Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday (w/Giveaway!)

Meows from Mudpie!

We have 3 book reviews for you again this week...with a twist! We're excited to be able to give away a set of all 3 books to one lucky winner in the US. To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below!

We hope you enjoy our choices.

By Familiar Means (A Witch's Cat Mystery) by Delia James

From the publisher: After discovering her mystical heritage—and being adopted by furry feline familiar Alistair—artist Annabelle Britton has decided to make picturesque Portsmouth, New Hampshire, her new home. Now, she can take the time to figure out her new abilities and welcome her grandmother, who is visiting Portsmouth, and her old coven, for the first time in thirty years. 

But being a witch doesn’t magically put money in the bank. When she’s hired to paint the murals for a new coffee house, it seems like a wish come true. But then a series of spooky sounds and strange happenings convince the owners that their new shop is haunted. They want Anna and her coven to evict the restless spirit before the grand opening.

Annabelle is certain the haunted happenings at the shop are just hocus pocus. But when her search reveals hidden smugglers’ tunnels beneath the shop—and a dead body—Annabelle, Alastair, and the coven suddenly find themselves in a cat and mouse game with a killer...

Tortie Shorties Review: The first book in the Witch's Cat mystery series was one of my favorites of 2015 so I've been on pins and needles waiting for By Familiar Means! Annabelle needs to start bringing in money so she takes a job painting a mural for the new coffee house owned by her friends Jake and Miranda. The couple fears the shop is haunted so they ask Anna to use her witchy powers to investigate. What she finds is the dead body of a nearby hotel's sous chef in the secret tunnels below the shop. Anna suspects the various members of the family that own the hotel, and the identity of the killer is a perplexing mystery until the very end.

The scene stealer here (besides the furry familiars) is Anna's Grandma B.B. who's visiting Portsmouth to help Anna learn more about her heritage, while also renewing her quarrel with Anna's mentor Julia. Of course Alistair the magical cat is always there when Anna needs him (when he's not otherwise occupied by catnip trips and Miss Boots the hotel cat) and leads her to the necessary clues.

Be prepared to be entranced by a world of fun, fantasy and four-legged familiars!

Cancelled by Murder (A Postmistress Mystery) by Jean Flowers

From the publisher: Cassie Miller returned to her sleepy hometown in the Berkshires to start over as the new postmistress. But she soon finds that dead letters are nothing compared to murder victims...

With a massive storm about to hit North Ashcot, Massachusetts, threatening floods and widespread wind damage, Cassie is forced to close up the post office along with the rest of the local business owners and residents, who are battening down the hatches and bracing themselves for the worst.

Although the storm proves not to be as bad as predicted, fabric shop owner Daisy Harmon is found dead, seemingly killed by a fallen branch. But the police quickly determine that her death had nothing to do with foul weather and everything to do with foul play. After Daisy’s widowed husband approaches her to help solve his wife’s murder, Cassie vows to find the killer before another innocent victim is taken by storm.

Tortie Shorties Review: The life of a small town postmistress is such a fascinating premise for a cozy mystery series. In this second book a huge storm is making it's way towards North Ashcot and everyone is busy battening down the hatches. On Cassie's way home she sees Daisy Harmon of Daisy’s Fabrics closing up shop. Daisy ends up being the sole casualty of a storm that thankfully isn't as bad as predicted; she's found dead under a fallen tree limb. Who on earth could want an innocent fabric shop owner dead? Daisy's husband asks Cassie to find out, and she ends up uncovering a wealth of information thanks to all the local gossip at the post office. Even in gentile small town New England local politics is a nasty business!

Crepe Factor (A Scrapbooking Mystery) by Laura Childs

From the publisher: The holidays are a busy time for scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand—but not so hectic that she doesn’t have time to enjoy browsing the booths at the Winter Market with her best friend Ava. The last thing the ladies expect to see is a lurching man stabbed by a serving fork, dying in front of them.

The victim is loathed restaurant critic Martin Lash, who posted his scathing reviews on the Glutton for Punishment website. And the prime suspect is New Orleans restauranteur Quigg Brevard—who was seen giving the critic a tongue-lashing minutes before someone stuck a fork in him. An old flame of Carmela, Quigg asks for her help, which does not please her current beau, Detective Edgar Babcock, to say the least.

Before her relationship is the next victim, Carmela needs to find a murderer who had no reservations about punishing the culinary curmudgeon...

Tortie Shorties Review: Laura Childs' Scrapbooking mystery series has long been special to me because it's set in New Orleans, one of my favorite locales for a cozy. The vivid descriptions of the Big Easy in these books instantly makes me feel like I'm on Bourbon Street, eating a Muffuletta or beignet and sipping on a cafe au lait. The fact that Crepe Factor also takes place during the holiday season is just icing on the cake. The murder of a despised food writer at the Winter Market (a serving fork to the carotid artery!) plunges Carmela into her 14th adventure when she gets involved because an old flame is the prime suspect, much to the chagrin of her current love Detective Edgar Babcock. Carmela is forced to walk a fine line to catch a killer, protect her relationship, and survive to see Christmas!

Disclaimer: I received free copies of these books from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

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