Final Fondue by Maya Corrigan

Started: 4/9/2026

Finished: 4/14/2026

Year: 2016

Pages: 300

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Val Deniston certainly has her plate full running a café, dabbling with recipes, and helping her grandfather prepare for the town's upcoming tri-centennial celebration, but she's grown fond of her new life in the Chesapeake Bay town of Bayport. . .

"So when Val is asked to reclaim her old position as a cookbook publicist in New York City, she puts off her decision in order to help her grandfather perfect his chocolate fondue for the weekend festivity's dessert cook-off. But after the opening ceremonies, Val finds a houseguest strangled to death in her grandfather's backyard. She suspects a classic case of mistaken identity, especially when another guest nearly bids her life a fondue farewell. Now it's up to Val to keep the killer from making another stab at murder . . ."

Opinion: Not too far fetched of a mystery. Interesting side stories when family members pay a visit.

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Started: 4/1/2026

Finished: 4/8/2026

Year: 2009

Pages: 285

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "The Cookie Jar's busiest time of the year also happens to be the most wonderful time … for Christmas cookies, Hannah's own special plum pudding—and romance! She also gets a kick out of “Lunatic Larry Jaeger’s Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot,” a kitschy carnival taking place smack-dab in the middle of the village green. But then Hannah discovers the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office …

"Now, with so many suspects to investigate and the twelve days of Christmas ticking away, Hannah's running out of time to nab a murderous Scrooge who doesn't want her to see the New Year …"

Opinion: It's Christmas time...perfect for cookies and murder. Not too hard to figure out who was going to be murdered and the possible suspects. Decent mystery.

The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

Started: 3/30/2026

Finished: DNF

Year: 2022

Pages: 195

Genre: Romantasy

Grade: F

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their eighteenth birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some for as long as a week or a month. But they always return broken

"Now, on the afternoon of my eighteenth birthday, my mother runs around the house, making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.

"But it’s pointless.  

"Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go"

Opinion: I'm okay with using classic characters in new stories but yawn. This wasn't a good use of Peter Pan, The Lost Boys, etc

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Started: 3/24/2026

Finished: 3/29/2026

Year: 2008

Pages: 384

Genre: romance

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "After U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman buried in the dirt during his tour of duty in Iraq, he experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.

"Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seem to get the woman in the photograph out of his mind and he sets out on a journey across the country to find her. But Thibault is caught off guard by the strong attraction he feels for the woman he encounters in North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother—and he keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate love affair, his secret soon threatens to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives."

Opinion: Not as good as his other ones-playing with names was annoying.

Scam Chowder by Maya Corrigan

Started: 3/20/2026

Finished: 3/23/2026

Year: 2015

Pages: 302

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Val Deniston loves the historic Chesapeake Bay town where she lives with her grandfather, the Codger Cook. Running the fitness club’s Cool Down Café—and salvaging the five-ingredient dishes Granddad messes up—keeps her busy. She’s used tohis catastrophes in the kitchen, but not in the dining room…

"Especially when one of his dinner party guests winds up face down in the chowder. The demised diner apparently scammed Granddad’s best buddy, and since the other dinner guests have suddenly clammed up, the police have all the ingredients to cook up a conviction for Granddad. With his freedom—and Val’s café job—on the line, Val is in a sweat trying to avert a catastrophe. But dredging up old secrets might just be a recipe for murder…"

Opinion:  Decent mystery...interesting setting for the initial murder to take place. Slightly predictable.

Who Let the Dog Out? by David Rosenfelt

Started: 2/28/2026

Finished: 3/20/2026

Year: 2015

Pages: 324

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: TBR, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "A lawyer by day-and then only when he's forced to take on new cases-Andy Carpenter's true passion is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs with his friend Willie Miller. So it's frightening when Willie calls him to say the alarm has gone off at the foundation building, and there's clearly been a break-in. It turns out that a recently rescued dog, nicknamed Cheyenne since her arrival at the foundation, has been stolen. Andy and Willie track the missing dog to a house in downtown Paterson, New Jersey and sure enough, they find the dog...standing right next to a dead body. The man had been gruesomely murdered mere minutes before Andy and Willie arrived. Could it be a coincidence? Or could the dog theft somehow be connected to the killing?

"Andy takes Cheyenne safely back to the foundation building, and that should be the end of his involvement, but Andy's curiosity-and his desire to keep the dog from further harm-won't let him stop there. The cops have just arrested a man named Tommy Infante for the murder, but as Andy looks into the circumstances surrounding the break-in and the dog theft, he starts to wonder if Infante might actually be innocent. And when Andy takes Infante on as a client and starts searching in earnest for evidence that will exonerate him, what Andy starts to discover terrifies him. The murder might be just one small cog in a plot with far-reaching implications, and unless Andy can uncover the truth in time, thousands of lives could be in imminent danger."

Opinion: Another good book in this series.  Lots of interconnected murders.

Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander

Started: 3/11/2026

Finished: 3/13/2026

Year: 2015

Pages: 299

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Welcome to Torte-a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the treats are so good that, sometimes, it's criminal...

"After graduating from culinary school, Juliet Capshaw returns to her quaint hometown of Ashland, Oregon, to heal a broken heart and help her mom at the family bakery. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing in lots of tourists looking for some crumpets to go with their heroic couplets. But when one of Torte's customers turns up dead, there's much ado about murder...

"The victim is Nancy Hudson, the festival's newest board member. A modern-day Lady Macbeth, Nancy has given more than a few actors and artists enough reasons to kill her...but still. The silver lining? Jules's high school sweetheart, Thomas, is the investigator on the case. His flirtations are as delicious as ever, and Jules can't help but want to have her cake and eat it too. But will she have her just desserts? Murder might be bad for business, but love is the sweetest treat of all..."

Opinion: A decent start to a new cozy mystery series. Definitely enough suspects and it was clearly predictable on whodunit. Decent sounding recipes.