Hawgs, Dogs, and Murder (Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery #4) by Summer Prescott

Rossalyn Channing’s new restaurant, Hawg Heaven, is getting more and more popular in the small town of Chatsworth, Illinois. She and her 13 year old son, Ryan, are doing better than she expected in the short time they’ve lived there. There has been some ups and downs, of course, and most of the downs have been murders.

Ruth Venkman, an accountant and one of Rossalyn’s new friends, offered to look over Rossalyn’s taxes for a small fee. When she took her taxes to the accountant’s office she saw that everyone who worked there was very upset. Ruth explained that one of the accountants, Deedee, started to feel a little ill, went to the ladies room and died there. Deedee was well liked in the office. She always baked brownies and cakes for her co-workers.

Upon investigation it was determined that Dedee was poisoned! But who would poison the woman and why?

Ruth was very concerned and frightened because she thought that the poison was meant for her and not Deedee. Some strange things were going on in Ruth’s life and she was living in fear. One day Ruth poured herself some scotch at her home. It tasted a little odd to her so she spit it right out. Her husband, Russell, sniffed it and said it smelled fine to him. A few minutes later she became sick to her stomach and spent the rest of the night in the bathroom but when day broke she felt better. Ruth put up some water to boil in her kettle for tea but the steam smelled bad to her too. Ruth felt like someone was trying to kill her but she doubted if it was her husband, Russell, but if not Russell then who and why?

Officer Morgan Tyler was investigating Deedee’s death trying to figure out if Ruth’s problems had anything to do with Deedee’s death. He had no idea of the kettle of fish that would soon be opened.

“Hawgs, Dogs, and Murder” by Summer Prescott, is the 4th book in her Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery Series.

Once again fans of this cute series will see how Rossalyn and Ryan’s life is progressing in Chatsworth. In this book Rossalyn seems to have yet another stalker and wanting to make sure that son Ryan stays safe she asks her neighbor, Tom Hundman, a motorcycle biker and a veteran, to keep an eye on the boy. It’s a good thing that Tom likes Ryan because he’s a little angry at Rossalyn for something that she did to him a month or so back. She did apologize to Tom but he’s still upset with her.

Making matters more complicated is that Officer Morgan Tyler is interested in Rossalyn but Rossalyn is having some strange feelings towards her neighbor Tom Hundman. And there is that little matter with the stalker.

Once again, Ms. Prescott has give cozy-lovers a good mystery set in small town America. It’s easy and fun to read with lots of talk about food. “Hawgs, Dogs, and Murder” is the perfect short novel for cozy/mystery enthusiasts.

 

To see other reviews of Summer Prescott’s books please see her page on my blog.

 

Nacho Usual Murder (Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery #3) by Summer Prescott

Rossalyn Channing’s restaurant, Hawg Heaven, is very popular in the small town of Chatsworth, Illinois. She and her 13 year old son, Ryan, are beginning to make friends in this new town and the community is starting to accept them. The only problem is that since Rossalyn and Ryan moved there lots of problems started to crop up. So far there were two murders and Sheriff Buckley Willis blames Rossalyn for every problem.

Now another problem has arisen. Rossalyn is being stalked by someone. One day, before her restaurant opened, a stranger asked if he could sit and wait for the eatery to open. Ordinarily Rossalyn wouldn’t allow this but she told her staff, Jose and Garrett, that the man was being seated. The stranger seemed a little weird to Rossalyn and things got stranger when that night he was back at the restaurant asking if she would go out with him. She refused but the situation made her very suspicious.

Soon she started to receive flowers from someone and the notes attached did not have name but what they said seemed a little threatening. Rossalyn did discovered that it was the stalker who was sending her the flowers.

Then  another person was killed in Chatsworth and the murder victim was Jesse Nickerson who was living at the boarding house and was also the man stalking Rossalyn.

