Book ~ "Musseled Out" (2015) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ The busy summer tourist season is winding down in Busman's Harbor, Maine, but Julia Snowden senses trouble simmering for the Snowden Family Clambake Company. Shifty David Thwing - the "Mussel King" of upscale seafood restaurants - is sniffing around town for a new location. But serving iffy clams turns out to be the least of his troubles.

When Thwing is found sleeping with the fishes beneath a local lobsterman's boat, the police quickly finger Julia's brother-in-law, Sonny, as the one who cooked up the crime. Sure, everyone knows Sonny despised the Mussel King ... but Julia believes he's innocent. Proving it won't be easy, though. It seems there's a lot more than murder on the menu, and Julia needs to act fast.

Summer’s winding down in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and Julia is stressing about her future. Should she head back to her fast-paced New York career or stick around to keep helping her family’s clambake business? Her personal dilemma is soon overshadowed by the arrival of David Thwing, an arrogant entrepreneur known as the “Mussel King”, who announces plans to establish a competing clambake operation. Tensions mount quickly but the conflict takes a turn when Thwing is found murdered, tangled in ropes beneath a lobsterman’s boat. Suspicion falls on Julia’s brother-in-law, Sonny, whose disagreements with Thwing were no secret. 

Determined to clear her family’s name, Julia begins her own investigation. As she starts digging, she uncovers rivalries, secrets and hidden motives within the close-knit community. Along the way, Julia also has to face some tough personal choices about her future, her career and her relationship with her boyfriend, Chris, who isn't going to leave Busman’s Harbor.

This story was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity (just brief references that it had happened). There was lots going on with rivalries between the different lobster communities, a secret that Chris has been keeping about his disappearances during the summer that they agreed not to discuss, a beloved senior collapsing and more. The whodunnit was a bit convoluted but I was okay with it. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story like lobster, shrimp & fennel scampi and apple pie.

This is the third (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. I read the first two recently and will keep moving through the series.

Book ~ "Maybe in a Different Life" (2015) Taylor Jenkins Reid

From Goodreads ~ At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, "Maybe in Another Life" raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

Hannah is nearly thirty and doesn't have much direction in her life. She's moved around a lot and finally decides to settle down in her hometown of Los Angeles. She moves in with Gabby, her best friend, and Mark, Gabby's husband. She's always wondered "what if" about Ethan, her high school boyfriend, who was the love of her life. She goes out to a bar with Gabby and Mark and Ethan is there. When Gabby and Mark are ready to go home, Gabby asks Hannah if she is ready to go too. Ethan asks her to stay.

And then the story begins ... what would happen if Hannah went home with Gabby and Mark? What would happen if she stays with Ethan? What follows are two parallel stories of what happened when she went home with Gabby and Mark and what happened when she went home with Ethan. It was an interesting concept (similar to the movie Sliding Doors, which I enjoy).

I liked this story and it was interesting to see what would have happened given the paths Hannah had before her and the choices she made. Despite the different paths, there were still some things that happened in her lives that crossed over (for example, what was happening with Gabby, her husband and parents). It's written in first person perspective in Hannah's voice. The chapters alternate ... what happened if she'd gone home with Gabby and Mark and what happened if she went home with Ethan. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Before He Finds Her" (2015) Michael Kardos

From Goodreads ~ Everyone in the quiet Jersey Shore town of Silver Bay knows the story: on a Sunday evening in September 1991, Ramsey Miller threw a blowout block party, then murdered his beautiful wife and three-year old daughter. 

But everyone is wrong, the daughter got away. Now she is nearly eighteen and tired of living in secrecy. Under the name Melanie Denison, she has spent the last fifteen years in small-town West Virginia as part of the Witness Protection Program. She has never been allowed to travel, go to a school dance or even have internet at home. Precautions must be taken at every turn because Ramsey Miller was never caught and might still be looking for his daughter. 

Yet despite strict house rules, Melanie has entered into a relationship with a young teacher at the local high school and is now ten weeks pregnant. She doesn't want her child to live in hiding as she has had to. Defying her guardians and taking matters into her own hands, Melanie returns to Silver Bay in hopes of doing what the authorities failed to do: find her father before he finds her. 

