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    A Deadly Grind
    A Deadly Grind
    A Deadly Grind
    Audiobook9 hours

    A Deadly Grind

    Written by Victoria Hamilton

    Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 28, 2013
    ISBN9781452687162
    A Deadly Grind
    Author

    Victoria Hamilton

    Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson.She now happily writes about vintage kitchen collecting, muffin baking, and dead bodies in the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mystery series. Besides writing about murder and mayhem, and blogging at Killer Characters, Victoria collects vintage kitchen wares and old cookbooks, as well as teapots and teacups.

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    Reviews for A Deadly Grind

    3.5/5

    79 ratings15 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Just an ok mystery. I had a problem with the dates included. She stated that the hoosier was purchased during the depression in 1927, when in fact Black Friday was October 1929. She also stated that a letter was written after the Revolution but was dated 1776 when the war didn't end until 1783. I know it is a little thing but it leapt out at me.I agree with several of the other reviewers. Jaymie just seemed clueless, letting a stranger help with the hoosier and answering his questions. Didn't her mother tell her not to talk to strangers???I don't intend to continue with his series.
    • 5/5
      Keeps you guessing in every chapter. On to next one
    • 3/5
      Okay as mind candy. Mildly annoying to find a Harlequin romance masquerading as a cozy mystery, but I will continue the series until it goes off the deep end.
    • 3/5
      2.5** From the book jacket: 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, Rebecca, that the nineteenth-century house they share is already too cluttered with Jaymie’s junk, she successfully outbids the other buyers and takes home her Hoosier. But that night on the summer porch where she’s 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. My reactionsTrue confession, I picked this up solely because I needed a cover image of “something broken” and this fit the bill. I liked the basic premise of this new cozy series, including the small-town setting, the interplay between the sisters, and the cast of (potentially) recurring colorful characters. I even like her little three-legged dog, Hopalong. But Jaymie herself just irritated me. They way she went about doing her own investigation and the obviously ill-advised choices she made and dangerous chances she took just had me shaking my head. Still, it was a fast, entertaining read, and I’d be willing to read another in the series.
    • 1/5
      Jaymie Leighton spots an old Hoosier cabinet at a sale that she's attending with her sister Becca. Even though Becca warns against it, Jaymie buys it - noting that a couple of people who were fighting at the time, missed the gavel and she won her item.But when she gets it home she needs to figure out a way to get it out of her van. Miraculously, a man appears out of the darkness, tells her he's staying at the local B&B, and helps her move her prized piece. They leave it out on the porch for cleaning, and Jaymie and her sister then retire to bed. But during the night they hear sounds, and Jaymie discovers a man near her cabinet, and he's dead. Not knowing who he is, Jaymie is willing to find out, especially when she figures out his death had something to do with the Hoosier. But what is it, and can she find out before she becomes the next victim?...This is the first book in the series, and unfortunately, it's going to be my last. I'm even surprised I got as far as I did, and also surprised I didn't hurt myself from rolling my eyes so much. There are so many sentences that are phrased as questions - almost like Jaymie is second-guessing everything that comes out of her mouth. And I got really, really tired of hearing about Tea with the Queen. Who cares? There were so many things wrong with this that it was hard to like the book, and to tell the truth, I wasn't able to finish it. I read as far as I could and then I wound up just going to the back to find out who the killer was and why. This is how boring this book was to me.First off, Jaymie's ex-boyfriend Joel walked out on her two weeks before Christmas (!) without a word; he just left the house (what kind of a coward doesn't give a reason why?), and went to another girl. Then, Jaymie meets the other woman, Heidi, and decides she's nice (!) and acts like everything is hunky-dory. Really? Honestly? a) This is not a nice woman if she knows (which she had to) that the boyfriend was living with someone and she had no problem making a play for him in the first place. How is this nice? He has a girlfriend that he's living with and you think it's perfectly fine to date him? Then, b) Jaymie has no problem being nice to her in return. What woman do you know is going to be nice to the woman who stole your boyfriend? A live-in boyfriend no less. What kind of stupid do you have to be to do this? c) Jaymie's even nice to the ex-boyfriend. Like it doesn't matter that he cheated on her, dumped her without a word just before Christmas. Honestly? Is she really this dumb? She didn't want to punch him or even ask him why he left without a word? What is wrong with this woman?Plus, Jaymie starts worrying that Heidi will look beautiful for the Tea and since she'll be serving she'll look dowdy next to Heidi and Joel will see her and compare them. So she's obsessing about the man who left her for another woman and worries that he'll compare the both of them. Say what? Oh, and I have another tidbit of news for Jaymie: She might drink Tetley tea (brought all the way from Canada as she felt the need to tell us), but you can buy it anywhere in the states and it's lousy tea. (Sorry, this book irritated me so much I felt the need to throw that in).When she brings the cabinet home, a stranger shows up out of nowhere, gives her a story as to why he's there, and she buys it without question (which is odd, considering she was questioning everything else during the book). Then this guy even asks her if she has an alarm system, and lo and behold, no alarms go off in her head that something's fishy about it.She discovers a clue to the murder, but instead of calling the police immediately she decides to work in her garden for awhile. Huh? I also got tired of hearing about the summer porch. It's a porch, plain and simple. You explained it once, that's enough. Most people say front porch or back porch, I've never heard anyone say summer porch. Does that make her front porch the winter porch? Do they only use it in winter? At any rate, the things she does defy explanation. It's as if her brain is wired wrong and she can't think properly.Life is too short to waste on bad books, so my first foray into this series will be my last. I would suggest that you skip this series and move on to something that actually makes sense and doesn't talk about irrelevant things and repetitive details.
    • 4/5
      Jaymie Leighton, vintage kitchenware collector and cookbook writer, buys an original 1920s Hoosier brand kitchen cabinet/work center, over the objections of her sister and some rather spirited rival bidding. She takes her treasure home, and temporarily leaves it on the summer porch, until she can rearrange the kitchen to make best use of it.