Making matters even worse was that Rossalyn became the prime suspect of the murder. Even the boarding house owner, Eliza Bouchard, who was not a fan of Rosalyn, thought that Rossalyn was the killer.

Now, with the help of her neighbor, Tom Hundman, a biker and a veteran, Rossalyn has to find the real murderer to clear her name and to make sure that her son Ryan remains safe in town.

“Nacho Usual Murder” is the third in author Summer Prescott’s  Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery Series. Once again, Ms. Prescott gives readers a non violent cute cozy filled with friends and food. The murder/stalker plotline was interesting and the ending was a good surprise. I didn’t see it coming at all.

The Hawg Heaven mysteries are fun to read, fairly short, and can easily be read in one day and they are all very satisfying. Take a visit to Chatsworth, Illinois and sample Rossalyn’s fine foods and meet her friends. You won’t be sorry.

To see other reviews of Summer Prescott’s books please see Summer’s page on my blog.

Baby Back Murder (Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery #2) by Summer Prescott

When Rossalyn Channing moved to the small town of Chatsworth, Illinois to open her restaurant, Hawg Heaven, she thought her life and the life of her son, Ryan, would be peaceful and uncomplicated. Even though they made some good friends and the restaurant is doing brilliantly things have been a bit complicated. A young woman was murdered just as she opened the restaurant and now a short time later a second murder has occured. Rossalyn has only been in town a few months and murder is complicated especially when the sheriff of the town, Buckley Willis, thinks you are the murderer.

A day or so before the murder a television crew from a popular television show, Treasure Hunt USA, came into the restaurant for breakfast. They asked Rossalyn if she knew of any place in town where they might find some old antiques and collectables to feature on the show. Rossalyn told them to speak to Franz Hellman who had some barns on his property that were filled with antiques.

A cameraman went to the Hellman property before the rest of the crew to take an early look at what the television program might be interested in. It was in one of the barns where he was stabbed to death. But why would anyone want to kill a stranger to the town and who would do it?

Sheriff Willis thinks that Rossalyn is the murderer because she told the television crew about the barns but the sheriff never did care for Rossalyn and blames her for everything bad that happens in Chatsworth.

The thing is, the real murderer is running loose and there are quite a few suspects including a man who was living on the Hellman property doing handyman work for Mr. Hellman; the sole woman on the television crew, Stella Castle, who was in love with the cameraman but was heard arguing with the man before his death; a newly hired employee of Rossalyn’s, Garrett Marshall, who was recently released from jail; and Rossalyn’s next door neighbor, Tom Hundman, an ex military man who rides a motorcycle around town and is very big and intimidating.

As Rossalyn tries to figure things out someone causes some severe damage to her restaurant making her think she is close to finding out who the murderer is but it also frightens her when she thinks that harm might come to her son, Ryan.

“Baby Back Murder” is the second in the Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery Series by author Summer Prescott. Just like the first book this novel is fun, filled with good characters, and has a good murder mystery. Most of the regular characters returns to help Rossalyn solve the murder and help her out in every way possible. They’re also there to help eat all the comfort foods she serves in Hawg Heaven.

Easy to read and very faced-paced, every cozy-lover, mystery reader will enjoy visiting Chatsworth, Illinois and sampling the food and friendship that is served up daily in this nice cozy series.

To see other reviews of Summer Prescott’s books please see Summer’s page on my blog.

Patriot’s Passing (Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery #1) by Summer Prescott

When Rossalyn Channing’s husband is killed in Afghanistan she and her son, Ryan, leave the army base where they were living and initially thought she would move in with her parents until she got her life back together. But on their way to her parent’s home they stop off in a small town where Rosslyn sees an old store up for sale. She’s intrigued by it. Obviously the store had been empty and for sale for years but Rossalyn feels positive that she can make something out of it, like a restaurant.

Rossalyn, her son, and parents discuss her new venture and they all agree that she should go for it.

