A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Hint of Mischief

by Daryl Wood Gerber

Series: Fairy Garden Mystery #3
Series Rating:
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation on June 28, 2022
Genres: Cozy Culinary Paranormal Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Also in this series: A Sprinkling of Murder, A Glimmer of a Clue, A Flicker of a Doubt, A Twinkle of Trouble

The proprietor of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has an occasional side gig as a sleuth--with a sprinkling of magical assistance. . . .
Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties--for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister's fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there's nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business's profile.
Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day--which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .

A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber is a fun, imaginative series that slowly peels back the layers.

Will Courtney be able to plan an excellent adult fairy party? Can Courtney figure out who killed Farrah Lawson before the killer escapes?

Courtney Kelly and Fiona

Courtney Kelly and Fiona are back to solve another mystery. I am still loving these two sleuths as they are both so interesting and funny. Fiona is such a hoot, especially when she’s being her sassy self or playing with Pixie the ragdoll cat. I did feel bad for Courtney throughout the story. Although I was happy when Fiona gets another set of fairy wings. That’s right, folks are young fairy friend now has two sets of adult wings. I’m so proud of her. Everything about this book made me so giddy and happy. Wow, was the weather weird, but it’s all okay. Courtney having to do an adult fairy party was kind of funny, though.

The Mystery

Courtney has at least three mysteries going on here. The first one is a thief in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the death of Farrah Lawson, and last but not least, a lot of fairy doors are being left all around Carmel. Courtney has these three mysteries to solve and to throw an epic fortieth fairy birthday party. Let’s just say that Courtney has a lot on her plate.

The two things that she was the most concerned about were the death of Farrah Lawson and, of course, the party that the aforementioned victim was supposed to attend. Courtney learns a lot about Farrah Lawson and has deduced that she had two personalities. The one she shared with the world where she was this nice person and the one she shared with people who are close to her. The last basically translates that Farrah is a great actress. She hides her mean personality from the public.

Five Stars

A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber is the third book in this awesome series. Ms. Gerber’s writing transports me to Carmel-by-the-Sea and doing everything with Courtney and Fiona. In every new addition, I’m excited to find out more about Ms. Gerber’s fairies that she has created for this world. And with each new installment, I’m never disappointed. I am loving this series still. I am giving A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber five stars and a huge recommendation to anyone that loves a good cozy culinary paranormal mystery.

Don’t forget to check out these recipes in the back Apricot Preserves Tea Cake, Apricot Preserves Tea Cake (Gluten-Free Version), Brookie, Brookie (Gluten-Free Version), Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Crinkles (Gluten-Free Version), Fairy Cookies, Fairy Cookies (Gluten-Free Version), Raspberry Lemon Scones, Raspberry Lemon Scones (Gluten-Free Version), Avocado Toast with Bacon, Green Salsa Topping, Cauliflower Poppers, and Ranch Dressing.

Excerpt

“Thief!” a woman cried outside of Open Your Imagination, my fairy garden, and tea shop. I recognized the voice. Yvanna Acebo.

I hurried from the covered patio through our main showroom, grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the Dutch door, and headed outside, quickly opening the umbrella so it protected me from the rain. “Yvanna, what’s going on?”

Yvanna, a baker at Sweet Treats, a neighboring shop in the courtyard, was dressed in her pink uniform and standing at the top of the stairs that led through the courtyard, hands on hips—no umbrella. She was getting drenched.

“Yvanna!” I shouted again. “Were you robbed? Are you okay?”

She pivoted. Rain streamed down her pretty face. She swiped a hair off her cheek that had come loose from her scrunchie. “I’m fine,” she said with a sigh. “A customer set her bag down on one of the tables so she could fish in her purse for loose change. Before we knew it, someone in a brown hoodie slipped in, grabbed the bag, and darted out.”

“Man? Woman? Teen?”

“I’m not sure.” Her chest heaved. “That’s the second theft in this area in the past twenty-four hours, Courtney.”

“Second?” I gasped. Carmel-by-the-Sea was not known as a high-crime town. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. We had suffered two murders in the past year. Flukes, the police had dubbed them. “Where did the other theft occur?”

“There.” She pointed to the Village Shops, the courtyard across the street from ours. Carmel-by-the-Sea was known for its unique courtyards. “At Say Cheese.”

“The thief must be hungry,” I said. Say Cheese had a vast array of cheeses, crackers, and condiments. “Were you scared?”

“No. I’m miffed.” A striking Latina, Yvanna was one of the most resilient women I knew. She rarely took a day off because she had a family of six to feed—two cousins, her grandparents, her sister, and herself.

“Call the police,” I suggested.

“You can bet on it.”

We didn’t have CCTV in Cypress and Ivy’s courtyard yet. Maybe I should mention it to our landlord. I returned to Open Your Imagination, stopped outside to flick the water off the umbrella, and then moved inside, slotted the umbrella into the stand, and weaved through the shop’s display tables while saying hello to the handful of customers. Before heading to the patio, I signaled my stalwart assistant Joss Timberlake that all was under control.

“Do not argue with me!” Misty Dawn exclaimed. “Do you hear me? I want tea. Not coffee. Tea!” Misty, a customer, was standing by the verdigris baker’s racks on the patio, wiggling two female fairy figurines. When she spotted me, she uttered a full-throated laugh. “You’re back, Courtney. Is everything okay outside? Did I hear the word thief?”

“You did.”

“Hopefully, nothing too dear was stolen.”

In addition to my business, the courtyard boasted a high-end jewelry store, a collectibles shop, an art gallery, and a pet-grooming enterprise.

“Bakery goods,” I said.

“And no one got hurt?”

“No one.”

“Phew.” Misty gazed at the figurines she was holding. “I swear, I can’t get over how young I feel whenever I visit your shop. It takes me back to my childhood, when I used to play with dolls. I’d make up stories and put on plays. At one point, maybe seventh grade, I thought I was so clever and gifted with dialogue that I’d become a playwright, but that didn’t come to pass.”

Misty,  a trust fund baby who had never worked a day in her life, even though she had graduated Phi Beta Kappa and had whizzed through business school, had blazed into the shop twenty minutes ago, hoping to hire me to throw a fairy garden birthday party for her sorority sister. In the less than two years that the shop had been open, I’d only thrown three such parties, each for children.

“Let’s get serious.” Misty returned the figurines to the verdigris baker’s rack, strode across the covered slate patio to the wrought-iron table closest to the gnome-adorned fountain, and patted the tabletop. “Sit with me. Let’s chat. I have lists upon lists of ideas.” She opened her Prada tote and removed a floral notepad and pen.

Fiona, a fairy-in-training who, when not staying at my house, resided in the Ficus trees fitted with twinkling lights that surrounded the patio, flew to my shoulder and whispered in my ear. “She sure is bossy.”

I bit back a smile and said, “The customer’s always right.”

“How true,” Misty said, oblivious to Fiona’s presence.

I thought perhaps I should mention it to our landlord.

Fairy Garden Mystery Series

Giveaway

Prize:  (1) A choice of Book 1 or 2 and a Fairy Door and Fairy Figurine plus a $15 Amazon Gift Card (U.S. Only)

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2022 Beachcomber Crime Scenes Bag
• 2022 Beachcomber Detectives Bag
• 2022 Beachcomber Victims Bag
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