Happy Friday fellow cozy mystery & book lovers! I hope you’ve had a great week! For me it was a long and stressful week but it was still overall a really great week and now Friday is here and I am looking forward to a great weekend:).
For this author spotlight I thought instead of highlighting one author in honor of Black History Month I would turn the spotlight on few of my favorite African American cozy & not so cozy mystery authors.
Abby L. Vandiver aka Abby Collette is the author of several cozy mystery series and she also writes women fiction under the name Cade Bentley. Abby’s books are well written and real page turners. The characters are fully developed and the mysteries are well crafted with plenty of red herrings. Her newest cozy mystery series features fraternal twins Keaton & Kolby who were separated but have reunited to open up a bookstore and soul food restaurant together. I was introduced to Abby via her Logan Dickerson mystery series which was a spinoff of her sci-fi , a early cozy mystery series, via my Facebook book club last year.
V.M. Burns aka Valerie Burns is the author of the Mystery Bookshop series, Dog Club series, RJ Franklin series and as Valerie Burns the Baker Street mystery series. If you are looking for a fun mystery series you can’t go wrong with V.M. Burns! The very first book I read by this author was In the Dog House book 1 in her Dog Club series and from the first paragraph I was hooked. I’ve since read her newest series Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder and pre-ordered the second book in this series. My TBR pile is loaded with her books.
Olivia Matthews writes the Sister Lou mysteries, Peach Coast Library mysteries (for Hallmark Publishing), and her newest series the Spice Isle Bakery series (on by tbr pile). As Patricia Sargent and Regina Hart she writes several romance novels.
Walter Moseley is considered the godfather of Mystery writers. He is also one of the founders of Crime Writers of Color. He is the author of the long running Easy Rawlins mystery series which was also a movie starring Denzel Washington. He is right up there with James Patterson, David Baldacci, and other mystery writers!
Kelly Garrett is the author of the Detective Day mystery series which is cozy adjacent so far there are two books in this award winning series. She is also one of the founders of Crime Writers of Color.
HAPPY NEW YEAR book lovers! I hope you had a great holiday I certainly did! It helps that my department was closed for the entire week so yesterday was my first day back at work and it wasn’t easy to get back in the grove of things LOL.
I have to say 2022 was a great reading year for me I exceeded my Goodreads goal by 48 books!
Well it’s a new year and with a new year comes new reading goals! My reading goals for 2023 is to read books that have been on my TBR for over a year. Since it is the first month of the new year I decided that I would kick off January reading the first book in series that are on my TBR. While I know I want be able to read ALL the books on my reading pile I have set an ambitious goal of 10.
What are your reading goals this year? Are you planning to binge a series you’ve been wanting to read forever?
Whatever your goals are I hope all your reads this year are 5 star reads!
Currently Reading:
There are five books in this series and I am really enjoying this first book in Debra Sennefelder’s Food Blogger mystery series.
My January TBR (these are all the first book of the series):
Happy Wednesday and Happy Hanukah book lovers! Well Christmas is almost here and 2023 is coming fast I mean where did 2022 go?! For me it has been a really good reading year all around. I’ve been seeing a lot of my favorite books of the year list and I don’t want to be left out (smile).
First I met my Goodreads reading goal this year and exceeded it by 30+ books so yeah me. Second I joined two additional online book clubs which has really expanded my TBR and at the same time help me try and make a dent in my TBR. The two book clubs I joined are on Facebook and I feel like I’ve discovered even more cozy mystery lovers while still a part of the Cozy Mystery Book Club that is on YouTube I look so forward to the end of every month. Third this is in no way a conclusive list because I read so many great books this year!
This will be my last post of 2022 so I want to wish y’all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope your books were all 5 star reads and your adventures were exciting, magical, and wonderful.
What are some of your favorite books you read this year please share.
With that being said here are some my favorites of 2022
The Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series by Darci Hannah: Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off, and Murder at the Blueberry Festival
I discovered this series and it is definitely takes the #1 spot of my favorite books of 2022. I literally read all three books in the month of July and each one was better than the last. Darci Hannah knows how to write a mystery that will keep your attention and cause you to loose sleep. I’ve been stalking her website to see when the next book in this delightful series will be out.
Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson this is a spinoff from the very popular Melanie Travis series and it doesn’t disappoint. I love a book that features seniors who are active and living life and Melanie’s aunts Peg and Rose are that and so much more. This was a great first book and I ‘ve already pre-ordered the next book
Meet Your Baker (A Bakeshop Mystery #1) by Ellie Alexander I now have to binge this series!
Trouble in Paradise Series by Carrie Doyle: It Takes to Mango (Book 1), Something’s Guava Give (Book 2). Book 3 will be out in 2023
Bayou Book Thief (Vintage Cookbook Mystery #1) by Ellen Byron this was such a great debut series and it will make you want to immediately get on a plane or in your car and head to NOLA
A Christmas Candy Killing (A Killer Chocolate Mystery #1) by Christina Romeril
Mountain Town Murder (Jackson Holes Moose’s Bakery Mystery #1) by Sue Pepper
Crime & Punctuation (A Deadly Edits Mystery #1) by Kaitlyn Dunnett
Fresh Brewed Murder (A Ground Rules Mystery #1) by Emmeline Duncan
Twelve Slays of Christmas (Christmas Tree Farmy Mystery #1) by Jacqueline Frost
Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider House Mystery #1) Julie Anne Lindsey
Arsenic and Adobo (A Tita Rosie Kitchen Mystery #1) by Mia P. Manansala
A Deadly Inside Scoop (Ice Cream Parlor Mystery #1) & Body and Soul Food (A Books & Biscuits Mystery #1) by Abby Collette
Happy Wednesday book lovers! Wow Christmas is getting closer and closer and for those of you who celebrate Hanukkah it’s even closer than Christmas!
My December kicked off with a bang with Cozy Mystery Club’s 12 Days of Cozy which is always fun. It’s a time to interact with my favorite authors, get the chance to win a book or two, and discover new authors and I absolutely love it! It’s also a chance to get in a lot of reading during the reading sprints and I’ve gotten in a lot of great reads.
I hope you are taking the time amongst all the shopping, holiday gatherings, and busyness of the Christmas seasons to kick back with a cozy hot beverage of your choice and a good book to unwind, relax, and lose yourself in a another world.
Since it is the holiday season I’m sure it will come as no surprise that the majority of the books I’ve read, am currently reading, and will be read are Christmas themed.
Until next time Happy Holiday and Happy Reading!
Read:
A Christmas Candy Killing (Killer Chocolate Mystery) by Christina Romeril was a huge 4 stars for me! I really enjoyed this debut cozy mystery. Alex and Hannah are identical twins (thank you for name that don’t rhyme) and own Murder and Mayhem a mystery bookstore that sells poison themed chocolates (um yes please). When Alex finds her friend and fellow book club member Jane murdered and the weapon of choice is the chocolates from Murder and Mayhem which put her in the eye sight of the sheriff she is determined to clear her name, save her business, and find justice for her friend all before Christmas. This is my first cozy set in Montana and as I read the book I absolutely felt like I was there in Harriston. I couldn’t put this book down which lead to a lot of late nights because I just had to know what was happening. There were heaps of suspects and plenty of red herrings and I felt at time there were too many but I did get the killer right and I loved the reveal. I can’t wait to the second book in this series.
Mistletoe Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery #1) by Leslie Meier is a cozy mystery series that has been on my to buy list forever so I was super excited when this book was selected as the December buddy read for Cozy Mystery Book Club’s 12 Days of Cozies. This is a very popular series there are 20 plus books in the Lucy Stone series. As I read I had to remind myself that this first book came out in 1991 before cell phones were owned by everyone and the internet was a thing. Lucy discovers the body of the owner of Country Cousins (think Cracker Barrell) when she was taking a break she works as a customer service representative in the call center. She finds herself investigating his death mostly out of a sense of justice and she just can’t let it go. Overall I enjoyed reading the mystery and I liked that Lucy carried out her investigation around her life as a working mother and wife. I didn’t realize who the killer was until almost the end of the book and I was completely surprised. Now there were some not cozy elements in this book: there cat was killed by someone (never solved) and there was suicide so be warned which is why I gave this book 3 stars.
The Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost (aka Julie Anne Lindsey) is the first book in Christmas Tree Farm series and it is so good. I gave it 4 BIG stars. Holly White is back home in Mistletoe, Maine after her fiancé calls off their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go helping out her parents on their Christmas tree farm during the busiest time of the year for them and the whole town. When Holly comes across the body of Margaret Fenwick head of the Historical Preservation Society on the farm and the handsome Sheriff Gray closes the farm down Holly springs into action and decides to do her own investigation. As I read this book I couldn’t help but think of this author’s other series The Sea Side Café series she writes as Bree Baker. Holly reminded me so much of Everly Swan and I found myself smiling a lot as I read. This is another book I couldn’t put down and found myself reading way, way past my bedtime. At times I felt there were too many suspects since Margaret Fenwick seems to have upset just about everybody in Mistletoe and when the killer was revealed I was blindsided by the revelation because they were such a minor character. Having said that I can’t wait to read Twas the Knife Before Christmas.
I really love this series! I really enjoyed the first book A Side of Murder and the third book Murder is No Picnic (which I thought was the second book). I highly recommend reading these books in order as this book is referenced though out Murder is No Picnic.
I’ve just started reading but Samantha Barnes is just as funny as ever and I can’t wait to join her and her friends on her sleuthing journey and she if she survives her parent’s visit for the holidays.
Next:
I am excited to read books 2 and 3 of Jacqueline Frost’s Christmas Tree Farm mysteries:
Hello Book Lovers! I hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving! If you were traveling I pray you had safe travels and that none of your flights were cancelled and were on time! Please forgive the lateness of this post!
I set up for myself a very ambitious November TBR and I am really happy that I am making progress but there were some books I read that were not on my reading radar but I was introduced to via KU (Amazon Kindle Unlimited) hey I’m easily lead astray when it comes to books…what can I say. Overall though I’ve tried to stick to my reading pile:) and with that being said I thought it would be great to share with you what I’ve read so far.
Happy Reading!
I’m going to kick it off with my favorite (so far) A Sprinkle in Time (Shake Shop Mystery #2) by Dana MentinkI really enjoyed this second book in what will hopefully be a series with a long life. I found myself connecting even more with Trinidad and was so glad her grandfather, Papa Luis, was in this book also and hopefully he has arrived in Upper Sprocket, OR to stay and her ex’s first wife and daughter Bonnie & Felice and in this second book too. The mystery which not only included a murder but a cold case too and the author did a great job of connecting everything together so it didn’t feel like there were two completely separate plot happening.
Next The Pint of No Return (A Sloan Krause Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander was so much better than the first book in this series and there are currently six books in this series. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read the second book in this series but then I had to take my own advice. I always tell other bookworms don’t dismiss this first book in the series and I am glad I took my won advice! This second book was so much better than I thought it would be Sloan is finding her groove as she is adjusting to life as an almost devoiced woman and deal with her soon to be ex as best she can while working alongside Garrett at Nitro. When a murder happens Sloan finds herself investigating and the ending was much more satisifying this time around.
The first book in Sue Pepper’sJackson Hole’s Moose’s Bakery Not So Cozy Mystery Mountain Town Murder gets a huge thumbs up! Although I must admit I found the book very cozy it had all the cozy troupes: cozy companion (dog name Tyrone), murder but not gory, small town, and in this case culinary but I think the author classified it as not so cozy because there is profanity and one slightly steamy love scene (I guess). I love Sadie Moose and the employees of her bakery and some other characters. I read this mystery pretty quickly it was just that good. There were several suspects and I definitely had no clue who the killer was but I was glued to the story and just had to find out!
Musseled Out (A Maine Clambake Mystery #3) by Barbara Ross finds Julia Snowden trying to keep her BIL, Sonny, out of prison when he is suspected of murdering David Thwing “the Mussel King” who was planning to open up his own clambake business in direct competition to the Snowden Family Clambake. The problem is Sonny is not being completely truthful with the police or Julia’s sister regarding his alibi. Plus Julia has to decide if she’s going back to her old job in New York or staying put in Busman’s Harbor. This was very entertaining and can’t wait to read book 4!
