law-enforcement, pets, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, Virginia, relationships, friendship, relatives, small-business, small-town, verbal-humor, situational-humor, romantic, attempted-murder, family-business, family-drama, family-dynamics*****

Dastardly premeditated murder.
First it was a carful of deadly snakes, next it was a bedful of dangerous spiders.
Fascinating storyline and memorable characters. A great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. A great mystery that kept me interested until the very end.

Fun read which inspired a 2023 Reading Challenge goal for myself. Easy way to pass an afternoon and enjoyable characters with a decent plot.

Harper Kincaid has done a great job with A Midsummer Night's Scheme.

Just when everything is returning to the calm that Quinn Caine and her sidekicks, Ruff Barker Ginsburg and Sister Daria, are used to in their beloved town of Vienna, a Broadway star crash-lands into their peace and quiet. Former ‘player’, Chad Frivole, is Vienna’s prodigal son—the once notorious lothario has returned a Broadway star, ready to make a different kind of mark on his hometown.

Then trouble strikes!

I really enjoyed reading this book and can't to read more by this author.

Quinn Caine is back home working in her parents' bookshop and dating her long-time crush who is now a detective on the local police force. She once again teams up with Sister Daria, her cousin and a nun in training, to solve the murder of a Broadway star, who was quite the ladies' man in high school, returning home and not everyone is happy to see him. There is a "girl gang" from high school days full of suspects

This is an excellent mystery and had me not wanting to put it down. It is full of great characters. Besides the mystery, there are some other things/relationships going on in the book. This does not distract from the story but adds to it and makes you even more invested in the story. It ends on cliff hanger for both Quinn and Sister Daria. Ms. Kincaid needs to write #3 soon!!

The ending of this mystery book was a surprise! If you are squeamish of snakes then that my be a trigger warning. The actual method of murder was an interesting aspect,

I was happy to see that misophonia was mentioned. It's a sensitivity to noise condition that isn't well known. I"m glad to see it popping up in books.

This book has a variety of characters. I would like to see 2 less people if this is a series. However, that is just my opinion.

Prose & Scones sounds like a coffee/bake and book shop that I would want to visit. Books and coffee? Yes!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would read more by Harper Kincaid.
.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Book Publishing for giving me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lately, I've been in the mood for cozy mysteries and what's cozier than a small-town bookstore? Unfortunately, this book just wasn't it for me. I couldn't connect to the voice of the book and was confused by the pacing issues. At times, it's both too abrupt in some places and too expository in others. The first chapter is where it's the most jarring but it just persists throughout. On page two, I'm told all about the town and a "quick" recap of the last book but later, when a character has a panic attack due to past trauma. Understandable but this happened over halfway through the book, is over in 2 pages and nothing really comes of it? I don't feel the weight of it but I'm also not sure if I'm supposed to. It's a little confusing

I did like the setting and the characters and the murders/murder attempts were truly chilling. I do wish we spent more time with the mystery itself. Half of the fun of a mystery series is the characters themselves but I did want some more sleuthing from our duo. It felt like a small snippet of mystery and then personal drama.

I give this book 1 stars.



TW: On-page murder, brief depiction of a panic attack, snakes, discussion of religion, brief anti-Semitism, spiders, car accident

Publication March 21, 2023 Bookbinding Mystery #2

Tense. Full of action and, yikes, I need to let you know that if you have any phobias of snakes and spiders, even the imaginary idea of being locked in a small, enclosed space with them, shiver, you might want to give this installment of the series a miss. It's an excellent mystery with great characters that I instantly warmed up to but, well, don't say I didn't warn you.

The plot evolves around the return of one-time bad boy, now Broadway star, Chad Frivole. He's in town to announce plans to create a drama/music based production company/playhouse. While most find it a wonderful idea, not everyone does. It seems Chad left behind more than a few broken hearts when he left town for the lights of Broadway. Now he's dead and, shiver, what a marvelously evil murder weapon. Main character Quinn and her cousin, nun-in-training Daria, aka Lizzie/Elizabeth, are there with their dogs when it happens. Despite this, they have no plans to become involved in the investigation. Then, uh-oh, Quinn's brother Bash receives threats and the wannabe killer seems to know his phobia well. Seems he shattered a few female hearts, too, when younger. Family ties are strong, even pulling Daria away from the church, so let the investigation begin. There are plentiful suspects for Chad's death, including a trio of now women who showed open disdain and even hatred toward him when he made his big announcement.

We get two viewpoints throughout, from Quinn's eyes to Daria's now more sheltered vantage point. This makes for an interesting read and offers more angles to ponder. I liked both characters, not to mention their friends. All were well-rounded and could be people we know. Quinn's relationship with detective Aiden, who saved her life in a previous book, it seems, which I haven't read, is still young but seems solid, which is good since she's had a crush on him since, well, forever. Daria has been burnt, however, so she's less open in that sense. Being a nun-in-training, however, does not make one immune to romantic attraction, making for an interesting situation....or two? Oh, that one is going to be interesting to follow into the next book.

