Murder Has a Sweet Tooth by Miranda Bliss

Murder Has a Sweet Tooth by Miranda Bliss is the 5th book in the “Cooking Class” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin), December 2009

Annie Capshaw has found that the way to a man’s heart is through his cooking class.  But just as she and her best friend, Eve, are planning Annie’s big day with Jim, her former cooking instructor turned boss, murder takes the cake—make that the wedding cake.

Determined not to be a bridezilla, Annie is trying to keep the nuptial nuisances to a minimum.  If only Eve could control her maid-of-honor mania!  And if only the groom’s cousin, Alex, who flew in from Scotland, could stay out of trouble.

But then ladies’ man Alex meets a lovely American lass—only to become a prime suspect when she turns up murdered. Instead of handling the details of a wedding, Annie is investigating the details of a killing. The victim seemed to be living the perfect life of a suburban wife—the life Annie’s always dreamed of. Now Annie has to wonder: Is married life a recipe for murder?

This was another good read. My rating: 3.5 stars

Dying for Dinner by Miranda Bliss

Dying for Dinner by Miranda Bliss is the fourth book in the “Cooking Class” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin), December 2008

Things are really cooking for Annie with her transition to the restaurant biz, full time. But what’s meant to be the first day of the rest of her life might be the last day of someone else’s.

Annie is finally leaving the safety of her old bank job to work at her boyfriend Jim’s restaurant, Bellywasher’s. Lucky for Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, she’s working as the manager and staying safely away from the flames. And lucky for Annie, she’s working with her best friend, Eve, the hostess.

Things start taking a turn for the worse when Jim’s old friend, legendary cook Jacques Lavote, doesn’t show up to teach their cooking class. When Annie goes to fetch him, she finds his assistant dead and Lavote nowhere to be found. With his odd disappearance and evidence mounting up against him, it looks like the cook has really landed in the soup. Now, Annie must sift through every morsel of evidence—before someone else gets served their last course.

This was a good read on a rainy afternoon. My rating: 3.5 stars

*new-to-me author

The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl

The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl is the ninth book in the “Chocoholic” mystery series. Publisher: Obsidian, October 2009

TenHuis Chocolade is wall-to-wall with hearts—most of them chocolate—for Valentine’s Day, when every treat is meant for someone’s sweet-heart. But Lee is getting no love from private detective Derrick Valentine.

He’s looking for one of their new employee—a woman Lee and her Aunt Nettie have been harboring for a secret underground railroad-type organization that aids abused women in escaping their tormentors. Luckily, they manage not to spill the cocoa beans and clue him in.

But the situation becomes a complex confection when Valentine meets his own end. And Aunt Nettie is holding the murder weapon. Nettie doesn’t fit the mold of a murderer, but how can she explain without alerting the authorities to their secret guest. Now Lee will have to clear Nettie of suspicion without exposing the innocent—and find a killer with a bitter heart that’s definitely not made of chocolate.

The detective who queried Lee is found murdered near her shop.  A woman who Lee and her Aunt were hiding has disappeared.  Are the two connected?  Lee sifts through the clues to find the killer.  My rating: 3 stars

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 12th book in the “Hannah Swensen” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Kensington, October 2009

The yuletide season in Lake Eden, Minnesota, guarantees a white Christmas, delectable holiday goodies from Hannah Swensen’s bakery, The Cookie Jar—and murder. As a shadow hangs over her friends’ Christmas wedding, Hannah’s determined to cook a killer’s goose before anyone else get burned…

The Cookie Jar’s busiest time of the year also happens to be the most wonderful time…for Christmas cookies, Hannah’s own special plum pudding—and romance! Holiday orders are high, and Hannah’s slated to provide dessert at the Reverend Knudsen’s upcoming nuptials. She’s busy as can be and loving it. She also gets a kick out of Larry Jaeger’s Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot, a kitschy carnival taking place smack-dab in the middle of the village green. Larry thinks he’s crazy like a fox with his wild business schemes, but this time, the entrepreneur may have bitten off more than he can chew. Rumor has it that Larry’s in the red—an idea that takes a sinister turn when Hannah discover the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office…

It seems quite a few people would have like to fill Larry’s stocking with coal and then bash him with it—including his bitter ex-wife, his ex-partner’s daughter, a woman he was wooing, and the Crazy Elf Tree lot’s extremely exasperated investors…

Now, with so many suspects to investigate and the twelve days of Christmas ticking away, Hannah’s running out of time to nab a murderous Scrooge who doesn’t want her to see the New Year…

It’s Christmas in Lake Eden and someone has killed the tree man. Hannah starts gathering the clues for fear that his estranged wife would be accused of his murder. Something else is afoot with Norman’s mother and they both seek clues to discover what secret she’s been hiding. I know who I want Hannah to be with and I think she knows too, so hopefully soon a choice will be made. My rating: 3.5 stars

Strangle a Loaf of Italian Bread by Denise Dietz

Strangle a Loaf of Italian Bread by Denise Dietz is the fourth book in the “Ellie Bernstein/Lt. Peter Miller” mystery series.

