No Mallets Intended (A Vintage Kitchen Mystery) Mass Market Paperback – November 4, 2014

Eagerly, I awaited the publication of this book, the fourth in the Vintage Kitchen series by Victoria Hamilton. Any book by her is bound to be a good read because her plots are logically constructed, her characters have depth, and her descriptive passages pull the reader into the book with well-drawn, sensory images.This series particularly appeals to me because it's set in my home state of Michigan, along Lake St. Clair, a ferry-ride from Canada. Hamilton's word portrait of the area captures all its beauty and her references to life in Michigan are flawless.Hamilton's protagonist for this series is Jaymie Leighton, a hardworking, intelligent young woman who is an expert on vintage kitchens. In this book, we find Jaymie applying her knowledge --- as well as her elbow grease --- to the restoration of the kitchen in the manor newly acquired by the town's historical society.Jaymie never searches for trouble, but it seems determined to find her. Her previous brushes with danger have made her more careful now and more apt to trust her instincts. A logical thinker, she's smart enough to evade danger and to thwart villainous attempts to do evil.More decisive now, Jaymie untangles the knots in her romantic situation, too. She knows now what she wants --- and doesn't want --- in a relationship. She values her home and her life in her small town and wants someone with a similar attitude.A nice bonus was a recipe for turkey roulettes --- just in time for Thanksgiving leftovers. Like Jaymie, I cook from scratch, so I especially appreciated this aspect of the book.All in all, it was another good read, just as compelling as the first three in the series. I hope it won't be long before I can spend more time with Jaymie.

The historical society did in fact buy Dumpe Manor and they are revamping it for Dickens Days. It is now early November. Jaymie is in charge of the kitchen and gets clobbered with a mallet one night for no apparent reason. Initially it is thought to be a vagrant as the property had gone a bit to seed in the last few years. Daniel is out of town and being shady and overprotective at the same time. Detective Zack has left town taking a job in Detroit. The Dumpe ancestors are challenging the will saying it is really their house, but plans are proceeding a pace. Then the historian gets beaten to death with a mallet and of course Jaymie is the one to find his body. Officer Bernie is a fun new friend rather than random cop. Chief Ledbetter is hilarious. Criminal masterminds make sense but the actual details had escaped me. The personal stuff at the end was ridiculous - it was obvious what was going on with Daniel and can't say I am sad, but really didn't like the way it was done. Will miss detective Zack and that whole interlude is strange.

One doesn’t have to be a Chef to appreciate the newest Vintage Kitchen Mystery. Victoria Hamilton is an awesome cozy mystery writer and I’d looked forward to reading this book, the fourth of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series. I appreciate cozy mysteries that actually feature a mystery rather than a romance posing as a cozy mystery.Jaymie Leighton is an energetic, busy young lady, between helping out at the Bed and Breakfast next door, helping at the Emporium, the local store, at a local antiques shop when the owner is on a buying trip, managing her family’s vacation home at a small island off the coast, and running a successful business providing vintage picnic baskets. In her spare time, Jaymie and the Queensville Heritage Society members are restoring the extraordinary Dumpe Manor to serve as a museum and office space for the group. While working on her area of interest-turning the kitchen into a Depression era version of itself, while working alone one evening, Jaymie and her sweet 3-legged Yorkie-Poo, Hoppy (Hopalong) hear someone/something. If only Hoppy could talk – as he alone is witness to her being hit on the head and knocked out. To add insult to headache, Jaymie learns later that the weapon used was one of the antique mallets in a collection that she was going to display in the kitchen. Unfortunately, soon after, Jaymie finds the dead body of the historian, Theo Carson, hired by the Society to prepare a pamphlet with the history of the Dumpe family and the mansion – killed by another mallet from the collection. Between Theo Carson, a woman scorned, and angry Dumpe descendants there are valid reasons to fear that the Manor will be taken from the Heritage Society.The characters are well-developed and anticipate being involved in small town gatherings and gossip. Jaymie’s friends and family complement her personality and she compliments theirs. Her current boyfriend, Daniel, is pressuring her to commit more fully to their relationship. Psychiatrist Prentiss Dumpe believing he is the true heir to the Manor causes major issues for the Historical Society. Author, Theo Carson, seems to want to find only the negative history, like involvement in the slave trade or Nazi sympathizers. And Carson sure likes playing the field with Jaymie’s friend Cynthia. Additionally, there are individuals convinced there is a treasure hidden somewhere in the house, and they are determined to find it despite the current renovation. As someone who appreciates animals in cozy mysteries, I’m glad Jaymie loves animals which is obvious with her precious pup, Hoppy, and the formerly grouchy puss, Denver.I found it refreshing to become reacquainted with Jaymie, learn more about vintage kitchenware, recipe development for her desired cookbook (classic recipes included) and her latest adventure. Victoria Hamilton eloquently writes of her love of cooking using vintage tools that often surpass our electronic gadgets – a number of which I inherited and personally use in my kitchen! A great mystery that had me guessing all the way to the end. Jamie's love life has its own twists and turns. Very enjoyable book and I look forward to Jaymie’s adventures in the fifth one in this cozy series.

Wow!!! What a great book. The Vintage Kitchen Mysteries just keep getting better. This time Jaymie is redoing the kitchen in the Dumpe house. The historical society bought it and want to redo it back to normal. That is until someone comes forward and claims it rightfully belongs to them. But where is the will? Jaymie is also having trouble in the romance department. She and her beau have settled on Christmas time to decide if they should get married or not and she has doubts. When the man who is going to write a brochure for the Dumpe house is killed, Jaymie is right in the middle of the trouble again. There is a good side to the trouble, in a round about way and a new character involved who I fell in love with at first sight. What will the future hold for Jaymie and Daniel? Will this new man make a mark in her life? I can’t wait to find out hopefully in the next book.

This series gets better and better.

I really enjoy this series and catching up with Jaymie and her friends. The mystery kept me guessing until the end.Can't wait for the next instalment to see what direction Jaymie's life takes.

A1++++

i enjoyed the merry muffin books so thought this would be worth a go, but quite disappointed with it.virtually every character has a ridiculous name (valetta! jaymie! isolde! prentiss! etcetc. bring me a john *please*) which makes reading unnecessarily onerous and the plot resolution explanation seemed to take about 8% of the book. if it takes that long, we're not interested any more.will not read again!