I read 10 books (almost 2000 pages) this month! How about that? Now I just have to work on a few reviews that I’ve been too busy lazy to do. I binged on Diana Xarissa books this month. I couldn’t … Continue reading Cozy Reader Plans, God Laughs – A look back at May
Murder in the Community Garden (Tory Benning #3)by Judith Gonda I requested Murder in the Community Garden from Netgalley because the blurb sucked me in; Tory Benning, a landscape architect, arrives at the community garden she landscaped. But trouble … Continue reading Murder in the Community Garden (Tory Benning #3)
Claws for Suspicion(A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery #3)by Deborah Blake Kari and the Serenity Sanctuary crew are back, still caring for homeless pets and solving murders. In this one, Kari has put her ex-husband, Charlie, far behind her and thought … Continue reading Claws for Suspicion (Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery #3)
Petals and Poison: A Flower House Mystery(A Flower House Mystery #2)by Jess Dylan It’s May, which means the Cozy Mystery book club has moved on to the second book in the Flower House series, Petals and Poison. Sierra is finally … Continue reading Petals and Poison (A Flower House Mystery #2)
I love this series. The characters, the plots, the scenery. Definitely one of my comfort series and I’m always excited to read the latest. This one is #21 in the series and what? how did it get this far? Seems like yesterday I picked up Arrivals and Arrests. Continue reading Umbrellas and Undertakers ( Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy #21)
This was our Book Club pick for February, picking up where book 1 left off. With all the introductions out of the way, this book flowed so much better and it wasn’t long until I was caught up in it. Continue reading Paint the Town Dead (Aurora Anderson Mystery #2)
I would say this can be read as a standalone or an entry into the series, as there were very few references to the earlier books. I love the little bits of humor and absurdity, from finding a horse standing in the middle of the church to Sawdust’s thoughts about kitty friend Cleo and the playhouse and cafe idea was amazing, definitely a place I’d love to check out! Continue reading Batten Down the Belfry (House-Flipper Mystery #4)
! I hear a lot of good things about this series from my cozy mystery friends and when I saw this one, I knew I had to give it a try. I think I’ve tried every flavor of cozy mysteries except yarn cozies – well, until now! And I liked this one right from the first page; some writers have that amazing way of drawing you right into their world from the start and this one definitely did! Continue reading But Knot for Me (A Yarn Retreat Mystery, #8)
A salaciously sinuous plot, it kept me guessing with each chapter, with a pace that kept moving and grinding from clue to clue. Continue reading City of the Dead (Alex Delaware #37)
I got this from Netgalley a bit ago and saved it for British Cozy Mystery book bingo. I really enjoyed it, the dry humor, the little barbs here and there, the quips, very entertaining. And although this is a novel written in 2020, it did very much sound like a Wodehouse novel, and thematically it was not unlike a Poirot novel. Thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Continue reading The Case of the Canterfell Codicil (Anty Boisjoly Mysteries, #1)
d I chalk it up to my own lack of attention span because this wasn’t a bad book by any means. I love the series (I want Ivan to be my BFF and make me waffles every day. I can dream, right? I believe fictional waffles don’t have any carbs or calories, so I can eat them all day long.) and it was a great plot Continue reading Of Spice and Men (Pancake House Mystery #3)
Fatal Brushstroke was our Book Club pick for January and I was really looking forward to it! I read #4 last October and was looking forward into starting the series from the beginning and I wasn’t disappointed Continue reading Fatal Brushstroke (Aurora Anderson #1)
I picked this one up on Netgalley because like everyone else, I’m obsessed with the idea of a grilled cheese restaurant. This one was a great start to a new series Continue reading Up to No Gouda (Grilled Cheese Mysteries #1)
There were only 2 books in the Inspector Guy Northeast series, which is a shame, I would’ve liked to know more about Inspector Guy Northeast; a likeable guy, part Beaton’s Hamish and part Poirot, he’s portrayed as being smarter and more savvy than his superiors, and yet is frequently ridiculed and admonished as not being up to the task, which he takes in stride as he works to close the case. Continue reading They Rang Up the Police (Inspector Guy Northeast #1)
Someone on r/CozyMystery was looking for a recap of this book because it had been awhile since she read it and she just got the second book in the series. It looked super cute, so I picked it up and read it to give her a recap. Continue reading Dead As a Door Knocker (House Flipper Mystery #1)
It’s Cozy Mystery Book Bingo time and this year’s theme is British cozy mysteries. I picked up this one for the Beautiful English Gardens square because no one does gardens better than Pru Parke. Continue reading Bittersweet Herbs (Potting Shed Mystery #8)
So, one of my friends on the Cozy Mystery discord mentioned she had just finished playing The ABC Murder video game and saw it was only $1.49 on Steam so I snapped it up and played for hours. Absolutely loved it and it gave me the idea to read the Poirot series from the beginning, which meshed well with book bingo. Woo! Continue reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)
I enjoyed the Holiday theme read so much, I added an extra Christmas book. I’ve never read this series before, so I can safely say this can be read as an entry into the series or as a standalone…but I can also safely say I’ll be going back and reading the other books. Continue reading As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles (Food Lovers’ Village Mystery #5)
This one was every bit as good as the first one! I loved the plot, lots of twists and turns and let’s face it, Miranda had it coming with her AUDACITY. I particularly liked the scene with Miranda’s entrance with the “reindeer”, clearly this woman has no sense of propriety! Continue reading Rubies and Revenge (Junkin’ Jewelry Mysteries #2)
Happy Halloween! I challenged myself to read 10 Halloween books during the month of October and I had so much fun doing it! My absolute favorite read was Designed for Haunting by Sybil Johnson. An amazing plot, lots of twists … Continue reading Halloween Theme Read 2021 – Done!
