Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...
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Book Review: Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant (Beacon Bakeshop, #4) by Darci Hannah

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Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant (Beacon Bakeshop, #4) by Darci Hannah is set in Beacon Harbor, Michigan and opens with Lindsey Bakewell finding a dummy hung from a tree outside her haunted home and workplace, a lighthouse that has been converted into a home and bakery.  Determined to keep this from happening again, Lindsey has the seniors from the local high school over for a pumpkin carving contest.  On top of that, one of her employees told a reality show that they could film the lighthouse for their show.  During the taping, the ghost makes his presence known, and everyone flees the building only to find that one of the high school teachers hanging from a tree.  Lindsey and her friends are determined to find the answer.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant (Beacon Bakeshop, #4) written by Darci Hannah.  I wasn't familiar with this author or her books, but after reading the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book.  I was delighted when I found out I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

At first, I didn't realize that this cozy mystery was the fourth book in a series until I started reading it.  However, this book could really be read as a stand alone book as the author does a relatively good job at bringing the reader up to speed on the characters.  I will say that I did have trouble keeping some of those characters straight in my mind, but the majority of them were likable.

The author did a phenomenal job with the twists and turns along with having plenty of suspects.  There were three different people that I suspected, but one of them I had a gut feeling about being the actual murderer in the story.  I just wasn't entirely sure of this person's connection to the victim, so that is why I suspected a couple of other people as well . . . they had more of a connection to the victim.  The author definitely kept me second guessing myself!

I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, and it put me in the mood for Halloween.  A few of the recipes sounded yummy, so I will give those recipes a try this fall.  At some point, I will read the other books in the Beacon Bakeshop series.  Four out of five stars is what I gave Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant (Beacon Bakeshop, #4) written by Darci Hannah.

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