A Deadly Grind (Vintage Kitchen Series #1)

FTC Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. A Deadly Grind by Victoria Hamilton Summary: When vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton spies an original 1920s Hoosier brand kitchen cabinet at an estate auction, it’s love at first sight. Despite the protests of her sister that the 19th-century yellow-brick house they share in Michigan is already too cluttered with Jaymie’s “junk,” she successfully outbids the other buyers and triumphantly takes home her Hoosier. But that night on the summer porch where they’ve left the Hoosier to be cleaned up, a man is murdered, struck on the head with the steel meat grinder that is part of the cabinet. Who is this stranger—and what was he doing on their porch? Does his death have anything to do with the Hoosier? As the police struggle to determine the man’s identity, Jaymie can’t help doing a little digging on her own, accompanied by her three-legged Yorkie Poo, Hopalong. But in her bid to uncover the truth about the hidden secrets of the Hoosier, Jaymie may be the one who ends up going, going…gone. Anyone who knows me knows I love mysteries and I love antique/vintage items. My own kitchen has several treasures that are from my Granny's kitchen. I don't use them because I'm afraid my teen age boys will shatter them. :) When I first read the description of this new series, I was sure this would be a good reading match for me. I was right! What I liked about the book: It is a very well written quick read. I didn't want to put the book down. I also connected with the story because of the auction. (I worked for an auction company for extra spending money when I was in college. Of course, I often spent all my earnings at the auctions I was working.) The story starts with Jaymie and her sister attending an estate auction. The mystery begins right away when Jaymie overhears a furtive conversation about a valuable button. The author does a great job with character development. She sets a strong foundation at the beginning of the book and continues to build on it throughout the story. Jaymie is a strong female character. And though, like most cozy sleuths she does poke her nose into the police investigation she's really not a ditzy character that takes unbelievable chances. She's very well grounded. I enjoyed that there were no "annoying characters" in this story. You know what I mean. Many mysteries have a character that whose only job in the story is to be obnoxious and try to make things difficult for the heroine. I guess I find those characters so annoying because I know too many of them in real life. The author does briefly introduce us to one character that I'm sure will be "that annoying character" in future books. But I'm sure Jaymie will be able to handle her just fine. And finally I loved that recipe makeover included at the end of the book. It was nice to the original recipe alongside the modernized version. What I didn't like about the book: I LOVED it all! I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves mysteries and vintage things, especially vintage kitchen items. I can hardly wait for the next book in the series. Victoria Hamilton is a pseudonym for national bestselling author Donna Lee Simpson, who is also a collector of vintage cookware and recipes.

I love cozies, especially well-written, with a new-to-me premise like vintage kitchenware collecting. I could identify with the main character, Jaymie Leighton and loved the sound of the town where she lives. Jaymie collects vintage cookware and cookbooks and is embarking on a career of creating her own line of cookbooks from updating vintage recipes. She also loves auctions, you never know what treasures you might find. Like the Hoosier-brand kitchen cabinet she falls for and causes no end of trouble after she gets it home. There are many intriguing characters and superb suspects abound for Jaymie to search out. Five vintage beans.....

