In the new Merry Muffin Mystery from the author of Muffin to Fear, baker Merry Wynter must confront a spiritual guru who may be up to something far from heavenly . . . With plans for a new performing arts center at Wynter Castle taking up all her time, baker Merry Wynter has been all but unaware of the fringe group compound near her small town—until a street preacher accosts her with taunts of … accosts her with taunts of doom and damnation. Worried that some of her close friends may have been lured in by the group and its charismatic leader, Merry begins digging into the ministry—and soon suspects they may have ties to the recent death of a young woman and the disappearance of many others.
With her rebellious teen friend Lizzie at her side, Merry steps in to confront the eerily submissive community and its misguided members, skeptical of their supposed spiritual leanings. When another young woman vanishes and Merry realizes the lives of people close to her are at stake, she will stop at nothing to uncover the group’s sinister secrets before the murderous ministry can strike again . . .
Includes tasty baking recipes!
Praise for the Merry Muffin Mysteries:
“[Has] the ingredients for a wonderful cozy mystery series.” —New York Times bestselling author Paige Shelton
“A great cozy with varied and interesting characters, nice plot with a few twists, and a good main character . . . Loved it!” —Mysteries and My Musings
“Merry Wynter’s character is extremely well-developed . . . This is a great start to a promising new series for cozy mystery fans. Five Stars!” —Goodreads
About the Author:
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. She is the bestselling author of the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the Merry Muffin Mysteries, and a Regency-set historical mystery series, starting with A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder. She blogs at Killer Characters. Visit her website at victoriahamiltonmysteries.com.
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Muffin But Trouble is the 6th book in the Merry Muffin Mystery series written by Victoria Hamilton. The series takes place in upstate New York and focuses on Merry, a remarried widow in her late thirties or early forties (I believe, as I think the author might be leaving it open so she could have a child in the future) who inherited a castle and bakes muffins for local stores and organizations. And she solves crimes too… this time, it’s a cult that’s moved to town. Is it responsible for all the disappearing young girls? Merry and her young friend, Lizzie, are on the case.
Merry is a strong lead character. She’s smart and nosy, but only in a good way. She tries to figure things out on her own, and the police have learned to trust her more. She often goes down the wrong path yet it helps her find the right one. I like the balance between the two towns, Ridley Ridge (the ‘bad’ side of town) and Autumn Vale (where her castle is located), because we get a variety of people. It reminds me of towns I’ve visited in the Hudson Valley, so it’s on point. Another good aspect in the series are the side stories because we see so much evolution in the characters.
It’s been almost two years since the last book, and Merry has been married for nearly two years at this point (just under). It helped show how much change has happened in the town and in her life. Her best friend Pish has turned the castle into something wonderful, and seeing Merry become a stronger foundation in the town is heartwarming. In this caper, the cult is fascinating. So many of the lines and characters are awful (in a good way) that I got angry at the book… because it sorta sounded a bit like real life in some parts of this country. I was glad to see how Hamilton could push her readers to react, and it’s a result of strong writing and character dialog and development.
I look forward to more from this series… but will have to wait, as the next book bring released from the author is in another series of hers that I read (Vintage Kitchen)… so see ya again soon!
“Muffin But Trouble” A Merry Muffin Mystery, Book 6 by Victoria Hamilton.
Even though this is the first book I have read in the series I was able to follow along easily so it can be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed it and practically read in one sitting and have since purchased the other books in the series.
In the new Merry Muffin Mystery from the author of Muffin to Fear, baker Merry Wynter must confront a spiritual guru who may be up to something far from heavenly . . .
With plans for a new performing arts center at Wynter Castle taking up all her time, baker Merry Wynter has been all but unaware of the fringe group compound near her small town—until a street preacher accosts her with taunts of doom and damnation. Worried that some of her close friends may have been lured in by the group and its charismatic leader, Merry begins digging into the ministry—and soon suspects they may have ties to the recent death of a young woman and the disappearance of many others.
With her rebellious teen friend Lizzie at her side, Merry steps in to confront the eerily submissive community and its misguided members, skeptical of their supposed spiritual leanings. When another young woman vanishes and Merry realizes the lives of people close to her are at stake, she will stop at nothing to uncover the group’s sinister secrets before the murderous ministry can strike again . . .
Includes tasty baking recipes!
The Protagonist Merry Wynter is a strong, and independent and I especially love Lizzie who is feisty as all get out. The characters are well rounded and seem real as I could relate to each of them.
There were enough twists to keep me intrigued and wanting to know how it ends. The plot and story were good and seemed to flow at a good pace. This has been added to my favourite series pile, I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a cozy filled with warm, diverse characters and a small town atmosphere.
Terrific book!! So interesting and intriguing when a cult comes to the nearby town of Ridley Ridge and some residents of Autumn Vale and some missing girls are found there. Love Merry and her husband, Virgil, as well as teen friend, Kizzie. This story had me wanting to keep reading to find out what was really going on with the cult. Lots of twists and intrigue. I highly recommend and hope there will be more books in this series!!
Loved the one I read so much that I’ve gone back and read the others!
Ok. Not my first choice.
As Merry Wynter is planning the new performing arts center at Wynter Castle. She learns that some of her friends have joined a spiritual group just outside of town. Merry is worried that this group has cult-like characteristics and wants to get her friends out. When the body of a dead girl turns up near the community and there are several other missing young ladies Merry escalates her plans to get her friends out.
I really enjoy this series and each book can be enjoyed as part of the series or as a stand-alone mystery. The characters are wonderful from Merry’s strong independence, to her husband Virgil policeman frame of thinking, to Lizzie’s feisty teen personality and all the others in between. The characters are complexed in their personalities which makes them realistic and relatable. The mystery has several twists and turns to keep the reader engaged until the end. The plot and storyline move at a good pace. There are recipes included at the end of the book. I recommend this book to mystery fans especially cozy mystery fans.
I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book supplied by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.
Wonderful plot, wonderful characters! The plot started off slow for me, but once it got going, I could not put it down! The energy ans twists ans turns were so exhilarating that it kept me entertained for hours. I can’t wait for the next book!
Muffin But Trouble by Victoria Hamilton is book six in the Merry Muffin Mystery series. This is the first in this series I have read and I was able to get caught up somewhat quickly.
Missing young girls, a cult like ministry group, and a body found along side the road, are they tied together? If so, what else is going on out on the compound. Merry and her teenage friend, Lizzie, set out to find out. Once they see the living conditions and some of their friends living there, they kick into high gear to get to the bottom of what they are up to at the Light and the Way Ministry.
There are twists and turns that have you guessing until the end. Note, this is a darker cozy then most.
There are recipes included.
Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page publishing I was given an ARC for an honest review.
cults, scam, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, friendship
This is my first foray into the Merry Muffin series and it certainly is ambitious! It delves into the moral and legal insanity of a so called spiritual cult and how it affects the nearby community. The other issue is considering how negatively as well as positively a cultural community will impact that same community. The characters are interesting and very clearly depicted as is the imagery of the locality. An engaging read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley.