A festive setting, a skeleton, sets the tone for this latest mystery in the series. Written in a way that leaves the reader guessing but still engaged with warm well developed characters, this is a book you will not be able to put down.

While setting up a Girl Scouts haunted house, Stella stumbles across an old skeleton entombed in the chimney of an old chandlery behind the house. Soon, police discover the bones are very old and call in an expert named Solder and his assistant Leigh to determine the age and origin of the remains. It comes to light that the victim is one Patience Cooper, who, as legend has it, was robbed of a collection of money raised to invest in merchant ships and then disappeared.

While researching the unfortunate victim in the chimney, another related case comes up of a friend of Patience who killed herself by jumping down a well, An expedition is formed to descend into the well, where another skeleton is found, clutching a map indicating the location of a treasure. When a tree suddenly falls over, trapping Leigh in its branches, Solder is found dead, strangled and bludgeoned. Can Stella untangle the threads of an old mystery while finding a modern day killer?

I found this on Netgalley and although this is the third book in the series, it’s my first entry and you can bet I’ll be reading the first two ASAP. I can safely say this can be read as a standalone or as an entry into the series, as it doesn’t seem like many details from previous books are present, or if they are, are adequately explained.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere of the book from the first page! Great, engaging characters, a romantic setting at seaside Nantucket and an intriguing mystery spanning generations. What more could anyone ask for? I totally admit I had no idea whatsoever whodunit, the culprit was neatly hidden very well until the dramatic reveal at the end.

I did feel that the historical mystery wasn’t tied up as well as the modern mystery, as what happened to the “treasure” and what was found at the location really wasn’t explained or even brought up again. That would be my one gripe. Where is my happily ever after for Patience’s treasure?

Overall, this was one excellent read and you can bet it’ll be on my list of ones to follow eagerly for each new installment.

When Stella discovers a body of an 18 century woman who was thought to have escaped the island with stolen money it opens the town's old wounds. If she was murdered then what happened to the money and who did her husband escape the island with? And what does the map of treasure found with the body of her best friend in an old well really mean? Then the archeologist who came down to examine the body winds up murdered and Stella has to figure out who the murderer is as well as solve the 200 year old murder.
Great mystery with an unexpected history lesson in it.

Love this series. It's Halloween time. Stella stumbles across a mystery. While she investigates what happened 100 years ago. There is a murder in town. Stella trys to figure out of both are connected. To hear more read the book

#15 Minutes of Flame. Stella Wright’s Nantucket candle store is thriving, her relationship is on a firm footing and her friendships are tight. When she agrees to help the girl scouts host a haunted house to benefit the needy she finds an old candle shop in a back building as well as a decades old body. It is believed that the body is one of the candilers ( a group of seniors who attend all of Settla's workshops), ancestors who was accused of stealing money that her and her local businesswomen had intended for investing. The body quickly leads to another decades body down the well of the local crabby old man. THe two dead women had been fast friends.

When the archeologists that were brought in to date and preserve the bodies and burial sites dies shortly after his team finds a treasure map Stella has four mysteries no her hands. The list of suspects add up quickly including a disgruntled local historian, a paranormal investigator/documentarian, the family members form both Puritan women as well as the girlfriend/colleague of the dead man.

Stella has her plate full with the running her business, crafting her candles, helping the girl scouts, managing her relationships and solving the mysteries. Lets not forget finding the treasure at the X marked spot. It was a face paced interesting story filled with facts about candle making thru out history and the early Puritan colonist. I would recommend this book . I for one plan on checking out the previous offerings in this series.

Third in the series, candlemaker Stella finds a century-old corpse while helping the Girl Scouts create a Halloween fundraiser. One corpse leads to two and the hunt is on to solve this long ago mystery.

This is the third book in Christin Brecher’s Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series and the second I've read.
Candle shop owner and craftsmen Stella Wright stumbles upon a skeleton hidden in the wall on her friend's property that she is setting up for a Halloween haunted house. Wanting to find out more about the century old woman she discovered Stella begins to investigate and finds an ancient mystery involving robbery, murder, love affairs and maybe even a treasure. When one of the people called in to investigate the mystery also ends up dead things get even more dangerous for Stella and her friends.

I enjoyed the book, it was so descriptive about the Nantucket setting and you could really imagine the town. I also loved all the history about the area and how women played a role in the development of the town. Even though I liked book two of the series more, I recommend 15 minutes of flame to any cozy lover.

Stella Wright's candle shop in Nantucket is a dream come true for her. She's deeply involved in the community, and getting ready for a Girl Scout fundraiser for Hallowe'en. She's setting up a historic building for a haunted house experience -- with hand-crocheted cobwebs and spooky candles -- when she encounters a skeleton.

The skeleton turns out to be a historic one, more than 100 years old, so historians and archaeologists join in and we get an interesting glimpse of old Nantucket. But the historical research quickly turns into sleuthing when a much more recent corpse appears at one of the archaeology sites.

Both the historical story and the modern one turn on complicated relationships. I like the feminist vibe, too, and the strong friendships among diverse characters. There's a bit of romance and Stella is brave and likable.

The story is well written, with flashes of humor and lots of intriguing details about the people. I have not read the earlier books in the series, but now I want to -- and I will look forward to seeing the characters develop in the future.

This was a new to me author, but I will definitely be reading more. I really enjoyed this mystery, I didn't guess the culprit and I enjoyed the cute little town and its characters.

Set in Nantucket, a body is found behind the walls of the old candlemaker's shop. Why was this Quaker woman left there? Is there any connection of her murder to the old tales around town about bodies in wells and stolen monies? Who really wants to figure it all out and why?