Rossalyn and Ryan move to the small town and with the help and support of her parents and the insurance money she received from her husband’s death, her new restaurant, Hawg Heaven, is opened. The restaurant features comfort food based on ham, bacon, pulled-pork, and all foods that make people feel good.

Rossalyn finds a great cook, Jose, who perfectly cooks the food. Needless to say Hawg Heaven is an immediate success. The whole town loves the new restaurant and Rossalyn and Ryan, except for the sheriff and his trouble-making family.

When a young mother is murdered and her body is found in the field behind Rossalyn’s restaurant her small staff seem to be the prime suspects by the sheriff.

With the help of a new motorcyclist friend, who is also a murder suspect, and a police officer from a nearby town, Rossalyn tries to find out who the killer is before any of her staff or her friend is arrested. She also needs to make sure that she and her son are safe from the strange going ons in this small town.

“Patriot’s Passing” is the first in author Summer Prescott’s Hawg Heaven Cozy Culinary Mystery series and it’s a wonderful novel. No, no bacon or pork-pull recipes here but there is lots of food talk, enough to get anyone hungry.

Ms. Prescott introduces a wonderful cast of characters who are interesting, dangerous, friendly, funny, loving, and people who anyone can identify with. Some  are presented as being intimidating but end up as being nothing more than a scary teddy bear while some of the “good guys” aren’t so good.

The description of this small town life was very inviting to me. I’d like to open a store there myself and have the new kind of life that Rossalyn and Ryan are living.

Even though there are a little over 300 pages in the book I was able to read it over night. The plot compelled me to keep reading “just one more chapter” until I found myself at the end.

The story is not fully closed at the end which makes me want to read the next in the series just to find out what happens next.

“Patriot’s Passing” is an intelligent cozy that all cozy lovers should read. Ms Prescott wrote a nice book that’s good for all readers. No bloody, violent scenes just a good murder plotline with lots of food talk.

 

Strawberry Frosted & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 39 by Susan Gillard

All of Heather Shepherd’s baking assistants were having a bad day. One just broke up with her boyfriend, another assistant’s boyfriend had to work late all the time, another had a dental problem, and another didn’t get the part in a play he wanted to be in. It was hard getting them to focus on Heather’s newest donut, Strawberry Frosted.

The day not get any better when Heather’s friend, Josh, had problems finding an assistant for his son to be opened new restaurant. Amy Given’s, Heather’s best friend, still believes that the building the restaurant is going to be in is cursed because people were previously found murdered in it.

Finally, Josh found the perfect chef’s assistant, Kenneth Cooke, who had some great recipes and was eager to start working. Josh was thrilled that Kenneth was going to start early the next day.

That next morning,, as Josh was speaking to Kenneth on the phone the conversation suddenly stopped. It sounded like someone hit Kenneth with a watermelon. Josh asked Heather and Amy to please find his new assistant and see if he was okay.

The two friends soon found the man laying on the beach. Someone hit him over the head with a rock and killed him. Kenneth was new to Key West and no one knew him  so who would want to kill him and for what reason?

The police thought that Josh murdered Kenneth in a rage since Josh does have some anger issues. Is Josh going to be a murder suspect for the second time since he moved to Florida?

But the police found something interesting about Kenneth Cooke. That wasn’t his real name. He was really Ben Ouster from upstate New York.

Ben had owned a restaurant there but got into some trouble. One man was poisoned by eating the food in Ben’s restaurant and died. Several other diners were put in the hospital. Ben did not have to go to jail but he soon left the community and changed his name. But did one of the diners or a family member of the dead man find Ben in Key West and kill the chef in revenge? Heather and Amy, with some help with the police, will find out what really happened to Kenneth/Ben.

“Strawberry Frosted & Murder” is the 39th in author Susan Gillard’s  Oceanside Cozy Mystery Series. The plot is different with twists and turns. All the regular characters are around making this yet another good mystery in this delightful series.

