Showing posts with label cozy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cozy. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I hadn't read a Hannah Swensen book in a long time but a friend told me that they had gone off the rails in sort of a fun way. So. I wasn't expecting this one to be a prequel to the series. This story involves Essie, an older woman who has been beloved by the community for her storytelling skills, and the hotel that she and her husband used to own. 
It is set three weeks after her father died so her family is grieving and figuring out what they are going to do next. Hannah's mother has retreated to her bedroom and isn't coming out. But when Essie goes to the hospital, her friends rally her under the guise of helping Essie. When Hannah and her mother go to Essie's house, they find a stack of writing that becomes a story within this story. This becomes a second mystery that is connected to the "present" but, gosh, it made both mysteries simplistic. In addition, there's a lot of filler and the need for a total suspension of disbelief. 

Hannah Swensen #23
Two and a half stars
This book came out September 25, 2018
Follows Raspbery Danish Murder
Followed by Chocolate Cream Pie Murder
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Board to Death by C.J. Connor

Ben Rosencrantz used to be an English professor (yes, he's heard all of the Shakespeare jokes) but he came back to Sugar House, a neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, to help his father run their family's board game shop. His father is ill and can use the help but their shop has been in a slow decline for years as Amazon has taken over. Newly divorced, Ben is just in a constant state of nervousness because nothing has gone the way it should have and now he's back, still gay, in the heart of Mormon country. 
It really doesn't help that a patron shows up on his doorstep, with a knife sticking out of his chest, and promptly dies. The man had claimed to have the prototype for Monopoly which, if true, would have been worth quite a lot of money. Ben thinks that he may be a suspect in the murder so he decides to investigate on his own.
This was an okay start to a series. I don't love amateur sleuths who run into danger but Ben at least took someone along with him. There wasn't a lot of build up for the mystery other than Ben running around. The narrator also had some weird pauses that kept throwing me off but I did finish the book and I'd probably read the next one. 

A Board Game Shop Mystery #1
Three stars
This book came out August 22, 2023
Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own


Monday, January 29, 2024

Solstice Spirits by Erin Johnson

Rudie Hollybrook is the only person in Holiday Haven who sees dead people. It's been a point of contention between herself and her best frenemy Hayley Swift. Except now, Hayley is also seeing ghosts. Well, ghost. It's just one ghost. But it's still scaring the bejeebers out of her. So she calls Rudie, at ridiculous hours of the morning (seriously, the lady has no manners.)

But her life view may be about to change. It may not be three separate ghosts but this particular ghost is trying to tell her something.
Not a ton of depth but a good story.

Three stars
This book came out July 1, 2021
Follows Holiday Hijinks
Followed by Merry Mischief 
Rudie last appeared in Cocoa Curses
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own


Friday, December 29, 2023

Cocoa Curses by Erin Johnson

This is a cozy mystery that has a conceit (being near Santa's workshop) and it runs with it. Of course, it assumes that there are witches that live near by and Rudie Hollybrook is one of them. She has always felt a little bit like an outsider as her magic has to do with death. And that comes into play when a woman is murdered. One who Rudie didn't particularly like, nor did the woman like her. So having her ghost around isn't exactly a fun time.
However, the way to get rid of the ghost would be to solve the murder. Rudie isn't exactly a detective so there is some bumbling. There is also the inevitable love interest, in this case a journalist.

Three stars
Follows Winter Wishes
Followed by Cherry Charms
Rudie next stars in Solstice Spirits
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod

Professor Peter Shandy is fed up. His best friend's wife has been bullying him for years to take part in the campus "Illumination." But he's resisted. Until this year. This is the year he hires a company to make the most obnoxious Christmas display, complete with music. Then he locks his electricity box and leaves on a cruise. When he gets back, he expects that Jemima (the friend's wife) will cuss him out but good. What he doesn't expect -- The electricity to his house has been turned off and Jemima is dead behind his couch.
But Professor Shandy is the only one that seems to think this was anything more than an accident. So, can he solve the murder before more people get killed? No. No he can't. But it's a fun story and a great holiday read.

