Murder mystery confounds shopkeepers in ‘Death by Peppermint Cappuccino’ | Book Talk
Most of the shopkeepers in fictional Pine Hills, Ohio, are congenial, but a few are just determined to spoil things. In “Death by Peppermint Cappuccino” by Zanesville author Alex Erickson, the twelfth in his cozy Bookstore Café Mystery series, bookshop and café owner Krissy Hancock again gets herself involved in murder.
It’s Christmastime, and most of the shops in downtown Pine Hills are decorated for the season. Krissy is holding a little party for her writers’ group at the local church where they meet. Another woman, Doris, a church member, barges in and begins to rage that the decorations are a “travesty” and that Krissy selling Christmas-themed drinks in her shop is “exploiting the holiday season for profit.” She also mentions a local gift shop whose prices are too high.
Krissy stops in at the gift shop and finds the owner in an altercation with a young man he’s accusing of shoplifting.
When the gift shop owner is murdered, the young man is just one of many suspects, but Krissy wonders if he’s being targeted because of his gothic attire. It seems no one considers that he might be a witness instead of a murderer.
Doris continues her tirades and claims that the work of the writers’ group is “disgusting,” though she has read none of it.
A gift-wrapped box arrives at the candy shop run by Krissy’s friends, but before they can open it, she learns that the murder victim also received one. Are shopkeepers being targeted? Is Krissy next? It seems that she talks to everyone in town in her investigation, which is, of course, forbidden by the detective in charge.
“Death by Peppermint Cappuccino” (316 pages, softcover) costs $8.99 from Kensington. Alex Erickson also is the author of the Furever Pets mystery series.
'Americans We Were'
Henry Thomas Weber had a herculean undertaking when he wrote “Americans We Were,” which combines the history of his family with an expression of his Christian faith. This mammoth book begins in England in 1823, when Weber’s ancestor came to America from England.
The author’s great-great-great grandfather was a captain whose ship was lost at sea. His daughter and her husband were the first “Americans We Were” of the title.
The framework of the text is a chronology of the family, with members coming from Buffalo down the Erie Canal to Cleveland and eventually Richfield. Tracing the years to the present, Weber discusses the Founding Fathers, John Brown and his father’s work to raise a family in the 1950s.
Every page is steeped in Weber’s profession of faith — “The Word of God offers us a quiet resolve, a comforting solitude and an everlasting hope” — and confidence in the Rapture.
Because of the staggering length of the book and its format (very small print, tightly spaced), I was able to read only a small part of it.
“Americans We Were” (769 pages, softcover) has a price range of $25.05 to $32.95 from online retailers.
Events
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): As part of the Larchmere Holiday Stroll, local authors will sign their books Sunday: At noon, Jennifer Boresz Engleking (“Lost Lake Erie”); at 1 p.m., David Giffels (“The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio”); and at 2:30 p.m., Tony Marini ("Pennie the Christmas Pickle”). And at 7 p.m. Thursday, Hinckley native Sarah Lohman will discuss her book “Endangered Eating: America’s Vanished Foods” with James Beard Award-nominated chef Jeremy Umansky of Larder.
Akron-Summit County Public Library, Green branch (4046 Massillon Road, Uniontown): Clarence Bechter signs “The Time of My Life with Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers: 3000 Miles from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida,” about the 52-day bicycle trip he took in 2019 at the age of 67, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Monday.
Ignite Brewing Co. (600 W. Tuscarawas Ave., Barberton): Don Ake signs “Deep, Heavy Stuff: Thoughts and Essays for Enriching Your Life,” 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Lynn Tramonte, editor of “(Everything Is) Cells and Bodies, Ohio Migration Anthology (Volume 2),” reads from the book with contributors Judy Bateman, Miles Budimir and Ray Danner, 7-8 p.m. Wednesday.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library (3512 Darrow Road, Stow): Naomi Alderman (“The Power”) joins the Online Author Talk Series with “The Power of Women in Science Fiction,” 3-4 p.m. Thursday. Register at smfpl.org.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Former Beacon Journal sportswriter Terry Pluto signs “The Guy with the Sign: And Other Thoughts on Faith in Everyday Life,” 6-7 p.m. Thursday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library, Beachwood branch (25501 Shaker Blvd.): Danny Caine talks about “How to Protect Bookstores and Why: The Present and Future of Bookselling,” 7-8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Morley Library (184 Phelps St., Painesville): Annie Zaleski talks about “This is Christmas, Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits,” featured in Oct. 15th’s Book Talk, 11 a.m. to noon Saturday.
More: Learn 'the stories behind 100 holiday hits' | Book Talk
Barberton Public Library (602 W. Park Ave.): Conrad Storad and the Story Monster read from his children’s book “Night Watchers,” 2-3 p.m. Saturday.
Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): David Giffels and Jade Dellinger discuss “The Beginning was the End: Devo in Ohio,” 7 p.m. Saturday.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. I tweet at @BarbaraMcI.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Alex Erickson’s new mystery features Christmas setting | Book Talk
