Thyme for Murder

by Elizabeth Rain

★Said the spider to the fly, come on in, come on in... Said the fly and to the spider…lying is a sin and your intentions murder…

Something's rotten in Veil Falls and it's not the fresh catch of the day.

When the grapes in my brother's vineyard start to shrivel on the vines and the customers in my sister's fancy restaurant toss their cookies after eating her famous Chicken Cacciatore, I smell a rat.

It could be the dead hobo we tripped over in the alley.

Someone is stalking the residents of Veil Falls, and they're using dark magic to do it. With the help of my best friend Restless, it will be up to us to solve a murder investigation before the body count rises and Veil Falls becomes a ghost town.

And now my sister is missing.

The stakes are rising and we're running out of time as evil closes in for a final bite.

◆◆Pay a visit to the Magical town of Veil Falls and don't forget to drop into Snips and Snails Café for a warm bowl of beef mulligatawny stew, dished piping hot with a dash of magic and a side of Murder served ice cold. This short read is the prequel to the brand new series, Snips and Snails Cafe Mysteries. The first book in the series, Risky Bisqueness, will be out in December.

Genres: Mystery

71 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2020

About the author

When I was a child I wanted two things. To Write a Novel and to be Wonder Woman and save the world.

Somewhere past 40, I realized the tights were never going to fit, and the only flying I was ever going to do was in a plane.

So instead, I write my Strong and Sassy Heroes/Heroines into the novels I pen…

I build doorways into contemporary worlds filled with magic, that allow all of us to be a hero to our own fantastical imaginations.

To me, every character is real. I walk alongside them as they discover that fear is the flip side of courage, that survival may just be a badge of honor, and that our flaws are an opportunity to emerge stronger, and discover our own personal brand of superpowers—at any age.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the grapes in my brother's vineyard start to shrivel on the vines and the customers in my sister's fancy restaurant toss their cookies after eating her famous Chicken Cacciatore, I smell a rat.
It could be the dead hobo we tripped over in the alley.a
Someone is stalking the residents of Veil Falls, and they're using dark magic to do it. With the help of my best friend Restless, it will be up to us to solve a murder investigation before the body count rises and Veil Falls becomes a ghost town.
And now my sister is missing.
The stakes are rising and we're running out of time as evil closes in for a final bite.
A vampire is on the loose in Veil Falls. Soup Witch Adele has accidentally invited him in. It became dire consequences for Restless her long time friend.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

[Federica De dominicis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant!

The story covers the past events centred around Adele and Restless and how they came to be as they are in the main series.
Apart from a couple of misspellings and one, for me uncomfortable, character background, the story is a perfect and fundamental addition to the saga.
The series can't be read without this book, as there are references from book two onward to the events here depicted.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the prequel to the series. I did not care for this book. The plot whirred around and was hard to keep up with it. Even though it was paranormal it was weird. Don't plan on reading any more of this series.

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun cozy mystery in the Snips and Snails Cafe series. The town of Veil Falls is a harmonious small town of paranormals and humans. That is until things start to go downhill. When the town's only homeless man is found dead in the alley between stores, is the beginning of some strange things. And who is this strange Tin smith who opened his shop in town? Adelle and the family are kitchen witches and her with her brother tending the very successful family vineyard. But things aren't so good right now, Adelle's sister is missing after a strange event in her restaurant, the fish monger is found dead and now her brother is missing. Someone or something has breached the protections surrounding the town that Adele's grandmother was in charge of keeping. What is going on? Adelle is frantic to solve the murders and find her sister and brother and figure out what was happening to the town. So with her best friend who wishes he was more, Restless, they start putting things together. You do figure out who the bad guy is, but we don't find out the how or why until the end! This is a fun prequel that sets the stage of things to come! I can't wait to read more, these characters are great! I received and ARC from the author but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sudden spate of murders in Veil Falls spurs Adelle and her companions to use their mystic powers to bring the villain to justice.

For a novella, this was packed full of action. Luckily, everyone is easy to identify and keeping track of who is doing what is a doddle. If the introduction is anything to go by, this will be a "modern magic" type of book. I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series.

