15 Minutes of Flame (Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery Book 3)

15 Minutes of Flame is the 3rd novel in A Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Christin Brecher upped her game with 15 Minutes of Flame. Stella Wright owns Wick & Flame on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. It is interesting learning about unique candles and how to make them in each book. This time Stella teaches the Candleers how to make clock candles. I enjoyed the word imagery describing Nantucket Island especially the Morton house. I can understand why Stella loves the beautiful old home. Stella is a likeable and relatable protagonist. She is a clever, friendly, kind, and brave. Stella stands up for herself and her friends. She is quick to notice details and discern clues. Stella also has a knack for getting people to talk which is helpful in her investigations. There are a variety of quirky characters including Old Holly, Agnes, Jameson Bellows, and Brenda Worthington. The mystery was fascinating. I like how the modern mystery weaves effortlessly with the historical one. There were a variety of suspicious suspects. There are some great twists as well. It was fun following Stella as she worked to solve the two whodunits. Who does not love a mystery that involves a treasure map? There was a good wrap up of both mysteries with the exception of one little detail (I cannot say because it would be a spoiler). The ending was satisfying and just what I had hoped would happen. 15 Minutes of Flame is my favorite book so far in this series. I am eager for Stella’s next adventure. 15 Minutes of Flame is a delightful whodunit with clock candles, scary skeletons, a tumbling tree, a missing map, creepy cobwebs, and a curious candlemaker.

A big step up from the last book. Flame is a solid cozy mystery that has a timely Fall/Halloween theme. Stella does one bit of daredevil activity, but it’s more realistic than what happened in the last.

The many secondary characters get mentioned and a few sentences, but it’s hard to get connected to them since the action is so Stella focused. A new character, Clemmie, would make a great side kick.

Stella Wright owns a candle store, Wick and Flame, on the island of Nantucket. It’s almost Halloween and Stella has volunteered to help the girls scouts prepare for their haunted house fundraiser for the island’s neediest. The creeky, abandoned house is owned by Stella’s friend and he has kindly given them permission to use it. While exploring an old chandlery behind the house, she finds a skeleton hidden in the wall. She starts an investigation to learn more about the hundred-year-old skeleton and uncovers a dark mystery, involving robbery, betrayal, murder, and buried treasure. When one of the people called in to investigate is found dead and the treasure map goes missing, Stella becomes determined to solve the mystery.

15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher is the third book in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. This is my favorite of the series so far. The characters were engaging and the descriptions of Nantucket were lovely and rich with detail. I particularly loved reading about the island’s whaling history and the role women played during that time. Stella is a very likable character, and I feel like she’s someone I would be friends with in real life. She’s smart, funny, brave, and has a penchant for solving problems and mysteries. The author has done a wonderful job of developing her character, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for her in the upcoming books. I’m excited to explore her new house and see which direction her love life will take.
The mystery kept me on my toes until the dramatic reveal. The historical mystery is weaved effortlessly with the present-day murder. I enjoyed the conclusion of both mysteries. I thought this was a great addition to the series, and I eagerly await the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another entertaining installment in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries. I continue to be pleased by this series overall, even if it took me a while to get through the book due to the busier season of Christmas preparations.

What I liked about “15 Minutes of Flame”:
The circumstances of the murder case – Sometimes, with all the foul play that occurs around a series protagonist in a relatively short period of time, I question a) why someone would stay friends with the main character and b) why they continue to live in the series location at all! (Yes, I do realize this is the nature of a cozy mystery series and I am using my sarcasm font.) Dropping the snark, I liked that there is some variety among the first three books in the “how and why” of the victims.
Seasonally chilling – Given that there was a Halloween theme to this one, the creep factor was the perfect blend of spooky and cozy.
Stella’s personal life – One detail I has me very happy. Another has me a little concerned. And the final one leaves me a somewhat ambivalent, but I am willing to see how this plays out.

