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Paula Darnell

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Hemlock for the Holidays (A Fine Art Mystery Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Paula Darnell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 74 ratings

Book 3 of 5: A Fine Art Mystery

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From an award-winning author, Hemlock for the Holidays is a charming Christmas-themed cozy mystery.

As Lonesome Valley kicks off the holiday season with its annual parade, artist Amanda Trent embraces the Christmas spirit, happy that her family will be coming to town to celebrate the season with her and her loyal pets, Laddie, a friendly golden retriever, and Mona Lisa, an independent calico cat.

Amanda has just one nagging concern: her art sales have stalled, so her checking account is starting to look a bit puny. Her financial woes pale, though, in comparison to her concern when several people eat carrot bars laced with hemlock at the high school's arts and crafts fair, resulting in one unlucky man's death. Was the poisoning an accident, or did someone with evil intent deliberately spike the sweet baked goods?

Leads the police follow don't pan out until Amanda puts the puzzle together. But, sometimes, knowledge can be a dangerous thing. . . .

A Fine Art Mystery series includes:

• Artistic License to Kill (Book 1)

• Vanished into Plein Air (Book 2)

• Hemlock for the Holidays (Book 3)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Reviews of Hemlock for the Holidays

"I loved Paula Darnell's fun writing style and I thought the plot was wonderfully engaging." ~~ Brianne's Book Reviews

"I enjoyed this Christmas mystery with Amanda having settled in her new town . . . . The killer came as a complete surprise to me, and the showdown was awesome . . ." ~~ Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

"This was a nice, easy read with an enjoyable community of characters, a twisty plot and all the joy of Christmas." ~~ Mystereity Reviews

"A Highly Recommended Read!!!" ~~ Amazon Reviewer

". . . interesting characters and a powerful storyline." ~~ Amazon Reviewer

"This is a fun cozy mystery that keeps your interest as you try to figure out who the murderer is." ~~ Amazon Reviewer

"There is something really special about this series, and this book delivers the same quality as the rest of them." ~~ Goodreads Reviewer

"I would venture to say that this is THE definitive COZY mystery. It was incredibly pleasant: the scenery, the townspeople, even the crime." ~~ Goodreads Reviewer

"The book was well written and kept my attention from the very beginning." ~~ NetGalley Reviewer

"I loved it, loved the plot, the theme, the characters, and the story." ~~ NetGalley Reviewer

Reviews of A Fine Art Mystery Series

"I am always looking forward to the next book in the Fine Art Mystery series." ~~ Amazon Reviewer

"This charming and delightful series [has] a great cast of characters and well-written mystery." ~~ Amazon Reviewer

"There's always a good mystery with this series and plenty of small town camaraderie as well." ~~ NetGalley Reviewer

Author Awards

Paula Darnell was a finalist in the 2021 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award contest for Artistic License to Kill, the first book in A Fine Art Mystery series. She is also the recipient of a 2021 book award from the National Federation of Presswomen for her historical mystery, The Six-Week Solution, which also won an award in 2020 from the Public Safety Writers Association. In addition, the first cozy mystery in her DIY Diva Mystery series, Death by Association won a 2020 book award.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09645DYV5
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Campbell and Rogers Press (August 5, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 5, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1666 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 261 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1887402233

Best Sellers Rank: #498,428 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,899 in Cozy Craft & Hobby Mysteries
- #3,191 in Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery
- #6,345 in Cozy Animal Mystery

Customer Reviews:
4.4 74 ratings

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About the author

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Paula Darnell

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An instructor at five colleges over the years, Paula Darnell most often taught the dreaded first-year English composition classes, but she's also been happy to teach some fun classes, such as fashion design, sewing, and jewelry making. Paula has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and a Master's degree in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Like Laurel, the main character in Death by Association, Paula enjoys all kinds of arts and crafts. Some of her memorable projects include making a hat and a cape to wear to Royal Ascot, sewing wedding gowns for both her daughters, exhibiting her textile and mixed-media artwork in juried art shows, and having one of her jewelry projects accepted for inclusion in Leather Jewelry, published by Lark Books. She sells some of her jewelry and hair accessories in her Etsy shop.

Paula's interest in DIY craft projects and fashion led to her writing hundreds of articles for print and online national publications.

She is the author of the cozy mystery series, DIY Diva Mysteries, and a historical mystery, The Six-Week Solution. Her new cozy mystery series, Fine Art Mysteries, is in the works for 2021.

Paula lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband Gary and their 110-pound dog Rocky, whose favorite pastime is lurking in the kitchen, hoping for a handout.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

74 global ratings

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Pamela R Mitchell

Fantastic Holiday Cozy

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2021

Verified Purchase

This charming and delightful series continues to get better with a great cast of characters and a well-written mystery that quickly became a page-turner. I feel like Amanda Trent was talking directly to me and that added to my reading pleasure and I loved her dynamic with the others in Lonesome Valley, Arizona. If you are looking for a great holiday mystery that you can't put down, don't miss "Hemlock for the Holidays" by gifted author Paula Darnell. I look forward to trying some of the bonus recipes that follow the novel. I received an advance reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my review. I liked it so much, I purchased a copy.

