Review of A Charming Deception

A Charming Deception
Magical Cures Mystery, Book # 13
Tonya Kappes
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Welcome to Whispering Fall where magic and mystery collide!

Bubble… Bubble…

June Heal and Oscar Park are beyond thrilled with the upcoming arrival of their baby.

Cures and Trouble…

June’s pregnancy is turning out to more at risk than anticipated and she has to go to a specialist doctor outside of Whispering Falls where patients are nosey and hormones are raging, leaving the nurses and receptionist at their wits ends and bickering at each other.

Magic Stirs…

Poor June is put on limited activity. The baby is proving to a little mischievous and magic before it’s even born and leaving the doctors a little miffed with all the different ultrasound shenanigans.

Trouble Doubles…

June’s hormones have messed with her intuition and spiritual gifts, leaving her unsure of things going on around her.On one of her many doctor appointments, June arrives a little early and find the receptionist strangled to death.June can’t help herself and decides to put her amateur and magical sleuthing skills to the test to try to bring the killer to justice… or are her hormones deceiving her? (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. June is about to give birth and everyone is very excited. Her friends are arguing about who is going to babysit the infant, Her husband wants her protected inside a bubble, and June just wants to meet the child. When someone is found murdered, she knows she needs to help find the killer before the big day arrives.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through and not easily solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. The magical moments in this book add another layer to this book, and I greatly enjoyed it.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book and provided my honest review.

 

 

New Releases For The Week Of July 26th, 2020–Part 3

Here is a list of some of the new releases for the week of July 26th, 2020. I am going to divide the list into 4 days because there are so very many of them for the week. Today is the third day of my list for this week. Hope you find some selections for your weekly reading. Enjoy and happy reading.

 

Woo-wee for Witchywood!

Some of North America’s top film stars have descended on Whittlecombe. Is the tiny village ready for such an intrusion?

Apparently not.

Medea Toulouse, superstar movie actress, is dead, presumed poisoned.

The chief suspects? Global phenomenon, Dom Bruise and housewives’ favourite, Brian Ben-Olds.

Alfhild Daemonne, our favourite witch, has a lot on her plate. And not just cake, unfortunately.

Magic and mayhem, a murder and the BIGGEST movie star on the planet? It’s the usual chaos at our beloved wonky inn!

Have you made your reservation?  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Campbell and Carter are back, in their toughest case yet.

Two years ago, Miff Ferguson chose to opt out of the rat race. Since then he’s been living rough and happily so. Until now. For as the first signs of winter approach, everything in his life is uprooted.

While looking for shelter, Miff stumbles across the corpse of a young woman in a dilapidated warehouse. Quickly realising he is not alone, and has been spotted, Miff becomes embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse with a killer that forces him to abandon his life and take refuge with his aunt and uncle in the village of Weston St Ambrose.

But despite his best efforts to lie low, trouble seems to follow him everywhere, and when another dead body is discovered at a local farm, it’s clear Miff is not free from danger.

With the clock ticking, Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter must join forces with the team of police at Bamford to piece together the puzzle before another innocent life is lost…

A Matter of Murder is the seventh Cotswold village crime novel in Ann Granger’s Campbell and Carter series, perfect for fans of Midsomer Murders, James Runcie and M. C. Beaton.

Praise for Ann Granger

‘Characterisation, as ever with Granger, is sharp and astringent’ The Times

‘This engrossing story looks like the start of a highly enjoyable series’ Scotsman

‘Her usual impeccable plotting is fully in place’ Good Book Guide  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After recovering from Friday night, private investigator Mika Chalmers is trying to piece together what happened to her. Detective Alex Beech is up in arms about what happened, blaming himself for leaving her alone with a sergeant who’s looking more and more untouchable, especially with no evidence. Eric Foresburg, her kind-of boyfriend, wants to take her away from all of this. Mika just wants to solve the case – which is hard to do since she can’t remember anything.

Due to both men unknowingly putting pressure on her, Mika enlists the help of someone completely unexpected: smarmy defense attorney and pain her butt, Ryan King.

