[ I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
There were a lot of wineries in the Niagara region of New York, and Cascade Springs was no exception. And since it was her home town, it was the perfect place for Belinda Perkins to hold her book signing.
And as the only bookstore in town, Violet and Grandma Daisy’s store, Charming Books, was the natural choice for handling the details of the signing. Yes, it meant Violet had to spend an evening at the Morton Vineyard, but the signing would be good for business.
At first, Violet didn’t realize she knew Belinda Perkins. She was a well-known and popular author when it came to wine. And her opinion could make or break a vineyard – like she broke the nearby Bone and Hearth Vineyard. But Violet knew Belinda from her own childhood in Cascade Springs. She was the older sister of one of Violet’s closest friends, Lacey. What Violet didn’t know was that the Perkins girls had had a huge falling out after Violet left town. At the signing, Lacey tried to approach Belinda to make amends. But Belinda flew into a rage and ordered Lacey to leave. When Belinda’s body is found later, Lacey becomes a murder suspect.
Review
This is my favorite of Flower’s many mystery series. I’ve also read her Amish Candy Shop series and the Magic Garden series. (Her Instagram feed at @amandaflowerauthor is also delightful!) I adore the characters, the town and of course the magical bookshop in this series. All three of the books in this series so far have been well-done and really kept me guessing!
There are some interesting extra wrinkles in this book – an obnoxious private investigator following Violet around, new additions to the writers’ critique group that meets in the shop, and an exploration of the book Little Women. I loved all of it – the ongoing character development, the celebration of books and reading, the fun animal characters. The whole book was a treat to read.
I felt like there were a couple pieces of the mystery that weren’t as fully spelled out as I wanted – a clue that maybe should have been a bigger deal to the police and a suspect with an excellent motive who was almost a non-factor in the investigation. These are minor observations that did nothing to diminish my enjoyment of the mystery in the big picture. The culprit was a nice development. I had toyed with that solution but never committed completely, so I enjoyed the final reveal. It handled several threads of the story nicely.
I highly recommend this book, and the whole series! Book one is Crime and Poetry and book 2 is Prose and Cons.