This book is perfect for a lifestyle site I'll be writing for when it launches in 2024. Mature characters who feel authentic, with a storyline and mystery that are plausible and enjoyable. This series is perfect.

School spelling bee can lead to murder. A 12 yr old stand out gets threatening notes. Sandra and Maya start investigating. Fun cozy mystery, with likable characters. Recommend reading previous books in the series

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

A great addition to an incredible series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

Maya and Sandra are hired to find out who left a threatening note in the locker of 12 yr old Rocco Fanelli telling him to drop out of the spelling bee. At the same time Sandra is dealing with a vindictive teacher who has given her son an F for an essay that she says he plagiarized. At the spelling bee it is Rocco who turns up dead but the teacher

There are numerous suspects since the teacher was not particularly a favorite but Maya and Sandra are smack in the middle because of Sandra's issues with the victim and need to solve the murder.

Good addition to the series.

Maya & Sandra have been asked to investigate a threatening note given to a 12 year old boy who's participating in the spelling bee. They have several run-ins with the local high school geography teacher, Ellie Duncan. Ellie is flunking Sandra's son Ryan because she believed in plagiarized his paper. Ellie doesn't like the rich kids of the school and is being awful to them. Ellie Duncan is the host of the Middle School Spelling Bee. When it's time to announce the winners she's missing. Maya & Sandra search the school and find Ellie Duncan dead in a supply closet. Sandra is a a prime suspect. The duo must find the real killer.

I really enjoyed this mystery. The victim Ellie Duncan created a lot of enemies and I wasn't sad at her death. I enjoyed following the clues with the duo. A well done cozy mystery.

Oh man, "Murder at the Spelling Bee" was a wild ride! Let me tell you, the tension in that middle school cafeteria was thicker than the gravy at the school lunch. Rocco, this little spelling whiz, is being targeted – creepy notes in his locker? Yikes. Hiring those PI moms, Maya and Sandra, was a smart move by his parents.

Then there's Ms. Lambert, the teacher running the bee. Let's just say she wasn't exactly "Mary Poppins." Playing favorites with the students? Big mistake. Finding her dead in the supply closet? Even bigger mistake for whoever did it. And guess who ends up a suspect? Sandra herself! Talk about awkward.

But Maya and Sandra, those two are a force to be reckoned with. They sniff out secrets like a bloodhound sniffs out a steak. Between you and me, I think there's more to this murder than just a spelling bee gone wrong. There's a whole mess of suspects – pushy parents, the ever-present school custodian, maybe even a disgruntled student or two. The book kept me guessing until the very end!

If you're looking for a cozy mystery with a dash of humor (because seriously, a murder at a spelling bee?), this is the book for you. Just don't blame me if you end up muttering random spellings under your breath for days after you finish it!

Maya and Sandra have been tasked with figure out who is sending Rocco threatening notes. Rocco is the front runner in the upcoming spelling bee and it looks like someone is trying to stop that from happening. When the teacher sho runs the local spelling bee ends up dead the ladies must figure out who killed her and why. It doesn't take long to realize that the dead woman had a list of enemies as long as your arm. Now they.must sift through to figure out who really wanted her dead. Can the two ladies come up with a killer before someone else ends up dead?

Lee Hollis in Murder at the Spelling Bee has written a cozy around a nasty bitchy teacher's murder at a Spelling Bee where she interfered with the contestants. Attention goes to the janitor who had a record; he was proven not guilty. Many parents and others had motives; most were not the best citizens. Too many moving pieces in the story.

I have enjoyed all of the books in the Maya and Sandra series. The characters are well developed and the mystery is set up perfectly. Maya and Sandra are two strong females who have very different personalities and characteristics. I love watching them in operation ... dealing with their private investigation cases, handling their spouses/soon-to-be-ex-spouses, their children ... life as it explodes in their faces. You will be invested in the story and how they work together to solve the mystery. This one especially appealed to me because I love spelling words! My parents used to say words for me to spell while we were traveling in the car on trips. Helped prevent car sickness and I loved getting the words right. By listening to the audiobook version, every time a word was given for one of the young people to spell, I spelled it first in my head. While you could read this as a standalone, I would encourage you to go back and read the first book in the series so that you get a good view of where these ladies have come from and how they have developed into sleuthing cohorts. Can’t wait for the next adventure with the characters in Portland, Maine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Cozy Mystery
Mystery

As a spelling bee superfan, I was quite excited to see a cozy mystery built around a bee. Maya and Sandra are moms who also private investigators. When the pronouncer of their local bee is murdered, they take on the case to find out what really happen. This one had some good twists and turns at both the parent and kid level as the mystery was explored and solved. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent release!

This is the 4th book in the Maya and Sandra series. Maya and Sandra are hired to find out who is bullying a child who is entered in the spelling bee. At the same time a teacher who many parents have a problem with is murdered at the spelling bee. Sandra is named a suspect as she was one of the parents who had a problem with the teacher. I love Lee Hollis's writing style. Lee creates likable characters that you can't help but want to read about. I will definitely be continuing this series.

I did reall like this book, I didn’t feel like the characters are more than stereotypes. I didn’t remember any of the background for the main characters & that wasn’t given until further in the story, although it was worked nicely so you did feel like you were reading repeat info. The kids are cute. #MurderattheSpellingBee #NetGalley

This is a good series. I liked this book for several reasons. I enjoy the main characters and their development and growth over the four books in the series. The plot was very clever with lots of red herrings. I guessed only one thing. I liked that there was lots of action and not a lot of sitting around reviewing ideas every couple of pages. I am ready to read the next book whenever it is published.

Murder at the Spelling Bee by Lee Hollis was published on May 21 2024 by Kensington Books is the Fourth book in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series!! As with most cozy mysteries the Maya and Sandra Mystery series is one that has a fully solved mystery within each book so they can be read as a standalone.

When Sandra's husband became a victim of a gossipy website called Dirty Laundry outing him as a cheater and then the woman running the Dirty Laundry website was murdered it brought Sandra and Maya together to work the case. After that was solved Sandra found she enjoyed helping Maya and proposed being her new partner. Now Maya and Sandra have been hired by a spelling prodigy's parents when the boy is threatened right before his big competition. The ladies find that there is a teacher at the school who is clearly favoring some students over others and she just happens to be in charge of the spelling bee. Sandra and Maya of course find themselves attending the competition only to end up as suspects yet again when the teacher in charge is found murdered and before long they have a long list of other suspects to hopefully find the murderer yet again.


This is my very first book by the author but will not be my last! I loved this book so much!!
Please tell me there will be more !

Murder at the Spelling Bee: A Maya and Sandra Mystery
By Lee Hollis
Kensington
May 2024

Review by Cynthia Chow

Who knew spelling bees could be so ruthless? Well, apparently the parents at South Portland Middle School do, as Eugenio and Lucia Fanelli are hiring private detectives Maya Kendrick and Sandra Wallage to investigate who is trying to keep their son Rocco out of the competition. It doesn’t take long for Maya and Sandra to see that it’s the parents of the contestants who are pressuring their twelve-year-olds into a cutthroat mentality, and even the host of the spelling bee has her biased preferences. Ellie Duncan is also the high school teacher for Sandra’s son Ryan, and his father’s politics have Mrs. Duncan threatening to fail him. Her habit of playing favorites and punishing others for no legitimate reason has made her an enemy of many, which means that when Sandra finds the teacher’s body in the school closet there’s a surplus of suspects. That unfortunately happens to include Sandra, as Ellie had earlier accused Sandra of harassment simply because she attempted to defend her son.

While the earlier part of this mystery covers the contentious spelling bee, events quickly turn to Sandra and Maya’s investigation of the murder. The latter is a former police officer who resigned after her husband was convicted of police corruption, and now that he is out of prison he and Maya are adjusting to his being back in the family. Sandra herself is finally moving on after the divorce to her senator husband, and she is happily dating the much younger athletic director Lucas Cavill. Sandra and Maya soon find themselves questioning the children and teens whose parents are the cause of much of the unsportsmanlike competitiveness, not to mention the teachers whose personal lives are far more chaotic and immature than the students they teach.

This 4th is the series is another entertaining entry in the series that explores the turmoil existing within both middle and high schools. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the parents and teachers are often poor examples of good behavior, with their pettiness on school boards making schoolyard fights seem tame. Sandra’s and Maya’s relationships with their teen children are refreshingly pleasant and mature, with Sandra’s sons both supportive of her new romance. This series is more grounded than the authors’ Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails mysteries, but they are just as cleverly plotted and filled with wry observations. The complications involved in healthy parenting and the politics of academia are deftly explored, and the way that they are interwoven into the investigation is a delight. This is another very fun entry in a series where the lead characters prove to be as skillful as detectives as they are mothers. The latter trait is but one aspect of these two extraordinary women, and seeing them grow professionally and personally is a genuinely rewarding experience.

When a moderator for a school competition spells trouble for Portland P.I. Partners and moms Maya Kendrick and Sandra Wallace come to the rescue. Twelve year old Rocco Fanelli is a spelling bee champ in the making he is the favor to win the local middle school bee and go on to the regionals. But someone is trying to intimidate him to drop out with a threatening note in his locker. His parents hire Maya and Sandra to find out who is doing it and ensure their son’s safety. The competition turns deadly when a high school teacher who’s running the bee favoring certain students is found dead in the school supply closet. With suspect’s ranging from helicopter parents to the school custodian Maya and Sandra will put their heads together to spell out who had the motive and opportunity. A fun well written story to enjoy with great characters. I would recommend to everyone.

I enjoyed this mystery read. The clues were subtle but appropriate and enough to keep me guessing. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend to others.

This is part of the series, but it totally works as a standalone cozy mystery. This story focuses on a spelling bee where one of the contestants that's a threat. There are numerous suspects, and it is fun to sleuth along with the characters. This is a solid, enjoyable ministry, and I am likely to go back and read some of the prior books in the series.

Another hit from author Lee Hollis! Maya and Sandra's son is in a spelling bee. But things go awry when the teacher is found dead. Love the story format. Seeing things from two perspectives. Great solid mystery. Excellent characters. This series is a must read for cozy lovers. Thanks#Netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.