Happy Friday fellow book lovers! I was going to wait until next week but I really wanted to share with ya’ll my very ambitious November reading goals and they are very ambitious. I look at November at the kick off to the Christmas/holiday season when I believe we have more time off from work than any other time of the year. As mush as I love to shop I do not get up at a ridiculous hour of the morning to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving I sleep.
So this month I have set for myself the goal of 18 books since I have a four day weekend and will not be traveling for the holiday. These books are also on my Fall TBR list with some new additions. Having said all this here are the cozy mysteries I am endeavoring to read this month.
So fellow book lover’s do you have a November reading list? What’s on your TBR? What are you reading now?
For more book and fashion content visit me on Instagram
Happy Wednesday Book Lovers! I just finished reading the third book in Liz Ireland’s delightful Mrs. Claus mystery series and all I can say is every book keeps getting better. I give this book a huge 5 STARS!
In this third book April Claus is excited to have her best friend Claire visiting her in Santaland which is also her way of revealing that she is actually married to Santa Claus and her whole new life during Christmas Week but all it is not well in Santaland. The reindeer have gone on strike because of the drone reindeer that have started popping up everywhere and her husband Nick aka Santa Claus is trying to do all he can to end the strike before Christmas gets cancelled. Then a drone reindeer takes out the ice sculpture of Blitzen the First with an ominous message attached to it THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!
April was hoping to show Claire how wonderful Santaland is but it looks like someone has other plans. Then there is the murder or should I say elficide of Virgil which happen halfway through the book and her best elf friend Juniper is arrested for his murder. Now April has putting on her sleuthing cap to find out who framed her best friend for murder.
I found this book so much fun to read and found it so hard to put it down which made for plenty of late night reading. From the first sentence “Note to self: Elf clogging should never be the main event” to the very last sentence. Because the murder or elficide happened so late in the book I didn’t think there was going to be one and that it would be all about the chaos and havoc that is being created. At times there were way too many subplots going on with the reindeer strike, snowmen on souped up boards called snowmanuvers, a missing elf, a budding romance between Claire and Jake Frost, and a few more subplots that at times distracted me from the actual murder.
Due to all the subplots there were plenty (plenty) of red herrings and even with this I was able to guess who the killer was at least I was 1/2 right. The one thing I did miss from this book were the text messages from April’s nemesis back in Cloudberry Bay.
This series is worth your time especially if you’re looking for something fun and light hearted to read then the Mrs. Claus series is the perfect series for you!
Hello book lovers! My October reading has gotten off to a slow start but I am hoping it will pick up and I’ve started reading e-books too! I have Kindle Unlimited and have found that this is a wonderful way to download the first book in a new to me series for free and I am glad I am finally taking advantage of this perk. Now e-books will never replace hardcover books for me but I am finding by using e-books it has cut down my physical TBR.
Before I share what I’m reading with y’all I just want to take a moment to remember the great Dame Angela Lansbury who died last week at the age of 96. For many she is mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher from the great cozy mystery television show Murder She Wrote and while I love Murder She Wrote and watch the re-runs she was also a six time Tony Award winning actress, an Oscar nominated actress, and she was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards. If you’ve never seen any of her movies I highly suggest Gaslight (1944) which was her big screen debut at 17, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Long Hot Summer (1958) and Death on the Nile (1978) her portrayal of Salome Otterbourne is not to be missed. RIP Dame Angela Lansbury and thank you for leaving me with such great memories and times!
I really enjoyed this second book in Linda Reilly’s Grilled Cheese Mystery Series. Carly Hale finds herself sleuthing again when the Ferris Menard, owner of the local sub shop is found dead in his restaurant and Carly’s boyfriend Ari Mitchell becomes the prime suspect. I enjoyed the clues that were given and just enough red herrings but not to many to take you in a totally crazy direction. I actually did figure out who the killer was which doesn’t always happen.
This book kept me up late as I just couldn’t put it down! Definitely 5 big STARS!
