Missing Pieces: 4 Puzzling Cozy Mysteries by Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, Teresa Ives Lilly, and Janice Thompson Review

 Happy Friday Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

I adore cozy mysteries, something that's probably not a surprise to any of you that have read my blog before.

However, I often lament how sad I am that there's so few Christian cozy mystery titles out there.

So to put it mildly, I'm extremely excited to be sharing today's review with you all.

Not only is it a Christian cozy mystery title, but it's a Christian cozy mystery novella collection that includes four titles by four different authors, and it was quite a treat to curl up with.

I hope you'll all keep reading down below for my full review of this fun title.

Missing Pieces: 4 Puzzling Cozy Mysteries by Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, Teresa Ives Lilly, and Janice Thompson:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Barbour

Publication Date: June 1st, 2022

Genre: Christian Fiction/Cozy Mystery/Novella Collection

Synopsis:

What could go wrong when jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts get together?
How about four murders and a couple thefts? Can clues be pieced together to solve these puzzling crimes?

Elvis Has Left the Building by Cynthia Hickey
Cee Cee is hosting a jigsaw puzzle party in Apple Blossom, Arkansas, and everyone is expected to bring a brand-new 500-piece jigsaw puzzle to work on that depicts something from the 1950s. With a vintage car show, vendors, live music, and a dance, the night promises to be a great one—until the Elvis impersonator is murdered and a priceless puzzle is missing.
 
The Puzzle King by Linda Baten Johnson
Jane enters a jigsaw puzzle competition at the Fargo, North Dakota, fairgrounds. When a fellow competitor is poisoned, all suspects are confined at the hotel during the investigation, and Jane is determined to use her puzzle-solving skills to root out the killer.
 
A Puzzling Weekend by Teresa Ives Lilly
Tabitha’s first event at her new bed and breakfast in Pumpkin City, Pennsylvania, is a jigsaw puzzle mystery weekend. All is going well until the hired cook is found stabbed to death. As the prime suspect, Tabitha works with the handsome investigator—and two wily beagle dogs—to clear her name.
 
Mystery at the Jigsaw Swap by Janice Thompson
Mariah hopes to sell her vast puzzle collection at a jigsaw puzzle swap in Camden, Maine, at the historic opera house. But her most valuable puzzle ends up missing when another vendor is stabbed to death.

Enjoy four short cozy mysteries...all involving jigsaw puzzles!

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I was really excited for this one, as someone who loves cozy mysteries and doesn't often see many within the Christian fiction genre. However, even with how much I was looking forward to reading it, I still ended up being blown away by just how amazing this lovely collection truly was. It's a wonderful, well crafted cozy mystery novella collection, and each title definitely kept me guessing right through until the end.

Each story features a jigsaw puzzle theme, and I was impressed with how each individual author made their story unique from the others, while still incorporating jigsaw puzzles as a big piece of the mystery.

I wasn't expecting each of the stories to be so well put together, especially the mysteries, considering each author only had a novella word count to work within. However, I ended up being pleasantly surprised, and really ended up enjoying the mysteries, the settings, and the three dimensional characters who all drew me right into their stories.

If I had to pick a favorite, it definitely would have been Teresa Ives Lilly's contribution, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed each one, and I hope Barbour plans to publish more like these in the future.

Final Rating: 5/5.

If you love cozy mysteries, jigsaw puzzles, and Christian fiction, then definitely go ahead and pick up this lovely and quirky novella collection, as I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. 

Thanks so much to Barbour for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Barbour) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I pray you all have a great weekend. I look forward to sharing more fun book reviews with you all again next week :)