By Isis Crawford

Copyright February 2012

Publisher Kensington Publishing

Gastronomical dream team Bernie and Libby Simmons wade into a Celtic knot of malice and mayhem when a St. Patrick’s celebration goes terribly wrong…

To most of the people of little Longely, New York, St. Paddy’s Day means good food, great music, and plenty of Guinness. But when the lifeless body of Mike Sweeney floats to the top of a vat of green beer, it looks like the luck o’ the Irish has just run out.

Unfortunately for the Simmons sisters, the number one suspect is related to one of their very best catering customers, the pampered and powerful Bree Nottingham. When Bree visits A Little Taste of Heaven to beseech them to clear her nephew’s name, they just can’t say no.

But the more information Bernie and Libby stir up, the more Duncan Nottingham looks like a killer. Known for his hot temper and love of the drink, Duncan and the deceased were both part of the Corned Beef and Cabbage Club, a group with more buried history than the Emerald Isle. And each member—especially Duncan—had a motive to sing Sweeney his last Irish lullaby. A motive they don’t want anyone revealing.

For Bernie and Libby, the situation is deadly and in danger of boiling over. And they can’t count on good old Saint Pat to drive out the snake in their midst…they’ll have to do it themselves, before a murderer strikes again.

The Dynamic Duo of Bernie and Libby Simmons are well known in their hometown of Little Longley, New York. It was a little after 9 am one morning and Bernie and Libby were working in their shop kitchen rolling out pie dough for sale and special orders.  They were thinking how quiet things had been lately with no crimes to get involved in and even things in the shop were running smoothly.  Too bad this wasn’t going to last.

When Bernie’s cell phone rang and she looked at the caller ID she was surprised when the call was from her boyfriend Brandon. Brandon should have been in bed already after working the late shift at RJ’s a local bar. With no explanations he insists that the sisters come and meet him at the back of the bar.  When they arrive he explains that he found a dead body in the barrel of green beer that had been ordered for the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration.

The body is identified as Mike Sweeney, a member of the Corned Beef and Cabbage Club.  Brandon told them a story about the past evenings events featuring Mike Sweeney being forcibly removed from the premises after he attempted to crack the barrel and “taste” the beer.

Bree Nottingham, the local bigwig in the real estate business asks them to meet with her in their apartment. She needs to talk to them. Her nephew Duncan (a member of the Corned Beef and Cabbage Club) is arrested for the murder and she offers to pay for their help. All the evidence found points to Duncan being the guilty party and Bree says she just knows he’s innocent.  She tells them that she wants to hire them to investigate the case and prove his innocence.  They are shocked when she hands them a check for a five figure amount, and finally agree to help her.

It appears that at every turn the Dynamic Duo are going to be hitting their heads against a wall as they find nothing that will help Duncan’s case.

This mystery is well written, and the characters are all three dimensional. Even the peripheral people they run into appear to be there for specific reasons and the story just flows so smoothly you’ll be surprised to find yourself at the end of the book and the truth will out.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publishers who asked only for a fair and impartial review.

By Donna Kauffman

Copyright February 2012

Publishers Brava (Contemporary Romance)

Double Fudge…Toasted Coconut…Key Lime…Strawberry Cream…
Every bite is a mouthful of heaven.
And the women of the Cupcake Club are bringing their appetites …

Riley Brown never imagined she would find her bliss on Georgia’s quiet Sugarberry Island after years of Chicago’s city life. With a new career and fantastic new friends, she’s got it all—except for eligible men. But a gig staging a renovated beach house delivers a delicious treat—six feet of blue-eyed, gorgeous writer as delectable and Southern as pecan pie. Quinn Brannigan has come to Sugarberry to finish his latest novel in peace, and suddenly Riley has a taste for the bad boy author that no amount of mocha latte buttercream or lemon mousse will satisfy …

Riley’s friends are rooting for her to give in to her cravings and spice up her life, but it’s Quinn who needs to learn that life’s menu just might include love, in all its decadent, irresistible flavors…

Riley had loved her job in Chicago and it still hurt when she thought about leaving it to start over.  She found her way to Sugarberry Island and settled in there on a borrowed houseboat. She found an interesting new job staging homes and condos for sale on the surrounding islands and began to make friends and a new life.  The only thing missing was male companionship, and she isn’t sure that she’s ready to get back into that race.