Three stars
This book came out in 1978
Followed by The Luck Runs out
Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla 
Opinions are my own

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Murder in an Irish Pub by Carlene O'Connor

Siobhan O'Sullivan is working with the rest of the Garda to make sure the town stays safe while a major poker game is going on. There are some very famous players coming in including The Octopus, Eamon Foley (anyone's guess as to whether his nickname refers to his good poker hands or how he acts around women), Clementine Heart, and Shane Ross. 
During the first game, Eamon is dealt the Dead Man's hand. Major foreshadowing there as he later ends up dead but not before he's accused of cheating to win the hand. There was a lot going on with accusations that his wife was carrying a child that wasn't Eamon's, a bet involving a valuable racehorse, and longstanding rivalries. 
The actual answer comes somewhat out of left field. An interesting story and you don't need to have read the rest of the series to understand what it going on.

Three stars
This book came out February 26, 2019
Follows Murder in an Irish Churchyard
Followed by Murder in an Irish Cottage
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson

I assume that both Peg and Rose have appeared in Berenson's other series as there are references to both of them having helped solve other mysteries. But in this book, the two are working together, maybe for the first time in decades. Rose wasn't sure about Peg when she married Rose's brother and she made a scene that ensured the two wouldn't have a good relationship. Years later, her brother is dead and Rose is feeling penitent so she invites Peg to a bridge club. We get to meet all of the the other members along with Peg and Rose. It is one of their bridge club that gets murdered in this book. While the police (including a detective that Peg knows and trusts) are investigating, Peg is still going to poke her nose in. That leads to some danger for them both and Peg may not be able to stick around to take care of her prized poodles.

Four stars
This book came out August 20, 2022
Followed by Peg and Rose Stir up Trouble
Borrowed as hard copy from the library
Opinions are my own

Monday, October 23, 2023

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse by Harper Lin

I really dislike books where the main character hides things from the police and Francesca Amaro, Franny, does so in this book. She's returned to her hometown after her mother's death and is trying to readjust to her new life running the family coffee shop. Her life is once again upended when she goes home early one day and discovers her neighbor, a man she grew up with, dead in the back yard. She does reconnect with the man's son, her childhood friend Matty. The two work together to try and figure out why his father was killed.

I'm going to try the second book in this series but I am a little worried about how hard Franny goes, not just in her investigating but her relationship with Matty as well.

Three stars
This book came out May 25, 2015
Followed by Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Friday, October 6, 2023

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

A main reason I love these books is that Meg Langslow is just so darn pragmatic. Is she an amateur detective? Yes, she is. Does she share all of her information with the police chief? Does she actively hide evidence or mess up crime scenes? No she does not. She's smart, she solves crimes, and she does so without being an bumbling idiot. 
Even better, she's competent at any number of things (though she has her failings) and her blacksmithing, which sometimes takes a back seat, is out in full force during this book. There is a reality competition being filmed at Ragnar's estate and Meg is there as a general dogsbody. She has been asked to be in the show but prefers not to. However, when someone attacks her friend and mentor Faulk, Meg reluctantly joins so that he won't lose the investment money he and his husband put into the filming the show which was thought up by another one of Faulk's students. 

I got ARCs of both the ebook and audiobook. The ebook was not as good though I had some personal stuff going on which made it harder to concentrate. The audiobook, and Bernadette Dunn, were amazing as always. 

Meg Langslow #34
Four stars
This book comes out October 10, 2023
ARC kindly provided by MacMillan and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

A Burglary In Belgravia by Lynda Wilcox

Lady Eleanor Bakewell is out for a fun night at the theater but she is the only one who hears a loud noise. When she goes to see what is going on, she discovers a dead body, Sir David Bristol. Sir David is a socialist who ran one of the leading papers in London. He is also the benefactor of the play and a man known for his many, many, many relationships. His current relationship is with the star of the play that Lady Eleanor came to see with her friend. 
There is some character growth in this book though not a lot. The mystery was a little convoluted with Eleanor being hired by a lady to find her pearl necklace and the murder being mixed in with some jewel robberies. 

