Stella Wright and her mother, Millie, are attending a perfume conference in Paris. Unfortunately, their fun trip turns into a nightmare when Stella witnesses the stabbing death of a young man. When they arrive home hours later, Stella is relieved and wants to put the murder behind her. But when her candle store, Wick and Flame, is broken into, she starts feeling paranoid. Then she receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a mysterious vial out of Paris. The vial contains an international secret, and according to the note, Stella's mom will be killed if it isn't returned immediately. A determined Stella sets out to find the vial and protect her mother.

Murder Makes Scents by Christin Brecher is an entertaining and delightful read, with a lovely setting and a unique mystery. The story keeps a steady pace and contains enough action, suspects, and clues to keep you guessing until the reveal. Stella is a likable main character, and I enjoyed the candle making theme of the story. I'm not sure how I feel about her love interest, Peter. Andy and Stella have way more chemistry together and I think he's the better choice.
The synopsis of the third book,15 Minutes of Flame, sounds very intriguing and I look forward to reading it.

I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Murder Makes Scents is the second book in the Nantucket candle makers series by Christin Brecher. I have not read book one, but I quickly became familiar with the characters in the series, especially once Stella and her mother Millie left Paris and returned to their Nantucket home. They had been in Paris for a fragrance conference where Millie had been invited to speak about her adventures procuring scents in the Amazon. There they witnessed a murder, potential related to an important Peace Conference happening at the same time. Their trip was cut short and they returned home. When strange occurrences began happening, Stella realized that they didn't leave the drama in Paris behind. There was a very important scent vile that was essential to the success of the Peace conference and it had wound up in her mother's position. Now an international criminal was after it and them! Stella has figure out where the vile is, protect her mother, deduce who the terrorist is impersonating and not get killed, all while preparing for her 30th birthday.

I found the mystery faced pace and exciting, but it was quite over the top even for a cozy! Secret agents, explosions, many fights to the death, even a sky diving chase, wow. There's a lot happening in Nantucket.

One of my favorite series. Stella and her mom meet in Paris and were going to a fragrance conference and someone is found dead. Stella and her mom millie return to Nantucket and soon realize the person who caused the murder is after them now. To hear more read the book

This is a great book. I was hooked from the very beginning. It's a rollercoaster ride, from Paris to Nantucket a spy follows the main characters looking for a formula of scents. Anything and everything happens. You'll love it. #MurderMakesScents #NetGalley

Murder Makes Scents is the second in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series by Christin Brecher.

Stella and her Mom, Millie, are attending a perfumer’s conference in Paris (PARIS!) when they see a man killed just as Millie is walking in to give a presentation. Upon their return home after a (mostly) good trip to France, hijinks ensue and Stella starts digging in to how a murder in Paris can be related to some of the goings-on back home in Nantucket all the while making sure her mom is ok after getting a concussion. The story is super fun and I love the characters. Sure, this time around, there were parts of it that were a tad far-fetched, but it didn’t matter because I couldn’t stop reading! I had to know if the person I thought did it actually did and, well – no. I was wrong. Best part of a whodunnit is not actually knowing whodunnit until the very end.

A delightful story from one of my new favorite authors. I can’t wait for the next in this series!

I enjoyed this book. It's the 2nd book in the series and it's well developed, with interesting characters. At times I found myself shaking my head, some situations were hard to believe. But all in all, I was entertained by the book and that's what's important to me.

The first book in this series was fantastic, but this one grabbed my attention and did not let go during this fast paced ride filled with twist and turns delving into the world of perfume making. Looking forward to more in this series.

I realize that we do not read cozy mysteries for a realistic read. Murder Makes Scents, however, was just a little TOO over-the-top for me. The mixture of an incredibly dramatic international espionage quest and a main character whose actions, reactions, and emotions just don't feel very authentic didn't really resonate with me. I did find the scent-related information fascinating and well-placed in the story. The author doesn't go on and on and bore the reader with it. And the scene-by-scene writing is fine. It's just not a style of storytelling that engages me.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had to think about this for a while before I wrote the review. The plot started off as fairly routine and then took what I considered to be a fantastical twist, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Having had a few days to think about it, I actually enjoyed reading the book. You do have to suspend belief a little at some of the main character's movements. but it is fiction and it was a fun read, and in the end, isn't that what matters? Looking forward to the next book!

This is an extremely entertaining story filled with spies, secret formulas, good friends and family as well as a beautiful Nantucket setting. When Stella leaves her candle shop to visit her mother in Paris she has no idea she will be involved in international espionage, but that is exactly what happens. And when that follows her back to Nantucket and leads to a confrontation with spies after a stolen formula it is Stella to the rescue! I loved this book and can't wait to see what Stella gets up to next.

Stella and her mom Millie are in Paris when Stella witnesses someone stabbed. After they get home, there's definitely something not right with incidents happening to/around them.

Absolutely fantastic cozy mystery! I loved that I didn't guess the whodunit and I thought the setting and characters of the book were nuanced and there were lovely relationships and interactions between the characters.

I'll be waiting not to patiently for the next book!

In this second installment, Stella and her Mother, Millie, attend a perfume conference in Paris. When a man dies from a stab wound in front of Stella, she thought going home would put the murder behind her. Stella could not have been more wrong and she is doing her best to keep her Mother alive and find a mysterious vial that contains an international secret tied to an upcoming peace summit. Stella needs to keep her cards close to her vest and not bring in any of her friends if she hopes to keep Millie alive.

While I enjoyed the first entry in this series, the second one was even better! Fast paced, full of red herrings, and a well written whodunit. Looking forward to the next installment in this series in September 2020.

After a harrowing trip abroad, Stella and her mother, Millie, are home from a Parisian perfume conference. Stella is unable to relax because her candle store, Wick & flame is broken into. Has bad luck, or something worse, followed her back from Paris? When her mother gets a note claiming she stole a secret perfume recipe from Paris and that she will pay with her life, Stella is terrified. Who knew that the world of perfume was so dangerous?