by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Violet Vickers is a patron of the arts—she has money and is willing to spend it, much appreciated by the townspeople of Carmel. Courtney has been hired to make fairy gardens as décor for the theater foundation tea and art show to be held at Violet’s estate. It will be a memorable affair.

Meaghan, Courtney’s best friend, is involved in setting up the show, too. Things are going well until Meaghan’s ex-boyfriend, Nicholas, turns out to be Violet’s new protégé. He’s demanding, spoiled, and borderline abusive, causing a scene at Courtney’s fairy garden store, in front of Violet, at the gallery, and then in a confrontation with Meaghan’s friend, Ziggy and another artist.

It’s not much of a surprise when Nicholas’ body is found, bashed over the head. The shocking part is, he’s found in Meaghan’s yard and the gazing ball from her garden looks to be the murder weapon.

With Nicholas’ personality, or lack of, the suspect list is long, but the police zero in on two of the most likely: Meaghan and her friend, Ziggy. Courtney knows they are innocent and with the help of her fairy, Fiona, is determined to prove it.

In her personal life, Courtney is dating Brady, a restauranteur. Brady’s ex-wife shows up with her new husband, a Hollywood star, and creates a lot of tension in every situation.

This is book four in the series. I enjoy the descriptions of the fairy gardens Courtney creates or those her customers make in classes she teaches. The mysteries are good, clues are there if you like to try to solve the mystery as a reader, and if you like to be surprised, that works, too. Don’t be surprised if you feel the urge to design your own fairy garden. It may be that Fiona has sprinkled the pages with fairy dust.

At the back of the book find recipes for cashew tea cookies, chocolate coconut muffins (plus a gluten-free version aka +GF), cinnamon coffee cake (+GF), dark chocolate chai cookies, double chocolate caramel brownies, Earl Grey shortbread cookies (+GF), lemon butter cookies, maple Madeleines (+GF), meat loaf pie, and nutty blond brownies (+GF). There’s also an excerpt from A Hint of Mischief, book three of the series.

To enter to win a copy of A Flicker of Doubt, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “flicker” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen April 29, 2023. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If you are entering via email please include you mailing address in case you win, it will be deleted after the contest. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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You can use this link to purchase the book. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the Amazon link. You can also click here to purchase the book.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She’s editor for Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of the ’60s, with twenty-two cozy stories. She also edited A Murder of Crows, twenty-one stories featuring animals and crime (no animals were harmed). She also writes for magazines, newsletters, and the occasional guest blog. Both anthologies are available at the usual outlets, print or ebook.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.