Flowers and Foul Play: A Magic Garden Mystery by Amanda Flower

The theme for January's book club is Mystery.  We can read any mystery we want, and when you think about it, there's an overwhelming amount of mysteries to choose from, and it can be hard to decide. Do you go classic, with Agatha Christie, or Sherlock Holmes? Do you go with historical, or contemporary? Cozy, noir, or police procedural? What if you just want to read a stand alone mystery? Do they even exist anymore, in a genre that is mostly built on series? 

Phew. A lot to think about. I started reading the second in Louise Penny's series, after reading Still Life last year and falling in deep like with everything about her writing and storyline. Then I was perusing through my stacks of books, and found a few cozy mysteries that I had received from a publisher last year and hadn't read yet. So I read Bad Neighbors by Maia Chance and it got me on the cozy mystery bandwagon. I've read them before, but mysteries have never been a huge part of my reading life. I've attempted over the years to dig in, and I always get distracted. 

I have discovered that I do love a good cozy mystery. And yes, it is weird to think of a novel that involves someone being murdered as cozy, but essentially they are pretty cozy. They usually involve a main character who isn't a detective; but generally a female who runs a cafe, a bakery, a quilting shop, a bookstore, an antique shop...you get the picture. They're usually set in a small town or village, and there isn't any graphic violence; there's just a dead body that appears to throw a wrench into the everyday happenings of the main character. I find myself gravitating towards cozy mysteries that involve a bit of magic, and that's how I picked up Flowers and Foul Play. I was checking in returned books at the library one day, and thought it looked intriguing AND it met my mystery requirement for January. 

So, a quick synopsis: Fiona Knox has come to Scotland to claim her inheritance from her godfather, who was killed in an overseas military battle. Duncreigan is a little stone cottage and one interesting garden, a few miles from the village of Bellewick, near the coast of Scotland. Running from a failed flower shop, and an ex-fiancee who ditched her for another woman, Fiona is heartbroken at her Uncle Ian's death, but welcomes the chance to get away from Tennessee for awhile. She's only arrived at Duncreigan and greeted Hamish, the elderly groundskeeper, when she stumbles upon a dead body in the garden. Not the welcome she was expecting!

What follows is a mystery revolving around Alastair Croft, the village lawyer who  was murdered by someone in Bellewick, but who? Chief Inspector Neil Craig has everyone on the suspect list, including Hamish. Can Fiona clear Hamish's name, and find out who killed Alastair and left him in her garden?

Oh--the garden is magical, by the way. As soon as Fiona arrives, what was a garden full of dead plants, trees, and ivy begins to transform into a beautiful, blooming wonder. Fiona is confused, and a letter explaining all sent by her Uncle Ian never arrived, so she's clueless about the magical garden. What's in that letter?

Aside from a few editing boo-boos, this was an entertaining read over the weekend. I will definitely read the second in the series, Death and Daisies. 

I can't wait to see what else unfolds for Fiona at Duncreigan. I've found a delightful series that will keep me exploring cozy mysteries all year long. 

Rating:  4/6 for a fun cozy that was a quick read. The setting, the potential romance between Fiona and  Chief Inspector Neil Craig, and the characters who populate the village of Bellewick all make this a series I'll continue to enjoy. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

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Flowers and Foul Play: A Magic Garden Mystery by Amanda Flower

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

It's unusual for me to read two books by the same author back to back, but I couldn't wait to see what else was in store for Polly in the little island town of Polbearne in this sequel to Little Beach Street Bakery.  I'm happy to say the continuing adventures of my favorite bread baker are just as entertaining as the first novel.  

Polly is looking forward to a summer of bread baking, the increased traffic into her bakery, and living in her lighthouse.  Her love life is pretty sweet, too.  She's the happiest she's ever been.  And you know what that means--cue the chaos.  

Mrs. Manse has left Polly in charge of both bakeries, but tragedy strikes with the sudden death of Mrs. Manse.  A visit from her sister and two adult nephews to Polbearne puts Polly's bakery in jeopardy.  Malcolm, a very unpleasant man with no business sense at all, is put in charge of the bakeries, and wants to change from Polly's wildly popular breads to white, thin, plastic-wrapped bread and biscuits that come in tins and have the shelf life of a rock. For Malcolm, it's all about saving money and making money, and Polly's dream of her little bakery is shattered.