Everyone thinks Sergeant Bill McNally is responsible for what happened to Mika. He was present and he conducted the interview after everyone left. But evidence starts cropping up that it could be the one person Mika would never expect: Detective Alex Beech.

If Mika doesn’t solve this crime soon, Beech is going to be put away for a crime she knows he didn’t commit. But she can’t solve the crime if she doesn’t remember what happened.

With the heated chemistry of Castle and the unpredictable twists and turns of Bones, hockey fans are devouring this new romantic mystery series by a USA Today Best Selling Author.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s spring break at Treemeadow College, and theatre professor Nicky Abbondanza is directing a runway show for the Fashion Department. Joining him are his spouse, theatre professor Noah Oliver, their son, Taavi, and their best friend and department head, Martin Anderson. The show, designed by visiting professor Ulla Ultimate, is bound to be the ultimate event of the season. And bound it is with designs featuring black leather and chains. When sexy male models drop faster than their leather chaps, Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to figure out who is taking the term “a cut male model” literally before Nicky and Noah end up steamed in the wardrobe steamer. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining tenth novel in this delightful series. Take your seats. The runway is lighting up with hunky models, volatile designers, bitter exes, newfound lovers, and murder!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A highly inaccurate vision. A grumpy writer. And a corpse. Welcome to Starry Falls. Running from the mob can be murder.

Confession. I’m no psychic. But I can sort of see the future—albeit not accurately. And you better believe, I’ve never let that little detail stop me from prognosticating my way into a pickle. So when I ticked off the mob, the feds, and my wily ex, I decided to take my Uncle Vinnie’s advice and start over with a new name and new hair color while relying on my old shtick—getting my visionary wires crossed and putting myself in danger.

Something wicked this way comes. Opal volunteers to turn the manor into a haunted mansion for the entire month of October in hopes to turn a dollar, but the spooky festivities soon take on a haunted life of their own when a real corpse shows up at the scene.

Shep and I take on a life of our own as well, and a special guest from my past conjures up before me. Something tells me making it through this month of horrors will be murder.

Living in Starry Falls is proving to be deadly.

A laugh out loud cozy mystery by New York Times Bestseller Addison Moore and her partner in cozy crime, USA TODAY Bestseller Bellamy Bloom.

From the NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author, Addison Moore— Cosmopolitan Magazinecalls Addison’s books, “…easy, frothy fun!”  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bar Harbor, Maine, is quieter in the off-season, but the population has just increased a bit with the arrival of Ted and Trudy Lancaster. Ted’s taking over for a retiring minister, and Trudy runs a food truck called Wicked ’Wiches. When she stops in at the Island Times office to place an ad, Hayley happily devours the sample sub Trudy offers—and the two become fast friends.

When Trudy tragically dies in her truck while catering a Halloween party, suspicion falls on a cranky, competitive caterer who’d made veiled threats to Trudy. But the case becomes more complicated when Hayley’s husband admits he’d seen someone dressed as a witch hurrying away from the food truck—not very helpful when countless women at the party wore the same costume. Now Hayley finds herself sandwiched between witches and witnesses as she considers a smorgasbord of suspects. If she finds the killer, she’ll be a local hero . . .

Includes delectable recipes from Hayley’s kitchen!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quilter Martha Rose must patch together the clues to solve the murder of a cult leader in the California mountains . . .
 
Has Martha’s fellow quilter and dear friend Birdie Watson become unraveled? Birdie and her new husband have decided to join the Mystical Feather Society, a spiritist group living on a commune in the mountains of Ojai, California. Before her free-spirited friend makes a huge mistake, Martha organizes a surprise visit to check out the commune. While white-robed members conduct a seancé in a glass yurt, their leader—Royal St. Germain—is nowhere to be found . . . until, that is, Martha and her friends discover him shot in their Winnebago. Now Martha must track down the killer and debunk the cult—before it’s bye bye Birdie . . .

