BAKE SALE MURDER

Lucy Stone's neighborhood has changed considerably since a new addition was added very close to their house. She's especially not fond of Mimi, the neighbor who is threatening to have her lilac hedge cut down. Still, the Hat and Mitten Fund wants to raise money for school supplies for needy kids and it seems that the newcomers may be willing to help out with a community bake sale. When Mimi doesn't show up with her baked goods, Lucy goes to check on her and finds her stabbed in her own kitchen with a butcher knife.

I haven't read any of Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone books for a long time. I really enjoyed this one. Lucy is a very realistic character who seems like a real mom and working woman. I think I'll try to catch up in this series.

Rating - 4.5 stars

PLUM PUDDING MURDER

It's getting close to Christmas and Hannah is busy baking cookies for the entire town of Eden Lake. She has also been selling goodies to the Elf Tree Farm. She and Norman are totally stunned when she picks up her check and finds the owner, Larry, shot dead. By the way, so was his TV. Hannah wants to help solve the murder so that everyone can enjoy Christmas.

As always, it took awhile to get to the part about the dead body in Joanne Fluke's latest mystery. Still, I enjoy Hannah Swenson and the gang. I thought that the triangle between Mike and Norman had been pretty well cleared up in the last book but it was here again in this one. Still, it was a fun read.

Rating - 4.5 stars

ALL MORTAL FLESH

Russ Van Alstyne's marriage is in serious trouble. He has told his wife of 25 years, Linda, that he is in love with Clare. Linda has kicked him out of the house and he is living with his mom. When a woman is found dead and mutilated in his kitchen, he is the prime suspect in his wife's murder. An overeager state police woman is called in on the case. She is eager to pin the murder on Russ or even better, on his lover, Clare. As both fight to find the truth, there are many obstacles, not to mention broken hearts.

Julia Spencer-Fleming has fast become one of my favorite authors. She has managed to write a series about a married man in love with an Episcopalian priest that is poigant and real. Both Clare and Russ are good people trying to do the right thing. They make mistakes and they have their flaws but dealing with a love affair that cannot be is sad and the reader is very sympathetic to all of the parties, including Linda.

Rating - 5 stars

THE QUEEN MOTHER

This was the fascinating story of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. I confess to knowing very little of her history other than she was much loved by the people of England and that she died when she was 100+ years old. I also knew that she had been born in 1900 like my grandmother. I loved the story of a girl from a priveliged background who caught the attention of a prince and eventually became Queen of England. The story also had some sad times as her beloved husband died in his 50's and the present Queen of England was crowned when she was only in her mid-twenties. From then on, Queen Elizabeth became the Queen Mother.

I must admit that I read 729 pages of the 943 in the book. That doesn't include the family trees or the many, many pages of the index. It was a long, long book but overall it was fascinating and a great overview of England in the twentieth century.

Rating - 4.5 stars

THE CHRISTMAS LAMP

Nativity, MO, is a town that has always loved Christmas. Being close to Branson, tourists used to come during the holiday season and shop in the the little town. After the highway has changed its route, Nativity is no longer a stop off place for tourists. Roni has been in the city administrator's office since she was 18. She can't imagine any of the traditions that she associated with Christmas being changed. Jake Brisco is a consultant who has been hired to help save Nativity even if that means cutting out sacred traditions like the town Christmas tree in the middle of Main Street and the skating pond that costs a fortune.

This is the first book that I have read by Lori Copeland. I thought it was fun. I'm not a huge fan of novellas because it is hard to develop the story with much depth in a short book. Still, this was a fun holiday read and I enjoyed it.

Rating - 4 stars

TRIAL BY FIRE

Ali Reynolds is always up for a new challenge and when she is offered a temporary position as the media relations consultant for the Yavapai sherrif's department, she decides to give it a whirl. Things change quickly though, when a severely burned woman is rescued from a burning house. The victim doesn't know who she is or what happened to her. The hospital has Sister Anselm, a nurse specializing in pallitive care, work as a victim's advocate. Soon Ali is drafted to help the nun figure out the victim's identity and try to save her from whoever tried to kill her in the fire.

J.A. Jance is one of my favorite writers and the Ali Reynolds series never disappoints. I got caught up in this book and hated to put it down.

Rating - 4.5 stars

THE BIG STEAL

Sterling Glass is an antiques appraiser who has been sent to a Virginia estate which has had a burglary. Sterling soon learns that this house is very unusual for Virginia because the antiques and the whole house are more Victorian than southern. The estate also is in danger of being shut down because there are no funds to keep it running. Sterling thinks that some of the items in the home are real antiques and some are reproductions. Her job is to do an adequate appraisal for the insurance company but things at Wynderly are spooky in more ways than one.

This is the second in the series by Emyl Jenkins. This is the first one that I have read. I think that an antiques appraiser is an interesting profession for a cozy mystery. Something in the writer's style bothered me. Things seemed to be rather disjointed at times and I felt I had to fill in parts of the story on my own at times. I liked the story, though, and I think I'll try another soon.

Rating - 4 stars