Review of Penned In

Penned In
Farm-To-Fork Mystery, Book #4.5
Lynn Cahoon
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Angie Turner, chef at Idaho’s finest farm-to-table restaurant, has organized a team-building event at a haunted prison, only to find a real-life murderer in their midst. . . .

Contented employees make for a successful restaurant, which is why the County Seat’s crew goes on a quarterly out-of-office meeting. This time, the location is the Old Idaho Penitentiary near the Boise Foothills, a prison brimming with ghostly lore. The lock-in features actors role-playing as guards, fascinating prison stories . . . and an unscripted murder.

Who sentenced one of the faux guards to a very authentic death? Angie, her boyfriend, and the County Seat gang are locked in with a killer—excellent motivation for a little sleuthing. Between ghostly apparitions and flesh-and-blood suspects, Angie’s plate is full, but will her luck, and her life, hold out until the gates reopen at dawn?

Praise for Lynn Cahoon’s Tourist Trap Mysteries

“Murder, dirty politics, pirate lore, and a hot police detective: Guidebook to Murder has it all! A cozy lover’s dream come true.”
—Susan McBride, author of The Debutante Dropout Mysteries

“Lynn Cahoon has created an absorbing, good fun mystery in Mission to Murder.”
—Fresh Fiction


Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. For their quarterly team building trip, they decide to go to the Old Idaho Penitentiary. They are going to spend the night in the prison, which is said to be haunted. What could possibly go wrong? Angie and her employees are locked in the prison with a killer and they will have to solve the mystery before the prison door closes for good.

The author is very talented in her descriptive and these descriptions helped me get a clear picture in my mind. The writing style flows smoothly and the novella is a quick easy read. The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved.

I would highly recommend this whole series to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I cannot wait to see what adventure awaits them next.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

 

New Releases For The Week Of August 30. 2020–Part 1

Here is a list of some of the new releases for the week of August 30th, 2020. I am going to divide the list into 5 days because there are so very very many of them for the week. Today is the first day of my list for this week. Hope you find some selections for your weekly reading. Enjoy and happy reading.

 

What do you say when you’re accused of murder on your first day?

“Witch, please.”

Zoe Cross is a new witch in the mortal town of Sweetwater Falls where she opened a bakery. Everything is going well until one morning when Zoe happens to come across the dead body of Todd Jensen – a man who had been cheating his brother, cheating on his wife, and playing hardball with the shopkeepers.

Now, all fingers are pointing at Zoe and starting to question who exactly this young woman is that moved in amongst them.

It’s up to Zoe, her quirky Aunt, her best friend Lissie (who has no idea she’s a witch), and her trusty feline familiar, Snow. Of course, let’s not forget the handsome and dashing local detective, Sean Peabody, who just happens to be a warlock.

With her friends, Zoe will have to figure out who killed Tom Jensen to clear her name all the while searching for renegade magic users in town while also trying to discover a long buried secret about her missing mother. All this while she starts to fall head over broomsticks in love with the handsome detective.

Too much for one woman? Maybe. But not for Zoe.

This is one witch whose all about creepin’ it real!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City girl, Daisy McQueen, inherits her grandmother’s farm in the mountains of East Tennessee, Shady Valley to be exact. Daisy owns a company, Smart Living, that teaches people how to live healthy, and she is used to city life. Shady Valley only has one small store and one restaurant.
Daisy finds a dead body in her cranberry bog, and she is the number one murder suspect. Harry Greer helps her with her investigation without realizing Daisy is one of the richest women in the world with her company, Smart Living.
Hunters are secretly entering her property from the Appalachian Trail at night. Harry wants to protect her, but Daisy wants to teach the people in Shady Valley how to eat and live healthy.
Someone wants her dead.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A celebrity television chef with a
Fledgling VIP catering company.
A 10-year-old niece she didn’t know she had.
Mix those with poison, car bombs, and murderers
And her carefully laid out plans for a future life become completely upended!

Tragically, her parents died in a place crash, and Dani Rosetti leaves law school behind, heads to Paris, and becomes a chef. And not just any old chef – but a chef who goes on to become the darling of the celebrity chef world.

When a rabid fan tries to kill her, she ends her television career as a celebrity chef to start a catering company for the VIPs of the world. What she never expected, after not speaking with her brother for years, is that he had a child, and when he unexpectedly dies, that she would become that child’s guardian. Suddenly she’s Auntie Dani to a ten-year-old.

But someone wants to kill her. It takes all the resources her bodyguard, Arthur, who doubles as her sous-chef, has to keep Dani and her niece safe. Whipping up cream for chocolate mousses was a lot easier for both Dani and Arthur!

This is the debut book in the Chef Dani Rosetti Cozy Mystery Series by a USA Bestselling Author and Amazon All-Star.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:   Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 1926.

Vi and Jack have settled into London for the fall, and they want nothing more than an excess of cocoa, coffee, good books, and time with friends.