It's September 1991 and Ramsey is throwing a big blow party and has invited his friends and even his Silver Bay neighbours, who he doesn't really know. The reason he's throwing the party eventually comes out and I thought "seriously?!?!". Anyway, by the end of the night, Allison, Ramsey's wife is dead and Meg, their three-year-old daughter, is missing and presumed to be dead. Ramsey has disappeared and it's assumed that he murdered them and then took off.

Fifteen years later, Meg is now Melanie and has been living under a witness protection program, hiding out in rural West Virginia with Uncle Wayne and Aunt Kendra. To keep her protected in case Ramsey ever comes looking for her, Wayne and Kendra have ensured she's led a very sheltered life ... she was homeschooled until grade 12, they have no Internet and she's not even allowed to have a library card as it will leave a record. As she gets closer to age 18, she's tired of living scared and protected and heads back to Silver Bay to look for clues to find her father so she can live a normal life.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay. The book bounces back and forth in time, mainly to 1991 and 2006 (the chapters are labeled). It is written in third person perspective in various characters' voices including Melanie, Ramsey and Allison. I found Melanie a bit unbelievable ... considering how sheltered and naïve she was, there's no way she could venture off to the big city and get along as well as she did. As the story progresses, we learn what happened on the night of the party and the ramifications. I was okay with the whodunnit but wasn't buying the ending which comes together with a tidy bow. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle an Obsession" (2015) Elizabeth Benedict

From Goodreads ~ Ask a woman about her hair and she just might tell you the story of her life. Ask a whole bunch of women about their hair and you could get a history of the world. Surprising, insightful, frequently funny and always forthright, the essays in "Me, My Hair, and I" are reflections and revelations about every aspect of women’s lives from family, race, religion and motherhood to culture, health, politics and sexuality.

They take place in African American kitchens, at Hindu Bengali weddings and inside Hasidic Jewish homes. The conversation is intimate and global at once. Layered into these reminiscences are tributes to influences throughout history: Jackie Kennedy, Lena Horne, Farrah Fawcett, the Grateful Dead, and Botticelli’s Venus.

The long and the short of it is that our hair is our glory - and our nemesis, our history, our self-esteem, our joy, our mortality. Every woman knows that many things in life matter more than hair but few bring as much pleasure as a really great hairdo.

My hair is long and one length. I don't fuss at all with it other than wash and condition it with nice smelling shampoo and conditioner. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, I spent more time on it ... I had bangs and a bob so had to dry it and curl it under. But my job had me doing seminars at times depending on the clients' schedules and sometimes I had to do early morning seminars (like 6am) ... I'm not a morning person so hated having to fuss with my hair that early. I grew out my bangs about 20 years ago and let my hair grow so I'd have wash 'n wear hair. The only time I've coloured my hair is back in the late 1970s/early 1980s with Sun-In and a bit of temporary colour last summer.

So it was interesting to read these 27 essays about how different women felt about their hair and how much it meant to them. It was also interesting to read how the different cultures value hair and the different rules they have about it. The majority (if not all) of the women were older than me so it brought back memories of perms and going to bed with old-school rollers/curlers since hot rollers, curling irons, etc. hadn't been invented then.

Book ~ "Happiness for Beginners" (2015) Katherine Center

From Goodreads ~ A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It's supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again but when she discovers that her brother's even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can't imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster. Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen's well-behaved life: three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls. 

Yet, despite everything, the vast wilderness has a way of making Helen's own little life seem bigger, too. And, somehow the people who annoy her the most start teaching her the very things she needs to learn. Like how to stand up for herself. And how being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.

Helen is 32 and a school teacher. She's been divorced for a year and is looking for something to shake up her life. So she signs up for an extreme three week wilderness survival course, which is way out of her comfort level. Then she discovers that Jake, her younger brother's friend, has also signed up and begrudgingly gives him a drive. 

Once on the trail, she does indeed discover that she is out of her element because everyone is much younger than she is and she has nothing in common with them, the leader, who is barely out of his teens, seems to dislike her and the terrain and camp life is a lot rougher than she thought. But as the days progress, Helen discovers she is tougher than she thought she was, both physically and emotionally.

This was a cute story. I liked the writing style (it's a quick read) and it's written in first person perspective in Helen's voice. You'll never find me on this kind of a survival course! I'd seen the Netflix movie they'd made based on the book last year and was curious to see how close they would be to each other ... they are kind of are but aren't. There is a bit of swearing.

