It may not be front page news, but Island Times food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell is now happily married. Before she can set sail on her honeymoon cruise, however, Hayley’s mom, Sheila, pays an impromptu visit—and promptly becomes the prime suspect in a murder. The victim is Sheila’s old high school rival, Caskie Lemon-Hogg, known for her homemade blueberry pies and her home-wrecking … her home-wrecking flirtations. As Hayley teams up with her BFFs Liddy and Mona to clear her mother’s name, Sheila reunites with Liddy’s mom Celeste and Mona’s mom Jane for their own amateur sleuthing. The race is on between the moms and the daughters to find out who served this blueberry tart her just desserts . . .
Includes seven delectable recipes from Hayley’s kitchen!
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DEATH OF A BLUEBERRY TART by Lee Hollis is the 12th book in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series. It’s the story of Hayley Powell – her life and her sleuthing adventures.
Both Hayley and husband, Bruce, work for the “Island Times” and have arranged for time off for the honeymoon cruise they didn’t have after their rather unexpected, unplanned wedding. However, before they can ship off, Hayley’s Mom, Shelia, shows up unannounced and immediately becomes suspect in the murder of her old high school rival, Caskie Lemon-Hogg – known for her blueberry pies and being a shameless flirt.
As kids Shelia, Celeste and Jane were best friends – and still were. The same way that Hayley, Liddy (Celeste’s daughter) and Mona (Jane’s daughter) are now. It wasn’t surprising that the cops zeroed in on Shelia when Caskie turned up murdered considering their past history and since Shelia’s run ins with Caskie since arriving in town had been very public, the last being at the school reunion for the class of 1968. It also became apparent to Hayley that finding out who did murder Caskie took precedence over her honeymoon in order to prove her mother’s innocence. Naturally Hayley calls on her BFF’s for help sleuthing our clues. Meanwhile Shelia knows Hayley’s been able to help investigate past crimes, but feels she’s equally adapt to doing some fact finding as well and encompasses Celeste and Mona in her endeavors to find out whodunit. However, before they can solve one murder, there is another!
DEATH OF A BLUEBERRY TART is the wonderfully written cozy mystery combating the talents of the younger generation against those of the older generation in a race to see who can get to the end result first to get enough evidence to get Shelia off the suspect list. Along the way we get to see how Hayley’s personal life is developing with new hubby Bruce and continue to see bits of her professional life as a food and cocktail columnist – which also included some delicious recipes. Lee Hollis weaves a story that both gives you helpful clues and road blocks that stump you. Then leads to an ending that will satisfy that little detective in all of us and have you saying “job well done”. Although part of the series, it can most definitely be read as a standalone book.
Definitely recommend DEATH OF A BLUEBERRY TART to anyone that loves cozy mysteries, loves a great story full of twist and turns with bits of romance, humor and some good recipes thrown in for good measure. I loved it and give it 5 stars.
Not a bad book but found some of the characters annoying which diminished overall book
Fun read, light weight
I would like it better if all the recipes were at the end of the book rather than scattered throughout and interrupting the flow of the writing.
I found the characters hard to spend the with. It was like watching a train wreck. I read to escape reality so this was not a good choice for me. I didn’t finish it.
Hayley was treated pretty badly by her mom (I thought so anyway). When she wasn’t downgrading her daughter she was thinking about Bruce in bed (sick). I loved it when she got out in her place! Other than that it was Great! Absolutely Fantastic! Can’t wait for the next!
Love her books. The older moms are a hoot, but awful women – mean girls from the 60’s. You don’t know the ending until you get to it. Great read!
Death of a Blueberry Tart is book twelve in the Haley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series by Lee Hollis. This is the second in the series I have read but have been able to get current quickly.
Haley and her new husband, Bruce, are ready to leave for their much needed honeymoon when her mother, Shelia, arrives from Florida not only with her luggage but a broken heart. A party/reunion is threw together and is going great until Caskie Lemon-Hogg shows up and old rivalries flare up involving Haley and Shelia. When Caskie is found murdered by Shelia, all signs point to Shelia so it’s up to Haley to find the real guilty person.
This easy to read cozy has it all! Enough suspects to have you guessing until the end, friendship, family, and humor to have you laughing out loud. There are also plenty of yummy blueberry recipes included.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Kensington Books for an honest review.
