"Murder Takes the Cake" and "Three Blind Mice"

Murder Takes the Cake- Gayle Trent
260 pages


"Cozy murder mystery. When the meanest gossip in Brea Ridge dies mysteriously, suspicions turn to cake decorator Daphne Martin. But all Daphne did was deliver a spice cake with cream cheese frosting--and find Yodel's body. Now Daphne's got to help solve the murder and clear her good name. Problem is, her Virginia hometown is brimming with people who had good reason to kill Yodel, and Daphne's whole family is among them."

This book was free through the Kindle app a few weeks ago. I snatched it up fast! Kindle books are "free today, not tomorrow." lol

I really enjoyed this book.
It kept me interested, and I read it rather quickly.
The characters were believable and likeable (except for Daphne's mother. I'm not sure what's going on there. Maybe more will be revealed in future installments).
I admit, I skipped over some of parts that went into detail about cake making.
If you're a cake decorator, or interested in learning, you would love this book.




Three Blind Mice- Agatha Christie

275 pages


This book is a collection of short stories starring Poirot and Miss Marple.

In addition, it includes the story "Three Blind Mice" upon which Christie's play "The Mousetrap" is based.

"Three Blind Mice" is by far the best short story in the collection. It is of the same caliber as her better novels, in my humble opinion.


Currently reading: O Pioneers! - Willa Cather
2010 total: 3 (really? Only 3? I need to step it up a bit.)

"Daddy- Long-Legs" and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"

88 pages

"A trustee of the John Grier orphanage has offered to send Judy Abbott to college. The only requirements are that she must write to him every month, and that she can never know who he is. Judy’s life at college is a whirlwind of friends, classes, parties, and a growing friendship with the handsome Jervis Pendleton. With so much happening in her life, Judy can scarcely stop writing! "

I started this book in December, but finished it in January. I already counted it as part of my 2009 reads, but I wanted to review it here.

I remember reading this book in 5th grade. I checked it out of the school library. I remember wishing I had a window seat just like Judy's.

This book never gets old. It is simply charming. It will always be among my favorites.






290 pages

From Publishers Weekly

"The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers."

This was not a book I would have chosen on my own.
After hearing my friend, Pattie rave about it, and learning that it was the first book in an online book club I've joined, I decided I should read it.
I was pleasantly surprised.
I really enjoyed this book.
I would recommend it to anyone.


2010 reads: 1
currently reading: Three Blind Mice- Agatha Christie