Book ~ "After Anna" (2015) Alex Lake

From Goodreads ~ The real nightmare starts when her daughter is returned ...

A girl is missing. Five years old, taken from outside her school. She has vanished, traceless. The police are at a loss; her parents are beyond grief. Their daughter is lost forever, perhaps dead, perhaps enslaved. But the biggest mystery is yet to come: one week after she was abducted, their daughter is returned. She has no memory of where she has been. And this, for her mother, is just the beginning of the nightmare.

Julia and Brian have been married for a few years and have a five year old daughter, Anna. Julia has fallen out of love with Brian and tells him she wants to divorce. He doesn't take it well which makes things stressful at home. 

One day Julia is tied up in a meeting and is late picking up Anna after school ... when she finally arrives, Anna isn't there and the police are called. Needless to say, this adds more stress at home because Brian and his mother blame Julia and she is attacked on social media for being a bad mother. When Anna is suddenly returned a week later and has no idea what had happened, Julia hopes that everything goes back to "normal" but things actually get worse.

It's been a few years since I've read one of this author's books and I thought this one was just okay. The writing could have been tighter as it seemed to drag at times. Plus for example, Julia takes her keys out of her purse and puts them on the counter ... and then picks them up twice in the same paragraph. It is written in third person perspective in Julia's voice and first person perspective in the kidnapper's voice. I didn't find it hard to figure out whodunnit, which was revealed towards the end. Considering a child is missing, the police didn't seem overly concerned or when Anna was returned. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Gus" (2015) Ellen Miles

From Goodreads ~ Charles and Lizzie Peterson love puppies. Their family fosters these young dogs, giving them love and proper care, until they can find the perfect forever home.

Gus is all boy. It's love at first sight for Lizzie's family and this adorable Labradoodle. It'll be easy to find a home for this cutie, especially after mom writes a newpaper article about his exploits. The problem is, nobody is good enough for Gus, at least not according to mom.

Lizzie is in elementary school. Her family, the Petersons, have a puppy named Buddy plus they foster dogs and help them find homes.

Lizzie's mom is a reporter for the local newspaper and had written a story about Gus, a Labradoodle who had been the ring bearer for his owner's wedding. Unfortunately it turns out the groom is allergic to dogs and they have to give up Gus. The Petersons agree to foster him and find him a new home. Since Gus' first story had attracted so much attention in the newspaper, Lizzie's mom writes about him needing a new home and the family gets bombarded with letters and phone calls. Surprisingly Lizzie's mom is very picky about who should adopt him.

Though this book is a quick read and directed at elementary-aged children, I found it entertaining. There is a learning experience and a puppy tip at the end. It is written in third person perspective and first person from Gus' point of view. It is the thirty-ninth in the Puppy Place series, which currently has 66 books in the series, and works as a stand alone.

Book ~ "Boomer" (2015) Ellen Miles

From Goodreads ~ Charles and Lizzie Peterson love puppies. Their family fosters these young dogs, giving them love and proper care, until they can find the perfect forever home. 

Lizzie's mom has three of her best friends coming over to visit for a long weekend when the Petersons get a call about Boomer, a big mixed breed puppy who needs a place to stay. Can Lizzie take care of him without ruining mom's plans?

Lizzie is in elementary school. Her family, the Petersons, have a puppy named Buddy plus they foster dogs and help them find homes.

Lizzie is going away for the weekend with her dad, brothers and Buddy so her mother can have some girl time with her best friends from university who are coming for a visit. Just as they are ready to leave, Lizzie gets a call that a boisterous puppy named Boomer needs a place to stay and will be dropped off shortly. Lizzie's mom isn't too happy about this but Lizzie promises to keep the dog out of the way so her mom's weekend isn't ruined. Of course, this doesn't happen.

Though this book is a quick read and directed at elementary-aged children, I found it entertaining. There is a learning experience and a puppy tip at the end. It is written in third person perspective and first person from Boomer's point of view. It is the thirty-seventh in the Puppy Place series, which currently has 66 books in the series, and works as a stand alone.