This is the second book in Tasha Alexander’s excellent historical mystery series. I love Lady Emily Ashton who is labeled eccentric by the British aristocracy (even her mom) because she is not interested in finding another husband now that her year of mourning is up but pursues her Greek studies and finds herself sleuthing. This series is set towards the end of the 19th Century. In the second book there is a murder, someone is stealing the jewelry and other things of Marie Antionette that is owned by some aristocrats, nasty rumors about her, and a possible con artist who claims to be a descendant of son of Louis XVI & Marie Antionette. Emily is independent and spirited and while she doesn’t completely rebel against all of society’s rules she still remains firm in who she is. I must confess that I get so caught up with Emily I forget I’m reading a mystery but with everything that is going on and throw in dashing Colin Hargraves who is determined to win Emily’s heart and hand in marriage and you just have a really great read full of intrigue and mystery!
This is a new to me mystery series that is set in the 1970s however there are currently 15 books in this series. I discovered this mystery series last year listening to a podcast. This is the first cozy mystery I know of that is set in the decade I was born so I definitely wanted to read this series. I got this first book when it was available for free through Kindle Unlimited.
Book Blurb:
Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.
It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes — kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.
As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?
I have waited all year for this third book in Liz Ireland’s Mrs. Claus Mystery series and the day has come and I am headed by to Christmas Town!
Book Blurb:
April Claus is getting an early gift for her second Christmas in Santaland. Her dear friend, Claire, is visiting from Oregon, and April hopes to show off her adoptive country at its cozy, glittering best. But when the annual ice sculpture contest is derailed by a kamikaze drone-deer, it’s just the first in a series of un-festive events…
Drone-deer, created by inventor elf Blinky Brightlow, are none too popular with the genuine, flesh-and-hoof kind, who are currently on strike. With no reindeer games to keep them in shape, Nick worries they may get too chunky to pull his sleigh come Christmas. Now Blinky is missing, his girlfriend, Juniper, is under suspicion, and between rogue reindeer and conniving elves, all of Santaland seems to have gone sugarplum-crazy. Add a dash of murder to the mix, and suddenly April is battling not just to clear Juniper’s name, but to save herself from being put on ice — permanently…
I was not a big fan of the first book in this series by Ellie Alexander but I am one who likes to read the second book in the series because the first book is usually establishing the characters and world building plus Ellie Alexander is an author whose books I’ve never read until this year when I read the first book in her extremely popular Bakeshop series which I really enjoyed. Having said that I am hoping that the second book clicks for me. What I do like is that the author sets her book in the real town of Leavenworth, OR and this second book takes place during Oktoberfest.
Book Blurb:
No other festival compares to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. The whole town is buzzing with excitement over this year’s activities and eagerly awaiting Nitro’s latest offering Cherrywizen, made with locally sourced cherries. But local brewmaster Sloan Krause is tapped out. Between trying to manage the pub, her pending divorce with Mac, and her mounting feelings for Garrett, she’s fermenting in internal turmoil.
To complicate matters, dreamy movie star Mitchell Morgan and his production crew have arrived in the village to film during the authentic Bavarian brewfest. Mitchell has his eye on Sloan and a taste for Nitro’s Cherrywizen. Sloan escapes his advances for good when she finds Mitchell slumped over the bar. Is this a case of one pint too many, or has Mitchell been murdered by microbrew?
Yes that’s right a milkshake mystery is on my Fall TBR because it takes place in fall I mean milkshakes are not just for summer people.
I so enjoyed the first book in this series and I am looking forward to reading this second book in what I hope will be a series with long life.
Book Blurb:
It’s Alpenfest in Upper Sprocket! Yodelers are congregating in the square, tourists flocking to the town, and Trinidad Jones is scooping up some fall flavors at her Shimmy and Shake Shop.
The cherry on the sundae is her upcoming feature in The Scoop magazine. She’s determined to serve up the perfect interview, but it won’t be easy, thanks in part to her meddling Cuban grandfather Papa Luis who has decided to make Sprocket his home for the foreseeable future. Papa Luis has set himself up as a taxi driver in his classic 1951 Buick.
