Dru’s Short Musing:
Being asked to help solve a murder mystery comes as a surprise to both Dawna and April. Are they up to the challenge? If you know them both, you know the answer.
This was a fast-paced and well written whodunit that quickly became a page turner as I had to know who was doing what to whom. The mystery was staged with a multi-subplot storyline that had me immersed in all that was happening on the page. Who murdered the French teacher? There were quite a few people who had strong motives and as the tale progressed what was uncovered narrowed down the list of suspects until there was one person left standing – the killer. The author trickled in a few clues that kept me in the game with some well-placed red herrings that kept me intrigued and in suspense. When I thought I had a handle of the person responsible, the author changed directions all to enhance my reading pleasure. Overall, this was a terrific and entertaining read and one of the best books in this delightfully charming series.
Series: A Hometown Hardware Mystery, Book 4
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 11, 2026
Format: Print, Digital
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Book Synopsis:
Murder has hardware store owner Dawna Carpenter all shook up.
Pine Bluff, Oregon’s annual Winter Carnival is the perfect remedy for the cabin fever that has hit the town hard. Dawna pulls on her bobby socks for this year’s 50s-themed event, ready to relax and mingle after a long winter.
But with the angry high school French teacher spitting nails at half the town, the social event of the winter is anything but relaxing. What should have been a fun evening ends in disaster when Dawna’s daughter, April, finds the teacher sitting behind his desk, dead as a doornail. To make matters worse, his ghost is still in the classroom, unaware he’s just been murdered. With an ice storm in the forecast, Dawna must chisel out the clues to find the killer before there’s another nail in a coffin.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the author.