Review: Killer Cupcakes by Leighann Dobbs

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Killer Cupcakes is the first in the Lexy Baker Baker Mysteries by Leighann Dobbs, a free ebook that I found among the others in my Kindle. Though I rarely read ebooks, it was the perfect read for lying in bed - a light cozy with a delightful main character - the owner of a cupcake bakery who has turned amateur sleuth.

In the plot, Lexy's ex-boyfriend has been killed and she becomes the main suspect when her cupcake tops are found to be the vehicle for the murder = poison. Despite warning from a strange man at the funeral, Lexy investigates the murder and enlists sleuthing help from her grandmother and her friends who have formed a detective club at their senior retirement home - using only their iPads and their curiosity online, of course.

Love is in the air as well, as the detective investigating the case takes an interest in the cupcake maker at the same time as he investigates her as a suspect.

First chapter, first paragraph: 

"Sprinkles - no!"Lexy hissed at her dog who was wriggling through a gap in the backyard fence. With a sigh of resignation, she padded out into the yard in her bare feet, her pink cotton pyjama bottoms fluttering around her calves in the late night summer breeze. The glow of the full moon lit the yard well enough for her to see where she was going without a flashlight.

I hope to read more of the series when in the mood for a light cozy mystery, and I may try a few in the author's other series as well.

Green Belt Sudoku by Frank Longo

I figured I could handle Green Belt sudoku, a second degree level, having played easy sudoku for some years. So I've graduated to this book, though I have tackled harder levels too with varied amounts of success.

Green Belt Sudoku describes a slightly different way to solve the puzzles, and combined with my old techniques, has helped my success rate! I use a pencil so I can start over if I mess up, as not all of these puzzles are easy.

My new sudoku book rivals my reading and I don't mind as I can do the puzzles while the TV is on, something I can't do well when I'm in the middle of a book.

And I don't knit or crochet, so.....

Review: Dead to the Last Drop by Cleo Coyle

Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph every Tuesday. Share the first paragraph(s) of your current read or book interest, with information for readers. Also share a teaser from the book with Teaser Tuesday at A Daily Rhythm.

Dead to the Last Drop by Cleo Coyle,  published December 1, 2015 by Berkley.

Genre: cozy mystery

First chapter:"Gardner, get off the phone. "
"Why?" 
 "Just do it!"

Clare Cosi, coffeehouse manager and master roaster, has moved temporarily to Washington DC to open a new coffeehouse. She is asked to provide the coffee for a White House event, but she has to hide the fact that the President's daughter Abby has been sneaking out of the White House to play piano at the coffeehouse's weekly Open Mike jazz sessions. 

When a mysterious man dies at the coffeehouse and Abby goes missing along with the drummer Stan, Clare becomes a suspect for kidnapping and murder. Clare' boyfriend, Detective Mike Quinn takes her into hiding as Clare tries to clear her name, find the President's daughter, and get back to the business of running her coffeeshop.

Mix in DC politics into this coffeehouse mystery and you have an intriguing and suspenseful read. Kudos to Cleo Coyle for her unusual and entertaining plot and an excellent cozy read.

Teaser: (ch. 80)

"They are going to drag the river in the morning for their bodies. And it's all my fault! It's all my fault!"

Objective rating: Five stars

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book. 

Sunday Salon: Winter Reading

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. 
Also visit Mailbox Monday, and Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date. 

A few books came in the mail for review, ending a small book drought.

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz, to be released  March 1, 2016 by Simon and Schuster.
What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan, published December 1, 2015 by William Morrow. I have already read and reviewed this book, so I'll be passing on this copy to another reader. A really good suspense read.
The Daylight Marriage by Heidi Pitlor, paperback published January 5, 2016 by Algonquin. 
Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren, to be published February 2, 2016 by Gallery Books. Not really my kind of book, so this one I'll be passing on as well.

Books from my shelves that I hope to read this winter:

Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard, to be released February 23, 2016 by William Morrow, contemporary fiction
Dear Lucy by Julie Sarkissian, contemporary fiction
The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg, crime fiction

What books are on your reading list this week? 

Romantic Mystery: JAMAICA INN by Daphne Du Maurier

The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice.
Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier, a novel published September 1, 2015 by William Morrow Paperbacks.

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o'clock in the afternoon the pallour of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in mist. It would be dark by four. The air was clammy cold, and for all the tightly closed windows it penetrated the interior of the coach.The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and here must have been a small crack in the roof, because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, smudging the leather and leaving a dark blue stain like a splodge of ink.The wind came in gusts, at times shaking the coast as it travelled round the bend of the road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.  (first chapter)

So atmospheric, this first paragraph. I love reading DuMaurier's prose and enjoy the plots and characters in all of her romantic mystery novels, including this one set in Cornwall, a 2015 reprint.

Page 56: 

Even the horses appeared to understand the need for silence, for they stood motionless.

Would you keep reading, if you have not already read this novel? 

Review: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted weekly by Jill at Breaking the Spine. What new releases are you eagerly waiting for. Link your post to Breaking the Spine

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson, to be released February 15, 2016 by William Morrow
Genre: contemporary fiction
Objective rating: 5/5

My comments: 

Foster homes for girls, single mothers, career success, siblings, family relationships.

There is quite a mixture of themes in this novel, but it works well, and the main character Paula is worth following as she moves from survival in a home for juveniles to becoming a wealthy and successful divorce lawyer, all the while dealing with memories of her gypsy-like mother, Kia, and Kia's legacy.

This is a book to wait for....

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book 

Review: The Witch's Market by Mingmei Yip

Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph every Tuesday. Share the first paragraph(s) of your current read or book interest, with information for readers. Also share a teaser from the book with Teaser Tuesday at A Daily Rhythm.

The Witch's Market by Mingmei Yip, published November 24, 2015 by Kensington

First paragraph: 

When I turned thirty-three, I decided it was time for a big change in my life. It was time to become a witch.  

I have to admit I was not sure this would be a good idea.

Teaser:  

I prided myself in being a modern woman, not an old-fashioned or superstitious one. So, instead of becoming a shamaness like Mother and Laolao, I'd become a scholar of shamanism.

Publisher's description: From the author of Secret of a Thousand Beauties and Peach Blossom Pavilion comes a beautifully written novel of self-discovery and intrigue.

Chinese-American assistant professor Eileen Chen specializes in folk religion at her San Francisco college. Though her grandmother made her living as a shamaness, Eileen publicly dismisses witchcraft as mere superstition. Yet privately, the subject intrigues her.

When a research project takes her to the Canary Islands—long rumored to be home to real witches—Eileen is struck by the lush beauty of Tenerife and its blend of Spanish and Moroccan culture. A stranger invites her to a local market where women sell amulets, charms, and love spells. Gradually Eileen immerses herself in her exotic surroundings, finding romance with a handsome young furniture maker. But as she learns more about the lives of these self-proclaimed witches, Eileen must choose how much trust to place in this new and seductive world, where love, greed, and vengeance can be as powerful, or as destructive, as any magic.

My comments: The Chinese in general are great believers in ghosts and the supernatural, in an afterlife inhabited by ghosts. The author explores some of these beliefs in a modern context - a young Chinese scholar searches for the mysterious on an island that is believed to be inhabited by the ghostly - the Canary Islands. 

This novel uses an intriguing blend of superstitious belief, traditional folk culture and scholarly interest in an aspect of Chinese culture. The main character, Eileen Chen, is on an odyssey, exploring places real and magical on the islands, and interweaving old beliefs into her story.

An unusual read that will be interesting to those intrigued by the supernatural and in those able to reach out to "the other side."

Thanks to the author for a review copy of her book.