Bread of the Dead(Santa Fe Cafe Mystery #1)by Ann Myers Well written, likable and oozing cozy, Bread of the Dead has all the ingredients for the perfect mystery! This book gave me hard core Goldy Bear vibes. The Goldy Bear … Continue reading Bread of the Dead (Santa Fe Cafe Mystery #1)
In Peppermint Peril (Book Tea Shop #1) by Joy Avon Callie has just returned home from traveling the world to the small town in Maine where she grew up. Staying with her great aunt Iphy and helping out at Iphy’s tea shop, Callie hosts a special tea party at Haywood Hall, a local manor owned by the elderly Dorothy Finster. But the party goes awry and a man is found dead, stabbed to death in the conservatory. Together with the delicious Deputy Falk, Callie begins to unlock the clues that lead to a killer. Fall is in full effect, all … Continue reading In Peppermint Peril
Kill It By Skillet (A Kitchen Shop Mystery #1) by Mary Birdie Belle Meyer, the proprietor of The Wild Goose culinary shop in Walnut Creek Square, knows she sells some great cookware but never thought it was killer cookware until one of her customers is found dead – smacked with a frying pan from her shop. Belle can’t help but do a bit of poking into the matter, much to the consternation of Detective Hawkes. What a fun, charming little book! It puts the “cozy” in cozy mystery with a cute small town, an adorable cat, fun characters (many of … Continue reading Kill It By Skillet
Death of a Russian Doll (Vintage Toyshop #3) by Barbara Early Poor Liz, her promising new romance with new police chief Ken Young was shattered when his estranged wife, Marya, blew into town looking to reconcile. Liz does her best to get over it, but when Marya is found strangled to death and Ken comes under suspicion, Liz steps in to help her dad solve the murder and uncovers the secrets Marya has been hiding for years. But who killed her? Another great chapter in the Vintage Toy Shop series, I loved the twisty plot, this wasn’t your ordinary cozy! … Continue reading Review: Death of a Russian Doll
Rip Your Heart Out (Ripple Effect #4) by Jeanne Glidewell I’m a bit late to the Ripple Effect series, this is the fourth book but only the first I’ve read and I can safely say this can be read as a introduction to the series or as a standalone. Following the adventures of retired couple Rapella and her husband, Rip, as they travel around the US in their RV, they find themselves in the middle of a mystery wherever they go. Rapella, a charmingly naive chatterbox, made for an entertaining sleuth (and I enjoyed Itsy as the sidekick!) and I … Continue reading Review: Rip Your Heart Out
Scared Stiff (Mattie Winston #2) by Anneliese Ryan Heh. Poor Mattie doesn’t have an easy time of it, does she? During a blind date with the OCD William-not-Bill, Mattie is called out on a dead body call. Shannon Tolliver was found dead in her front yard, amongst the Halloween decorations. When Shannon’s estranged husband Erik is arrested, Mattie knows he’s not the killer, so the real question is: who killed Shannon and why? This was a great followup to the first book; thoroughly entertaining and completely engrossing, it was full of hilarious cringe moments (I laughed out loud through the … Continue reading Review: Scared Stiff
The Luckiest Woman Ever (Molly Sutton #2) by Nell Goddin At the local fine dining restaurant, Molly eavesdrops on a wealthy old woman’s not-very-happy birthday party. Known throughout the village for being contemptuous and unlikable, her assembled party goers look less than thrilled to be there. At the end of the evening, Molly finds the woman lying dead on the bathroom floor and it’s determined that the woman died from cyanide poisoning. Molly, having witnessed the whole evening, begins to investigate (which is a good thing, since the local police chief isn’t very good at solving murders.) What she uncovers … Continue reading Review: The Luckiest Woman Ever
Working Stiff (Mattie Winston #1) by Anneliese Ryan I don’t know why it took so long for me to hear about this series, but I’m happy I found it! Laugh out loud funny and suspenseful, it was impossible to put down. In fact, I started this on audiobook and it motivated me to get out for my daily walk, but switched to the Kindle copy because it was so good, I just couldn’t wait any longer to finish it! Mattie is equal parts hapless and unflappable, with a positive attitude that I really enjoyed and appreciated. Despite the setbacks of … Continue reading Review: Working Stiff
The Advice Column Murders (Oakwood Mysteries #3) by Leslie Nagel This is the third book in the Oakwood series, I loved the first two, so I was really excited to read #3. I adore how well written this series in, from the creative and twisty plots to the lovable characters, and this one was no exception! Very nicely plotted, with two murders that occur just steps from Charley’s front door. After a new family moves in next door, Judith’s adult daughter, Sarah, is found murdered. Later, Judith is found murdered in the street, the blame falls on a carpenter with … Continue reading Review: The Advice Column Murders
Too Many Crooks Spoil the Plot (Ditie Brown #1) by Sarah Osbourne I really enjoyed this one, it was relatable, realistic and inviting. The characters really made it for me; warm, true to life and charming, from the capable Ditie, stepping up to take in Ellie’s kids to the sassy Lurleen to the sweet romance between Ditie and Mason, I found myself roped in from the first page. Lurleen is really the one I want to know more about, her back story was hinted at several times in the book and I’m looking forward to learning more about her. The … Continue reading Review: Too Many Crooks Spoil the Plot
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