Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Vintage Kitchen Mystery #10
Publication Date: 9/21/21
Period: Contemporary - Michigan
Number of Pages: 212

A happily settled-down Jamie Leighton is going about her life as a new wife and mother (step, to Jocie) in Queensville, Michigan when she is approached by Alicia Vance who is the mother of Jocie’s friend, Mia. Alicia makes a number of oblique references and statements before she finally decides to trust Jamie with what she suspects and what she wants to know. Sadly, that gives a murderer the opportunity they need to keep her from telling Jamie anything at all.

Jamie is torn – leave the investigating totally to the police and Detective Vestry, or ‘help’ in her own inimitable way. With Jocie upset about the fate of her now orphaned friend, Jamie just couldn’t stay out of the investigation. Had Alicia murdered her husband several years ago? Was he actually murdered or was it really just an accident? If he was murdered, who, other than Alicia, had a motive? If Alicia killed her husband – who killed Alicia?

With a killer in their midst, Jamie fears her family could be in danger, especially if they believe Alicia actually told Jamie something about her husband’s death. Alicia’s family and that of her deceased husband are weirdly intertwined and they are all highly dysfunctional. Can Jamie peel back the layers and expose the canker to the light of day before something happens to her and her family?

This has been an entertaining series with wonderful characters, mystifying mysteries, and even a cute three-legged dog. I was happy to see more page time for Jakob (Jamie’s husband) in this book. I really like him, but felt we really didn’t know him – and we still don’t really, but this book definitely helped.

I thoroughly enjoyed this light, entertaining mystery and hope you will as well. ( )

When a woman suspected of killing her husband approaches vintage kitchen utensil collector Jaymie Leighton for help, Jaymie is surprised. What does the woman need Jaymie's help for? Unfortunately, Jaymie will never know what the woman needed, because the woman was found dead just days after meeting Jaymie. With not one, but two murders to consider and one or more killers on the loose, Jaymie must untangle a web of complicated clues and get to the bottom of the case before the killer(s) get to her and her family.

Hamilton has a beautifully expressive writing style that helps bring her characters to life. I particularly enjoyed her descriptions of the setting and of Jaymie's train of thought as she investigates the mystery. And I'm always a sucker for a punny title!

I also enjoyed the strong character building this novel featured. Many of the characters are interesting, yet flawed, making for a suspenseful mystery. This contributed to making a complex mystery complete with red herrings, false assumptions, and a lot of investigative work on Jaymie's part.

The highlight of the book for me was the thoughtful way in which Hamilton addressed the impact of crime on the family and friends of victims. Though it made for a heavy read at some points, this is an important topic that isn't often mentioned in cozy mysteries. The integration of this topic into the mystery was very well done.

At times though, I did feel that the book was almost too expressive. This is a slower paced mystery, which makes sense given the attention Hamilton gives to both her characters and the execution of the mystery. However, the slowness meant that the plot dragged at some points. I think some scenes could have been edited or even eliminated to help make the book tighter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Readers should know that there is minimal violence in the book and no foul language. For those who are sensitive to the topic, there are discussions of infidelity.

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Jaymie Leighton Mueller is settling into married life and motherhood loving all the moments she spends with her husband, Jakob and her stepdaughter, Jocie. Jamie has learned to be watchful for Jocie (she is a little person) and is thrilled when, picking her up from school, she sees that Jocie has befriended a classmate who also has limitations. Jaymie introduces herself to the friends mother who asks if they might talk some other time. When they do get together, Jaymie learns that the mother is under suspicion for her husband's death 5 years prior but they are interrupted and the mother says that she will come by the cabin where the Muellers live (turns out they are neighbors in a way). The mother never shows up and will searching the wooded area with Jocie for a science project, they come across the murdered body of the mother. Jaymie is determined to find out what happened to help Jocie's friend who is now an orphan.

The writing was superb, the story entertaining and the characters were fun, however, I had a hard with the premise that 1)Jaymie didn't know anything about the 5 year old murder - she's lived in the town all her life 2) she would get so absorbed about a woman who she talked to maybe for 15 minutes total. I think it needed more of a connection between the victim and the main character. ( )

A Calculated Whisk by Victoria Hamilton is the 10th A Vintage Kitchen Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series. I have read this entertaining series from the beginning, and I have enjoyed each story. They just keep getting better. Jaymie Leighton Muller is a strong female protagonist who has grown over the course of the series. I like seeing her happy with her husband, stepdaughter, her jobs, and fur babies. There is a great cast of secondary characters that enhance the story. They are realistic characters which I appreciate. The author’s descriptive writing style brings the characters and the charming Michigan town to life. The mystery was interesting. There is a five-year-old crime that has been recently deemed a homicide and it involves a neighbor. At the request of Detective Vestry, Jaymie gets close to the wife of the victim to try and obtain information. Unfortunately, the woman ends up dead before she shares her information. Jaymie believes the two crimes are connected. She wants to get closure for the family so Jaymie begins digging into the case. Jaymie has her work cut out for her if she is going to solve this whodunit. It is clever how Jaymie gets helpful information from casual conversations. You never know what nugget of information will help solve the case. I thought the murder weapon was quite unique. I found A Calculated Whisk to be well-written with the story moving at a slower pace courtesy of the author’s expressive writing. I appreciated that the story contained no foul language and negligible violence. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions and information about vintage kitchen items. I can understand Jaymie’s fascination with them. I enjoyed my visit with Jaymie and her family. Jaymie’s stepdaughter is such a sweetheart and Hoppy makes me laugh with his antics. A Calculated Whisk is an engaging tale with wire whisks, a fun new friend, a cold case, a dedicated detective, a senseless slaying, a mournful mother, and a resolute amateur sleuth. ( )

Michigan, cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, recipes, family-dynamics, friendship, murder, murder-investigation, secrets, small-business, small-town, rural****

The first death, five years ago, was somewhat suspicious and the local detective is still fixated on the wife. Said wife was murdered now and just after the detective asked the continuing character to get involved. Interesting but unexpectedly dark.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Beyond the Page via NetGalley. Thank you ( )