Publishers Weekly
01/23/2023
The return of Broadway star Chad Frivole to his hometown of Vienna, Va., drives Kincaid’s lively sequel to 2020’s To Kill a Mocking Girl. After bookshop employee Quinn Caine and her German shepherd, RBG (aka Ruff Barker Ginsburg), encounter Chad, with whom Quinn went to high school, in a canine bakery, Chad drives off in his sports car. To Quinn’s horror, Chad loses control of the car, which accelerates and crashes into a storefront. When the EMT responders open the door of the damaged vehicle, they get a terrible surprise. Someone managed to put seven poisonous snakes into the car and fix the doors so they wouldn’t open. Chad winds up dead, having been bitten more than 30 times. Quinn’s boyfriend—Vienna PD’s lead detective, Aiden Harrington—investigates, as does Quinn. Suspects include many of the women Chad dated back in high school and cast aside like yesterday’s garbage. Kincaid provides plenty of doggie lore amid the smooth flowing plot, though the conclusion may strike some as more fitting for a soap opera. Still, cozy fans will want to see more of Quinn. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Mar.)Correction: An earlier version of this review misidentified the character Aiden Harrington as being the girlfriend of Quinn Cane.
From the Publisher
Praise for A Midsummer Night’s Scheme:
“[A] lively sequel . . . Cozy fans will want to see more of Quinn.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Interesting intersections differentiate this cozy series.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This cozy has it all.”
—Booklist
“Kincaid provides some good clues and foreshadowing.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Kincaid demonstrates a complete mastery of the cozy mystery genre.”
—Midwest Book Review, audiobook review
“A great series to get lost in. “
—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
“Fun and fascinating . . . A worthy installment in this charming food-and-book-loving series.”
—Kings River Life Magazine
“Fun, quirky characters, and an easy-to-follow plot.”
—Red Carpet Crash
Praise for To Kill A Mocking Girl:
“Smooth prose, realistic characters, a budding romance, and not too much silliness make this cozy a winner. Tantalizing recipes round out the volume.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An interesting mashup of religions and their trappings sets this aside from other recipe-infused dog-companion cozies.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“First in a new series from a romance writer, this engaging cozy blends romance, or at least the potential for it, with revenge.”
—Booklist
“Cheers for a first-class mystery starring intriguing Quinn Caine, a protagonist with charm and character, and Ruff, her sidekick German shepherd. Sure to please.”
—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author of the Death on Demand mysteries
“Fresh and fun! Readers looking for a new small town cozy mystery series will feel right at home.”
—Molly MacRae, national bestselling author of the Highland Bookshop mysteries
Kirkus Reviews
2022-12-24
The murder of a playboy may not be as hard to solve as the personal problems that pop up for an amateur sleuth along the way.
Actor Chad Frivole, a legendary lothario, has returned to his childhood home, D.C. suburb Vienna, Virginia, and reviews are mixed. While some who knew him from long ago are willing to turn the other cheek, the local women are less forgiving. Quinn Caine barely remembers Chad, but she may be the only one, since she notices that, at Chad’s big comeback reintroduction, her lifetime friends Ella Diaz, Corri Rypka, and Senya Petrova all look as if they remember Chad’s face from a shared dart board. Quinn is surprised by the level of vitriol, though maybe it’s because Aiden Harrington, her detective boyfriend, is as easygoing as he is easy on the eyes. Chad’s determination to make amends is cut short by his horrifying death right before Quinn’s and her cousin Daria’s eyes. Getting locked in a car with seven deadly snakes is a tough way to go, and pretty clearly a murder, but the suspects seem as numerous as the snakes themselves. Quinn’s amateur investigation is ably assisted by Daria, a church novitiate, until the latter has a bit of trouble of her own. Sister Daria, nee Lizzy Caine, is close to taking her vows when she meets someone who gives her second thoughts. As Quinn labors to support both the investigation and her cousin, a third problem is thrown in the mix: Her brother Bash’s potential conversion to Judaism is taken poorly by their folks. Oy. All these problems have Quinn working double-time to solve the case and support her family.
Interesting intersections differentiate this cozy series.
