Dead in the Water by Annelise Ryan is the latest book in the Mattie Winston Mystery series. Mattie and her toddler have moved in with her boyfriend and his teenage daughter. She is supposed to be planning her wedding while juggling a crazy home and her part-time job with the medical examiner's office. Her work life becomes more hectic when her boss suffers a heart attack and a co-worker is found dead. I have only read part of the series, but I was found it easy to catch up with everything that was happening. I felt that Mattie crossed the sharing boundaries on a few things in the book. Otherwise the characters were fun and likeable. The mystery was good with several twists and turns. While this is quite far into the series, the possibility for character development is alive and well.
Winnie Archer's Kneaded to Death is the first book in the Bread Shop Mystery series. Ivy returns to her seaside California home following the death of her mother. Grief is at the center point of her life until she begins a bread making class at Yeast of Eden. Ivy finds two new friends and begins to find hope again. Unfortunately a classmate's death casts a dark shadow over this new chapter of Ivy's life. With the help of her friends, she sets out to unravel the mystery. This book's subject matter was heavier than the usual cozy mystery plot. That is not a bad thing; just do not read it expect nothing but fluff. The mystery portion was excellent and had me guessing to the end. I hope there will be more books in this series.
The second book in the Cat Latimer Mystery series by Lynn Cahoon is Fatality by Firelight. Cat runs the Warm Springs Writer's Retreat in Colorado. Once a month Cat and her friend, Shauna, open the doors to a new set of writers and provide meals, encouragement, and seminars. Unfortunately one of their romance authors breaks from the pack and spends time with a local who winds up dead. Cat must work with her uncle, who is the sheriff, to solve the mystery before her retreat's reputation is ruined. The mystery portion was good. I do wish Cat would not have spent half of the book complaining about dealing with the retreat guests. I could empathize the first time. By the tenth time she came across as whining and annoying. The series would be greatly improved if Cat would embrace the life she has chosen.
disclosure: I received these e-books from NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews. All opinions are my own!
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