Review: Scooped, there it is...Dead (A Penelope Sinclair Cozy Murder Mystery #4) by Tessa Aura

Scooped, there it is...Dead

A Penelope Sinclair Cozy Murder Mystery #4

by Tessa Aura

Published: September 19, 2025

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuth, Animal Mystery

 

Blurb:

Just when I thought the stickiest thing in my life was toffee… my best friend finds a dead body in her candy store.

Claire bursts into my boutique, pale and shaking—she’s just found candy supplier Dennis Granger lying dead in Sweet Retreat’s storeroom. To make things worse, someone wearing my boutique-branded scarf was spotted leaving the scene.

With Mabel and Teo at my side, I start digging for the truth.

Dennis had been blackmailing Claire over an old scandal. Blaine Turner and Nadine Carver, both burned by a failed Sweet Retreat venture, would love a little revenge. And Trisha Hargrove—Dennis’s ex and a rival confectioner—might have wanted him gone for good.

The deeper I dig, the more dangerous it gets—anonymous notes, candy-coated threats, and planted evidence meant to frame me. Someone’s watching my every move.

If I can’t unwrap the truth in time, I’ll be the next one boxed up… and I doubt there’ll be a bow on top.

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My Review:

Penelope’s best friend, Claire, discovers a man named Dennis Granger in her storeroom, and now Penelope is being framed for his death. The story has plenty of suspects and clues for Penelope to follow.

As Penelope delves deeper into the mystery, she uncovers a web of secrets that links Dennis to several unsavory characters in town. With Mabel and Teo by her side, she must navigate the treacherous waters of betrayal and deceit to clear her name and uncover the truth.

Scooped, there it is... Dead grabbed my attention from the beginning and never let go. The many twists and turns kept my attention throughout the story. I was so immersed in Penelope, Claire, Mabel, and Teo’s world that mine disappeared. I started to believe that I was part of their world, as if mine no longer existed.

It kept me on the edge of my seat, eager to find out what happened and why. I tried my best to solve the mystery on my own, but I couldn’t until all the clues were revealed.

I can’t wait to read more in Penelope’s world. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Scooped, there it is... Dead today!

Check out all the books in the Penelope Sinclair Cozy Murder Mystery series I’ve read.

Shop 'til you Drop Dead #1

Goodreads

Amazon

Dead Man's Hand #2

Goodreads

Amazon

Signed, Sealed and Stabbed #3

Goodreads

Amazon

Scooped, there it is...Dead #4

Goodreads 

Amazon

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Book Blitz: Hook & Jill by Andrea Jones @RABTBookTours

 

Literary Fiction

In celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th – We present Hook & Jill, Book One of the The Hook & Jill Saga

 

An ageless fable grows up...

Wendy Darling learns. What appears to be good may prove otherwise, and what seems to be evil…is irresistible. In this startling new vision of a cultural classic, Wendy intends to live happily ever after with Peter Pan. But Time, like this tale, behaves in a most unsettling way.

As Wendy mothers the Lost Boys in Neverland, they thrive on adventure. She struggles to keep her boys safe from the Island’s many hazards, but she finds a more subtle threat encroaching from an unexpected quarter.…The children are growing up, and only Peter knows the punishment.

Yet in the inky edges of the Island, the tales Wendy tells to the Lost Boys come true. Captain Hook is real, and even the Wonderful Boy can’t defend his Wendy against this menace. Hook is a master manipulator, devising vengeance for his maiming. Insidious and seductive, Hook has his reasons for tempting Wendy to grow up. Revenge is only the first.

Deepening the characters so artfully sketched by J.M. Barrie, Hook & Jill reveals the dark side of innocence at which Barrie hinted in the figure of Peter Pan. It brings alive a daring Wendy who asks questions and seeks truth; it delves into the man, Hook, the iconic villain. Striding from fairy-tale and thrusting into reality, Captain Hook becomes a frightening force indeed.

 

About the Author

Andrea Jones is the author of the Hook & Jill Saga, an award-winning series of Neverland novels for adult readers.

Jones graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied Oral Interpretation of Literature, with a Literature Minor. In her career in television production, she worked for CBS and PBS affiliates, and corporate studios, also performing as on-camera and voice-over talent.

Jones is an editor of the Reginetta Press Classics Restoration program, which seeks to preserve the integrity of beloved old manuscripts before they are lost to time. The first project in the program is Peter and Wendy: The Restored Text. In tribute to J.M. Barrie, Jones corrected alterations made by modern publishers, returning Barrie’s timeless tale to its exact 1911 first edition text. This book is the basis of the Hook & Jill Saga, and Jones remains true to J.M. Barrie’s vision of his Neverland and its inhabitants.

Andrea Jones is known around the world as Capitana Red-Hand of the web-based pirate brotherhood, Under the Black Flag. She is also a member of the pirate re-enaction troupe, the Brethren of the Great Lakes. Her home port is near Chicago.

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Cover Reveal: Babymaking by Vincentia Schroeter @RABTBookTours

 

Memoir

Date to be Published: December 11th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

Making a baby is one of life’s most precious and natural acts. But sometimes, despite our deepest wishes and most sincere prayers, the body has other plans.

Vincentia Schroeter dreams of building a family of her own and expects an easy pregnancy. She imagines following in her mother’s footsteps, surrounded by the love of children. However, when complications mount, she must face the likelihood that her wish will never come true.

As her sisters bear children, and women all around her share their happy baby news, Vin grows more envious than ever. The frustration continues as hard truths test her patience and faith and medical professionals deliver devastating blows. The only thing she knows for sure is that she is determined to become a mother.

A story of one woman’s harrowing path through trauma and disillusionment, Babymaking is a heartfelt memoir of vulnerability, rupture, and repair. Vin’s journey reminds us that hope and unconditional love have the power to lead us to the place we were always meant to be.

 

About the Author

 

 Vincentia Schroeter grew up in a small town in central California as the fourth of twelve children. Intrigued by the many different personalities in her family, she knew by the age of sixteen that she wanted to be a counselor. She put herself through college and graduate school in order to pursue her dreams.

Vin is the author of the award-winning self-help book, Communication Breakthrough: How Using Brain Science and Listening to Body Cues Can Change Your Relationships (2018). She also co-authored a training manual on somatic psychotherapy that has been translated into three languages.

After a forty-year career as a psychotherapist listening to clients’ stories of pain and trauma, Vin felt drawn to share her own story. She now lives in San Diego with her husband Steve and enjoys pickleball, painting, and time with family, including her dog, Ren.

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