A neat book on sale right now at Amazon.
December
bullies its way into the village in a swirl of snow and biting wind,
threatening to cancel the annual St. Nicholas festival. But winter’s slap pales
when a body is discovered in the candlelit church. Someone is not living up to
the seasonal wish of ‘peace on earth, good will towards man.’
But the
village harbors more than Christmas gifts, DS Brenna Taylor discovers as she
and her colleagues from the Derbyshire Constabulary begin working the case.
There is the feud between two rival authors; a wife’s open disdain of her
husband and his secret comfort in the arms of another woman; the pent-up
emotions of a vicar’s wife forced to conform to idealistic conceptions; the
tacit threat of a troubled teenager and his delinquent girlfriend.
Brenna also
discovers emotions she didn’t know she had when DS Mark Salt, her harassing
macho cohort, makes overtures of genuine friendship. Now Brenna must not only
examine her love for her boss, DCI Geoffrey Graham, but also consider the
likelihood of its ever being returned.
As if
sorting through the affairs of the heart and the tangle of motive and suspects
in the case weren’t hard enough, a series of arsons threatens the very village
itself. And Brenna wonders if they are looking for two felons or just one very
disturbed individual
MY REVIEW
Whoever thought a murder mystery could put you in the
Christmas spirit? Nonetheless, this one is filled with all the trimmings and
decorations, even the snow for Christmas time.
A cold as concrete in winter kind of church and a dead body.
Scary, at least to me. That’s the opening to Jo Hiestand’s “A Recipe for
Murder”. While it may sound cold and scary, the village was really preparing
for the St. Nicholas Festival at the same time. One of their big celebrations
at Christmastime. There’s greenery and hot cross buns and decorated trees of
course, as well as every other Christmas delight you can think of. Everyone was
busy doing their assigned tasks for the Festival, at least they all say they
were.
Brenna Taylor is still wishing Graham would notice her. She
knows it isn’t professional. Two coppers can’t have a relationship. But do you
think that keeps her from thinking of him almost every waking moment. Someone
had better knock some sense into her if she wants to stay on the force.
So, is this a light fun mystery? No, it’s a British murder
mystery and a good one. One almost impossible to figure out the bad guy or girl
before the very end. But it’s a well-written, great mystery for curling up and
either watching the snow or dreaming of it, depending on where you live.
This is Book 2 of a series titled “Peak District Mystery”. Many of the Peak District mysteries are based
upon British customs and holidays. Hiestand has another series titled McLaren
Mysteries. Also great. Check them out.
About Jo
In 2001 Jo graduated from Webster University with a BA
degree and departmental honors in English.
She lives in the St Louis, MO area, and spends as much time
as she can writing mysteries and watching the barges on the river.
Her love of writing, board games and music came together
when she and a friend invented a mystery-solving game, P.I.R.A.T.E.S., which
uses maps, graphics, song lyrics, and other clues to lead the players to the
lost treasure.
Along with fellow mystery author Pam DeVoe, Jo
teachs a mystery writing course at St. Louis Community College.
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