Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday

Welcome to this week's edition of Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday!

We hope you enjoy our choices.

Two Down, Bun To Go (Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 3) by H.Y. Hanna

From the publisher: A sinister phone call in the middle of the night throws tearoom owner, Gemma Rose, straight into the heart of a new murder mystery--this time with her friend, Seth, arrested as the key suspect! The grisly killing in the cloisters of an old Oxford college points to a bitter feud within the University--but Gemma finds unexpected clues popping up in her tiny Cotswolds village.

Meanwhile, her love life is in turmoil as Gemma struggles to decide between eminent doctor, Lincoln Green, and sexy CID detective, Devlin O'Connor... whilst her quaint English tearoom is in hot water as she struggles to find a new baking chef.

With her exasperating mother and her mischievous little tabby cat, Muesli, driving her nutty as a fruitcake--and the nosy Old Biddies at her heels--Gemma must crack her toughest case yet if she is to save her friend from a life behind bars.

Tortie Shorties Review: I tore through this delicious little mystery so fast that my Kindle is still smoking! 

The third installment of the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries finds Gemma attempting to clear her old college friend Seth's name after he's accused of murdering a professor he had been arguing with over the construction of a housing project for the homeless. In addition to hunting down the real killer Gemma is faced with making a decision between the two men in her life, sexy detective Devlin and the doctor her mother is trying to set her up with it. Her mother has her stressed out as well over her latest online obsession: travel sites which has her planning dangerous trips with her best friend. Plus she has to get serious about hiring a new baker for the tearoom.

Gemma's elderly friends the Old Biddies team up to help with the sleuthing and end up way in over their heads leading to a heart-pounding capture of the killer. She makes new friends too in the form of a down on his luck man and his sweet dog. And once again her precious tabby Muesli gets into plenty of mischief while also making it perfectly which of Gemma's romantic interests gets her paw of approval!

If you're a cat lover or a fan of British mysteries, you absolutely must read this series. Each can be read as a standalone but why not treat yourself to all 3 books and go on a Cotswolds vacation this summer through the pages of a book!

Reading Up a Storm (A Lighthouse Library Mystery) by Eva Gates

From the publisher: Misfortune blows into North Carolina’s Outer Banks when a dead body in a boat on the shore leaves local librarian Lucy Richardson racing to solve a strange new mystery....

After a successful party at Bodie Island’s Lighthouse Library, librarian Lucy Richardson is ready to curl up with her cat, Charles, and a good book. But her R and R is cut short when she notices some mysterious lights leading a small boat to crash into the coast.

The two shipwrecked seafarers survive the ordeal—but one of them shows up dead ashore a few days later. Lucy finds herself again roped into a murder investigation and navigating a sea of suspects, all of whom had motives to deep-six the deceased. And this time, she has a sinking feeling that finding the real killer won’t be so easy...

Tortie Shorties Review: Lucy's life as a librarian in a historic lighthouse where she also gets to live would be darned near perfect if not for the nasty habit she's made out of finding dead bodies on the premises!

In this third installment of the Lighthouse Library mystery series Lucy witnesses a small boat almost run around during a storm thanks to strange lights on shore. At the next book club meeting she meets the couple that were rescued, William Williamson and his much younger girlfriend Marlene. When he's found dead shortly after Lucy's good friend Stephanie (who's in town caring for her mother who was recently in a terrible car accident) is the main suspect thanks to her shocking connection to the victim. Twists and turns abound and while I had my suspicions I was kept guessing until the very end.

The book club in Reading Up a Storm is reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson so a lot of the story revolves around ship wrecks and ghosts which is wonderfully creepy. Lucy's love life is also front and center as is her relationship with her delightful co-workers at the library. And last but certainly not least there's Charlie the library cat who has a visceral reaction to the killer long before Lucy suspects a thing!