Miss Frost Cracks A Caper: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 4)

3 stars – I liked it

When Jayne Frost’s old frenemy shows up in Nocturne Falls, it brings up all kinds of painful memories. Jayne decides to be an adult about it though and be civil with her, and not ruin her chances at getting a job with the Ellinghams. But everything changes at the Black and Orange Ball when Lark shows her true colors again.

Jayne is back on the case of another mystery in Nocturne Falls. While enjoyable, the enemy of this story was very obvious from the beginning and the mystery wasn’t complicated. It was most of Jayne just piecing together the evidence that was a little obvious. So while I did enjoy this book, I wish the mystery had had a little more depth and mysteriousness.

We have a new man in Jayne’s life in this book, Sinclair Crowe, who is a necromancer and owner of Zombies Donuts. I could instantly feel the emotions and lust between Sin and Jayne, which I felt has been lacking with Greyson and Cooper. I am excited to learn more about Sin and his past.

I was disappointed in some of the ending of this book, specifically the interaction with Cooper and Greyson. I was surprised by the lack of emotion for such a major event and that is all I will say about the ending so I don’t spoil it.

Overall, this was a good story but I wish the mystery had been a little more complicated. I am excited to see what is going to happen next to Jayne, especially since she now has a necromancer to help her.

ARC – I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
I don’t know where to start.
There were so many things going on in this book.
Lark is back to try to make amends, or is she ?
Jayne’s love life take an unexpected turn to the right or to the left ?

I would love to read more about Jayne’s family.
Isn’t time for her dad or uncle to show up on Nocturne Falls?
Jayne is royalty, but she is treated more like the favorite daughter.
I would like to see how they would treat real royalty ( like Santa Claus )

There is another mystery afoot, and Jayne is heavily invested to see it solved.
It was a lot of fun to read this book, but there were also some almost tear jerking moments too.
I don’t want to say to much + spoil the book, but you have to read to find out what happened to Jayne’s love life.
I could not believe it when it happened.
It really took the book to a totally new direction.
This new character is going to be super awesome.

DELIGHTFULLY ENTERTAINING !!!
Title: Miss Frost Cracks A Caper
Series: Jayne Frost (A Nocturne Falls Mystery)
Author: Kristen Painter
Designation: Book 4 of Series, Cozy Paranormal Mystery, Standalone Novel, NO Cliffhanger
My Rating: FIVE DELIGHTFULLY ENTERTAINING STARS*****
I love, love, love Kristen Painter and totally smitten with her Nocturne Falls Mystery spinoff series, Jayne Frost! I fell head over heels for Painter’s work several years ago after reading The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride, the first book of her Nocturne Falls PAranormal Romance Series and have been a diehard fan ever since. When I learned Painter was introducing a spinoff series which would be more supernatural cozy mystery rather than paranormal/supernatural romance, I could hardly wait to get it in my hot little hands and Painter did not disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, there is a little romance, but unlike the Nocturne Falls Series which features a different Nocturne Falls couple finding romance in each book, the Jayne Frost Series primarily features a mystery and well…Jayne Frost, winter elf extraordinaire who just happens to be the actual daughter of Jack Frost and Santa’s niece, making her the Winter Princess and heir to the Winter Throne. She’s also the newest resident of Nocturne Falls now that she’s accepted the permanent position as manager of Santa’s Workshop Toy Store in Nocturne Falls, Georgia. Oh, and I forgot to mention she’s also an amateur sleuth…an investigator of sorts, kinda. I’ve read every single book in the series and adored them all. They totally blew me away! (Get it? Blew me away as in winter storm? I know…a terrible pun.) But let’s talk about this story! Miss Frost Cracks A Caper is a sweet, well-crafted, fast-paced, standalone whodunit with NO cliffhanger. It’s also cute, exciting, original, imaginative, and clever with a completely unique twist on cozy mysteries, and filled to the brim with a plethora of supernatural beings, snappy banter, delicious humor, a little sweet romance and of course, mystery and suspense. The narrative is beautifully written with a first-person perspective from none other than Jayne Frost, Winter Princess, and daughter of the Winter King, Jack Frost. The dialogue is smart, snappy, humorous, and flows effortlessly. Painter is an exceptionally gifted storyteller who excels at building vividly depicted worlds for her readers and populating them with an extraordinary cast of captivating characters that literally explode from the pages of her books. They take on a life of their own, capturing your imagination as well as your heart. Which brings me to another thing I truly enjoy about Painter’s books. Her characters cross over between the Nocturne Falls and Jayne Frost series. So, if you have a favorite character, or characters, from Painter’s Nocturne Falls series, you’re more than likely to find them in the Jayne Frost series as well. Did I like this book? No, I LOVED it! Would I recommend it? You bet and I am, for all ages and anyone who loves a sweet little cozy mystery with a smidge of light romance! Will I read this author again? Absolutely! Just as soon as she releases her next book! Was I entertained? Gloriously entertained! Sounds like a five star read to me!

