Due to the intriguing mystery and light comedy, I read this book quickly. The pace of the plot is superb, and it strikes a good balance between the realistic and fantasy elements. My favorite aspects of the three main characters are their interactions with one another and with the characters themselves. ( )

Peaches and Schemes is a traditional southern cozy and it provided me a great escape on a lazy Sunday afternoon. While it is the third novel in the Georgia Bed and Breakfast Mystery series, it reads like a standalone novel. It has alot of twists and turns in the plot that kept the pace fast. There was something on every page that advanced the plot so it is a tight mystery. ( )

Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard takes us back to Cymbeline, Georgia where Nina Fleet owns Fleet House which she operates as a bed and breakfast. She is taking part in Veils and Vanities Bridal Expo run by Roxanna Quarry, Nina’s new friend, and Virgie Hamilton. Nina happens to overhear Virgie get into heated discussions with two people before lunch and one of them is Roxanna. Nina is watching the expo’s fashion show finale while reeling from some unexpected news. The large prop wedding cake is opened, and Roxanna comes toppling out. It is soon apparent that Roxanna will not be hosting another expo. Nina wants to know what happened to her new friend, so she begins snooping around. It is soon apparent that the guilty party does not appreciate Nina’s nosy nature. Peaches and Schemes is the 3rd A Georgia B&B Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I must admit that this series has grown on me (I was not sure after reading Peach Clobbered). Nina Fleet is a strong female protagonist who runs a charming bed and breakfast in a gorgeous Queen Anne. Harry Wescott is a charmer who adds humor to the story. Harry surprised me in this tale (in a good way). Harry and Nina make a great duo. I thought Peaches and Schemes was well-written with fast pacing. I enjoyed the whodunit. While I solved it early in the book, I wanted to find out why this particular person committed the crime. There are several people with motive to kill Roxanna along with a red herring. It is the details that help solve the case. Harry and Nina make a great sleuthing team. I loved the two dogs in this story. Mattie and Gus were adorable. Peaches and Schemes is a fun story to read. I like cozy mysteries that make me laugh. Peaches and Schemes is a lighthearted, humorous cozy mystery with an eventful expo, a maimed mate, Gus the Goldendoodle, a tryophobia terror, a suspicious silver sedan, and a helpful Harry. ( )

This third installment of the Georgia B&B mysteries has Nina Fleet hosting a booth at a Bridal Expo hoping to get brides to select her B&B for their venue. She is making friends with other vendors and when the final event, a wedding gown fashion show, ends with a vendor falling of a large wedding cake prop strangled to death, Nina realizes that it's one of her new friends. She had heard her arguing with her partner earlier and feels that she needs to relay this information to the police. They don't seem to be interested in the info that she has so Nina vows to find out who killed her friend.

It was entertaining, because of the interaction of the characters but the mystery wasn't that hard to solve. Maybe a bit more attention to the mystery and a little less to the humorous antics of her resident nemesis. ( )

Nina Fleet owns a Georgia B&B in the small town of Cymbelline. Her constant tenant is Harry Westcott, an out-of-work actor whom she's allowed to live for free in the tower room, where he spent summers as a child when the large Queen Anne Victorian belonged to his late aunt. While her business is thriving, she figures it could always use help, and signs up to host a booth at the bridal expo, offering her B&B as a wedding destination where couples could be married in her generous garden. While there, she hears two contentious arguments: one between Virgie and a local florist, with whom she apparently has a past, and another between Virgie and her friend Roxanna Quarry, who owns an event planning business.

But when there is a gown finale, when the large cake is opened, Roxanna tumbles out, apparently strangled by the colorful scarf she was wearing. Now Virgie is the main suspect in the murder, and Nina refuses to believe she's guilty. What's worse, after she and Harry pick up Gustopher, Roxanna's orphaned dog, Nina goes to Roxanna's home the next day to return an ominous item she accidentally picked up. But when she finds the home trashed, she calls the police and now she's smack in the middle of the investigation whether she wants it or not.

Then she learns that her ex-husband is getting married again, to a woman half his age. While she doesn't love Cam anymore, the fact still sends her reeling, and to top it off, Harry discloses a long-held secret that doesn't help. Now Nina needs to find a murderer among a roomful of suspects, and put her own feelings on hold. Easy to say, but doing might be harder when things are beginning to change...

This is the third book in the series and I have to say that so far it happens to be my favorite. I enjoyed the last one quite a bit, but this book takes us a little bit more into the lives of Nina and Harry, and it explains some things about him; I've always felt that Harry is aloof, and this book gives us a hint as to his past.

When we look for the murderer, we learn more about Roxanna, and it's not nice. The persona that she showed Nina isn't the same persona she showed other people, and even though Nina finds these things out, she still wants justice for her friend.

When we finally discover the murderer and the reason for the killing, it's believable and the climax is definitely worth waiting for. Then, life for Nina can go back to normal, or maybe it won't...a delightful read, and I eagerly look forward to the next in the series. Recommended. ( )