One person found this helpful

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terracatta

mostly about a dog. I don't do dogs.

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2022

Verified Purchase

Fortunately this is a decent friendly dog. Much emphasis is on the dog and not the characters.

Helpful

Carol Smith - Kindle Customer

Paula Darnell’s Hemlock for the Holidays

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2021

Lonesome Valley, Arizona is the new home
for Amanda Trent. She is a divorcee in her
fifties. She is now living the life of an artist.
She has become a part of the Roadrunner
Gallery in town and runs an alternate Friday
night open house tour.
Amanda is working a shift at the
Roadrunner’s booth at the annual Christmas
craft fair at the local high school. When she
is finished her time and leaving to go home
she notices several ambulances going to
the high school. What is happening?
Turns out several people were poisoned from
bake goods brought at the fair. No one can
trace back who brought them to the fair.
But worse than that Amanda goes with her
friend at her request to visit a local artist at
his home.
They find him….Dead. There are crumbs in
his kitchen from the poisoned bake goods.
It is discovered that the poison is hemlock.
An intriguing murder mystery with a steady
stream of suspense, thrills, chills plus
diversion that keep the plot flowing at a
fast paced from beginning to end.
The fur babies, Mona Lisa the cat and
Laddie the dog added to the story.
With family coming for Christmas, hopefully
the culprit will be found before the holiday.
This is book # 3 in the Fine Art Mysteries
series. It can be read as a stand alone as
the author provides enough backstory with
the present.
A Highly Recommended Read!!!
I volunteered to read Homicide for the
Holidays. Thanks to the Cozy Mystery Review
Crew for the opportunity. My opinion is
voluntary and is my own.
A Kindle Unlimited Customer.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Rosemary

Unexpected Ending

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2021

Amanda loves Lonesome Valley Arizona. She has made good friends and is working hard to establish herself as an artist. This is her dream. She is reinventing herself after her unexpected divorce. I like to see a woman who has the strength to overcome adversity. While she's working at a local craft fair, she learns that several people were ill. They had all eaten carrot bars. Everyone wonders if it was an accident or intentional. The police find that the sweet treat was laced with hemlock. Later a friend asks Amanda to go with her to see Eric. Things take a tragic turn They find his body along with an empty plate with traces of carrot bars. Now the Police are looking for a murderer. His death was intentional. Eric had made enemies when he declared bankruptcy. People lost money. Amanda wants to help. She can't help herself. She ask questions and follows clues. She's intelligent and observant. She focuses on details. Unfortunately her help isn't always appreciated. Josh, Eric's nephew, thinks she's a busybody. I for one was glad she was there. She's a caring person. I loved her sweet dog Laddie and even her prickly cat, Mona Lisa. I found the mystery was fast paced and complex. The ending was unexpected. In fact I have was shocked. Paula Darnell did a wonderful job. The story was well written with interesting characters and a powerful storyline.
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Adam

How Did Hemlock Get Into Carrot Bars?

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2021

It is Christmas time in Lonesome Valley, Arizona where Amanda Trent is spending her first Christmas in her new home since moving after her divorce. For her first Christmas in Lonesome Valley her children and her parents are coming to celebrate and spend Christmas with her along with her pets Laddie and Mona Lisa. Amanda is a talented artist and is a little concerned about her sales at the Roadrunner Gallery as they are down. Suddenly her mind takes a different path as several people that attended the craft fair get food poisoning from some decorated carrot bars. No one seems to know where the carrot bars came from, but they are laced with hemlock sending multiple people to the hospital with food poisoning. Were the desserts deliberately tampered with or was this accidental?

Now turn to the following day when Amanda and Susan go to her friend Eric’s house. Upon their arrival they find a tray that has the same carrot bars on it that were eaten at the festival; laced with Hemlock. Eric has eaten the carrot bars and is now dead! Was Eric’s death intentional or an accident.
As Christmas is approaching and the family is arriving Amanda has so many different things going on. She needs to sell some artwork and also find a Scottsdale gallery to represent her, prepare for the family arrival, but also, she can’t help but wonder what really happened to Eric? She quickly finds herself involved in the investigation with more and more information just falling into her lap. Will Amanda be able to solve this mystery and find the culprit before her family arrives for Christmas?

I love how the author tied in the pets in the story line of this book. Being a dog lover, it was great to hear about Laddie the Golden Retriever and Mona Lisa the Calico cat. I also loved how so many people can relate to the characters in this book. Amanda isn’t perfect but she is trying to make good headway towards a new life. A lesson that many people have experienced. This book was a great cozy mystery and had a great pace within the book. This was my first book that I read in the series. Even though it is book three in the series I wasn’t lost with the characters. I am excited to go back now and read the first two books in the series.

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Hemlock for the Holidays (A Fine Art Mystery Book 3) Kindle Edition

From an award-winning author, Hemlock for the Holidays is a charming Christmas-themed cozy mystery.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Product details

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About the author

Paula Darnell

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

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