What I didn’t care for:
An abundance of characters to dislike – I took an immediate dislike to Solder, Leigh, Old Holly, Fontbutter, and Bellows. It didn’t even matter if I thought them guilty or not, they were merely dislikable and it made my dislike feel stretched too thin.
Editing issues – More excessive use of ‘said’, a couple of random words missing from sentences, and one major inconsistency in the last chapter. It doesn’t turn me off the series, but I notice. I always notice.
A dangling thread – We never did get to know exactly what the specific identity of the treasure contents were! I thought there might be one last big reveal but nope.

Well, we’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger here, and I am relieved that book four is in the works because I need to know what’s going to happen. I know what I’m rooting for!

15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher is the third book in the Nantucket Candle Making Mystery series, and Brecher does such a fantastic job with character development that you won’t be lost if you haven’t read the previous two books. The characters are really where the story came alive for me. There are lots of quirky characters that I can’t wait to read more of their adventures in future books and it always pleases me when the romantic relationship in a cozy mystery series doesn’t take over the story, which is the case in 15 Minutes of Flame.

It was also very interesting to learn more about Nantucket during the 1800’s and more about candles. The candle clock is such a simple and cool thing that I had never heard of before. That is just one of the many reasons why I love reading books, learning new things and being able to explore new towns.

I did know the whodunnit early on, but Brecher had so many red herrings and different things in motion that the reveal was still fun. There were a couple of things that I had to let slide a little on, like Stella and friends being able to come into the crime scene and the police not coming in to do a thorough investigation first, but it is fiction, so… 🙂 And I did like that Stella took initiative in trying to find the killer even at her own peril.

I’m looking forward to solving more mysteries with Stella and hope to see more of Agnes and the rest of the candeliers in future books.

*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.

Stella certainly gets more then she bargained for this time. We start with the island gearing up for Halloween. The girl scouts are planning an event an old home in the area. Things are going great until Stella goes to check on an old out building that should have been locked tight. Once inside she finds an old candle maker sign that the owner says she can have but when she removes it stones fall from the wall. Behind them is a really old skeleton which leads to her looking into a cold case. This connects to an old well on another property which they use the officials to go down to look. A second skeleton is there but before they learn more the expert ends up dead while they all fight the foliage. Two cold cases and new one makes for an intriguing investigation to say the least. The story unfolds smoothly keeping the reader entertained as the clues unfold. A wide range of characters gives lots of options while drawing you further in. Steels makes for great MC as she uncovers it all. A total must read for cozy fans. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.

I love this book and series so much! Every page of 15 Minutes of Flame kept me riveted and I can’t wait to read more about Stella and all the other wonderful characters.

This series gets better and better! I really enjoyed October on Nantucket Island and visiting Stella Wright and her candle shop again. Wick & Flame is a sensory delight, with colors, scents, and designs that sound stunning! A treat this time is learning a bit of history on the island as it relates to candle making, including clock candles and some of the island families. I also liked seeing Stella’s cat, Tinker, who has become a huge part of her life in a short time with his unique cat-sonality.

A friend of Stella’s is allowing a home he owns to be decorated and used for a Halloween house for a local fundraiser. In back is what was thought to be a smokehouse that was locked up, at least until the Saturday before Halloween. When Stella arrived, she went to explore when seeing the door open. The inside is delightfully described, except for one little thing. Stella saw a sign indicating it had once been a candle shop, a once-thriving business in the height of the whaling days. When the homeowner said she could take the sign to her apartment, she busied herself trying to pry the heavy wood from the stone of the fireplace. Unfortunately, when she got the sign off, stones that were behind it began to fall out as if pushed by something from behind, and there was a sudden blast of cold in the building. Fortunately, before she saw the worst, Peter, her boyfriend came in looking for her. They both saw the skeleton inside an opening in the wall where the sign had been.

