"The Good Witch's Gift"

"The Good Witch's Gift" is the third movie in the Hallmark Good Witch series.  Jake has proposed to Cassie and decides they should be married on Christmas Eve so they have only 6 days to plan the wedding.  Of course, nothing goes smoothly but all works out in the end.  They create a new family and help heal a family torn apart in the past.  These movies leave me feeling good about the world.  pazt

:"Death Comes In Through The Kitchen"

"Death Comes In Through The Kitchen" is a murder mystery authored by Teresa Dovlpage set in Havana where the author was born.  She now lives in New Mexico and is the author of of other fiction and plays.

This was not a mystery that grabbed me and kept me reading to the end to figure out "whodunnit."  In fact, I've been reading it little by little for weeks and am just now coming to the end.  Matt, a journalist from San Diego, arrives in Havana to propose marriage to a 24 year old Cuban woman he met through her food blog.  To his surprise, she is not at the airport to greet him and, when friends take him to her apartment, she is discovered dead.  Although he is not a suspect in the murder, his passport is held while the murder is being investigated so he has time to explore Havana and meet some of her friends.

There are so many books and so little time and this one didn't hold my attention well enough for me to want to read any more of this author's work.  If you think I'm in error, I'd love to hear from you.  pazt

"Garage Sale Mystery: All That Glitters"

"Garage Sale Mystery:  All That Glitters" is a Hallmark Movie Channel presentation and I was able to check out the DVD from my local library.

Jennifer Shannon and her friend own an antique shop and Jennifer likes to sleuth for treasures for the shop but also likes to sleuth to solve mysteries.  However, her husband is not that excited about her getting involved when the owner of a local storage unit is found murdered and Jennifer might be able to identify a suspect.

In the meantime, her son has found a treasure map of his own and is taking after his mother in the sleuthing business while her partner is becoming involved in a new romance.

Unfortunately, Jennifer doesn't take her husband or the police advice to stay away from solving crime and ends up placing herself and her friends in danger.

I liked this better than the last Hallmark mystery movie I watched, "Hailey Dean Mystery:  Murder With Love."  The acting was much better in this one and the story cozy and my husband and I managed to pick out the villain early on - not a bad evening spent together solving a murder.  pazt

"Hailey Dean Mystery: Murder, With Love"

In this Hallmark movie mysteries original movie, "Hailey Dean Mystery:  Murder With Love," Hailey Dean has retired from being a prosecutor and changed careers to become a therapist.  When one of her patients loses both parents in a single week in what appear to be tragic accidents, the patient and her brother are also surprised to learn that millions of dollars from their parents' personal and business accounts have also gone missing.  When suspicion turns to foul play, Hailey must investigate in order to advocate for her patient.  In order to do that a culprit must be found.  Since this is a Hallmark movie, there is also a little romance in the air and my spouse found the movie a little "cheesy" which is typically how he views the Hallmark Channel.  However, he did agree to watch it with me and we solved the murders about the same time as Hailey and her crew so it was a fun evening.  pazt

"The Lying Game"

"The Lying Game" is Ruth Ware's third novel and the second one I've read.  "The Woman In Cabin 10" received so much press that I had to read it and that is where I discovered Ware.  In that one I was unable to stop myself from looking ahead in the book to see what happened.  However, in this one I resisted that urge and I'm certainly glad that I did!

This is the story of four girls who were friends at Salten, a boarding school in the boonies, and they had a game they played, "The Lying Game."  All four girls were at Salten for various reasons and it wasn't where they really wanted to be.  Kate was able to attend Salten because her father taught art there and they lived near by.  Fatima was sent to Salten because her parents were living abroad.  Thea was sent to Salten because she'd been kicked out of yet another boarding school.  Isa came because her mother was dying and her father needed to focus his attention on her mother.  They were an unlikely group to become a clique of friends but lifetime friends they became.  When Kate sent them each a message saying, "I Need You!," they all came even though it was inconvenient for Fatima to leave her medical practice and Isa to come with her infant daughter in tow.

This is a thick tome - 368 pages - and the story unravels bit  by bit and what we think we know changes as the story unfolds until the surprising end.  It's a story of friendship and of betrayal and the lengths someone will go to to keep a secret.  It's a great read so now it's time for me to look for Ware's first book, "In A Dark, Dark Wood."  pazt

"Enter A Murderer"

"Enter A Murderer" is why, in my opinion, Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn mysteries continue to enjoy ongoing popularity.  This is #2 in the series but I somehow overlooked it and had skipped on to #3 before discovering my error and returning to read this one.

Alleyn's journalist friend, Nigel Bathgate, has tickets to see a play and, since his fiancee is out of town, he invites his friend, Roderick Alleyn, to attend with him after warning him it is a play that might hit him a little too close to home as it is much like his real life work.  However, Alleyn is delighted to accept and sets off to the theater with Nigel.  They are invited backstage prior to the start of the play since one of Nigel's friends, Felix Gardener, has a leading role.  They also have the pleasure of meeting several of the cast before the play begins.

The play ends with a bang when one of the cast is shot - for real - and not with the dummy bullets that were supposed to be in the gun.  The wheels are set in motion for Alleyn to put on his Inspector hat and, with the help of his team, solve a murder.  I have yet to deduce who the murderer is in any of the Roderick Alleyn mysteries I have read so far and this was no exception but, when I was two or three chapters from the end of the book, I began to get an idea of who might have done it.  pazt

"The Good Witch's Garden"

"The Good Witch's Garden" is the second movie in "The Good Witch" series.  Cassie Nightengale has settled into her new home, Grey House, in Middleton and is getting ready to host the garden party of all garden parties.  At the same time she's about to open Grey House as a Bed and Breakfast and takes in her first paying guest.

The good looking man staying as her guest raises some questions in the mind of her boyfriend, Sheriff Jake Russell, but Cassie is trusting all is well.  Soon the guest charms the mayor's wife while secretly making plans to claim Grey House as his own.  When he asks the Sheriff to serve Cassie an eviction notice, Cassie is devastated at the possibility of losing the permanent, stable life she has built for herself.  However, Jake isn't done investigating and uncovers some truths with the help of his daughter and her friend.  pazt