loribonesscaswell

Chatterley Heights’ is celebrating its 250th birthday and Mayor Karen Evanson is running the planning committee ragged with her demands and numerous meetings. Maddie is busy making a Gingerbread town including a house that looks like the famous Chatterley Mansion. Olivia is on cookie making duty and at Karen’s beck and call. Everyone just wants the celebration to go smoothly and maybe bring some tourists to Chatterley Heights.

The entire town gets a big surprise when Paine Chatterley shows up right before the celebration is supposed to begin. Everyone thought he was dead. In fact the town took over care of the mansion and volunteers did a major renovation because they believed there were no more living Chatterleys. Paine informs everyone he will not be opening the mansion to the public for the celebration and this sends the committee scrambling.

Someone must have taken this news badly because Paine is soon found dead. Olivia ends up right in the middle of the investigation and as secrets are revealed it turns out the town’s history may not be that sweet after all.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
Get your cookie cutters ready, Virginia Lowell has done it again. She gives us wonderful characters, a marvelous mystery and some mouth watering virtual cookies that will have all of us wanting more!!

The friendship between Maddie and Livie continues to be the icing that binds these stories together. They each have their quirks and little ways to tease each other that add the humor and fun to the story. They are in each other lives 24/7 365 days a year and it warms my heart the way they are always there for each other.

Lowell also gives us Mayor Karen and her over the top craziness and Binnie the blogger with her desire to create havoc with her lies and innuendo. We are also treated to the strangeness of Hermione and Paine Chatterley. The eclectic characters needed in every cozy mystery.

The plot is well thought out and engaging. The details of cookie and gingerbread decorating was really interesting. A perfect balance of mystery and suspense is reached with the necessary humor and a touch of romance. I highly recommend this one!