Death of a Pumkin Carver

I received a copy of Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This Halloween, Hayley can't imagine a worse trick than her ex-husband Danny returning to Bar Harbor. Her kids may be happy to see their dad, but Hayley's determined not to be taken in by his charms, and suspects he's in financial trouble—again.
Still, the haunted holiday is about to get a whole lot scarier after Danny's moonshine-making uncle is found lying dead next to a tombstone in a cemetery—and Danny quickly becomes the prime suspect. To prove her ex is innocent, Hayley will have to dig deep into her own bag of tricks to unmask the real culprit . . . before anyone else—including her—ends up in the graveyard...

A good book that kept me guessing until the end.  The added recipes were a nice extra.  Hayley's ex-husband Danny has come back to town un-expectantly.  He's nothing but trouble as far as Hayley's concerned but her kids are very happy to see their dad.  When Danny's uncle is found dead Danny becomes the prime suspect.  Hayley doesn't like her ex but she does know that he's not a killer.  Will they be able to work together to find the murderer before they're next?

A Catered Tea Party

I received a copy of A Catered Tea Party by Isis Crawford from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone in Longely is talking about Blue House, an art complex that will bring the town a theater, an art gallery, and even a restaurant and coffee bar. But they're less than enthusiastic about Ludvoc “Zeb” Zalinsky, the self-made billionaire who's funding the complex—and rubbing everyone the wrong way. Bernie and Libby reluctantly agree to cater the Alice in Wonderland themed tea party he's planned, but it quickly becomes clear that Zeb is madder than the hatter he'll be dressed as . . .
 
 The night of the benefit arrives and Westchester's finest show up in droves, having paid $500 apiece to attend Zeb's meticulously-orchestrated tea party. But just when it seems the production is going according to plan, Zeb lifts an electric tea kettle, clutches his chest, and falls to the floor in fittingly dramatic fashion. The kettle shorted out and his pacemaker malfunctioned—but it doesn't take long for police to decide that this seemingly random accident was actually cold-blooded murder . . .
 
 As Bernie and Libby set out to find the culprit, they realize Zeb might have had more enemies than money. With so many possible culprits to sort through, only one thing is clear: Zeb was poured a steaming cup of revenge—and a second serving may be on the menu…

This was a different book with an English vibe.  Ludvoc Zalinsky is a pain to everyone in town.  He opens Blue House an art complex that will have a theater, art gallery and restaurant.  Twins Bernie and Libby agree to cater the first play in Blue House, Alice in Wonderland, a tea party.  Things go from bad to worse when Zalinsky turns up dead.  The main suspect is the producer of Alice in Wonderland but can Bernie and Libby find the real killer in time?

Fixing Perfect

I received a copy of Fixing Perfect by Theresa M. Travis from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In the community of Avalon on Catalina Island, a psychopath is kidnapping children and perfectly posing and painting the bodies of adult victims to resemble disabled artist, Robin Ingram. Robin struggles with feelings of imperfection, and knowing some madman has a macabre agenda—which includes fixing her—is unsettling. She's relieved when paramedic Sam Albrecht steps up to help. Sam believes he knows the identity of the killer, and he wants nothing more than to prove it in order to keep Robin out of danger. Then Sam is arrested as a suspect for the crimes, and Robin's life is thrown into a fresh whirlwind. She may not know who the real killer is, but she does know Sam is innocent--and she will find the proof to set him free, or she'll die trying.

This was a really good book.  Robin Ingram is disabled but that doesn't stop her from living life to the fullest.  Each Saturday she plays softball with a group of other disabled people from the community of Avalon on Catalina Island.  When a madman starts kidnapping children and posing them to resemble her she and everyone in the community is on edge.  A good friend, and Robin's crush, Sam Albrecht helps in the search of the killer.  When Sam finds one of the children in a building that had already been searched he becomes the prime suspect.  Can Robin help the police find the real killer before it's too late?

