At the Scent of the Crime

Wicked Wick Mysteries #1

by Melrose McFadden

Childhood friends Leigh Hill and Paloma Finch left their high-pressure big city jobs to pursue a quieter life running the Wicked Wick candle shop in the small town of Fall Haven. Rumors about a giant chain warehouse store moving to town have the mom-and-pop business owners on edge, but the community is stringing up lights, baking pies, and setting up booths in the town square to sell their wares at the annual Winter Festival. But when a prominent local businessperson winds up dead in the middle of the festival grounds, Leigh and Paloma realize their little hamlet isn’t as quiet and innocent as they had hoped. Plenty of people have a lot to lose if the megastore comes to town, but are any of them angry enough to kill? The ladies of Wicked Wick must sniff around for clues and solve the crime before their business -- or their lives -- are snuffed out.

Genres: Christmas, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Holiday, Fiction, Ebooks, Cozy

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 28, 2021

About the author

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Melrose McFadden writes cozy mysteries and historical clean mysteries. Melrose Cozies are known for their humor and twists, with some light romance sprinkled in for fun.

Current series-in-progress are:

- Wicked Wick Mysteries -- a classic small-town cozy with buddy female protagonists who own a candle shop. Wicked Wick Mysteries fall into the Culinary & Hobby/Craft sub-genres.

- Major Bummer Murders -- a vibrant, colorful cozy series set in the 1980s at the beach. Like I'm so sure! Major Bummer Murders fall into the Historical, Hobby, and Humor sub-genres.

Melrose is the pen name for co-authoring duo Beth and Leslie. The two have backgrounds in professional writing/editing.

Check out the following sites for more information on Melrose McFadden:

Website: Melrose McFadden
Facebook: Melrose McFadden
Amazon: Melrose McFadden
Instagram: Melrosecozies
BingeBooks:Melrose McFadden

Reviews

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Start to a New Series . . .

The author did a great job with bringing the small-town feel to life for the setting of this story. The characters were extremely well portrayed, likable and believable. When childhood friends Leigh Hill and Paloma Finch came to Fall Haven from the big-city, they were ready to settle into a much gentler, quiet life at the Wicked Wick candle shop. All of that was disrupted when it seemed that a giant chain warehouse store was coming to town which could destroy the small mom-and-pop businesses that wouldn’t be able to compete. But the town pulled together and carried on as usual for the Winter Festival, putting up holiday lights, baking pies, and preparing the booths to display their products for sale.

The first sign of serious trouble was finding the dead body of a prominent local businessperson in the middle of the festival grounds. Amateur sleuths, Leigh and Paloma, need to investigate the death. The suspect pool is rather deep on this one since so many people could lose everything if the megastore became a reality in their small town. It was hard to imagine any of the locals being angry enough to kill, but the motive was clearly there. Can they find the murderer before someone else is next to die?

Cozy mysteries are a big favorite of mine. This one was well-written and definitely held my interest. You can’t go wrong with likable characters and a story line that flows well to keep the reader entertained and invested while trying to figure out the mystery. Whose business would be most seriously ruined if the giant chain store was not stopped? Grab your copy and find the answer!

[Chelsey Savon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author writes the main characters in this book as if they are teenagers. It was a slow book and not one that kept you reading.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars I really liked it

This mystery has some typical cozy-mystery elements, like the small-town setting and the female amateur sleuths. There are also some more unique elements, like there being two female sleuths and the candle-making. At the start of the story I was wondering where it’d go. Turned out it went somewhere good! The suspense was being built up nicely. It did take me just a little while to get used to the dual POV, who was Leigh again, and who Paloma? But I got used to that quickly and I started really appreciating this non-standard element of dual POV in a cozy mystery. It actually helped in building up the suspense. I really took to Paloma, she’s an introvert like me, and an observer. And smiled at Leigh, who is more outgoing and very likeable. Well written. I would like to say solid, and I mean that as a compliment! Especially since this is a debut! I’m expecting a lot from this series! Highly recommend.

[Mandy Mckee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry

While I'm sure some like this book, I couldn't get into it. There are too many perspectives. There is too much jumping from person to person. I did my best but couldn't finish.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

the ladies of Wicked Wick are looking forward to a holiday festival fundraiser and enjoying their latest signature scent.

The young man who inherited the lease for their store, along with most in the shopping area on the Town Square seems to have some big ideas. Unluckily for him, many are very unpopular, as well as in violation of the terms of the leases.

Murderous mayhem ensues, along with the shopkeepers movement to co-op or any solution short of chain stores putting them out of business

Tasty treats and tangled plots and romance

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never really got the feeling that the 2 main characters were real people. They seemed pretty immature for their point in life.

The mystery was ok and lots of false leads took many pages to explore and discard.
Seemed formulaic.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this cozy mystery.

[Dave Measner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful mystery to start in on the holiday season.

Leigh and Paloma are life long friends who have returned from the fast paced big city life to their small home town. They along with several other small shop owners are getting ready for the winter festival when their landlord drops a rent bombshell on them followed by a plan to sell a landmark to a big real estate company.
Not too surprisingly he is found d-e-d the next day. Some of the circumstances are suspicious and the two friends start investigating. A fast pace and good clues as well as a few red herrings make for an interesting and fun mystery.

