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    Bran New Death
    Bran New Death
    Bran New Death
    Audiobook10 hours

    Bran New Death

    Written by Victoria Hamilton

    Narrated by Margaret Strom

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Merry is making a fresh start in small-town Autumn Vale, New York, in the mansion she's inherited from her late uncle, Melvin. The house is run-down and someone has been digging giant holes on the grounds, but with its restaurant-quality kitchen, the place has potential for her new baking business. She even has her first client-the local retirement home.

    Unfortunately, Merry soon finds that quite a few townsfolk didn't like Uncle Mel, and she has inherited their enmity as well as his home. Local baker Binny Turner and her crazy brother, Tom, blame Melvin for their father's death, and Tom may be the one vandalizing her land. But when Tom turns up dead in one of the holes in her yard, Merry needs to prove that she had nothing to do with his death-or her new muffin-making career may crumble before it starts.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateDec 22, 2015
    ISBN9781515970330
    Bran New Death
    Author

    Victoria Hamilton

    Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson.She now happily writes about vintage kitchen collecting, muffin baking, and dead bodies in the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mystery series. Besides writing about murder and mayhem, and blogging at Killer Characters, Victoria collects vintage kitchen wares and old cookbooks, as well as teapots and teacups.

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    Reviews for Bran New Death

    4/5

    60 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Good story, but HOLY CRAP did the editing of the last chapter or so SUCK. Seriously, it's like someone accepted the wrong stuff on track changes, as it goes through a conversation and then it goes through the same conversation slightly differently.

      Still, it was cute and the last chapter didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book overall, it just made me mutter and such.
    • 4/5
      4 star
      I really enjoyed this first book in the series probably because it reminded me so much of the Lilian Jackson Braun’s Cat Who series both are set north of the large city where the main character resides, both inherit a large stone building from a distant relative. Both have former friends accompany the MC to their new home. Both have cats that help to solve the crime. Becket is more physical then Koko in that Becket actually attacks Merry’s enemies, but he also led Merry to a crime scene.
      I can’t wait to read book two to see if I can find more similarities to The Cat Who.
    • 3/5
      Merry Wynter is at loose ends and running out of money when she decides to head off to Autumn Vale New York to live in Wynter Castle, the home she inherited from her Great-Uncle Melvyn. When she arrives, she realizes that the town is made up with some very eccentric persons, some of which take an immediate dislike to her. When she gets angry and threatens Tom Turner to stay off her property and stop digging holes, she becomes a suspect when he turns up dead. When another body is found on her property, she becomes worried. Merry not only tries to find out what happened to Tom, but she is also trying to figure out if her Uncle died accidentally or was murdered. As she begins to develop a muffin baking enterprise, she continues to investigate. A nice start to a cozy mystery series by Victoria Hamilton.
    • 3/5
      Merry Wynter inherited her Uncle Melvyn's castle in upstate New York. While it needs a lot of work, she decided to do just enough to get it sold. But when she arrived she saw giant holes all over the property. With the help of her real estate agent, Jack McGill, who has volunteered to fill in the holes, and the arrival of her best friend Shilo, Merry is determined to make it work.But what she doesn't count on is the people in town didn't much seem to care for her uncle, nor do they care for her. Trying to make friends isn't going to be easy. At least the local sheriff's mother Gogi, who runs a retirement home, has hired her to make muffins for the residents - if she can get a license to do so; but at least it's a start. But when Gogi asks her to look into Melvyn's accident, Merry is surprised. Gogi thinks it was murder, and Merry reluctantly agrees to do so.But it isn't going to be easy, especially since she's identified the person responsible for the holes and he later turns up dead in one of them. Now, since she was seen threatening him and it was on her property, Merry begins to wonder if Gogi isn't right. Two people are dead. How many more will there be unless she can find out the truth?...For the most part, I enjoyed this little mystery of a woman who has left a nightmare of a job - and the rumors surrounding the reason she left - to move to a little hamlet that might welcome her. But instead she finds more rumors - this time surrounding her uncle and his death. And when a local man is found dead on her property, she soon becomes embroiled in the murder mystery.Yet with the help of her best friend and a local real estate agent, she's beginning to unravel things that someone has worked very hard to keep hidden, and it soon she realizes that her uncle might indeed have been murdered.But what I didn't like was the fact that the local sheriff - who at first seemed to like her (and I am sure that will grow in other books) - could actually think she committed a murder, left town, and came back to get someone to 'find the body.' Why do I say this? It's not really a spoiler, but there is a scene where Lizzie finds a camp on Merry's property, and when she leads Merry to it later, inside the tent is a body. The body has been there awhile and I assume is decomposing (because this person was missing before Merry even arrived in Autumn Vale). Yet Sheriff Grace asks Lizzie if Merry led her to the body instead of the other way around. How much sense does that make? Merry would have to arrive unknown to anyone, wander around the woods, find the camp, kill someone, then leave town (again without anyone seeing her) and come back and act like she didn't know what was going on. Especially since when she arrived in town she didn't know where the castle was and had to ask the sheriff for directions. Really? If the sheriff believes even for a minute that Merry killed someone, she shouldn't have anything to do with him. The author could have done better than this if she thought about it. Plus, Merry herself doesn't seem all that sharp on the uptake.Then there's the ho-hum factor. It's the fact that it's always the same: the protagonist arrives to a new place from whatever she's running from, and never has any money. Never. She always arrives on the edge of bankruptcy. Just once I'd like to see her get where she's going with a healthy bank account. I'm so tired of reading about women who are struggling just to get by and have to start a new life. This time it's because she blew her money in the stock market. As I said, Merry doesn't seem to be all that sharp on the uptake.Anyway, when all is said and done, it was written pretty well, and I liked several of the characters. I'm hoping in the next book Merry will discover that her uncle left a little money tucked away for her, but we will see.We don't know a whole lot about Merry except the fact that her husband passed away seven years ago. They were married two years, and he's been gone over three times that length of time, but she still hasn't moved on. It sounds harsh, but they weren't married that long, and while her memories are all good, even some of those would start to fade over that amount of time; yet she keeps mourning her loss, and that's why she can't move on. I would have liked to have a bit more of a physical description than just she used to be a 'plus-sized' model.At the last, there are a couple of recipes in the back that were just okay. (I would rather have had the recipe for the carrot muffins instead of bacon, which I'll never make). Other than this, it was an average mystery that can be read in one evening.
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars. This is a very well written book with an excellent story and plot. It misses that last half star because I just didn't connect well with the main character. Her two friends, yes. Her hinted at future love interest - not even a little bit. So I was left feeling that while I really enjoyed the story, I didn't empathise with the main character at all.