While working on staging a lovely beach cottage for showing, Riles lets her eyes wander to the Jog Master 3000 she set up and decides that it can’t be that hard to try.  Looking at the control panel with all the buttons she steps up and presses a few.  As the machine starts rolling she starts walking slowly.  The pace starts to pick up until she is hanging onto the side rails for dear life, wondering how she’s going to get off this thing with her body intact. Although of course she is also dreaming about hunky EMT’s coming to her rescue.

She is now almost thirteen minutes into her torture and wondering where the deliverymen with the Steinway Piano she ordered are. She is also imagining herself being thrown from the job machine and sees the newspaper headlines in her mind “Riley Brown Found Dead! Sugarberry’s Premiere House Stager in High Speed Treadmill Incident!”

The doorbell chimes and she hopes it is the men who are delivering the piano she ordered for the house. It will add just the right touch of class, and hominess to the house.  Again the doorbell chimes and she starts to wonder why they aren’t coming in, Open House means open house. Just walk in and bring the piano. A deep voice with a Southern accent startles her as he says “I thought this was the house that is being leased. Riley looks up and sees handsome six foot plus, with shoulders and jawline and loses it as she is thrown violently off the treadmill and into her artfully arranged cluster of plants.

This is definitely the way to meet the world famous author Quinn Brannigan!.

This is the second book in the wonderfully funny and enjoyable Cupcake Club Romance books. I love the way the author brings what are essentially damaged souls to the island where they are healed and find happiness and love in this small town island setting. I truly hope that this series has a long and successful run.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher who only asked for a fair and impartial review.

By Anne Marsh

Copyright February 2012

Publisher Brava

Zer is no angel – well, not anymore. He’s explored every flavour of sin imaginable, drinking in the pleasures of humanity. But now he must find the woman who carries his salvation in her very blood…a woman like Nessa St. James.

Nessa has considered the bargain the Fallen offer. Anything she wants in exchange for accepting Zer’s bond? No way. Not her. Not when she finds out about the mind-blowing ritual involved and the marks of surrender that will ink her skin. But with a serial killer to stop and centuries of experience on his side, Zer will do whatever it takes to change her.

Nessa is one of the country’s leading geneticists.  So she is more than a little upset when she is called into the Dean’s office and told that her funding was cancelled and her lab was being closed.  It was her own research that was coming to bite her in the backside.  She’d developed a fast system of DNA testing. Just like a pregnancy test, you peed on the stick and it would tell you if you were human or paranormal.  Now the answer to that test is being used against her by someone who was not an academic.  He was a bean counter.

Nessa was given 3 days to find new funding or she had to vacate her lab. Desperate to find an answer she heads to the building where her lecture hall is and pulls out her cell phone, dialing while she walked.  She is contacting a company called Genecore which had contacted her with an interest in her research. She is determined to find her own funding and keep her lab open.

Zen is the leader of the Fallen (called Goblins on earth). They had been Angel’s and Heaven’s front line troops against evil, who rebelled against the Archangel Michael and were stripped of their wings and sent to Earth as punishment.  He left them one out.  For each fallen there is one Soul Mate.  In the three thousand years they’ve been banished they have found only one true Soul Mate.  This is because there is someone who is destroying them as soon as they are located.

Zen has managed to get a list of names which were stolen from their greatest enemy and now it was a race to find these women, who were destined to be the Soul Mates of his people.

Now we get to the crux of the story.  When Zen finds Nessa and basically kidnaps her, the true battle begins between them.  Zen to have her mate with one of his Fallen, and Nessa to regain her freedom and independence.  This is a romance that will rock the fabric of Zen’s existence and have Nessa tied up in emotional knots.

