Good Day! Flowers and Foul Play by Amanda Flower comes out on May 8. It is the first book in A Magic Garden Mystery series. I cannot wait to read it. Best Beach Ever by Wendy Wax will be out on May 22.
The Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth J. Duncan is the ninth book in A Penny Brannigan Mystery series. Mrs. Lloyd has wrangled Penny Brannigan into assisting
with the annual Llanelen agriculture show.
Penny and Victoria Hopkirk co-own Llanelen Spa in Llanelen, North Wales. They are accepting the domestic arts entries
and get their instructions from Joyce Devlin, president of the show committee. A half an hour before the deadline, they
notice that Florence Semble has yet to drop off her entries and give her a
call. It seems that someone had telephoned
and told her she could drop off her entries the next morning (odd). Penny is judging the children’s pet
competition the next day when a little girl gets upset because her grandmother,
Gaynor Lewis failed to show up. Gaynor
is not the only thing missing at the agriculture show. Florence’s carrot cake and her marmalade entries
have disappeared as well. Joyce’s dog
soon finds Florence’s cake under a table in the judging tent along with Gaynor Lewis. Was someone trying to eliminate the
competition? Penny looks into the victim’s
life to see who could have wished her harm and soon discovers that these
competitions are taken seriously by the competitors. One women has something to important to tell
Penny, but she ends up dead before she can speak with her. Penny needs to work quickly to expose the
killer or she could be next.
The Marmalade Murders can be read
alone. The information a reader needs is
included in the book. I thought The
Marmalade Murders was well-written and had a nice pace which made the story
easy to read and enjoy. The characters
are established and relatable (especially to those who live in small
towns). Mrs. Lloyd and Florence are
delightful. They provide levity to the
story. I especially appreciate that the
main character is in her 50s. It is a
refreshing change from other cozy mysteries where the characters are in their
late 20s and early 30s. Penny is smart, friendly, caring and level-headed. The village of Llanelen is charming and the
author’s descriptions of the Welsh countryside brought it alive for me. Llanelen is a small village where the people
grew up together, everyone knows each other’s business, and the rumor mill is
alive and well. I think it is funny that
after living in Llanelen for thirty years, Penny is still considered an
outsider. The mystery has several suspects
who each have a good motive for doing in the victim. I liked the misdirection that could easily
lead readers down the wrong path. The
investigation consists of Penny asking questions of the various townspeople. I felt that the story could have used some
action. Inspector Bethan Morgan is a friendly
detective who values Penny’s input into the case. She realizes that Penny has access to
information that she does not. I did
enjoy the historical information on Speke Hall (there really is a Speke Hall
outside Liverpool). The Speke Hall in
the book has a priest hole and an eavesdropper (just like the real Speke Hall). The Marmalade Murders has a sweet,
heartwarming moment at the end. I am
giving The Marmalade Murders 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). It was lovely to visit Llanelen again and
spend time with Penny, Mrs. Lloyd and the other villagers. I look forward to returning to Wales in the
next A Penny Brannigan Mystery.
Thank you for stopping by today. I will return on Friday with my review of The Road Home by Beverly Lewis. I hope you have a beautiful spring day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
Thank you for stopping by today. I will return on Friday with my review of The Road Home by Beverly Lewis. I hope you have a beautiful spring day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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