This is the 3rd installment in the Nantucket Candle Maker mystery. Stella Wright makes candles and owns her own shop on Nantucket. Recently as she was involved in a mystery, she made friends with John Pierre and his wife from Canada. He inherited the Morton house which is rumored to be haunted. To help the local girl scouts she calls him to ask if they can use the house as a haunted house for a fundraiser. As the girl scouts are getting the house ready, Stella goes out back where there is an old building that had been boarded up but is now open. When Stella goes in there is a sign on the mantle that says Coopers Candle and she calls John if she can remove it and take it and of course he gives his ok. In the process of her removing the sign, she uncovers the skeletal remains of a Quaker woman with blood-soaked clothing. Stella does not wait for the historians and begins investigating and soon discovers a mystery regarding missing funds and another woman who jumped to her death. Two anthropologists arrive to investigate the remains and they go to the well where the other woman supposedly died. A film maker arrives and, on that morning, they do discover the remains of another woman but during this one of the anthropologists is killed and now there is a murderer as well as a historical mystery to be solved. I enjoyed this story and admire Stella’s tenacity to find the truth in both murders. The story moves at a good pace and keeps you engaged. I am wondering about Stella and Peter’s relationship and I keep thinking Andy might be an option. This is a good series and highly recommend.

A really good addition to the series. The mystery kept me guessing and the characters are interesting. I was very sorry to reach the end of this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stella Wright owns a candle shop in Nantucket. It's close to Halloween, and she's helping the girl scouts make a scary home for a fundraiser. The home is owned by a friend of Stella's who lives in Canada, and he has generously given them permission to do so. While looking at a building out back of the house known as the shack, which were typically used for curing meats and such, she discovers that it's the old shop of a candlemaker centuries ago. But while exploring, she discovers that there's a skeleton buried in the hearth, and she calls her policeman friend Andy to inform him.

When two anthropologists arrive to inspect the skeleton, it also brings others -- an annoying historian named Bellows who thinks he should be involved, and a documentary filmmaker who wants to televise the find and turn it into a sensation. While the head anthropologist, Robert Solder, isn't interested, his assistant Leigh is. But then Stella finds there's more to the story from an old diary of another woman, and this one leads to another skeleton being found...which also leads to murder. Now Stella has to wonder who killed the person, why a major clue is missing and who has it, and if she can figure out the murder before the police do...

What follows is an intriguing story that puts a mystery within a mystery. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely devour tales like this; I love old historical mysteries within new ones, and this one made me glad that I've kept reading the series. When Stella finds an old skeleton, she has no idea what she's discovered, nor what it will eventually lead to.

The people involved are those we've seen on the sidelines of the series so far - Clemmie, the coffee shop owner, and Agnes, who works in the library; we also get to see more interaction with Stella's cousins, and I find Ted and Docker a hoot every time. They're just good ol' boys who happen to live in Nantucket and have an Eastern accent instead of a Southern one.

When the skeleton turns out to be related to one of the locals, Stella is even more intrigued, and now that she's involved in finding out who is a killer, she also wants to know more about the history of the dead person. It's a lively tale of ghosts, history, loss, murder, lies, and eventually, the truth.

When the murderer is discovered, it wasn't really a surprise, but there were enough red herrings throughout that makes you have to sift through them carefully to find the truth, and it shows how far someone will go to get what they want. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and wish I could read the next one right now. Highly recommended.

A festive setting, a skeleton, sets the tone for this latest mystery in the series. Written in a way that leaves the reader guessing but still engaged with warm well developed characters, this is a book you will not be able to put down.

While setting up a Girl Scouts haunted house, Stella stumbles across an old skeleton entombed in the chimney of an old chandlery behind the house. Soon, police discover the bones are very old and call in an expert named Solder and his assistant Leigh to determine the age and origin of the remains. It comes to light that the victim is one Patience Cooper, who, as legend has it, was robbed of a collection of money raised to invest in merchant ships and then disappeared.

While researching the unfortunate victim in the chimney, another related case comes up of a friend of Patience who killed herself by jumping down a well, An expedition is formed to descend into the well, where another skeleton is found, clutching a map indicating the location of a treasure. When a tree suddenly falls over, trapping Leigh in its branches, Solder is found dead, strangled and bludgeoned. Can Stella untangle the threads of an old mystery while finding a modern day killer?

