Friday Fives - Five Books I Read Recently

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  Here are 5 books I've read recently and what I thought of them.

If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance by Paige Shelton - This is kind of a Lizzie Borden story with a bit of an Old West twist.  Bett and her grandmother Miz can see ghosts and when the infamous ghost of Sally Swathmore (infamous for murdering her parents with an axe) appears they just can't help but get involved.  Throw in a kidnapping and some Old West stories and this was a fun read.  While this is technically a foodie cozy the cooking school run by Bett and Miz is on summer break and so the foodie mentions are at a minimum.  That said this ghostly mystery was a lot of fun and a quick read.  My Rating: Really Liked It!

Live and Let Pie by Ellie Alexander - The Bakeshop Mysteries is one of my very favorite cozy mysteries but somehow I missed this one.  I'm so glad I took the time to go back and read this one as not only does it mean I'm caught up on the series but it's also kind of pivotal book as it has Torte introducing several new members of staff.  I liked that it didn't go perfectly smoothly and that a couple of team members had some growing pains.  The mystery was a good one with connections to an event that happened 50 years before.  I also enjoyed seeing a bit more of the relationship between the Professor and Jules as well as some scenes between Jules and her mother.  I must admit the resolution surprised me a bit which doesn't happen very much! My Rating: Really Liked It!

Tulle Death Do Us Part by Annette Blair - This is the last book in the Vintage Magic Mystery series involve Madeira Cutler (aka Maddie or Mad) who happens to be able to read the vintage clothes she sells and can see the memories of the person who wore them.  This is clearly the last book of the series so a lot of loose ends were tied up and not always the way I expected.  In particular the love triangle that had been at the edges since the beginning finally gets resolved.  The mystery was interesting if a bit disjointed and relying on coincidence.  This book (and really the series) are okay.  If you love vintage clothes it's a lot of fun but otherwise I think there are better cozy mystery series out there.  My Rating: Just Okay

A Curio Killing by Mary Ellen Hughes - Callie Reed is just getting settled in her new town of Keepsake Cove and running the music box store her aunt left her when one again murder visits the charming little town filled with curio shops.  This time it's the manager of the band playing at the spring festival and Callie's ex-boyfriend Hank is the prime suspect.  And he's not the only person in town who may have a shaky history with the victim.  I'm pretty sure this is the end of the series and if so it was a good conclusion.  The mystery was entertaining with lots of suspects and clues.  I enjoyed seeing Callie, Tabitha, Lyssa, and Brian and spending time among the shops.  The solution surprised me a bit and I had a fun time discovering just what had happened.  As well I really appreciated the conversations Callie and Brian had about his feelings about her helping Hank.  It's a detail that so often gets neglected and it helped with the realism.  My Rating: Liked It!

Killer in the Carriage House by Sheila Connolly - This is the 2nd book in the Victorian Village Mystery series and while I can't say it's one of my favorites I do find it entertaining and intriguing.  In this book Kate Hamilton's idea to turn her hometown which is slowly fading into nothing into a destination Victorian themed village is gaining traction and the investigation into just who Henry Barton was - the town's leading employer who built an enormous mansion on the outskirts of town back in the Victorian times - is starting to get off the ground.  When a stranger is found murdered in the library Kate is instantly pulled into figuring out just what the stranger was after and is the Barton house in trouble.  I figured out the who pretty quickly but the whys did keep me guessing and I enjoyed this read.  What has me the most hooked about this series is that at this point I feel invested in the fate of Asheboro and I'm dying to find out just what secrets - if any - that Henry Barton was hiding.  My Rating:  Liked It!

What have you been reading lately?