This second book in a new series it has all the elements of love, lust, anger, hate, and a kickass number of fights taking place.  I love it.  I think you will too.

FTC Full Disclosure: This book was offered to me by the publisher who only requested a fair and impartial review.

February 2012

The Walled Flower – Victoria Sq. #2 – Lorraine Bartlett

All That Bleeds – New series – Kimberly Frost

Old Haunts – Haunted Guest House #3 – E.J. Copperman

The Wood Queen – Karen Mahoney

Fair Game – Alpha and Omega #3 – Patricia Briggs

Beautiful Evil – YA Novel – Kelly Keaton

Unbroken – Outcast Season 4 – Rachel Caine

Dutch Me Deadly – Passport to Peril #7 – Maddy Hunter

Buried in a Book – Novel Idea Mystery Series #1 – Lucy Arlington

One Book in the Grave – A Bibliophile Mystery – Kate Carlisle

Town in a Wild Moose Chase – Candy Holliday Mystery – B.B. Haywood

Cinnamon Roll Murder – Hannah Swenson – Joanne Fluke

A  Perfect Blood – Rachel Morgan #11 – Kim Harrison

Alpha Instinct – New Series Moon Shifter Novel – Katie Reus

Cake on a Hot Tin Roof – A Piece of Cake Mystery – Jacklyn Brady

Wanted, Undead or Alive – Book 12 Love at Stake Series – Kerrelyn Sparks

Born to Darkness – Suzanne Brockman

Phantom Conspiracy – Book 3 ghost series – P.J. Alderman

Witchful Thinking – H.P. Mallory

Quest for the Secret Keeper – Oracles of Delphi Book 3 – Victoria Laurie

Desperate Housedogs – A Pampered Pets Mystery – Sparkle Abbey

By a Thread – Gin Blanco #6 – Jennifer Estep

Clobbered with Camembert – Cheese Shop #3 – Avery Aames

Shaded Vision –  Indigo Court #3 – Yasmine Galenorn

Almost Everything – Tate Halloway

Gem of a Ghost – Granny Apples #3 – SueAnn Jaffarian

Shaded Vision – Yasmine Galenorn *

The Nightmare Garden – Caitlin Kittredge

Heart of Atlantis – Warriors of Poseidon – Alyssa Day

Infamous – Sherrilyn Kenyon

March 2012

Timeless – Gail Carriger

Sacrificial Magic – Downside Ghosts #4 – Stacia Kane

The Probability of Murder – Prof Sophie Knowles Mystery – Ada Madison

Oracle’s Moon – Elder Races #4 – Thea Harrison

Born to Darkness – Suzanne Brockmann

Due or Die – A Library Lover’s Mystery – Jennifer McKinlay

Fire Engine Dead – A Museum Mystery – Sheila Connolly

Waltz This Way – Dakota Cassidy

Losing Clementine – Ashley Ream

Deliverance – Mortal Path book 3 – Dakota Banks

Little Shop of Homicide – Devereaux Dime Store Mystery #1 – Denise Swanson

April 2012

Magic Without Mercy – Devon Monk

The Cat, the Wife, and the Weapon – Cats in Trouble #4 – Leann Sweeney

The Calling – Darkness Rising #2 – Kelley Armstrong

Cats Can’t Shoot – Pru Marlowe #2 – Clea Simon

Alien Diplomacy – Gini Koch

Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans – Gerry Bartlett

Wanted: Undead or Alive – Kerrelyn Sparks

Reign Storm – Demon Princess #4 – Michelle Rowen

Grey Expectations – Dulcie Schwartz #4 – Clea Simon

Unraveling – Elizabeth Norris

Magic Without Mercy – Allie Beckstrom #8 – Devon Monk

Hounds Abound – Pet Rescue Mystery – Linda O. Johnston *

Ready, Scrap, Shoot – Kiki Lowenstein #5 – Joanna Campbell Slan *

The Scarlet Pepper – White House Gardener Series – Dorothy St. James *

Let Them Eat Stake – Vampire Chef Mystery #2 – Sarah Zettel *

May 2012

The Christie Curse – Victoria Abbott (MJM & Daughter)