When Barbra Streisand clone Sara Lee is strangled with a Daffy Duck necktie prior to the open auditions for a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!, diet club leader Ellie Bernstein wants to know why everybody didn’t like Sara Lee.

Ellie’s significant other, homicide detective Peter Miller, wants her to keep her lovely, overly sensitive nose out of his business. He’s deathly afraid he’ll find her trashed in the Dumpster that overshadows the alley in back of Uncle Vinnie’s Gourmet Italian Restaurant—the backdrop for Sara Lee’s murder.

But Ellie doggedly pursues a rollercoaster of clues, even though her daily routine is disrupted by a border collie named Scout Finch Lester when Ellie—who has never been owned by a dog—somewhat reluctantly agrees to dog-sit a diet club member’s beloved pet. Only problem is, Scout’s owner seems to have disappeared into thin air.

Ellie really should have discussed the per-sitting assignment with her regal black Persian, Jackie Robinson, first.  If looks could kill.

This was a fun book to read and I love the recipes that were part of the storyline.  My rating: 3 stars

*new-to-me author

The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis

The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis is the second book in the “Domestic Diva” mystery series.  Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin); June 2009

Sophie Winston’s sister, Hannah, is getting married—again! And if you ask Sophie, her future brother-in-law is no prince. But is he a killer? That’s the question on everyone’s mind when his ex-wife is found hanging from a pergola. This is one event Sophie and her sister hadn’t planned on.

As hidden family secrets begin to come to light, Sophie finds the list of suspects is almost as long as the list of wedding guests. Will the real killer be seated on the groom’s side or the bride’s? Or will he be standing at the altar? Either way, Sophie must solve the murder in time to stop her sister from making the biggest—and possibly the last—mistake of her life.

I enjoyed this story.  It was a fun read.  My rating: 3.5 stars

*new-to-me author

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davison is the 15th book in the “Goldy Schulz Culinary” mystery series.  Publisher: William Morrow, April 2009

Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz encounters bridezilla—and murder—in another delectable novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Revenge, Dark Tort, and Double Shot

Cynics say getting married is a death wish. . . .

It’s been a long, rainy summer for Goldy Schulz, who is engaged in planning wedding receptions for what seems to be all of Aspen Meadow. It’s bad enough that Billie Attenborough, the bride from hell, has changed her menu six times and the event date twice. Now she wants to move the location to the Gold Gulch Spa just a scant two days before tying the knot to her doctor fiancé.

Then Doc Finn, beloved local physician and the best friend of Goldy’s godfather, Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. At least that’s what appears to have happened. But Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of the research he was doing at the spa—allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked.

So Goldy dons chef’s whites and goes undercover at the spa, where coffee is outlawed in favor of calming smoothies, and the fruit cocktail doesn’t include fresh fruit. Add in the obstreperous owner, who years ago tried to sabotage Goldy’s fledgling business, and she’s got her hands full.

Above all, there seems to be a clever killer on the spa grounds, watching her every move. After what befell Jack, Goldy knows that she might be next. Catering weddings, and cooking low-fat food, could be killing her—literally.

Goldy Schulz, owner of Goldilocks’ Catering in Aspen Meadow, Colorado, is preparing for two weddings and one of them deals with a spoiled bridezilla.  The menu, the dates and now the location of the wedding has change and Goldy has to work with her nemesis.  In the meantime, she is enjoying time spent with her godfather, Jack who recently moved to Aspen Meadow.  When his friend, Doc Finn is found murdered and later Jack is attacked and dies, Goldy goes undercover at the Gold Gulch Spa to find the connection between the two incidents.  With help from her detective husband Tom, her best friend Marla, her “adopted” son Julian, Goldy bites into the clues that will bring the murderers to justice.  This was an enjoyable read.  [3.5 stars – liked it]

Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert

Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert is the 17th book in the “China Bayles” mystery series.  Publisher: Berkley (Penguin), April 2009

China’s friends and family are urging her to get some rest-and a Kentucky Shaker village seems the ideal place for it. At Mount Zion, China can assist with some herbal workshops-while absorbing all things Shaker, from their furniture to their peaceful ways. But the restored modern version of the village, striving to become a popular tourist attraction, is plagued with misfortune and strife- some of it the likely result of sabotage. China and her friend Martha are hoping to get to the bottom of it.