Childhood friend and now a police officer, Andy came as soon as Stella called him, as did the coroner. Due to the age of the remains and the clothing, it is a case for anthropologists, procedure for a body exceeding 100 years. They learn that it is the remains of a woman, probably Quaker due to the clothing, and probably murdered. Research and anthropologists tell them who it might be – and where the remains of her best friend may have spent the last 150 years. Then a mysterious death occurs while the second woman is being sought, and the only person seen in the area who wasn’t supposed to be there was … a ghost?

As a fan of historical mysteries, watching Stella and friends old and new research the past in the area, was very interesting. I struggled to figure out whodunit, at least of the new murder rather than the old murder. The characters, including the new ones, are defined primarily through their conversations and behaviors. I thought I had figured out who the killer was but was absolutely wrong. All the loose ends are tied up, and I am looking forward to the next one. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys well-written cozy mysteries with solid historical and contemporary flavor, candles, and cats.

From a thankful heart: I received a complimentary copy of this novel, and this is my honest review.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

We arrive in Nantucket just before Halloween and Wick and Flame owner Stella Wright is helping the Girl Scouts set up a haunted house for a fundraiser. When Stella checks out a shack on the property she finds it used to be a candlemaking shop. With the owner’s approval, she is taking down a sign from the mantle to display in her shop. But she finds more than she bargained for. She finds a skeleton. From the clothing, it looks to be a Quaker woman and she has been there a while. It is not long before this skeleton leads to another and then a dead body.

To calm fears, Stella moves into the house while the police investigate, but Stella just can’t stop herself from doing her own sleuthing. When she starts to uncover some key facts she knows she is on the right track. A track that could get her life to be snuffed out next.

In this third installment, the author brings some of Nantucket’s history to light. With a 100-year-old skeleton entombed in the shack you know, there has to be a dark story.

I love the way Stella continues to develop over the course of this series. She is smart and truly has her friend and local cop, Andy’s number. She works her way into the police investigation and persuades him to fill her in on what they have and what they are working on. Reporter and boyfriend, Peter was a little distracted this time but by the end, we know why. Emily was under the weather but helped Stella as much as she could. All of Brecher’s characters are well developed and have a purpose in the story. The dialogues were also very well-written

Ms. Brecher unraveled the old story alongside the current one seamlessly with plenty of twists and turns. There is also quite a treasure hunt that ends up being very important to the story. The pacing was perfect. The ending was so well-played out. Finishing this book on Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie’s birthday was very apropos.

I do love the candlemaking theme. This time readers learn about candle clocks. I was totally captivated by them and loved that Stella was teaching a class on how to make them.

15 Minutes of Flame has it all, great characters, mystery, murder, betrayal, and secrets. There is a fair amount of humor too. I really enjoyed this story! I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

You know, they say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, look at this cover! Of course it’s going to be an awesome book! It’s Halloween decor, candles, a cat, pumpkins, a cozy street light: what more do you need? This is the first book I’ve read by Christin Brecher, but it happens to be the third in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. It’s also the first series she’s written. You wouldn’t know it by this book!

Since the characters were all new to me, I was unsure about Stella at first. I like to find something in common with the main character, so I can relate to her (or him). Stella’s a candle maker, and I don’t have one crafty bone in my body. However, once I got into the flow of the story, I found that I was relating to her a lot. I’m not exactly sure why either! She’s young and energetic, and I’m old (okay, don’t be offended people older than I am! I just feel old lol.) and not energetic at all! But, we both love cats, love a good mystery, love finding clues, love the beach, and I felt we’d totally be friends.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating; quirky and sometimes crotchety characters are my favorites. Old Holly was unquestionably one of my favorites in 15 Minutes of Flame. I’d be comfortable sitting around watching baseball and eating snacks with him. Really, all of the characters are well-developed with unique personalities. Needless to say, Christin Brecher is great at creating diverse and colorful characters.

This is a fast paced mystery with lots of creepiness and multiple suspects. I think you’ll love it as much as I did!