I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

For a cozy mystery, this book was a little different - POC, cheating spouses, someone the MC actually liked as the killer.

Jayme is welcoming her college friends for a week at her rental cottage, hoping to enjoy time time together like they did in college or in previous camping trips.

However, once the local handyman/ladies man turns up dead, she can’t help but suspect a lot of people, even people she’s been friends with for years.

Cast Iron Alibi by Victoria Hamilton is book 9 in the series.  I haven't read any of the previous books, but I did enjoy the book, and didn't find that I missed out on too much.

Jaymie has invited her female friends from her college days, and whilst they always take a bit of time to get used to each other's groove, this time is extra hard with someone new being brought along.

This is a murder mystery with a lot of female friendship dynamics.  It's a cosy mystery, set in a small town, where the residents all know each other, and was a fun read.

Cast Iron Alibi was published on 5th November 2019, and is available from Amazon and Waterstones (as an audio book).

You can follow Victoria Hamilton on Facebook, Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Beyond the Page Publishing.

Cast Iron Alibi is the ninth installment in the Vintage Kitchen Series by Victoria Hamilton. This fun cozy finds Jaymie Leighton excited for a weekend with college roommates who plan to go camping together. Unfortunately, there is a man who thinks of himself as a hot lover and has been after one of the girls; he is found murdered. Since one of Jaymie’s friends is the murder suspect, Jaymie needs to work hard to investigate and find who the murderer really is. It stands to reason that one of the roommates is most likely the murderer, and there is plenty of bickering and name calling, almost worse than when they were in college, but is one of these girls really a murderer?

Anyone familiar with this series knows that Hamilton is an excellent storyteller, and this novel is well-written and indicative of her writing skills. Hamilton is also good at developing her characters, and throughout the series readers have become enamored with the main characters, especially Jaymie, the main protagonist. There are also secondary characters who have a prominent place in the novel, and they are good characters who seem to be just like real people we may know. Hamilton has a way of building mild suspense in this novel, and it keeps readers wanting to read rather than putting the book down.

Recipes are essential to a good culinary mystery, and this one includes a good camping recipe in keeping with the camping theme. This is a fun addition to the series and will be enjoyed by all readers.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Jaymie's next 10 days will be very different than usual. Her husband, Jakob and her stepdaughter Jocie are going to Poland to visit Jocie's grandparents and while they're gone, 5 of Jaymie's college friends are coming to Heartbreak island for a reunion.

But the college friends that Jaymie remembers don't seem to be in attendance - there have been many changes in circumstances as well as personality traits. Can Jaymie manage to make it through the week with these "strangers"?

After a night out bar hopping, the girls are awaken by the fire patrol battling a house fire nearby. Jaymie wonders if one of her friends may have been involved with one of the victims of the fire. Feeling uncomfortable with what her "friends" are doing to occupy their time away from the group, Jaymie sets out to find out what really happened and who was involved.

The mystery had many twists and turns and as far as I'm concerned, a surprise ending. Loved it!

I am continuing to enjoy the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series by Victoria Hamilton. Each mystery is self-contained in each book, but there is character development that you would miss if you if you do not read previous books in the series. Having said that, you could easily read this book and enjoy it as a standalone story.

This story has our protagonist Jayme, hosting a reunion for her college friends that roomed together. Her husband and daughter are in Europe visiting relatives, so she is on her own in this story. It is quickly evident that all is not well with this group of ladies, and there are all kinds of secrets to be found out. When extra friends, spouses and other family members show up, it clouds the reunion somewhat. The reunion quickly turns deadly when a local handyman is found dead with his head smashed in by one of Jayme's vintage pie-makers. Side note, I enjoyed the making of the pies, we call them hobo pies and often make them with our kids and grandkids over a summer bonfire. Several of Jayme’s friends are suspect, but their motives are not clear. Will she uncover who did the deadly deed or will the wrong person take the fall?

I really enjoy the setting of this book. Being Canadian and living in Southern Ontario, many of the places mentioned in the book are places I have been or regularly visit. This story begins a bit slower than others in this series, but it is important to get to know the group of friends and find out a bit of what is happening in their lives. All that information becomes part of the investigation later in the book. There were several suspects, a lot of red herrings and clues sprinkled throughout, so that when the final reveal came, I was able to say, of course, that fits perfectly. The story was well-paced with some wonderful secondary characters that made the story very interesting. Once again, a cozy mystery that I enjoyed very much. I definitely recommend this book and series.

Sadly not for me, I couldn't engage with the characters and found it overly descriptive. I love a good cosy mystery but this one didn't hit the spot.

This was my first Vintage Kitchen Mystery. The storyline was definitely filled with plenty of sex, drugs, and rock n roll, at least as far as a Cozy will go. Jaymie Muller was looking forward to her girls' stay-cay with the old college roommates but it didn't go quite as planned. There are unexpected extra guests and husbands/ex-husbands who pop up as well. The local handyman/lothario is found dead and everyone seems to be making major life changes. The story moves at a good pace there are plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing while side arm sleuthing. This was definitely a read alone, which is good because it was book number one for me even though it is installment number nine for the series. There were plenty of intrigues and the interactions of the characters were very interesting and I am guessing. I applaud anyone who is still close enough to their college or high school friends to be able to get together once a year but to do so while camping just makes it that more challenging in my opinion. I realize that the butter tart is a well-guarded secret but one should not tempt a reader with flaky pastries and no recipe to accompany. The Hobo pack recipe brought back wonderful memories of camping with my sons' cub scout pack, super easy to make and clean up is quick.

