Double or Muffin by Victoria Hamilton has Merry Wynter welcoming the cast and crew of a reality competition for aspiring opera singers to Wynter Castle. Merry is kept hopping with baking meals, cleaning rooms, catering the food services tables, and handling the requests of the guests. It is a mystery as to why the group was asked to leave their last hotel. Merry also has the windows of the castle being washed for the next group to descend on the stately home. As if Merry does not have enough on her plate, items begin to disappear around the castle and from the window washers’ van. Before Merry can look into the matter, the industrious reporter writing an article on the competition disappears. A search party is organized, and the reporter is found wounded in the woods. She was stabbed and left for dead in the cold. Merry is determined to discover who harmed the woman and begins working through the lengthy suspect list. Can Merry find the guilty party before they fly the coop? Double or Muffin is the 7th A Merry Muffin Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I thought Double or Muffin was well-written with developed characters. There is an interesting cast of characters. It appears that everyone with the show has a secret. The story has a good flow, but I did find the pacing a little slow in the first half. The mystery was well-plotted, but it does not occur until halfway through the book. There are a number of suspects for Merry to consider. The singers in the competition all seem to be hiding something and it is up to Merry to ferret out the information. There are clues to aid readers in solving the crime before the solution is revealed. I thought one detail was particularly clever. I enjoyed Becket’s antics and his participation in the mystery. It was great to catch up with Merry, Pish, Virgil, and their friends. Double or Muffin ends on a sweet note. Double or Muffin is a lively cozy mystery with problematic prima donnas, mouthwatering muffins, a cunning cat, missing materials, a prying reporter, and attractive operatic arias. ( )

family-dynamics, friendship, television, law-enforcement, private-investigators, series*****

If you like reality TV shows, you’ll love this story. Merry Grace Winter owns a castle that she turned into a B&B and is expanding to include a performing arts center. all the while making very fine muffins for the local senior citizens. The attempted murder of an intrusive journalist brings both her PI husband and his friends from his old Sheriff's Department into the picture. The publisher's blurb is a good hook. The characters are interesting and very clearly depicted as is the imagery of the locality. An engaging read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. ( )

Double Or Muffin is the seventh book in the A Merry Muffin Mystery series by Victoria Hamilton.

Merry Winter has a dilemma facing her. Pish Lincoln, her best friend and business partner, has agreed to permit Opera DivaNation to use Wynter Castle to finish taping opera wannabes’ finals. Merry reluctantly agrees, reminding Pish that they have only a week to complete their taping, as another company will be arriving in two weeks to film a docudrama. It doesn’t take Merry long to determine that the cast and crew will be high-maintenance guests. Merry is a fan of opera and is enjoying listening to the singer’s rehearsals. Before long, she learns that it seems that most everyone has some kind of secret that they desire to keep that way. A reporter arrives and begins to talk with the contestants and crew trying to learn what secrets they have to write a story bringing them to light. Before long, the reporter goes missing, and Merry begins a search to find her. She is found, having been beaten and left for dead. Merry can’t have something like this, leaving a blot on her business, so she sets off to find the person responsible for this heinous crime.

This book is an excellent addition to this interesting series. The book is well-written and plotted. There are several characters in the story, but the author has included a list of characters to help the reader keep them straight. The cast is well-developed and very interesting. The book moved at a nice pace and had plenty of red herrings that I was kept guessing until the end.

Readers can find recipes related to the book on the author’s website.

I will be watching for the next book in this series. ( )