“I received an ARC of this book prior to publication and I voluntarily review it and my opinions are my own.”

To see other reviews of Susan Gillard’s books please go to Susan’s page on my blog.

 

Stars, Stripes & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 38 by Susan Gillard

The Fourth of July is just a few days away and Heather Shepherd has created the perfect donut to celebrate the big day, the Red, White, and Blue Baked Coke Donut.

The whole community of Key West, Florida was excited about all the fun that was planned for the Fourth. Unfortunately, murder crept its way in to put a damper on everyone’s good time.

When an explosion was heard on the beach everyone ran to see what happened. It was there they found Gary Ozmore laying on the sand, dead and burned from the fireworks he was setting up for the festivities. For years Gary did the fireworks display. He also had a band that played for everyone. No one could believe that Gary made a mistake that would kill him, he’d been doing the fireworks for too long and was very careful.

Upon investigation it was soon discovered that someone fooled around with the remote ignition button and killed Gary. But who would do that? He was a well-liked man and had no enemies.

Heather, her best friend, bakery assistant, and fellow P.I., Amy Givens, along with the police department, start to investigate and they soon found some suspects. Could the murderer have been one of Gary’s band members who might have been jealous of him? Could it have been one of the people who spoke to Gary as he was setting up the display on the beach? Was it a neighbor who Gary asked to watch the fireworks when he left for a few minutes, or was it the wife of one of the town’s officials? It could have been any of them or someone else but Heather is determined to find the guilty culprit so the rest of Key West would be able to celebrate the nation’s birthday.

“Stars, Stripes & Murder” is the 38th book in author Susan Gillard’s Oceanside Cozy Mystery Series and it’s a real blast. All the usual characters are there helping Heather to not only solve the murder but to partake of her delicious donuts.

The book is fun even though there is that murder to solve but everything turns out for the best at the end.

This a terrific novel to read on the beach during a heat wave waiting for your town’s fireworks display to begin.

“I received an ARC of this book prior to publication and I voluntarily review it and my opinions are my own.”

To see other reviews of Susan Gillard’s books please go to Susan’s page on my blog.

 

 

 

 

Sugar Donuts & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 37 by Susan Gillard

Donut baker/P.I., Heather Shepherd is thrilled that her 12 year-old daughter, Lilly, is becoming such a good writer. The girl was invited to read her newest detective dinosaur story at Bernadette’s Beach Books writer’s workshop. Heather, of course baked some tasty treats, sugar donuts, for the workshop.

But something soon took the joy out of the occasion. Heather and her best friend, Amy Givens, finds out that a lawyer’s office is on fire and that one their friends, Fireman Frank, was injured in the blaze. They go to the fire with one of Heather’s assistants, Janae, who is also Frank’s girlfriend.

Frank escaped with an injured leg when something fell on it during the fire and he was sent to the hospital. But Frank was also felt very guilty. A woman was in the office during the fire and was killed and Frank felt that he didn’t do enough to save her.

On investigation it was soon learned that the dead woman was Muriel Malloy who worked as a legal assistant at Thaddeus Fisher’s law office. The police soon believe that Muriel’s death was an accident but since the fire was arson her death now became a murder investigation.

Muriel was very well liked by Thaddeus and the other legal assistant, Roger Gretchen. In fact no one could think of a reason why would want to see Muriel dead. Detective Ryan Shepherd thinks that whomever set the office on fire might have been trying to destroy some of the office files and had no idea that Muriel was still in there.

But who would want to destroy the files and for what reason and was Muriel involved somehow? Thaddeus Fisher was very upset when he heard of her death. He said she was his best assistant which made his other assistant, Roger Gretchen, jealous but was he jealous enough to want to kill Muriel and make it look like someone wanted to destroy the office?

