Weekend Book Reviews

Read Herring Hunt by VM Burns is the second book in the Mystery Bookshop Mysteries series.  Sam's mystery bookshop is off to a wonderful start.  Dawson, her renter and head baker, is having a great season with the college football team.  All is not well though.  When his ex-girlfriend is found murdered, he is the only suspect.  Sam and her band of senior sleuths set out to prove his innocence.  Like the first book this one has a secondary mystery in the form of Sam's English themed mystery novel.  I enjoy the story within a story, but it may not be for everyone.  I enjoyed the parallel mystery and the way the characters mesh together.  This book is just as solid as the first and can easily be read on its own!

Kirsten Weiss' second book in the Pie Town Mystery series is Bleeding Tarts.  Val's pie shop gets a boost when she is asked to provide pies for the fake ghost town Bar X.  While delivering the pies, a stray bullet blows apart a cherry pie she is carrying, and the town's bartender is soon found dead.  She and her pie crust maker, Charlene, begin an investigation.  It seems they are getting close when Val finds her own life threatened.  Charlene and Val are an unlikely duo that works very well.  The other characters are just as wacky which makes for a fun book.  It is a light, fun read!


I Scream You Scream by Wendy Lyn Watson is the first book in the Mystery A-la Mode series.  Tallulah's ice cream shop is struggling so she agrees to take a job providing ice cream for her ex-husband and his new girlfriend.  When the girlfriend is found dead under suspicious circumstances following the party, Tallulah is the prime suspect.  Tallulah is a wonderful cozy mystery heroine, and that fact that she is southern to the core made me like her more.  The book has a nice flow, and the supporting characters add to the charm.  I have added the rest of the series to my reading list!


Linda O Johnston's fourth book in the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series is Pick and Chews.  When the veterinary office that Carrie works for wants to hire a new vet, her boyfriend suggests two candidates and gets a third in the form of an annoying former colleague, who winds up murdered.  I honestly found myself anxiously waiting for the murder to happen since this character was just awful.  This story had a good flow although I was a bit overwhelmed with unnecessary information at times.  Still I enjoy the idea of the dog bakery and the emphasis on animal rescue. 










disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!