Praise for Mary Marks and her Quilting Mysteries
 
“A pleasurable and satisfying addition to any quilting mystery fan’s reading list.”
—Library Journal on Knot in My Backyard
 
“A mystery combined with wry humor.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Knot My Sister’s Keeper  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bar None, set in the heart of New York City, is an edge-of-your-seat mystery that features Jude Dillane, owner of The Corner Lounge on 10th Street and Avenue B. When Jude finds her friend and landlord Thomas “Sully” Sullivan’s work pal, Ed Molina, dead in a pool of blood in Sully’s apartment, she’s sure it wasn’t suicide as the police suspect. Jude investigates and adds murder to her plate as she delves into a case of major at the Big City Food Bank.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is book 2 in the Hope Herring mystery series by USA TODAY Bestselling Author, J.A. Whiting and Nell McCarthy. It is October and Hope and her daughter, Cori, are settling into their new town. When Cori and her friends go to a spooky and haunted attraction for some Halloween fun, things take a strange and frightening turn which thrusts the Herring women into a mystery they want nothing to do with. There’s also their resident ghost who needs help researching the past to uncover his killer. Will Cori and Hope be able to figure out what’s going on before someone else loses their life?  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Victoria Town, Va., the town that time almost forgot—until it became a huge tourist attraction for lovers of all things Victorian.

Spring is a busy time in the quaint Victoria Town, with the town getting ready for the popular Spring Fling. Viv Barton is busy helping her aunt prepare the Sweet Victoria B & B for the festivities. At 28, Viv is settling in bucolic town, eager for a new life, though she’s unsure what that is. As a newcomer, Viv’s still finding her place. One of her favorite pastimes is walking through the expansive old cemetery early mornings. Until one morning…when her favorite haunt becomes a dead zone. Stumbling over a dead body was not in the plan.

Viv can’t shed the memory of the woman’s face or the strange trinkets placed around her body. When it seems the local police don’t have much to offer the investigation, Viv uses her gaming skills to piece together a curious puzzle leading her down a dark, twisty, and dangerous path.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A DETECTIVE AGENCY WITH HEART.
AND A WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

Super sleuth, Lee Alvarez, finds a dead man wearing a tuxedo in a friend’s bathtub during a soiree for San Francisco’s VIPs. And not just any friend, but an internationally acclaimed actress who recently came to live in San Francisco. And not just any bathtub, but a bathtub residing inside one of Alamo Square’s famed Painted Ladies, recently bought by said actress.

The police believe it’s the actress friend who done the man in. After all, it’s her house and her tub. And another man died under suspicious circumstances around her recently. Both romantic encounters, doncha know. The actress must be guilty.

Or is she?

For ace detective Lee Alvarez, the timing couldn’t be worse. She is supposed to go off in celebration of her 6-month wedding anniversary with her hunky hubby. Paris is calling!

Or is it?

Her long-time friend, plus her mother – She Who Must Be Obeyed – thinks she should stick around and find out who the real killer is. So Lee, family, handsome hubby, and Tugger, the cat, are on the job. But Lee’s nose is itching. Which means not one of the suspects is telling the truth.

Or not all of it. Lee soon uncovers threatening letters, sullen playwrights, dead bodies, and a criminal web of jewel thieves, all treading the boards of her friend’s latest musical. This is showbiz?   

Author Haven pulls out all the stops in a cozy fan’s delight about a charming, and unconventional Palo Alto detective family who get their man or woman, as the case may be. Book Seven follows its tradition of the Bay Area’s favorite PI, who rolls over with all four paw in the air when it comes to her darn near perfect mother. But with the help of her computer geek brother and handsome hubby, Lee works to solve the case in time to celebrate her own 6-month wedding anniversary.

Fans of PI stories, cozy mysteries, and women sleuths will love Lee Alvarez, especially if they love sharp funny female protagonists like Sue Grafton’s witty Kinsey Millhone and Janet Evanovich’s lovable Stephanie Plum. Aficionados of Lisa Lutz’s family series, The Spellman Files, will find another fun romp with the Alvarez clan!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small-town politics can be murder.

