Rolling Up Revenge, by Emmie Lyn

 Publication April 30, 2025

I came for the dogs and stayed with the series for the characters. You'll get to meet and know them early on as the initial chapters seem to be dealing with setting up the situation and introducing us to the cast of characters. In other words, even if new to the series, you'll quickly feel at home. In this case, the situation as we open is set in Misty Harbor's annual Blueberry Festival, hosted on property belong to Luke's family. He's being run rather ragged dealing with everything but shows his ability cope and deal with just about anything, even a murder. Who killed food truck owner Harvey and dumped his body in the fields? He's a nasty sort, a troublemaker, someone who has made Dani's employee Christy's life miserable for some time. Parked barely ten paces from Christy's tent at the festival where she planned to debut her vinegar focused creations, he'd just destroyed much of her inventory before stomping off and, ultimately, winding up dead. Needless to say, that make Christy a prime suspect. Dani isn't having that, though, and though distracted by her own booth and issues, promises to help investigate. After all, it was Dani and best friend Maggie the PI who found Harvey's body, well, with the help of their barking dogs. Trust me, that's not the last you'll hear of these dogs as the plot progresses though much of it is far more fun.

 I won't detail the plot, there are plenty of twists and turns.  AJ is caught up in the investigation as is his detective girlfriend, Maggie.  Her energy and focus is enough to wear me out just reading. Good thing she has her trusty Labrador, Sherlock Bones, at her side. Or, maybe not. Nope, not explaining that one. You'll just have to read to see what happens. Dani finds herself ping-ponging from one suspect to the next, discovering how very disliked Harvey was by so many. Even an ex-girlfriend has nothing good to say about him. It was interesting to see Dani's focus shift gears from one suspect to the other, never quite deleting them from the suspect list. In fact, seems like that list grew rather than shrank. Christy isn't helping, either, being secretive and nervous. Does she know who did it? Heck, did she do it? If not, why does she go missing at one point? Will Dani's trusty Jack Rusell Pip and his trusty nose sniff out any clues? I honestly think AJ needs to add him to the police force. He's that good. Protective, too, fortunately for Dani. And, who....oh, enough teasers. 

Bottom line, it's a fun, relatively quick read. You'll like the characters and want to scratch those doggies' ears before all is said and done. And, oh, stay tuned at the end for a fun gathering. Shh, it's a secret. You'll find out why, too. Thanks #BookSirens and author #EmmieLyn for allowing me an early peek at what's going on at the Little Dog Diner and around Misty Harbor. All that blueberry talk makes me want some!

Fondue or Die (Cheese Shop Mystery, #5), by Korina Moss

 Publication October 22, 2024

A delicious twist of mayhem and murder, with a twist of romance. 

Willa and her friends and workers from her cheese shop, Curds & Whey, are helping out at the annual Dairy Days festival in the neighboring town. Then, something goes horribly wrong. Nadine, the festival's organizer of the Miss Dairy Pageant is killed. Was it an accident or murder? Willa and Archie are the ones who discovered the body, however, and despite the local police chief's determination that it's an accident, Willa isn't convinced. While rattled, she'd still noticed several clues that pointed towards murder. She also isn't shy about letting the Police Chief Womack know. And, this is where the story takes off.

I won't detail the plot, see the blurb, but there are quite a few things going on here. Some obviously related. Some not. As is noted in the story, you just never know what is going on in people's lives to cause them to act as they do. Nevertheless, it's great fun to see Willa and friends pull together to try to solve this mystery or, for that matter, simply to convince the police in that jurisdiction to deem it a murder. Even Det. Heath, who seems to have been distancing himself from Willa (I've obviously missed a book in the series) makes an appearance. The murder didn't occur in his jurisdiction but, well, he didn't hesitate when Willa texted him that she needed his help. Ah, something's brewing and you don't have to be a sleuth to see that. Grin. In any case, in the process of the story, we get some cute costume scenes and, oh, my, can these people eat. Make sure you don't miss the recipes, cheese related, at the end. Of course, that's natural given that cheese is Willa's comfort food as well as her livelihood. 

Bottom line, a intriguing mystery that kept me unsure until the end, always a plus, with natural sounding dialogue and quite likable characters. The way they all interact, including Willa and Heath as they dance silently around their attraction for each other, is also realistic. Mrs. Schultz, despite her own part in the action, remains upbeat and a bit of a calm force in the group. The author does an excellent job weaving the various side-stories and clues together into a neatly wrapped whole by the end. Well, for all but the murderer. Thanks #StMartin'sPress for the sneak peek allowing me back into Willa's cheesy, sorry, couldn't resist, world. Now, I think I may have to go make myself a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy, readers. It's a fun one.