Say Cheese and Murder
A Lemington Cheese Company Mystery
by
Michelle Pointis Burns
Mystery
reviews can be some of the toughest to write because I don’t want to give away
too much information. Also, I have to be completely honest here - I’ve read this
book before. The author is a member of my local author’s group. However, I can
honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this cozy mystery. It is pure fun.
I
love a good mystery. Set it in a British manor house on New Year’s Eve and it
harkens back to some of my favorite books by Marjorie Allingham and Agatha
Christie.
Tensions
are high. Add in an ice storm that traps all the partygoers there for the night,
and you can feel something is going to go wrong.
Obviously,
it does, in a big way. Someone is murdered during the night.
Cassandra
Haywood wakes up the next morning with a mystery on her hands. She’s a regular,
modern day, working girl, handling business matters in her Aunt’s cheese
company. Effectively told from the limited viewpoint of Cassandra, we can only
know what she knows, but she doesn’t sit on her hands. The scene where she
overhears that she is a suspect is at once humorous and full of great sensory
details.
All
the big themes have a place here - love, honor, justice, friendship, and betrayal.
The love of refined manor life, and cheese, as well as strong writing skills
shine through in this debut novel.
With
character names like the vile Baron Von Pickle and a butler named Fartworthy,
who is conversely not quite what you would expect from a butler, there is definitely
humor here, both overt and less in your face.
As
every good mystery demands, this one is brought to a very satisfying
conclusion. Cassandra is no shrinking violet and her confrontation with the
murderer is well thought out and will have you cheering her on.
I
can honestly recommend this book.
Description
from Amazon
“Happy
New Year . . . or is it?
Cassandra
Haywood hopes her aunt, Lady Lemington, the CEO of Lemington Cheese Company,
will behave tonight. With the help of a large household staff, they are hosting
an elegant holiday gala for friends, local merchants, and rival cheese company
owners. Scarves and secrets swirl around Cassandra as the clock counts down.
When an
unexpected ice storm traps guests and staff within the modern English estate,
someone dies in the great halls of the house that cheese built. After Cassandra
realizes she has become the head detective’s number one suspect, she must
overcome self-doubt to discover the truth and clear her name.
The first
book in the Lemington Cheese Company Mystery series serves up intrigue,
red-herrings, and humor, alongside several kinds of cheese. This culinary, cozy
mystery introduces readers to Cassandra Haywood. She loves scarves, has a knack
for business, and unexpectedly adds "amateur sleuth" to her resume
following a possible crime at the manor.”
The
Author: Michelle Pointis Burns juggles mothering her ten children,
homeschooling (the oldest five have now graduated college), living her Catholic
faith, and writing. She loves to research topics of all kinds, read British
authors (especially Jane Austen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), quote movies in
regular conversation, and drink hot chocolate from elegant teacups. When asked
how she manages it all, she has been known to reply, “Prayer, caffeine, and a
sense of humor.”
Michelle
has been a devoted member of the NY Chemung Valley Mothers of Twins Club (she
has two sets of twins), and the Corning Area Writers’ Group. Born and raised in
Queens, NY, Michelle currently lives in Upstate New York on a working goat and
sheep farm with her husband and more than half of her children. Say Cheese and
Murder is her first novel.
www.michellepointisburns.com
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