A local election for district court judge turns deadly when one of the candidates winds up shot in his own home. Now it’s up to amateur sleuth Kat Harper to find out “whodunit.”

When it comes to drug offenses, Judge Buck Metzger is a known advocate for rehabilitation over incarceration. His stance is a major reason why he’s pulled ahead in the small-town race—until a bullet stops him dead. Now Kat has to question whether his outlook—or someone he sentenced to court-ordered treatment—might be responsible for his downfall. Then again, he could just as easily have been murdered by a resentful opponent caught up in a devastating scandal. And Kat certainly can’t discount Judge Metzger’s rebellious daughter as a suspect, not when she’s set to inherit everything her father owned.

Whatever it takes, Kat is determined to uncover the truth. And with some help from her furry feline friends, she might just thwart a killer’s plan to skirt the wheels of justice.

All of the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery books can be enjoyed as standalones but will be better appreciated as part of the series. The books are light, fun cozy mystery novellas featuring an animal-loving female amateur sleuth, lovable and not-so-lovable quirky characters, and a page-turning mystery that needs solving. None of the books include cliffhangers, bad language, or graphic scenes.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mum’s the word when a mummy goes missing…

With Keystone Village at the feet of the Great Pyramids, this is the chance of a lifetime for linguist Ella Barton. But crossing the boundary is risky—a risk she’s not sure she’s willing to take.

That changes when one of Keystone’s own townspeople turns up dead in a sarcophagus. How did he get there? And where’s the body of the pharaoh who had been laid to rest inside?

The current king wants answers and wants his father’s remains or things might just get ugly. To solve the murder and find the missing mummy, Ella and her friends put their sleuthing skills to the test—all while minimizing their impact on history and keeping Flo’s explosions to a minimum.

A laugh-out-loud mystery full of adventure, twists, coffee, and friendship.

This is book eight in the funny, quirkyTraveling Town Mystery series.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fate of a Flapper, the second mystery in this captivating new series, takes readers into the dark, dangerous, and glittering underworld of a 1920’s Chicago speakeasy.

A 2019 Agatha Award Nominee for “Best Historical Mystery”!

After nine months as a cigarette girl at the Third Door, one of Chicago’s premier moonshine parlors, Gina Ricci feels like she’s finally getting into the swing of things. The year is 1929, the Chicago Cubs are almost in the World Series, neighborhood gangs are all-powerful, and though Prohibition is the law of the land, the Third Door can’t serve the cocktails fast enough.

Two women in particular are throwing drinks back with abandon while chatting up a couple of bankers, and Gina can’t help but notice the levels of inebriation and the tension at their table. When the group stumbles out in the early morning, she tries to put them out of her head. But once at home that night, Gina’s sleep is interrupted when her cousin Nancy, a police officer, calls—she’s found a body. Gina hurries over to photograph the crime scene, but stops short when she recognizes the body: it’s one of the women from the night before.

Could the Third Door have served the woman bad liquor? Or, Gina wonders, could this be murder? As the gangs and bombings draw ever closer, all of Chicago starts to feel like a warzone, and Gina is determined to find out if this death was an unlucky accident, or a casualty of combat.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Joanna Campbell Slan delivers with this spin-off series from her beloved Kiki Lowenstein books!

From the author of stories in five of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Bestsellers comes the first three books in the continuing the saga of Cara Mia Delgatto, a single mom trying to grab a SECOND CHANCE at life! The perfect read for fans of HGTV, recycling, diy, and rescue pets!

TEAR DOWN AND DIE: Book #1 — After her parents die within six months of each other and her son goes off to college, Cara Mia Delgatto realizes she’s ripe for a second chance at life. A roadtrip takes her to Stuart, Florida, where she impulsively buys an empty building…only to discover it’s occupied with a fresh corpse. Now Cara’s suspect #1 and she might wind up behind bars! Are her dreams of opening The Treasure Chest, a store specializing in upcycled, recycled, and repurposed goods gone with the wind?