But things take a turn when Papa Luis tells her he’s found a corpse in his trunk. Upon closer investigation, they realize the body has disappeared. With the assistance of Juliette and Bonnie (her sisterhood of exes) and the way too handsome nut farmer Quinn Logan, Trinidad must solve the mystery of the disappearing corpse, before her father is up to his neck in a murderous mess.
Hello my fellow book lovers! It feels like September just got here and I was enjoying the waning days of summer and now it is fall and October is here.
September was a good month for me I read a lot which was surprising even to me…LOL. I read some really great cozies and I will share my favorite September reads with you next week, God willing, because I am in the mist of reading two books I want to include in this month’s reads and not next month.
So I thought I would share with my fellow book worms and cozy mystery lovers the cozy mysteries I am excited to read next month. This is not all the cozy mysteries that are coming in October these are the ones I’m looking forward to reading.
If you want a complete list of mysteries and book releases for next month check out Bookium here on Medium not for new releases but recommendations but for new releases check outDru’s Book Musingsfor a complete list of new releases and book reviews which are way better than mine and there are also author and character interviews.
*Note: I am not a fan of paranormal or witchy mysteries so there will not be any mentioned on this list these are fall/holiday themes.**
I can’t wait to read this second book in Raquel Reyes’ Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series and as you can see from the cover it is set in the fall/Halloween. The first book in this new series Mango, Mambo, and Murder was so good I immediately pre-ordered this second book as soon as it became available for pre-order.
About the book (from back of the book):
Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith wakes up to find a corpse in her front yard. The body by the fake tombstone is the woman that was kicked out of the school’s Fall Festival the day before.
Miriam’s luck does not improve. Her passive-aggressive mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women’s Club annual gala. But this year, it’s not canapes and waltzes. Miriam and her girlfriends-squad opt for fun and flavor. They want to spice it up with Caribbean food trucks and a calypso band. While making plans at the country club, they hear a volatile argument between the new head chef and the club’s manager. Not long after, the chef swan dives to his death at the bottom of the grand staircase.
Was it an accident? Or was it Beverly, the sous chef, who is furious after being passed over for the job? Or maybe it was his ex-girlfriend, Anastasia?
Add two possible poisonings to the mix and Miriam is worried the food truck fun is going to be a major crash. As the clock ticks down and the body count goes up, Miriam’s life is put in jeopardy. Will she connect the dots or die in the deep freeze? Foodies and mystery lovers alike will savor the denouement as the truth is laid bare in this simmering stew of rage, retribution, and murder.
Twin sisters who own a mystery bookstore called Murder and Mayhem who also sell poison themed chocolates need I say more?!
About the book (from back of the book):
Identical twin sisters Alex and Hannah are the owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that sells their famous poison-themed Killer Chocolates. But now, there’s a real killer in their midst. Shortly before Christmas, their septuagenarian neighbor, Jane, confides to Alex that a murderer from a true-crime show has taken up residence in the village. Unfortunately, she’s also shared her suspicions with town gossip Netta. The next morning, Alex shows up at Jane’s house to watch the show, but instead discovers Jane’s body, with a box of Killer Chocolates nearby.
The sheriff quickly zeroes in on two suspects: Alex, a beneficiary in Jane’s will, and Zack, a handyman who was seen leaving the crime scene. But Alex maintains her innocence and sets out to draft a list of other potential suspects — townsfolk who’d recently been seen arguing with Jane.
When Alex gets hold of Jane’s journal, she begins to understand the truth. But a bearer of ill tidings is arriving early this year — and Alex just might not make it to Christmas.
I love the Mrs. Claus mystery series they are funny and who knew Christmastown was so dangerous?!