Premise: For all you folks who haven’t heard of Nocturne Falls, it’s a fictional town in Georgia which celebrates Halloween 365 days a year and they celebrate it big time since it’s the town’s main source of income. Yup, tourists flock to Nocturne Falls where the streets are populated every single day with all manner of supernatural creatures dressed as gargoyles, vampires, witches, elves, genies, werewolves, valkyries, and anything else your mind can imagine. Except they aren’t just dressed as these creatures…..they actually are these creatures, and they’re hiding in plain sight of the entire world. Oh my! And they not only live in Nocturne Falls, they make their living by owning businesses which cater to the human tourists. But how could you not love it with haunts (sorry, another bad pun) like the I Scream Shop, Hallowed Bean, Howlers Bar & Grill, The Poison Apple, Illusions, Insomnia(nightclub), Ever After(bridal shop), Big Daddy Bones(barbecue & ribs joint), Mummy’s Diner, The Gingerbread Inn, Delaney’s Delectables, The Black Rose D & B (*snicker* a Dead and Breakfast rather than a Bed and Breakfast *giggle*), a newspaper called The Tombstone, Zombie’s Donuts, and Santa’s Workshop. Santa’s Workshop??? How did that one get into the Halloween themed Nocturne Falls? Well, every town needs a toy store, right? And this store is only one of many located around the world owned by none other than the fat man in the red suit. That’s right! The chain of toy stores is owned by Kris Kringle, aka Santa Claus, from the North Pole and is overseen by Santa’s right-hand man, the Winter King Jack Frost, who just happens to also be his brother-in-law. Yup, family business and all that. I would love to live in Nocturne Falls!

Winter elf Jayne Frost had not been very happy with the path her life had taken…until an unexpected turn of events last year brought her to Nocturne Falls. It was hard enough being an almost thirty-year-old single elf at the North Pole, but add being the Winter Princess, the only daughter and heir of the Winter King Jack Frost, and that equals no friends and no social life. Well, she had a best friend, but Lark tried to steal her college boyfriend, summer elf Cooper Sullivan, and as a result, she and Cooper are no longer on the fast track to the altar. Almost two years ago, Jayne’s doting father sent her to Nocturne Falls on an undercover mission to investigate the disappearance of several Santa’s Workshop employees. Well, thank heavens, she was able to solve that little mystery and lived to tell the tale, but it had been quite dangerous and as it turns out, not so little. As a result of her success, she’s now the manager of Santa’s Workshop and a brand new resident of Nocturne Falls. She’s now settled into her new job and life is good. She’s gone from having no boyfriends to not one, but two sweeties, and maybe even three! We all know how much a winter elf loves their sweets! There’s a new man in town and he has his eye on Jayne! That’s right. Sinclair Crowe, necromancer and owner of the new Zombie’s Donuts wants to take Jayne to the Black and Orange Halloween Ball, which everyone knows is the event of the year in Nocturne Falls, hosted by none other than the town matriarch Elenora Ellingham. All the town’s elite residents will be there to witness a special surprise. Elenora plans to reveal the Heart of Dawn to the guests, her brand new ginormous pink diamond. Jayne certainly doesn’t want to miss it and since her two guys won’t be in town and can’t accompany her, she decides to allow the hunky, handsome Sinclair Crowe to escort her to the event. Unfortunately, an old frenemy is also in town for the Ball. Her former best friend Lark Bramble, now the DJ known as the Ice Queen, will be providing the entertainment for the event. Jayne and Lark didn’t part on the best of terms 10 years ago. Lark was responsible for the breakup between Jayne and her longtime sweetheart, summer elf Cooper Sullivan. They haven’t spoken since, but Lark has suddenly appeared in Nocturne Falls and wants to buy the hatchet. When Elenora and several of the guests, including Jayne, are robbed of their jewelry at the Black and Orange Ball, all eyes are on Lark and her boyfriend assistant Lance LaFlame. Since Jayne could have prevented Elenora from hiring Lark, she feels responsible and won’t rest until she cracks this caper wide open and finds the person, or persons, responsible. Jayne has a lot on her plate, both with her job and her three boytoys, but she smells a rat. Jayne is determined to bring these felons to justice, no matter who they are, but she may need a little help from her friends as well as her new beau Sinclair Crowe to unravel this ball of yarn! Was Lark sincere in wanting to put their past behind them or was she planning to bury the hatchet in Jayne’s back? We’ll see! Oh my!

I really enjoy the Jayne Frost series!

I couldn’t put it down (only when my kindle needed charging. I loved it and can’t wait for her to come out with more on this series.