Author: Jamie Lee Scott

Series: Willa Friday

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Novels & Coffee

Pages: 162

 

Willa Friday has sworn off amateur sleuthing. She is completely focused on her food blogging business. That is until a series of events drags her back in… While she is at a blogging convention, her assistant goes missing. He isn’t returning any calls, texts, or emails, which is completely unlike him. Willa returns home, and there is still no sign of him. Meanwhile, Hattie (her mother-in-law) and her girlfriends are all set for a fun day in San Francisco which should have nothing to do with Willa, until an urgent phone call from Hattie drags her in to yet another murder investigation. Are these events linked? What will Willa and Hattie get in to next?

This book was so much fun, guys! Of course, the main characters are already really well developed as this is the fourth book in the series. However, there are some new characters introduced that add some great depth to the story, and they are well fleshed out, as well. This is a cozy mystery, so there is nothing really dark or horrific, but there are still some great twists that the reader may not see coming. If you’ve been following the series, there are some fun reveals in this installment! If you’re a cozy mystery fan, I recommend this series to you. It has great characters and ongoing plot line (plus fun recipes!). You can jump in at this book and you would be able to pick up and not feel too terribly lost, but I would definitely recommend going back to the first book of the series, Pasta, Pinot, & Murder. Here is my review of that, if you’d like to see it: Pasta Pinot & Murder: A Food & Wine Cozy Mystery (Willa Friday, Book 1).

This is out now, and the buy link is below! Go, read, enjoy!!

Author: Jamie Lee Scott

Series: Willa Friday

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: LBB Company

Pages: 173

 

Willa Friday is owner and food blogger for “A Dish in Thyme”, and a food photographer. She, along with her ex-husband and their daughter, live on the vineyard owned by her ex-mother-in-law. She also rents her work space from her. Willa has just hired a new assistant to replace her daughter, who is leaving for college, and has begun training him when she is reminded that she is to meet the owner of another vineyard to get the details for an event that she is to do photography for. When she arrives at the vineyard, however, she finds the owner dead and her ex-mother-in-law the main suspect in the murder. Willa becomes involved in the investigation, and finds out more information about the local vineyard owners than she bargained for, putting her in the crosshairs.

This was a fun, quick read. The characters were all well developed, with room to develop them even further without it seeming forced. There was a good plot and storyline, that didn’t seem stale, as it can sometime seem with cozies. It’s peppered throughout with recipes, and food and wine pairings (looking forward to trying some of those!). This was definitely something original, which I always enjoy. There was a lot of fun snark and wit in the dialogue. If you have read Scott’s other work, you can hear her voice in this book, but there is no doubt that this is much lighter fare compared to her Gotcha series. I would have to day that this first installment, in what is set to be a new series, is a success.