I have been waiting for ages to read this book, as I follow the wonderful writer on facebook. Her words flow from page to page, the people are real and you feel as if you know them, or would like to know them. Great storyline, and the old gadgets are such a treat for all of us that remember them so well. I was a bit shocked to see that the writer's use of gays in this book turned some people off. There was nothing disgusting or shocking in this book, REALLY!!!!!!!!!!! It's a book my mother would have read and thought nothing about the writer's personal choice to put anything in HER book, as it was HER book. Perhaps we need warning on books to avoid offending some people. Maybe a big RED X, perhaps that could mean AVOID REALITY IF YOU CHOOSE. As for me and many others who found this to be a treat to read, I can't wait for the next in this lovely series!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jaymie Leighton lives in her parents nineteenth century yellow brick home. They have retired to a warmer climate and just visit during the summer. Her sister Rebecca visits on the weekends from London, Ontario, and together they hit the auctions and estate sales. They are both collectors. Jaymie collects vintage cookware and cookbooks. Rebecca china, tea cups and saucers. Rebecca is fifteen years older than Jaymie and sometimes seems like a second mother. She still thinks she knows what is best for Jaymie, but at 32 years of age Jaymie can make her own decisions. Jayme decides to bid on Hoosier cabinet that made be a little worse for wear but she knows with a little elbow grease she will have a treasure. She outbids the other buyers and is thrilled to get her purchase home. Her sister, not so much. She thinks the house is full enough of Jaymie's clutter. They get it home and leave it on the summer porch. They are exhausted from the day and enjoying their purchases can wait until morning. But someone else had other ideas. Becca and Jaymie are woken up in the middle of night by noise downstairs. They are beside themselves when the find a dead body on the summer porch. They don't recognize the man and even the police have a hard time identifying him. Why their house? Who is this guy? Jaymie needs to know. She starts to do just a little investigating. She had better be careful or she may be the one "who ends up going, going,...gone". I can identify this sibling relationship clearly. My sister is 12 years older than me and she too was like a second mom. We are close today but there have been times when she has made me so mad, thinking she knows best. Before my accident I loved to attend auctions and estate sales. I was just like Jaymie. I would have killed, not literally, for a Hoosier like the one in this story. Our home has been cluttered over the years with my "finds". This story hit home for me, really struck my heart. Jaymie and I could be friends, we would be hitting the sales. Becca would probably be friends with my sister :) The setting of these mysteries is really brilliant. Fictional Heartbreak Island between Michigan and Ontario where both American and Canadian tourists arrive for a variety of celebrations is the perfect backdrop. In this installment, a "Tea With The Queen" fundraiser gives the tourists, residents, and suspects a place to gather. The author has laid the great foundation for more books in this series, setting us up for many return visits to Heartbreak Island. I hope not too many hearts are broken but with cozy mysteries you never know who the next victim or suspect may be. I just know this author is going to give us a wonderful who-dun-it that will find us Bowled Over!!

Wonderful detail. May this be a long, informative and fun series

It takes a little while to get going but stick with it the story is a good one..... a good cozy!

Wonderful read. Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. Loved the characters, plot, setting & the solution. I am now anxiously awaiting #2 in This Vintage Kitchen Series. I highly recommend this book to all "Cozy Mystery Readers".

I can't wait to read the next one in this series!

I hope this is destined to become a series because I really enjoyed this book. So interesting to read about vintage cookware and recipes. Believable characters and good writing - great plot.

The writer really helps deliver you right into the setting... you can truly imagine the places, people and most especially the kitchen wares throughout the story... really brought me back to my own experiences with some of the vintage dishes and utensils. The relationships were introduced naturally and really help you feel at home with our heroine and her life... Starting the second in the series.... cant wait!!

A vintage Hoosier kitchen cabinet proves to be more than an interesting antique for Jamie Leighton.  Against her sister's better judgment, Jamie really wanted that 1920's Hoosier to go along with all her old kitchen gadgets that she has collected in their old 19th century yellow brick house in Michigan, that she and her sister have inherited. She won the auction but she ended up getting a dead body on her back porch as well. Now she wants to find out what she has that others want before they kill her first. The background story of the ownership connection between Canada and Michigan makes this story especially interesting.  The Queen's Tea Celebration is fascinating, along with the description and history of the Hoosier Cabinet itself.  The mystery starts out as purely a murder investigation and develops into a much more complicated quest for more parts of American history.  A great start to this Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series. 

A DEADLY GRIND by Victoria Hamilton #1 in A Vintage Kitchen Mystery series. Jaymie Leighton lives in Queensville, Michigan in a nineteenth-century yellow brick house she shares with her sister Rebecca. Jaymie collects vintage cookware and cookbooks. At a local estate auction, ignoring the protests of her sister, Jaymie bids on and wins a 1920s Hoosier-brand kitchen cabinet. Leaving the Hoosier on her summer porch until she can make room for it in her already over crowded kitchen, the last thing Jaymie expects is to be awaken in the middle of the night only to find a strange man lying dead on the porch floor apparently struck on the head with the steel meat grinder that was a part of the cabinet. As the police try to find out the identity of the corpse Jaymie can't resist doing a little sleuthing of her own. Who was the dead man? Why was he on her back porch? Who killed him and why? The search for answers turns deadly as Jaymie uncovers hidden secrets of the Hoosier. In this debut book in the series, Victoria Hamilton weaves mystery and history that will entertain readers from begging to end. Jaymie is a delightful heroine, keeping the reader in her corner. You get a real feel for her life in her little Michigan town in the house she shares with her sister Rebecca, Hoopalong her three-legged Yorkie-Poo and her green eyed tabby, Denver. There are also great characters in the local towns people. Jaymie's sister Rebecca who buys and sells expensive china. Anna and Clive, owners of the b&b next door, Daniel Collins, the owner of Stowe House, Joel, Jaymie's ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend Heidi, DeeDee Stubbs, who sells 50s - 70s kitsch and TV tie-in merchandise online and many more. Though there were times in this book that I felt the story was moving a bit slow, overall I enjoyed it. I was surprised by the killer, which is fun. And I learned much about a variety of subjects. I will read second book in this series.