About the book (from back of the book):
April Claus is getting an early gift for her second Christmas in Santaland. Her dear friend, Claire, is visiting from Oregon, and April hopes to show off her adoptive country at its cozy, glittering best. But when the annual ice sculpture contest is derailed by a kamikaze drone-deer, it’s just the first in a series of un-festive events…
Drone-deer, created by inventor elf Blinky Brightlow, are none too popular with the genuine, flesh-and-hoof kind, who are currently on strike. With no reindeer games to keep them in shape, Nick worries they may get too chunky to pull his sleigh come Christmas. Now Blinky is missing, his girlfriend, Juniper, is under suspicion, and between rogue reindeer and conniving elves, all of Santaland seems to have gone sugarplum-crazy. Add a dash of murder to the mix, and suddenly April is battling not just to clear Juniper’s name, but to save herself from being put on ice — permanently…
I loved Dorothy Howell’s Haley Randolph mystery series and am sad that it has come to an end but I am very excited about this new series and I have no doubt it will be just as fun as Haley was.
About the book (from back of the book):
Abbey Chandler needs a new start and a place to escape, so Hideaway Grove, where she spent her childhood summers, seems like a perfect choice. Once there, she takes up a rewarding new hobby — but also gets tangled up in a hit-and-run homicide . . .
Abbey has barely arrived in the quaint, quiet town of Hideaway Grove before things turn from blissful to bloody — as the new librarian is mowed down by a car. The only witness on the scene isn’t much help, aside from handing Abbey the bag of books dropped by the victim. Even worse, the sheriff’s office seizes Abbey’s car because of a suspicious dent in the right front fender.
While she waits for the problem to be sorted out, Abbey is drawn into a charity sewing project — even though she can’t tell a bobbin from a seam ripper. Before she knows it, she’s graduating from pillowcase dresses to aprons, setting up a studio in a back room of her aunt’s bakery, and making plans to participate in the upcoming craft fair.
But through it all, she keeps looking for patterns and possible conflicts in the late librarian’s personal, professional, and romantic life. Then a shocking discovery sends her in a new direction, and as the truth begins to unspool, she’s got a notion about who’s guilty . . .
Happy Wednesday book lovers! Today is officially the last day of summer and tomorrow we will wake up to a new season….Fall! I know many of you started celebrating fall when last month while I have been clinging to summer with all that is in me and trying to make every day count! Last week I shared with y’all the books I will be reading this fall and since today is the last day of summer (sniff sniff) I thought I would share with some of my favorite summer reads!
What did you read over the summer? What were your favorite summer/beach reads?
This new mystery by Valerie Burns but this book was hands down my favorite summer read even if the book is set in winter.
I couldn’t wait to get this book in my hot little hands and it didn’t disappoint! In fact I read this book in less than 24 hours I just couldn’t put it down. I gave this book 4 stars but only because the book ended on a cliffhanger and it is definitely a set up for the next book.
The Beacon Bakeshop series: Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off, and Murder at the Blueberry Festival by Darci HannahI could not stop reading any of these books from the first book to the third book I found myself staying up way later than I should have. Darci Hannah is an amazing author and these are all 5 star reads. I connected to Lindsey Bakewell who is starting over in Beacon Harbor, MI after a very bad breakup by opening a bakery. Between baking delicious pastries she is also busy solving murders and will she ever find a baking assistant? All the characters in the book are just delightful and I can’t wait for the 4th book in the series.
Bayou Book Thief (A Vintage Cookbook Mystery) by Ellen Byronthis is the first book in this series by Ellen Byron who also writes another series that is set in the Louisiana Bayou and another series under the name Maria DiRico. This was my first time reading anything by this author but it want be my last and can’t wait for the second book in this series. I did enjoy the amateur sleuth Ricki James but the real star of is the city of New Orleans and its cuisine. I found myself wanting to make plans immediately to visit The Big Easy and eat my way through the city! Can’t wait read the next book.
Death by Bubble Tea (An L.A. Night Market Mystery) by Jennifer J. Chow is a new series from this author and it departs from several cozy mystery themes: it’s not set in a small town but Los Angeles, there is no cozy companion, and at present there is no love interest but somehow the author still kept the cozy mystery vibe without them. Yale Yee and her cousin Celine who is visiting from Hong Kong are as different as two people could be Yale is quiet, bookish, and anti-tech while Celine is a very tech savvy, outgoing, and she could be called a lot of things but bookish is not one of them. Yale is still dealing with the trauma of her mother’s death which she feels responsible for when Celine comes for a visit. I loved how the differences didn’t pull them apart but was an asset in their sleuthing even if it was a little rocky along the way.