      Late that night, she and her sister are awakened by a shout, a crash, and Jaymie's dog, Hopalong, barking. On the porch they find a dead man, a stranger, apparently killed by a blow from a meat grinder pulled loose from the Hoosier.

      The dead body on her porch is upsetting enough. Jaymie, though, lives in small town Queensville, Michigan, just across the border from London, Ontario, where her sister Rebecca lives and runs an antique china business. She knows everyone in town, and everyone knows her, and that means she almost certainly knows, or has at least met, the killer. Jaymie just can't do the sensible thing, and leave it for the police to investigate.

      We get a lively look at life in Queensville, where Jaymie is active in the local historical society, has to cope with frequent encounters with her ex-boyfriend Joel and his new love, Heidi, and deals with the loving over-protectiveness of her sister and the friends they share, who are mostly Rebecca's age, i.e., fifteen years older than Jaymie. Closer to her own age is Anna, owner with her husband Clive of the bed & breakfast next door to Jaymie.

      And then there are the two new guys in Jaymie's life. Daniel Collins is the wealthy new owner of the historic mansion where the Queensville Historical Society runs Tea With the Queen, a Victorian tea held every spring just before Memorial Day and the official start of the summer tourist season. He's cute, kind, and helpful in addition to being wealthy, and he's started showing an interest in Jaymie. Zachary Christian is the homicide detective investigating the death on her porch, a recent transplant from Chicago, and very, very attractive.

      And then there's Hopalong, a.k.a. Hoppy, her three-legged little dog, whom she should listen to when he tries to tell her there's something wrong outside, and her cat, Denver, who is a much better judge of character than either she or Hoppy.

      There were times when I wanted to smack Jaymie for not paying attention or doing really unwise things, but this is overall a fun, enjoyable, interesting book, and I look forward to more in the series.

      Recommended for anyone who enjoys cozies.

      I borrowed this book from the library.
    • 3/5
      Sisters Jaymie and Rebecca of Queensville, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario attend an auction in Queensville, the town where they co-own their parents' home, where Jaymie purchases a Hoosier cabinet. Jaymie loves anything "vintage" related to the ktichen, whether it is old dishes or old cabinets. She thinks it is just the perfect piece to use with her next cookbook. Before she can get it into her kitchen a man ends up dead, and it is obvious the death had some connection to this vintage piece. Jaymie insists on investigating the case herself although there is no indication the detective on the case is incapable of solving it. The plot is a bit convoluted and probably went on longer than necessary as the listener (in my case) wished I could fast forward through some of the action without missing a potential clue. (This might be a case for reading it when you can speed-read or skim instead.) Hamilton created a number of red herrings--some more effective than others. The reader had a "sweet" voice that probably made this book cozier than necessary. I listened to the version available through my library's Overdrive app. I will probably read the next installment of the series as I like old cooking things and found the characters and setting somewhat to my liking.
    • 3/5
      I started out with high hopes for this series. Vintage kitchens and recipes, antiques and collectibles and a small town just on the south side of the 49 parallel. I enjoyed the book for about the first half, and then I'm afraid I lost interest. There were three things wrong with it to my way of thinking:1. The police in the book don't seem to do anything at all, and just seem to sit around waiting for the main character to solve the mystery.2. I didn't really care for Jaymie. She wasn't real and kind of dippy.3. The plot seemed to drift off near the end and we had two questionable denouements.The book just didn't seem to hang together. So I won't be continuing with this series.
    • 3/5
      I have been looking forward to this book coming out for a couple of months now, as I do love vintage kitchenware and murder mysteries. But I only gave this book three starts because I didn't get a chance to really immerse myself in the story as I normally do, as I just had too many interruptions while reading it. So I can't say if I thought the book was very good or not, as my disjointed reading made the story feel disjointed.