They should, however, know better. Jack is brought into consult on a case in coziest of houses. Only all is not what it seems and no one is surprised when they find yet another body.

Book TWENTY-FOUR in the Violet Carlyle Mysteries. Are you ready for the roaring twenties? You’ll love Vi, her patient husband Jack, her indulgent twin Vic, and their friends. For fans of Carola Dunn, Jacqueline Winspear, Georgette Heyer, and Lee Strauss. A light, cozy mystery with a fun peek into life in the life of a bright young thing. No swearing, graphic scenes, or cliffhangers.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The delightful first title in a new collaboration with Channel 4’s Walter Presents: a fast-paced comic mystery enriched by a deep love of books

In the small town of Crozon in Brittany, a library houses manuscripts that were rejected for publication: the faded dreams of aspiring writers. Visiting while on holiday, young editor Delphine Despero is thrilled to discover a novel so powerful that she feels compelled to bring it back to Paris to publish it.

The book is a sensation, prompting fevered interest in the identity of its author – apparently one Henri Pick, a now-deceased pizza chef from Crozon. Sceptics cry that the whole thing is a hoax: how could this man have written such a masterpiece? An obstinate journalist, Jean-Michel Rouche, heads to Brittany to investigate.

By turns farcical and moving, The Mystery of Henri Pick is a fast-paced comic mystery enriched by a deep love of books – and of the authors who write them.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bats, hats, and talking cats abound!

Are you ready for your annual dose of Halloween hijinx, magic, and mystery? Then brew up a cuppa, give your cauldron a stir, and carve out the time for some witchy fun in this holiday anthology.

Featuring loads of spooky tales brewed up by 16 of your favorite paranormal cozy mystery authors, including:

Tegan Maher, Misty Bane, Regina Welling and Erin Lynn, Leighann Dobbs, Samantha Silver, Ava Mallory, Stephanie Damore, Constance Barker, M.Z. Andrews, Mona Marple, Elle Adams, April Aasheim, Jenna St. James, Nikki Haverstock, K.M. Waller, and Amorette Anderson.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nasty paparazzo is accused of murdering an equally nasty screenwriter, and Maggie is torn between relief that they’re both out of her hair—and worry that the police have captured the wrong man.

Maggie McJasper is starting over in a little California beach town. She has a craft shop, a nice circle of friends, and a handsome movie star who keeps flirting with her. Life would be pretty great if she could just stop stumbling over dead bodies….

The Carita Cove romantic mysteries are fun and heartwarming reads, with no swearing or love scenes, and no gruesome violence to keep you up at night. Collect them all:

1. Maggie and the Black-Tie Affair

2. Maggie and the Inconvenient Corpse

3. Maggie and the Mourning Beads

4. Maggie and the Empty Noose

5. Maggie and the Hidden Homicide

6. Maggie and the Whiskered Witness

7. Maggie and the Serpentine Script

8. Maggie and the Rattled Rake
  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hold the front page! Rocco has to face the music! The Galaxy Orchestra comes to town for a summer music festival, and it turns out murder is on the program. The shocking death of a beloved star musician leaves an intriguing trail of suspects and red herrings.
Zora Flynn, a 50-something local newspaper publisher, and Rocco, her pampered prince of a poodle, get serious about solving the crime when a web of suspicion falls over hardworking reporter, Olivia. Is it the mercurial conductor, or one of the musicians? Local vandals have been re-writing signs and even tagging Rocco. Are they involved?
Zora is sure she can hear her princely pet and his snarky comments, but it’s not until the suspenseful finale that he shows his true colors as a ‘bush poodle.’
Across everything else, the staff of The Williamsport Whistle has entered the Homemade Boat Race. It’s ‘anchors aweigh’ as they compete against a flotilla of rickety rafts in front of a boisterous crowd.
(It probably goes without saying, but the Poodle Versus… series is good, clean fun, except for the occasional suspicious death. No graphic violence, sex or swearing.)  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Misty Dawn, the former “Hollywood Psychic to the Stars,” receives a phone call in the middle of the night, she knows it can’t be good news. Dorine Witherspoon, an actress and former client is in town for the opening of her touring musical and tells Misty the show’s leading lady, Cassie Marx, has disappeared, and the understudy had to go on for her on Opening Night! Misty immediately suspects foul play and when she and Wilson, Misty’s psychic shade, arrive at the theater the next morning, they discover LAPD’s Detective Cesar Romero meeting with the cast and crew. Events on both sides of the veil take a dark turn when Romero asks Misty off the case, and Wilson appears out of his depth with ghosts who want nothing to do with him. Death, close calls, and forces on both sides of the veil threaten to undo Misty and destroy her relationship with Wilson unless she can find Cassie and restore order to the show.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All aboard for murder!

