Thanks to author Julie Anne Lindsey & BookFunnel for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

Amateur sleuth Bonnie Balfour once again finds herself compelled to solve a murder that occurs in her small southern town. She is lucky that her boyfriend is the hunky sheriff. In this episode, a dislikeable out-of-towner is murdered and a prize-winning hen goes missing. Additionally, Bonnie's grandmother Gigi is opening a new coffeeshop/bakery called Oh My Goodies. The town is also home to a book store called What The Dickens. Thelma, a new friend of Bonnie's, is the owner of Louisa, a blue ribbon-winning chicken. And Bonnie's pet cat is named Clyde. Plus the book titles. This is a cozy, after all, so it's not surprising that the names are smile-inducing.

What I like about Bonnie is that after an acrimonious and painful divorce at age 40, she leaves the big city and opens "Bless Her Heart," a cute second chance shop in her home town of Bliss, Georgia. (And another cutely named business). Bonnie "sees the beauty and possibility in everything" which she puts to use by sprucing up and reinventing castoff items. Readers will realize that Bonnie has reinvented herself in the process.

In each book Bonnie ends up solving a murder that she can't resist investigating even though it's dangerous. In this episode Bonnie meets with a therapist where they discuss her panic attacks. I really appreciated the acknowledgement that discovering bodies and solving murders which end up putting her in danger are affecting her. In addition, they discuss why she feels the need to interject herself into murder investigations. I haven't come across this topic in any cozy and think it balances out the typical cozy lightheartedness.

This is book four in the series, but author Lindsey includes enough backstory details that you can easily read this one first without feeling lost. To sum it up, this is a traditional cozy with several possible suspects, a surprise murderer, light romance, the warmth and familiarity of a small town, and the promise of more mysteries to come. ( )

Bonnie Balfour’s fourth exciting adventure takes her to the *gasp* wilds of Cromwell where she and Clyde find their kindred spirits in Louisa Eggers and her hen Thelma. Louisa lives in Meadowbrook, a small cottagecore community that her not so nice ex wants to redevelop into a upscale destination resort. When Ben ends up dead and Thelma goes missing Bonnie and Louisa are on the case! Come visit with Bonnie and Clyde, Lexi, Gigi and of course HANS. You won’t be disappointed! ( )

With Eyelet Witness, the fourth book in the Bonnie and Clyde Mysteries, Julie Anne Lindsey once again proves that she is the Queen of Cozies!

Lindsey’s characters are ones any cozy mystery reader would want to be friends with, they have lots of heart, make the reader smile with their humor, and are always there for each other… even if the suspect is from the rival neighboring town.

The mysteries are always good with lots of suspects and a couple of red herrings thrown in to keep you guessing. And what I really, really love about the books in this series is that Lindsey gives us a full story, but by keeping the pages down closer to 200 than 300 we don’t get all the filler of the sleuth going over the clues a hundred times. With so many books in this world to read, I don’t have time for filler!

Looking forward to the spin-off series with Louisa and her chicken, Thelma, as well as book five in the Bonnie and Clyde Mysteries, Flared Stiff, which comes out May of 2022. ( )