Three and a half stars
This book came out November 2, 2019
Followed by A Traitor at Tower Bridge
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own


Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

Auntie Aprils niece, Divina, has come to visit but there is something strange going on. Divina is close lipped about parts of her life and April is not trying to hook her up with Marcus (Mae's younger son) which she tries to do with any woman that's available. That includes Teresa, a young woman from the auntie's church who comes to help clean when their new laundromat is vandalized. Everything escalates when Divina is found dead and then one of the aunties is attacked.
This book has Lila being a little more forward and more off the mark than I remember from other books but still an enjoyable read. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 19, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Birder, She Wrote by Donna Andrews

Meg is looking forward to a quiet afternoon in her hammock. Of course, that's not going to happen, she's got too much going on. Some of the new people moving in to Caerphilly have complaints (again) including against Edgar Brockton, the man who has been helping Meg's dad with his bees. Which is interesting because Meg herself has just gotten a new delivery. Her dad has come over to help get the hive set up when her grandmother Cordelia arrives with a journalist in tow. The journalist is following Cordelia around and that's going to include looking for a pre-Civil War graveyard. Too bad they stumble across a dead body.
If you are a regular Andrews reader, you can probably predict most of the beats of this story but that doesn't mean it's unenjoyable. It is a nice addition to the series.
I also got to listen to the audiobook and, as always, Bernadette Dunn only makes the story better. 

Four stars
This book comes out August 1, 2023
ARC of ebook kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
ARC of audiobook kindly provided by NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Friday, July 21, 2023

Murder at a London Finishing School by Jessica Ellicott

Edwina and Beryl are just getting to settle in and enjoy some down time when a letter comes from their very own finishing school. There have been some mysterious noises and thefts that are causing an already stressed school to lose even more students. Their former headmistress, Miss Dupont, needs help. And they are startled to realize they recognize even more face including a former student who is now a teacher. Also there? The school bully whose younger daughter is about to enter the school. 
Too bad said bully doesn't seem to have improved with age. In fact, she seems to be wielding an even bigger stick. Or at least trying to. So is it any surprise that she's the person who ends up dead? And, of course, leaving behind any number of people who are happy to see her go. 
The ending of this one was rather surprising to me because I remember the other Ellicott books being rather fairly clued but this comes basically out of nowhere. It was fine, just unexpected. 

Four stars
This book come out July 25, 2023
Follows Murder through the English Post
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own 


Sunday, June 25, 2023

Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns

April’s not-quite-ex-husband is back in town and she is positively NOT happy to see him. CJ (Clayton Jackson Davenport) immediately provokes Maddy, our narrator, into a bet wherein, if he wins, she’ll shut down her bakery. And she’s not the only one he’s picking fights with having presented Mayor Rivers’ first wife with the news that the two were never divorced meaning Candy doesn’t own her store either. And right after she had told our narrator that there was a tunnel between the two stores. 
Of course, CJ is the one who ends up dead. Maddy is one of the immediate suspects since their arguments were so public. So she's going to investigate and try to clear her own name as well as that of her friends.
I enjoyed getting to know people in this book but didn't feel like there was much character growth and there were some parts of the story that felt like they were wedged in and not developed (the parts with Leroy.) Still a good story but am hoping for more in the next book. 

Three and a half stars
This book came out June 27, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Rehearsed to Death by Frank Anthony Polito

I hadn't read the first book in this series but didn't think I needed to. Overall, a fun story although there was a little too bit much at the end and sometimes the language was a bit stilted. I did enjoy PJ as the narrator and really thought he seemed like a nice guy (and a real person) -- except that he was a little TSTL (the S in this case being stupid.) I get fairly annoyed when amateur detectives not only don't call the police, they actively hide evidence.
I wish we had gotten to know some of the suspects a bit more but, while we really got to know some of them, others were just sketches. It made it hard to be invested in finding the murderer.
PJ's play is going to be performed at the local theater but, rather than having the usual director, Violet the mayor's wife, there is a Big Name, Xander Sherwood Deva who comes in. And, for being in town such a short time, he manages to piss off a large number of people. So it's not a big surprise that he ends up dead, strangled with the fancy scarf he was so proud of throwing around. 
JP and PJ aren't just a playwright and actor, they also star on a home renovation show. Oh, and they're going to tackle this murder. 

