Review - Fondue or Die

I saw one description call this "Miss Congeniality" meets "Law & Order: Dairy Crimes Unit" which cracks me up in itself.  That sets the bar rather high.  Let's see what I thought.

I had only read and reviewed one other in this series"

3) Curds of Prey (click here)

Author: Korina Moss

Copyright: October 2024 (St. Martin) 304 pgs

Series: 5th in Cheese Shop Mysteries

Sensuality: mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy, amateur sleuth, culinary cozy

Main Characters: Willa Bauer, owner of French inspired Curds & Whey Cheese Shop

Setting: Modern day, small town Yarrow Glen in Sonoma Valley CA

Obtained Through: Publisher thru Netgalley for honest review

Book Blurb: "The small town of Yarrow Glen’s neighbor, Lockwood, hosts an annual Labor Day weekend bash: Dairy Days. And Willa Bauer and her cheese shop, Curds & Whey, refuse to miss out on the fun. Willa is thrilled to celebrate her favorite thing―she is a cheesemonger after all―and this festival goes all out: butter sculptures, goat races, cheese wheel relays, even a Miss Dairy pageant. Too bad the pageant runner, Nadine, is treating Dairy Days prep like it’s fondue or die and is putting everyone around her on edge. When Willa finds Nadine’s dead body under years’ worth of ceramic milk jugs, the police aren’t sure whether the death was an accident. But fingers are pointing at Willa’s employee, Mrs. Schultz, who steps in to help the pageant after Nadine’s death. Someone wanted Nadine out of the whey, and Willa is going to find out who." 

My Thoughts:  I haven't read every book before this, so a reader can jump in here and it should be easy to understand the dynamics.  I'll be honest, in the previous book that I read and reviewed in this series, Willa didn't click for me. The character isn't bad, she just wasn't for me. I gave it another try and this outing I have warmed to her a bit. The supporting cast, called "Team Cheese," includes Archie- recently a high school graduate, and Mrs. Schulz- a retired schoolteacher, and Willa's neighbor and good friend- Baz.  They are a found family for Willa and make the story.

There is plenty going on with lots of small town drama, grudges, and personality clashes. The killer reveal is well orchestrated and high tension. Bravo!  I recommend, particularly if you like culinary cozies or cheese in general. 

Rating: Good - A fun read with a good mystery and small town drama galore

Thank you for reading this blog and please recommend to friends and family who will enjoy it.

Join my author newsletter, get a recipe booklet for subscribing: Click Here 

Review - Murder in Berkeley Square

This series has quickly become a "must read" for me. It is also receiving praise everywhere.   Offering “a vibrant picture of the roles Black and mixed-race people played in Regency life” (Publishers Weekly)

Here are the reviews of prior novels' in the series:

1) Murder in Westminster (click here)

2) Murder in Drury Lane (click here)

Author:  Vanessa Riley

Copyright:  Sept 2024 (Kensington Books) 322 pgs

Series:  3rd in Lady Worthing Mysteries

Sensuality:  Period innuendo and adult issues

Mystery Sub-genre:  Historical Amateur Sleuth

Main Characters:  Lady Abigail Worthing, unhappy in a marriage of convenience

Setting:  1806, London England

Obtained Through:  Library

Book Blurb: "A marriage of convenience saved Lady Abigail Worthing’s family from disgrace, but she’s finding her absent husband's endless conditions increasingly repressive. Unable to stay at their London home during the oncoming winter, she accepts a ride to the country (to family for the holidays) from her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson. However, she's less than delighted that she’s his excuse to avoid a dinner held by Lord Charles Duncan, one of London's most powerful—and relentless—magistrates. More irritating, women are decidedly unwelcome at the evening’s prestigious discussion of criminality—even though Abigail and Stapleton have solved several cases together . . .  

Then an unexpected blizzard strands them at Lord Duncan’s with his now-houseguests. Suddenly, an evening of fine dining, fine brandy, and insightful debate becomes an inescapable—and deadly—ordeal. The ultimate test for Abigial’s skill. One of the dinner guests is found dead in front of the Berkley Square mansion. And when another party is murdered, Abigail discovers each had received a taunting, prophetic nursery rhyme . . . coincidence, or clues left by a killer on the loose?

Through deft interrogation, she learns everyone present is connected to Lord Duncan's greatest failure in the courts: the conviction of a Martinique plantation informant for a murder he didn’t commit. But as Abigail races to find who was really responsible for the miscarriage of justice, she'll be forced to put her own and Stapleton's lives at risk in a gambit that will alter their fates forever—or end them permanently." 

My Thoughts:

Lady Abigail "Abbie" Worthing (baroness) is independent and intelligent but a little bit of a troubled soul. Her marriage of convenience has her very troubled as it has been two years since seeing her husband with no change in sight. Commander Stapleton Henderson is her next door neighbor, a recent widower, and a physician. They are clearly good for each other which brings plenty of tension. 

Florentina Sewell, her cousin, is a math minded wiz who makes a great sidekick but can be rather like a mother-hen during this outing.  Mr. Neil Vaughn is her godfather but isn't present in this story much. 

