"The Cookbook Clue" by Elizabeth Penney

About this book:

  “While springtime rainstorms and floods keep everyone in Blackberry Valley on alert, Hannah Prentiss is happy to stay warm and dry, joining her women’s church group on a new project. Well-known chef and professor Julia Miller is sourcing family recipes for a new Kentucky-focused cookbook. To Hannah’s surprise, tucked among the pages of her great-great-aunt Mabel’s handwritten cookbook is a reference to a sixty-year-old mystery. In 1965, a tornado struck Blackberry Valley, and the church’s golden altar cross hasn’t been seen since.
    Hannah decides to piece together the past and find the missing cross. But her attention is soon diverted to a more pressing issue—Julia’s husband disappears while on a cycling adventure. With a record storm barreling down on Blackberry Valley, can Hannah wade through the clues and find the answers before tragedy strikes?”


Series: Book #10 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, and Book #9!


Spiritual Content- Proverbs 3:5-6 at the beginning and is later quoted; A few Scriptures are read, quoted, remembered, & prayed; Prayers; A man sings part of a hymn; Many mentions of churches, church going, church events, & pastors; Mentions of God, His plans, His grace, & being forgiven; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, devotionals, & witnessing; Mentions of redemptive stories and people finding God after making bad choices prior in life; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of someone in the Bible; A mention of a godly woman; A mention of Sunday school; A mention of being blessed; A mention of sins; A mention of something tasting “heavenly”; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘wimp’; Some eye rolling; Going through a tornado, intense flooding, a near car accident, & helping rescue someone (up to semi-detailed); Finding someone who has passed away (from a heart attack, barely-above-not-detailed); All about & many mentions of stealing, stolen items, thieves/looters, & criminals; Many mentions of tornadoes, flooding, damages, evacuations, missing people, & people being rescued; Mentions of deaths & grief (including Hannah’s mother from cancer); Mentions of arrests & jails/prisons; Mentions of rumors & gossip; A few mentions of a possible kidnapping; A couple mentions of possible danger with armed men; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A mention of the Civil War; A mention of a murder case; A mention of a car accident; A mention of a fire; A mention of a business being sabotaged (Book #7); 
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A mention of a book (‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’).
 
 
Sexual Content- Two not-detailed kisses and three barely-above-not-detailed kisses; A married couple shares two kisses (no details); Some touches, embraces, hand holding & nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Some noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating; A mention of a kiss; Love, being in love, & the emotions; 
             *Note: As a note for parents of younger readers possibly interested in this series, Hannah and Liam do spend some time alone together in her apartment (on the couch) and talk (nothing sexual happens besides an embrace and her curling up against him; Their ages are 36 and 38, respectively).
 
-Hannah Prentiss, age 36
               P.O.V. switches between Hannah & Mabel (in the historical period)
                                        Fifteen scenes set in 1965
                                                        276 pages 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

While not my favorite of the series, it was good to see Hannah and her friends again! I’ve lived through a few floods, so it was a little unnerving to read about, but it added a bit of suspense towards the end to an overall calm mystery. I did figure out instantly where the cross was, so that was a bit of a disappointment. 

 

If I could nit-pick one thing, there were quite a few conversations that felt like info-dropping such as the history about a type of food or its ingredients. Because of this, those parts felt like stilted and like a Wikipedia page. It wasn’t completely distracting, but I did notice it a few times.

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

 

"Seeds of Suspicion" by Elizabeth Penney

About this book:

  “It’s Blackberry Festival time, and the whole town is gearing up for the chefs’ cook-off and other exciting events. But right before the big weekend, Hannah Prentiss is disturbed to hear about prowlers roaming the grounds and items going missing from her friend Elaine Wilby’s hundred-year-old-farm. The incidents seem to coincide with an article in the local paper about another festival, held ninety years ago, when the newly crowned Onion Queen disappeared without a trace.
    Elaine believes someone might be after her family’s special heirloom onion seeds. The uniquely flavored vegetable was grown on the farm decades ago but has long since disappeared.
    Could the perpetrator have a connection to the long-lost seeds… and to the missing Onion Queen?”


Series: Book #3 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1 and Book #2!


Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:15 at the beginning; A couple Scripture are quoted & referenced; Thanking God; Church going; A few talks about God & praying; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, hymns, Sunday school, a woman’s group at church, & a pastor; A mention of Bible reading & a morning devotional; A mention of doing something the Christian way; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck.
 

Negative Content- Some eye rolling; All about & many mentions of thieves, thefts, stolen items, robberies, intruders, break-ins, & trespassing; Mentions of crimes, criminals, & jail; Mentions of someone being attacked & injured; Mentions of a fight & a man punching another; Mentions of a dog getting injured (twice) & stopping in front of a moving vehicle (but is okay); Mentions of lies, lying, & deceit; A few mentions of the Great Depression; A couple mentions of death (Hannah’s mom & another’s father); A couple mentions of farm accidents & injuries; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of a child disappearing being a nightmare for parents; A mention of a car accident; A mention of tobacco; 
             *Note: A few mentions of car brands; A mention of a brand name (Kewpie dolls); A mention of a movie (Tarzan). 
 