This is book 9 in the Vintage Kitchen cozy series and it's a little different in the setting. Jaymie is hosting her college friends at their cottage getaway. You can read this book as a stand alone as many of the regular characters are not included. When a worker on the island is killed, Jaymie's friend is considered the main suspect. She must work with the local law officers to help solve the murder. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Got halfway through and quit. I just couldn't seem to care whether there was a mystery to solve or not. The characters weren't very memorable.

The mystery in this story is a clever one and has a nice twist to it. The setting is charming and atmospheric and Jaymie is a really likeable character, very focussed and pleasant. She has a lovely family relationship with her husband and step-daughter and there’s warmth and love. However, most of the other prominent characters in this book don’t particularly appeal. It’s a school reunion and you have to wonder why some of them bothered turning up since they don’t like each other. There’s a lot of infighting and carping which I found rather distracting and a little tedious, and it didn’t add to the plot particularly. But I’m not someone who enjoys too much stress and conflict. Horses for courses.
It’s entertaining and well thought out, but not quite the ideal book for me.
3.5 stars

A cozy mystery with engaging characters and cute pets, though I do wish the story had a little more mystery in it and less fighting between characters

Jaymie was looking forward to a girl's trip with her college friends when she finds herself involved in another murder and must work to solve it Before the wrong person takes the blame. I just love the amateur detectives in cozy always have a day job.

Too much squabbling and too little mystery.

Cast Iron Alibi by Victoria Hamilton is a mystery involving the death of a local Romeo while a group of college friends are taking a few days vacation together. This is the ninth book in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series.

My biggest complaint about this book is all the fighting between the lead characters. I actually had a headache about half way through this book. Fighting, fighting, fighting......then a little mystery thrown in. The mystery itself and the surprising solution, didn’t make much sense too me. I don’t understand why the author felt like numerous squabbles was the way to propel the mystery forward. I was turned off by the main character, Jaymie, who was a bit wishy-washy. I didn’t care for any of her college friends either, except for Rachel.

What did work for me was the character of Martha Stubbs, who reminded me a bit of Jane Marple from the Agatha Christie books, and Jaymie’s Yorkie-Poo, Hoppy. I liked the way the author included a list of who’s-who as there were many characters in this book. She also included a detailed recipe for Hobo Packets in the back of the book which was a nice touch since the college gang was spending their vacation days camping.

What I loved most about this book was the dedication to Sue Grafton’s detective, Kinsey Millhone. The author even mentioned both Sue Grafton and Kinsey a couple of times in the story. Class act.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Hamilton, and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this 3 star book.

Cast Iron Alibi earns 5/5 Vintage Turquoise Shasta Trailers...Entertaining Fun!

I am a fan of Victoria Hamilton and her Vintage Kitchen Mystery series captivated by the drama exploding on various fronts, diverse group of “good, bad, and ugly” characters, and contemporary issues of this ninth book. The murder was well plotted with several suspects with legitimate motives to sift through, descriptive style and dialogue that illustrates well the tone and personalities. Although not my favorite narrative, the third-person perspective was a surprising delight and suit the fact that there were so many characters woven into the mystery. It is easy to keep track of everyone using the Cast of Characters list included at the front of the book. And the ending...I didn’t see that coming! Ending with a wonderful treat from Jaymie’s Vintage Eats column: Hobo Packets: Kid-Friendly [Adults, too] Camp Meal. She describes her fondest memories of the Hobo Packets along with the importance for starting a good fire, suggestions for customizing the packets for everyone’s tastes, and directions for assembling the meal with protein, vegetables, and seasonings. I highly recommend this book!

A miss. Just such a miss. Maybe I went into it thinking it was going to be a cozy mystery. It just never got there for me. I felt it was overly descriptive, I didn't care for a single character, and none of it felt plausible to me. You're taking off on an open ended vacation, with people that you went to college with, but you had to give your husband pages and pages and pages long descriptions of who you were going to be with? I don't know. None of it felt real to me. I got 22% of the way done and just couldn't finish.

Thank you to Netgalley though for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3097978691

When you put a group of women of the same age together for any length of time, the competitions and claws will come out. In this cozy mystery, Victoria Hamilton gives us a school reunion that is supposed to be ladies only....supposed to be. It's all fun and games until somebody gets killed, then the finger pointing starts. Cast Iron Alibi was a fun, entertaining story as well as a great mystery.

Cast Iron Alibi is a good cozy mystery. It is well written and has great characters.I enjoyed the storyline.

Cast Iron Alibi is a delightful cozy mystery. Great plot that pulled me in immediately. A great addition to the series. I look forward to reading more books in this series. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

A reunion between old school friends that turned deadly, where deep secrets came to light. and the taste for the forbidden grew more and more enticing and dangerous. These friends had to learn a great lesson in that none is infallible, and people change some for the good others for the bad. But what a dramatic change it was a truly intriguing and twisting storyline that captivates your undivided attention.

Love revisiting this series. The mystery always keeps you interested, the characters are rich and the main character continues to grow with each book. Being a collector of vintage kitchen items myself, I really love that Jayme collects as well. I am never disappointed with any book by Victoria Hamilton. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy that I voluntarily reviewed