Book ~ "Daisy" (2015) Ellen Miles

From Goodreads ~ Charles is so happy to be fostering Daisy, the cutest Boston terrier. She loves being around people and even other dogs. 

But when Daisy is left alone, she chews things up. And Charles can't stay with her all the time. Will he be able to help this puppy find a new home?

Charles and his older sister, Lizzie, are in elementary school. The Peterson family have a puppy named Buddy plus they foster dogs and help them find homes.

Their mom agrees to foster and find a home for Daisy, a Boston terrier ... a colleague had given Daisy to her daughter and having a puppy along with young children is too much. Charles is delighted to be in charge of Daisy. But he soon discovers how destructive she is ... when she's left alone, she destroys everything, including a cushion on the couch! They don't want keep her crated or give her to a rescue but they can't be with her all the time to keep an eye on her.

Though this book is a quick read and directed at elementary-aged children, I found it entertaining. There is a learning experience and a puppy tip at the end. It is written in third person perspective and first person from Daisy's point of view. It is the thirty-eighth in the Puppy Place series, which currently has 66 books in the series, and works as a stand alone.

Book ~ "Stella" (2015) Ellen Miles

From Goodreads ~ Charles and Lizzie Peterson love puppies. Their family fosters these young dogs, giving them love and proper care, until they can find the perfect forever home. 

Meet Stella, the cutest thing ever, a little Maltese. But why won't she follow any commands? It's Charles who figures out that the little pup is deaf and learns how to help her become the perfect puppy for someone special!

Charles and his older sister, Lizzie, are in elementary school. The Peterson family have a puppy named Buddy plus they foster dogs and help them find homes.

Charles, his dad and younger brother go camping with Buddy for the weekend. The owners of the campground are an elderly couple with a Maltese puppy named Stella. They love Stella but get frustrated when she doesn't listen to them. After spending some time with Stella, Charles thinks she may be deaf. When it's confirmed by her vet, her owners are heartbroken and think they are too old to learn how to deal with a deaf dog and ask the Petersons to find her a new home.

Though this book is a quick read and directed at elementary-aged children, I found it entertaining. There is a learning experience and a puppy tip at the end. It is written in third person perspective and first person from Stella's point of view. It is the thirty-sixth in the Puppy Place series, which currently has 66 books in the series, and works as a stand alone.

Book ~ ""A" is for Actress" (2015) Rebecca Cantrell and Sean Black

From Goodreads ~ After a decade spent in the glare of the Hollywood spotlight as the star of kids’ TV show "Half Pint Detective", Sofia Salgado has had enough. Desperate to build a life outside showbiz, she quits acting to do something that everyone around her - including her family - thinks is plain nuts. Get a real job.

They think she’s even crazier when she announces that she’s going to become a real detective, instead of playing one on TV. She’s convinced the technical consultant from her TV show, Brendan Maloney, to take her on in his detective agency but can accident-prone Sofia hack it?

Sofia was a child actress who wanted to do something different with her life so she quits acting and joins a detective agency that is run by Brendan, the technical consultant to the show she was in, Half Pint Detective. She is being trained by Brendan and his son, Aidan, who is her age and teases her all the time.

The agency is hired by Melissa ... she wants to know if her husband, Nigel, is screwing around on her. Sofia puts her acting skills to work and goes undercover and tries to see if Nigel will put the moves on her at a bar or if he is meeting someone else. He basically ignores her but he obviously has a lot on his mind and rushes out. The next day he is found murdered and Melissa is the suspect. Her lawyer retains Brendan and his team to find out who murdered Nigel before his client is sentenced to prison for a murder she didn't commit.

This is the first in the Malibu Mystery series and I liked it. It is fairly light and amusing. It is written in third person perspective and focused on Sofia. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Wonderland" (2015) Jennifer Hillier

From Goodreads ~ Welcome to Wonderland. By day, it’s a magical place boasting a certain retro charm. Excited children, hands sticky with cotton candy, run frenetically from the Giant Octopus ride to the Spinning Sombrero, while the tinkling carnival music of the giant Wonder Wheel - the oldest Ferris wheel in the Pacific Northwest - fills the air. But before daybreak, an eerie feeling descends. Maybe it’s the Clown Museum, home to creepy wax replicas of movie stars and a massive collection of antique porcelain dolls. Or maybe it’s the terrifyingly real House of Horrors. Or maybe it’s the dead, decaying body left in the midway for all the Wonder Workers to see.

