This is a mystery, and this is the second book in the Motts Cold Case Mystery series. I have read and review the first book in this series. I have to say I liked that the main character as Autism. I liked the characters in this book. I like the mystery parts of this book. I love that their is a hairless cat in this book named Cactus. I found this series different for any other cozy mystery/mystery series I have read before. I did feel some parts of this book moved a little bit to slow, and there was parts moving to fast. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Tangled Tree Publishing) or author (Dahlia Donovan) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Sorry for the late review :(
I loved the first instalment in this series and think this one is even better.
Mott, a highly functional autistic, is an unusual character for a cozy mystery setting but she's likeable and clever.
The author delivers another well plotted story, full of twists and turns, that kept me guessing.
Good character development, lovely setting and solid mystery.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is the second book in this series and it is even better then the first. This series has great characters and is set in a wonderful location. I cannot wait for the next book.

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is an interesting and unusual premise to have your heroine challenged by autism in a cozy mystery. Motts is a highly functioning autistic who is in equal parts stymied and fascinated by the non-autistic world. Her self awareness is amazing as are her coping strategies. Thankfully she is at the other end of the country from her cloying mother who seems determined to turn her “damaged” daughter into the daughter to which she aspires.

In the small Cornwall village, in her little cottage, she is surrounded by friends and family who understand her limitations and support her without smothering her but continually feed her. With her cat, Cactus and her turtle, she has created a safe haven. Or is it? Twice she has found bodies, once in her garden and once at sea. She seems to be a murder magnet but in her unedited version of the truth, she has a knack for uncovering the nefarious villains who commit these deeds. She could, very easily, have been dismissed by the local constabulary. Instead, she has developed close personal relationships with them- or at least as personal as she can muster.

This time a grandmother who has been missing for three years washes up on shore, looking for all intents, as if she had only gone in the water a short time ago. It is a baffling conundrum. She is coaxed by her friends and her own curiosity into finding out the story behind the story. She manages to get into some scary situations- often by her own lack of caution as she seeks to unravel some dastardly dealings of the victim’s family.

Hers is a fresh and sympathetic face. Like, her friends, the reader cannot help but be drawn to her. Five purrs and two paws up.

Pierced Peony is the second book in a cozy murder mystery series by Dahlia Donovan. Released 1st May 2021, it's 199 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. It makes it so easy to find info with the search function.

Although it's the second book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone. The author is adept at providing the necessary backstory without info-dumping. The plot moves along at a good pace and the scenery and interaction between the characters are engaging and well written. The characters are -all- quite quirky, several (including the main protagonist) are neurodivergent. That's not a bad thing, but it is noticeable and permeates the whole of the story. One of the things with which main character Mott struggles is serious anxiety. Some of the descriptions of her anxiety episodes are quite heartrending and might potentially be triggering to some readers. I liked that she and her friends help and support one another no matter what.

Mott's friends and her pets (one sphinx cat, one turtle) along with Mott herself solve the mystery - which is a good thing, given the utterly useless official investigation. For readers outside of the British Isles, the spelling and vernacular are British English (tyre, flat, crisps), but should pose no difficulty for readers.

I did enjoy this installment enough to compel me to go seek out the first book in the series. It's also nice to see neurodiversity and representation in media.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Pierced Peony is the second instalment in the Motts Cold Case Mysteries.

On the first trek out of the coastal path that runs along her cottage Motts spots a body in the sea. The body belongs to a woman that has been missing for three years. Motts find this hard to believe because the woman looked like she had been dead only a few days.

Motts soon learns that the woman’s family own a cold storage and that most of her family members didn’t like her much (it seemed to have been a mutual thing). You’d think that this would be enough for the police to detain one or several members of said family for questioning.

It appears that the police took the family’s word for it that they didn’t do it and didn’t know what had happened. Ugh, what is the police to do if they can’t even take people’s word at face value?

Meanwhile, accidents happen to Motts when there’s an O’Connell around. More evidence, you’d say? Again, after denial and stating ignorance, no further questions are asked.

This prompts Motts to investigate herself. And there is always a friend or family member around to accompany her (or coax her, if the case may be).

Don’t read this story for the mystery. The only mystifying thing is why the police didn’t solve this case in a day or two. Read because you want to get into the inner workings of an autistic mind.

I really like Motts and her uber-supportive friends and family (except her mom, of course). It's great to read a mystery with a neurodiverse main character and see some representation. I feel like it's not only great for diversity and for interesting characterization, but that it's even giving me a better understanding of real life people who shut down when overloaded. I did think Motts, despite everything, would have been a bit more heartbroken over the personal events at the end. I guess I misjudged her emotional connection.

Anyway, the plotting was good, and the adventure was one I was delighted to go on with Motts and her motley crew. The resolution wasn't unexpected, but the process of figuring it out was the point.

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

This is the 2nd book in the cozy mystery series (Mott's Cold Case Mysteries). This book can be read as a stand alone. Thank you to the author and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own. I love the setting of the picturesque Cornish Coast in this book. The author brings the coast to life and the small charming village . I applaud the author for featuring a protagonist that is Autistic . Very well done to the author. We need more authors in cozy series to feature disabled Protagonist . One glaring factor in cozies is that disabled people are discriminated against by never being featured. That needs to change and this author has created a series that is forward thinking in the right direction. It is a refreshing protagnist and one I look forward to reading about in more of this series. I also loved that the author has this protagnist as a independent woman on her own not chasing a man or marriage . Very well done to the author !

