Dollycas’s Best Reads of 2023

2023 was a fabulous year for us readers.
I read over 200 books and only a few earned 3 stars or less.
The books on my list today are the cream of the crop for me. They were books that I couldn’t put down and books that stayed
with me after I turned the final page.
They earned my Paradise Rating because
I thought they deserved more than 5 stars.

Wined and Died in New Orleans (A Vintage Cookbook)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Louisiana
Berkley (February 7, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593437632
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593437636
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09TZPW81C

The second in a fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

It’s hurricane season in New Orleans and vintage cookbook fan Ricki James-Diaz is trying to shelve her weather-related fears and focus on her business, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, housed in the magnificent Bon Vee Culinary House Museum.

Repairs on the property unearth crates of very old, very valuable French wine, buried by the home’s builder, Jean-Louis Charbonnet. Ricki, who’s been struggling to attract more customers to Miss Vee’s, is thrilled when her post about the discovery of this long-buried treasure goes viral. She’s less thrilled when the post brings distant Charbonnet family members out of the woodwork, all clamoring for a cut of the wine’s sale.

When a dead body turns up in Bon Vee’s cheery fall decorations, the NOPD zeroes in on Eugenia Charbonnet Felice as the prime suspect, figuring that as head of the Charbonnet family, she has the most to gain. Ricki is determined to uncover the real culprit, but she can’t help noticing that Eugenia is acting strangely. Ricki wonders what kind of secret her mentor has bottled up, and fears what might happen if she uncorks it.

In the second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, Ricki has to help solve a murder, untangle family secrets, and grow her business, all while living under the threat of a hurricane that could wipe out everything from her home to Bon Vee.

You can read my review here. 

The Miner’s Canary
Cozy Mystery/Suspense
Setting – South Dakota
Touchpoint Press (October 25, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1956851410
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1956851410
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BBS7M1MD

“A smart heroine with a haunted past . . . a who-done-it full of twists and turns.”

Haunted by a death she might have prevented, single mom Julie Goldman returns to the brooding Black Hills of South Dakota to turn the old Victorian she inherits from her aunt into a bed-and-breakfast inn. But mysterious deaths are piling up, and a series of vaguely escalating threats convince her that someone wants her gone. When daughter Lu is run off the road while riding her bike, Julie knows she must find and stop whoever has them squarely in their sights.

You can read my review here. 

I Will Find You
Suspense / Thriller
Setting – Maine – New York
Grand Central Publishing (March 14, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1538748363
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1538748367
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B5SD5SCL

Five years ago, an innocent man began a life sentence for murdering his own son. Today he found out his son is still alive.

David Burroughs was once a devoted father to his three-year-old son Matthew, living a dream life just a short drive away from the working-class suburb where he and his wife, Cheryl, first fell in love–until one fateful night when David woke suddenly to discover Matthew had been murdered while David was asleep just down the hall.

Half a decade later, David’s been wrongly accused and convicted of the murder, left to serve out his time in a maximum-security prison—a fate which, grieving and wracked with guilt, David didn’t have the will to fight. The world has moved on without him. Then Cheryl’s younger sister, Rachel, makes a surprise appearance during visiting hours bearing a strange photograph. It’s a vacation shot of a bustling amusement park a friend shared with her, and in the background, just barely in the frame, is a boy bearing an eerie resemblance to David’s son. Even though it can’t be, David just knows: Matthew is still alive.

David plans a harrowing escape, determined to achieve the impossible – save his son, clear his own name, and discover the real story of what happened. But with his life on the line and the FBI following his every move, can David evade capture long enough to reveal the shocking truth?

You can read my review here. 

Fateful Words: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting – Scotland
Minotaur Books (April 4, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250789532
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250789532
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09Y45JKX5

In Fateful Words, the eighth Scottish Bookshop Mystery from beloved author Paige Shelton, bookseller Delaney Nichols stakes her reputation—and her life—when a literary tour turns deadly…

When Edwin, Delaney’s boss at the Cracked Spine bookstore, leaves town on secret business, Delaney is called upon to guide his yearly literary tour around Edinburgh. But on the first night of the tour, at the inn where the tour group is staying, the inn manager falls—or is pushed—off the roof of the inn, and killed. Then, one of the tour members disappears, leaving a trail of puzzles in her wake.

In a race against the clock, Delaney sets out on the expedition of her life, following clues around Edinburgh to get to the bottom of this mystery. Exploring sights from Greyfriars Bobby to the Royal Mile to the Sir Walter Scott Monument, she’ll have to put the pieces together quickly, or the bookstore’s survival could be on the line…as well as her own.

