This week we are doing even more catch-up, we have reviews and giveaways of historical, food, and Irish wedding mysteries-The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler, Dominoes, Danzón, and Death: A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery, Book Four by Raquel V. Reyes, Blame the Beignets by Ginger Bolton, and Death at an Irish Wedding: An Irish Castle Mystery by Ellie Brannigan.
We have just said goodbye to one year, while ushering in another, and I can’t help but feel reflective. As is the tradition, shared by so many of us regardless of religious or cultural beliefs, it is time for us to take an inventory of our lives and resolve to shed unhealthy habits for healthy ones. For me, there is no better place to start than with one of my passions—reading.
Phyllida Bright takes the 1930s London Theater District by storm as our intrepid amateur detective returns for a thrilling encore performance. Colleen Cambridge’s Murder Takes the Stage is an atmospheric delight that pulls the curtain back on the historic West End.
I’ve been a fan of Katharine Schellman’s Lily Adler Mysteries since book one, A Body in the Garden, released in April 2020. Book five, the newest book in this historical mystery series, A Scandal in Mayfair is a page-turning delight. For readers who enjoy audiobooks, I can also recommend these titles in audio format.
Every day, we walk through the past. On the way to work, we pass by a redbrick building with terra cotta trim, and glance up at the ghost signs advertising long-gone brands of cars, cigarettes, and soft drinks. After lunch, we take a walk on a trail that once served as a road, reclaimed by time and trees, with the help of human hands.
Death of a Flying Nightingale is an amazing dive into the little-known history of the WAAF Nursing Orderlies. These women had only six weeks of nursing training and flew, sometimes twice a day, into the war zone of WWII, delivering needed supplies and munitions, and returning with wounded soldiers.
Murder at Vinland marks the 12th book in the Gilded Newport Mystery series and my very first time venturing to Alyssa Maxwell’s 1900s Rhode Island. Jumping into a series 12 books in isn’t something I normally do, but Emmaline Andrews’s stunning world of high society and cunning schemes welcomed me with open arms.
I’m no stranger to Colleen Cambridge’s enchanting storytelling, but this is my first time meeting her sleuth, Tabitha Knight. It can be a gamble picking up book two in a series without reading the first, but I am happy to report that the kindhearted, yet fierce Tabitha dazzled me right from page one, and by page two, she felt like an old friend. The warm, inviting way in which Cambridge writes her characters (and the settings they inhabit) has a mesmerizing effect on the reader.
I have been a big fan of Jeri Westerson’s writing ever since I picked up my first Crispin Guest book many years ago, and she has never disappointed me. She always tells a great story with complex and interesting characters and goes all out with her research for her historical mysteries.
Cozy historical mystery readers are in for a treat with Clara McKenna’s Murder on Mistletoe Lane, book five in the Stella and Lyndy Mystery series. While this title could easily be read as a standalone, readers who haven’t yet met Stella and Lyndy will enjoy going back to books one through four. I listened to books one to four and found the performances spectacular.