Wedding Bell Blues

I received a copy of Wedding Bell Blues by Ruth Moose from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Beth McKenzie, owner of the Dixie Dew Bed and Breakfast, is enjoying an exciting affair with her new love, Scott. Meanwhile, the town of Littleboro, North Carolina is abuzz with gossip about Crazy Reba's upcoming nuptials. Most brides go crazy at some point, but Littleboro's resident homeless lady has had a head start: she's beloved, indulged, and most of all, eccentric. But at almost 60—or thereabouts—her marriage seems a little peculiar. Sure, she's sporting a diamond big enough to choke a horse, but no one can tell if it's real, or just a Cracker Jack prize she pilfered from a yard sale.
Crazy Reba's wedding plans go confirmedly awry when the bride-to-be is arrested for her fiancé's murder. Beth, determined to clear Reba's name, gets in over her head when a lady wrestler who threatened to kill her books a room at the Dixie Dew, and Robert Redford, her neighbor's white rabbit, disappears.
This was a hard book for me to get into.  Beth owns the Dixie Dew a bed and breakfast in Littleboro North Carolina.  The police chief in town sees Beth as always in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There has already been one death in the Dixie Dew and Beth is going to do her best to make sure there aren't any more.  Crazy Reba is the towns resident homeless lady that everyone keeps an eye on.  When she starts talking about getting married to God the women in town do everything to make the day one Reba won't ever forget.  Will there be a wedding in June?

Curious Minds

I received a copy of Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emerson Knight is introverted, eccentric, and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he's also brilliant, rich, and (some people might say) handsome, or he'd probably be homeless. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with mega-bank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight.
 
 What starts off as an inquiry about missing bank funds in the Knight account leads to inquiries about a missing man, missing gold, and a life-and-death race across the country. Through the streets of Washington, D.C., and down into the underground vault of the Federal Reserve in New York City, an evil plan is exposed. A plan so sinister that only a megalomaniac could think it up, and only the unlikely duo of the irrepressibly charming Emerson Knight and the tenacious Riley Moon can stop it.

What a great book!  I hadn't read any of Janet Evanovich's books until now.  I really want to read more of them.  Emerson and Riley are total opposites but that doesn't stop them from working together to get to the bottom of the missing man and gold.  Using Emerson's family money and influence to travel across the country tracking fake gold and doing their best to stay alive.  Riley goes from thinking she's babysitting Emerson to seeing his true talents.  Will it be enough?

The Crepes of Wrath

I received a copy of The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Marley McKinney's aging cousin, Jimmy, is hospitalized with pneumonia, she agrees to help run his pancake house while he recovers. With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it—and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff.
 After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy's workshop, Marley is determined to find out what's really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she's not careful, she's going to get burned by a killer who's only interested in serving up trouble.
A good book that draws you in from the beginning.  Marley has come back to Wildwood Cove to run her cousin's pancake house while he's in the hospital.  She's welcomed into the small community as one of their own.  When her cousin is found dead she and everyone at the pancake house are so shocked.  Will the police be able to find out what happened before something happens to Marley?

Buried Treasures

I received a copy of Buried Treasures by Mary Manenrs from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Caroline flees Chicago following the brutal murder of her husband, the last thing she expects—or wants—is to fall for Matt Carlson, a builder with strong roots in the small town of Mountainview, Tennessee. She needs to focus on raising her six-year-old daughter and protecting both their hearts from ever being shattered again.
 Matt is struggling with issues of his own…guilt over the death of his wife and the responsibility of raising a cynical teenaged nephew who is dropped on his doorstep, abandoned by Matt's alcoholic sister. He doesn't have time to fall in love, yet he can't help being drawn to the woman who is ready to defend her home—and her daughter—with nothing more than a feisty attitude and a broom handle.
Can Matt's help and friendship convince Caroline to trust again…and when Caroline's daughter goes missing, will Matt be able to find the girl before it's too late and he loses everything he loves…again?
A good fast read that pulls you in from the beginning.  Caroline and her daughter, Callie, leave the big city to start over in Mountainview Tennessee.  Her Aunt Nora has left Caroline her house and flees to the country after her husband is murdered.  Nora's neighbor, Matt, has promised to fix up the house before her niece moves in.  When Caroline and Callie arrive a week early Matt meets Caroline welding a broom handle at him.  After the surprise meeting they begin to rely on each other and find ways to move on after great losses.