Burglars & Blintzes by Morgan C. Talbot is the 2nd book in the Moorehaven Mystery series, and another great addition. Pippa Winterbourne runs a bed and breakfast for mystery authors in Moorehaven, Oregon which keeps her busy, especially in the summer. Pippa's boyfriend Lake is equally as busy as a boat pilot, so they rarely get to spend time together. On top of that Lake's ex wife, Mallory Tavish, the new acting chief of police, wants Lake back. Pippa's personal issues set aside, the town is going crazy when a skeleton is unearthed with Spanish gold, and people are flooding the town looking for the rest of the treasure. When a murder occurs, Pippa is determined to find the truth. I love this book/series, and can't wait for the next book. I found this book to be a quick and fun read, with a well developed plot and characters. If you love fun cozy mysteries, which are my favorite, you will love this book. Strongly recommended.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I found this book easy to read and refreshing as well. I loved the quirky characters and the descriptive scenes. The current day references are nice but will easily date this book in a year or two but I believe Talbot will still be writing great mysteries to grow with the times.

This is a great cozy mystery. It is book two in the series but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. Pippa the owner of the B&B Moorehaven (inherited from her Uncle) hosts a retreat for Mystery writers, her love interest is Lake. Through in a skeleton and gold coins and the mystery evolves...

I really enjoyed this second book in the Moorehaven Mysteries. I received this through Netgalley. The MC owns a B&B on the Oregon Coast that caters to mystery writers. A treasure is found along with a 50 year old skeleton, and then one of the authors is murdered. Who did it and why? I had a lot of fun reading this story, and I didn't need to read book #1 to feel like I knew what was going on.

Do I like a good mystery?

You bet!

Do I love delicious food?

With all of my tiny little heart!

Do I love mystery and food rolled into one?

Oh stop it already!!

—— Happy Tears——

Meet Miss Philippa Winterbourne or Pippa, who has been living in the beautiful little town of Seacrest for seven years now and runs ‘Moorehaven’, the bed and breakfast straight out of my dreams.

Why do I dream of a B & B?

Because Moorehaven is a B & B just for mystery writers.

Copies of the books that these writers pen sitting in picturesque Seacrest then graces the shelves of Moorehaven’s exclusive bookstore!

But that’s not all…..

At the time you buy a book from this bookstore, if the author is a guest at Moorehaven then you can get your copy personally signed!!
Moorehaven is not only special for being a cozy B & B for authors

or it’s delicious blintzes (which I can almost smell…….told you I love food.)

It is a famous landmark, as it was once the home of Seacrest’s legend Raymond Moore, popular mystery author who is responsible for the love of mystery becoming a rite of passage for every resident of Seacrest.

“There was no simple way to explain to a first-time guest that Moorehaven was the soul of Seacrest, that when a toung man named Raymond Moore made his way to this town a century before, he’d left his mark on it and everyone who’d lived here since, that his books would be read the world over, and that his house, Moorehaven, would become a literary mecca for mystery writers.”

And now Pippa has turned Moorehaven into a successful B & B for mystery authors and tries her best to provide each author with exactly the kind of environment he/she needs.

This was another thing that got me excited (I guess I was excited all the way till I finished reading this book).

Pippa has created this fascinating morning tradition for all her author guests. Every day, after breakfast she holds a pop quiz for the authors. For instance, Pippa would ask a question like ‘If your main protagonist had a nightmare, what would it be?’

Every author would then have to delve into their protagonists insecurities and fears to answer that question.

Courtesy of Pippa’s pop quiz, I didn’t just get to read the mystery plot of this book but I got to have a peek at the stories created by each of the mystery authors staying at Moorehaven too!!

Tell me that is not exciting!

Talking of the plot of ‘Burglars and Blintzes’…..

This summer, the rush at Moorehaven is much more than usual on account of the tsunami prediction. Seacrest sits atop a thirty foot cliff which makes it one of the safest vantage point from where the guests can have the experience of viewing the fury of nature and not have the experience of……dying.

The tsunami comes and goes, no one dies and the town is about to go back to it’s usual pace when something happens that upends everything.

A skeleton is unearthed. And it is accompanied by Spanish gold coins!

An old skeleton with buried treasure…imagine the ruckus it would cause in a small tourist town.

A marine salvage team arrives in the town upon hearing the news as they believe that there is more where that treasure came from.

Then…

Stranger thing start happening.

Things no one expected to happen in a predictable town like Seacrest.

All predictability thrown out of the window.

As Raymond Moore said in 1955-

“People are predictable right up until they aren’t”

If it has not been made clear by my rant above and the number of times I mentioned ‘excited’…..

I ardently adored ‘Burglars and Blintzes’. Pippa’s character is beautifully written. Her wholehearted attempts to be the perfect hostess, all the while struggling with her depressive tendencies was impressive.

And the humor sprinkled over the book like icing sugar left me with a stich in my side.

It is the 2nd book in the Moorehaven Mysteries series but I had no problems in reading it as a stand-alone.

However, the clever allusions to the first book in the second will make you downright curious about the start of this series.

I sincerely want all of my bookworm buddies to read ‘Burglars and Blintzes’ and be as delighted as I was.

I read book 1, Smugglers and Scones, and Burglars and Blintzes one right after the other. I think when a reader does that they might have a more positive experience since elements are reinforced. (May explain why romance trilogy are sometimes released in a three month time span instead of 1 a year.) I liked both books. While a B&B setting isn't new for a cozy series, the situation here with the B&B being funded by a trust and solely for mystery authors is. (I would have liked that set up to have been spelled out a little better though.)

