by Cynthia Chow & Sandra Murphy

This week we have another catch-up group of fun mysteries including some with Halloween and supernatural settings-A Clue in the Crumbs: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette, A Shimmer of Red: An Odessa Jones Mystery by Valerie Wilson Wesley, Mischief Nights Are Murder by Libby Klein, and Murder at the Elms by Alyssa Maxwell. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win copies of all 4 the books, with links to purchase them at the end of each review–you may not see the links if you have ad blocker on.

A Clue in the Crumbs: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette
Review by Cynthia Chow

It was on their much delayed honeymoon to Scotland that Key West food critic Hayley Snow and her husband Nathan Bransford first met the senior sibling baking duo Violet and Bettina Booth. After winning their season of The UK Bakes! Scone Edition television baking competition, the sisters have embarked on an American tour promoting the show while also looking for contestants for an American version. The sisters are a little concerned to have only three Key West contenders, especially since one of them seems hesitant about competing at all. When Rayna Humboldt does arrive, her stellar baking skills are immediately overshadowed by an overbearing husband who refuses to allow her to participate. So when Hayley’s policeman husband alerts her that a body has been found near the site of a fire, it’s almost a relief to learn that it was not Rayna but her husband who was left with a literal knife in his back.

Things don’t look too good for Violet and Bettina though, as it turns out that one of their heirloom knives and a specialty-branded baking pan were used as weapons to take out the abrasive bed and breakfast owner. And even though Nathan and Hayley have finally moved into their dream houseboat, her former roommate Miss Gloria is still a neighbor and more than ready to resume their amateur detecting team status. Hayley has a personal reason for being invested in the fate of the cooking program, as her own mother and stepfather have subbed in as a baking team when it looked as though the competition was getting a little unimpressive. So when she’s not watching the bread and quick bake cook-offs Hayley and Miss Gloria will be delving into the lives of the competitors and the sisters’ production team, some of whom are definitely not who they appear to be.

While the pseudonymous author is a standout at crafting complex and very fun mysteries, fans of Top Chef and the Great British Bake-Off will adore every new stage of the cooking competition. Especially appealing are the epicurean-themed quotes at the beginning of each chapter, taken from works of food gods like critic Frank Bruni, the famously infamous Anthony Bourdain, and of course Julia Child. Equally impressive are the descriptions of the Key West setting, making it an enviable destination for its eclectic cuisine and equally unique population.

Series crossover tarot card reader Lorenzo (from the Golf Lovers’ Mystery series written under the name Roberta Isleib) once again appears to provide Hayley with sage life and investigation advice, with his reading of her and the case calming her and helping her to move forward. This 13th in the series continues to entertainingly provide readers with recipes, fun dialogue, and a deadly cooking competition. This is a novel of baking competitions and murder mystery that definitely deserves a Paul Hollywood handshake.

A Shimmer of Red: An Odessa Jones Mystery by Valerie Wilson Wesley
Review by Cynthia Chow

Business at Risko Realty is booming as a result of pandemic-scared city dwellers fleeing to the suburbs of Grovesville, New Jersey. Realtor Odessa Jones is finally able to relax as she saves up for the future while continuing to expand the catering business she built with her late husband. Their successes have led Risko Realty to hire two new realtors, Bella Mondavi and Anna Lee, and they are eager to join the company bonded together by losses and friendship. Both women are young and coming from prestigious realty firms, with Anna having recently left the booming Delbarton Estates firm.

Coincidentally, their CEO Emily Delbarton is hiring D&D Delights to cater their next brokers’ open house, and it’s a great opportunity for Dessa to promote her catering business and shake off the last experience that involved a dead body. So it’s disconcerting when, as someone gifted with her family’s talent of seeing people’s “shimmers,” Dessa encounters an ominous one surrounding Emily. It’s Anna Lee who is killed the next day in a hit-and-run though, and the odd sensations Dessa has been picking up forces her to investigate. Those who see shimmers have the need to speak the truth, and like the texts that her Aunt Phoenix continually sends as advice, with Great Power comes Great Responsibility, and like Spider-Man must see it through to the end.