[monacia williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amateurs at best

I enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed meeting Paloma, Leigh, Jason and the other characters as they tried their hand at solving a murder. The Sheriff is incompetent and the Mayor is even more so. Paloma, Leigh and Jason called themselves the "Scooby Gang" and go about gathering evidence in the most unconventional ways. Most of the drama occurs towards the end of the book. Underlying the main storyline are hint s of romance and laughter.
Go ahead and read if you enjoy light reading.

[Deb S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having grown up in a small town I love to read books that take place in them. Leigh & Paloma moved back to the town they grew up in several years ago to open up a bookstore/candle store on the main street in Fall Haven. The annual town Christmas festival will happen in a few days & they hope that lots of visitors will come to town for the event. An announcement by a person who grew up in Fall Haven & recently returned throws the town into chaos. Will the town survive?

[J Shu · Rating 2 out of 5]

12/23. Leigh and Paloma left their hometown of Fall Haven only to return years later and open Wicked Wicks, a shop specializing in candles. When the owner of many shops in town announces a huge rent increase, folks are stuned. They are even more stunned when the fellow is found dead. Was it really an accident? Who would have killed him? Leigh and Paloma do their best to find answers. Seemed somewhat shallow, but a quick read.

[Ed Baswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. The characters are likable and relatable, and the descriptions of small-town sights and smells brought back memories of my childhood growing up in a small town, complete with mom & pop stores and annual festivals where everyone you knew came out to mingle. I highly recommend this book!

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. As with most cozy mysteries, we have some what of an idea how the storyline will go…a small specialty shop, small town, good friends, etc. And from early on, somewhat of an idea of “who did what to whom,” but not quite sure.
I found the book to be an entertaining and quick read. Already looking forward to the next one. I do recommend.

[holly gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could give it 41/2 stars I would.

While the mystery was pretty good, I felt character development let a bit to be desired. I didn't really feel a connection with the characters. Maybe in future books it will be better. The mystery was well thought out and the outcome was good.

[Jaymee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly this was the cutest little Christmas themed murder mystery and it absolutely did the job of making me feel wayyy better in terms of trying to get out of this slump.

The cute small town hallmark vibe made it a great December read and it held a really great plot. My only thing is that I was not surprised by the whodunit reveal..

[Sarena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, fun read—a small-town mystery with a dash of humor to balance out the intrigue. While a little cheesy and requiring suspension of disbelief in some parts (the two protagonists just up and break into a house and steal a bunch of files without anyone noticing???), the mystery is done in a way that leaves you realizing enough clues were dropped throughout the novel.

[Crystal D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read!

Once again, I have the most talented friends! What a cute story. Know the person who wrote this, there were so many different scenarios and nuances in this book that actually made me smile and giggle sometimes because I could see and hear her in place of the characters. Well done, friend!

[Patricia H. Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovered a new author and series

I liked the people, especially the two friends who run the candle shop. I liked the town, a great setting. And I liked the ending that allows for interesting future stories.

[Kathy Qualtrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the scent of the crime

Good characters. Several different types. Cozy little town, mom and pop stores. Not sure who done it until close to the end. Kept me guessing. Some laughs. Lots of mystery. Learned some things about scents. A good read.

[Annette Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok I guess

I thought this book was rather long and drawn out, and while they caught the murderer in the end after a lot of wild guessing and things turned out right for the town as a whole there were other aspects left unfinished. To tell the truth I was a bit bored.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute holiday read. The main characters owned a candle shop, which was something different from most of the cozy mysteries I’ve read. There were plenty of suspects. The ending made sense. I could see these characters growing on me. I may read another one in this series.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these little cozies. I'm reading mostly Christmas cozy mysteries right now. This one was easy enough to figure out. The clues were all there. I love the names that they came up with for their candles.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #2 for the 52 Book Club Challenge: Bibliosmia: A Smelly Book (This could be a book with an actual odor, or a scent word in the title, or about a perfumer or sommelier etc)

Probably rate this one 3.5

[Susan Wolfgang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small town holiday fun

Reminded me a lot of my hometown. Fun quirky characters that care about their town.
Melrose does a great job of developing several authentic characters quickly. I can't wait to visit Fall Haven again.

[Pat Oatman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky and a little crazy, but good.

With wild naming of scents and ideas a plenty at solving crimes, the story is always fun. Their little town is full of interesting characters. There's a lot of "weirdness" mixed in with the fun.

[Kim DeMarchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story. I loved the small town charm. However, it was not a cannot stop reading book. I might read more in the series but it was not the "I got to find the other books right away" feeling.

[edith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cozy

I liked this book because it made you feel like you were part of this lovely town. From all the interesting people and their little shops just so cozy. And if course the plot was too notch. Great fireside read.

[Cathey Edgington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story

Loved the way Paloma and Leigh named the teas, candle, and other fragrances. A good mystery and liked the twist at the end.

[Tammy Johnson-brazeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet who done it

Well written. Wicked Christmas to all who reads this book. It was a pleasure to read it. On to the next one.

[Susan Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

This great series. I have read two, mAybe three and hope to read more. Makes me want to.live in a small town.