Vanessa Castro’s first day as deputy police chief of Seaside, Washington, is off to a bang. The unidentifiable homeless man rotting inside the tiny town’s main tourist attraction is strange enough but now a teenage employee - whose defiant picture at the top of the Wonder Wheel went viral that same morning - is missing. As the clues in those seemingly disparate crimes lead her down a mysterious shared path of missing persons that goes back decades, she suspects the seedy rumors surrounding the amusement park’s dark history might just be true. She moved to Seaside to escape her own scandalous past but has she brought her family to the center of an insidious killer’s twisted game?

Vanessa was a police officer in Seattle and recently moved back to her hometown of Seaside to take on the role of deputy police chief.  On her first day on the job, she is called to Wonderland, a tourist traction that keeps the town alive, because the a decaying body, nicknamed Homeless Harry, has been found under the ferris wheel. That's the same ferris wheel Blake, a Wonderland employee, climbed last night and took a selfie and posted on social media before he disappeared. And the security guard didn't show up for work. Are they connected? As Vanessa investigates, she discovers many secrets have been covered up by the police chief, the former deputy police chief and the town. Since she's new in town, she doesn't have the same loyalties and she's determined to find out what's going on.

I've read other books by this author and I thought this one was okay. It is written in third person perspective with a focus on where the action was. I wasn't crazy about the "whodunnit" at the end and thought the reason of why they did what they did wasn't realistic. I found the allure of Bianca, the CEO of Wonderland, unbelievable that she could attract and get pretty well EVERY man who worked there. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "The Kind Worth Killing" (2015) Peter Swanson

From Goodreads ~ On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start - he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit - a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.

But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse.

Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.

Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive ... with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.

Ted and Lily are strangers who meet in a bar in the airport in London, England, on their way home to the States.  After a couple martinis, Ted tells Lily his wife, Miranda, is cheating and that he'd like to kill her for doing that.  She offers to help him and he takes her up on it.  Back in the States, they meet and start planning.  But alas, things don't go as planned.

I liked this story.  There were lots of twists and turns, some were convoluted but I went along with them.  Just when I thought I figured out what was going to happen, things changed ... and this happened a few times.  It's written in first person perspective in Ted, Lily, Miranda and a police detective's voice ... we get to know each of their pasts and how they have gotten to the place they are today.  Even though Lily was bad and  had done some not so nice things in the past, I liked her.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "On Thin Icing" (2015) Ellie Alexander

From Goodreads ~ Welcome to Torte - a small-town family bakeshop where the treats are killer good.

It's the dead of winter in the sleepy town of Ashland, which means no tourists - and fewer customers - for Jules Capshaw and her bakery. But when she's asked to cater an off-season retreat for the directors of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, business starts heating up ... until Jules finds a dead body in the freezer.

Someone at the retreat has apparently iced the bartender, a well-known flirt with a legendary temper - that is, before a killer beat him to the punch. Then, from out of nowhere, Jules's own ex-husband shows up - and soon becomes a suspect. With accusations piling up higher than the snow - and thicker than a chocolate mousse cake - Jules has to think outside the (recipe) box to find the real culprit ... and make sure he gets his just desserts.

Juliet (aka Jules) was raised in small town Ashland, OR, but dreamed of seeing the world.  She grew up helping her parents in their bakery, Torte, and went on to culinary school.  She got a job with a cruise line and didn't get home often after that.  She met her husband, Carlos, an executive chef, on a cruise and things were going well until she discovered he had a secret.  With a broken heart, she headed home to figure things out.  It's been six months and she now happily shares ownership of Torte with her mother.  Though she and Carlos had agreed to not contact each other until the new year, Jules thinks of him often.

Things have quieted down for Torte now that it's not the tourist season so when Jules is offered a catering job for a weekend retreat in the middle of nowhere, she accepts it and takes along Sterling, her young employee, as her sous-chef.  She gets quite a surprise when Carlos shows up out of the blue wanting to work things out.  Tony, the bartender, is a jerk and when Jules finds him murdered the next morning, anyone could have had reason to kill him, including Carlos.  Because of the wintery conditions, the roads are blocked for the local police so Jules calls the police officers from Ashland.  Thomas, one of the Ashland officers who arrives, is Jules' high school boyfriend and may still have feelings for her.  Needless to say, this adds more tension to an already stressful situation.