      The setting was really well done - Autumn Vale is full of quirky, eccentric folks and I found that the setting was written with realism - this isn't the idyllic quaint town that hums along; this is a quaint little town that is dying, with more storefronts closed up than open. There's a lot potential here for future development in subsequent books.

      The central murder plot was very well crafted; this is a meaty story and not one I think you're likely to read in one sitting. Ms. Hamilton writes another series and in comparison, there is a much more mature quality to the plotting and writing in this first-in-a-new-series. The action moved along, there was well crafted dialogue, and not a lot of filler in the form of internal dialogue - there was a bit 'let's sum up the suspects' but it was minimal and didn't really take me out of the flow of the story. A convoluted plot with suspects known and unknown. Well done to the end.

      I'll definitely pick up the next book - there's a bit of a cliff hanger in the form of a puzzle yet to be solved; that could prove to be fun. I'll hope that in the next book I'll find more to connect with regarding the main character, Merry.
    • 4/5
      Her career in disarray, Merry Wynter decides it's time to head to upstate New York and see just what type of property her distant Uncle Melvyn left her. Autumn Vale is very small and populated with the kind of quirky folk you would expect in the beginning of a new cozy series. They are guarded around Merry, she is a newcomer, and almost an heiress to boot. You would think Wynter Castle, it's odd holes covering the grounds and her uncle's business dealings would keep Merry busy. But, she finds a way to ingratiate herself to some townspeople by making muffins for the local nursing home. I liked Hamilton's new series and think the next book will help streamline some of these character's story lines, there was a lot going on a lot of the time.
    • 4/5
      Merry Wynter has inherited a castle in upstate from New York and is leaving New York City after a bad experience. When she arrives in Autumn Vale, she finds a town full of quirky characters, and at least one person who believes her uncle was murdered. She had only come to take a look at the property and try to fix it up after it had not sold on the market. She discovers that someone has been digging giant holes on the property. Another man has gone missing as well; she finds irregularities regarding her uncle's business adventures with this man. In the midst of this her best friend from the city (Shilo) comes out to lend a hand and falls in love with the local realtor. This initial installment is a bit light on the mystery as characters are being introduced and such, but it's very readable. This is also not one where everything is wrapped up neatly at the end. The reader still has questions about what will happen, motivating the reading of additional books in the series. I felt there were a couple of questions that probably could have been answered for the reader without ruining the rest of the series that left me with an "incomplete" feeling at the end. I just kind of kept looking for the additional couple of paragraphs that would answer those little things. This review is based on an electronic galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.
    • 4/5
      How many of us have a relative that we vaguely remember who would leave us an inheritance that consists of a castle and a forest? Not too many, but Merry Winter has finally headed to Autumn Vale to see what her Uncle has left her so that she can sell and move on with her life. However, the people she meets in this quanit little town are far from normal or friendly so Merry is delighted when she is joined by her best friend, Shilo, and the two begin to prepare the castle for sale only to be disturbed by a nightly hole digger who ends up dead in one of the holes.The story was interesting because all the while new characters are introduced the background of the area and the mystery are being revealed.Looking forward to the next one!
    • 5/5
      Bran New Death is the first in the A Merry Muffin Mystery series.