Our protagnist Motts is a autistic woman, lives with her Sphinx cat Cactus and turtle Moss in a cottage on the Cornish coast. She lives a happy life and loves her cottage, her village and her friends. When she is out on her daily walk she sees a body floating. The victim is a older woman who was missing years before. Mott feels for the victim and wants to solve her mysterious disappearance and murder. She joins with her friends and local police to piece together a myriad of clues .

I found the sleuth very well crafted . The suspense was enjoyable and kept me guessing to conclusion. I loved all the charcters and especially Mott. She is kind, compassionate and fiercely independent. I look forward to further books in this series. Review cross posted.

Pierced Peony
By Dahlia Donovan
Tangled Tree Publishing, 1 May 2021

From the publisher:

On a casual walk along the Cornish Coast, Pineapple “Motts” Mottley stumbles upon a body and a perilous new murder case in the second novel in the Motts Cold Case Mystery series.

As spring rolls into summer, Motts settles into her cottage. She’s enjoying a daily stroll when a body in the sea destroys her peace and quiet. It brings yet another mystery for her to solve.

How does a woman who vanished from Polperro three years prior wind up battered by waves? Motts is drawn into the investigation despite her best attempts. She finds a family in turmoil and loads of suspects. With no easy answers, she tumbles further into chaos and ever closer to danger.

Can Motts find the killer before she’s the one put on ice?

Will she survive a bone-chilling brush with death?

My thoughts:

Motts has a habit of finding bodies. Dead bodies. This time it is an elderly woman who has been missing for three years who Motts suddenly finds floating in the ocean. Of course, despite her anxiety and the danger, she can’t help but try to solve the mystery.

Just a few pages in I knew I would enjoy this book and want to read the first book in the series, Poisoned Primrose. It would have been helpful to have read the first book before reading this one, but it is not absolutely necessary. The author included enough recap from the first book that I able to jump right in and enjoy this one.

The protagonist, Motts, is autistic, intelligent, creative, and loves gardening. She also loves food. One of the things I loved about this book was the constant eating! So many pastries! She also loves her cottage and her pets, a hairless cat and a turtle. It doesn’t get much cozier than that.

The story has an interesting and diverse cast of characters that I hope to meet again in a third installment. This is a well-written, funny, and cozy, mystery full of food, flowers, and friends. I highly recommend this book and the series.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Tangled Tree Publishing, in return for an honest review. While the second book in this series, it can be read as a stand-alone. I LOVE this series! Pineapple “Motts’ Mottley describes herself as an ‘asexual autistic woman’. Living in the Cornish cottage she inherited with her cat, Cactus, and her turtle, Moss, Motts has friends in the village and, luckily, parents that live in London, not Cornwall!
Motts walks along the beach seawall and realizes there’s a body floating there. But the missing person disappeared three years earlier! Because of how Motts’ mind works, she starts unravelling the mysteries surrounding the death and figuring out suspects. Aided by her cousin, her best friends, and her sort-of boyfriend, Motts is determined to solve the murder in her village.
This is such a wonderful and unique protagonist. Motts shows how a functionally autistic person acts, reacts, feels, decides; in other words, how they live life. Her friends and her family are deftly written and aid in building the story’s narrative. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series!

A lot different than I thought it would be. I didn’t read the blurb, just a cover/mini description motivator to review this one. A lot of “diversity” flavors added to this book as well as an interesting storyline, although my best way to sum it up is — not what I expected, but a good read nonetheless. My favorite is the cat 😂

Motts the main character has Autism and is a joy. Motts was trying to enjoy her daily walk when she discovers a body washed up. She can’t help it she needs answers.
It’s a great addition to the cozy mystery genre!
#PiercedPeony #NetGalley

Poor Motts, she finally faces her fears after almost being knocked off the cliff into the ocean and on her first stroll along the path she finds a body in the water. It turns out it was an older woman who disappeared more than three years before, yet her body looks like she just died last week. Motts is starting to think she attracts dead bodies.

While telling herself to let it go, Motts can’t help being nosy and trying to figure out who killed the older woman. She was an invalid and couldn’t go out, so where has she been all this time? That’s what Motts and her friends intend to figure out, all while hoping Motts is safe from the killer. After all, Motts wants to find the killer, not become the next victim.

I really adore this series. Motts shows us how functionally autistic people live their lives and helps to show how sounds, noise, crowds, etc impact their daily life. Having an autistic nephew, I love seeing the positive sides portrayed rather than the negative or only those who cannot function. Kudos for one of the best protagonists today. I’ll be keeping na eye out for Pickled Petunia to come out!

Motts, a self described asexual autistic woman, lives with her Sphynx cat Cactus and turtle Moss, in a cottage on the Cornish coast. (My mental image of this area is from the Doc Martin series, which was filmed on the Cornish coast.) Walking on the beach one day, she sees a body float by; it turns out to be an old woman who went missing three years ago. With the help of her friends in the small town and several kind police officers, Motts is determined to learn more. This is part of a series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone. I really like this unique and appealing protagonist, with her unusual career as a paper crafter. The town residents are varied (gay, straight, autistic, non-white) and everyone gets along--sounds very much like a place I'd like to live. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.