I found this on Netgalley and although this is the third book in the series, it’s my first entry and you can bet I’ll be reading the first two ASAP. I can safely say this can be read as a standalone or as an entry into the series, as it doesn’t seem like many details from previous books are present, or if they are, are adequately explained.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere of the book from the first page! Great, engaging characters, a romantic setting at seaside Nantucket and an intriguing mystery spanning generations. What more could anyone ask for? I totally admit I had no idea whatsoever whodunit, the culprit was neatly hidden very well until the dramatic reveal at the end.

I did feel that the historical mystery wasn’t tied up as well as the modern mystery, as what happened to the “treasure” and what was found at the location really wasn’t explained or even brought up again. That would be my one gripe. Where is my happily ever after for Patience’s treasure?

Overall, this was one excellent read and you can bet it’ll be on my list of ones to follow eagerly for each new installment.

When Stella discovers a body of an 18 century woman who was thought to have escaped the island with stolen money it opens the town's old wounds. If she was murdered then what happened to the money and who did her husband escape the island with? And what does the map of treasure found with the body of her best friend in an old well really mean? Then the archeologist who came down to examine the body winds up murdered and Stella has to figure out who the murderer is as well as solve the 200 year old murder.
Great mystery with an unexpected history lesson in it.

Love this series. It's Halloween time. Stella stumbles across a mystery. While she investigates what happened 100 years ago. There is a murder in town. Stella trys to figure out of both are connected. To hear more read the book

#15 Minutes of Flame. Stella Wright’s Nantucket candle store is thriving, her relationship is on a firm footing and her friendships are tight. When she agrees to help the girl scouts host a haunted house to benefit the needy she finds an old candle shop in a back building as well as a decades old body. It is believed that the body is one of the candilers ( a group of seniors who attend all of Settla's workshops), ancestors who was accused of stealing money that her and her local businesswomen had intended for investing. The body quickly leads to another decades body down the well of the local crabby old man. THe two dead women had been fast friends.

When the archeologists that were brought in to date and preserve the bodies and burial sites dies shortly after his team finds a treasure map Stella has four mysteries no her hands. The list of suspects add up quickly including a disgruntled local historian, a paranormal investigator/documentarian, the family members form both Puritan women as well as the girlfriend/colleague of the dead man.

Stella has her plate full with the running her business, crafting her candles, helping the girl scouts, managing her relationships and solving the mysteries. Lets not forget finding the treasure at the X marked spot. It was a face paced interesting story filled with facts about candle making thru out history and the early Puritan colonist. I would recommend this book . I for one plan on checking out the previous offerings in this series.

Third in the series, candlemaker Stella finds a century-old corpse while helping the Girl Scouts create a Halloween fundraiser. One corpse leads to two and the hunt is on to solve this long ago mystery.

This is the third book in Christin Brecher’s Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series and the second I've read.
Candle shop owner and craftsmen Stella Wright stumbles upon a skeleton hidden in the wall on her friend's property that she is setting up for a Halloween haunted house. Wanting to find out more about the century old woman she discovered Stella begins to investigate and finds an ancient mystery involving robbery, murder, love affairs and maybe even a treasure. When one of the people called in to investigate the mystery also ends up dead things get even more dangerous for Stella and her friends.

I enjoyed the book, it was so descriptive about the Nantucket setting and you could really imagine the town. I also loved all the history about the area and how women played a role in the development of the town. Even though I liked book two of the series more, I recommend 15 minutes of flame to any cozy lover.

Stella Wright's candle shop in Nantucket is a dream come true for her. She's deeply involved in the community, and getting ready for a Girl Scout fundraiser for Hallowe'en. She's setting up a historic building for a haunted house experience -- with hand-crocheted cobwebs and spooky candles -- when she encounters a skeleton.

The skeleton turns out to be a historic one, more than 100 years old, so historians and archaeologists join in and we get an interesting glimpse of old Nantucket. But the historical research quickly turns into sleuthing when a much more recent corpse appears at one of the archaeology sites.

Both the historical story and the modern one turn on complicated relationships. I like the feminist vibe, too, and the strong friendships among diverse characters. There's a bit of romance and Stella is brave and likable.

The story is well written, with flashes of humor and lots of intriguing details about the people. I have not read the earlier books in the series, but now I want to -- and I will look forward to seeing the characters develop in the future.