In attempt to quell his boredom after an early retirement, my dad has partnered with a friend to offer Blackwood Bay a murder mystery dinner cruise. Cruisin’ for Murder’s maiden voyage is about to take place, so a few of my coven members and I buy up the remaining tickets in a show of support. But what starts as a fun evening quickly takes a dark turn when a body is found that is not part of the evening’s event. There’s also the small problem of a vicious storm suddenly headed our way.
Now, we’re stuck on board with a killer … and it looks like he’s got a taste for blood.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deception. Death. A Deal with the Devil.

When Dr Nathan Frost, a lecturer in German literature at Oxford University, is invited to a lavish party at the country house of a wealthy businessman, he knows there’ll be a price to pay. After all, as an expert on the legend of Faust and Mephistopheles, he can recognise a deal with the devil easily enough. But even he’s not expecting such a sinister end to the evening.

Called to investigate a suspicious death at a country house, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart is surprised to find a government minister among the party guests. Her team must navigate powerful interests to find the truth. But in a world of favours, backhanders and corruption, nothing is as it seems and nobody can be trusted.

Set amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford University, the Bridget Hart series is perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths, JR Ellis, Faith Martin and classic British murder mysteries.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living in the country comes with rampant gossip, a stubborn next-door neighbor, and another murder…

Cassie Alberta is settling into her new life in Little Leaf Creek. She is slowly starting to put the unexpected death of her husband and the life she had in the city behind her. She is enjoying the quaint town and her beautiful natural surroundings. Her next-door neighbor’s lovable dog has stolen her heart. And although she never expected to live next to two goats she is liking them more every day. But her contentment turns to shock when a dead body is found in the woods near her home.

When the death is originally called an accident, Cassie partners with her reclusive ex-cop neighbor to help prove that it was murder and find the killer. Her plan to keep things simple and enjoy single life seems to be becoming impossible when two handsome locals are vying for her affections. Cassie traverses a mountain of clues and suspects and heads straight toward danger.

Will the culprit be caught before Cassie becomes the next victim?

Recipe included: Baked Strawberry Cheesecake

Peril in Little Leaf Creek is the fast-paced second book in the Little Leaf Creek Cozy Mystery Series. If you like unexpected twists and turns, lively personalities, lovable animals and a never-ending list of suspicious characters, then you’ll love Cindy Bell’s heartwarming whodunnit.

Buy Peril in Little Leaf Creek to start solving the murder today!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:   Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to go to work.

Dappled Hills is the kind of small town where it’s hard to imagine anything bad happening . . . especially in the fall when the mountain trees are changing. It’s a magical time in the area and Beatrice and Wyatt have been enjoying every minute of it, especially taking their new grandbaby on stroller rides in the crisp autumn air.

So it was quite a jolt when tragedy did strike and Beatrice’s daughter discovered her coworker at the school, murdered.

At first, no one had a clue who could possibly have murdered Petunia Murray. But, as Beatrice dug a little more, she discovered Petunia carried a few secrets. Now Beatrice must piece together the clues before anyone else is sewn up for good.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The #1 New York Times bestselling author introduces CIA agent Alisa Flynn, who is willing to go rogue if it means catching the most heartless band of criminals she’s ever encountered.
When CIA agent Alisa Flynn flaunts the rules by breaking into a mansion in the middle of the night, she skillfully circumvents alarms and outwits guards only to find herself standing in billionaire Gabe Korgan’s study . . . busted by Korgan himself. This could cost her her job unless, in a split second, she can turn the tables and try to convince him to join her on the most important mission of her life.
In a ripped-from-the-headlines plot, schoolgirls in Africa have been kidnapped, and Alisa knows that Korgan has the courage, financial means, and high-tech weaponry to help rescue them. With so many innocent lives hanging in the balance, what she doesn’t reveal is that one of those schoolgirls is like a little sister to her. But when the truth gets out, the stakes grow even higher.
Calling in additional assistance from renowned horse whisperer Margaret Douglas, Alisa and Gabe lay their plans, only to see them descend into chaos as the line between right and wrong wavers before them like a mirage. Every path is strewn with pitfalls, each likely to get them — or the hostages — killed. But with the help of a brave team and a horse with the heart of a warrior, they might just get out of this alive.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bizarre crime scene. A four-legged culprit. Can our sleuth find the real killer before her career goes down the drain?

Desperate to stop her PI business from going belly-up, Verity Hawkes doesn’t hesitate to dive into the next case she finds: a body in a septic tank. But just when she thinks her investigation couldn’t get any more peculiar, she’s shocked to learn the accused perp is the town’s beloved billy goat.

Verity has to juggle her meddling aunt, a surly former soldier, and a tuxedo-wearing cat to sanitize this baffling homicide. But when the case takes a sinister turn, she suspects darker forces are at work. Can she track down the mysterious murderer before her reputation is flushed away?

Doubt on a Limb is the riotous eighth book in The Leafy Hollow cozy mystery series. If you like zany heroines, humorous twists, and stories that keep you guessing, then you’ll love Rickie Blair’s charming small-town escapade.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle