Murder Makes Scents, the second book of the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series is a wild ride from Paris to Nantucket.


Stella and her world traveling mother, Millie are a hoot. You can tell the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Both women share a passion for scents. Taking that passion and turning it into a livelihood that they love and unique to each of them. Even though both women are very much like, they are both distinctly different and very much their own person. Millie is a care free, go with the flow where Stella is a bit more grounded and extremely happy in her little Nantucket town.Stella was a fabulous character even if she was a bit too trusting. I loved her quirkiness and how she let her determination outshine her fear.



Murder Makes Scents starts a little on the slow side, but that’s just the build up. An up and down, twist and turn, keep you guessing plot. We get engaging and humorous characters. I love the relationships established in the small town settings. Christin Beecher mixes a good dose of humor, some action and adventure along with a good plot that had me jumping back-and-forth on who the killer really was kind of mystery. We even get a little bit of romance, which of course makes me very happy. I stumbled across Murder Makes Scents on netgalley and I’m very thankful to the publisher to allow me early access to this very entertaining read.

I loved the first book in this series Murder's No Votive Confidence so I just couldn't wait to read this instalment. We start off with Stella and her mother Millie in Paris who are attending a perfume industry conference in Paris, but their trip takes a deadly turn when they witness the stabbing death of a young man. When they return to good old Nantucket it appears that danger has followed them from Paris. Her mother Millie has some scents from the Amazon that she is keeping close to her chest, but it appears that is not the only thing she has brought home from France!

I did find the whole international espionage story line to be a bit out there, I wanted more cozy Nantucket style mystery like in book on. However, that being said I was totally engrossed in this story, fantastical or not and really enjoyed the wonderful Nantucket setting and the characters. 

Christin Brecher did a great job at keeping me guessing with the large pool of suspects and when all was revealed I was surprised as the person wasn't one I had pegged to be most likely - I love it when an author can throw you off the track but tie everything up in a plausible way. I already cant for the next book in the series 15 Minutes of Flame, this is one series that I am whole-heartily enjoying.

4 stars

From Amazon - "Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.

After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. And just as things threaten to ignite, Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France—and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked . . ."

The second book in this installment, in my opinion, is not as good as the first. Starting out in Paris was a nice touch to shake up the cozy world of Nantucket where this series is based. I loved the developing relationship between Stella, our candle-making protagonist, and her mother Millie, a perfume expert. We didn't see a lot of candle-making in this book, which I really missed. The list of suspects was well thought out and kept me guessing until the end.

This book took a turn for me about three-fourths of the way through when our hunt for a killer was heating up. It was a touch too much for me and the ending was more suited to a James Patterson thriller than a cozy mystery. Maybe had the author stuck with one main theme on the hunt for the killer it would have been more believable. I won't say any more so I don't give away any spoilers.

While I was disappointed with the ending, I still believe this series is one that I will keep tabs on.

Description

Stella Wright loves creating candles at her Nantucket store—and she also has a burning passion for justice. Now, after visiting a perfume conference, she must solve a vial crime . . .  Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.   After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. And just as things threaten to ignite, Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France—and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked . . .

My Review

Murder Makes Scents has all of the ingredeints for a great cozy mystery. It is a charming debut novel by Brecher that is sure to delight fans.

This is the first book in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery Series…. can’t wait for more.

The novel starts off in Paris, one of my most favorite cities in the world. While there for a conference Millie and Stella hear a collective cry coming from the far end of the conference’s reception area. “As panic grew…” - there has been a stabbing at the conference - the dead man had a knife protruding from his back. Not being able to offer any assistance they returned home.

Thinking they put the murder behind them they are surprised to find that trouble follows them home.

It’s definitely one of those easy reads you just can’t put down until you find out what really happened.

Highly recommend this book - 5 Stars!!

I enjoyed learning about the history and development of candle scents and candlemaking methods. I've also always wanted to travel to Nantucket and the book did a wonderful job of transporting me there. The descriptions were so detailed, especially of the houses, and I felt like I was right "on island" with the characters. The anticipation of landing with the ferry reminded me of the times I've spent on Ocracoke Island, NC.

The plot, however, was just too unrealistic for me. Yes, I was waiting for the stabbing in Paris to make its way to Nantucket. However, when a secret agent for our government confides international secrets to a cozy character, then threatens her with treason.. it made it difficult for me to finish the book. But it was very well-written and for that reason, I would read the next installment of this series.

Thanks to NetGallet and Kensington for an ARC. My review is voluntary.

When they witness a murder at a perfume convention in Paris, the scene is set for our hometown candle store owner to find her mother and herself in the middle of an attempt on their lives. The mystery continues as Christin Brecher drops clues that bring the killer closer and closer to home. Cozy mystery lovers will recognize a fellow genre lover in Ms Brecher. A really good excuse to not to do the dinner dishes.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but didn't like this one quite as well. The issue for me was that a few things felt over the top, making it seem less than credible. I didn't feel that way at all about the first book. I do like the characters in the series so far, and I'll read the next one that comes out, hoping that I won't have the same issue with it.

Great book. A little bit of everything..you have romance..mystery and action all in one.
Stella is on the hunt for the missing vial and the clock is ticking...who has it..what it is and where is it are all needed to know as the clock is ticking.
A great cozy mystery with entertaining characters and a great book over all.

This 2nd installment of the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series starts in Paris as Stella Wright is visiting her Mother Millie who is at a perfume conference about to make a speech when a commotion outside the ballroom finds a man struggling as he has been stabbed in the back and dies just after looking Stella in the eyes. Stella and Millie are both shaken but after waiting to give their information to the police they have to rush to get to the airport to catch their flight to Nantucket. Stella and Millie are both troubled by what just happened and want to get back to normal but no such luck. Stella goes to her candle shop to sleep as her mother snores too loud and she is sleeping in the back when it is broken into. She calls the police but nothing appears to be missing. Millie’s perfume case (like a doctor’s case) is still in the safe and Stella begins to think she imagined it. She knows her family and friends have something up their sleeves for her upcoming 30th birthday but as she tries to get back to normal, her mother is knocked out after falling on the street running from her cat Tinker and then a message is left on her door demanding the formula her mother has smuggled out of Paris. Millie has a severe concussion and has no memory of the last several days and is in the hospital. Stella tracks down someone who was in her store and she overhears something about a mission. This woman was the partner of the man killed in Paris and the formula contains the coordinates of the travel plans for a Princess coming to a peace conference in Paris. There is an international spy on the island who wants this formula and is clearly willing to kill for it. How can Stella protect her Mother and keep the formula out of the hands of the bad guy. This was a good read which had lots of twists and turns with lots of possible suspects, the group of men on the island for a reunion, the couple at her cousin’s new Airbnb, as well as their acquaintance Olive who arrives just a couple days after the murder in Paris. I really enjoyed this book and I think it was paced well. The ending was fast paced and a little far fetched but did not mean I did not enjoy it tremendously. Sneak peak of the next installment at the end of the book sounds amazing. Can’t wait.

Trouble follows Stella and her mother Millie home from Paris to Nantucket! Mind you, their trip to Paris was marred by a murder but now they're home safe- or so they think. Stella has a sweet candle shop and Millie is a perfumer but someone thinks they're doing something else. Millie has a vial with a secret formula critical to a Peace Conference that the bad guys want (yes, they represent themselves as good guys but you know they aren't). You have to suspend belief for this one but it's a hoot. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. I liked the addition of Millie and hope the next installment is a little more realistic.

Nantucket candle store owner, Stella Wright is returning home after attending a perfumer's conference in Paris with her adventure-loving mother where they witnessed the stabbing of another attendee. Things keep heating up back in Nantucket with Federal agents and spies. Even though some of the action verges on incredulous, the writing and the characters are so charming you are happily carried along. Just the thing for a cold wintry night!

Stella is Nantucket's local Candle lady, but as the story begins, she is in France with her mother, and they are play-acting the concept of the fancy Parisian ladies. On a side note, the city wasn't for me, but I could still empathize with Stella's excitement. She rarely got to spend quality time with her mother, who has a severe case of wanderlust. There was the sly mention of the unknown father again in this, and I smell a future book focusing on the revelations that might go with that back story. The glitzy work cum vacation ends with a dead body and a hastily wrapped up return to their hometown. Once there, it seems like the trouble followed them all the way. The plot was a little outlandish but made more sense than some cozies with random reasons for the lead digging around trying to solve the case. There are multiple suspects, many odd occurrences and a lot more revelations about the people involved than I thought we would be given by the time the end rolled around.

The writing and narrative styles continue to make the series and the inhabitants feel three dimensional, and any reasoning they gave for the story going the way can be deemed acceptable. 

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this book.

Murder Makes Scents
Author: Christin Brecher
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: February 25, 2020
4 stars

Stella Wright, owner of the Wick & Flame, and her mom, Millie, go on a trip together to Paris. They are going to a perfume conference, but even more special to Stella is the time with her mom. Things go horribly wrong though when a man is stabbed to death right in front of them. With the conference ruined, Stella and her mother head back to Nantucket. Stella is glad to be back, but she just can’t shake the murder from her mind. Stella becomes alarmed after she believes someone was in her store, and she sees a mysterious figure outside her shop at night. She becomes terrified when she receives a note demanding that she hand over a formula her mother has supposedly smuggled out of Paris, or Millie would end up dead. Stella is unsure what the note is referring to, but she isn’t going to take it laying down. Before Stella even realizes what is happening, she finds herself involved in an international mystery. Stella comes up with many suspects, but which of them makes the most scents.

Murder Makes Sense is a great follow up to Murder’s No Votive of Confidence, and I think I enjoyed this one even more. The action in this book is amazing and fast paced (even if a few places seem a little unbelievable). I was solidly hooked from beginning to end, and the tension grew steadily as the novel progressed. It’s a race against time for Stella, and the stakes are high.

The characters in this story are very eclectic. We have our heroine and her fun loving mother, Millie. They are joined by: former classmates of Millie’s; a couple from Canada; Olive, the check out lady from the conference who follows Stella and Millie to Nantucket; a secretive American spy; and a mysterious man with evil eyes, and from this group Stella believes is the proverbial bad guy. You grow to like almost all of them, making it hard to guess whodunit.

This is a roller coaster of a tale that I believe cozy mystery readers will love.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #MurderMakesScents

I liked this entry even more than the first in the series. When Stella and her mother are off to visit Paris but homicide isn't part of their travel plans. Both mother and daughter make their living using scent and that's the reason for the trip to attend a perfume conference. What could any of this have to do with spies? Especially spies who follow them back to Nantucket. Things heat up when Millie is attacked and Stella is threatened. The list of suspects is long due to the fact that spies who are cold blooded killers, who will stop at nothing to get what they want and neither Stella nor her mother have any idea who it could be. Male? Female? Who knows but they better figure it out fast before there are international repercussions.
This was a fast paced and very satisfying mystery filled with characters I enjoyed spending time with like Stella and her mother. Plus a twist here and there with some red herrings to spice things up. I already have the third in the series, 15 Minutes of Flame (25 August 2020) on my TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

When Stella and her mom Millie visit a perfume conference in Paris they become witnesses to a very public murder. Little do they know that the murder victim was a federal agent and that he hid a vial with coded information in Millie's bag to prevent an international assassin from disrupting a peace conference. When Stella and Millie return to Nantucket Stella finds out that the assassin has followed them. He can be anyone around them- from a new friend they made in Paris to her cousin's airbnb renters. IAnd when the vial gets stolen from Stella's safe and her mom's life is threatened it's up to her to find out who the assassin is and save the peace conference.
An enjoyable fast paced read- love Stella and her gang of friends!

5 Stars

This is the second book in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery Series by Christin Breacher.

What a fun ride this was! Who knew you could take a candle maker and a mother who is a perfumer at heart and make them into international spies.

Stella and her mom are in Paris at a conference where her mother is going to give a talk on detecting fragrances when a man is stabbed practically in front of them. Without them noticing before he died the man shoved a perfumers bottle into Millie’s bag. This bottle is very important to the peace conference that is going on concurrently with the perfume conference. They return homer unaware of the danger they are in.

This book was quite a hoot. Brecher made me fall in love with a villain. I knew that dude was too good to be true. I loved the pairing of the candles, perfumes, scents and espionage. Right up my alley. I was only sorry because the story ended. I wanted to live in this world for a bit longer.

I had to laugh at the super secret agent lady who kept telling Stella she was in charge and yet the bad guy kept one-upping her and besting her at every turn. I think maybe she needs a new line of work.

Stella was taken in this story from the streets of Paris to Nantucket, from a candle shop to a jump from an airplane with an unworking chute. Just loved every single second of this story. I am totally hooked. Now I need to read book one and get really caught up!

If you love a good cozy mystery, you have to check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

A visit to Paris with her mother ends in tragedy when Stella sees a man stabbed to death at the airport. In Murder Makes Scents by Christin Brecher, Stella feels once she is back safely on her island of Nantucket, the event will fade from her memory.

Not so fast though. She soon learns there might be a connection between the death and the perfume industry conference her mother attended. Stella discovers the person killed in Paris was a U.S. government official and sources believe the killer is well known anarchist Rex Laruam. This chills Stella and she is more worried about her globe-trotting, free-spirited mother.

An intriguing puzzle with a smattering of lies, deceptions and misplaced trust.

I liked this author's first book in the series. This one not so much. The main character working with an FBI anent, international spy's being involved, just strained even my credulity too much. However, the sneak peek at the next book seems interesting and I will be willing to give it a try.

Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Murder Makes Scents is an entertaining and well written cozy mystery. A good plot and believable characters. Loved the setting. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Be it the character portrayal or storytelling, Christin Brecher knows how to keep her fans hooked on to the story. I waited for six months to read the second instalment of Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery and it was surely worth the wait.
Stella, our favourite adventure seeker is back! This time, she entangles herself in a super mess involving a criminal mastermind named Rex Laruam and he's got something to do with Millie's secret scent from Amazon and a murder.
The story starts slow but picks up pace in the second half. The ending does justice to the tension built up in the second half of the story.
I recommend this book to all cozy mystery fans.