Finally another book set in the midwest where the main character is a native to the the town and even lives in the house she grew up in. She is not someone moving into a new town after leaving a jaded job/career in NYC! (Yes, there are millions of us who have never worked in NYC and never wanted too!) Jaymie and her sister Rebecca are co-owners of the Michigan house they grew up in,however Jaymie lives there year round and Becca visits on weekends. They spend their time going to auctions and estate sales. Becca,15 years older than Jaymie doesn't understand her youngersisters interest in old kitchen ware and cook books, epecially since she doesn't turn around and sell them at a profit as she does with the china she buys. Becca has a small fit when Jaymie insists on staying until she can buy a 'Hoosier' cupboard. During the auction the word button is whispered in a conversation that Jaymie overhears, but she has no idea that it will lead to someome beiing murdered near her great buy, the Hoosier cupboard. The characters are well developed, the plot has twist and turns and thebstory was wel written. I loved the twist on the solution - don't want to give it away! I admit to loving old kitchion ware and "hoosier" cabinets, though I am not a cook book fan, nor do Ipay much attion to china... I don't think you need to be a fan of these collector items to enjoy a great story. L.S.y

In this new series, we are introduced to Jaymie Leighton who is a collector of vintage cookware and works part-time. Jaymie is thrust into murder when a dead body is found near her prized purchased of the Hoosier kitchen furniture. Concerned for her safety and peace of mind, Jaymie begins to piece together snippets she overheard and facts she learned to unpeel a killer in her midst. This was a great book with good writing, great dialogue and an all-around nice place to visit and stay awhile. Jaymie is a strong heroine who shows her vulnerability and strength at the same time as she looks for clues to this murder mystery. The secondary characters are likable and I can’t wait to see more interaction between them. The author did a good job at keeping me guessing, especially when I thought it was all over and then BAM, the story wasn’t over and I was a bit surprised at the killer’s identity, as I didn’t see that one coming. A great debut and I’m looking forward to the next book in this wonderfully crafted series with bonus recipes.

I was frustrated by the long drawn out ending to this book. One thing that the author did was to put Jaymie in a situation of being murdered by a person who wanted the extremely valuable letter. If Jaymie was the only one who knew where the letter was, why would he kill her? That makes no sense. It was a botched ending. I also, thought it was just too long and drawn out. Way over the top in explaining things. With a few critiques, maybe the flaws will be less in following books.

I only rated this as a 4 star as it was too long, way too many details and junk that really had nothing to do with the story. The characters were very likeable but there was way too many of them to really get to know any of them, story was complicated – enjoyed Jaymie’s love of her Hoosier and enjoyed learning a bit about them – I live on Saint Clair River so enjoyed her invention of whatever town she had made up – and, was fun having a story near home! I liked the Queen’s Tea and the Queen Elizabeth cake –history and recipe (redone so someone today could actually make it). Will look for the next one in the series.

A great book for the start of a new series for me to read.  I LOVE the main character Jaymie, her sister, the neighbors and the quaint little town of Queensville.  The only thing that makes it better is to throw a murder or two into the mix and away you go !!!  There are a lot of people involved in this story line but don't worry... As you get to know each new person introduced you will have no problem adding them into the murder.....  Victoria will have you second guessing who did it throughout the book.  Even when you may be certain you know who the culprit is you turn the page and she has you re-thinking your decision.  And BOY when you finally find out who the real murderer is you will be sitting there with your socks knocked off !!!   You will not to want to put this book down.  But its okay she has Bowled Over waiting for you to dig into next......

A vintage Hoosier kitchen cabinet proves to be more than an interesting antique for Jamie Leighton.  Against her sister's better judgment, Jamie really wanted that 1920's Hoosier to go along with all her old kitchen gadgets that she has collected in their old 19th century yellow brick house in Michigan, that she and her sister have inherited. She won the auction but she ended up getting a dead body on her back porch as well. Now she wants to find out what she has that others want before they kill her first. The background story of the ownership connection between Canada and Michigan makes this story especially interesting.  The Queen's Tea Celebration is fascinating, along with the description and history of the Hoosier Cabinet itself.  The mystery starts out as purely a murder investigation and develops into a much more complicated quest for more parts of American history.  A great start to this Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series. 

I can't wait for the following books on Jaymie and all her lively friends. I really enjoyed the antics of Hopalong!