 
Sexual Content- Hannah notes that while she insists she doesn’t want to date right now (despite her family and friends trying to set her up on blind dates), she wouldn’t mind getting to know the town’s fire chief better; Mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, & dates; Mentions of a couple falling in love & her parents not approving of the man (due to wanting her to marry a rich man); A few mentions of a man trying to give a woman a kiss (that she doesn’t want so she pushes him away); A mention of chaperones.
 
-Hannah Prentiss, age 35
                                P.O.V. mostly of Hannah
                                           Contemporary & Scenes from 1932 
                                                        275 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

While I might not be a fan of onions, I do enjoy gardening and learning about heirloom seeds, so I found this mystery very interesting! Add in the fun of the town’s blackberry festival—which totally made me crave blackberries the whole time I was reading—and it was a fun book! 

 

I will say that this one started off a little strong and quickly jumped into the plot. A few things that were mentioned felt like I should have already knew the information, but I don’t recall them being said before (such as Elaine having a large garden or adopting a dog). But besides the slightly rough start, the pacing worked else wise. I didn’t care for the almost-dual-time-period historical parts, personally. There was a lot of jumping to conclusions and some slightly questionable advice in those scenes. I almost dropped my rating to 3.5 because of it, but I did really enjoyed the rest of the book. 

 

I was absolutely thrilled at the end of the book because it had a recipe for the blackberry pizza recipe that Hannah references and makes throughout the whole book! For half the book, I was picturing it to be the blackberries on top of pizza, but it’s actually a blackberry sauce instead of tomato sauce. I think I would rather try them on top of the pizza as I don’t know about this no-tomato sauce concept. But regardless, I was excited the recipe was shared because I was expecting it to be the blackberry jam cake one instead. I definitely plan on trying this pizza! ;)

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Snake in the Grass" by Elizabeth Penney

About this book:

  “When Harriet Bailey’s young cousins discover an unusual lizard wandering around Cobble Hill Farm, she is stunned to learn that the reptile is not only endangered, but originates from the Caribbean. So how did it end up in White Church Bay? Exotic-animal veterinarian Dr. Jason Peel and private Zoo owner Victoria Langford tells her that animal smuggling is a big problem in Britain and that their new lizard friend, Mango, may be the latest case. When more non-native creatures begin to pop up left and right, Harriet has to wonder if someone in White Church Bay is behind it all.
    Meanwhile, Victoria’s long-lost brother, Nick, arrives at Moorland Zoo. Twenty years ago, Nick vanished in a boating accident and was presumed dead. Now he claims he wants to explain his absence and reconnect with his family, but the timing is certainly suspicious. Is there an ulterior motive behind Nick’s reappearance?”


Series: Book #10 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Review of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, Book #4 Here, Book #5 Here, Book #6 Here, Book #7 Here, Book #8 Here, and Book #9 Here!


Spiritual Content- Luke 8:17 at the beginning & later quoted in the book twice; A couple prayers; Church going & part of a sermon; “Thank God” is said once; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Harriet finds comfort by the “idea of eternity” as it “meant that people weren’t truly lost, that she’d see them again someday”; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, services, & sermons; A mention of a Bible study; A mention of a miracle; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some eye rolling; Unintentional eavesdropping; A man grabs Harriet’s arm in a “distinctly unfriendly way”; Harriet treats an injured zebra (which required a tranquilizer gun and dart, up to semi-detailed); All about & many mentions of smuggling animals, smugglers, the possible mistreatment of the animals, crimes/criminals, thieves, stealing, stolen items, & arrests; Many mentions of deaths and assumed deaths (drownings), a boating accident/shipwreck, the remains of a body being found, trauma, & grief (including shown on-page with someone sobbing over the death of a family member, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of an attack & injuries; Mentions of injured animals, mistreated animals, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including vaccines, barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a possible murder (or accidental murder); A few mentions of a possibly robbery; A couple mentions of possible violence; A mention of World War I; A mention of kids setting fires & causing mischief; 
             *Note: Mentions of protestors being against zoos and calling them cruel (some characters refute this as most of the animals at the zoo in this book no longer have the ability to take care of themselves in the wild and wouldn’t make it in the wild); Mentions of a possibly corrupt law enforcement officer; Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of books in the bonus content at the end (Wuthering Heights and All Creatures Great and Small).
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss; It’s noted that Harriet and Will are dating on a “casual basis” adding that “It was too soon to think about the future. [Harriet] was having too much fun enjoying the present”; The romance content in this book is light with Harriet thinking Will is handsome, her pulse rate rising when talking to him, and he kisses her cheek once; Mentions of relationships, dates, dating, couples, & break-ups; A mention of Harriet knowing “too many people who had been swept away by romance, married too soon, and regretted it”; A mention of jealousy.
 