However, much like Shaker history itself, the case appears simpler at first than it is. There is tension behind the serene exterior. And after a shocking death occurs during her stay, China will plunge into the archives of another time to connect the sins of the past with a modern-day murder.

China Bayles has had a rough couple of months with the death of her half-brother.  Her friends and family are encouraging her to get away for some much needed rest and relaxation.  Her friend, Martha, invited her to a 10-day workshop in a Kentucky Shaker village with an ulterior motive; she wants China to look into several accidents that has happened at Mt. Zion village.  When China looks into the situation, they discover from Allie the accountant, that funds have gone missing. When Allie is found dead in the pool, it’s up to China to solve this mystery.  I enjoyed reading about how the Shakers movement was established and their way of life.  [3 stars – liked it]

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke is the eleventh book in the “Hannah Swensen” mystery series.  Publisher: Kensington, March 2009

inter in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is the perfect time to curl up by a cosy fire with something – and someone – sweet. But while bakery owner Hannah Swensen can provide herself with the confections, cuddling will have to take a back seat to sleuthing when her sometime-squeeze becomes a murder suspect…With the launch party of her mother’s novel around the corner, Hannah has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden’s new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering a dead body floating in the gym’s Jacuzzi? Okay, that’s worse. Nor does it help that there’s a plate of The Cookie Jar’s very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. The fact that they were purchased by none other than Hannah’s part-time flame, Detective Mike Kingston, is simply the icing on what’s shaping up to be one very messy cake…Mike may be the prime suspect in the murder of man-eating bombshell Ronni Ward, but he’s by no means the only one. Ronni, a fitness instructor at both the Sheriff’s department and Heavenly Bodies, made a nasty habit of throwing her own heavenly body at every man, eligible or not, who crossed her path. Plenty of Lake Eden’s ladies won’t miss Ronni, including her ex-fiance’s former girlfriend, the angry mother of one of her would-be conquests, and even the mayor’s wife. Could any of them have wanted her gone badly enough to make it happen? Mike’s recruited Hannah to find out, and, as any suspended, suspected detective would, he’s micromanaging her every step of the way…Between trying to narrow the list of Ronni’s enemies down to fewer than half the town’s female population and resisting the urge to remove Mike from the running by throttling him herself, Hannah has her plate full. Trouble is, when it comes to cookies – and to murder – there’s always room for one more.

Hannah, owner of The Cookie Jar Bakery has to do two things for her mother, wear the regency dress that was ordered and make cream puffs for the book launch.  When the dress fits snug, Hannah with the help of her sister goes on a diet and begins an exercise routine.  Ronnie Ward is the local femme fatale and insults the ladies in her class and it’s no wonder she is found dead in the Jacuzzi by Hannah.  Hannah’s part-time police detective boyfriend, Mike Kingston is off the case since he had an association with the victim and the other two policemen are off as well because their association so they want Hannah to investigate with their unofficial assistance.  With the help of her sisters, business partner, mother and Norman, her other suitor, they will puff the killer out.  This was a good mystery and I enjoyed watching Hannah solve this crime using what she does best, listening and following the clues.  I hope in the next book, Hannah has selected the man who captures her heart and no more triangles.  [3.5 stars – liked it]

Corked by Cabernet by Michele Scott

Corked by Cabernet by Michele Scott is the fifth book in the “Wine Lover’s” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin), February 2009

Nikki Sands, manager of the Malveaux Estates in Napa Valley—and girlfriend of the owner—is blissfully happy. Until a guru’s devotee is killed on the famous Napa Valley Wine train and ruins her peace of mind.

This book features Nikki Sands, manager of Malveaux Estate in Napa Valley.  Having recently moved in with her boyfriend, Derek Malveaux, Nikki is looking forward to their future together when he tells her that a guru and his followers will be staying at the winery’s boutique hotel and spa and wants her to be the event coordinator for their retreat.  Derek also informs her that he won’t be able to help because he has to fly out to New York to complete a deal with a client.  On their first outing, one of the followers is found murdered with a cork in his mouth.  Being the amateur sleuth that she is, and along with help from Derek’s brother Simon and Simon’s partner, Marco, they will aid the police in uncorking the killer.  I enjoyed this cozy mystery and the recipes included in the book.  [3.5 stars – liked it]

*new-to-me author