Here is the church, here is the steeple…

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have successfully flipped houses, but this is the first time they’ve attempted to renovate a house of worship. Still, the colorful stained glass in the country church has caught Whitney’s eye, and she’d love to breathe new life into the abandoned building. What’s more, the place has perfect acoustics. Could the worship hall be reborn as an entertainment venue with its parsonage repurposed as a pre-show bistro?

Open the doors, and see all the trouble.

The owner of the horse farm next door has asserted a legal claim to the church property, rendering their title uncertain. If that’s not bad enough, while rehabbing the church, Whitney’s cat Sawdust discovers a bombshell in the bell tower—the body of the man who’d delivered their beautiful new replacement windows. What transpired in the spire? Who rang the man’s bell and why?

The steeple is keeping its secrets and, when a second body turns up, things become even less clear. Can Whitney help Detective Collin Flynn solve the crimes before someone else is sent to meet their maker.

 What a fun visit and adventure with Whitney.

Batten Down the Belfry has Whitney and Buck flipping something a little bit different this time. Instead of a house they are transforming a church with beautiful Stained Glass into possibly an entertainment venue.  This fun endeavor takes a turn when a delivery driver is found dead and this becomes all too personal for Whitney when a second body is discovered.

Whitney and her cousin Buck are a great team. I love what they do to the houses and I love that we get a good mystery in there as well. Whitney is smart and beyond capable. I love how she clues in the local detective along the way. We get a bit of suspenseful action with a good storyline and a mystery that I didn’t figure out until the end. Diane Kelly Rights to draw you into the story and gives you and exciting mystery in the end.

It’s time for another visit at the beautiful lake Eden. With a big fish competition taking place, Hannah sets aside her usual cookie baking to have some fun with pastries while helping the local Inn. The event is bringing all kinds of big names and lots of excitement to the lake. All things seem to be going wonderfully until a TV host is found dead and now Hannah is not just baking pastries but fishing for clues as well.

Caramel Pecan Roll Murder is a lighthearted and fun cozy mystery with a romantic twist.  As this is a long running series you could read as a standalone however I do think you will miss some of the Background and underlying meanings of things between certain characters events and actions. However if you are an avid reader and enjoy this sort of thing you will be able to figure out easily enough what is going on. With that said, I did enjoy this read. Hannah is a little off in this book and that is understandable. I do hope that she finds herself quickly and is able to get back to herself . The mystery of Caramel Pecan Roll Murder is what we’ve come to love from this author. Lots of twist interns with many red herrings to keep you guessing. Although I figured it out easily it was still an enjoyable read.  I like that Andrea is becoming more of a present character in the stories. Visiting with Dick and Sally is always a good time. I am looking forward to seeing how this Hannah-Mike-Norman thing turns outs.

Secondhand store owner Sarah Grayson and her inquisitive rescue cat, Elvis, will need to close the book on a killer in the newest installment of this charming New York Times bestselling series.

Although Sarah Grayson is often tending to the contained chaos of her delightful secondhand store in North Harbor, Maine, plus dealing with the quirky personality of her rescue cat, Elvis, she still takes an occasional night off. But her evening out comes to an abrupt end when Sarah discovers Stella Hall, a member of the library board, standing over a body in the street.

Although Stella admits that she and the victim had fought about several things including library funding, she is adamant that she is innocent and the real killer is on the loose. Sarah is eager to help, but even with the assistance of Charlotte’s Angels, the senior citizen detectives who rent out part of her shop, there is still a vast amount of circumstantial evidence linking Stella to the crime. The odds may be stacked against them, but Sarah and Elvis, along with the Angels, will work hard to check out the suspects and catch a killer.

What a fun cozy!!

When I get to my senior years I hope I have a group of friends like the Charlotte’s Angels and am willing to do even half of what they do!  

This is my first visit with Sarah and her lively group of friends. North Harbor Maine is as beautiful as it is charming. With a super cool rescue cat named Elvis and an intricate mystery, all is set for an entertaining read. The story is well written and the characters are fun and hilarious. You can tell Sarah and her ladies are tight and would do just about anything for one another.  Like figuring out how the man everyone dislikes died and prove one of her dear friends had nothing to do with the crime. 

To clear her name, Jaye must find the real killer, as if she doesn’t have her hands full running the radio station, DJing her all-request love song show, and shuttling tween daughter Ryan to and from school. It doesn’t make matters easier that the governor–Jaye’s old crush–arrived on the scene before the musket smoke cleared. Fortunately, Jaye has allies…if you count the flatulent moose that lives in the transmitter shack, and Neptune, the giant gray cat that lives at the station.

If Jaye can turn the tables on the devious killer, she and the governor may get to make some sweet, sweet music together. But if she can’t, she’ll be off the air…permanently.

What a story!! Live, Local and Dead is a different take from my normal and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Jaye Jordan is a very interesting woman. A radio DJ, a mom and recently divorced moving. She and her daughter have recently moved to a small Vermont town where she has taken over the local radio station. What should be a nice and safe home for her and her child, Jaye soon becomes the target of some nice crimes.  The surprising thing about this is our lead lady is not the one figuring out the mystery. She is going on with her day today life but yet working closely with the local authorities to figure out what’s going on behind these crimes.

I enjoyed Live, Local and Dead. Jaye has gone through a challenging event and is trying to make the best of her new life. She is a woman with strong opinions and beliefs. She doesn’t let up on those things that she values just because someone else pushes her to try to do so. I wouldn’t necessarily categorize this as a cozy mystery just because it’s a little more outspoken in certain ways than the typical cozy Mystery.  that did not deter my enjoyment from this book. I’m actually very much looking forward to see where the author takes the series.