-Harriet Bailey, age 33/34
                                P.O.V. of Harriet 
                                                        261 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m not a snake person, so I’ll admit to slightly dreading this book. Just the cover alone gives me heebie-jeebies! 

 

It did bother me that at the beginning of this book, Harriet and Will’s new relationship is described as “casual”. The prior book implied it being more slow or cautious, but to say a relationship is casual usually implies being unserious about it or flippant, neither which I got from the prior book. 

 

The faith content was super light and if I could nit-pick one thing, it would be that there were more mentions of luck and being lucky than mentions of God. Some were said by side characters, but also quite a few were said by Harriet as well, which was disappointing. 

 

I feel like Harriet was more of a therapist to a new character in this book compared to her usually vet job. The mystery wasn’t very exciting as it felt 105% obvious to who the culprit was which really hindered my enjoyment of the book. I would say it was okay compared to the rest of the series, but I’m giving it a three star rating personally because it was overall fine, I suppose.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Digging Up Secrets" by Elizabeth Penney

About this book:

  “Harriet Bailey has just inherited her beloved grandfather’s home and veterinary practice in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. But she’s barely unpacked when one of her elderly clients, Meredith Bennett, is rushed to the hospital with a head injury. Harriet agrees to care for Meredith’s springer spaniel, Huntley, while Meredith recovers. When Huntley makes a fuss in the yard behind the clinic, Harriet rushes to see what’s wrong—and finds that he has unearthed the take from a forty-year-old jewel heist.
    Harriet’s late grandfather, Dr. Harold Bailey, becomes the main suspect in the theft, but Harriet refuses to believe that the well-regarded veterinarian and esteemed local artist burgled Ravenglen Manor. She has to find the real culprit and restore the Bailey family’s good reputation. Can Harriet prove Grandad Harold’s innocence and solve this decades-old cold case? More importantly, can she prove herself to her new community of White Church Bay?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. 


Spiritual Content- Proverbs 3:5-6 at the beginning and read later in the book; A few other Scriptures are referenced, remembered, read, & mentioned; Prayers; Church going; Talks about God, trusting Him, & His will; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Harriet wanted to be sure that she was following God’s will for her life and thought moving to England was it, but questions it when something happens (later, she’s reminded that God is watching over here and feels peace); Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & being Blessed; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & devotionals; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, & pastors; A mention of a hymn;
             *Note: The phrase “the nearer to heaven, the heavier sin’s burden” is said when referring to the possible guilt of an elderly person; A mention of Harriet praying and soul searching prior to moving; A mention of a couple being soulmates; A mention of luck.
 

Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling; Harriet’s grandfather passed away prior to the book starting & she misses him (light grief shown on page); Harriet helps a dog who has signs of heatstroke (the family’s children are concerned that their dog may die); All about many mentions of stolen items, thieves, thieving rings, thefts, robberies/burglaries, crimes, & criminals; Mentions of people being attacked, hit, threatened, tied-up, & stolen from; Mentions of prowlers; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of rumors, gossip, & eavesdropping; Mentions of animals being ill (including cancer, hyperthyroidism, lumps/lipoma, skin infections, colic, & a dog with wheeled rear legs because of an accident) & surgery; A few mentions of deaths of loved ones & grief; A few mentions of guilt & threats; A few mentions of the possibility of a dog biting someone (an intruder); A mention of a man’s wife passing away; A mention of a snuffbox; A mention of a dead animal;
             *Note: Mentions of a car brand; A few mentions of painters (John Frederick Herring, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, & John Emms); A mention of writers (the Brontë sisters & James Russell Lowell); A mention of Harriet’s “youth, newness, and even her gender” being strikes against her in her field.
 
 
Sexual Content- A man is told to take a hint that maybe a woman doesn’t want him bothering her; A few mentions of dating & dates; A few mentions of break-ups & broken engagements; A mention of a young woman’s active dating life. 
 
-Harriet Bailey, age 33
                                P.O.V. of Harriet 
                                                        271 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I was pleasantly surprised to see this book available on Kindle Unlimited! Majors thanks to the author and publisher for this because sometimes it’s very hard to find Guidepost books.

 

It was neat to read about Harriet because of her recently moving to England to run her late grandfather’s veterinary clinic. Also because she’s younger than the majority of Guidepost mysteries’ leading ladies it had a different feel to this series already compared to other series. I’ll admit that I was very curious about who the potential love interest could be and looked at every male name mentioned closer. ;) 

 

Overall, I thought it was a good start to the start of a new mystery series and I’m looking forward to continuing the series soon!

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.