Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber and a new series by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Hi all. Still working at home. It is becoming pretty clear as we listen between the sentences in our virtual meetings, we will not be going in the office this summer. We seemed to have gotten the kinks out of the virtual meetings, learned to put fake "backgrounds" up so we don't have to straighten up the room when we meet (or turning off video works), and our Yoga instructor is offering our classes we used to have at work, via Zoom. Had three classes so far and they have worked pretty well.

Meanwhile this week I finished:

Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber. It is Cookbook Nook Mystery #9. I love the cover. Cats, books and food. Three of my favorite things. It is a cozy.



About: "The Agatha Award–winning author of Sifting Through Clues returns to the Cookbook Nook, where a combative food reporter gets her just deserts . . .

The denizens of Crystal Cove are salivating over the upcoming Food Bowl Week, when local chefs offer some of their best and most imaginative creations in bite-size portions all over town. Bookstore proprietor Jenna Hart is hungry to sample as many of the delicacies as she can, but when she stumbles onto the dead body of a local food reporter and learns that her best friend’s husband is the primary suspect, she’ll have to summon the appetite for a side dish of sleuthing to prove his innocence.

Jenna knows the ambitious and aggressive reporter, who was strangled at a fitness center with her shredded restaurant reviews scattered around her, left behind a long list of potential suspects. As she begins piecing together the scant clues, she uncovers illicit ties between the victim and a local newspaper owner, a spurned would-be lover, and a host of disgruntled restaurant owners not a bit torn up by the critical reporter’s demise. And with a solution so close she can almost taste it, Jenna turns up the heat on the culprit, realizing too late that she’s the next course on the murderer’s menu."

Although I have not read every book in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the small town setting with the continued development of so many of the characters. You feel like you are right there in Crystal Cove.

Just another day in Crystal Cove for Jenna; running her bookstore, getting ready for Food Bowl, wedding planning and finding a dead body. Jenna has a personal interest in finding the killer because her best friend's husband is the main suspect. Really good story as we follow step by step as Jenna uses her amateur sleuthing skills, to question citizens of Crystal Cove to try to solve the murder. As if that isn't enough, she is planning her wedding to Rhett, but he seems to be unavailable more that usual. 

I like how Jenna brings her cat to her bookstore everyday while she works. I am intrigued by it because I have two cats and they are not going anywhere, thank you very much. There are several great sounding recipes at the back of this book. They actually look like things a real person could make. There is a grilled cheese sandwich on my TBC (to be cooked) list.

I have talked about Daryl Wood Gerber last April. She writes several series and has a new one coming out 6/30/20. A Sprinkling of Murder - A Fairy Garden Mystery. I really like her Aspen Adams series which is a suspense series. 

Here is her website: https://darylwoodgerber.com/

Another book I had read a couple months ago as a part of an ARC group, came out yesterday, 5/14/20.

Spooks for Sale by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson - Magical Real Estate book 1

About: "My name is Alyssa Grey, and I have no idea what I’m doing… in life, love, with my magic powers—you name it.

Working as a personal assistant to the busiest realtor in the small Southern town of Swan Hallow always kept me plenty busy, but then my boss’s partner died and I got a promotion... Just without the extra pay.

Now I’m showing old homes, and every single one of them is haunted. As a witch, I’m not supposed to be able to see ghosts. But I do. And they know I do. And I know they know I do. And, oh boy.

Worse yet, an apparition that looks an awful lot like my boss’s dead partner has come knocking, and demanding I solve her murder. I’ve been given an ultimatum: help or die. It looks like I can’t really trust anyone any more. Will my cat, mouse familiar, and a new shapeshifter friend be enough to help me get the job done in what little time I have left?"

I enjoyed this book too. Supernatural cozy, short, quick read, light, and fun to read. Not a spooky ghost story. Just a light, magical mystery.

I like the concept of the town of Swan Hallow, where magical people i.e. witches, shapeshifters, live amongst the humans. Alyssa is a witch trying to make a living. Her realtor boss asks her to try to figure out why a house isn't selling. It happens to be the house where their coworker Holly died. When Alyssa visits the house, Holly's spirit appears and asks her for help. Alyssa makes it her mission to find out what happened to Holly. As the investigation unfolds, Alyssa gets her "familiar" which I love. She also finds some things about her past. If you like magical, supernatural but light stories, you will like this. I was reminded of Bewitched and Harry Potter. I absolutely loved the ending.

Carolyn also rights several cozy mystery series, and is working on a suspense novel.

Here is Carolyn's website: https://carolynridderaspenson.com/

I received ARC's for both of these books and voluntarily provided these reviews.

I am currently listening to A Better Man by Louise Penny and reading a book by a new author to me.

Until next week...