Since the law firm dealt with divorce cases could one of the clients have been angry at the Thaddeus because of a loss of a divorce proceeding? A few other suspects came to mind like the Taylor’s and the McNeil’s. One of them might have believed that they did not get enough money from the divorce and blamed Thaddeus.

Alan Grift was another suspect. Thaddeus Fisher lost Grift’s divorce proceeding and the client blamed the lawyer even though Alan Grift was cheating on his wife.

But maybe someone did want to murder Muriel after all. Could it have been it her husband?

Another murder investigation for Heather and Amy to solve and with the help of giving out their yummy donuts the arsonist will soon be in handcuffs.

“Sugar Donuts & Murder” by Susan Gillard is the 37th book in the Oceanside Cozy Mystery Series. Like all the previous books this one is just as entertaining and filled with all the regular characters. The series is fun to read and great for all ages. Author Susan Gillard has written yet another winner.

“I received an ARC of this book prior to publication and I voluntarily review it and my opinions are my own.”

To see other reviews of Susan Gillard’s books please go to Susan’s page on my blog.

 

 

Culinary Cozy Murder Compilation 2: Books 6-10 of An Oceanside Cozy Series (An Oceanside Cozy Mystery) by Susan Gillard

Need to catch up with author Susan Gillard’s Oceanside Cozy Series? Well, here’s a new compilation of books 6 – 10. It’s a wonderful way to read or reread all the early murder investigations that Heather Shepherd and her friends solved.

Caramel Apple & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 6 – In “Caramel Apple & Murder” Heather Shepherd and her friends find a dead body as they were bicycling on a bike tour around their new home in Florida. The dead man, a bartender, was left in the middle of the trail where anyone could have found him. He was stabbed to death and then his fingers were broken after he was killed. Detective Smith, who is supposed to be retiring very soon, thinks that this murder could be related to the murder of a nurse two years earlier. He asks Heather, Heather’s husband, Ryan who will be taking Smith’s place as detective after retiring, and Amy Givens, Heather’s P.I. assistant, to help find the murderer and to see if the two murders were done by the same person.

Coffee Cake & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 7 – Things were going pretty well with Heather Shepherd and her family and friends in Key West, Florida. Her husband Ryan finally started working as a police detective and the donut shop was coming along until Heather realized that online donut sales were slipping. She saw that a coffee shop owner in Salem, Massachusetts ordered some donuts for a Halloween event she was catering and said that Heather’s donuts were terrible! Heather’s donuts terrible? That couldn’t be so she and her best friend, Amy Givens, gets on a plane to Massachusetts to find out why the shop owner though the donuts warranted such a bad review.

The first time they went to speak with the owner they had to run out when the woman threw the donuts Heather and Amy wanted to give her. The next time they went to speak with her they found the owner dead and suddenly Amy and Heather were the prime suspects. So they decided they better investigate on their own to figure out who poisoned the coffee shop owner.

Mulled Cider & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 8  – Heather Shepherd and her friend, Amy Givens, have their hands full in Key West Florida. Their bookstore owner friend has been finding love poems in some of her books and has no idea who is writing them or who the poems are for so she asks Heather and Amy for some help solving this problem.

On another front, Heather’s husband, Ryan, is having a problem of his own. Another murder has hit Key West and he wants to solve it with just himself and his partner so that the Chief of Police knows that Ryan is a good detective but Ryan is having a hard time doing that without Heather and Amy’s help.

The owner of a cupcake shop was found stabbed to death. Heather and Amy are a little stressed out because the shop reminds them of Heather’s donut shop. As they investigate with Ryan, who has finally to agreed let them help, the awesome P.I. duo find out that the cupcake shop owner kept a ruby in the flour that she makes her cupcakes with. Why is this ruby hidden in the flour and who gave it to her. Was it her boyfriend or one of her three assistants and if not them, then who and does this gem of a discovery have anything to do with her murder?