This is the third in the Bakeshop Mystery series and I liked it.  I've read all in this author's Sloan Krause Series and I'd recently read the first couple and the last one in this series.  This book works as a stand alone ... there is enough information provided.  It's written in first person perspective in Jules' voice.   It was a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. There are recipes at the end.  I look forward to reading the others in this series.

Book ~ "A Batter of Life and Death" (2015) Ellie Alexander

From Goodreads ~ It's autumn in Ashland, Oregon - 'tis the season for a spiced hot apple cider with a serving (or two) of Torte's famous peach cobbler. It's also the perfect time for Jules Capshaw to promote her family's beloved bake shop by competing in The Pastry Channel's reality show, Take the Cake. The prize is $25,000. But as Jules quickly learns, some people would kill for that kind of dough. Literally. 

Then, just as Jules dusts off her Bavarian Chocolate Cake recipe and cinches up her apron, the corpse of a fellow contestant is discovered - death by buttercream. What began as a fun, tasteful televised adventure has morphed into something of a true-crime detective show for Jules and everybody else on set. Who could have killed Chef Marco, and why? Can Jules sift out the killer before someone else gets burned?

Juliet (aka Jules) was raised in small town Ashland, OR, but dreamed of seeing the world.  She grew up helping her parents in their bakery, Torte, and went on to culinary school.  She got a job with a cruise line and didn't get home often after that.  She met her husband, Carlos, an executive chef, on a cruise and things were going well until she discovered he had a secret.  With a broken heart, she headed home to figure things out.  It's been a couple months and she now shares ownership of Torte with her mother.  She and Carlos had agreed to not contact each other until the new year but Jules thinks of him often.

The Pastry Channel has come to Ashland to film their show, Take the Cake.  Jules has been asked to be one of the contestants.  Torte could use the $25,000 prize money to buy a new oven among other things so she agrees.  When one of the other contestants is murdered, Jules can't help but get involved, especially since she was the one who found the body, her mother is dating the chief of police and Jules' high school boyfriend is a police officer.  Did someone want to win the contest enough to kill off the competition?

This is the second in the Bakeshop Mystery series and I liked it.  I've read all in this author's Sloan Krause Series.  This works as a stand alone ... I'd recently read the first one and the last one in the series and there was enough information provided.  It's written in first person perspective in Jules' voice.   It was a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. There are recipes at the end.  I look forward to reading the others in this series.

Book ~ "Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss" (2015) David Bagby

From Goodreads ~ In November 2001, the bullet-riddled body of a young doctor named Andrew Bagby was discovered in Keystone State Park outside Latrobe, Pennsylvania. For parents Dave and Kate, the pain was unbearable - but Andrew's murder was only the beginning of the tragedy they endured. 

The chief suspect for Andrew's murder was his ex-girlfriend Shirley Turner. Obsessive and unstable, Shirley lied to police and fled to Newfoundland before she could be arrested. While fending off extradition efforts by U.S. law enforcement, she announced she was pregnant with Andrew's son, Zachary. 

Hoping to gain custody of the child, the Bagbys moved to Newfoundland. They began a drawn-out court battle to protect their grandson from the woman who had almost certainly murdered their son. Then, in August 2003, Shirley killed herself and the one-year-old Zachary by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean.

Andrew Bagby was an American who went to medical school in St. John's, Newfoundland, in the late 1990s.  There he met an older woman named Shirley Turner, who was a doctor, who was from Newfoundland.  She came from a broken home, had been married twice and had three children with the two husbands (the children lived with their fathers).  She had a history of violence and instability.  Andrew and Shirley started dating on and off for a couple of years.

Andrew was found dead on November 5, 2001, in a state park in Pennsylvania where he was a resident at a local hospital.  He had been shot five times and the number one suspect was Shirley, his then ex-girlfriend, who was practicing in Iowa.

Shortly after Andrew's death, on the advice of a lawyer, Shirley returned home to St. John's.  The Pennsylvania police wanted her back in the States to face murder charges but she refused to go so the extradition to the U.S. process began.  Andrew's parents, David and Kate, were living in California and flew to St. John's for the hearings.  It turned out that Shirley was pregnant and gave birth to her and Andrew's son, Zachary, in July 2002.

