Book Review - Murder Makes Scents

Murder Makes Scents

Author:  Christin Brecher

Publisher:  Kensington Books

Publication Date:  February 25, 2020

4 stars

Stella Wright, owner of the Wick & Flame, and her mom, Millie, go on a trip together to Paris.  They are going to a perfume conference, but even more special to Stella is the time with her mom.  Things go horribly wrong though when a man is stabbed to death right in front of them.  With the conference ruined, Stella and her mother head back to Nantucket.  Stella is glad to be back, but she just can’t shake the murder from her mind.  Stella becomes alarmed after she believes someone was in her store, and she sees a mysterious figure outside her shop at night.  She becomes terrified when she receives a note demanding that she hand over a formula her mother has supposedly smuggled out of Paris, or Millie would end up dead.  Stella is unsure what the note is referring to, but she isn’t going to take it laying down.  Before Stella even realizes what is happening, she finds herself involved in an international mystery.  Stella comes up with many suspects, but which of them makes the most scents.

Murder Makes Sense is a great follow up to Murder’s No Votive of Confidence, and I think I enjoyed this one even more.  The action in this book is amazing and fast paced (even if a few places seem a little unbelievable).  I was solidly hooked from beginning to end, and the tension grew steadily as the novel progressed.  It’s a race against time for Stella, and the stakes are high.

The characters in this story are very eclectic.  We have our heroine and her fun loving mother, Millie.  They are joined by:  former classmates of Millie’s; a couple from Canada; Olive, the check out lady from the conference who follows Stella and Millie to Nantucket; a secretive American spy; and a mysterious man with evil eyes, and from this group Stella believes is the proverbial bad guy.  You grow to like almost all of them, making it hard to guess whodunit.

This is a roller coaster of a tale that I believe cozy mystery readers will love.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this book.     #NetGalley   #MurderMakesScents