Darci Hannah: A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor

Food & Spirits #1

Paranormal cozies are tricky things because the author has to balance a mystery that is solvable by the very corporeal detectives, while working in elements of myth and legend that often provide incorporeal clues. Darci Hannah starts off a new series with A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor. At first, I wasn’t sure when the paranormal was going to play in, as the main character Bridget “Bunny” MacBride is a chef on a cooking show under the main host. She is then offered a new contract where she will be the primary chef on a series that will be called Food & Spirits. Now, Bunny made one rather large mistake when accepting this particular job – she didn’t explore the contract thoroughly before signing. If she had, she might have seen that the ‘Spirit’ part of the show was not referring to beverages but to the dearly departed. Her main role is to be preparing meals to attract sprits to the table. Needless to say, she was far from pleased with that turn of events, but decides to stick with her contract and make the best of it. She keeps her fingers crossed that nothing spooky happens to her. read more

Darci Hannah: Murder at the Blarney Bash

Beacon Bakeshop #5

Darci Hannah starts Murder at the Blarney Bash mystery running. Literally. The main focus of the story runs full speed into our heroine Lindsey’s car on her way home with her trusty Newfoundland, Wellington. However, whoever it was got away before she could ensure their well being, or find out who they were. Or what they were. She does not have time to dwell on it, as a league of leprechauns is heading right to her Beacon Bakeshop. Leprechaun children, that is, from the local school who are all looking forward to a Saint Patrick’s Day celebration chock full of tasty green pastries. So Lindsey has to race to beat them there, or at least not be too late. read more

Darci Hannah: Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant

Beacon Bakeshop #4

For those of us who prefer the cooler autumn months, picking up a copy of Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah is a good way to put the summer on pause. This is the fourth book of her Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series. It takes place during Halloween, and  baker and amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell has the pumpkin spice everything in full swing. Her bakery is inside the local old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor, Michigan. While it had to undergo many renovations to be bake-shop ready, the biggest trademark of the lighthouse remains: the ghost of the late lighthouse keeper Captain Willy Riggs. Everyone in town knows Captain Riggs haunts the lighthouse, and even creates “ghost lights” that seem to always harbinger some fatal danger. While Lindsey is a firm believer in her ghostly roommate, she is not so keen on the town seeing her bakery as a local haunted hot spot. read more