The Bagbys put their lives on hold and moved to St. John's.  If Shirley ended up in jail and prison, they wanted to establish a relationship with Zachary and be able to raise him since he was their grandson.  They had to fight for visitation.

On August 18, 2003, Shirley drugged Zachary and then jumped into the Atlantic Ocean with him trapped to her.  It was ruled a murder-suicide.

David wrote this book to tell the story. He and Kate feel they were failed by the legal system that let Shirley out on bail and allowed her to retain custody of Zachary.  After Shirley and Zachary's death, they began a quest to have Canada’s bail laws changed.  Bill C-464 or "Zachary's Bill" was introduced which would change the Criminal Code of Canada to allow the courts to justify their refusing bail to those accused of serious crimes in the name of protecting their children.  It received support and was signed into law on December 16, 2010.

I don't remember this happening at the time and I'm not sure where I came across this book but it was an interesting story.  It was dry at times but the love for Andrew and Zachary, their frustration and fight of David and Kate came through.

I read an e-version of the book and there were no pictures.

Book ~ "Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder" (2015) Harper Lin

From Goodreads ~ Summer tourist season is winding down, but the Cape Bay police find a dead body in the alley beside Mary Ellen’s Souvenirs and Gifts. Police rule it a suicide but Francesca Amaro knows it’s murder. Who would buy a bag of souvenirs, including a box of delicious marzipan, only to commit suicide moments later? 

Even though the police tell her to stay out of the case, Fran is too curious not to investigate, even though she’s running a busy and popular café.

Francesca is in her mid-thirties and worked in New York for many years in PR.  She moved back home to run the family Italian café in a small town in Massachusetts when her mother passed away a couple months ago.

Fran is out with her friend and employee, Sammy, and Sammy's friend, Dawn, celebrating that Sammy has finally broken up with her boyfriend after ten years of going nowhere.  Dawn hears that a body has been found next to a souvenir shop and rather than continuing to celebrate, she wants to go check it out ... so off they go.  Mike the police detective tells Fran that it's a suicide but she wonders why would somebody buy candy and souvenirs and then kill themselves outside the store?  So she starts asking questions to find out what really happened.

This is the third in the Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Series (I've read the first two) by this author ... it works as a stand alone (you don't have to read the others to know what's going on).  It is written in first person perspective in Fran's voice.  The "whodunnit" and ending came together really quickly but it worked for me.  Fran has been taking kickboxing classes at her local gym for less than two months and is able to use the moves from the classes to defend herself when she is attacked by the killer and subdue them.  Really?  I've taken boxing and kickboxing classes for years and don't think I would have the ability or confidence to not only beat someone up but keep them down on the ground by putting my foot on their throat.

It's a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity.  Fran has been dating her high school friend, Matt, for a couple months and in this book, there are finally some "light kisses", which given their ages is unrealistic.

Sammy's friend, Dawn, is nasty and way too sarcastic (and not in a funny way).  I don't know why such a nice person like Sammy would put up with her.  I found her annoying and hope she doesn't pop up in future books.

I find it unbelievable that café owner Fran would be so proactive in investigating the murder of a stranger and be able to gather more information than the police, who she acknowledges are competent.

There are recipes at the end.

Book ~ "Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys" (2015) Harper Lin

From Goodreads ~ When Francesca’s old high school crush, Todd, is accused of murder, she is convinced he is innocent. The police don’t believe Todd’s story, and neither does Matty. 

During the busy summer tourist season at Cape Bay, Francesca sets out to prove Todd’s innocence. Matty, however, investigates to prove Todd is guilty. Why does Matty detest Todd so much? But what if he’s right—what if Todd is a murderer?

Francesca is in her mid-thirties and worked in New York for many years in PR.  She moved back home to run the family Italian café in a small town in Massachusetts when her mother passed away a couple months ago.

A man named Joey is found murdered outside Todd's Gym.  The police investigate and it seems like they are focusing on Todd, the owner of the gym, since that's where the body was found and Joey worked out at the gym.  Pretty slim reason to suspect Todd, I thought.  Fran had a crush on jock Todd when they were in high school more than 15 years ago and they haven't seen each other since then.  All of a sudden he has a crush on her now that she's back in town and is putting the moves on her.  She automatically thinks he's innocent and sets out to find out who killed Joey.

