Nope, can't do it. I like the characters, but the writing lacks a level of sophistication and I'm finding it just too tedious.

I'm not rating it because I couldn't get past page 80. This series might suit others, but it's just not for me.

Another great book by Ms. Gerber. Lover her series. ( )

Despite me NOT liking the first in this series, this was was ok. There still are some annoyances - the annoying mom of the Chief of police who actually listens to her mom, the protagonist, owner of a cookbook shop, who is too nosy and people just seem to readily answer all of her questions, etc. I won't read any more - I read this only b/c it was an Autumn cozy.

Stirring the imagination is only the beginning of Daryl Wood Gerber”s ability. In Stirring the Plot (A Cookbook Nook Mystery) return to Crystal Cove. Join this charming town in the Halloween festivities and of course a hint of murder. During the spooky holiday the reader can envision the Black Cat Parade, and the humors idea of parading the cats in costumes. I throughly enjoyed imaging this moment in my mind as a read through the story, and Tigger is an adorable character. But what is the reader to do when the tale takes the turn to murder?
During the Winsome Witch scenes the spooky and awed feeling will course through the veins and make the reader snuggle up more within the tale.

I am a huge fan of reading books with seasonal twists, and this book doesn't fail in providing the fall and harvest Halloween feeling. Each chapter lead me further into Crystal Cove and into a want to help Jenna solve the crime. Along with the murder Jenna is receiving gifts and notes from a secret admirer. The tale is swept up beautifully and with just the right amount of spooky and charm, that Gerber’s book continue to provide.

I would recommend this book to any cozy lover. Haven't read any of the others in this series? Gerber provides such wonderful tales that by the end of the book you are feeling as though you not only need all the other visits through the series but your buying your next ticket to Crystal Cove. So come join us all in the small cozy town for a spooky eve of murder, witches and magic.
I was provided a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. ( )

It’s Halloween and all the witches are out, or at least the Winsome Witches of Crystal Grove, CA, a fund-raising group made of local businesswomen who are sponsoring their annual luncheon. An evening of fun frolicking with party magicians, fortunetellers, and herbalists is planned until the body of the Head Priestess of the Winsome Witches is discovered, and murder is declared.
In this food-based cozy, (all recipes the characters use are printed for the reader in the back of the book) Jenna Hart, the owner of the Cookbook Nook, is playing amateur sleuth, as well as being mistaken, in this storyline, as a potential killer.
Everyone is under suspicion, from the deceased’s degenerate daughter to the English housekeeper with a mysterious past, to the second-in-command of the fund-raising group and even Jenna’s boyfriend, once mistakenly accused of a crime by the current chief of police, Cinnamon Pritchett. Test your detective skills as false leads and red herrings are sprinkled liberally through the novel, like a game of Clue, only where the whole town rather than just a house becomes the play-board.
A tightly woven whodunit, with a labyrinth of suspects to keep you on your game.
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