Three stars
This book comes out May 23, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Tell-Tale Bones by Carolyn Haines

Seven years ago, Lydia Maxwell disappeared. Married to the abusive Tope, she had a good reason. Now Tope claims to have proof that Lydia is dead; he wants her inheritance. Lydia's mother Elisa feels differently. She's just gotten a call on her tipline that Lydia has been spotted. And nearby. She wants Sarah Booth and Tinkie to follow up. 
Of course, questioning people, especially a fraught past, is going to stir up trouble. One person even dies. And there is a lot of backstory and explaining and many, many, many storylines that do come together in the end but are slightly overdramatic in the meantime. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out May 16, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Witch Way Out by Cate Conte

At the end of the last book, Violet Mooney was whisked away by Blake along with the man she's been dating, Todd. They end up in the office of Mac, a private investigator and leprechaun, but Mac is not there. Instead, there is a pile of goo, evidence that Mac has been genied. Todd immediately disappears. Violet is shocked but she tries to keep her involvement quiet since she also discovered the last genie victim and her mother and Blake are worried that she might actually be the one targeted.
That's fine with Fiona, she doesn't want to rush into danger and she's still trying to get a handle on being a witch. Plus, she's gotten an unexpected call to join the local (and very popular) craft fair. This is a fabulous opportunity to highlight her shop and it's a chance to meet one of her heroes, a proponent of ethical crystal mining, Horatio Hale. But there's a saying that you should never meet your idols and that seems to be true for Violet and Horatio. Not only does he seem to be sneaking around on his ex-wife with another vendor (why keep the relationship a secret?), Violet overhears a conversation that makes it seem Horatio might not be as upstanding as he seems. Plus, there's the gentleman hanging around saying that Horatio kicked him out of the fair. 
If you've read a cozy before, you'll probably realize who is going to end up dead. It's up to Violet to finally step into her power and take control of the whole situation.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out March 28, 2023
Follows Witch Trial
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

The Body Politic by Catherine Aird

When Peter Corbishley, member of Parliament is heckled during the opening speeches of a battle reenactment, "Why don't you drop dead?" He doesn't but one of his constituents, Allen Shaw, does. The man had asked him for help because he was scared that his mineral company employer is going to force him to go back to a country that wants to kill him after he accidentally killed a pedestrian.
This was another quick listen that was sometimes convoluted to follow but may have been easier if I had read it with my eyes.

Three stars
This book came out in 1990
Followed by A Going Concern
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Friday, February 17, 2023

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

I liked the cover of this book and figured I should give it a try. I wasn't really paying attention to the story until they mentioned the border of Indiana and Michigan where I grew up. Instantly, I started paying more attention - I know this town!
That wasn't what kept me reading though, instead it's getting to watch Maddy slowly figure out how to be an adult standing on her own two feet. 
As we get to know her, it seems that Maddy has always been cossetted and protected by her colonel father. After her ex dumped her basically at the altar, Maddy is ready for a change. Inheriting her aunt's bakery in New Bison makes for an opportunity to get out of town. Once there, she finds out that she's also inherited a large English mastiff named Baby. But there is also a mystery. It seems Maddy's Aunt Olivia was somewhat expecting that she may die and she's left behind the clues for Maddy to follow. 
The characters are fun. The mystery is maybe a little thin and there are some threads left hanging but I overall enjoyed the book.

Four stars
This book came out August 30, 2022
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Murder in the Third Act by Sonia Parin

Oh, this is a relief to return to the Evie Parker books that were part of the earlier series; the last book made me wonder if I should stop reading the series. 
Evie's grandmother is finally here, insisting that everyone call her Toodles. Though a wealthy woman, she doesn't stand on formality. In fact, it's driving the dowager countess a little crazy. But, when a murder happens, the two bond together in trying to beat Evie to the solution.
Evie doesn't want to deal another death. Especially one that happens to one of her house guests. Not at her house, thank goodness, but later, during the third act of a play run through. A play that has some decidedly familiar characters and interactions. 

Four stars
This book came out October 4, 2019
Followed by Murder and a Christmas Gift
Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own