Dessa is going to need all of the support of her Aunt Phoenix and her friends when dealing with the odd Delbarton siblings, as Edgar Allen Delbarton was obsessed with his imagined Poe-namesake connection with the late Anna Lee. She kept her name and her history with a gentlemen’s club a secret from most, and the more Dessa learns the more she suspects that Anna was escaping from someone or something. She’s not the only one with a past she’d rather forget, as Dessa’s ex-fiancé unexpectedly arrives in town with news of his own. It’s a complication Dessa didn’t need at this point in her life, since she is finally recovering from her losses and building a new family with her neighbors and Risko Realty coworkers.

This third in the series deftly sprinkles in Dessa’s paranormal talent with a strong, practical investigation. Dessa’s humor and sharp wit allows for delightful interactions with the eccentric Grovesville locals, using her cooking and empathy to gather confidences and information. Author Valerie Wilson Wesley has garnered well-deserved critical acclaim for her darker Tamara Hayle PI mystery series, but here she also shines – and shimmers – with the blend of cozy and mystical. Fast dialogue, a few adorable pets, and of course mouth-watering cooking descriptions make this a winning entry featuring a strong and engaging heroine. The strength she shows after a devastating loss is so admirable, especially when it comes through sharing and helping those who have faced similar experiences. This continues to be an entertaining series with depths of layers and led by a strongly appealing character.

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Mischief Nights Are Murder by Libby Klein
Review by Sandra Murphy

Poppy McAllister and her Aunt Ginny run a B&B plus Poppy supplies baked goods to local shops. Poppy’s not too happy to find out Ginny signed them up to be part of a dinner tour—of haunted houses.
Now the problem is the guests—one is there to debunk the haunted theory and another will sue if they take part in the haunted dinners and don’t play up the haunted aspect. Of course, the B&B is called the murder house but it’s because of how many corpses Poppy has found, not because there are ghosts.

One of the guests is a tabloid reporter, another is an extremely weird pet psychic who has conversations with Poppy’s cat, and several are paranormal researchers who want to film and test in the middle of the night. When a guest falls face first into a plate of tiramisu, it’s pure chaos as the others pursue their theories and they hope to talk to the ghost of the murder victim.

I like Poppy. Ginny, guests, screwy mishaps, and a meddling mother all conspire to ruin her love life. Her kitchen ‘help’ is a great cook and baker but has a smart mouth, typically used on Poppy. Despite it all, she manages to keep going, mostly with a cheerful attitude, and a minimal number of bodies.
This is the eighth book in the series. I’m not sure whether Ginny’s escapades or knowing the ever so handsome Gia loves Poppy–who seems like a regular person–is the draw, but I’ve enjoyed every book.

Poppy is gluten-free and willing to share her recipes for: pecan pie muffins, harvest fruit muffins, maple cardamon breakfast cake, cassata cupcakes, Sicilian lemon Earl Grey tiramisu, focaccia, and a main course of chicken, spinach, and artichoke manicotti.

Murder at the Elms by Alyssa Maxwell
Review by Sandra Murphy

It’s 1901 and Emma and Derrick are adapting to married life after a honeymoon in Italy. Now it’s back to work running their newspaper. One newsworthy item is The Elms, a mansion built by coal baron Edward Berwind. It’s exceptional for the time because it is one of the first in America to have electricity and it’s generated by coal from Berwind’s own mines.

The other item of note is all the servants have threatened to strike for better wages and regular half days off, sure that the threat will work since a large party is planned. Everyone is shocked when Berwind fires the entire staff and brings in new servants.

The party goes on with Emma and Derrick on hand. The party atmosphere is ruined when a chambermaid is found dead in the coal tunnel, a laborer has gone missing, and so has a valuable diamond necklace that belongs to a houseguest. The chambermaid was the only servant not to threaten a strike, an unpopular move with the rest of the servants.

Detective Jesse Whyte has asked for Emma and Derrick’s help before in solving a case with the elite—they consider themselves above talking to a policeman—and is once again here. Is the maid’s death connected to the missing necklace? Is the missing laborer the culprit? You’ll have to read the book to find out—guessing isn’t as easy as you think.

This is book 11 in the series, many reviewed here in KRL. Not only are the characters described so well they feel like friends, but Maxwell notes The Preservation Society of Newport County has a virtual house tour available on their website. It adds accuracy of course, but also allows readers to follow the characters room by room as they try to solve the mystery.

To enter to win a copy of all 4 mysteries, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “September catch-up” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 3, 2023. 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.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode went up this week.

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.