Showing posts with label Hannah - Darci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hannah - Darci. Show all posts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah

 


Do you like to read books that are set during holiday seasons?  I love holiday themed books!

It’s St. Patrick’s Day in the small town of Beacon Harbor, Michigan that is located on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Lindsey Bakewell, amateur sleuth, and baker, is cooking up all sorts of St. Patrick’s day delights to celebrate the opening of the Blarney Stone, a new Irish import store.  It’s a dangerous time in Beacon Harbor during the holidays.  When a leprechaun is murdered, Lindsey is on the case. 

My thoughts:

·       I love the holiday theme to this book; I haven’t read that many St. Patrick’s Day books.

·       The quant setting in a small Lake Michigan town is a lot of fun.  I also enjoy all of the characters.

·       This is the fifth book in the Beacon Bakeshop mystery.  I have read the fourth book and this one.  You can read them as stand-alone novels, but it is nice to get to know the characters.  I need to go back and read the first three books!

·       I love that this book is self-aware. 

o   “‘We’ve been known to investigate murders before around here.’’And are there many murders?’ she asked, looking rather frightened at this.  ‘I was under the impression that this was a friendly village.’”

o   “What was I doing?  Was I really hosting a town hall meeting over possible sightings of a man dressed as s leprechaun...who’d been brutally murdered . . . possibly by Rory’s uncle?  Was I insane?  Had I reached rock bottom?  Is this what living in a small village on the frozen shores of Lake Michigan did to people?”

o   Moments like these made me laugh out loud.

·       The story did move a bit slowly for me.

·       I love how food was discussed throughout the stories and there were tasty looking recipes at the end.

Overall, Murder at the Blarney Bash was a fun holiday themed cozy mystery.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah

 

Do you like pumpkin flavored food or drink items?  What is your favorite?  I love pumpkin flavored baked goods such as pumpkin bread.

Lindsey owns a bakeshop in an old lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan in the small town of Beacon Harbor, Michigan.  The lighthouse is rumored to be haunted and local teens have tried to break in near Halloween to see it for themselves.  Lindsey’s best friend Kennedy has arranged for the Ghost Guys to do a livestream podcast as they look for supernatural beings in the lighthouse.  Unfortunately, they instead found a dead body on a tree outside still dressed in a costume from the local pumpkin pageant.  Who murdered them and why?

I enjoyed this cozy mystery.  It is the fourth book in the A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, but the first book that I have read in the series.  It worked well as a standalone novel.  I enjoyed how the start of the novel set up the scene, introduced the characters, and then after the murder, Lindsey and her friends investigated and started to piece together what was happening.  The ending was very good and I had not guessed the murderer.  After the novel ended, there many tasty looking pumpkin recipes that I want to try out.  I loved the autumnal setting of this book and I really liked it being set in a small town on Lake Michigan.  I live in a small town on Lake Michigan, but on the Wisconsin side.  I need to read the rest of the books in this series!

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley and Kensington Books. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.