by Sarah Erwin, Sandra Murphy, Tracy Condie, & Cynthia Chow

This week we have 4 more cozy and historical mysteries for your fall reading-Quilty as Charged: A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery Book Two by Maggie Bailey, No Paw to Stand On: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery by Laurie Cass, The Grim Steeper: A Witches Brew Mystery #3 by Gretchen Rue, and Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of all 4 books and links to purchase them from Amazon at the end of each review.

Quilty as Charged: A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery Book Two by Maggie Bailey
Review by Sarah Erwin

Quilty as Charged is book two in Maggie Bailey’s A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery and features seamstress Lydia Barnes. Lydia is now the new owner of Measure Twice, a fabric store in the small town of Peridot, Georgia.

As the sole owner, Lydia knows she needs to boost the store’s income, so she offers a sewing retreat for her regular customers. The retreat takes place at Fran’s Cherry Log mountain home, and as the former owner of Measure Twice, Fran’s expertise is welcome on the retreat.

Unfortunately, a severe winter storm blows in, and Lydia quickly regrets her insistence that the retreat be “device free,” as both the power and phone lines go out in the storm. And then a body is discovered, clearly murdered. The six remaining attendants are the only available suspects.

The tension increases when a second body is found not long after the first, along with a possible suicide note and confession to the previous murder. Something seems off to Lydia, though. Along with the handsome caretaker of the cabin (Auden), Lydia begins an investigation, and secrets come out for all attendees.

This series offers wonderful characters, and a great small town setting. This more recent entry is a puzzling locked room mystery that kept me turning the pages. The winter storm made this such an atmospheric read. The book blurb does give away the name of the first victim, so if readers would rather be surprised, I would suggest skipping that.

As I sleuthed along with Lydia, the secrets revealed were shocking, and I honestly thought everyone was guilty at one point. The light romance developing between Lydia and Auden is a fun addition. While not officially an epilogue, I enjoyed the wrap-up ending and felt there was a strong set-up for future mysteries involving Lydia. I’d love to see where her relationship with Auden goes.

You can click here to purchase the book from Amazon.

Sarah Erwin started her career as a children’s librarian, later becoming a public library director and now she’s a stay at home mom. While her career might have changed, her love of reading has been a constant since 4th grade and she reads over 200 books a year. Read along with her on her blog Sarah Can’t Stop Reading or on Instagram. Sarah lives in St. Louis, MO with her two kids, her husband and a family dog and cat.

No Paw to Stand On: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery by Laurie Cass
Review by Cynthia Chow

As the August temperatures soar to blistering levels in Chilson, Michigan, assistant director of the Chilson District Library Minnie Hamilton is looking for ways to cool off when the AC goes out on their beloved bookmobile. A stop on the shore of Lake Michigan is a brilliant idea, but her friend Kristen Jurek’s inspiration to battle the heat goes very wrong. Her London-inspired ice cream treats go very wrong when eight customers have allergic reactions to her gluten-free waffle cones, sending the restaurant owner into a spiral of depression. Minnie is more than a little alarmed at her bestie’s uncharacteristic passivity, even though Kristen is understandably occupied by having to care for her new twins. Minnie believes that there’s no way her friend could have been careless enough to cause food poisoning, which means that it must have been a case of intentional tampering and poisoning.

Having already been involved in at least a dozen murders, everyone assumes that Minnie and her bookmobile cat Eddie will once again be involved in this case. Detective-in-training Ash Wolverson insists that the police can’t intercede until it’s an actual case, which it becomes when it’s discovered that an allergy-inducing ingredient had been added to the waffle cones. Minnie prods Kristen into giving up a list of those who might want her to go out of business, but it gets complicated when the Chilson Library is plagued by a series of parking lot vandalisms. Eventually Minnie narrows her list of suspects down to a failed restauranteur, Kristin’s chef who is branching off on her own, and a nemesis linked to a high school track competition. A death – fortunately not one of Kristen’s poisoned customers – escalates the need for Minnie to find the culprit who may be targeting the town’s businesses and library.

This 12th in the series focuses on Minnie’s adventures through Chilson as she attempts to discover who is sabotaging their restaurants and Kristen in particular. Their friendship continues to evolve and grow now that Kristen is a fine-dining restaurant owner and married with twins. Minnie herself is planning her upcoming nuptials to middle school principal Rafe Niswander, and the loss of their officiant is just one item on her growing to-do list. While there are fewer expeditions on the bookmobile that became her mission to reach the outskirts of her northwest lower Michigan town, Eddie the bookmobile cat continues to play a vital role within the library and Minnie’s life. Readers will enjoy spending time with these beloved characters who support one another as their lives change and their families grow. Library lovers and pet-friendly readers will find themselves at home in the latest installment of this reliably entertaining series.