Bar Harbor reporters Hayley and Bruce are newlywed and preparing to ditch town for a honeymoon cruise when Hayley’s mom, Sheila, arrives for an impromptu visit, prompting an informal class reunion. When Sheila gets together with her bffs Jane and Celeste, quite coincidentally the moms of Hayley’s bffs Mona and Liddy, it doesn’t take long for them to be embroiled in a mystery when their high school rival, Cassie, is found brutally murdered! An absolute hoot of a mystery, Lee Hollis’ Death of a Blueberry Tart, the 12th Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, kept me on my toes following the antics of both sets of besties, each one trying to beat the other to solve the crime! 5 stars!!!
In this next book of the series Hayley is excited for her upcoming honeymoon with her new husband Bruce. About a week before they are to leave her mother Sheila shows up unexpectedly, heart broken@ from a recent breakup. She barged into Hayley’s life and just seems to take over. Her mother ends up throwing an impromptu high school reunion and runs into her rival Cassie, a woman that her friends and her have for ever disliked. When Cassie ends up dead and Sheila is the one to find her, she becomes the main suspect in the murder. Hayley can’t let her mom and up in jail and has to postpone her honeymoon so she can investigate. She starts with looking into Cassie’s life, past and present. There are so many avenues to look down but nothing is jumping out to help lead Hayley down a certain path. Will she be able to put the puzzle pieces together and figure out who killed Cassie or will her mom and up in jail? Follow along and see for yourself!
If you like blueberries, you will love all the recipes in this book. The story line is great too. I loved the characters. I was continually giggling at the antics of both sets of best friends. You have the mom best friends and the daughter best friends. That in in-self is pretty cool, in my opinion. Who will be the first to crack the case? The mom’s or the daughter’s? Go along with Hayley, Liddy, Mona, Shelia, Celeste, and Jane as they work through the clues and process what they learn. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. I hope I can hang with these folks again sometime. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
A well-written, entertaining mystery that kept me guessing from start to finish! I really enjoy this series, reading about Hayley and her daily life, and the investigations she gets herself involved in. In Death of a Blueberry Tart, Hayley’s mother Sheila is visiting and ends finds herself a person of interest in a crime. She launches her own amateur investigation with the help of her two best friends, which Hayley objects to, concerned her mother will get herself in trouble… or worse! So Hayley runs a tandem investigation and keeps bumping into her mother being nosy and giving Hayley a taste of how others see her own investigating.
The books in this series are interspersed with Hayley’s newspaper columns, telling stories from her life and sharing recipes for snacks, beverages, and other tasty dishes, which are a lot of fun and provide some side stories and a great way to share the recipes.
As always, I look forward to the next book in the series, even though this one hasn’t officially been released yet. I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Death of a Blueberry Tart by Lee Hollis is the 12th instalment in the Haley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series.
I love this series, I have only read the last 2 but have purchased the previous 10 and hope to catch up. The stories always catch my attention and pull me in right away.
Plus the recipes ! They make me want to be a baker or a cook.
Right now I just want to run out and buy some blueberries so I can try out a few of the recipes featured in the book.
I suspected the murderer but didn’t fully guess until Haley did. This was a great mystery filled with lots of twists and turns. I love how Haley, Liddy and Mona are so much like their mothers but don’t see it.
I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends !
I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Though this is the twelfth book in the series, it is the first book I’ve read. I will definitely go back and read all of the previous books. There is murder, intrigue, twists, turns, and laughter throughout the pages. And when you add the delicious blueberry recipes, it makes for a delightful read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I am looking forward to more adventures with Hayley and the gang!
Death of a Blueberry Tart by Lee Hollis is the twelfth installment in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series.
This starts off immediately after its predecessor Death of a Wedding Cake Baker. Finally Hayley and Bruce are married and of course in only Hayley style, they can’t even get in their honeymoon as Hayley’s mom, Sheila, shows up unannounced to visit and unfortunately gets tangled into a double murder. Hijinks ensue and we get to follow along to find the culprit.
I have always loved this series and I think Hayley is hilarious. She is down to earth, realistic, like able, smart, and has such witty comments. I have also always enjoyed the banter and one-liners that these authors create with every book. It is fresh, easily-flowing, entertaining, and caused several laugh out loud moments for me. I also enjoyed the mystery plot as well.
I have read all 12 of these books, as well as the 3 novellas. I love the themes, the recipes, and the characters. I cannot wait until the next book comes out! Also, I am totally going to try to make the Blueberry Snack cake recipe with the blueberries I have washed and ready in the fridge tomorrow. It sounds so tasty (and the best part….easy).
5/5 stars