Double or Muffin
A Merry Muffin Mystery
by Victoria Hamilton
About Double or Muffin
Double or Muffin (A Merry Muffin Mystery)
In the new Merry Muffin Mystery, baker Merry Wynter must solve a disturbing crime among opera singers before the culprit decides it’s curtains for her . . .
When a reality TV show for aspiring opera singers descends on Wynter Castle, Merry’s got her hands full catering to the endless demands of the distinguished judges and ambitious contestants. Then mysterious rumors about the cast and crew begin to surface, suggesting that some of their performances may be filled with false notes. When a dogged reporter with an eye for scandal who’s been covering the competition is attacked and left for dead, Merry’s determined to discover who orchestrated the heinous deed.
Her long list of suspects is filled with eccentric personalities, including a promiscuous tenor known for making unwanted overtures, a pampered young prodigy and her meddlesome mother, and a quiet up-and-comer whose shadowy uncle may have ties to the underworld. As the musical contest and Merry’s investigation near their finale, she’ll have to act fast to keep a conniving contestant from plotting out her final act . . .
About Victoria Hamilton
Victoria Hamilton is the bestselling author of several mystery series including the national bestselling Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mysteries. She does, indeed, collect vintage kitchenware and bake muffins. She drinks tea and coffee on writing days, and wine other times. It doesn’t do to confuse days. She crochets (a little), paints (a little) and reads (a lot). A solitary being, she can be coaxed out of her writing cave for brownies and cat videos.
She started her writing life as Donna Lea Simpson, bestselling author of Regency Romances, paranormal historical novels, and historical mysteries, and still has a soft spot for the Regency period.
If you Google ‘Victoria Hamilton’, you will find listed first a famous actress who starred as the Queen Mother in the series The Crown and as Charlotte Brontë in ‘In Search of the Brontës’. That’s not the Victoria who writes mysteries.
No, really, it’s not!
You can find her buried in a good book, (entombed in a good tome?) or online at:
My Thoughts
Double or Muffin by Victoria Hamilton has Merry Wynter welcoming the cast and crew of a reality competition
for aspiring opera singers to Wynter Castle.
Merry is kept hopping with baking meals, cleaning rooms, catering the food
services tables, and handling the requests of the guests. It is a mystery as to why the group was asked
to leave their last hotel. Merry also
has the windows of the castle being washed for the next group to descend on the
stately home. As if Merry does not have
enough on her plate, items begin to disappear around the castle and from the
window washers’ van. Before Merry can
look into the matter, the industrious reporter writing an article on the competition
disappears. A search party is organized,
and the reporter is found wounded in the woods.
She was stabbed and left for dead in the cold. Merry is determined to discover who harmed
the woman and begins working through the lengthy suspect list. Can Merry find the guilty party before they
fly the coop? Double or Muffin is the 7th
A Merry Muffin Mystery. It can be read
as a standalone for those new to the series.
I thought Double or Muffin was well-written with developed
characters. There is an interesting cast
of characters. It appears that everyone
with the show has a secret. The story
has a good flow, but I did find the pacing a little slow in the first half. The mystery was well-plotted, but it does not
occur until halfway through the book.
There are a number of suspects for Merry to consider. The singers in the competition all seem to be
hiding something and it is up to Merry to ferret out the information. There are clues to aid readers in solving the
crime before the solution is revealed. I
thought one detail was particularly clever.
I enjoyed Becket’s antics and his participation in the mystery. It was great to catch up with Merry, Pish, Virgil,
and their friends. Double or Muffin ends
on a sweet note. Double or Muffin is a lively
cozy mystery with problematic prima donnas, mouthwatering muffins, a cunning
cat, missing materials, a prying reporter, and attractive operatic arias.
Kris
The Avid Reader
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Favorite author, whatever she writes, I love it! Thanks for the great post.
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