Friday, March 5, 2021

Double or Muffin by Victoria Hamilton: Review & Giveaway!

  

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: 
Website: http://www.VictoriaHamiltonMysteries.com (Sign up for her annoyingly infrequent newsletter for all the latest!) 





Goodreads Author Profile: Victoria Hamilton 

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.  

Double or Muffin can be purchased at AmazonB&NKobo, and Google Play.  You can find the other novels in A Merry Muffin Mystery series here.  You can find Victoria Hamilton's other books here.  As part of the tour, Victoria Hamilton is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card (open to those in U.S. and Canada).  You can enter here or enter via the Rafflecopter form below.  Good Luck!  Thank you for visiting today.  I will return tomorrow to feature Amish Midwives by Amy Clipston, Shelley Shepard Gray, and Kelly Long.  I hope  that you have a calming day.  Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader



Tour Participants

March 1 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT 

March 1 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST 

March 1 – This Is My Truth Now – REVIEW 

March 2 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST 

March 2 – Maureen's Musings - SPOTLIGHT 

March 2 – ebook addicts – SPOTLIGHT 

March 3 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT 

March 3 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW 

March 3 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT 

March 4 – Christy's Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST 

March 4 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 5 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW 

March 5 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW 

arch 5 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW 

March 6 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLGHT 

March 7 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – RECIPE POST 

March 7 – Baroness Book Trove – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 7 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT 
March 8 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 8 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 

March 8 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST 

March 9 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 9 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW 

March 9 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW 

arch 9 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT 

March 10 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT 
March 10 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews - REVIEW 

March 10 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT 

March 10 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

1 comment:

  1. Favorite author, whatever she writes, I love it! Thanks for the great post.

    ReplyDelete