Nantucket, Halloween, a haunted house and the past are all wrapped up in this paranormal mystery. I love this series and characters and find my self getting lost in the stories so far.

Candlemaker Stella Wright gets roped into helping the local Girl Scouts with a haunted house at a creaking abandoned home in Nantucket. Little does she know she will encounter a skeleton As she is researching the house, she discovers the dead woman was a involved in an 18th century love triangle, including stolen money, a nefarious husband and a missing treasure map. When someone else is killed, Stella believes the missing map may hold the truth. Her search for the truth is made more difficult by the ever-changing stories of the suspects. The Nantucket setting is charming and Stella is a likeable character.

Unfortunately, 15 Minutes of Flame was not my favorite in the series (although a great title!). I do love the Nantucket atmosphere and Stella's candle shop as well as any snippets of candle tidbits we got. Christin Brecher uses descriptions that make you feel as though you are there. It was really disappointing that the story wasn't more centered with the candle shop and actual candle making. There was a little bit of relationship with Peter and I'm hoping for more in future books.

The mystery was ok but had a lot going on that didn't really feel like it tied to the storyline to me. There were a couple instances that were not quite believable and Stella blatantly trespassing on someone's land and then pounding on that person's door demanding they open to answer her questions didn't sit right with me.

I love the beautiful fall book cover, it is gorgeous. I still look forward to any future adventures of Stella and her gang. I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a voluntary review. All opinions are my own.

In the 3rd installment in Christin Brecher’s Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series, 15 Minutes of Flame, Nantucket Candleer Stella Wright is once again in the thick of an active murder investigation.

In the back of an old Nantucket home where the Nantucket Girl Scouts are preparing to host a Halloween Fundraiser, Stella Wright decides to explore the shack in hopes of being able to use it as a prop during the festivities. While looking for a scene to house a fictious haunt, Stella finds a real one when she stumbles upon a 100+ year old skeleton. Determined to understand what happened, Stella immediately sets off on to try and uncover his / her story. As Stella gets deeper into her research, she finds out that there might just be more to this story than what it appears on the surface. So deep that someone is willing to commit murder to keep it safe.

Stella is a highly likable character whose curiosity resonates with the reader. The book follows her thought process as we travel with her to various research locations, her store, meet ups with friends, and interviews with potential suspects. By the end, I felt like I was familiar with Nantucket culture, in both current and historical time, even though I’ve never been there!

The book had just the right amount of twists and I’m happy to say I didn’t see the outcome until we were there! I appreciated learning a bit about Quaker culture, something I had no knowledge of previously. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will definitely be going back to read the first two installments of the series.

Overall, I would rate 15 Minutes of Flame 4.5 out of 5 stars and would recommend to any fans of cozy mysteries. The perfect light read!

Stella is a curious, intelligent and fun character that owns Wick & Flame on Nantucket Island. Helping organize the Halloween Haunt she comes across a Skelton which leads to another from the eighteen hundreds. Then the historian sorting through is killed. Stella is on the case to find the murderer. I really enjoyed the town, characters and mystery.

The book was a pretty quick read and it was good, but somehow I just couldn’t really get into it. Brenda annoyed me and, maybe because I didn’t start from the beginning of the series, I felt like we just got characters and no real info on them.

I wanted to like this book more than I really did. I read the first book in this series a while back and vaguely recall enjoying the setting and the quaint store. This book hardly had anything to do about the shop, and there was just so much going on that the basics got lost.

The story involves an historical mystery, a TV producer, Girl Scouts, a haunted house, anthropologists, and more. It had too much going on and none of the secondary characters were particularly likeable. There was a curmudgeon-y old man, the wacky lady who thought she talked to spirits, the smarmy TV guy, two sort of boring scholars, etc. I wasn't rooting for anyone because I didn't care for anyone much. I hope this series get back to the candle shop and has more to do with the art/skill required.

2.5 stars

This was the third book in this series. I expected more character development by this time, but many of the characters are still shallow. I don't like the main character Stella very much. She comes across as very self-centered and not at all self-deprecating. She does things where she acts as if she is in charge instead of just being a busy body; such as when she should have gone home she is walking all around Old Holly's house and even settles in on the deck. None of the other character have much dimension to them. By the time the murderer was revealed and the reason was ambiguous, I was ready to quit.

Halloween is descending upon Nantucket and the ghosts are ready to tell their tales as Stella helps the local Girl Scout troop prepare a haunted house to raise money for those in need. What she doesn’t count on is finding a real connection to the old house nor finding a real skeleton in one of the outbuildings. But the find leads to another ghost from the past that haunts Stella and an archaeologist is called in to assist.

As the archaeologists lead the efforts to uncover a second skeleton from the 1800s, it seems everyone wants in on the discovery, including the local historian and a Netflix spirit hunter. Little did they realize that what they discover in the well would lead to yet another body to be discovered. Stella seeks justice for the three departed and turns to her sleuthing and deduction skills to find the killer before their history is exploited and the body count rises.

I adore this series and get lost in history and Nantucket when I read one of the books. I cannot get enough of both. The story is well written and the characters show you a side of Nantucket you don’t get to see as a tourist to the island. I may never live on the island, but I sure do enjoy day dreaming about owning an old home with history on the island. I will have to settle for enjoying the books and day dreaming bout it though.

First book by this author.
A bit of paranormal, Quaker ghost.
Fun small town characters.
I enjoyed the history involved.
Will look into other books by this author.