It was once again time to take a break from reading that makes my head hurt and crawl back into some cozies. This time I went to Wilmington, NC with Ellen Elizabeth Hunter and her Magnolia Mystery Series. Hunter has written ten mysteries that center around the historic southern town. Her main character, Ashley Wilkes, is a preservationist who has the misfortune to stumble upon dead bodies. Throughout these books we meet Ashley’s sister, Melanie, a real estate powerhouse. Two different men feature in Ashley’s life – homicide detective Nick Yost and architect/business partner Jon Campbell. Hunter does a wonderful job interweaving southern NC history, architecture of the old homes and the intrigue of mystery. As I read I could smell the magnolia blossoms and the nearby ocean, hear the waves crashing the shore and see the magnificent buildings. She included bits of history reaching back to our earliest days as a country. I love discovering a good series with multiple books already in print. Reading these books took me away from the stress of every day life and gave me a short vacation.