A new series from Victoria Hamilton, who also writes the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series, which I love.  Bran New Death does not disappoint!  From the setting, upstate small town in upstate New York to the protagonist Merry and her friend sidekick Shilo, everything is well crafted and written.  The mystery has all the twists and turns and reveals of family secrets that you want in a cozy mystery.

The basis for this book and indeed the series is that Merry has inherited this castle in the small town of Autumn Vale from a basically unknown family members.  She is a widow and pretty much alone in the world.  She moves into the castle with the expressed purpose of getting it ready for sale, but you definitely get the impression that she is there to stay.

The town has it share of quirky or eccentric characters, but they don’t overwhelm the plot.  The theme, muffin baking, is also kept low key.

Another highly recommended cozy mystery from Victoria Hamilton!

Next up, Peach Pies and Alibis by Ellery Adams.  I enjoyed the first book in this series, Pies and Prejudice.  These books are well written, the story line is well crafted and the characters are engaging.  The book definitely lives up to the series name – charming.  I would  call this second book in the series much more a paranormal than a mystery.  In the first book, the paranormal element was a light feature of the story but in this book it definitely takes center stage.

Fans of Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series will probably enjoy this as a lighter version- no vampires or werewolves in sight yet, but an assortment of other “fey folk” and much magical action incorporated with realistic features.  Think fairies that pack guns!

Fans of paranormals will definitely enjoy this!