You can read my review here. 

The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting -‎ Rhode Island
Berkley (May 2, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425255492
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425255490
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B8GC8YHT

A stray dog leads bookseller Penelope McClure and her gumshoe ghost on a chase for a cunning criminal in this brand-new entry in the “UTTERLY CHARMING” (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Pet Mystery Week brings brisk business to Penelope’s Rhode Island bookshop, but a real mystery comes barking at her door when a lost dog turns up in a panic. Pen and her son Spencer follow the furry fugitive to a wooded area where the dog’s owner lies unconscious. Mrs. Cunningham is a warm-hearted widow who volunteers at the animal shelter and runs Buy the Book’s pet lovers book club. Why would anyone shoot such a sweet soul?

The police believe it’s an accident, a shot by a careless deer hunter, but Pen remains skeptical. To straighten out this doggone mess, she whistles for the ghost of PI Jack Shepard, an expert in hounding as well as haunting. Jack has a dog story of his own, a case from the 1940s that may help Pen sniff out clues to her present predicament. Yet even with Jack’s hard-boiled help, Pen may not be able to stop the killer from striking again or letting this whole case go to the dogs…

You can read my review here. 

Muddled Matrimonial Murder (Cupcake Catering Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – California
Cinnamon & Sugar Press (June 13, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8223497615
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C1THMWZJ

With only two weeks left to finalize the nuptial ceremony and reception for her best friend, Brad, and a Thanksgiving feast to plan, Emory Martinez has enough to keep her busy. But when Emory and Brad stumble across the body of his former stalker, with a wedding gift marble muddler lying next to the body, it soon becomes apparent someone is intent on framing the groom before vows can be exchanged.

How did the victim locate Brad and how did she end up murdered at the scene of the impending nuptials? Was someone so desperate to stop the wedding that they’d resort to murder? Or was she killed for revenge? As the countdown to the wedding speeds by, it’ll take Emory and her family and friends to pull together to pick through the muddled clues to clear the groom’s name.

Includes recipes.

You can read my review here. 

Death Knells and Wedding Bells (A Lighthouse Library Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
10th in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Crooked Lane Books (June 6, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639102728
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639102723
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BDF18V3Y

Librarian Lucy’s wedding is nearly perfect—aside from a missing guest and the strangled body she finds. Now, she must vow to find the killer in this 10th Lighthouse Library mystery.

Lucy and Connor planned for the perfect Outer Banks wedding—and that’s exactly what they got. Aside from typical rumblings of familial tensions, the late spring weather allowed for a beautiful day, the food was delicious, and everyone had a good time, until one of the guests goes missing.

Before Lucy can look forward to the rest of her life in Nags Head and the work she does at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, she gets a phone call from her boss, Bertie James. Eddie, Bertie’s friend, never made it back home after the reception. Initially, Lucy doesn’t think anything of it—sometimes wedding guests simply have a little too much fun. But this quickly turns to something darker when she discovers the body of a wedding guest strangled in a locked closet, and the police immediately start asking questions about Eddie. Lucy must figure out if the two are connected before it’s too late—both for Bertie’s friend and the rest of her wedding guests.

With the Classic Novel Reading Club reading the Selected Works of Edgar Allan Poe—Lucy wonders if the master of the macabre can assist her investigation or if the hunt for the killer’s identity will remain as nothing more than an unsolved mystery.

You can read my review here. 

Honey Drop Dead (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
26th in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Berkley (August 8, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593200950
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593200957
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BLTT3TCN

The murder of a political bigwig at a Honey Bee Tea sends Theodosia Browning buzzing for answers in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Theodosia’s Honey Bee Tea was an elegant affair set in Charleston’s new Petigru Park amid newly planted native grasses and a community beekeeping project. But when a phony beekeeper shows up and sprays toxic smoke at the guests, the party erupts in chaos. Worse yet, a shot rings out and Osgood Claxton III, candidate for state legislature, falls to the ground—dead.

Holly Burns, the gallery owner who asked Theodosia to cater the tea, is understandably heartbroken. A man is dead, her guests are angry and injured, and the paintings that were on display are left in tatters. When the police don’t seem to have a clue, when old-line politicos don’t want questions asked, Holly begs Theodosia to run a shadow investigation and help restore her gallery’s good name.

