Carla Schantz

Molly MacRae: Come Shell or High Water

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Series Debut – Haunted Shell Shop #1

Molly MacRae launches her new haunted shell shop mystery series with Come Shell or High Water. Newly widowed Maureen Nash heads to Ocracoke Island to follow up on some rather odd letters from the shell shop owner. Maureen is a Malacologist and teller of stories and legends. Malacologist is the term for someone who studies mollusks, an interesting factoid I enjoyed learning. One might think that Maureen of the mollusks could have picked a better time to visit the island than right in the middle of hurricane season. Apparently, though, that is a prime time to find some seaside treasures of the shelled variety. Maureen has quite the journey to the island, but the real adventure starts when she literally trips over a body, then stumbles through a series of unfortunate events that results in compromised memory, becoming a murder suspect, and meeting a ghost. read more

Carolyn Haines: Lights, Camera, Bones

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Sara Booth Delaney #27

Lights, Camera, Bones is impressively Carolyn Haines’ 27th book in her Sarah Booth Delaney series. Hollywood comes to take a bite out of Greenville, Mississippi, to film a dramatic movie about a great flood in 1927. It was a very controversial flood for the town as, while there were heroes, there were also some very unfortunate victims left to the mercy of the elements. The Director and lead actor, Marlon Brandon’s, goal is to share the heroic story of how his family saved many during the tragedy. However, not everyone believes that showing off his hero roots is the whole story. There are at least two who are convinced that the movie is there to paint Greenville in a negative light, and dig up old wounds caused by the state’s darker history involving slave labor. What starts as just a few arguments and clashes escalates when Marlon and another member of his crew, Jules, goes missing. read more

Krista Davis: The Diva Goes Overboard

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Domestic Diva #17

Krista Davis’ latest addition to her Domestic Diva Mysteries, The Diva Goes Overboard, follows event planner Sophie Winston in Old Town Alexandria. Her best, and highest maintenance friend, Natasha Smith, has wonderful but shocking news. Her free-spirited mother, Wanda, and local antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth, are getting married. Sophie is thrilled to be asked to help Natasha get an engagement party together, but not so thrilled with the short time frame she’s given to work with. With the short notice, she already knows finding a venue is going to be more than a little challenging. read more

Daryl Wood Gerber: A Twinkle of Trouble

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Fairy Garden #5

As an enthusiast of mystery and fantasy novels, I am always delighted to find a series that manages to blend the two in an effective and engaging way, and Daryl Wood Gerber’s Fairy Garden Mystery series does just that. Her fifth book, A Twinkle of Trouble, follows our heroine Courtney Kelly during Carmel-by-the-Sea’s Summer Blooms Festival. Her fairy garden shop Open Your Imagination is hosting a booth this year alongside many other local shops and influencers. Other than excitement for the event itself, Courtney is glad for the distraction. Her stalwart companion Fiona has been gone for a bit, having returned to the fairy realm to see her family. Worry for her righteous fairy friend, and what reception she might have received at home, Courtney is determined to focus on the festival as well as some other new side projects. Not to mention her blossoming romance with local restaurant owner, Brady Cash. read more

Leslie Meier: Patchwork Quilt Murder

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Lucy Stone #30

Leslie Meier has delighted us with twenty-nine Lucy Stone Mysteries, and hits the thirty book milestone with Patchwork Quilt Murder. Lucy Stone works as a reporter for Tinker Cove’s local paper, The Courier. Her investigative skills have helped Lucy, in her small town in Maine, solve many a crime alongside the local police. In Patchwork Quilt Murder the town is taking on the new community center with its high-priced director, Darleen Busby-Platt. As with any tax payer funded project, there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. Some think it cost too much, some are more focused on Darleen and her questionable price tag, while others are focusing on the possible environmental harm the community center might cause in the long run. Darleen is more than pleased to talk to Lucy Stone, and mentions the first sponsored event will focus on handmade quilts including her own mother’s historical one. Lucy’s interest in the event, however, does not distract from her noticing how flashy Darleen happens to be, and how abusive she is to her own staff. Despite how wonderful Darleen makes everything out to be, there seems to be more to the story. read more

Paige Shelton: The Poison Pen

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Scottish Bookshop #9

Paige Shelton’s Scottish Bookshop Mystery series follows Delaney Nichols. Delaney’s adventures take place in Edinburgh as she works for the specialty bookstore, The Cracked Spine, and its connected and more secretive warehouse. The Poison Pen takes place just after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Even though Delaney is American by birth, she feels the loss deeply. Work is a welcome distraction, and Delaney’s curious nature is piqued when her boss, Edwin McAlister, asks her to go and investigate a friend’s claims about an interesting artifact they found on their property. The secretive nature of the item, and Edwin’s special interest, lets Delaney know that she is in for something big. read more

Nancy Coco: Three Fudges and a Baby

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Candy Coated Mystery #12

Three Fudges and a Baby is Nancy Coco’s twelfth book in her Candy Coated Mystery series. Allie McMurphy is our protagonist, and she has one of the most important jobs on Earth: Fudge Maker. She is also a hotel manager for her Mackinac McMurphy hotel, but that’s not nearly important as her attached fudge shop, at least as far as I’m concerned. Allie loves her hotel and fudge shop equally, but has a bit of a problem taking a step away from her work. She has integrated herself into the culture of the island, and has become a staple thanks to winning a fudge competition the year before. Her best friend Jen also lives on the island, and is expecting her first baby any day. Her support system is in place for her to have the baby on the island instead of on the mainland hospital. She even has a Doula, Hannah, to be there to advocate and support her through the birth. read more

Karen Rose Smith: Murder Marks the Page

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Tomes & Tea #1

I have been a longtime fan of Karen Rose Smith’s Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series. I cannot really express how thrilled I was to hear Karen Rose Smith was starting a spin-off series focusing on Daisy Swanson’s daughter Jazzi. Murder Marks the Page follows Jazzi to New York State’s Belltower Landing where she opened Tomes & Tea with her college friend Dawn. Belltower Landing is a resort town and flourishes during the summer months with tourists and boating activities aplenty. As a brand new business, Tomes & Tea faces the challenges of the first year, not being sure what their fiscal outcome will be, or if they’ll even be able to stay afloat once the tourists depart at the end of summer. read more

Olivia Blacke: Rhythm and Clues

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Record Shop #3

Music, murder, and mayhem await in Olivia Blacke’s Rhythm and Clues. In the true spirit of family business, three sisters have opened and run a record and coffee shop known as the Spin & Sip in Cedar River, Texas. Tansey, Maggie, and Juni Jessup have their own specialties, but are all involved in the daily running on the shop. However, Juni adds a little extra spice to their lives that isn’t just in the pumpkin lattes. She’s a very efficient amateur sleuth with a reputation of successfully solving murders about town. While her sisters would prefer for Juni to keep out of any dangerous situations, when in involves their shop they are very supportive of her sleuthing specialty. read more

Christina Estes: Off the Air

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Debut

Reporters: Some love them, some hate them, but most understand they are a necessary part of society if we want to stay aware of current events. Off the Air is Christina Estes’ first mystery novel and follows reporter Jolene Garcia, a TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona. Jolene covers everything from puff pieces to in depth breaking news. She tries to hold onto her integrity to not reveal her sources, and to not publish information that isn’t verified and confirmed, despite the fact that other reporters around her have no qualms of just running with any crumb they’re given. read more