Essentials of Murder: An Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery by Kim Davis #Review / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour @Kookiesandbooks

Essentials of Murder: An Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery
by Kim Davis

About Essentials of Murder

This book was originally released on September 8, 2021.
I reviewed it on January 5, 2022.
It has now been re-released with more books in the series to come.
I have reposted my review below.

Essentials of Murder: An Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harbor Lane Books, LLC. (September 24, 2024)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DD3W1XPJ

After a scandalous arrest in San Francisco, Carissa Carmichael has moved back to her small Southern California hometown to start over as she opens her Aromatherapy Apothecary shop and reflexology services. A tourist destination, Oak Creek Valley, seems the perfect place to put the past behind her, but it seems no one will let her forget. When she finds the man who threatened to drive her out of business murdered in her shop, Carissa becomes the primary suspect, especially when her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon. Despite her father’s position as Oak Creek Valley’s chief of police, most townspeople assume she’s guilty.

Refusing to run again, Carissa knows she must prove her innocence to save her shop and save her father’s career when the investigating detective turns his focus on her. With suspects acting as slippery as the essential oils she distills, it’s up to Carissa to apply pressure and sniff out the truth before it’s too late.

Includes essential oil and reflexology tips.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Carissa Carmichael returns home after leaving San Francisco in hopes of leaving her recent past behind. With the support of family and friends, she strives to open an aromatherapy and reflexology shop but before she can even host her grand opening she finds a dead body right next to her distilling equipment and her fingerprints are the only ones on the murder weapon. Her chief of police father is forced off the case and the new lead detective feels his investigation is easy because he is convinced she is the killer. She now knows it is essential to catch the killer herself or to get rubbed out permanently.

Kim Davis excels in creating multifaceted characters that readers are drawn to almost immediately. Take Carissa, she has a bit of a checkered past that has probably given her father some gray hair, and in the San Francisco case, a situation that could come back to bite him in the future. She did make a great friend and mentor in Mari Kemp while there and Mari has come to town too now to help her open her shop. Cari also reconnects and hires a friend from high school who is a marketing whiz but she needs more help than just the job. Ashley is a character that really grabbed me and I can’t wait to see her life hopefully change in positive ways.  We are introduced to a couple of possible romantic interests, a jerk detective, and other interesting residents of the California small town too. All are well-crafted, essential to the plot, and interesting in their own ways.

I really enjoy the way Ms. Davis tells a story. This mystery was filled with twists and turns. The victim really had issues that served up a nice list of possible suspects. The detective had ulterior motives that really tested everyone involved. Some strange land deals play into the mix and Cari tries to so be a good friend to many while trying to follow her dad’s orders to stay safe. The dialogues between the cast are both dynamic and true to life. But it is her delightful descriptive writing style that really makes her story so enjoyable. She can set a scene that paints a vivid picture in your mind while never being overly wordy. She seems to weigh each word and phrase carefully to really make them count. Readers can tell she did her research and knows her theme. The information she imparts about essential oils is so well presented. You can almost smell them too.

You can’t have a Kim Davis cozy mystery without some emphasis on food and let me tell you, all the trips Carissa made to the bakery down the street had me virtually adding pounds to my own body. Then again they could be actual pounds because she includes the recipe for Jasper’s Triple Chocolate Rolls in the back of the book. She also includes an Aromatherapy Basic Care Guide that I found very helpful and renewed my interest in essential oils.

This series is off to a marvelous start with Essentials for Murder. I can’t wait for book #2.

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

About Kim Davis

Kim Davis writes the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series, the award-winning Cupcake Catering cozy mystery series, and the middle-grade fantasy adventure The Board Game Chronicles series. She has also written several children’s nature articles published in a variety of magazines.

Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on her blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.

Author Links:
Website  Facebook    Twitter (X)     Goodreads     Pinterest

Purchase Links:  Amazon      Barnes & Noble     Apple     Other Online Book Retailers

Also written by Kim Davis

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Escape With Dollycas.

Great Escapes Praise for Essentials of Murder:
An Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery
by Kim Davis

Great setting and a strong mystery pulled me in and I finished it in a day and a half. Highly recommend, and I’m looking forward to book two!
~Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books

There’s more to ESSENTIALS OF MURDER than meets the eye making it a solid start to an enjoyable new series.
~Cozy Up With Kathy

Essentials of Murder is a fragrant tale with an angry neighbor, distilling oils, cruel vandals, finding an old friend, a protective father, a determined detective, and a killer conclusion.
~The Avid Reader

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.”