All of the men they are snowed in with are secretive and seem bitter.  The nursery rhyme that all the men got snippets from are eerie and suggest murder for each.

The pace took a little to get going because the first few chapters are Abbie and her cousin in the same room as the first murder is being dealt with in the middle of the blizzard. But those chapters have clues slipped in that become important later.  The pace picks up from there.

Having everyone snowed in is a challenging setup to keep interest and action, but this was handled deftly and ratchets up the tension among the characters.  The plot is twisty and hard to even guess which of the men present (none of them pleasant except Henderson) is the murderer, or if there is more than one.  The killer reveal is harrowing with a startling outcome that was handled well.  The final wrap-up presents a surprise that makes it excruciating to wait for the next book.

I found this an intense mystery with plenty of suspects and few clues. This series shows no slowing or letting up. The author's notes are fascinating and not to be missed as well.

Ratings: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Have you read this book?  Share your thoughts in the comments please.

THANK YOU for reading this blog and please recommend to friends and family who will enjoy it.

Join my author newsletter, get a recipe booklet for subscribing: Click Here  

Review - Murder in Drury Lane

 Teaser: "Bringing a vibrant edge and welcome diversity to the Regency genre, this exciting historical mystery from award-winning author Vanessa Riley features an engaging heroine with an independent streak, a notorious past, and a decided talent for sleuthing . . "

"With impeccable attention to period details, a vividly evoked setting, a cast of richly nuanced characters, and a captivating plot that fully embraces the challenges and oft-overlooked diversity of the Regency era, Riley's second stunning addition to her Lady Worthing series." --Booklist on Murder in Drury Lane

My review of the prior book in the series :

1) Murder in Westminster (click here) 

Author: Vanessa Riley

Copyright: October 2023 (Kensington) 340 pgs

Series: 2nd in Lady Worthing Mysteries

Sensuality: mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical cozy mystery, historical amateur sleuth

Main Characters: Lady Abigail Worthing, unhappy in a marriage of convenience

Setting: 1806, London, England

Obtained Through: Library

Blurb: "Pressed into a union of convenience, Lady Abigail Worthing’s marriage to an absent lord does at least provide some comforts, including a box at the Drury Lane Theatre, owned by the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Abigail has always found respite there, away from the ton’s judgmental stares, the risks of her own secret work to help the cause of abolition—and her fears that someone from her past wants her permanently silenced. But on one particular evening everything collides, and the performance takes an unwelcome turn . . .

 Onstage, a woman emits a scream of genuine terror. A man has been found dead in the prop room, stabbed through the heart. The magistrate, keen to avoid bringing more attention to the case and making Lady Worthing more of a target, asks Abigail not to investigate. But of course, she cannot resist . . .

 Abigail soon discovers a tangled drama that rivals anything brought to the stage, involving gambling debts, an actress with a parade of suitors, and the very future of the Drury Lane Theatre. For Abigail the case is complicated further, for one suspect is a leading advocate for the cause dearest to her heart—the abolition of slavery within the British Empire. Uncovering the truth always comes at a price. But this time, it may be far higher than she wishes to pay." 

Lady Abigail "Abbie" Worthing is independent and intelligent trying to carve out her own path in an environment which often restricts female individuality. She is also a Baroness via marriage.  Her close relationships make this story. Commander Stapleton Henderson is her next door neighbor and a physician. "It's complicated" describes Abigail and Stapleton's relationship.  He is recently a widower and she hasn't seen her husband since they got married a few years ago, but they are clearly good for each other and given different circumstances would have been great romantic partners.

Florentina Sewell, her cousin makes a great sidekick and somebody she can turn to.  Mr. Neil Vaughn is her godfather who is connected to the power players of England and is protective of Abbie. He also played a role in her mother leaving her father to complicate things.  These characters are heartfelt and I love them.

The reader is immersed in Regency London with the theater filled with secrets, shadows, tunnels, taverns, and societal expectations and cultural nuances that are all richly layered throughout.  Gently woven into this tapestry is gender and class issues of the time. 

The blurb hints at Abbie's secret support of equal rights (abolition) and how that, and her being black, could have her in danger which is one plot thread plus the murder at the theater which becomes personal. The theater is her escape, her nurturing place, and somebody has violated that.  Then to complicate matters, her neighbor Stapleton Henderson knows and has personal interest in the man who was murdered. It's a great setup that develops with suspense and emotion, mystery and danger.  This all makes the pacing flow along beautifully.

The killer reveal and confrontation is satisfying and tense but also explanatory. The wrap up delivered a bit more of the scales of justice leveling out for a good closure.  I am already looking at the next book in the series since I hadn't kept up.  

My Thoughts:   I have to admit I love this series. Author Vanessa Riley masterfully spins a truly entertaining tale mixing a finely plotted mystery with vibrant characters I have become investing in.  As the second book, I believe it may have been ever better that the stellar first book. Kudos.  I am a super-fan now.

Rating:  Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.