by Sandra Murphy & Tracy Condie

This week we have reviews of 2 food related mysteries and one set in a small English Village-Death by Chocolate Pumpkin Muffin by Sarah Graves, Booked for Revenge: A Tea and Tomes Mystery by Karen Rose Smith, and The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of all 3 books and links to purchase them from Amazon at the end of each review.

Death by Chocolate Pumpkin Muffin by Sarah Graves
Review by Sandra Murphy

Eastport’s television hunk Hank Rafferty is hosting a party and plans to make it a Big Event. Jake and Ellie, owners of the Chocolate Moose, a chocolate themed bakery, are on tap to provide refreshments. The house looks definitely haunted, enough to make them want to turn down the job, but the amount Hank offers to pay overrides worries about ghosts—or worse.

Hank is a home improvement show host. You’d think he’d be able to fix up the Stone House with all the expertise he has. Sadly, that’s scripted. What he has is money. In an effort to impress his wife, co-workers, and anyone who knows him or just of him, he’s spending lavish amounts on the party.

After baking a massive number of goodies, Jake and Ellie are ready to leave for the party when a young woman, a Hank fan, calls and asks for their help. She’s at Stone House which makes it convenient enough—except the biggest part of the girl’s problem is, Hank is dead, and she thinks she might be a suspect.

A fall from the upstairs balcony was the cause but the question is, did he fall or was he pushed? Considering he wasn’t well liked, it could be either. The ‘widow’ isn’t mourning, that’s for sure. The biggest complication is, suspect number one isn’t the girl. It’s the Eastport police chief’s boyfriend. Will she have to arrest her hot-headed honey for the crime?

Readers will remember first meeting Jake and Ellie in the Home Repair is Homicide Mystery series, when Jake and her son Sam moved to Eastport. This is the eighth book in the Death by Chocolate mysteries. Graves also writes the Lizzie Snow suspense novels.

Jake thoughtfully provided a recipe for glazed chocolate pumpkin muffins at the back of the book so readers can enjoy both eating the muffins and reading about them. And the murder. Or was it?

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She’s the editor for the upcoming Yeet Me in St Louis, an anthology with stories from twelve St. Louis writers. Her own short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Magazine, and anthologies such as The Perp Wore Pumpkin and I (Almost) Died in Your Arms. ‘Lucy’s Tree’, published in The Eyes of Texas, won a Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She lives in St. Louis with Ozzie the Westie Impersonator and his sidekick in crime, Louie the Cat.

Booked for Revenge: A Tea and Tomes Mystery by Karen Rose Smith
Review by Tracy Condie

I am so disappointed in myself for not realizing that Karen Rose Smith had created a spin off from her Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series. Booked for Revenge is the second in the new series, and it picks up with Daisy’s younger daughter Jazzi moving to a new town and becoming her own person, while using the sleuthing skills she learned from her mom and stepdad, Jonas. Jazzi has a little bit of a secret. No one except Detective Mitford knows about the ten murder cases Jazzi’s mom, Daisy, helped the Willow Creek detectives solve. While this is a spin off, it is a separate series, and is a stand-alone. There is no need to read the series starter or the Tea Garden series to enjoy both the characters and the mystery.

Part of Jazzi’s story is her journey as an adopted child in search of her birth mother. She is the first character I have come across with such a backstory. It is a unique way to show how Jazzi developed sleuthing skills of her own, skills that she uses to help Dawn, her roommate, business partner, and best friend. Dawn may not be a suspect, but she is suffering from a bit of PTSD from finding the body of baking contestant and professional photographer, Finn Yarrow. Detective Milford warns Jazzi not to get involved like she did last time, but Jazzi cannot ignore the angst that Dawn is experiencing. Angst that is causing waves between Dawn and her family, family that are a little weary of Jazzi and her possible influence over Dawn.

There are plenty of suspects and possible motives. The victim was in a heated argument at one point with another contestant. Was it related to the contest or something else? As a photographer and videographer, Finn was most likely a very observant person. Did he see, photograph, or film something that led to his demise, or is it something else entirely? Jazzi and the Tea & Tomes book club crew do a very good job of analyzing the suspects and the aspects of this crime.

I would be remiss if I did not make mention of an interesting aspect of the Tea & Tomes book club. Historically, members of a book club read the same, agreed-upon book, and then discuss it. The Tea & Tomes members each read a different book. I think it might be interesting and fun to take part in such a group. This format seems to have even enticed Oliver, the owner of The Wild Kangaroo, to attend a meeting, and not just because there are snacks for all to enjoy.

This is a well-written cozy that checks all the boxes from cute kittens, supportive friends, and even a romantic possibility (note to the author: thank you for not making this a triangle). I will need to go back and read the series starter and maybe make some Maple Pecan cookies or peach and pecan muffins. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton
Review by Tracy Condie

Daphne Brewster, shoot producer for Stylish Home magazine, has had enough of inner-city London, and has relocated with her husband and children to the quiet town of Pudding Corner near Pepperbridge. Here it seems that “death, murder, secrets and betrayals were all wrapped up in the bucolic beauty of a village nestled within fields and country air.” This is an excellent series-starter for the Hill House Vintage Murder Mysteries series. Because a few chapters are told through multiple points of view and flashbacks, you get a story within a story, within a story.

Daphne is a strong character, but also kindhearted and she defends the excluded and overlooked. She has no need to climb a social ladder like Marianne Forbes or try to be in the good graces of Augusta Papplewick, school headmaster’s wife. Those two are a couple of mean gals. Daphne, on the other hand, really doesn’t care what the locals think, and chooses to befriend Minerva Leek, a Wiccan who grew up in the small town, but is considered an outcast.

These characters are so well-described, and their emotions so strong, that you become engrossed in the story. There is a “mean girl,” a quiet recluse, a frustrated housewife, and a couple of gossip gals. On the more positive side, Daphne and James’s children have adjusted quite well and made a friend of a young boy named Silver, the son of Minerva Leek. With the lower cost of living, Daphne is able to be a stay-at-home mom but finds that she has a knack and creative flair for refinishing furniture and creating wonderful and decorative pieces. There is even an available storefront for the newly nicknamed Vintage Lady to conduct her new business venture. I like how Daphne is given an outlet for her creative nature. However, her husband, James, would rather she didn’t find an outlet for her curious nature.

This was a mystery that kept me guessing. Every suspect has motive and opportunity to have visited the headmaster while he relaxed in his happy place. Each personal story that Daphne learns is like a puzzle piece, and a picture begins to take shape. Then Daphne discovers another clue that changes everything. This is going to be a most excellent series.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copies of all 3 books, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “muffins, tea, English” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 7, 2025. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Tracy Condie is a paralegal by day and cozy armchair sleuth by night. When she is not working or reading, she enjoys preparing the recipes found in culinary cozies or researching recipes of meal items described therein and sharing reviews of both books and food on Instagram and on KRL. She lives in Corona, California with her husband and dog Zoolie, and looks forward to visiting with their grown sons when their time permits.

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.