KICKED TO THE CURB: Book #2 — The Treasure Chest hosts a public relations event that ends badly when hot-tempered Cara gets into a quarrel with a pushy reporter. And then that reporter is found dead in the trunk of her car parked behind Cara’s store. But Cara’s no quitter. She’s going to figure out what the reporter was REALLY after–and why it is connected to the infamous Dozier Boys’ School crimes that plagued Florida for more than a century.

ALL WASHED UP: Book #3 — Cara is enjoying a sunrise walk on the beach when she spots a mermaid made out of sand–and then the mermaid groans. This isn’t a fairy tale–no, it’s more like a nightmare as Cara learns she’s stumbled into a plot to smuggle desperate undocumented immigrants into the country. And then…things take a turn for the worse. Now Cara is forced to stand aside and while her son risks his life. Has Cara trusted the wrong people to keep her child safe?

This series is perfect for fans of Amy Vansant’s PINEAPPLE COVE MYSTERIES, Elaine Viets’ DEAD-END JOB SERIES, as well as books by Dianne Harmann and Tonya Kappes and anyone who loves uplifting reads!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the deadliest beach resort in Florida – in USA Today bestselling author H.Y. Hanna’s new cozy mystery series! English girl Ellie is a ‘fish-out-of-water’ when she arrives in sunny Florida for a vacation with her aunt at a beach resort. But she’s barely dipped her toe in the ocean before she stumbles on a sinister murder. Now Ellie must battle jet lag, sunburn, and a cheeky parrot named Hemingway, while trying to unravel the mystery. With a writers’ conference in full flow, there’s no shortage of suspects. Is the killer a jealous rival author? Or the victim’s secret lover? And why are some of the resort staff behaving so suspiciously?
To make things worse, Aunt Olive has gone missing, fueling gossip that she might be on the run. But Ellie is sure that her aunt isn’t guilty. Life gets even more complicated when she starts snooping around the resort. First there’s the resident cat Mojito, who leads Ellie on a wild ‘gator’ chase, and then there’s the handsome resort doctor who sets Ellie’s pulse racing in a different way! As more red herrings than sand dollars wash up on the beach, Ellie must use all her wits to solve the case before her visit to the Sunshine State becomes deadlier than she ever imagined…

CLEAN READ: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.
GENRE: beach mystery, cat cozy mystery series, culinary cozy mysteries, women sleuth, amateur sleuth, humorous cozy mysteries

BAREFOOT SLEUTH COZY MYSTERIES:

• Flip-Flops and Murder (Book 1)
• Seashells and Murder (Book 2)
• Cocktails and Murder (Book 3)
• Bikinis and Murder (Book 4)  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A delicious new title in a new series from USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns! Tessa’s biscotti have always been killer, but never as deadly as in this addition to the Italian Chef mystery books!

It’s time to serve some just desserts…

• For fans of Joanne Fluke and Susan Furlong
• For readers of cozy mysteries and food mysteries
• Includes delicious recipes!

Six months after her husband’s death, Tessa Esposito is hoping to drum up reservations for her restaurant’s grand opening. And since a signing with bestselling author, Preston Rigotta, is sure to draw a crowd, Tessa agrees to cater her cousin’s bookstore event—whipping up some of her famous Italian desserts. But the event soon takes a sour turn when Preston’s publicist, an old high school rival, arrives and begins to whisk up their old grudges.

That night, a fight breaks out in front of the crowd, and it becomes clear there’s bad blood in Harvest Park. And when the publicist is found dead on the bookstore floor the next morning, a stray cannolo at her side, Tessa knows who will be framed as the prime suspect.

To clear both her cousin’s and her own name, Tessa must investigate the murder. But Preston’s publicist has many secrets to hide, and in the end, the truth is bittersweet…

The second book in the Italian Chef Cozy Mystery series! As Italian Chef Tessa plays the role of a female detective in this murder mystery, she’ll have to follow a string of clues before the case boils over.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook