Daryl Wood Gerber’s Fairy Garden Mysteries are a uniquely whimsical and engaging read. Courtney Kelly, owner of the fairy gardening shop Open Your Imagination, literally keeps company with her fairy, Fiona, and her Ragdoll cat, Pixie.

In this third installment of the trio’s adventures, a local trust fund socialite engages Courtney to throw a birthday party for a sorority sister with all trimmings of the fairy garden parties she often puts on for children. One of the sorority sisters flying in for the festivities is famous actress Farrah Lawson. The day before the party, police find Farrah’s body and later determine it is murder.

Courtney begins investigating, and Fiona taps into her network of local fairies, both chasing clues. Ms. Gerber’s storytelling skills enchant as she shares the interaction between fairies and humans living in Carmel. A Hint of Mischief bewitches readers with just a hint of magic.

Such a fun series! Even though I’m fairly sure there aren’t fairies running around it’s fun to imagine them in this series. Fiona, a fairy on probation, helps the main character in her fairy garden and tea shop. One of the invited guests to a garden fairy themed lawn party ends up dead. Courtney feels she must investigate because she believes the first person of interest cannot possibly have done it. As she investigates and eliminates one suspect after another she finds the real culprit has a motive to kill her. I love not being able to figure out the killer until nearly the end of the book. That makes for a good book,I believe. I recommend this book to anyone who likes cozy mysteries and is open to the idea of fairies. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

This books is just a delight to read with all of the fairies in it. I love how they are able to help humans with their problems. Maybe they are our inspiration. Fiona is learning and gets herself into some difficult situations. Courtney is fortunate to be able to see fairies and all of beautiful magic involved. As perfect as her world would seem with all of the fairies around she some how ends up in trouble trying to help out her friends. The story keeps you on the edge of your chair as you try to figure out everything. How can so much go on at one time? It is just like real life when a person gets overwhelmed. I love finding out things about fairies and making fairy gardens. There is more than one mystery to solve. I also have new recipes to try out.

I loved every second of this book! What a marvelous ride. I thought Courtney was a tad pushy with Summers but the story was so charming I didn't really mind. Non-Stop action and such fun lore about fairies. I'm headed out to the garden center right now!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced read.

Courtney Kelly deals in fairy lore – gardens, books, parties – and when she’s asked to organize an adult fairy garden birthday party, she’s up for the challenge. She pulls in help from her many friends, both human and fairy. When a special guest at the party, movie star Farrah Lawson, is killed, Courtney must call on these same people and fairies to help solve the murder.

If any place in the US would be home to fairies, Carmel would be that place. If you’ve ever been there, it’s easy to imagine fairies flitting around and fairy doors appearing magically around the village. If you haven’t been there, the author’s descriptions of the shops, courtyards, and homes make it easy to “see” the locations. This is the third book in the Fairy Garden Mystery series. While it can be read as a stand-alone, it is much more enjoyable if you've read the first two to meet the friends and fairies and get a feel for the community. The friendships are growing, fairies are developing and romance, while not the focus of the story, blooms. Based on the last chapter, there’s going to be a fourth book in the series and I look forward to it.

I received a copy of this delightful book from NetGalley. The opinion is my own.

Love love this series and author. One of my favorite authors. I'm hoping this series will continue. If you haven't read her books yet I highly recommend it. She also wrote under Avery aames.

A hint of Mischief is the third book in Daryl Wood Gerber's Fairy Garden Mysteries. Though it can be read as a standalone, the reader will get a better feel for the characters and setting if read in order. That said, this is a sweet, whimsical tale of magic, fairies, and murder.
Courtney Kelly is the owner of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-By-The-Sea. She often finds herself embroiled in a mystery, and when Misty throws a fairy themed birthday bash for her bestie, Odine, tensions rise among the party guests. The unthinkable occurs; then, Courtney is called on to help solve a murder. This mystery was not as intricate as in previous books, but it was good.
The fairy aspect of the book is what I enjoy---such a fun and unique premise for a light paranormal cozy mystery. I love the tidbits at the top of each chapter as much as the tips for creating a magical fairy garden of your own. I look forward to more in this series!
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for granting my request for an ARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.
#AHintofMischief #NetGalley #KensingtonBooks

This is the third book in this whimsical series. Courtney Kelly is the owner of a fairy-gardening and tea shop in Carmel, California. Courtney is asked to throw her first adult fairy themed birthday party for a group of old collage friends. There is a lot of tension and rivalry between the women. One of the women, a famous actress, is murdered before the party even takes place. Courtney and her fairy Fiona investigate. Lots of suspects and red herrings. This is a sweet cozy mystery and a quick read. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy!

I loved this enchanting book. If you don't believe in fairies you will by the end, at least you will want to. I guessing till the end who the killer could be. So many people had reason to end the life of the mean, self important actress.
I was surprised by the person putting up the fairy doors as well...they never let on. It wasn't the person I wanted it to be, but I was very pleased with outcome. Can't to go back and read the other books in this series.

A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber (Fairy Garden Mystery #3 ) 4 stars

Courtney Kelly, the owner of Open Your Imagination, a fairy-gardening tea shop in Carmel is hired to throw a fairy garden party for Misty Dawn. Ms. Dawn is throwing a party to celebrate the birthday of one of her college friends. The preparations are extensive and Misty has instructed Courtney to make it fun and memorable. But not all is harmonious between friends and when Farrah Lawson, a famous actress is found dead in her guest cottage, the eye of the law falls on Twyla Waterman. There was an argument between Twyla and Farrah about a spa service gone wrong. Twyla’s mom Tish asks Courtney to put her sleuthing hat on to keep her daughter Twyla from landing in jail.

This was a fast read. This series is enjoyable not only because of the well crafted mystery; it is the cast of characters and their interactions that are the main attraction. Humans, fairies and cute animals all contribute to a place that you want to visit again and again. I eagerly look forward to the next mystery in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

An interesting main character running a very different kind of business. A Fairy as a helpful sidekick. A murder to be solved.
Third in the series! This series just gets better and better! It can be read as a stand alone but I suggest you read the first two also. Let your inner child come out and play with Tinkerbell! Really good stories.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this are my own.

The third in the Fairy Garden mystery series, A Hint of Mischief was another great read. I’ve been enjoying the development of not only the human characters, but our resident fairies as well! (And I definitely hope to hear more about the Fairy Queen now!) Enough suspicion was placed on multiple people that it kept me guessing, so I enjoyed this case. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

Alarm bells tend to ring for me when the author feels the need to list the full cast of 37 characters plus a range of magical creatures before the reader opens Chapter One.
If you believe in fairies, then you will adore this very sweet mystery set in a fantast Carmel-by-the-Sea, where there are huge number of top-end expensive village shops for what seem to be very wealthy local customers and bussed-in tourists.
Using the fairies to provide vital evidence in the murder investigation works well, but the text is dense and new characters are introduced without to assimilate their relationships to the other huge cast before moving on.
Overall a very usual and different murder mystery.

Leave your adult skepticism behind and read this with the mind-set of the child who clapped furiously for Tinker Bell's recovery in the movies. There are fairies and magic within and that's okay. Courtney Kelly can see and talk to the fairies and is usually accompanied by Fiona the fairy. Fiona is a fledgling fairy, so to speak, still earning her adult wings, but she's loving, attentive, and caring. You know, the sort of fairy we'd all love to have out backs. A fairy may not be able to make things happen but they can calm and suggest, I guess you could say, and that proves helpful as Courtney tries to solve the mystery of actress Farrah Lawson.

The whimsy of Courtney's fairy inhabited world is shattered with Farrah's murder. Who did it? Why? Was it a jealous boyfriend? The husband of one of her friend's that she once had an affair with? And, what's with the fairy doors that keep appearing in the neighborhood. They're darling and imaginative, but who is creating them? It definitely isn't the fairies. Then there are the thefts? Is their any particular significance to the items that are taken? Are they connected to the murder? What is Courtney's former fiance's role? Will Courtney and Brad ever get serious? What about Courtney's father? Will Courtney's tendency to be, well, snoopy get her in trouble? Of course, it will. This is a cozy mystery, after all, even if Fiona is hovering about.

Despite the slow, to me, start and that Courtney was able to rely on her fairy's magic too frequently for my liking, I found this a fun, whimsical read. Leave your adult cares behind and open a fairy garden door and see how this tale of fairies, fairy rules and stipulations, human greed and betrayal, and human weaknesses all come into play.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for the invite into the fairy garden and mystery. Now I want to see a fairy garden,

A Hint of Mischief is the third book in this series and is a pure delight to read.
Courtney is all about fairies and she is always looking for more ways to generate business for her shop.
When Courtney is asked to do an adult fairy party, she's not sure if it will be a huge success, but she's willing to try.
One of the guests is found dead, murdered actually, and Courtney can't help but get involved.
I enjoyed this story and I loved reading about all the different fairy gardens.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book. I will he happy to recommend this series to other readers.
#AHintofMischief #NetGalley

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This is the third book in the Fairy Garden Mystery series, as I read the first two books and enjoyed them I requested this one as well. Like most cozies this one has a mix of the more daily life/ work plot lines as well as a mystery. In the case of this book I really enjoyed the daily life and work plot lines, but the mystery one less so unfortunately.

I love the original theme of this series. It's so fun to read about Courtney's business surrounding fairy gardens. Then there are the actual fairies as well. It makes for a fun and unique theme. I enjoy reading about the store and Courtney's love for fairy gardens. In this book she has to organize a fairy themed party that I enjoyed reading about. Although with all the build up for the party, I thought the actual party didn't have as much impact as I had expected. There is more we see of Fiona as well as some other fairies. There's a small side plot line surrounding fairy doors that someone is creating and Courtney tries to spot them all and figure out who's creating them.

Then on the mystery side there is one of the people who got invited for the party who gets murdered. Courtney being involved in the party planning and knowing all the suspects gets involved. Someone she knows is a suspect and Courtney wants to help her. There's also a mystery with a thief and a missing manuscript. For some reason the mystery didn't grip me. I checked and it seems I had the same problem with the second book apparently. I just wasn't as invested in who had done it.

I felt the book and especially the mystery was a bit slow at times, there wasn't as much progress especially around the middle part of the book. Then all the red herrings and suspects and motives all get resolved in the last part of the book. When I took some time to think through the suspects I was able to guess the murderer right and strangely enough the logic I used for my reasoning wasn't one the main character used. I thought the clue the main character used to figure out who had done it wasn't as clear as a clue. I was a bit bothered by how Courtney basically accused everyone of murder until she finally confronted the right person. It just felt kinda rude how she accuses everyone. I also thought it felt a bit too easy how half of the time the fairies where the reason a suspect talked.

I liked reading about Courtney herself and her interactions with her friends and her Fairy Fiona. The romance with Brady also continues a bit. There is a small bit with her ex being back in town, but I wasn't quite sure what the point of that was. There was little drama luckily, but even so I felt it didn't really add to the book.

To summarize: This series has a fun and unique theme about fairy gardens and fairies. I enjoy reading about it and Courtney's daily life and work. Unfortunately the mystery didn't really grip me. It felt slow in places and I wasn't as invested. I managed to guess the murderer right. It felt a bit off to me how the main character figured out the murderer. I thought it was kinda rude how she accused almost every suspect at the end of the book before resolving why they weren't the murderer. I also felt that there were some plot lines with the thief, the missing manuscript and the ex back in town that didn't add as much to the story. So this was a bit of a mixed one for me, the daily life, work and fairies plots are fun to me, but the mystery didn't fully grip me.

Third in the series! This series just gets better and better! Lots of imagination leads to a fun quirky read. The characters are awesome and unique. You definitely will want a Fiona of your own! Couldn't put it down! Thanks #netgalley and #Keningston for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery #3) by Daryl Wood Gerber is so good!! I loved it!! I literally couldn’t put it down until I got to the very end! I love books with whimsical touches to them and this one hit the spot. Not only did it have a great story line but it came at us with a murder, a little danger, a love interest, friendship, and Fairies! While you can read as a stand-alone I highly recommend the other 2 books in the series as well.

Another fun, fairy, cozy mystery. This is the third book in the series, and as with the others, it is light and enjoyable. Recommend the series to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery with a little fairy dust sprinkled in.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

dnf

sorry, I tried but the whole pixie fairy thing was not working for me. I started the book, put it down and picked it back up but just could not get into the "tinkerbell" as sleuth. I really do not like leaving negative reviews or worse, giving up on a book. My review has nothing to do with the book neither with the author. I just could not get into it. I do read sci fi, YA, mysteries/thrillers/non fiction etc etc etc....

feel bad for not finishing.