Timeless – Gail Carriger

Final Sail – Dead End Job Mystery – Elaine Viets

Barefoot in the Sand – Barefoot Bay #1 – Roxanne St. Claire

A Deadly Grind – Vintage Kitchen Mystery #1 – Victoria Hamilton

The Golden City – Bloodlines #2 – Richelle Mead

Zombie Island – Shakespeare Undead #2 – Lori Handeland

Nightshifted – Cassie Alexander

Deadlocked – Sookie Stackhouse #12 – Charlaine Harris

Under Suspicion – Underworld Detection Agency #3 – Hannah Jayne

Dark Frost – Mythos Academy #3 – Jennifer Estep *

Awaited – Wasteland #2 – Lynn Rush *

June 2012

Corpse in the Crystal Ball – Kari Lee Townsend

Wicked Business – Lizzy and Diesel #2 – Janet Evanovich

Murder on the Half Shelf – Booktown #6 – Lorna Barrett

Timepiece – Hourglass #2 – Myra McEntire

The Taken – Celestial Blues #1 – Vicki Petterson

Gone Missing – Kate Burkholder Mystery #4 – Linda Castillo *

Threaded for Trouble – Threadville Mystery series – Janet Bolin *

Alexander Outland – Space Pirate #1 – G.J. Koch *

July 2012

Beef Stolen – Off – A Clueless Cook Mystery #2 – Liz Lipperman

The Charmed Pie Shoppe – Pie Shoppe #1 – Ellery Adams

Something Strange & Deadly – Susan Dennard

Thirteen – Women of the Otherworld #13 – Kelley Armstrong

Tin Swift – Age of Steam #2 – Devon Monk

In Between – YA novel – Tara Fuller

Otherkin – YA novel – Nina Berry *

Tainted Night, Tainted Blood – E.S. Moore *

Dark Destiny – Dark Mirror #3 – M.J. Putney *

August 2012

Car Wash Blues – A Mick Murphy Key West Mystery – Michael Haskins

Deadly Politics – New Political Mystery Series – Maggie Sefton

Biting Cold – Chloe Neill

SeaWitch – A Greywalker Novel – Kat Richardson

When the Cookie Crumbles – Cookie Cutter Shop #3 – Virginia Lowell

A Witch Before Dying – Heather Blake *

Death of a School Girl – The Jane Eyre Chronicles – Joanna Campbell Slan *

Widow’s Web – Gin Blanco #7 – Jennifer Estep

Allergic to Death – Gourmet De-Lite Mystery #1 – Peg Cochran *

September 2012

Murder Unmentionable – Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie #1 – Meg London *

November 2012

Out of Circulation – Charlie and Diesel #4 – Miranda James

Shadow Rising – Other World #12 – Yasmine Galenorn

December 2012

Alien in the House – Gini Koch

Sometime in 2012

The Hanged Man – On Her Majesty’s Psychic Service #1 – P.N. Elrod

The Christie Caper – Mystery Book Collector # 1 – Victoria Abbott

You Light Up My Death – Camilla MacPhee #6 – Mary Jane Maffini

The Wurst is Yet to Come – B&B Mystery – Mary Daheim

Babycakes – A Cupcake Club Romance #3 – Donna Kauffman *

January 2013

Murder for the Halibut – A Clueless Cook Mystery #3 – Liz Lipperman

March 2013

Trouble in the Tarot – Kari Lee Townsend

October 2013

Chicken Caccia-Killer – A Clueless Cook Mystery #4 – Liz Lipperman *

By: Richelle Mead

Copyright January 2012

Publisher Zebra Urban Fantasy

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land’s prophecy-haunted queen, there’s no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld…

The spell-driven source of the blight isn’t the only challenge to Eugenie’s instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can’t trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can’t–or won’t–reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon–and risk the ultimate sacrifice…

In this last book of the Dark Swan series, the author pulled out all the stops.  Eugenie is forced to go into hiding to protect not only herself but her unborn children.  The adventure starts in what for anyone else would be a mundane checkup at her doctor’s office. She is accompanied by her sister and Pagiel, the son of Ysabel. Thankfully her son didn’t inherit her bitch gene.

