Adventure, Murder, and Twists of Bookstore Merriment from Tamara Berry, in MURDER OFF THE BOOKS

Tamara Berry's wicked sense of humor is a great match for her neatly twisted plots in her "By the Book Mysteries," set in the Big Woods country of the Northwest. Crime novelist Tess Harrow's family legacy in this timber-centric town isn't as wild as her best-selling status, but it does include a former hardware stores (see the earlier books of the series) that she's turning into a bookshop of her own, with of course a stack of her newest release on the counter.

But Grand Opening plans run awry when (of course!) murder sweeps into town once again. This time, a top-selling podcaster arrives at the same time, and starts to paint Tess's recurring corpse discoveries as possible indications that she herself is a criminal!

Perish the thought, or even better, perish the podcaster. Except that's not going to happen. Tess's daughter is thrilled by the visitor. Her definitely difficult mother sweeps into town at the same time -- and the corpse turns out to be Tess's mother's boyfriend of the moment, the notorious Levi Parker, who might have tried something deadly if he hadn't been killed first. And oh yes, Tess and the sheriff may or may not be an item. Complications.

Is your head spinning yet? Jump into this lively bibliomystery laden with smart sassy women and to-die-for dialogue, as well as a plot that gets more crazy and more likely at the same time, page by page. MURDER OFF THE BOOKS is the fun mystery your summer reading stack has been waiting for. 

[The earlier books in the series are Buried in a Good Book and On Spine of Death -- treat yourself!]

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

IT CANNOLI BE MURDER, Second Italian Chef Mystery from Catherine Bruns

Author of several series of lively "amateur sleuth" mysteries, Catherine Bruns spins a quick story with ample clues, a few red herrings, plenty of disasters—and above all, friendship and affection.

For IT CANNOLI BE MURDER, Bruns takes the subgenres of cozy recipe mystery and bookstore mystery and cleverly melds them. Long-time devoted Italian chef Tessa Esposito is about to open her own Italian restaurant, close to the bookstore owned by her devoted cousin Gabby. Although Tess has her own challenges—she's newly widowed (see the preceding book Penne Dreadful) and isn't fully confident in her agreement with her landlord, let alone all the finances and staff management drowning her—her loyalty to Gabby is unquestioned. So much so that when Gabby drops in with a "thank you gift," Tess can't think why.

Mystified, I grabbed it from her outstretched hands. "Thank you for what?"

She shot me a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You've been crazy busy but are still going out of your way to make goodies for my book signing tomorrow night. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

...It was a beige straw mat for the restaurant's front porch with a border of tomatoes around the words, "Welcome to Anything's Pastable." That was the name I'd chose for my restaurant ... Everyone had thought it was cute and especially fitting, given the blows life had dealt me lately.

Tess is determined to help out her cousin. For Gabby, business survival depends on the book signing going well, including pandering to the prickly hotshot author arriving and to his even more difficult wife—and, it turns out, would-be girlfriend. When the signing event ends in murder and Tess's cannoli recipe is held suspect, both women are in so much trouble that taking risks and nosing into the killer's identity and motive seem to make perfect sense. As Tess puts it, "Gabby's situation was far worse than mine ... Unless the killer was found immediately, her business was sure to suffer."

Although it's too soon after her husband's death for Tess to consider romance seriously, Bruns gives enough of a taste to keep this book solidly in the romantic subgenre, too. She plays fair with the clues, and an astute reader has a chance to figure out the motive, means, opportunity, and murderer just before Tess does, despite the clever twists along the way.

With Italian recipes at the end, ranging from cannoli and biscotti to a Bolognese sauce, IT CANNOLI BE MURDER is both a light and enjoyable addition to the summer's reading stack, and an ideal gift for a kitchen-obsessed friend. New this week, from the Poisoned Pen Press imprint of Sourcebooks.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.