Fast running out of money, and worrying about making her mortgage payments, Polly and Huckle decide the only thing to do is for him to return to America for a few months to make money on the family farm in Georgia.  It's only temporary, right? Meanwhile, will Polly keep baking or hang up her apron?

Poor Polly.  She befriends Selina, a young widow in town, and begins a friendship that unfortunately has a few secrets. Secrets that may end up costing Polly the only female friend she has in Polbearne.  This is a summer that's turning out to be rough!  Will Polly come out smiling at the end?

I sincerely hope Jenny Colgan continues to write about this lovely place off the coast of Cornwall.  I've got a firm picture in my head of just what it looks like, and I don't want to imagine that this place and these people don't exist.  Real life problems, big and small, people who are hard working, kind and solid to their core.  A romance that has growing pains, but worth it all.  Friendships that mature and grow.  And yes, a nagging itch to maybe, just maybe, try to make homemade bread myself.  

Rating:  7/10 for a solid sequel, with challenges to careers and relationships that aren't far fetched.  A small town that has all the best characteristics of small town life.  And yes, the bread!  I can smell it now.

Available March 22nd, 2016 in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audio.

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Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

I've returned to what's referred to as "chick lit" for a bit, and I'm loving it.  In my humble opinion, no one can write chick lit quite like the British.  Jenny Colgan is a very popular writer in England, and some of her books are available in the U.S.  The number keeps growing as her fan base increases.  You can add me to that list of fans.  

Once again, I grabbed this book off my bookshelves.  Still had the receipt in it dated April 1, 2015.  Almost a whole year!  I have looked at this book many times on my shelf, and even picked it up a few times.  But the time just wasn't right, and I wasn't in the mood to read it.  Jump to 2016 and I'm raring to go.  Part of the push was the fact that Jenny has a sequel to Little Beach Street Bakery coming out very soon, so I had to read the first so I can be ready to read the sequel.  Look for the review of Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery next week.  

Polly Waterford is at a bad spot in her life:  her relationship with her live-in boyfriend is on the rocks, the business they worked so hard at establishing has ended, and they're broke.  Her boyfriend is a pretty miserable person (trust me, I wanted to reach into the novel and throttle him), and Polly ends up practically penniless and with nowhere to live.  Seeking peace and a place to lick her wounds, she ends up in the little town of Mount Polbearne in Cornwall.  This is a town that's a bit down on its luck, and is a bit isolated by the tides that cover the causeway every day, making Polbearne an island each day when the tide comes in--in other words, perfect for Polly.  She rents a rough flat above a bakery that sits silent and dusty, and begins to rebuild her life.  

Polly has, of course, a gift for making bread.  She's gotten away from it, thanks to a boyfriend who wouldn't eat bread, but here in this little town, she begins to knead and fold her way into a new life.  What starts out at therapy quickly grows into making bread for the men who fish the waters off Cornwall, and word gets around that Polly makes the best bread anyone's ever had.  Of course, there is one particular person who isn't happy about this--Polly's landlord, Mrs.  Manse.  She runs the town's only bakery, and it is terrible.  Mass produced and trucked in bread and desserts that taste horrible.  Mrs. Manse's history with the town, and the fishing boats, is a sad one that shapes Polly's life and her future.  

And then there is Huckle, an American who lives off the 'island' and has a beekeeping business,  His bees produce the best honey around.  Is he a friend, or something more?  Will Polly stay in Mount Polbearne, or move back to Plymouth and pick up her old life?

This was a well written novel about starting over.  Sometimes we have to lose everything to find that kernel, that spark, that makes us happy.  Some people are lucky and know it from the start, without having to experience heartache, and others, well... it can take awhile.  Polly is a great character; just an average woman looking for her place in the world.  We can all connect with her. The people of Polbearne are a wonderful cast of characters who love their little town, warts and all.  

Rating:  8/10 for a setting that fired up my imagination, fantastic descriptions of bread that made my mouth water, and characters I can't wait to visit again in the sequel.  My only beef is the cover!  Polly bakes bread, not cupcakes.  

Available in paperback, e-book, and audio book.  

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Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan