Dollycas's Thoughts
Photos make up a huge part of every blog and food blogger Hope Early has enrolled in a class to up her photo game with Cal Barnhart. She was afraid the class would be canceled since Cal's wife has gone missing and the police have all but arrested him while their investigation is pending. But the class is on and everyone can see the man is barely functioning without his wife.
Hope is also worried about her elderly neighbor, Peggy Olsen. After Peggy rushed to Hope's home for help with a kitchen fire caused by food burning on the stove, food Peggy cannot even remember starting, she feels it is not safe for Peggy to live alone.
Before Hope can contact Peggy's family there is another fire and Hope can't save Peggy this time. A second body is found in the house and it appears they were dead before the fire even started. Was Peggy collateral damage of a killer trying to cover his tracks? Hope feels responsible for not getting Peggy out of that house. She decides she needs to focus and get a clear picture of the killer and get justice for her friend. That is unless she is the next one going up in flames.
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Our protagonist Hope Early is juggling a lot of things in the air before she even adds this new murder mystery to her list. Her sister Claire is running for mayor while trying to keep the Planning and Zoning committee filled with people of her choosing. She ropes Hope into hosting a tea to garner support for Maretta Kingston to become its newest member. She also is trying to decide on 5 recipes she contractually has to submit for a cookbook after being on that baking show. Plus she is trying to train her lovable pup Bigelow, remodel her new home, keep her blog up to date and oh yeah, the photography class, which may be taught by a murderer.
Author Debra Sennefelder has put her lead character to the test but she has surrounded her with a fantastic supporting cast that helps her keeps all those balls in the air. Those characters include Ethan Cahill, longtime friend, and chief of police. They make a great team and it drives âjust the factsâ Detective Reid crazy and I absolutely loved it! Her best friend Drew is feeling the heat as he is up against a new hot-shot reporter at the finally struggling newspaper. He hopes Hope can help him get a scoop so he doesn't lose his job. The characters are all very realistic. The interactions and dialogue are spot on, good for the occasional chuckle or serious when necessary.
Readers are treated to a wonderfully written mystery with a variety of suspects. After a plethora of twists and turns, a red herring or two, I was completely surprised by the killer reveal. I found the story to be very fast-paced with something always drawing my mind a little sideways away from my original task of sleuthing out the killer before Hope. I really enjoy when that happens because that means I did âescapeâ into the book.
A perfect escape, this story held me tight and I was entertained the whole way. I can't wait to visit these characters again.
Three Widows and A Corpse will be out October 29, 2019.
Photos make up a huge part of every blog and food blogger Hope Early has enrolled in a class to up her photo game with Cal Barnhart. She was afraid the class would be canceled since Cal's wife has gone missing and the police have all but arrested him while their investigation is pending. But the class is on and everyone can see the man is barely functioning without his wife.
Hope is also worried about her elderly neighbor, Peggy Olsen. After Peggy rushed to Hope's home for help with a kitchen fire caused by food burning on the stove, food Peggy cannot even remember starting, she feels it is not safe for Peggy to live alone.
Before Hope can contact Peggy's family there is another fire and Hope can't save Peggy this time. A second body is found in the house and it appears they were dead before the fire even started. Was Peggy collateral damage of a killer trying to cover his tracks? Hope feels responsible for not getting Peggy out of that house. She decides she needs to focus and get a clear picture of the killer and get justice for her friend. That is unless she is the next one going up in flames.
___
Our protagonist Hope Early is juggling a lot of things in the air before she even adds this new murder mystery to her list. Her sister Claire is running for mayor while trying to keep the Planning and Zoning committee filled with people of her choosing. She ropes Hope into hosting a tea to garner support for Maretta Kingston to become its newest member. She also is trying to decide on 5 recipes she contractually has to submit for a cookbook after being on that baking show. Plus she is trying to train her lovable pup Bigelow, remodel her new home, keep her blog up to date and oh yeah, the photography class, which may be taught by a murderer.
Author Debra Sennefelder has put her lead character to the test but she has surrounded her with a fantastic supporting cast that helps her keeps all those balls in the air. Those characters include Ethan Cahill, longtime friend, and chief of police. They make a great team and it drives âjust the factsâ Detective Reid crazy and I absolutely loved it! Her best friend Drew is feeling the heat as he is up against a new hot-shot reporter at the finally struggling newspaper. He hopes Hope can help him get a scoop so he doesn't lose his job. The characters are all very realistic. The interactions and dialogue are spot on, good for the occasional chuckle or serious when necessary.