This was a new to me author, but I will definitely be reading more. I really enjoyed this mystery, I didn't guess the culprit and I enjoyed the cute little town and its characters.

Set in Nantucket, a body is found behind the walls of the old candlemaker's shop. Why was this Quaker woman left there? Is there any connection of her murder to the old tales around town about bodies in wells and stolen monies? Who really wants to figure it all out and why?

Nantucket, Halloween, a haunted house and the past are all wrapped up in this paranormal mystery. I love this series and characters and find my self getting lost in the stories so far.

Candlemaker Stella Wright gets roped into helping the local Girl Scouts with a haunted house at a creaking abandoned home in Nantucket. Little does she know she will encounter a skeleton As she is researching the house, she discovers the dead woman was a involved in an 18th century love triangle, including stolen money, a nefarious husband and a missing treasure map. When someone else is killed, Stella believes the missing map may hold the truth. Her search for the truth is made more difficult by the ever-changing stories of the suspects. The Nantucket setting is charming and Stella is a likeable character.

Unfortunately, 15 Minutes of Flame was not my favorite in the series (although a great title!). I do love the Nantucket atmosphere and Stella's candle shop as well as any snippets of candle tidbits we got. Christin Brecher uses descriptions that make you feel as though you are there. It was really disappointing that the story wasn't more centered with the candle shop and actual candle making. There was a little bit of relationship with Peter and I'm hoping for more in future books.

The mystery was ok but had a lot going on that didn't really feel like it tied to the storyline to me. There were a couple instances that were not quite believable and Stella blatantly trespassing on someone's land and then pounding on that person's door demanding they open to answer her questions didn't sit right with me.

I love the beautiful fall book cover, it is gorgeous. I still look forward to any future adventures of Stella and her gang. I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a voluntary review. All opinions are my own.

In the 3rd installment in Christin Brecher’s Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series, 15 Minutes of Flame, Nantucket Candleer Stella Wright is once again in the thick of an active murder investigation.

In the back of an old Nantucket home where the Nantucket Girl Scouts are preparing to host a Halloween Fundraiser, Stella Wright decides to explore the shack in hopes of being able to use it as a prop during the festivities. While looking for a scene to house a fictious haunt, Stella finds a real one when she stumbles upon a 100+ year old skeleton. Determined to understand what happened, Stella immediately sets off on to try and uncover his / her story. As Stella gets deeper into her research, she finds out that there might just be more to this story than what it appears on the surface. So deep that someone is willing to commit murder to keep it safe.

Stella is a highly likable character whose curiosity resonates with the reader. The book follows her thought process as we travel with her to various research locations, her store, meet ups with friends, and interviews with potential suspects. By the end, I felt like I was familiar with Nantucket culture, in both current and historical time, even though I’ve never been there!

The book had just the right amount of twists and I’m happy to say I didn’t see the outcome until we were there! I appreciated learning a bit about Quaker culture, something I had no knowledge of previously. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will definitely be going back to read the first two installments of the series.

Overall, I would rate 15 Minutes of Flame 4.5 out of 5 stars and would recommend to any fans of cozy mysteries. The perfect light read!

Stella is a curious, intelligent and fun character that owns Wick & Flame on Nantucket Island. Helping organize the Halloween Haunt she comes across a Skelton which leads to another from the eighteen hundreds. Then the historian sorting through is killed. Stella is on the case to find the murderer. I really enjoyed the town, characters and mystery.

The book was a pretty quick read and it was good, but somehow I just couldn’t really get into it. Brenda annoyed me and, maybe because I didn’t start from the beginning of the series, I felt like we just got characters and no real info on them.

I wanted to like this book more than I really did. I read the first book in this series a while back and vaguely recall enjoying the setting and the quaint store. This book hardly had anything to do about the shop, and there was just so much going on that the basics got lost.

The story involves an historical mystery, a TV producer, Girl Scouts, a haunted house, anthropologists, and more. It had too much going on and none of the secondary characters were particularly likeable. There was a curmudgeon-y old man, the wacky lady who thought she talked to spirits, the smarmy TV guy, two sort of boring scholars, etc. I wasn't rooting for anyone because I didn't care for anyone much. I hope this series get back to the candle shop and has more to do with the art/skill required.

2.5 stars