      I think this is a very wonderful series, as is Hamilton's Vintage Kitchen series.

      Merry Wynter's uncle has left her his castle in upstate New York in the pretty little village of Autumn Vale. With losing her job with a NYC supermodel, Merry decides to visit the castle to see what needs to be done to finally get it sold and get some much needed cash. Upon arriving Merry finds that someone has been digging holes in the back yard, which no can explain why. Soon, she starts hearing rumors that her uncle killed his business partner. When the son of the man that has rumored to have been killed is found dead in the backyard in one of the holes that he had been digging, Merry is determined to get some answers.

      To help with here inquiries are her BFF from NYC, Shilo, her real estate agent Jack McGill, Gogi Grace who is also the mother of the sheriff and runs as assisted living home. Also, she has been able to overcome bad feeling from Binn the owner of Binny's Bakery.

      Gogi has a feeling that Merry's uncle wasn't a victim of auto accident, but was forced off the road. Binny is the surprise, it is her father that the uncle is accused of killing and it was her brother that was found dead by Merry on her property. Binny is seeking closure on her father disappearance or possible murder and she is willing to work with Merry.

      Wonderful believable characters and set in beautiful little town. Perfect for a great cozy.

      Looking forward to the next book to see how Shilo and Jack might be doing and to find out if Merry has let her male guard down any and also to see how plans for Wynter Castle are progressing.

      Recipes are included with the book.
    • 4/5
      4 STARSI had no clue about who the good guys or bad guys were. This was a very good mystery. I can't wait to read the next one in the series. Full of drama, crazy characters, lots of secrets, in a beautiful setting. It is also a clean read.Merry is the main character. Her life has just been messed up and she was fired. So she came to see why her property she inherited A Castle was not selling. In Autumn Vale, New York.She can't find her property even with GPS. First people she meets are not willing to help her.Another lady convinces her to make muffins for the people in her rest care. Before she even sees her house. Finally she is shown her house and their are lots of holes someone has been digging in her front yard. People did not like her Uncle and blamed him for another persons disappearance.Merry likes to make muffins and likes to cook to relax. So she is going to bake the muffins.Merry told no one goodbye when she gave up her apartment and put everything in storage. So she calls her good friend and tells her where she is for now.Merry's good friend shows up Shilo shows up the next day with Jack McGill who is going to fill the holes in with borrowed equipment. Jack is the one who was trying to sell the castle and was having no luck. He had been telling Merry to come see the place.Merry that night sees the backhoe is running and someone is attacked out their by a orange cat.She accuses Tom when she sees scratches on his face. It is his father that is missing. Tom blames it on her Uncle before he died. They had lawsuits against each other. Merry tells him to stop digging on her land or else.Now a dead body turns up in one of the wholes that night. The Sheriff and her find the body.The plot is full of twists and turns and it is setting up for another mystery that I want to know about and read it. Their are so many secrets around Merry is trying to figure out.I would love to see the castle and read the book about why her family built it. Without all the wholes dug up around it.I like Shilo and would love to know about her background she has lots of secrets in her life. She hits it off with Jack right away.I can see different stories lines for more books in this series. I would read them. I would also like to read Victoria's other cozy mystery books.I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review and be part of Bran New Death blog tour.