plot, the setting prompted me to read this story and I wasn't disappointed. Apples, orchards, Christmas, family, murder how can you not love this story.

Winnie tries to save the family business by creating new apple cider and opening a shop to sell them. To do this they need funding but a corpse is found in the cider press which is the grandmother's number one enemy and Granny is the biggest suspect. Winnie has to investigate to save her grandmother and their orchard, irritating, however, the sheriff and the murderer.

Winnie is a great protagonist, she loves her family and their orchard, she has a wonderful relationship with her grandmother and she misses her grandfather who is no longer there. She is very sweet but also determined, intelligent. I also like her relationship with the sheriff especially as it changes throughout history.

It's written very well, there's a lot of suspense, twists and lots of little clues. I loved the setting this small rural town full of gossip but also of friendly and welcoming people.

Great debut for this new series, I can't wait to read the new adventures of Winona and her grandmother and above all I hope for new tasty recipes to try.

If you love cozy mysteries, apple cider and small rural communities this is the perfect book for you

About Julie Anne Lindsey

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. When she's not creating new worlds and organizing the epic adventures of fictional characters, Julie can be found carpooling her three kids around Northeastern Ohio and plotting with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.

Author Links
Visit her online at www.JulieAnneLindsey.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JulieAnneLindseyAuthor/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JulieALindsey
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/juliealindsey/

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Review & Giveaway: Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper by D.E. Haggerty

Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper

 (Death by Cupcake) 

by D.E. Haggerty

About Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper

 

Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper (Death by Cupcake) 

Cozy Mystery Novella 

4th in Series 

Independently Published (November 1, 2019) 

Number of Pages: 80

ASIN: B07XMF4L35

It’s all candy cane cupcakes and peppermint coffee until you find a dead elf on your doorstep.

Only the elf wasn’t a real elf, because elves don’t actually exist – not even at Christmas time. A college student dressed like an elf decided taking a nap in sub-zero winter temps was a good idea. It wasn’t. Anna, the pink-haired baker extraordinaire of Callie’s Cakes, is convinced the student’s death was not an accident. She drags Callie and Kristie along with her as she attempts to discover who killed the elf … um… student.

Will the gals of Callie’s Cakes find the killer before Christmas is ruined?

Cupcakes not included, although you’ll find recipes for all the delicious Christmas cupcakes Anna baked.

My Review
It was a short but very funny read, there are some hilarious scenes.
Anna, Callie and Kristie are very busy producing cupcakes and cookies for the holiday season when they find an elf on their door. At first they think he's drunk but they soon find out he's dead. He's a Callie student and he goes to Kristie's college but they don't know him so well. When the autopsy reveals that it was a murder, Anna cannot help but investigate even if she is overwhelmed with work. And her friends - colleagues can't leave her alone.
I really enjoyed reading about the relationship of the three women with their overprotective boyfriends. Although Callie is not having a good time with Ben. Anna is a stubborn and determined woman, Kristie is sweet and romantic.
I loved every single page, every chapter starts with a request to Santa and is full of delicious sweets, I have been mouth-watering from beginning to end. There is mystery, humor, romance, nothing is missing.
I can't wait to try the cupcake recipes
I recommend it to those who love cozy mysteries, cupcakes and short and fun stories

About D.E. Haggerty

I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic before returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where, in between tennis matches and failing to save the world, I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

Author links
Website: http://dehaggerty.wordpress.com
Blog: https://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/category/mymusings/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dehaggerty
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dehaggerty/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7210211.D_E_Haggerty
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/D.E.-Haggerty/e/B00ECQBURU/
Newsletter signup: https://mailchi.mp/027b2768aa1c/newsletter-sign-up-for-a-writers-life-by-de-haggerty
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/denahaggerty/
Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/d-e-haggerty
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-e-haggerty-4b49a29/

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Review & Giveaway:Beware the East Wind by Barbara Barrett

Beware the East Wind

 (The Mah Jongg Mysteries) 

by Barbara Barrett

About Beware the East Wind

 

Beware the East Wind (The Mah Jongg Mysteries)

Cozy Mystery 

4th in Series

Bowker (August 17, 2019)

Paperback: 254 pages 

ISBN-10: 1948532182 

ISBN-13: 978-1948532181 

Digital ASIN: B07WJ7KYSW

Beware the east wind! It’s hurricane season in Florida, and everyone’s attention is focused on preparing for the latest tempest. But in Serendipity Springs, mah jongg pals Marianne, Sydney, Micki and Kat are caught in a different kind of whirlwind—a mesmerizing murder case involving a slain hypnotist/chef and the woman police suspect of doing her in, her embittered catering partner, Portia.

My Review
I  was happy to read a new adventure of these four very nice friends. This time they have to solve a murder in the complicated hurricane period

Marianne neglects her friends a little, is often late and lost in her thoughts because of her plays. While Kat is neglected a little by Rick, the sheriff, who has to work overtime for a murder that took place in the city. The dead woman is Alice the hypnotist that Kat and her friends had seen the night before the murder at a fund-raising dinner.

It can be read as stand alone even if it is the fourth book in the series and even if you don't know Mah Jongg

It was a pleasant read, with lovable and realistic characters, a fascinating setting and a well written and engaging plot

About the Author

Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.

Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job as a human resources analyst for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and one novella, she returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.

Bamboozled, the second book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.

Anticipating the day when she would write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America for over a decade. She credits them with helping her hone her craft.

Barbara is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.

Author Links
Website – http://www.barbarabarrettbooks.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Barbara-Barrett-Author-1678443865812386/
Twitter – www.twitter.com/bbarrettbooks
Pinterest – pinterest.com/barbarabarrett7
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8181756.Barbara_Barrett
Subscribe Cozy Newsletter https://www.subscribepage.com/BBCozies
Purchase Links Amazon B&N 
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