      Things I liked:
      I love the vintage kitchenware angle, as I really enjoy this subject.
      A few quirky likeable characters stood out, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from them in the future

      Thinks I didn't like:
      A bossy older sister.
      The hints of a love triangle - cozy mysteries have seen *more* than enough of these and they almost never, ever end up being enjoyable for the reader.

      Even though I kept getting interrupted while reading this book, I nailed one of the bad guys right away, but the twist at the end was a clever touch.
    • 3/5
      Jaymie Leighton is a homebody that loves everything Vintage for her home so when she sees an old-fashioned Hoosier cabinet from the late 20's at an estate auction, she bids on it, not knowing the trouble that comes with it.The night she brings home her precious Hoosier, she is awaken by Hoppy her dog barking and she discovers a dead body by the cabinet. Through numerous break-ins and attacks, Jaymie works to figure out why someone was killed her house and the prize that is driving the violence in her backyard.There was a few too many characters (possibly caused by the new series introductions) but it seemed too crowded for this reader. Hoping the next is better.
    • 4/5
      A Deadly Grind is the first book in the A Vintage Kitchen Mystery. I've lived about 50 years in the Hoosier state and never have never heard of a Hoosier cabinet. Buts thanks to Victoria Hamilton, I am in the know now.

      Jaymie and Rebbecca Leighton share a nineteenth century house that is close to being overrun with antiques. Jaymie's niche is vintage cookware and cookbooks. At an upcoming auction there is a Hoosier cabinet that is to be for sale. There may not be room for it, but it is something that Jaymie has to have. She outbids to others who are arguing when the gavel falls and Jaymie has her cabinet. With the help of a guest at the B&B next door, Jaymie is able to get cabinet safely on her side porch. About the time Jaymie is getting into a good sleep, it's shattered by a disturbance on the side porch. When she goes to investigate she finds the body of an unknown male that has been hit over the head with a meat grinder from the cabinet.

      After a few days police are able to get a lead on the dead man. but no real idea as to who had done it. One of the towns newer residents is Daniel Collins, who owns the elegant home where a tea celebrating Queen Elizabeth I birthday, deserves some attention along with two of his Frat buddies who just happened to have shown up in town, too. And who were the men that missed out on the bidding due to their arguing. And what was so valuable about the Hoosier Cabinet? Jaymie needs to come up with a list of possible suspects and recruit some of her friends to help track down the killer.
    • 4/5
      Rating: 3½ Stars

      It’s hard for me to resist the “First in a New Series” logo on a cozy mystery, and Victoria Hamilton’s A Vintage Kitchen Mystery series is off to a solid start. The protagonist Jaymie Leighton is a young, single woman with old-fashioned taste, and I enjoyed her character. She’s a vintage kitchenware and cookbook enthusiast with dreams of publishing her own cookbook someday. Jaymie ends up the winning bidder of a fabulous Hoosier cabinet at an estate auction. These free standing cupboards were popular in the early 20th century when most kitchens did not have built-in cabinetry. And even though Jaymie’s kitchen is packed with antique gadgets and such, she had to have the Hoosier too. Someone (or several someones) won’t accept that Jaymie is its new owner, because that same night a man is murdered on her porch where the cabinet is being stored. It appeared that before he died, he was searching the Hoosier for something. What he was looking for is a mystery, but Jaymie is determined to find the answer.

      I thought that the mystery in this book was well-constructed and not easy to solve. There were several plot twists to keep me on my toes. I particularly loved the thing that made Jaymie’s Hoosier such a coveted item and the story behind it – very unique! There was one thing that niggled at me about the story. Jaymie was bad about withholding evidence or information from the police (more than once), thinking something must not be important when it obviously was. Other than that, I thought the police’s investigation and Jaymie’s own amateur one were handled realistically.

