Still Knife Painting: Paint & Shine Mystery Series, Book 1

Still Knife Painting (Paint & Shine Mystery #1) by Cheryl Hollon, Courtney Patterson (Narrator)

Published June 30th 2020 by Kensington, Tantor Audio

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I very much enjoyed Cheryl Hollon’s Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery series and have been looking forward to her new series, beginning with Still Knife Painting. It still has an artist protagonist, but the discipline and setting are very different. Miranda Trent is an artist. She recently inherited her uncle’s home in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. She designed and opened her business “Paint & Shine: which caters to tourists. She takes visitors on a cultural adventure tour consisting of learning about the area, painting a local spot, and a dining experience paired with local moonshine tasting. A caveat to her inheritance is that she also has to open a moonshine operation on the property, which has her jumping through hoops and trying to find her uncle’s recipe. Things are staring off a bit rocky and when her cook is murdered in her kitchen, her business looks like it might shut down before it even gets a foothold.

I enjoyed this story and thought it was a good start to a new series. I enjoyed the characters, even though there is a lot of development yet to come. I really like Miranda, she is strong, smart, creative, persistent and capable protagonist. The setting and the premise of the business were very interesting and attractive to me. The mystery moved along at a good pace, with the murder occurring very close to the beginning of the story. I had no idea who the murderer was or why it had occurred until the reveal which had a bit of danger involved in it. Overall a fun, enjoyable cozy mystery which has me looking forward to the next on. There are also some recipes included in the back of the book. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Courtney Patterson. I always enjoy her performances with her ability to give a voice to the main characters as well as personality to the numerous secondary characters. She is able to show the emotion of the various characters and added to my enjoyment of the story. I recommend this cozy mystery in either format.

Live and Let Pie: A Bakeshop Mystery

Live and Let Pie (A Bakeshop Mystery #9) by Ellie Alexander, Marietta DePrima (Narrator)

Published December 31st 2018 by St. Martin’s Press, June 24, 2019 by Journalstone

3.5 Stars:

A Bakeshop Mystery is one of my favourite cozy mystery series, but the ninth book in the series, was my least favourite so far. This book has a cold case and a present day murder to solve. When a skull is found in the mud near where Jules is having a picnic, she gets pulled into the investigation. In this book she has more time as they have hired new employees for the newly renovated and expanded Torte. There are some feathers ruffled, but things are settling down. There are still questions involving Jules future with the handsome Carlos who is not in this one, but he is talked about. I wish that storyline would come to a conclusion. Jules finds herself digging into a cold case from 1960 and trying to figure out if it has any bearing on the present day murder.

The mystery was well done with a number of plausible suspects. There were well designed clues that led the reader and Jules in various directions and as usual, I did not figure out who the culprit was. There were a couple of reasons that this one did not resonate with me, as mentioned earlier, I am getting a bit tired of the Carlos storyline, either get together or get a divorce. As well, the ending was not very satisfying to me this time, not sure why, but it was a bit of a let down. Will I read the next in this series? Absolutely! Overall, I enjoy this series and recommend it to those who enjoy a cozy mystery with a great setting, interesting characters and well developed mysteries. The audiobook was narrated by Marietta DePrima, a new narrator to me. She had a pleasant voice to listen to. She added expression, emotion and tone to her reading and voices of the various characters.

Killer Comfort Food: Farm-to-Fork Mystery Series, Book 5

Killer Comfort Food (Farm-to-Fork Mystery #5) by Lynn Cahoon, Susan Boyce (Narrator)

Published January 5th 2021, Tantor Audio

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the fifth Farm to Fork Mystery, Angie Turner has so much going on, I am surprised she was still standing at the end. A soybean processing plant is trying to buy the land around Angie’s farm and is trying to get it rezoned. Angie does not want to sell, but if the zoning goes through, she could lose her farm regardless. While she is dealing with this, she is asked by Barb, owner of the local bar, to look into the disappearance of her daughter. The missing woman is also the wife of the lawyer representing the soybean people, so Angie already has a hate on for him. Of course he is her first suspect. Then a woman’s body ends up in the local park. Are the women connected. Of course don’t forget that she also runs the local County Seat farm-to-fork restaurant.

This story has so much going on that I couldn’t put it down. I whizzed through it during the day while doing chores and then relaxing. I really like Angie. She is a human dynamo that is smart, and caring, is a great cook, boss and friend. She is dating the Sheriff’s nephew so that does give her some in, but also provides her with protection when she sticks her nose in where it doesn’t belong. i was not sure who was involved, how many people were involved or what the motives were, but Angie and her friends were able to sort things out. The culprit was hinted at during the story, so I was not surprised when it was revealed, but I enjoyed the story and how all the various pieces were pulled together. A very satisfying cozy mystery with a great ending. Susan Boyce narrates most of Lynn Cahoon’s books so it was an enjoyable listen to a narrator that I enjoy. I was gifted a copy of this book upon request. The rating and opinions shared are my own.