The visit with the doctor done, Eugenie, Jasmine and Pagiel noticed the changing weather and the storm that was brewing overhead.  As they leave the doctor’s office to return to the gate, and return to Otherworld they all feel the magic that is the reason for this storm.  Knowing they will probably be attached they prepare as best they can.  The attack happens just before they reach the gate and the battle is engaged.

This action filled beginning it only the tip of a very large (think Titanic) iceberg.  Eugenie will be on the run all across Otherworld, and the United States. When she finally comes to rest in a safe house chosen by her step father, Eugenie can finally stop and regain some sense of peace (albeit short) and rest up for her final battles.

Having followed our heroine’s life from the first book all the way to its conclusion, I have only one vision of it in my mind, the Cyclone in Coney Island.  It was the scariest ride ever for me, and that is my vision of Eugenie and family.

FTC Full Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publishers who only asked for a fair and impartial review.

By Kathryn Kay

Copyright January 2012

Publisher Kensington Fiction

In Marina Nesmith’s skilled hands, even the most tarnished picture frame or objet d’art can be made perfect once again. Her life, too, seems flawless, at least on the surface. But more and more, Marina is conscious of what she lacks–someone to share her joys and sorrows with, confidence in the decisions she’s made, and the courage to tell her teenage daughter, Zoe, the truth about her father.

Then Marina is invited to return to Florence, where she lived years before while learning her trade as a gilder. In those heady days, she wandered the city’s picturesque streets, marveling at the masterpieces in the Duomo and the Pitti Palace. In the church of Santa Croce, she met Thomas, an American photographer who, along with his wife Sarah, introduced Marina to a thrilling, bohemian world of art and beauty. Through them, she also learned about love, lies, and the way one mistake can multiply into many. Now, as her past and present collide, Marina will finally have to move beyond the intricate veneer she’s crafted around herself, and find the life that she–and Zoe–have been looking for.

It’s been sixteen years since Marina ran home from Florence Italy. Leaving behind an apprenticeship that she loved, and friends who had no idea why she left.  She’s accepted an invitation to speak at a conference in Florence about her career as a gilder.  Now she must deal with those memories as she prepares her speech, and also deal with a fifteen year old daughter who desperately wants to go to Italy with her.

Zoe has grown up without a father. He was just a series of short answers given to her by her mother in response to her asking about him over the years. And as she grew her questions became more and more detailed, and her mother’s replies giving her less and less satisfaction.

As the date of her departure gets closer Marina’s thoughts drift more and more into the memories of her early life and the key point that ended up with her going to study in Florence.  She has seen an article about the devastating flooding of Florence and the possible loss of so many priceless and irreplaceable paintings and objects d’art.  Her mother showed her how this could be the basis for the report she was writing for her world events class.  As she delved deeper into the story, finding photos in magazines the seed was planted, that and a promise (never fulfilled) by her mother to take her to Italy and visit these sights first hand.

Year after year the promised trip never appeared, till she finally decided that after college she would just pack and go.  She worked during college and saved up the money for her trip, and the course she signed up for in gilding and art preservation.

As her memories unfold, and she fends off her daughter’s questions and tears we are drawn deeply into a young woman’s dreams, life and future career.

I found this book deeply moving and engaging as I was drawn into Marina’s world. I laughed, cried, and found myself sympathizing with problems and the course they took her on.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher, who only requested a fair and impartial review.

