Greetings! The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters* plus Verse and Vengeance by Amanda Flower are out today. Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling author who has also won the Agatha Award. Amanda started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she had written to her sixth grade class and had them in stitches. Amanda knew then that she had found her calling. Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. Amanda is a former librarian who lives in northeast Ohio and recently became engaged. Her novels include An Amish Candy Shop Mystery series, A Magical Bookshop Mystery series, An Amish Matchmaker Mystery series, An Appleseed Creek Mystery series, and A Magic Garden Mystery series. For more information on Amanda Flower and her books visit her website. Amanda is on Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and Instagram.
Verse and Vengeance by Amanda Flower has Violet Waverly participating in Tour de Cascade Spring with her
beau, Chief David Rainwater. Personally,
Violet would rather read a book, but David wanted them to participate in the
race together (what a girl does for love).
The race was dreamed up by Violet’s grandmother, Daisy to raise funds
for the Cascade Spring Underground Railroad Museum. Foundation issues were uncovered when
construction began at the Village Hall for the museum. Unfortunately, not everyone in town is in
favor of the race or the museum. To top
it off, the pesky private investigator, Joel Redding is back in town and seems
intent on following Violet. Violet and Daisy
are determined to protect the shop’s magical essence which communicates with
Violet, the current Caretaker, through books.
The evening before the race, the shop keeps putting copies of Leaves of
Grass by Walt Whitman in her path. Violet
is struggling to finish the race when screams ring out. Joel Redding is dead with a copy of Walt
Whitman’s Leaves of Grass in his backpack.
Chief Rainwater discovers Redding’s bike was sabotaged and soon uncovers
a string of suspects. When Violet’s
favorite student ranks at the top of Rainwater’s list, Violet dons her
sleuthing cap once again.
Verse and Vengeance by Amanda Flower is the fourth A Magical Bookshop Mystery. There is a delightful cast of characters in
this magical tale. Violet Waverly has
just finished teaching another semester at the local college as well as
defending her dissertation which has earned her the right to put doctor before
her name. She is looking forward to
working in the shop and spending time with her boyfriend, Chief David
Rainwater. Daisy Waverly is Violet’s
grandmother and the new mayor of Cascade Springs. Things are never dull when Daisy is
around. She came up with the idea for
the Cascade Springs Underground Railroad Museum and ran short of funding when
issues were discovered with the foundation of the Village Hall. There is Emerson the tuxedo cat that manages
to follow Violet around the village (a master escape artist) and Faulkner is
the crow that resides in the magical birch tree and calls out unique quotes as
well as dropping books into Violet’s path.
There are a variety of charming residents and shop owners plus a curmudgeon
or two. I just love the descriptions of
this quant town. There are some adorable
shops and it is close to Niagara Falls. The
mystery was multifaceted with several suspects and good clues. While I could identify the guilty party, it
took longer to figure out the why. This was a unique whodunit. I like how everything tied together. Amanda crafted a unique mystery that tied in
Walt Whitman. I especially enjoyed how literature
with the help of the essence tied into the whodunit. Verse and Vengeance also has romance with David
and Violet at the forefront, but there is also Daisy and a certain fellow who
is smitten with her. Plus, Violet’s
department chair might finally work up the nerve to ask out a certain
librarian. There is humor sprinkled
throughout the story that had me chuckling.
That Emerson is quite a character.
Thanks to Amanda Flower’s descriptions, I could envision that cat in
Violet’s bicycle basket. Violet’s father returns which brings up old feelings
of resentment and confusion. Can Violet
and her father find a way to move forward?
Verse and Vengeance can be read as a standalone for those new to the
series, but why would you not want to read all the books in this enchanting
series. The ending of Verse and
Vengeance is very special, and I cannot wait for the next book in this
enchanting series. Verse and Vengeance
is a spellbinding tale with an enigmatic essence, perplexing poetry, a curious
cat, dynamic Daisy, a pesky PI, and a flawed foundation.
Verse and Vengeance can be picked up here (Amazon UK). You can find the other books in A Magical Bookshop Mystery series here on Amazon*. Amanda Flower's next book is Matchmaking Can Be Murder which comes out December 31. It is the first book in An Amish Matchmaker Mystery series. I am eager to read it. Thank you for stopping by today and reading my review. Tomorrow I am participating in the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder, She Encountered by Peg Cochran. It is the third installment in the Murder She Reported Series. I hope you will join me. I hope that you have a joyful day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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| Little libraries in a real tree |
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