Between hosting a Wind in the Willows Tea and a Glam Girl Tea, Theodosia questions everyone that had a bone to pick with Claxton. This includes Booker, an angry outsider artist; Lamar Lucket, Claxton’s political opponent; and Mignon Merriweather, the dead man’s soon-to-be ex-wife. But the investigation becomes a political hot potato following a second murder, the revelation of a messy affair, a chase through a swamp, and a vandalized shop.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

You can read my review here.

Case of the Bleus: A Cheese Shop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – California
St. Martin’s Paperbacks (September 26, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250893895
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250893895
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BQGH7R8W

What in the bleu blazes is happening in Yarrow Glen now?

Cheesemongers from across the Northwest have come to the Sonoma Valley for the Northwest Cheese Invitational. As the owner of the local cheese shop, Curds & Whey, Willa Bauer loves it. The event showcases custom cheese creations, and it’s the perfect time to gather with old colleagues to honor her former boss, the late and grate cheese legend, Max Dumas. He was famous for journeying into the wild bleu yonder to where he aged his award-winning custom Church Bleu. Only Max knew the recipe and location to his beloved cheese, and many are eager to have these revealed at his will reading.

But instead of naming someone to inherit his cheese and its secrets, Max stuns everyone with one cryptic clue. When a fellow cheesemonger dies under mysterious circumstances––the woman they all thought would get the secrets to Max’s prized possession––everyone falls under suspicion. Willa adores Church Bleu as much as the next cheese connoisseur, but it’s not to die for. Is a killer trying to get away with murder…and the cheese?

You can read my review here. 

Stalking Around the Christmas Tree (A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Maine
Crooked Lane Books (October 17, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639104518
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639104512
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BSKZ1YNV

Tis the season to solve a murder—and innkeeper Holly White knows she’ll have to make her list and check it twice if she wants to catch the killer in the 4th Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.

For innkeeper Holly White, Christmas time in Mistletoe, Maine, is the ultimate holiday gift. Business at the Reindeer Games Inn is booming, her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray is nearly here, and the annual parade is about to begin. The town is lucky to have another gift this year with the state’s ballet company staying for several performances of The Nutcracker. But disaster strikes when Tiffany, the lead ballerina, shows up dead on a float during the parade, the Rat King’s mask nearby. Holly will have to spruce up her sleuthing skills if she wants to catch the killer before Christmas—and her wedding day.

Immediately, Holly discovers that Tiffany had more than a few secrets. She finds out that the star of the show had a super fan that no one knows anything about. And the show’s understudy slips some other intriguing information Holly’s way: not only was Tiffany secretly seeing someone romantically, but there seems to be more than one rat in this company. When Holly discovers a secret passage leading to Tiffany’s dressing room, with footprints leading out; she wonders if this is evidence of a secret lover—or a stalking killer.

With an impending snowstorm and the ballet company on the way out of town, Holly must act quickly if she wants to find the person responsible for this terrible murder. Will she be able to save Christmas—or will her investigation turn cold like the weather?

You can read my review here. 

Lost Hours: A Mystery (Alaska Wild)
Suspense/Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Alaska
Minotaur Books (December 5, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250846617
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250846617
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BQGH2JV6

A year after arriving in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling very at home in Alaska, even as outsiders are starting to return to enjoy the brief summer perfection. Beth feels like she’s finally let go of most of her demons. She’s even found her father, Eddy Rivers—or, rather, he found her—and she’s trying to find the middle ground between anger and forgiveness.

One sunny July day, Beth boards a tourist ship to see the glaciers, the main reason visitors venture to the area, and something Beth hasn’t attempted until now. But when the captain has to navigate to an island, a bloodied woman is found standing on the shore, waving for help. When she’s brought aboard, she claims she was kidnapped from her home in Juneau three days earlier, and that a bear on the island killed her captor. She, however, is unharmed.

The woman, Sadie, finds a sympathetic ear in Beth. She tells her that she’s been in Juneau under witness protection and that the Juneau police don’t like her. When another kidnapping occurs, Beth and police chief Gril can’t help but think the two cases are interwoven, though the clues to solving them will be harder to unravel.

You can read my review here. 

What were your favorite books this year?
Please share them in the comment section below so we can all see them and add them to our wish lists!

2024 is going to be another fantastic year of reading.

Review copies have started to arrive. I am so excited to share my thoughts about them with you in the coming year. 

I hope you will continue to come back to Escape With Dollycas for Book Reviews, Book Tours, Book Recommendations & Giveaways too!

I love being your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent!

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