{"id":17124,"date":"2016-09-15T11:12:56","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T15:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=17124"},"modified":"2022-10-11T18:13:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T18:13:38","slug":"review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \t\t\t\n\t
\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n
\n \n
\n
\n\t\t \n\t\t \t\t\"Review\t <\/a>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n \n \t<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it\u2019s dough or die…<\/strong><\/p>

Opera singer Roma Toscano may have a crippling case of stage fright, but she certainly is stirring up drama in Autumn Vale, New York, as she prepares for an upcoming performance at Merry\u2019s Wynter Castle. With her flamboyant style and flirtatious personality, Roma attracts fans as well as critics, including the town\u2019s postmistress\u2014and Merry\u2019s bitter foe\u2014Minnie Urqhart.<\/p>

But Roma and Minnie\u2019s heated rivalry goes cold after Merry discovers Minnie dead at the post office. While every clue seems to be another ingredient in the investigation of Roma, Merry thinks the case is half-baked, and she\u2019s eager to get her mitts on the real killer…<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n
\n

\"4-hearts\"<\/p>

Release Date:\u00a0<\/strong>August\u00a02, 2016
Publisher: <\/strong>Berkley
Series: <\/strong>A Merry Muffin Mystery<\/em>
<\/em>Book: <\/strong>2
Price: <\/strong>$7.99<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Merry Wynter<\/strong> has returned to her inherited castle in Autumn Vale, New York after an extended visit to Europe to visit the mother and brother of her late husband. Merry is glad to be home, but finds everyone is treating her differently. To make things worse, her dear friend Pish has moved an old rival, opera singer Roma Toscano,\u00a0to stay in her home. When a killer strikes, Merry soon finds herself in the unexpected position of coming to Roma’s defense against a charge of murder by getting involved in the search to determine who really committed murder.<\/p>

I enjoy the castle setting of this book, as well as the light tone of the writing. The book is rounded out with two muffin recipes since baking delicious muffins is Merry’s specialty. There are plenty of suspects in the murder of\u00a0unpleasant postmistress Minnie Urqhart\u00a0and the main plot of the story remains interesting from the beginning to the\u00a0end.<\/p>

I’ve really enjoyed the prior books in this series, so I was already familiar with the main characters, but the author gives enough background about Merry and her friends that new readers will quickly catch up. I like a cozy mystery that has a little romance mixed in, so I was pleased to see things progressing between Merry and her boyfriend Virgil. Although Merry is still getting over her husband Miguel’s death and Virgil has his own issues with his ex-wife Kelly, things are looking promising for the likeable couple. There wasn\u2019t as much investigation in this installment of the series, but it\u2019s still an interesting mystery.<\/p>

I thought both Merry and some of her friends’ actions in this installment of the Merry Muffin series seemed out of character. Staying away from the castle for so long with limited contact with her friends doesn’t seem like something she would do. Merry\u2019s best friend Shilo’s evasiveness seemed off, and I\u00a0was surprised Pish let his support of murder suspect Roma so to such extremes, it almost comes between his friendship. This also seemed out of character for Pish, who is usually so devoted to Merry.\u00a0 However, things improved as the story progressed, and overall the book is entertaining and fun to read.<\/p>