Pumpkin Pie Brulee & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 9  – No one likes to cook Thanksgiving dinner even Heather Shepherd donut maker par excellence. Heather is making a pre Thanksgiving dinner, minus the turkey, just to see if she can make all the side dishes. She can’t. Her husband, police detective Ryan Shepherd, calls her to help him with something that she can do, help investigate a murder.

Craig Caulfield was killed while deep frying a turkey. It seems like the oil shot up hurting the chef and putting the yard on fire. This might have been an accident since deep frying a turkey can be dangerous, but everyone thinks that it might have been murder. Craig’s wife, Jocelyn said that he was a very careful chef and was always responsible when he cooked. One of their sons, Chris, was helping him and was lucky not to have been killed and ended up in the hospital from his burns.

Everyone thinks that this was no accident but a homicide and that someone killed the chef, but who? Was it wife, Jocelyn or some other family member? Heather and her best friend, Amy Givens, will find out the truth and solve the case.

Cranberry Glazed & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 10 – Heather Shepherd and her best friend and fellow P.I., Amy Givens, are excited when Jamie, Amy’s boyfriend’s mobile dog grooming van finally opens. The grooming van is a huge success on its opening day but Jamie ends up with a small problem named Miss Marshmallow. Miss Marshmallow’s owner, Melanie Grayson, left the little dog to be groomed so she could run some errands but the owner never returned. Amy thought that Jamie was lying and just wanted her to fall in love with the cute dog and keep her but Jamie’s story about the owner was true.

Amy and Jamie kept Miss Marshmallow overnight and it was not easy. The little dog was a real diva and refused to eat.

Heather and Amy decide to look for the little dog’s owner and they found her strangled in a palm tree grove,

On investigating the murder the P.I.’s and the police detective, Ryan, Heather’s hubby, discover that Melanie worked at an architecture firm and recently moved to Florida from Atlanta. But why would someone murder her and who? Was it one of the people working with her or was it someone from Atlanta? There’s nothing left to do but to investigate and find out.

“I received an ARC of this book prior to publication and I voluntarily review it and my opinions are my own.”

To see other reviews of Susan Gillard’s books please go to Susan’s page on my blog.

 

Mimosa And Mystery: A Vineyard Winery Culinary Cozy Mystery (Midnight Winery Cozy Mystery Book 3) by Christie Waters

Zara Myers, owner of the Chateau du Midnight Winery in beautiful Mendocino County, California is accompanying her boyfriend, Daniel Haddish of Glass Rose Vineyards, for a mini vacation to Bakersfield, California. Well, Daniel does have a business opportunity there but the couple hope to have some free time for a little romance.

Daniel hoped to go into business with Joseph Walker, owner of Walker Oranges, and Zara and Daniel were off to look at the orange groves.

When the couple arrived at the hotel Daniel twisted his ankle and Timmy, a very nice bellhop, helped them get to their rooms.

Eventually Daniel and Zara made it to Walker Oranges even though Daniel’s ankle was still a bit sore. The sweet orange smells from the grove soon turned sour when Joseph Walker found his son dead and to Daniel and Zara’s horror Joseph’s murdered son was none other than Timmy, the kind bellhop. Then the unthinkable happened and Joseph was also murdered and all this happened while Zara and Daniel were there.

This vacation/business trip was not going well and things got even stickier when out of nowhere Zara’s older half sister, Maria, knocked on Zara’s hotel room door telling Zara that she wanted part of the vineyard that Zara inherited from her grandfather. Maria threatened to sue Zara if she didn’t receive a check for half of what the vineyard was worth.

Oh, things were not going well at all. Daniel and Zara were told by the police not to leave the area, Daniel’s business deal was ruined, Zara might end up losing her vineyard, and Maria acted very suspicious when she heard about Timmy’s death. Now what are Zara and Daniel going to do? What else but do some investigating on their own. They’re pros at it at this point since they already helped solve two mysteries at Mendocino County. What have they got to lose now? Just a vineyard and maybe their lives.

