Great Holiday Mystery: Bells, Spells and Murders by Carol J Perry (Witch City Mysteries)

 I recently enjoyed a book in one of my all-time favorite mystery series - the Witch City Mysteries. Witch City is Salem, Massachusetts - home of the infamous Salem Witch Trials. As a Massachusetts native, I've been there several times and am quite familiar with it, which added more interest for me. The book "Bells, Spells and Murders" by Carol J. Perry was another fantastic story in the series.  The author really gets you hooked with the colorful main characters of Lee, a reporter for WICH-TV and her police boyfriend Pete, Lee's aunt Ibby, and Lee's intuitive cat, O'Ryan. Lee also has the ability to see things in shiny surfaces - things that usually mean something in the mysteries she tries to solve. 

   This mystery has several surprises and keeps you guessing until the end. It takes place during the week before Christmas, so the holiday provides a background for the story. Another great mystery in the Witch City Mystery series -and I can't wait to read the rest of them!

 

HERE ARE THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES IN ORDER (and Click highlighted titles for links to my reviews of the ones I read- they are all 5 of 5 stars)

Caught Dead Handed     (2014)  **READ IT 

Tails, You Lose   (2015)  

Look Both Ways (2015)  **READ IT  

Murder Go Round    (2017)    **READ IT!   

Grave Errors       (2017)  **READ IT - 

It Takes a Coven               (2018)  

Bells, Spells, and Murders            (2018)   **READ IT!   

Final Exam          (2019)  

Late Checkout   (2019)  

Murder, Take Two           (2020)   **READ IT  

See Something  (2021)  

Fantastic Cozy Mystery: The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle

 The seventh book in  Cleo Coyle's "Haunted Bookshop Mystery" series is absolutely Awesome!  I have read every book in the series, and thoroughly enjoy them. This one, "The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait,"  has mysteries in mysteries and so many likeable characters. Pen and her aunt Sophie run a bookstore in Quindicott, Rhode Island, and Pen has connected with the ghost of a detective who was murdered in the 1940s in the location of what is now her bookstore. The ghost helps her solve mysteries.  I couldn't put this book down. I love the bickering between her mailman and professor friends, and all the supporting characters. It also had me wondering who the murderer was all the way until the end. Brilliant writing, fantastic characters, great story. Can't wait for the 8th in the series (hopefully they're working on it). - Rob

ABOUT THE BOOK: Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her gumshoe ghost team up to solve the stunning mystery at the heart of a madwoman's self-portrait in this all new installment from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop, Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman, one who supposedly went mad, according to town gossip. Seymour, the local mailman, falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture, refusing to part with it, even as fatal accidents befall those around it. Is the canvas cursed? Or is something more sinister at work?

For answers, Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard, PI. Back in the 1940s, Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist, and (to Pen's relief) his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery, even if he and his license did expire decades ago.

Enjoyable Mystery: Hush Puppy by Laurien Berenson

The sixth book in the "Melanie Travis Mystery series" was the best yet. I (Rob) have read several of them, and I really, really enjoyed "Hush Puppy." Melanie is a single mom, and poodle parent. She's a tutor and also shows her poodle in dog shows. As with the previous 5 mysteries, there are great supporting characters, including her son, her Aunt Peg, her boyfriend Sam and more. This mystery had me going until the end, trying to guess the murderer. It was really enjoyable. Five out of five starts from me! - 


ABOUT THE BOOK: Melanie Travis loves her teaching job at Connecticut's elite Howard Academy, where plans are underway for a Spring Pageant to honor the school's fiftieth anniversary. Immersed in the preparations, Melanie is hurrying to retrieve a painting of one of the illustrious co-founders when she comes upon a disturbing scene: Eugene Krebbs, the Academy's elderly caretaker is arguing loudly with a girl half his size. Before Melanie can learn more than the girl's first name--Jane--she disappears.

It's clear that Jane isn't a student at Howard Academy, so what is she doing there? Melanie doesn't have a chance to answer that question before more problems arise. Two days later, Krebbs is discovered stabbed to death right on the school grounds. Now Melanie is embroiled in a full-fledged homicide investigation as she tries to find out who's added murder to the school's curriculum. And when Melanie's trail leads her dangerously closer to the truth, she must race against time to track down a cunning killer before she becomes the next victim to be hushed. . .forever.