~ Christine<\/em><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n \t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuy Links<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t \t<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it\u2019s dough or die… Opera singer Roma Toscano may have a crippling case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,89,48],"tags":[152,367],"class_list":["post-17124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-berkley","category-christine","category-reviews","tag-4-stars","tag-mystery"],"yoast_head":"\nReview \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it\u2019s dough or die… Opera singer Roma Toscano may have a crippling case […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-15T15:12:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-11T18:13:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/much-ado-about-muffin-victoria-hamilton.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"beverley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"beverley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"beverley\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d\"},\"headline\":\"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-15T15:12:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-11T18:13:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"4 Stars\",\"Mystery\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Berkley\",\"Christine\",\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Smitten by Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-15T15:12:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-11T18:13:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/15\\\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smitten by Books\",\"description\":\"Where HEAs are guaranteed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smitten by Books\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1\",\"width\":281,\"height\":265,\"caption\":\"Smitten by Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d\",\"name\":\"beverley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"beverley\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/beverley\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Smitten by Books","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Smitten by Books","og_description":"When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it\u2019s dough or die… Opera singer Roma Toscano may have a crippling case […]","og_url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/","og_site_name":"Smitten by Books","article_published_time":"2016-09-15T15:12:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-11T18:13:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/much-ado-about-muffin-victoria-hamilton.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"beverley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"beverley","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/"},"author":{"name":"beverley","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d"},"headline":"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton","datePublished":"2016-09-15T15:12:56+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-11T18:13:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/"},"wordCount":530,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["4 Stars","Mystery"],"articleSection":["Berkley","Christine","Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/","name":"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Smitten by Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2016-09-15T15:12:56+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-11T18:13:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/15\/review-much-ado-about-muffin-by-victoria-hamilton\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","name":"Smitten by Books","description":"Where HEAs are guaranteed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Smitten by Books","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","width":281,"height":265,"caption":"Smitten by Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d","name":"beverley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"beverley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/author\/beverley\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"builder_content":"<a href=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/2016\/mystery\/aug-much-ado-about-muffin-victoria-hamilton.php\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" > <img src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/much-ado-about-muffin-victoria-hamilton.jpg\" title=\"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton\" alt=\"Review \u2764 Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton\"> <\/a>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it\u2019s dough or die...<\/strong><\/p><p>Opera singer Roma Toscano may have a crippling case of stage fright, but she certainly is stirring up drama in Autumn Vale, New York, as she prepares for an upcoming performance at Merry\u2019s Wynter Castle. With her flamboyant style and flirtatious personality, Roma attracts fans as well as critics, including the town\u2019s postmistress\u2014and Merry\u2019s bitter foe\u2014Minnie Urqhart.<\/p><p>But Roma and Minnie\u2019s heated rivalry goes cold after Merry discovers Minnie dead at the post office. While every clue seems to be another ingredient in the investigation of Roma, Merry thinks the case is half-baked, and she\u2019s eager to get her mitts on the real killer...<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/4-hearts.jpg\" alt=\"4-hearts\" width=\"170\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:\u00a0<\/strong>August\u00a02, 2016<strong><br \/>Publisher: <\/strong>Berkley<br \/><strong>Series: <\/strong><em>A Merry Muffin Mystery<\/em><strong><em><br \/><\/em>Book: <\/strong>2<strong><br \/>Price: <\/strong>$7.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Merry Wynter<\/strong> has returned to her inherited castle in Autumn Vale, New York after an extended visit to Europe to visit the mother and brother of her late husband. Merry is glad to be home, but finds everyone is treating her differently. To make things worse, her dear friend Pish has moved an old rival, opera singer Roma Toscano,\u00a0to stay in her home. When a killer strikes, Merry soon finds herself in the unexpected position of coming to Roma's defense against a charge of murder by getting involved in the search to determine who really committed murder.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I enjoy the castle setting of this book, as well as the light tone of the writing. The book is rounded out with two muffin recipes since baking delicious muffins is Merry's specialty. There are plenty of suspects in the murder of\u00a0unpleasant postmistress Minnie Urqhart\u00a0and the main plot of the story remains interesting from the beginning to the\u00a0end.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I've really enjoyed the prior books in this series, so I was already familiar with the main characters, but the author gives enough background about Merry and her friends that new readers will quickly catch up. I like a cozy mystery that has a little romance mixed in, so I was pleased to see things progressing between Merry and her boyfriend Virgil. Although Merry is still getting over her husband Miguel's death and Virgil has his own issues with his ex-wife Kelly, things are looking promising for the likeable couple. There wasn\u2019t as much investigation in this installment of the series, but it\u2019s still an interesting mystery.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I thought both Merry and some of her friends' actions in this installment of the Merry Muffin series seemed out of character. Staying away from the castle for so long with limited contact with her friends doesn't seem like something she would do. Merry\u2019s best friend Shilo's evasiveness seemed off, and I\u00a0was surprised Pish let his support of murder suspect Roma so to such extremes, it almost comes between his friendship. This also seemed out of character for Pish, who is usually so devoted to Merry.\u00a0 However, things improved as the story progressed, and overall the book is entertaining and fun to read.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/2016\/mystery\/aug-much-ado-about-muffin-victoria-hamilton.php\" > Buy Links <\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}