Christmas week sparkles with holiday decorations, sweet potato pie, lively tourists, and murder… approaching, and Fred is out on a cold morning visiting neighboring stores and planning a celebration at the Cozy Corgi Bookshop and Bakery.
Fred is welcoming the holiday spirit and appreciating the friendships, love, and support she’s found during her first year in her new hometown. But the night’s festivities become a scene for local drama, and by morning a trip to the magic shop to collect a present has Fred and Watson stumbling upon a murder scene. In an unexpected twist, Fred is asked to investigate, but the suspect list keeps growing, and every one of them would give Ebenezer Scrooge a run for his money.
With Fred still coming to grips with a recent betrayal, shifting through all the curmudgeons to crack the case may take more holiday magic than she and Watson possess.
(This culinary cozy mystery includes a recipe for delectable sweet potato pie.)
more
It’s Christmas time and the author has such a wonderful way of bringing it all to life. Just delightful. Another wonderful story!
Malevolent Magic by Mildred Abbott is another book that kind of had me stumped but not entirely.
Will Fred be able to prove that Mike Green didn’t kill his high school friend?
Fred Page
Fred Page is our sleuth and main character. We follow her along on this crazy mystery ride to try to figure out who killed Adam. She is still a great person and is doing an excellent job in solving these mysteries. Granted, she doesn’t want to be known as the lady who solves mysteries better than the police. Fred tries her best, and it’s pretty weird with who asked her to investigate this one.
I like that in this one Fred puts her differences with Susan behind to figure this out. Despite all the evidence pointing toward the brother.
The Mystery
Fred and Watson have a tough time trying to figure out this crime as it has way too many red herrings. Adam is the victim, and he isn’t a likable man, and it doesn’t help that he gets help for things that he probably shouldn’t. This case took Fred down so many different paths with a lot of red herrings, as I mentioned earlier, because of how many people she discovered didn’t like the victim and had a motive. I figured it out who did it earlier, but I wasn’t entirely satisfied until I got some more evidence on that person. I am happy to say that I was right.
Five Stars
Malevolent Magic by Mildred Abbott is an intriguing one that has a lot of twists and turns that Fred had to take to be able to figure out who the killer was. The mystery is demanding a bit, I am giving this book five stars and recommending it to any cozy mystery reader out there.
Don’t forget to take a look at the recipe in the back. Katie’s Sweet Potato Pie sounds so good.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Wicked Wildlife by Mildred Abbott.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
It’s winter and the town of Estes looks like a charming picture of the fast approaching holidays. Fred is looking forward to snuggling up in her favorite spot by the fire, losing herself in a mystery book. But fate has other plans for her and she’s soon caught up in real murder mystery.
I really felt for Fred. She was still reeling from her shocking discover about someone close to her and she just needed some time to recover, but duty called when someone asks for her help in a murder investigation. She had a hard time getting her groove back as she’s not getting that gut feeling she relies on. It’s even harder as the list of suspects aren’t all that likable. I had faith in Fred. She’d get her mojo back and solve the case.
Mildred has such a way with writing descriptions of this town and it’s people. I can so easily see it and them and wonder if I’d actually recognize some of the characters she depicts if I ever visited there. Wouldn’t that be fun!
I enjoyed following Fred and Watson as they unraveled the clues and caught the culprit. And I had a huge grin on my face after reading the last paragraph. Could what I’d been hoping for finally happen? Lucky for me I had the next book already and dove right in to find out!
Still reeling from the betrayal of Branson, Fred’s not sure who to trust and just wants to get her life back on track. So doing a little Christmas shopping can’t hurt right? When Fred finds a dead body at a local shop she knows she should have just gotten gift cards. When her frenemy Officer Susan Green asks her to investigate Fred can’t help but be intrigued. With twists, turns and a suspect no one saw coming it made for a good read.
Best one yet! Love this wonderful cozy mystery series! Great introduction and interactions between characters. Beautiful descriptions of scenery and characters. I definitely will read all of Mildred Abbott’s other books. Fabulous writer; don’t miss any of these books!
Holidays with Fred, Watson and gang…sign me up! Fred can’t seem to escape getting sucked into another murder investigation from the most unexpected direction. As we get further into the series, we really are comfortable with the different personalities in Estes and even the loyalties between certain parties. But with every story, I feel like Fred learns something new about herself or what she originally thought she knew about her neighbors and friends. It really makes every story different and keeps it interesting. I feel invested in all of the relationships in this imaginary town and the different directions they seem to meander off in. It’s always an adventure I’m excited to take.