Audiobook Review: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

Get ready to meet the one and only Maddy Mongtomery!!!!

Maddy's life isn't going too well. Her groom has left her at the altar, and she feels like she's at a loose end. However, what Maddy doesn't know is her life is going to get a whole lot more interesting! When a surprise inheritance from her Great Aunt Octavia lands in her lap, she decides to head to New Bison and learn more about her inheritance and Octavia's life. What follows is an adventure you won't forget, as Maddy learns how to bake and solve a mystery!

I love, love, LOVED this audiobook! Right from the start Maddy is spoilt, but as she starts to discover this about herself she grows into a brand new person and that person is surprising in so many ways!

This story is fun and hip, especially with the social media references. If you've never read a cozy mystery before you should start RIGHT HERE! It is beyond fun, enticing and an all around great mystery.

I really enjoyed watching Maddy's development and learning more about the folks in New Bison. Especially the "Baker Street Irregulars", who might be the best sleuthing team ever!

The audiobook was fantastic. The narrator IS the voice of Maddy! Even when I switched over to the e-book [as I usually flip between the two versions], all I could hear was Jasmin's voice in my head. Her narration was absolutely spot on.

If you are looking for a new series, you have to try this one! Just perfection!

Book Review: Cat's Paws and Curses by Nancy Warren

It's time for a short Christmas [almost in July] mystery and Nancy Warren has you covered with a festive Vampire Knitting Club mystery!

Lucy is getting together with her [human] knitting circle, to enjoy good company and festive knits. However not all is festive and happy, when one of the members of the circle is killed. In a brilliant locked room mystery, Lucy must figure out who the killer is before they strike again.

I love a locked room mystery! With only a limited number of suspects and clues laid out before you, can you solve it before the amateur sleuth? In this case.... yes! It was clear early on who the victim and murderer were. However, it was enjoyable watching it play out and confirm my theory!

I listened on audio to this short story and it was great. It's the perfect length for a long dog walk. I have only one Vampire Knitting Club mystery left, and it is going to be a happy-sad moment when I start it. This series has zoomed up my list of most favourites! If you like knitting and/or supernatural mysteries then this series is for you too!

Book Review: Ribbing and Runes by Nancy Warren

Yes, I'm back again with another review for a Vampire Knitting Club Mystery. Why? Because they are just so darn good! Since discovering these books in February, I've quickly made my way through [almost] the whole series. Ribbing and Runes is the 13th book in the series, and the second last book published. 

Lucy Swift is preparing to say "I do" to her sexy vampire, Rafe. However, on the way to the altar, there is a little mystery.... in the way of a dead witch! On a shopping trip, Lucy discovers the witch that put the hex on her cousin Violet. However, what she wasn't expecting was to get caught up in a murder mystery involving alchemy!

I love this series so much! Nancy Warren deftly weaves the mystery and the "I do's" so well. I practically sped through this one, as I tried to solve the mystery before Lucy!

As the final page was read I sighed that contented sigh of a happy reader. Needless to say Lucy and Rafe get their happy ending, but I know they will have many more adventures. After all, trouble seems to follow Lucy around. More than mysteries, I'm curious what the romance department has in store for Violet!

If you love supernatural mysteries then you need to be reading this series. I've been alternating between the audiobook and the e-books [audios for dog walking] and the narrator is fantastic. No matter what format you choose you won't be disappointed.

Book Review: Herringbone & Hexes by Nancy Warren

Herringbone and Hexes is the 12th book in the Vampire Knitting Club mysteries, featuring Lucy Swift, yarn shop owner and part time amateur sleuth. This time Lucy gets mixed up in another murder case when a new friend is found dead. 

I absolutely cannot get enough of this series. I’ve been reading them since the first book, The Vampire Knitting Club, and have been bingeing them, one after another. They are the perfect series for supernatural fans that love a good murder mystery. 

 

I thought this one was particularly well crafted, especially as the murder didn’t happen until more than half way through the story. However, as Nancy Warren is a fantastic storyteller I knew it would all wrap together and it did. 

It’s hard to review the series without giving away spoilers as there is little side stories that build on each other from book to book. Like many cozy mystery series, you could read a single mystery as a standalone and not feel lost. However, you will get far more enjoyment out of this series if you read them in order. After just one book, it will soon become a favourite! 

With Lucy’s sexy vampire Rafe and a stunning whodunnit every time, it it’s easy to see why this is one of my favourite series.

Audiobook Review: Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs

High tea and high fashion turn deadly in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things.

As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer. Tea events and fashion shows must go on, however, which puts Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, right in the thick of squabbling business partners, crazed clothing designers, irate film producers, drug deals, and a disastrous Tea Trolley Tour.[summary via publisher]

Lemon Curd Killer is the 25th mystery in the popular Tea Shop Mysteries, and fans of this series are not going to want to miss this one!

Theodosia and Drayton get in the middle of another murder, when a guest at the Limon Tea for  the Charleston Fashion Week is found dead. Theodosia must follow a deadly trail of unhappy business partners, drug deals and more, as she untangles the mystery to find a killer.

Reading the Tea Shop Mysteries is just like taking a sip of my favourite Earl Grey tea, absolute happiness after one sip [or page!]. They are simply like coming home, as I've been with Theodosia since the first adventure. This one was just as delightful as the previous 24. I loved tagging along with Theodosia and Drayton and trying to solve the mystery before them. It was a tangled web, as the victim wasn't very likable... so plenty of suspects!

I enjoyed listening to Barbara McCulloh's narration. She always delivers a flawless audio experience. This was the perfect listen, on my many hours of dog walking, and was so enjoyable!

I simply cannot recommend this series enough. If you enjoy a good cup of tea, you will find these cozies just delightful!