Thanks for Muffin: A Merry Muffin Mystery by Victoria Hamilton
About Thanks for Muffin
Thanks for Muffin: A Merry Muffin Mystery
Contemporary Cozy Mystery 8th in Series
Setting - Wynter Castle, Western New York State
Publisher : Beyond the Page
Publication date : October 14, 2025
Number of Pages: 211 Paperback
When Merry Wynter’s festive gala takes a fatal turn, she’ll have to grill her guests to catch a killer . . .
After years of planning and hard work, Merry Wynter was finally ready to host the grand opening gala of the Wynter Woods Center for the Performing Arts. With musicians, entertainers, members of the media and even influencers on the guest list, the event went off without a hitch—until a particularly nasty journalist posted a criticism of the gala and everything Merry was trying to accomplish. Still reeling from the review days later, Merry wasn’t sure what to feel when she discovered the reporter’s dead body on the grounds of Wynter Castle.
With many of her guests staying on at the castle for the weekend, Merry realizes they’ve got a murderer in their midst. Going from celebrating to sleuthing, she discreetly questions each of them, trying to weed out the culprit. She quickly learns that the victim had heated arguments with several of the people at the gala, and it turns out those people were all connected by a tragedy in the past. Certain the killer is among them, Merry will have to unearth the final clue that nails the killer—before the killer decides she’s getting too close .
About Victoria Hamilton
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of three mystery series: the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, and the Merry Muffin Mysteries. She also wrote a Regency-set historical mystery series, starting with A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder.
Visit her website at victoriahamiltonmysteries.com and sign up for Victoria’s newsletter.
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My Thoughts
Thanks for Muffin by Victoria Hamilton takes us back to Wynter Castle where Merry Wynter along with her friend, Pish, are getting ready for the grand opening of Wynter Woods Center for the Performing Arts. It was a pleasure to reconnect with Merry, Pish, and the gang. This narrative includes a large cast of characters, which can make it challenging to distinguish each one, particularly when some of their names are similar. The plot was carefully constructed, with multiple suspects and motives that kept the mystery open to anyone. Merry really has her work cut out for her on this whodunit. There are some twists and turns along the way. The reveal was well done.
Although
Thanks for Muffin is the eighth installment in the A Merry Muffin Mystery series, it is accessible to readers as a standalone novel. The author
effectively presents relevant background information and detailed
world-building to ensure that new readers are well-oriented. I hope in the next book that we get to spend
more time with Pish, Virgil, Hannah, and the other core characters. There are recipes at the end of the book for
some of the delicacies featured in the story (buckwheat cheddar scones,
blueberry sour cream coffee cake muffins, and Pish’s Thanksgiving leftover
poutine). Thanks for Muffin is a cute cozy with party preparations, celebrity
invitees, a rotten reporter, a grandiose grand opening, guests arguing, a
murdered man, surprising secrets, and catching a killer.
Recipe
Rosemary Cheddar Apple Scones
By: Victoria Hamilton
My main character in the Merry Muffin Mysteries, Merry Wynter, makes muffins, yes, but she also makes bars, cookies, and… scones. Scones, in case you didn’t know (though I’m sure you do!) are a kind of quick bread or biscuit. One of the chief questions about a scone is how to pronounce it, to rhyme with stone or gone? Well, how about an old rhyme to set the controversy to rest?
(From ‘Punch’ magazine, 1913.)
So… pronounce it either way.
Merry Wynter is always looking for new recipes, and so… I’m always looking for new recipes! Funny how life works that way. I love tea (so does Merry!) and I appreciate something to nibble on with my cuppa (so does Merry!). These buttery-cheesy-herby scones are a delicious savory teatime treat!
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup butter
4 oz old cheddar, grated
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup peeled, shredded apples, packed down (about 2 - 3 small-to-medium apples)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon cold milk or water (if necessary)
Cut the cold butter into small cubes, then cut into the flour using a pastry cutter or your fingers, breaking down the cubes of butter just until the pieces are smaller than a pea. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbles.
Stir in the grated cheddar, baking powder, salt, sugar and rosemary.
In a separate bowl combine the shredded apples and the beaten egg. Gently fold this with the flour mixture in a large bowl until the dough just comes together. If it’s too dry to do this (it was for me) add a splash of milk or cream. I used 35% cream because… well, why not? Do not overmix. Once the dough comes together, form it into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Press out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a roughly square or rectangular shape about ¾ inch tall. Cut using a sharp cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. I love my antique biscuit cutter because it gives a pretty edge to the scones. Or if you’re a traditionalist and prefer your scones as wedges, you can form it into a circle and cut it into 8 wedges, separate the wedges on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at least 1 inch apart from one another.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until tops are golden-brown. Let cool slightly before serving.
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read an advanced copy of this book. I am not required to leave a
review. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
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