“Mimosa And Mystery” is author Christie Waters’ novel in her Midnight Winery Cozy Mystery book series. I loved that Ms. Waters brought in a new person in Zara’s sister, Maria. The books needed a really terrible character that fans could despise. Murderers are despicable but nothing is as bad as a sister who wants to cheat her younger sibling. Yep, I definitely hated Maria and that was one reason that I wanted to get to the end of the book, to find out just what was going on with Zara’s older sibling.

The storyline got a little, shall I say, odd at one point when Zara was following a suspect during a concert and ended up in in a contest of sorts. This turn of events was strange but also rather funny. One thing about Ms. Waters’ novels is she tells you a lot about wines, fashion, murder, and lots of other things. She ties all the subjects in nicely with the plot so it’s all fun to read.

“Mimosa And Mystery” is a nice cozy filled with wine, romance, murder, friendship, and a few laughs. What more can you ask for for an enjoyable day of reading?

Pick up any one, or all three of the Midnight Winery Cozy Mystery Series, open up a bottle of wine, put your feet up, and get involved in a good mystery.

“I received an ARC of this book prior to publication and I voluntarily reviewed it and my opinions are my own.”

To see other reviews of Christie Water’s books please go to Christie’s page on my blog.

Banana Nut & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery – Book 36 By Susan Gillard

It was a miracle. Heather Shepherd and her best pal, Amy Givens, actually had a little bit of spare time on their hands. Donut Delights was practically running on it’s own with all of Heather’s assistants rocking and rolling and baking the donuts. Best of all, there weren’t any recent murders in Key West, Florida so when their older friends Eva, Leila, and Vincent asked them to look into some robberies at the Sunny Shores Retirement Home, the two bakers/P.I.’s were glad to help out.

Joy Cromwell, a friend of Eva and Leila, live at the retirement home and she recently discovered that some of her jewelry and money had been stolen. The same thing had also happened to a few other women living at the home so Heather and Amy decided to help out and find the thief.

When the two women got to the home they found Joy and asked her and some other residents some questions and Amy, joking around, said that the gardener was the thief. That joke was far from funny because the Heather and Amy soon found the gardener, Grant Jenkins, dead, hit over the head with a garden hoe.

Mr. Jenkins worked at the retirement home for seven years and was very well liked by the people who lived there. He did his best to plant the types of flowers that had the different colors that the residents liked. Basically, the gardener had no enemies. The only reason Heather could think of as to why he was killed was that he saw the thief and was murdered because of that.

The Sunny Shores Retirement Home was also a hot bed for romance. Lots of the residents would get together for some innocent adult mischief and not all the romance involved just residents. Vincent’s twin brother, Vernon, visited the home multiple times a week to spread some sunshine to the ladies living there. But every time Vernon was visited money or jewelry were reported missing. Was it any wonder that Vernon was now the prime suspect in this case?

Vernon swore he didn’t steal or hurt anyone, except for the hearts of some of the women, and Vernon’s brother, Vincent didn’t see his twin as a murderer or a thief.

So who killed the gardener and who stole the money and jewels? Did just one person do this or were two people involved? Heather and Amy are on the case looking for clues.

“Banana Nut & Murder” is the 36th installment of author Susan Gillard’s Oceanside Cozy Mystery Series. It’s a fun read with all the usual characters around. Heather’s newest donut, Banana Nut, helps her make friends with all the suspects she interrogates. How could anyone lie with a mouth full of a yummy donut treat?

The only problem I have is that he book needs more editing. Not that you can’t read the story but the problems are distracting and slows down the reading pace.

Other than that “Banana Nut & Murder” is a good book for all cozy lovers. Another gem in the Oceanside Series collection.

“I received an ARC of this book prior to publication and I voluntarily review it and my opinions are my own.”

To see other reviews of Susan Gillard’s books please go to Susan’s page on my blog.