[Jodi Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adele is a soup witch in a town full of supernaturals living amongs humans. Her best friend is a vampire names Restless. However, he is in love with her. Adele invites a new tinsmith into town and that is when things start to go wrong. Her whole family is suddenly having calamitous results to their livelihoods. This is a fun book, you know who the bad guy is from the beginning but that doesn't distract at all from this read. What a delightful book.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adventurous cozey mystery. Full of magical mayhem,colorful characters intrigue and murder. An entertaining and mystical introduction to a new witchy series .A small town of normals and paranormals living together in harmony protected by a two hundred year old witch and her family from youngest to oldest good kitchen witches and what a family they appear to be .A tale of diseat ,betrayal, and change. Acquire " Thyme for Murder " today so you yourself can enjoy it as much as I have. 😏Kat

[Carley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The continuity in this book is awful. Grams is no longer their mother, but now their grandmother? And she's 200 instead of 100. It was 50 years ago but Restless has a phone on his person to call the police? (Not to mention that Honor is described as being in his 50's fifty years later.)

This book gets 2 stars because I enjoyed reading about Adele and Restless, but the errors were so distracting I would not recommend it to anyone who wasn't specifically interested in their backstory.

[Helen Agathocleous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs editing

I was debating whether this book deserved the 3* I gave. The first chapters shocked me; not the storyline but the grammar and editing. In order for me to continue with the book and to finish it, I enabled the text to speech. And yes I did finish the book. Good storyline, even though it was very predictable. This was a quick, easy read.

[Emma. Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this cozy story. For me it ticked all the boxes on what I expect when I read a cozy murder mystery short story. There was drama, romance, intrigue and the funniest thing I’ve ever read happening to a character right at the end. Author Rain can feel proud of this one - she did a great job. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

[Phylis Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first thing I have read by Elizabeth Rain but it won't be the last. Once I started it I could not put it down.

A short novella about several witches. The soup witch has had a few problems with her soups. Just a cute mystery that I think you will enjoy.

[Connie Charron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable read, witches and all. I think the characters are well rounded with just the right amount of mystery. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Recommended for cost mystery fans everywhere.

[CHud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an amusing story. I think that it would have been more interesting if the author would have made the story darker. It would have been an easy move to make since the themes are witchcraft and vampires. None the less it was an enjoyable read.

[Alayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very poorly written short story with clueless characters and terrible proof-reading. For example, more than once, the word "plaintiff" was used when the author meant "plaintive". Many more mistakes were made.

[Sue :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This prequel novella is fun but the main female character seems to naive. It took a lot of the story away. All I kept saying is why is she not thinking. I do plan to read the next book in the series and hopefully will want to continue.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a good start for a series with the concept of a Soup Witch but the grammatical errors really put me off

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in the book cinched this one for me, along with the storyline. I have to know what happens next to everyone, especially Adele and Restless.

[Sandi Niemeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice short magical murder mystery. The culprit was pretty easy to spot though the 'solution' was not and the result was a surprise.

[Holly Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book, 3.5 stars. Very fun, breezy cozy story. Lots of action. Would be good as a young adult book. Good main characters.

[Judith Mosconi · Rating 4 out of 5]

prequel to series: nice setup for quirky village of magic.

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining paranormal cozy mystery.

[Juanita E. Arp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice start to a new series. I can't wait to read more from this author. I received this book as a Free copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent prequel to the series.

[Annmarie Hernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the interaction of the two main characters but was very disappointed in what happened to Restless.

[Angie Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun paranormal mystery. Short but well developed. I don't normally like prequel novellas because they often seem like filler, but this one didn't.

[Kim Loomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adele who is a kitchen witch runs the family cafe that her Father had built and run forty years ago. Now it was hers and when her friend wants Adele to cater her wedding, she asks Adele for a favor that changes everything. It is a quick short read that is funny and leaves you feeling very good. Don't miss it if you have a couple of hours that you can snuggle up with a good book.

[Kathy L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A kitchen witch, her family, a would be boyfriend and a tin maker who arrives during a festival what could go wrong? It was a fun engaging read.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but rounded up