The Candy Cane Caper

Published on by Erica

The theft of a friend s priceless, family-legacy Christmas ornaments brings amateur detective and culinary expert, Sadie Hoffmiller, back on the case in a new standalone cozy mystery.

This Christmas, Sadie Hoffmiller Cunningham is making a list and checking it twice. For the first time since she and Pete married five years ago, their combined families are gathering for the holidays in Fort Collins, Colorado, for a party that would make Santa and Mrs. Claus proud.

She just has to bake the famous Cunningham Candy Cane Cake, make sure the looming snowstorm doesn’t derail everyone’s travel plans, and oh, yes, solve one teensy-tiny mystery before the big day.

At ninety-four and nearly blind, Mary, Sadie’s friend and neighbor, knows this will be her last Christmas. When Sadie learns that someone has stolen antique Christmas ornaments from Mary’s tree, she vows to find the thief, no matter what. The ornaments had been appraised at more than $40,000, but they were worth even more to Mary, who had intended to bequeath them to her great-granddaughter, Joy, as a final gift.

With Pete in Arizona wrapping up a case of his own, it’s up to Sadie to question the residents of Nicholas House, where Mary lives, and deduce who had the means and the motive to steal heirloom ornaments during what should be the most wonderful time of the year.

When stories of other thefts surface, Sadie feels like she’s creating a “naughty” list that could rival Santa’s. Identifying the thief, recovering the ornaments, and restoring them to Mary’s tree in time will take a Christmas miracle and maybe a few extra-special cookies.

My Review:

This little gem is a cozy mystery that I was given an ARC via Netgalley from the publisher.

If you want a little mystery with your Christmas cheer, check out this book. It will have you laughing. It will have you crying. This is a book about family, faith, and love.

Spinning Silk by T. Cook

Published on by Erica

 

A weaver’s genius ignites the envy of her peers, the possessiveness of her mill’s proprietress, and the hopes of an unborn nation. Furi knows she was born to create, but the fabric of her life otherwise weaves mysteries. These things are more than they appear: 

Shin, the gardener, with his unlikely power over life and death;
A mysterious illness with a selective death route;
Kitsuke artist Madame Sato who would fashion Furi into a reincarnation of her own dead daughter;
The princess of a figurehead emperor, who has strange loyalties to a humble gardener; and
The vaporous rumor of war with no apparent aggressor.

Spinning Silk is inspired by Japanese folklore including the love story of Orihime and Hikoboshi as well as a radical reimagining of the tsuchigumo.

Review: The Girl in the Tower

Published on by Erica

the girl in the towerSynopsis:

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

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My Review:

I was delighted when I was offered a copy of the this book from the publisher. I had previously read and enjoyed the first book, The Bear and the Nightingale.

Medieval Russia. Not your typical fantasy world setting, and I loved my visit to it. The details are rich, and the story ran smoothly.  Unlike the first book, the pacing of this book was swift, which is fitting as our heroine, Vasya, is swept up in an adventure.

I did have a few issues with it though as a reader, and other sensitive readers may as well. The big one was the use of adult language in a few parts. (To be blunt, it was the b word that did it for me.)  For a well built world such as this narrative, that was shocking and drew me out of the story.

Now for the good, and one of my personal favorites:  Morozko. Need I say more? I loved the frost-demon in the first book, and was glad he was back. His story is intriguing and I do feel we don’t get enough of that.  His mare barely sheds insight on it, in what is a most poignant scene between the two, when she tells him that he cannot love and be immortal. I wish for more of him, and his story. (And really hope it’s in book three. Which, dear publisher, can I also have to read early?)

Another favorite is the stallion, Solovey. His steadfast devotion really shines. (I think he’s there because Morozko can’t always be there.)

And of course, we have an excellent villain in the red sorcerer, Kachei the Deathless.

Roxbury Book Rating: PG 13  Adult language, violence with bloodshed, some nudity (nonsexual), and sexual situations.

See my review for the first book:

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This book is a little gem. The start was slow, but it really built the story up. Once Vasya was grown, the story really started moving. I wish there had been more between Vasya and Moroko. I felt I really got to know the other characters, but not so much of Moroko. I loved the personalities of the horses, and other fairy folk.
This was my first foray into Russian folklore, and it won’t be my last. This book brings that world to life, and gives it just enough of a Russian feel with out being intimidating. I’m going to re-read this one in paperback so I can smell the pages as I read it.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.