In the meantime, with her brother's life on the line, Quinn has little time to devote to her cousin's situation. Who wanted Chad dead? Who also wants Bash dead? Is it the same person? Where did they get that, oh, so specialized weapon? Will Quinn and Daria/Elizabeth be able to figure it all out in time....with Aiden's assistance or, okay, by helping Aiden? Nope, not sharing any more teasers. Unless you're a snake/spider phobic, and gotta admit, the murder scene gave me the heebie-jeebies, you're going to love this one.

Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for both the shivers and intro to the world of Quinn and Daria.

I devoured this book in one day, I couldn't put it down. There's no better feeling than sitting down with a book and reading until the last page - it also helped that my family was out and about and couldn't bother me :) This book can be read as a standalone. Although I do recommend you read them all.

This quote from the book pretty much sums it up......."old enough to realize that hometowns, just like people, are complicated; simultaneously wonderful and terrible and never quite as predictable as they'd like you to believe."

Quinn and her cousin, Elizabeth aka Sister Daria (nun in training), witness the accident that killed Chad, a cruel teenager turned Broadway star. There's no shortage of suspects but when Quinn's brother Bash is targeted with deadly spiders, they know it can't be a coincidence. But that's not it, Sister Daria is having some doubts about being a nun and it gets even more complicated when Lucas starts showing up. Rachael and Bash get engaged but the happy occasion turns to a family argument where Quinn and Bash become very disappointed in their parents.

I can't wait to see what Sister Daria or should I say Elizabeth, decides for her future. Quinn and Aiden also have a decision to make.

#Netgalley #CrookedLaneBooks #HarperKincaid #AMidsummerNightsScheme

Quinn and Sister Daria are back in this new cozy mystery. After a womanizer returns to town, he soon ends up murdered. Soon after, Quinn’s brother is the next target. Quinn and her cousin must find the culprit to save her family.

I hadn’t read the previous book, but I was able to follow along fine! I wasn’t expecting the dual character focus, and I felt some of the story lines odd. However, a solid cozy mystery that ends with an intriguing cliffhanger!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced fun read! Interesting characters with good character development. Lots of suspects with plenty of red herrings that keep you guessing until the end. Lots of action and intrigue. Thanks #netgalley and#CrookedLaneBooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

What a fantastic read! My first by this author and I really enjoyed this fun cozy mystery. Fun characters with a plot that held my attention.

A Midsummer Night's Scheme is the second book in this cozy mystery series. It was a fun read and I enjoyed it.
Quinn and her crew are a fun bunch to have adventure with. It was fasted paced and the mystery was fun to get through.
#AMidsummerNightsScheme #NetGalley

A fast paced, easy cozy mystery with Quinn & her cousin Daria once again thrown into a murder mystery. Admittedly I could not place the characters from the first story, bits & pieces came together, so I do feel the book would be fine as a stand-alone. Lots of emphasis on Daria deciding whether or not she will be come a nun, with a cliffhanger ending. Note-if one has an aversion to spiders or snakes, they are in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley, Ms Kincaid, and Crooked Lane Books for the pre-read in exchange for an honest review

When local comes home to Vienna from Broadway, not everyone is happy to see him, especially those whose hearts he broke. When Chad is found dead, no one is really surprised. But when the killer starts to target Bash, Quinn has got to find out who is behind the murder and threats.

Even though she promised detective Harrington she won’t get involved, with her brother’s life on the line, Quinn is all in! Game on!

The second entry in this series is as good as the first and I have been eagerly awaiting its release. Norther Virginia is my old stomping ground, so Vienna takes me home and has me visiting with what feels like old friends, even if only for awhile.

This is the first time I've read a book in this series, and it was a cute, fast paced cozy myself. The characters are cute and the story was interesting.

A page-turning and light second book in this series! The duo of Quinn and her cousin (and nun-to-be) is such a fun pairing.

The dynamic between Quinn’s family and her brother’s future in-laws was an interesting inclusion and Quinn’s cousin’s struggle between becoming a nun and love provides some additional romance, but I felt like these side stories overshadowed the main mystery at times.

Thanks #netgalley and #harperkinkaid for this ARC!

I love cozy mysteries and this is q good one. If you like cozies about animals and it does give about a Halloween vibe even though it's not about Halloween then this is the book for you. The storyline was fun and the characters were interesting.
This book was approved for me to read and review by netgalley and the publisher.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Crooked Lane Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A perfect cozy mystery. Likable characters with the right combination of quaint and eccentric.

A Midsummer Night's Scheme is the second book in this cozy mystery series. When Chad Frivole, Tony award winner, Broadway star, and former resident of Vienna. announces his plan to open a regional theater in town, not everyone is happy of his return. He left a string of broken hearts back in high school and some very bitter women in his wake. Quinn and her cousin, Sister Daria. decide to investigate when it seems Quinns brother Sabastian might be the next victim in the killer's sights. This was a fun quick read with a slew of suspects that kept me guessing until the end. Thank you netgalley and to Crooked Lane Books for the advance readers copy.