The Trouble in Paradise Mystery Series by Carrie Doyle: It Takes Two to Mango and Something’s Guava Give. If you are a fan of Death in Paradise and Agatha Raisin then this is the series for you! Plum Lockhart finds herself on the Caribbean Island of Parasio when the travel magazine she is editor in chief of folds and she can’t find another job in New York. Plum is pushy, impatient, rude, and arrogant who is finding it hard to adjust in this first book. I almost stopped reading it but the more I read the more I begin to like Plum and the author does a wonderful job drawing you in and giving you a peek into what makes Plum who she is so I am so glad I stuck with this series.
The Cape Cod Foodie Mystery Series by Amy Pershing: A Side of Murder (Book 1) and Murder is No Picnic (Book 3)Idiscovered this series thanks to the online book community who just raved about this series and so I added to my summer reading list and I am glad I did. Samantha Barnes is back home in Cape Cod after going viral for all the wrong reasons but she is settling in and making a life for herself not as a chef but as the Cape Cod foodie, reconnecting with friends old and new, and solving murders. This series is worth your time and as with the majority of culinary mystery series there are receipes.
Pint of No Return (Shake Shop Mystery) by Dana Mentink be prepared to indulge in milkshakes! The whole time I was reading this first book in this series I found myself over indulging in milkshakes but aside from that the character development and plot are very well written and it was just a fun and enjoyable read. The real star is Trindad’s senior dog!
Smile Beach Murder (An Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery) by Alicia Bessett, I took this book with me to the beach and it was the perfect book to sit out on the beach or in my case the balcony of our Air BnB and read this book. I found it a little slow going on at first but it soon picked up the pace a little what I enjoyed most was joining Callie on the start of her healing journey in dealing with the death of her mom who died 25 years ago when she fell from the local lighthouse and when the death of Eva Meeks happens at the lighthouse it is declared a suicide but Callie’s reporter instincts tells her its murder. When Eva’s daughter tells Callie she doesn’t believe her mother killed herself Callie promises her she will investigate. Great read and I figured out who the killer was so yeah for me!
The Proof is In the Poison (A Southern Homebrew Mystery) by Diane Kelly is the 2nd book in this series that I refer to as the Moonshine mystery series and is a great follow up after her debut novel The Moonshine Shack Murder which takes place in Chattanooga, TN where Hattie Hayes is finally living her dream by opening up her own moonshine business but then there’s a murder and Hattie is suspect #1. When the killer was revealed all I had was sympathy and could understand why and was so sad.
Abby Collette’s Body and Soul Foodbook 1 in the Books and Biscuits cozy mystery and A Deadly Inside Scoopthe first book in her Ice Cream Parlor mystery series. In Body and Soul Food the amateur sleuths are reunited twins Koby and Keaton who open a bookstore & soul food restaurant who find themselves sleuthing when their friend is murdered (4 1/2 stars). In A Deadly Inside Scoop Bronwyn Crewse has been given the keys to the family business when her cousin moves to North Carolina. With all the delays of the renovation the ice cream parlor ends up opening the day of a major snow storm! Then that same day Bronwyn finds a body behind her business and her father is the prime suspect. Bronwyn along with her childhood best friends are on the case to clear her father, save her business, and find a killer (5 out of 5 big Stars). You can’t go wrong with either book I promise you once you pick them up you want put them down until the killer is revealed.
Arsenic and Adobo (A Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery) by Mia P. Manansalathere is a reason this first book in this series won this year’s Anthony Award for first novel. I enjoyed learning about Pilipino culture and loved how the author had such diverse characters too. Lila Macapagal has left Chicago to go back home and help her Tita Rosie save the family restaurant. When Lila’s old high school boyfriend who is now a food critic comes in to cause trouble but instead ends up dying after arguing with Lila things go from bad to worse. With her family restaurant now shut down as a crime scene she is on the case to clear her family’s name and hopefully save the restaurant. This cozy was a fun read that dealt with some heavy topics at times in a respectful way. It is so deserving of this honor! 5 out of 5 big stars!
Regina the Southernista 