Christin Brecher

This is the first book in this series and only the second one I've read and I have to say, this author excels at keeping the reader in the dark about whodunit until the final pages. Obfuscation is the word of the day with this author! It's rare that I find a book where I have no idea, not even a suspicion, whodunit. So this book ranks high just for that.

Stella is helping her heavily pregnant best friend Emily with the high society wedding and her role is to create a unity candle for the show more bride and groom. But when the bride's uncle is found dead, bludgeoned with the unity candle, and the hotel's bartender is arrested, Stella smells a rat and sets out to find the real killer.

There was so much to love about this book, from unrequited love to murder to candle scents to cats. Although the quick pace kept the plot moving, it was neither rushed nor confusing. I found myself reading late into the evening because I just had to keep going to find out more. So easy to get lost in this book! By the time I got through the exciting ending, I was at the edge of my seat and the subterfuge continued right up to the end with many surprise twists and turns.

I'm not sure why I didn't hear about this series when it came out, but I'm glad I found it. This will definitely be a must read series for me and I look forward to many more. show less

Such a fun cozy mystery...and just in the nick of time for the festive Hallowe'en season. There's a haunted house on Nantucket Island, ghostly apparitions, creaky nightly noises, a mystery within a mystery and a fair number of red herrings. What's more for a cozy mystery reader to love?!

I was charmed by author Christin Brecher's world building of current day Nantucket Island - a story with which she is personally familiar. She has cleverly drawn on the island's historic whaling industry to show more build an historic mystery within a current day mystery. The characters are just that - larger than life, amusing and full of wit and charm. The writing flows easily as the story builds to a tense crescendo and satisfying resolution.

Thank you Christin, for having shared Stella Wright's delightful story with me. May Stella's stories flow richly from your pen as I can't wait to read more. show less

3.5 stars (rating shown may vary depending on whether site allows half star ratings)--I'd say this was closer to a 4 than a 3 for me but it wasn't quite a 4 so if the site doesn't allow half star ratings, it will show as a 3.

I have read at least one other book in this series. It's one of the better cozy mystery series's that I've found lately and I do plan to read more.

As best I can tell, the title is a play on 15 Minutes of Fame (appropriate since Fontbutter wants to make a show about show more Stella's discovery) with Flame being used to denote the candle-making aspect of the book (Stella owns a candle shop). The candle focus in this book is on candle clocks and candle timers. I've seen a form of candle clock before (the ones that burn a certain amount per hour with markings on them to denote the hour) but had not heard of candle timers before. Apparently, there is a way to snuff out the candle/wax with a clip of some sort so that it burns for an approximate length of time and then goes out. I'm not certain that they would all go out at the same time as they do in a key scene in this book but . . . still an intriguing prospect.

The book is set at Halloween and involves a haunted house, but overall, I did not find the book scary. There weren't very many suspenseful scenes. Stella is helping the girl scouts decorate for a haunted house. When she checks an outbuilding on the property, she discovers an old candle company sign. The owner of the property gives Stella permission to take the sign to use at her own candle shop. When Stella removes the sign, she finds a human skeleton that is assumed to be one of the ladies of Petticoat Row who is the subject of an island story. That story leads them to also investigate the story of the woman's best friend. show less

Murder’s No Votive Confidence by Christin Becher is the first A Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery. Stella Wright owns Wick & Flame on Nantucket Island. She has been commissioned by bride-to-be, Jessica Sterling to create candles for her wedding including a one-of-a-kind unity candle. On the day before the wedding, the unity candle is found broken on the floor next to Jessica’s uncle, Simon Sterling. Someone took the candle and bashed in the man’s head (talk about crime of passion). When show more family friend, Bill Duffy is arrested by a visiting police chief for the murder, Stella sets out to find the real killer. I thought Murder’s No Votive Confidence was nicely written and it had steady pacing. The story is told from Stella’s perspective. I like the lovely setting of Nantucket Island. The author provides beautiful descriptions of the island flora and fauna, the shops, homes and, of course, the ocean. Stella is an affable character who prefers comfort clothes over fancy (much to her friend’s distress), a wee bit clumsy and has a contingent of cousins (I like Kate who forbade the others from cursing—good for her). The secondary characters are introduced with the barest of details. I am sure we will learn more about Stella and the others as the series progresses. I especially want to know more about the Candleers (Stella’s candle class students). I love that Stella is a candlemaker and I hope we get more information on the process of creating candles in future books. Stella provides some helpful candle tips and her creations sound lovely. The mystery was interesting with a unique twist. While I could identify the killer early in the game, I was curious to know more. I had questions and I wanted the answers. Tinker, Simon’s cat, was a great addition to the book. I like how he was involved in the investigation. I enjoyed Christin Becher’s debut cozy mystery and I look forward to reading more of this engaging new series. Murder’s No Votive Confidence is a delightful new cozy mystery that has a scenic setting, a nosy newspaperman, a nervous bride, a meddling mama, a mysterious feline, handcrafted tapers, and one determined amateur sleuth. show less