Tangled (Torn Trilogy #2)  By Erica O’Rourke

Published by Kensington K teen  Release Date January 31, 2012

The Gilder By Kathryn Kay

Published By Kensington Release Date January 2012

His Dark Bond (Fallen Book 2) By Anne Marsh

Published By Brava Paranormal Romance  Release Date January 31, 2012

A Catered St. Patrick’s Day By Isis Crawford

Published By Kensington  Release Date February 1, 2012

I’ll be posting my reviews as I finish them and hope you’ll all stop by to read my reviews and leave comments, likes, or even just Follow Me by one of the options posted on the sidebar.

NoraA

By Donna Kauffman

Copyright January 2012

Publisher: Brava Contemporary Romance

When baker extraordinaire Leilani Trusdale leaves New York City for Georgia’s sleepy Sugarberry Island, She didn’t expect her past to follow. Yet suddenly her former boss, Baxter Dunne, AKA Chef Hot Cakes, the man who taught her everything pastry, wants to film his hit cooking show in her tiny cupcakery. The Same Chef Hot Cakes whose molten chocolate brown eyes and sexy British accent made Lani’s mouth water and her cheeks blush the colour of raspberry filling… stirring all kinds of kitchen gossip, much of which Lani wished was true.

Lani’s friends are convinced that this time around, Baxter is the missing ingredient in her recipe for happiness. But convincing Lani will be a job for Baxter himself. And he’ll need more than black velvet frosting to sweeten the deal..

Leilani’s life in New York had been great, career wise anyway.  She was chosen by Baxter Dunne as his assistant and she learned a hell of a lot from him, eventually moving her up to Executive Chef and manager of “Gateau” his restaurant.   But while her professional career was going well, her personal life was the pits.  She was secretly lusting after her boss, and the fact that the people who she worked with, who actually thought she’d slept her way to that job just made her feel worse.

After three years as Gateau’s manager and many kudos for her award winning cakes she called it quits and went home to open a place of her own on Sugarberry Island off the coast of Georgia.  There she contentedly sold cakes by the cup.  Yes, she owned a cupcake bakery, and she was extremely proud of it.

Lani is putting the final touches on a batch of cupcakes for the Kiwanis Fund Raiser when her friend Charlotte calls from NY.  Her world is about to be turned upside down again as Charlotte tells her that her old boss, Chef Hot Cakes plans to take his show on the road and have Sugarberry Island and her shop as his opening show.  She is even less happy when the Chef shows up at her back door unannounced and sticks his foot in his mouth, angering Lani in the process.

This is a story about love denied, and finding happiness in your life’s work.  I found it funny, delightful, filled with cupcakes, crazy octogenarians, Hot Chefs,and romance.  I recommend it highly and am looking forward to the author’s next book in this series.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book from the publishers who only requested a fair and impartial review.

By: Nancy J. Cohen

Copyright February 2012

Publisher Five Star

Weddings always make Marla Shore shed a tear of joy, and she’s slated to attend her friend Jill’s affair as a member of the bridal party. Marla’s own nuptials are weeks away, and she’s been busy juggling bickering relatives, building a new house with her fiancé, and expanding her hair salon.

The South Florida Stylist is following her to-do list just fine until an unexpected even unravels her carefully laid plans. At Jill’s wedding reception, Marla discovers the matron of honor, Jill’s sister, Torrie – dead under the cake table, a knife embedded in her chest.

Unfortunately, Jill has a strong motive for murder. She and Torrie co-owned a piece of commercial property, and they’d disagreed on whether to sell or lease the land. Now with Torrie out of the way, Jill’s decision can rule. Or can it? Her relatives may have some say on who gets control, meaning Jill can’t trust any of them.

Torrie knew secrets about her colleagues, too, things they wouldn’t want revealed. But when Marla learns one of those secrets involves Jill’s past, she wonders if her friend is truly innocent. She’d better untangle the snarl of suspects and iron out the clues before the killer highlights her as the next victim.

