Book 116, 2024

Muffin Mystery: Whisked Away to Danger by Blake Rivers

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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Last night I read an ebook novella Muffin Mystery: Whisked Away to Danger by Blake Rivers. It appeared to be the first book in a short series, but I felt like I'd started in the middle. I see the author has several mini-series out, and perhaps this one follows others...? Some clarity on series order would be helpful. The main character in this one is Sophia Lawrence, who owns and operates a bakery.

Sophia loves her small town, but when she learns that town bigwig Calvin Starks is trying to buy the property that the historic lighthouse stands on, she is upset. Furthering her unease, her cat Mocha finds a cryptic note that indicates the town of Coral Cove has a dark history--one that Calvin may be trying to exploit in his bid for power. Along with her BFF, Rosemary (the town gossip) and Jonas (a local police detective), Sophia will try to thwart Calvin's plans before he brings about the downfall of the entire town.

Alrighty then. This was like reading an episode of Scooby Doo, from the ridiculous clues to the land-grabbing villain to the secret passageways accessible by pressing on a certain rock or panel. Don't get me wrong, I love Scooby Doo, but I know what I'm getting with him and the gang. I did not sign up for it when reading this book. I have questions:( Spoilers! )

There was a lot of unnecessary repetition in this, and the ending of some chapters seemed so final that I was surprised to discover more chapters followed. Honestly, the entire story was just silly.

Favorite line: He had a reputation for being as charming as a damp sock.

Ye olde 'Breath' line: I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and opened the closet door.

Characters were flat, the plot was inane, and precious little made any sense. I did like the cat. Two stars.

Book 117, 2024

Tart of Darkness by Denise Swanson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I finished reading my 'work' book at lunch today. It was Tart of Darkness by Denise Swanson. This is the first in the "Chef-to-Go" cozy mystery series, featuring novice chef Danielle "Dani" Sloan.

Dani's life is in a downward spiral. She's recently learned her boyfriend already has a fiancée, and she's quit her HR job for a large corporation after having to fire an entire department and sign an NDA over it. Things improve, however, when she inherits a house from a family friend. Now Dani has the opportunity to launch her own catering business, which has always been a dream of hers. After a catering gig goes awry and the guest of honor ends up dead, Dani is interrogated by a local detective. Fortunately, one of her college-aged boarders knows the head of campus security, an ex-policeman named Spencer, who steps up to help. Desperate to clear her name, Dani launches her own investigation, aided by Spencer. What they find is that the victim had several enemies, all of which will make figuring out who killed her extremely difficult.

The story was interesting. The college campus setting was different. Characters were three dimensional, including the odious Detective Mickeloff and the snide Regina, who deserved to die in my opinion. LOL! What I didn't like is that the killer came out of the blue. Dani and Spencer had their eyes on a few suspects, but this person was not on their radar. I prefer it when the author builds the clues and the case to allow the mystery to be solved by the mc (and perhaps by the reader as well!).

Favorite lines:
♦ "If Ron Weasley can end up with Hermione Granger, anything's possible."
♦ "It's icier than a whore's heart in here."
♦ "My policy has always been never to make a woman mad. She can remember shit that hasn't even happened yet."
♦ She wondered if anyone else had ever dispensed advice about BDSM at a funeral.

I liked the book, but as far as cozies go it was just average. Three stars.

( Trope Test )