Readers are treated to a wonderfully written mystery with a variety of suspects. After a plethora of twists and turns, a red herring or two, I was completely surprised by the killer reveal. I found the story to be very fast-paced with something always drawing my mind a little sideways away from my original task of sleuthing out the killer before Hope. I really enjoy when that happens because that means I did âescapeâ into the book.
A perfect escape, this story held me tight and I was entertained the whole way. I can't wait to visit these characters again.
Three Widows and A Corpse will be out October 29, 2019.
Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
The Hidden Corpse is the second installment in the Food Blogger Mysteries series set in the small town of Jefferson, CT and featuring Hope Early. Renovations are almost finished on her new "old" farmhouse and alongside her dog, Bigelow, Hope is looking forward to attending a photography class given by Cal Barnhart with her friend Felicity Campbell.
A bit of a dark cloud is hanging above Cal's head because his wife, famed architect Lily has been missing for several weeks. Nobody is really sure what happened to the woman who seemingly vanished on her way to work, but with rumors of marital problems fingers are pointing at Cal.
Hope's realtor sister, Claire is busy planning her campaign for Mayor and during the planning for a tea party a knock on the front door reveals Hope's elderly neighbor Peggy Olson. The woman has recently returned to her home from a stint in rehab and is suffering from a touch of dementia. Clearly upset she begs Hope to come next door because her house is filling with smoke. The cause of the smoke is determined to be burning food left on the stove but Peggy insists that she wasn't cooking anything. A few days later Peggy's home erupts in flames and not only does the woman perish in the flames but another body is discovered in the basement.
Determined to find out what happened in her idyllic neighborhood, Hope teams up with best friend Drew and Chief Ethan Cahill to track down a killer. Despite warnings from Detective Reid not to get involved, Hope quickly finds herself the next target.
A page turner from the start, twists and turns and a large group of suspects will draw you right into the heart of Jefferson. With just the right amount of romance, this series is a hit.
A bit of a dark cloud is hanging above Cal's head because his wife, famed architect Lily has been missing for several weeks. Nobody is really sure what happened to the woman who seemingly vanished on her way to work, but with rumors of marital problems fingers are pointing at Cal.
Hope's realtor sister, Claire is busy planning her campaign for Mayor and during the planning for a tea party a knock on the front door reveals Hope's elderly neighbor Peggy Olson. The woman has recently returned to her home from a stint in rehab and is suffering from a touch of dementia. Clearly upset she begs Hope to come next door because her house is filling with smoke. The cause of the smoke is determined to be burning food left on the stove but Peggy insists that she wasn't cooking anything. A few days later Peggy's home erupts in flames and not only does the woman perish in the flames but another body is discovered in the basement.
Determined to find out what happened in her idyllic neighborhood, Hope teams up with best friend Drew and Chief Ethan Cahill to track down a killer. Despite warnings from Detective Reid not to get involved, Hope quickly finds herself the next target.
A page turner from the start, twists and turns and a large group of suspects will draw you right into the heart of Jefferson. With just the right amount of romance, this series is a hit.
The Hidden Corpse can be read alone if you have not had the opportunity to read The Uninvited Corpse. Hope Early is a divorcee who was a television baking show contestant until her life went up in flames. She now has a blog titled Hope at Home which is doing well, and Hope has been refinishing her new home. Hope also has a lively puppy named Bigelow (he is a cutie). She has signed up to take photography workshop from Cal Barnhart, a well-known photographer. Hope also gets wrangled into helping her sister, Claire get cranky Maretta Kingston elected to the Planning & Zoning Commission. In the book there is cooking, chatting with friends, eating, recipe planning, working on her home, walking Bigelow, working on her blog, Hope dealing with her sister, flirting and taking photographs (charming cozy moments). It was interesting to learn more about how a blogger markets their blog. I had no idea that bloggers had agents. Hope's home sounds just lovely (I want it). She is doing a beautiful job at bringing the house back to life and making it into a home. There is flirting between Hope and Ethan Cahill, chief of police and longtime friend. Hope also feels parks of attraction toward Cal Barnhart. Personally, I wish the author had not gone this direction. The story would have played better if Hope had just been a good friend to Cal during this troubling time. The mystery had different aspects to it. We have a missing woman, a fire, and Peggy's death. I like how they tied together. Hope takes cookies and other edible items with her to question people. She believes it will make them more willing to talk with her. Hope needs to work on her questioning technique. Her method ends up antagonizing people which makes them less willing to talk with her (she might need their help in the future). Detective Reid is one of those by-the-books officers who frequently tells Hope to stay out of the investigation. Hope is too curious and even the threat of arrest cannot deter her in her quest for answers. The Hidden Corpse is a humorous cozy mystery with an intriguing premise, a simmering whodunit, delectable recipes, political intrigue and one adorable canine.