This is the second in the Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Series (I read the first a couple weeks ago) by this author ... it works as a stand alone (you don't have to read the first one to know what's going on).  It is written in first person perspective in Fran's voice.  The "whodunnit" and ending came together really quickly.  It's a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity.  Fran has been dating her high school friend, Matt, for a couple months and though there have been a couple hugs, I don't think they have actually kissed yet, which given their ages is unrealistic.

I found it unbelievable that café owner Fran would be proactive in investigating the murder of a stranger even though the police, who she acknowledges are competent, are on it.  She's adamant that Todd didn't do it, which I found hard to believe considering she hasn't seen the guy since high school and he barely knew she existed in high school.

There are recipes at the end.

Book ~ "Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse" (2015) Harper Lin

From Goodreads ~ Francesca Amaro moves back to her hometown of Cape Bay, Massachusetts, and takes over the family business, Antonia’s Italian Café. She spends her days making delicious artisan cappuccinos, until she stumbles upon her neighbor’s dead body. When the police discover Mr. Cardosi was poisoned, Francesca becomes a suspect.

The victim’s son, Matty, happens to be Francesca’s old high school friend. Together, they uncover the secrets of the locals in order to find the killer in their idyllic beach town.

Francesca is in her mid-thirties and working in New York for many years when her mother recently passes away.  So she moves back home to run the family Italian café in a small town in Massachusetts.  As she is taking a shortcut home one day from work, she discovers Mr. Cardosi dead in a chair on his porch.  Mr. Cardosi is the father of Fran's childhood friend, Matt, and they assume Mr. Cardosi had had a heart attack ... until the autopsy report comes back that he was poisoned.  Mr. Cardosi was a cranky easily annoyed man but who would want to murder him?  Because she found Mr. Cardosi, Fran feels the need to investigate and see if she can find out what happened and Matt encourages her to.

This is the first in the Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Series and the first I've read by this author. It is written in first person perspective in Fran's voice.  The "whodunnit" and ending came together really quickly.  It's a quick light read and I look forward to reading the rest in the series.  It's a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity.

Book ~ "Revenge of the Chili Queens" (2015) Kylie Logan

From Goodreads ~ Everyone in San Antonio remembers the Alamo but how many remember the Chili Queens? Back in the early twentieth century, these spicy señoras sold their lip-smacking chili in plazas all around the city. Now, as part of the Chili Showdown, Maxie and her half-sister, Sylvia, are dressing up as the Chili Queens to raise money for charity. 

But someone wasn’t feeling too charitable toward a local troubadour, who is murdered at the fundraiser. When their friend, Nick Falcone, head of security for the Showdown, actually becomes the prime suspect, it’s up to Maxie and Sylvia to turn the heat up on a killer, who’s planning a chili reception for them.

Jack, Maxie's father, sold spices in a travelling chili cook-off circuit and disappeared a couple months ago.  Maxie and her half-sister, Sylvia, who she doesn't get along with (Jack is their father), keep running the family business.  Now the the Chili Showdown has moved on to San Antonio and they are involved in some charity events.

There is a mysterious guitar player wondering around the first event ... he is found strangled with his own guitar strings.  And then we find that he wasn't who everyone thought he was.  Nick, head of security, had a violent past with the mystery man.  Maxie has been attracted to Nick over the series and suspects that he may be the killer.  There is a cast of colourful characters (beauty contestants, drag queens, rival "Chili Queens", etc.) and anyone of them had a reason to murder also.

Though this is the third and final in the Chili Cook-Off Mystery Series by this author, it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided (I'd read the first two).  It is written in first person perspective in Maxie's voice.  I liked Maxie well enough, though I found that she jumped to conclusions as to "whodunnit" without a lot of evidence and doesn't seem to have any filters ... she speaks without thinking (she doesn't seem very mature).  Sylvia wasn't as bitter or nasty or unlikable as in the first two books.  It's a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. 

I thought the first two in the series were okay but thought this one was a letdown.  The attraction between Maxie and Nick finally starts to get going.  We finally find out what happened to Jack and it was really lame and unbelievable.