      A DEADLY GRIND was a fun cozy mystery. Jaymie Leighton was a down-to-earth, likable character, someone who appreciated the way life used to be. I love the quaint setting of Queensville, Michigan, a small town just across the water from Johnsonville, Ontario. There was mention of a place called Heartbreak Island close to Queensville where Jaymie owns a rental cottage. I’m curious to see if one of the future books in the series ends up there, because with a name like Heartbreak Island, I have a feeling it has its own story to tell.
    • 4/5
      For an exciting read that is fun and fast, pick up a copy of "A Deadly Grind," first in a new series. In these vintage kitchen mysteries, Jaymie Leighton lives alone in the house where she grew up in Michigan. Her sister Rebecca visits often enough to keep an eye on her. Antiquers by nature and vocation, Rebecca deals in high-end dishes while Jaymie leans towards vintage kitchenware, valuable or not. When a dead body is discovered by her newly acquired Hoosier cabinet, Jaymie is determined to track down the killer. Just getting over being dumped by her former boyfriend, she is still nursing her bruised ego, but is liable to acquire real bruises before all is said and done. Set in a small town with likable and believable characters and an intriguing plot, this book is a great start to a promising new series.
    • 5/5
      What a great start for a new series. If you love antiques and cooking you will love this. Ms. Hamilton has enough side characters to keep you thinking you have figured out the killer and then you think no it is this one.
    • 4/5
      First Line: No one would expect to find a new love at an estate auction, but Jaymie Leighton just had; her heart skipped a beat when she first saw the Indiana housewife's dream.When Jaymie Leighton, collector of vintage cookware and cookbooks, first set eyes on the original 1920s Hoosier cabinet at the estate sale, it was love at first sight. She didn't know exactly how, but she knew she would make room for it in her own kitchen.When two people bidding against her start fighting with each other, Jaymie wins the cabinet, loads it in the van, and takes it to her old farmhouse in Queensville, Michigan. The cabinet is in dire need of a good cleaning, so it's left out on the summer porch until Jaymie has time to apply the necessary elbow grease.That very night, someone breaks into the porch and begins rifling through the boxes of items purchased at the sale, but when Jaymie hears the racket and comes downstairs to investigate, the intruder is dead-- his head bashed in with the meat grinder attachment from the old Hoosier cabinet. Is there something valuable in one of those boxes? Or is there something hidden in the old kitchen cabinet that will keep it-- and Jaymie-- in the middle of a deadly mystery?Jaymie is in her early thirties and supports herself with a small inheritance and by working a variety of part time jobs. She has a bossy older sister who lives in a nearby city, and her parents come for a visit each summer. Her boyfriend left her six months ago, and her companions are a three-legged Yorkie-Poo named Hopalong and Denver, her antisocial cat. Jaymie loves vintage kitchen cookware, and her penchant for poring through old cookbooks for recipes that she can make the "old-fashioned way" and then adapt for modern cooks has led her to write her first cookbook and submit it to publishers. It wasn't long before I'd fallen under Jaymie's spell.I also fell under the spell of small town Queensville, Michigan, and Jaymie's supportive circle of friends. Although I'm not a "foodie", I did enjoy Queensville's annual event, The Queen's Tea, in which an elderly couple dress up and play the part of Victoria and Albert during high tea, and the old and new versions of Queen Elizabeth's Cake that are included at the back of the book almost made me start banging and clanging in my kitchen.There were only two minor annoyances for me in A Deadly Grind. Jaymie is the type of woman who seems to look at any reasonably presentable single man as a potential partner. To someone like me, that annoyance is probably due to a lack of certain hormones and the fact that I never did that in my own youth. However, I will admit that this minor irritant never got to the eye-rolling stage for me.The other minor annoyance was the fact that many clues seemed to be outlined in flashing red neon. For example: You are a young single woman who's just returned home with a huge piece of furniture that needs to be taken out of your van and hauled into your house. A total stranger appears out of the twilight and offers to help you. As this stranger helps you lug the furniture across the yard, he asks you if you live alone, if you have an alarm system, wouldn't it be a good idea to leave this on the porch.... Any reader worth his or her salt knows that guy's up to no good. (Flashing red neon, see?) Well, one thing's for certain. Jaymie's not going to live long in the mystery series business unless she wises up fast because she answered all his questions truthfully! Not only that, but she keeps things from the police, which is never a good idea. Thankfully all the clues weren't broadcast because at book's end there were surprises for me.Aside from those technicalities, I enjoyed this first in a series, and I'm really looking forward to the next installment. I may wind up turning into a foodie after all!