The Sharry Case

 The Sherry Case

The Vineyard Mysteries #3

H L Marsay

Reviewed by Helen

Another fabulous installment in this wonderful series, this time Emma King buyer of wines for the family business has decided with her sister Maddie and an idea from another buyer friend that she should give sherry a go and spark it up, so Emma finds herself in Spain, Jerez to be precise and is navigating her way to her first destination and of course Emma gets lost and when she turns into a driveway to get directions she finds a body, sadly again this seems to happen to Emma too often, she calls the police and soon Inspector Inez Garcia arrives there are lots of questions sent Emma’s way and she finds herself at the police station, thank heavens her friend Nico arrives not long after to take her to her hotel where she meets up with Paddy and Kiara they are shocked but not too surprised that Emma again has discovered a body and they are all advising her to stay out of it but will Emma be able to do that?

It is not long before Emma is deep in trying to work out what happened to the victim, returning to the scene of the crime to rescue a cat and kittens and discovers evidence as well, sees her again in the path of the inspector and not happily, the murder victim was a journalist and he was investigating a few people at the time and so there are a few people who are now suspects and Nico is one of them and Emma will do whatever she can to prove his innocence.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Spain, flamenco, secrets and of course sherry tasting as Emma uncovers clues but will she discover who the killer is in time to save Nico? I highly recommend this one and the series, to any lover of a good cosy mystery I love Emma, klutz that she can be she rarely gets things wrong when finding a killer and could there be something growing between her and Nico, I look forward to the next book in this series.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

September 23, 2026 by Tule Publishing

Murder in the Vineyard

 Murder in the Vineyard

Maybridge Murder Mysteries #4

Liz Fielding

Reviewed by Helen

We are back in Maybridge for another fabulous story in this series, back with Abby and her lovely family and friends, I was turning the pages in this one and again MS Fielding had me guessing till the very end.

Abby loves her family, friends, plants and animals so it is no wonder that she swerved to miss a dog that ran onto the road, this is the start a mystery that of course Abby cannot help getting involved in even if she has promised her new husband Jake that she wouldn’t. Following the dog onto the vineyard where she discovers the body of the owner of the vineyard Clementine Courtenay lying head first in the stream, Fancy Day the woman who runs an animal shelter on the Courtenay land arrives as well and does what she can to help but it is too late.

The police decide that Clementine slipped and fell but Abby is not convinced and neither is June, Abby’s neighbour and soon there is a murder board in June’s study and they are uncovering rumours and jilted lovers and affairs and a family that has lots of secrets. Then when Fancy Day is found dead in the same spot the plot thickens and there is a lot more to uncover, but will the truth be uncovered before Abby is in danger again?

I loved this one from start to finish, reading one of these books in the series feels like a visit home with friends and the cast of regular characters, Abby, Jake and the children and now the dog Scout and also some not very nice people but of course that is what adds to the mystery, this is one that I highly recommend, the whole series is awesome and I am looking forward to another one.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

September 8, 2026 by Joffe Books

The Dog Park Murders

 The Dog Park Murders

Dog Park Murders #1

Angela Barker

Reviewed by Helen

A great start to a new series this one is a cosy mystery and romance all rolled into one fabulous story, set in the small town of Labrador Falls where gossip runs deep and just about everyone has a dog, come along and meet the characters who live there.

Juliette Macintyre has grown up in Labrador Falls she works at the dog grooming salon What The Fluff and loves dogs she has a twin sister Norah a best friend Alexa but the town looks on the Macintyre’s with suspicion after what her father did years before but Juliette is strong and resilient, she loves fostering dogs and has a Jack Russell at the moment named Digger she also loves to annoy her new business neighbour Joel Cunningham who runs the café.

Joel has moved to Labrador Falls to put the past behind him he owns the Brewed Awakening Café and comes across as surly and grumpy he doesn’t want to make friends and he doesn’t want to know the gossip that is always being told in his café and he does his best to ignore Juliette, that is until she discovers a body in the dog park and she appears to be number one suspect and Joel steps up to keep her safe.

Soon there is chemistry growing between them as they investigate first one murder and then another and Joel is doing his best to not get close to either Juliette or Digger but as they get closer to the answers they are looking for and do their best to keep the police from arresting Juliette losing their hearts is a lost cause.

I loved this one it is witty, fun, moving and mysterious all rolled into one fabulous story, wonderful characters lots of moments that had me smiling and cheering them on, I look forward to the next one in the series which is Norah’s story and I have my fingers crossed that Alexa will get her story as well.

I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a good cosy mystery/romance.

My thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

4 stars

August 25, 2026 by Harlequin

The Widows' Guide to Foul Play

 The Widows' Guide to Foul Play

The Widow's Detective Club #5

Amanda Ashby

Reviewed by Helen

The fifth book in this awesome series and it is getting close to Christmas and that means it is Pantomime season in Little Shaw and the local theatre group are going to put on Mother Goose one that they did thirty years ago and they have convinced the main character from back then, know a national celebrity and a diva, Monica Larkwell to return and perform the main character again and Ginny, Tuppence, MJ and Hen have been roped into help with the performance and things seem to be going very smoothly no bodies.