The plot lines in both books were really different as well. I also liked the mix of characters, both permanent and visiting. Perhaps the visitors could have gotten even more involved. Oh, the joy of being a mystery writer and having a real mystery fall into your lap!! There was some feeling of that, but I felt it could have been enhanced.

Still, I liked both and am looking forward to a third.

I received copies of both books from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Rarely, if ever, do I read a mystery book....just not my genre. But on a whim I requested this book from Netgalley. It must have been the cover, it must have been the blintzes, I couldn't tell you What I will tell you is that I truly enjoyed this novel and found the concept to be unique. A Bed & Breakfast for mystery writers only. Moorehaven was inherited by PIppa, an old house that was owned by her great-uncle Hilt, who by the way is still alive and kicking. Set in a quaint town along the Oregon Pacific shores, the town is alive with tourists when "in season." However, a skeleton has been found in a shallow grave, and not just that, the remains also included gold pieces of eight. A 50 year mystery to solve along with buried treasure. The town becomes overwhelmed with people wanting to find more buried treasure, but this is a "cold" case that needs to be solved and there is more afoot, a killer on the loose. Will the mystery writers help solve this as secrets long buried surface? Will the killer be found and who, if anyone, does he kill next? I'll not tell...

This book is unique, a group of mystery writers with different thoughts of their own helping to solve a mystery, one they have not written. This is book #2 and I'm sorry to say I didn't read it, didn't know about it. Of course, there is a recipe in the back of the book for the blintzes, a reward!! You can bet I will be making them! It was a quick read for me as I couldn't put it down. Of course, I will now go back and read the first book in the series, a little backwards perhaps, but then again I find Ms. Morgan to be an excellent writer and I am sure while I wait for future novels, this will keep me entertained.

A novel I would highly recommend. My thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not a book for peple who love bloody and scientific crime novels. I would describe this one as a cozy-crime. I like a lot that I could have a relationship with the characters and the mystery solving was also a nice addition.
It is easy to read, the text flows and sometimes you don't even notice that you've read several chapters. I haven't read the first book in the series, but it was not a problem, I had the feeling that the author gives all the important information I needed.
The characteres are really the strong element in the book, I have the feeling of knowing them after reading and I will certainly continue reading avout them. I like the Uncle the most, his kind way was very refreshing.
You should not read this book when you are hungry, all this talk about blintzes makes aou want some, so it is a clever idea of adding a recipe at the end of the book.
The only point I didn't really need was the "archenemy" at the end of the book. I can imagine that it should be a kind of cliffhanger, for me it is completely unnecessary and some too much.
But I will follow the series anyhow.

A good fun book. Imagine having a bed and breakfast just for mystery writers. The way each of them would deal with any odd happenings around the area and the different ways that they would extrapolate the persons responsible - the means, motive and opportunity of murders new and old.

Not only the mystery writers, but a group of women who meet to gossip about happenings too and to work out - often with the help of the writers - 'who done it' and to help the police to catch them.

I enjoyed this book immensely and the recipe for blintzes looks as good as the book.

The title of blitzes had me thinking that it would be the story of a Jewish Bubbie who got into mischief. It wasn't but I did enjoy the story. The characters and the sister bond were well written.

A fun romp of a mystery with buried treasure, a decades-old cold case and a modern murder mystery to keep Pippa and her guests on their toes.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

My thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before publication.
Actual ranking - 2 1/2 stars

This is the second book in the series; I admit to not having read the first. In many cases, the author 'recaps' the people and situations from prior books into subsequent ones in the series. In this case, the author did not, and I felt a bit lost as to who was who and why and what.

The premise was a good one, which is what drew me to the book. A years old skeleton found with Spanish gold....someone who had disappeared long ago from the Oregon setting for the series. This morphs into treasure hunters and a more current murder. A nice tie-in from past to present.

However, I found our main character, Pippa, who runs a B&B for mystery writers, to be annoying and I could not warm up to her. I also found the relationship with Lake to be so full of self-doubts that it took me a while to read through the book.

Great premise, some parts felt bogged down. Thanks again to NetGalley for allowing the me opportunity to read and review.

A wonderful cozy mystery with interesting characters and mouthwatering recipes. Although it took me a while to get into the story it picked up quite nicely. I didn't read the first in this series but it didn't really matter. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Totally loved it! What a fun B&B! And the authors are such a wonderful mix. The ocean town sounds fun and full of quirky people. There are just so many things to like about the book. Then there is Lake who sounds like a real hunk. Add in a mystery and the book could not be better. I must admit those breakfast menus had me drooling. A good ending too. This was a fun quirky read that had me turning pages long after I should have been asleep.

romance, cozy-mystery

The characters are very interesting, the setting is marvelous, but some of the plot devices are incongruous. The idea of a Bed and Breakfast catering strictly to writers is innovative, the finding of a skeleton from 1964 of a man who was presumed to have simply absented himself from the area but found with authentic pieces of eight created real interest for me, but I was disappointed in this vegetable stew of a mystery.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley.

This good be an enjoyable and entertaining cozy mystery but unfortunately it needs some editing.
The starting part was too long and the characters needs to be a bit more likely.
There's potential but it need some reworking.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

After a rather long and boring start, this book gets better and better, so hang in there! It's a good plot and a very nice story with very good characters, and there are some very amusing points.

I liked parts of this book especially the history of the area and most of the ending, but found most of the book irritating. There are a lot of people thrown at you at the beginning of the book, it's hard to know who is who. The main character is judgemental of the most of the other characters, it takes a longgggg time to get into the mysteries/murders and there is a lot of angst and carrying on when the Ramon is found & discovered to have been murdered. I definitely don't have the patience that this book needs. #BurglarsBlintzes #NetGalley