Helpful Score: 1
No Charm Intended is the second in the Cora Crafts Mystery series featuring Coralie "Cora" Chevalier set in Indigo Gap, North Carolina. Cora and her best friend Jane Starr, along with Ruby O'Malley are preparing for the second crafter's retreat to be held in their newly renovated Victorian.
Jane's daughter London's babysitter Gracie Wyke goes missing at the start of the retreat causing scheduling problems and emotional distress for London. When Gracie's boyfriend Paul and his best friend Henry arrive on Jane's doorstep looking for help in locating the girl, Cora soon finds herself drawn into an investigation involving an online computer game "The Wizard of Oz".
Like the first in the series this edition is chock full of crafting projects and tips, with the components for these being things found in the wild. Detective Brodsky is back leading the investigation and while Cora seems to have found happiness with Adrian, there is still a hint of attraction to the hunky lawyer Cashel.
Jane's daughter London's babysitter Gracie Wyke goes missing at the start of the retreat causing scheduling problems and emotional distress for London. When Gracie's boyfriend Paul and his best friend Henry arrive on Jane's doorstep looking for help in locating the girl, Cora soon finds herself drawn into an investigation involving an online computer game "The Wizard of Oz".
Like the first in the series this edition is chock full of crafting projects and tips, with the components for these being things found in the wild. Detective Brodsky is back leading the investigation and while Cora seems to have found happiness with Adrian, there is still a hint of attraction to the hunky lawyer Cashel.
Helpful Score: 1
First off, I want it known that I would love to attend one of Cora's craft retreats. The author makes them sound like so much fun, and I like how Cora can be doing two or three things at the same time yet still plan ahead for future activities like enlarging the kitchen so she can hold baking classes.
Bryan has skillfully put together a very intriguing mystery. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what was going on, and I love that.
As good as the mystery is, and as delectable as all the crafts are, it's the cast of characters that makes this series a winner. Even though she's seen more than her fair share of the evil in the world, Cora still has a heart of gold and tends to be too trusting. Her friend Jane, on the other hand, is way too suspicious. I know Jane's suspicion is being used to keep Cora's good intentions in check (or at least to make Cora think twice about them), but I find Jane becoming very annoying. I hope something happens in future books to dial that element of her personality down a notch or two.
Continuing with the characters, I like seeing how some of the people signed up for the retreat join in the crime solving-- and how they all pitch in when someone needs help. Mollie Cox Bryan's Cora Crafts series encourages readers to solve crime and feel good-- all at the same time. Bring on book three!
Bryan has skillfully put together a very intriguing mystery. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what was going on, and I love that.
As good as the mystery is, and as delectable as all the crafts are, it's the cast of characters that makes this series a winner. Even though she's seen more than her fair share of the evil in the world, Cora still has a heart of gold and tends to be too trusting. Her friend Jane, on the other hand, is way too suspicious. I know Jane's suspicion is being used to keep Cora's good intentions in check (or at least to make Cora think twice about them), but I find Jane becoming very annoying. I hope something happens in future books to dial that element of her personality down a notch or two.
Continuing with the characters, I like seeing how some of the people signed up for the retreat join in the crime solving-- and how they all pitch in when someone needs help. Mollie Cox Bryan's Cora Crafts series encourages readers to solve crime and feel good-- all at the same time. Bring on book three!
No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan is the second book in A Cora Crafts Mystery series. Cora Chevalier is getting ready for her four day âwildcraftingâ retreat at Kildare House in Indigo Gap, North Carolina. She checks her phone and discovers a message stating âI kidnapped herâ. Believing it to be a prank, Cora ignores it. Just as Cora, Jane and the retreat instructors are leaving for dinner, Officer Glass arrives to discuss Cora's text message. It seems that Cora was not the only person to receive it. It turns out that Gracie Wyck, a nanny and babysitter, is missing (they suspect kidnapped). Later that evening, Cora and Jane receive a visit from Gracie's boyfriend, Paul and his friend, Henry. They are trying to retrace Gracie's footsteps in an attempt to locate her. The next day Paul's friend, Henry is missing. Cora fears Paul could be next and offers him a place to stay. When Henry turns up dead, and Paul becomes a person of interest. Cora believes Paul to be innocent and starts investigating to prove it. It turns out that Paul, Gracie and Henry were all playing the same computer game. Did someone decide to change the rules of the game? Can Cora and friends find Gracie in time?
No Charm Intended was not as enchanting as I was hoping. I enjoy crafting and love to read cozy mysteries, so No Charm Intended seemed like a perfect match for me. I did like the various crafts mentioned in the book, and I was glad instructions were provided at the end of the book on some of them. However, I found the mystery uncomplicated and easily solved early in the book. Some information was repeated frequently throughout the story (like the author needed filler). No Charm Intended can be read alone. The author provided the background details on the main character and summarized what occurred in the first book in this series. I did appreciate how the author included characters from her A Cumberland Creek Mystery series. I give No Charm Intended 2 out of 5 stars. I found a few items in the story hard to believe. Cora letting Paul stay in the house with the retreat guests (and he is a murder suspect). If I was a guest, this would make me uncomfortable. Jane talks about Gracie's kidnapping in front of her five-year-old daughter, London (more than once). London then makes herself ill and begins having nightmares because she is scared. I was surprised by how the issue of depression was portrayed in No Charm Intended. Mollie Cox Bryan made it sound like a mental illness and people with the disease are unreliable (crazy, unbalanced). Jane becomes worried that harm could have come to her daughter because the babysitter suffered from depression. She felt she should have been warned (because she would not have hired the woman). Depression comes in many forms (including hereditary) and can easily be managed with medication. Most of the book is written in the third person, but Jane's sections were in the first person. I did not enjoy reading Jane's segments and quickly tried of her issues (regarding her ex-husband in particular). Jane is my least favorite person among the main characters. I am not sure I can continue with A Cora Crafts Mystery series.
No Charm Intended was not as enchanting as I was hoping. I enjoy crafting and love to read cozy mysteries, so No Charm Intended seemed like a perfect match for me. I did like the various crafts mentioned in the book, and I was glad instructions were provided at the end of the book on some of them. However, I found the mystery uncomplicated and easily solved early in the book. Some information was repeated frequently throughout the story (like the author needed filler). No Charm Intended can be read alone. The author provided the background details on the main character and summarized what occurred in the first book in this series. I did appreciate how the author included characters from her A Cumberland Creek Mystery series. I give No Charm Intended 2 out of 5 stars. I found a few items in the story hard to believe. Cora letting Paul stay in the house with the retreat guests (and he is a murder suspect). If I was a guest, this would make me uncomfortable. Jane talks about Gracie's kidnapping in front of her five-year-old daughter, London (more than once). London then makes herself ill and begins having nightmares because she is scared. I was surprised by how the issue of depression was portrayed in No Charm Intended. Mollie Cox Bryan made it sound like a mental illness and people with the disease are unreliable (crazy, unbalanced). Jane becomes worried that harm could have come to her daughter because the babysitter suffered from depression. She felt she should have been warned (because she would not have hired the woman). Depression comes in many forms (including hereditary) and can easily be managed with medication. Most of the book is written in the third person, but Jane's sections were in the first person. I did not enjoy reading Jane's segments and quickly tried of her issues (regarding her ex-husband in particular). Jane is my least favorite person among the main characters. I am not sure I can continue with A Cora Crafts Mystery series.