Marla definitely needs to concentrate on her upcoming wedding.  Unfortunately she first has to deal with getting her friend Jill’s nuptials out of the way.  Not only is she a Bride’s Maid at this shindig, but she is also in charge of the wedding party’s hair and makeup.

What was supposed to be a simple wedding, helping her friend Arnie and his fiancé Jill (which takes her mind off her own wedding) gets Marla caught up, not only in a family squabble but also another murder.

Jill and Torrie get into is while at Marla’s Salon, they get so loud that Marla comments “if they don’t stop squabbling one of them is going to end up dead by the end of the day”.  A more prophetic statement was never said.  The basis of this ongoing argument is their co-ownership of a piece of rental property which needs their attention.  They can’t agree on what to do with it, and the rest of the family (who really should stay out of it) are giving them more advice and offers of assistance then they need.

All this, while they are getting their hair and nails done in preparation for Jill’s wedding later that afternoon.  So it’s a big surprise later when the newlywed couple is finally ready to do the bouquet toss and Torrie is missing.  Exasperated by her sister has disappeared Marla suggests that Torrie might have just stepped out to visit the ladies room and that they should move on to the cake cutting ceremony.  Walking over to where the three tier cake is sitting on a round table, she notices a door leading to the service area. There is a lovely cloth covering the rolling table and the cake is a work of art. Looking  for the cake knife she doesn’t see it.  Lifting the tablecloth to check if it had fallen, Marla is shocked to see Torrie’s dead body stretched out under the wedding cake with the cake knife embedded in her chest.

This is the tenth book in Nancy Cohen’s Bad Hair Day mystery series.  Each book has gotten progressively better and more puzzling, and intriguing in its depth  story line and character enhancements.  Each book brings out more and more of Marla’s ability to not only fall over a body, but solve the mystery before the professionals.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book from the author, who only asked for a fair and impartial review.

By Tessa Harris

Copyright January 2012

Publisher: Kensington Mystery

In eighteenth-century England, the murder of Sir Edward Crick sends a torrent of gossip breezing through Oxfordshire; although, aside from his sister, Lady Lydia Farrell, few mourn the young man. When Lady Farrell’s husband becomes the prime suspect in the murder, she enlists the help of Dr. Thomas Silkstone–an anatomist and pioneering forensic detective–to solve the murder and prove his innocence.

Though Dr. Silkstone studied medicine in England under the foremost surgeon in the region, his unconventional methods and unfamiliar field of study have made him an outsider. Still, he agrees to examine Sir Edward’s corpse, but the keenest blade he will use is his intellect. He must determine both the cause and motive of this suspicious death in what will be the first of many cases.

This is the first book in the new “Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mystery” series.  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it when I saw the notes on the list of offerings for the month. But being an enthusiast of Period Mysteries I just knew I would have to delve into it and see what the author could do with the subject matter.

Dr. Silkstone is a pioneer in what is today called Forensic Pathology.  The science of the body and finding out how and why it died.  He is an American Colonist studying under the tutelage of the very well know surgeon Dr. William Carruthers. In fact Dr. Silkstone is his premiere student,  whose skill with the scalpel was the envy of all the other students.

When a strange woman (who introduces herself as Lady Lydia Farrel) appears at his apartments asking for his assistance in the investigation of her brother’s death and the possible killer being her husband, Dr. Silkstone accepts her request and arranges to go to Oxfordshire and meet with the Coroner before the inquest and offer his services.

This heinous murder has a plethora of possible killers, and the death was caused by devious and at the time undetectable means, truly a challenge to Dr. Silkstone’s skills and abilities.  He will single handedly be inventing the skills to detect and prove the means of death.

While enjoyed the mystery involved very much, I did feel that the story dragged in a few places. I hope in the future the author will try to tie things up a bit more neatly, bringing the causes, and the people involved to a less dragged out conclusion.  All in all it was a challenge to my mind and I recommend this book to lovers of medical and forensic mysteries.

FTC Full Disclosure: I was sent this book by the publisher who asked only for a fair and impartial review.