Then Ginny discovers Monica’s body in her dressing room lying with a chandelier on her Ginny and her friends are convinced this was no accident but after the last case they have decided to stay out of the investigation and let DI Wallace and his police officers do their job that is until Wallace actually asks for their help and of course they throw themselves into the investigation full swing, with a new murder board this time Flora.

What they uncover is a case of secrets that have been kept for many years and another murder will they find the culprit before there is another murder and will the detective Widow’s find themselves in danger? There are many twists and turns in this one that kept the Ladies on their toes and again I loved it these Ladies have me smiling throughout the story as well as thinking and trying to work out who done it?

I do highly recommend this one and the series and I am looking forward to another trip to Little Shaw.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

August 10, 2026 by Storm Publishing

Deadly Tides

 Deadly Tides

Martha's Vineyard Murders #5

Raemi A Ray

Reviewed by Helen

We are back at Martha’s Vineyard with Kyra, Tarek and Chase for another action packed page turning mystery, Tarek is still getting over all his injuries and having a hard time and Kyra is doing her best to help but it has been hard and Chase is being his usual self-there for everyone when a mutilated body is discovered in the lighthouse just after the fourth of July weekend, the island need Tarek and Kyra’s help to find out what happened.

Tarek is slow to respond but Kyra with Chase’s help jumps straight in and when evidence goes missing Tarek is soon helping as well which is what they need not only evidence is missing witnesses go missing as well and then Kyra is caught in the middle in grave danger, Tarek and Chase are beside themselves what they uncover is corruption, lies and secrets and it appears that somewhere in amongst all of this is a link to Tarek one that he had kept to himself, will Tarek and Chase rescue Kyra before it is too late and how many bodies will there be at the end of all of this?

I loved this one from start to finish and I cannot wait for the next one, I do highly recommend this one and the series which are best read in order so you get to know Kyra, Tarek and Chase along the way the setting is fabulous, it is sure to keep any reader on the edge of your seat, thank you MS Ray for another awesome story.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

June 8, 2026 by Tule Publishing

The Body at St Edmunds

 The Body at St Edmunds

Georgina Drake #8

Kate Hardy

Reviewed by Helen

We are back in Norfolk with Georgie and her friends and this is another fabulous story in this series that I am loving, this time Georgie is in St Edmunds church photographing the lead light stained glass as it is being renovated, she is having a lovely chat to craftsman Liam Jacobs and learning so much from him, she leaves him to go to the kitchen with church volunteer Kathleen after sharing a cup of tea and piece of banana cake they return to find Liam on the floor with his half eaten piece of banana cake, they immediately start CPR but sadly with no success and Georgie calls her partner DI Colin Bradshaw, they had known that Liam was allergic to coconut but Kathleen swears there was none in the cake she made but did someone else add it?

Colin arrives a takes over the investigation while Doris Georgie’s ghostly friend alerts Georgie to an historic case here in the village that has to do with the church regarding two deaths, these two people are related to Kathleen and this starts Georgie and her friend Sybbie on an investigation of their own, which involves secret tunnels and hidden treasure could this be linked to the death of Liam as well?

This is another fabulous story one in which I kept changing my mind on who I thought was the killer, I loved being back in Little Wenborough, with the fabulous friends that I have made throughout the series, Kate Hardy has again bought her readers a mystery to uncover and an historical one that was so very interesting with the historical facts. I loved this one and I do highly recommend it and the series. Such a fabulous ending to this one I was thrilled and look forward to more in this series and some planning.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 Stars

May 25, 2026 by Storm Publishing

The Body in the Bath House

 The Body in the Bath House

Bitterport Mysteries #2

Suzanne Gilchrist

Reviewed by Helen

Book two in this multi author series and I loved it and being back in Bitterport Tasmania, this town is like a ghost town these days with many mysteries and secrets, some of the old buildings are being inherited by people who are not locals and this time we see Mercy Galanis taking possession of the old bath house, it is not in the best of conditions but not as bad as she thought it would be and this is just what Mercy needs to start fresh and she is going to turn this place into a wellness spa, life is sure to be looking up for Mercy and her little dog Pip.

Mercy arrives to cold and wet weather and it feels like someone is watching her every move light globes are missing and the place feels very eerie and the plumbing is not working a quick message to the plumber she has hired to help with the renovations sees Zac Alexander and his dog Zero arrive to help but when Pip uncovers a mummified body in a tiny room off the pool area things change very quickly, the police are called but Mercy and Zac decide that they are going to do what they can to uncover the dead persons identity and surely this will help Mercy make friends with the few locals that live in Bitterport, this leads to a couple of very dangerous situations and as they try to get answers and keep each other safe they are growing closer by the day, but Zac has a son and he has plans will they find a way to be together?

This is a fabulous story that had me turning the pages and guessing pretty much to the end, the setting is just so good the atmosphere of the bath house is eerie at times and Mercy has a lot to uncover she also would love to find out who left her the house is it someone who is related to her. So many questions but will they get the answers?

I do highly recommend this one a cosy mystery a little romance with wonderful characters danger and trouble around every corner and a presence in the house that is always there.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

June 29, 2026 by Tule Publishing