The Happy Housekeeper's Guide to Arson

Barbara Hollis #2

by Blythe Baker

Suspicion. Lies. Murder. Barbara Hollis didn’t expect to encounter any of these in small town life. With a murky past to hide from, moving to quiet little Cobbsville was supposed to be a perfect escape. But a neighbor who has her own dangerous secret to conceal soon becomes as big a threat as the crazed lunatic who is setting fire to houses around town…

Even as a terrible new doubt surfaces against her brother, Barbara is intrigued by an attractive new acquaintance who happens to be the local mayor. But will one more distraction prove welcome … or deadly?

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Cozy, Audiobook

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 15, 2024

About the author

Blythe Baker is a thirty-something bottle redhead from the South Central part of the country. When she’s not slinging words and creating new worlds and characters, she’s acting as chauffeur to her children and head groomer to her household of beloved pets.

Blythe enjoys long walks with her dog on sweaty days, grubbing in her flower garden, cooking, and ruthlessly de-cluttering her overcrowded home. She also likes binge-watching mystery shows on TV and burying herself in books about murder.

Reviews

[JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Hollis left the big city to move back home and live with her widowed brother, taking care of his twelve-year-old twins and keep house. Her past is behind her, and she's looking forward to a new future. Unfortunately, she's already been involved in one murder, and wants to forget it. But when she is running errands one day she comes upon a burning house, and with the owner being taken to the hospital, her inquisitive nature wonders if it's not arson. While the fire department deems it an accident, she's not so sure...

She also meets the handsome mayor, who seems to take a liking to her, and asks her out. But there are problems with their date, and she's not sure about the man, even though her brother, the police chief, warns her away. She's an adult, right? Also, what was her neighbor doing in the middle of the night? Barbara finds it suspicious, but doesn't know how to ask her without seeming to be prying (which she would be).

Who knew there would be so many questions in a sleepy town like Cobbsville? Not Barbara...

This is the second book in the series, and I really enjoyed the first one. This one, not so much. There were too many unanswered questions, and I also would really like to know why she left Liberty City. There's not even a hint of why anywhere in these first two books.

Saying that, I found that the issues with her neighbor added nothing to the story except to fill pages. They had nothing to do with the murder, so why was it in there. Same as with her dating. Because of this, we were given less to think about with the arson, and the ending seemed like it was thrown in to finish the story.

Still, I will read the next in the series to see if any of this goes anywhere -- and if we learn anything about why she moved back home.

[Seff Liddell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The MC is classy and classic. The mystery is cozy and interesting. I am enjoying this fun series.

[Jen Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in a day. Was fun and exciting.

[MaggieDay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cozy mystery

This is the second in a series centering around Barbara Hollis,sister to the town's sheriff. She becomes involved in an arson investigation. This is a quick, but fun, read.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read with a determined and strongwilled protagonist. Just how I like them.

There wasn't technically a murder in this book, just an attempted murder and the mention of a murder at the end that I am quite curious about.

[Nic2416 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished reading on //2024: Will add my review soon.
Updated with review //2024:

[Dora Suasnavar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Great story it is a real page turner, I couldn't put the book down! I'm ready for the next one.

[Erin]

No.

[Vivian Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked it better than the first.

[Carlee Criddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean and enjoyable even if the detective does do some not-so-realistic things. (she gets away with a lot)

[Laurie J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. Short mystery worth solving. Great timeframe to set the mysteries in. Fantastic characters to care about. Economical descriptions evoke a strong sense of place. I look forward to the next one.