Cast Iron Alibi

Written by Victoria Hamilton

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of Breaking the Mould, when an over-amorous handyman is found murdered, Jaymie will have to use every tool at her disposal to nab the culprit . . .

Looking forward to her girls-only college reunion vacation, Jaymie's on cloud nine at the idea of lazy trips to the beach, dinner cruises on the nearby river, and snug sleeping in the vintage trailer she's renovated. But no sooner does the group reconnect than her hopes turn to tension as petty squabbles and old acrimonies surface, along with tagalong friends, unexpected guests, and stalkerish ex-husbands. And when a local toolbelt Romeo with an eye for one of the women is found murdered, his home ablaze, the simmering hostility in the group suddenly shifts to secrecy.

Local law enforcement is zeroing in on the victim's best friend and girlfriend as the most likely suspects, but Jaymie's inquisitive instincts are telling her one of her former classmates may have been involved in the foul deed. Forced to navigate her fraught relationship with a local police detective and determined to uncover the myriad secrets her college friends are hiding, Jaymie knows she'll have to dig deep to figure out whose alibi is cast iron, and whose is flimsy as tin . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Mar 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781541485563

Victoria Hamilton

Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson.She now happily writes about vintage kitchen collecting, muffin baking, and dead bodies in the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mystery series. Besides writing about murder and mayhem, and blogging at Killer Characters, Victoria collects vintage kitchen wares and old cookbooks, as well as teapots and teacups.

Reviews for Cast Iron Alibi

[lisa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Victoria Hamilton never disappoints! Great book. Great characters. Great writing! Great series!! Oh, and awesome narrating by Emily Woo Zeller!!

[Brenda Lasoff Bula · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the way Victoria writes. Such detail makes you feel like you’re right there with them. She can really spin a tale too. I didnt see the end! On to the next one!

[cyderry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jaymie's next 10 days will be very different than usual. Her husband, Jakob and her stepdaughter Jocie are going to Poland to visit Jocie's grandparents and while they're gone, 5 of Jaymie's college friends are coming to Heartbreak island for a reunion. But the college friends that Jaymie remembers don't seem to be in attendance - there have been many changes in circumstances as well as personality traits. Can Jaymie manage to make it through the week with these "strangers"? After a night out bar hopping, the girls are awaken by the fire patrol battling a house fire nearby. Jaymie wonders if one of her friends may have been involved with one of the victims of the fire. Feeling uncomfortable with what her "friends" are doing to occupy their time away from the group, Jaymie sets out to find out what really happened and who was involved.The mystery had many twists and turns and as far as I'm concerned, a surprise ending. Loved it!

[barbararogers-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this addition to the series. In fact, I’ve enjoyed the whole series. It has been fun watching Jaymie grow and mature, find out who she is, find love and marriage and even embrace motherhood. The mysteries are always interesting, complicated enough to keep you interested, and convoluted enough to keep you guessing.Jaymie Leighton Mueller is looking forward to a class reunion of sorts with several of her college friends. In the fifteen years since college, they have gotten together for a camping trip almost every year – except they have missed the last few years – life just interfered. Now, they are back on track and Jaymie can’t wait. Jaymie has, as we all do, forgotten the stresses of the relationships and has romanticized and idealized them instead.The gathering this year will be a bit bittersweet for Jaymie because her beloved husband, Jakob and her stepdaughter Jocie will be in Poland for the ten days of Jaymie’s gathering. Jocie’s mother was Polish and Jakob and Jaymie want her to have that family in her life.The gathering of Jaymie, Gabriela, Brandi, Rachel, Melanie, and Rachel – all of the friends from college – is joined by two unexpected guests, Courtney and Tiffany. One was invited by Brandi and the other invited herself. Not a particularly auspicious beginning for their adventure.It seems that there are troubles in everybody’s marriages – well except Jaymie’s – and husbands show up to shadow the ladies. None of them is welcome and tensions tighten.When a murder and arson occur, it seems that at least some of the ladies know the victim – and he isn’t a very savory victim, to say the least. The police quickly arrest the man’s friend – and it sure seems he could be guilty – but – Jaymie isn’t convinced. So, she’s off sleuthing out the facts – she either wants to be satisfied that the man who was arrested is the perpetrator – or she wants to find out who really did it. Could it be the husband of one of her friends?I hope you’ll enjoy this well-plotted, well-written mystery as much as I did. I hope you’ll also enjoy meeting the ladies because we might see more of one of them in the future.I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.