You can click here to purchase the book from Amazon.

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).

The Grim Steeper: A Witches Brew Mystery #3 by Gretchen Rue
Review by Tracy Condie

This time, The Earl’s Study, a tea and bookshop, has gone to the birds. Phoebe Winchester, store owner, sometime sleuth, and newish witch, is hosting bird enthusiast and author, Sebastian Marlow for one of his book tour stops. Sebastian, aka the Backyard Bird Man, is considered an expert birder who is easy on the eyes, and has a huge announcement to make during his upcoming author event at Phoebe‘s bookstore. So of course, he ends up being the victim. Everyone loved Sebastian, or seemed to love him, so why was he murdered? Like all good cozy sleuths, Phoebe has a need to find out the “who” and the ”why.”

I am not sure how Phoebe finds time to look for clues and ask questions. Most of her days include running the bookstore/tea shop, baking amazing sourdough breads from a homemade starter (refer to book two Death of a Thousand Sips), running the bookstore, (maybe) dating a dark-haired private investigator, and worrying about her magic acting wonky and unpredictable. It’s that last part, the magic acting wonky that could lead to a sticky situation. People aren’t used to seeing things floating, and Phoebe’s witchy abilities are on the down-low. The town has one other witch, Phoebe’s friend Honey, who can read runes but cannot offer a clear path for the mystery or guidance on what Phoebe needs to do to get her magic under control.

Suspects include the former manager, Sebastian’s best friend, who was “let go” the day before the group arrives at Phoebe’s place for their tour stop. Maybe the culprit is one of Sebastian’s team, or maybe someone else altogether. Everyone seems to be up to something, and Detective Martin asks Phoebe to keep her eyes and ears open. Good thing her long-time friend (and maybe more), Rich Lofting is a former cop and currently a very good private investigator who is willing to indulge her and conduct stakeouts. The interactions between those two are fun and adorable as they dance around the “when should we start dating” thing. Rich may or may not know about Phoebe’s extra abilities. He knew her Aunt Eudora, who was rumored to be a witch because her teas helped people a little too well to find love or get to sleep.

The plot is well-constructed and the clues well-placed. The red herrings make it a challenge, and the character interactions keep you turning pages as well as chuckling. Being a fan of the culinary cozies, I was very happy to see that there were recipes at the conclusion of the story. I had sourdough starter already going after reading book two and used it to make the blueberry lemon sourdough bread. Both the story and the sourdough were highly enjoyable, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. By the way, the ending is a doozy!

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

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.

Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair
Review by Sandra Murphy

It’s post-war time and Iris and Gwen’s marriage bureau is going well. In London, there are more women than men and a relaxation of class status. Iris and Gwen are the Match.com of the ‘40s. As a treat for their clients and to celebrate their business success, they plan a huge party for all their clients. Some will meet as their first dates there, and others will be examples of successful matches. The party will take place on New Year’s Eve, midnight kissing encouraged. The only problem is finding a venue.

During the bombings, buildings were damaged. Now there’s a shortage of materials for repairs.
Iris has been seeing Archie, a local “entrepreneur” also known as a mobster. Gwen, widowed during the war, now free of her in-law’s supervision (of her money and child), is thinking of dating too.
Luckily, Archie has recently purchased the White Palace, a night club large enough for the party. It just needs a few repairs—like wallpaper stripped, plaster repaired, painted, floors refinished…and a basement wall shored up. The party is in jeopardy when the wall collapses, and a mummified body is found inside.
Good news for the party, the body is old enough to make it a truly cold case so the party can go on. Bad news, the police suspect Archie for most anything and everything, including this.

Just as London is changing and recovering after the war, so are Iris and Gwen, each willing to take chances they would never have done before—including solving murders.

Iris and Gwen are great friends and business partners, each with specialized talents. Gwen knows the society rules. Iris, a former spy, knows everything else. If you ever found yourself in a tight spot, they’d be your go-to people.

This is book six in the series. If you’re the type who says, “I don’t read historicals”, read this one anyway. It’s a tale of friendship, resiliency, and crime. I didn’t catch on to the solution until Iris and Gwen presented it, not a clue beforehand. I can’t say that about many mysteries.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copy of all 4 books, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Crafts, Cats, Historical, & Witchy” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 5, 2024. 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.

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.

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.