Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Survival of the Fritters–review

January 28, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the start of a brand new series which sounds to me like it’s going to be a lot of fun and have tons of possibilities for cases. I read an interview with the author, Ginger Bolton, (also known as Janet Bolin who wrote the Threadville cozy series) and she said she based this donut shop on a real one called Cops and Doughnuts out of Michigan. Deputy Donuts is the name of the shop in this series and the shop was named after Emily’s adorable torbie cat, Deputy Donuts or Dep for short.

Look for this awesome new book on January 30, 2018!

Here’s my Goodreads review:

Survival of the Fritters by Ginger Bolton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an awesome first book for this new series! And what a great idea for a donut shop with the whole police theme going on. Emily and her father-in-law own Deputy Donuts and are usually host to most of the town of Fallingworth’s (WI) police force. When Emily and some of the older ladies in a knitting club find one of the donut shop’s favorite customers murdered in her own home, Emily is forced into interacting with her late husband’s police partner, Brent. They had all three been good friends until one evening when Alec was shot and Brent was just hurt. Emily hadn’t contacted Brent since then. I liked how Brent and Emily can now remember things that Alec had said or done.

Just before the murder, the murdered woman’s good friend Lois moved back into town. This murder also took place five years after the murdered woman’s son was killed. This was a case Alec and Brent had not been able to solve. The main suspect now is Lois’s great nephew, Randy who was a real stinker in high school but seems to have reformed. A state detective is pulled in eventually on the case so Brent, Emily and Lois decide to do a little sleuthing on their own.

There were so many good twists in this plot that I never saw it coming when the killer was revealed. The ending was pretty exciting and Emily took charge of the situation until the police arrived and took the perp into custody.

I like that Emily is at least acknowledging that Brent was hurting too when Alec was shot. I know their friendship is going to be a little slow coming but I hope they can become even better friends. If Alec was anything like he was described, I would think he would have wanted his partner and best friend to be there for his wife after he passed. There were some good funny parts too. I think I have new favorite little catch-phrase (non verbal kind of noise now), mmp! Even the cat was saying it.

The characters were really well developed and very easy to like. Tom seemed like the type that anyone would just love to have as a friend or father-in-law. Emily’s friends Misty (police officer) and Samantha (EMT) were a lot of fun and good, faithful friends. Lois was a hoot! She was the funniest thing at times, kind of made me think of Betty White.

Oh there are some yummy sounding donut and fritter recipes at the end of the book, the favorites that Deputy Donuts serves.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book which was provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

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Death Crashes the Party–review

January 25, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Liv and Di in Dixie series by Vickie Fee. I had a lot of fun reading this book. I don’t think I’ve laughed this much reading a mystery before! It’s funny where it’s appropriate and serious when it’s supposed to be. Super entertaining and I’m anxious to read the rest of the series!

My Goodreads review:

Death Crashes the Party by Vickie Fee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this is the most I’ve ever laughed while reading a mystery! I love the author’s style and how she words things, just little things that make a person giggle.

Liv is a party planner in Dixie, TN who had two dead bodies show up while she was talking with some clients so she’s really anxious to find out what really is going on. Dave, the sheriff who is sweet on her friend Di, had interviewed her at some length about the bodies. Liv is just wanting to get through one of the biggest 40th anniversary parties she’s ever planned without a hitch. But real life isn’t that way and as it turns out, the dead guys may have had something to do with drug smuggling going on in Liv’s husband’s family trucking business.

These characters are just awesome! Di is such a hoot and it’s so cute how the sheriff likes her and can be sweet one minute then take on his all-business cop persona the next. He wasn’t actually too strict with the girls when he found out they were investigating. Di is the kind of friend everyone would want, total support and “come use my house whenever you need to get away”, things like that. She and Liv make a great team.

I liked that the main character was happily married. It’s very few and far between that I find a cozy with a happily married couple in it that isn’t the parents or grandparents…or the sleuth’s best friend. Larry Joe was a great husband, very understanding and supportive. I’m anxious to keep reading in the series and see if he ever gets that home renovation done that he wants to do.

There were enough twists and little subplots that I definitely didn’t guess who the killer was until the reveal. What a surprise! And of course all ends well and everyone who is supposed to be in custody ends up there.

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Bless Her Dead Little Heart–review

January 21, 2018January 21, 2018 Tari Hann

I’ve been wanting to get to this book on my TBR pile for awhile so when a Facebook group I’m in, Cozy Mystery Once a Month book club decided to read it for our January book, I was pretty happy about it. I had already read one of Miranda (Dean) James’s books, the first in the Cat in the Stacks series and loved it. This one was just as awesome!

My Goodreads review:

Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Talk about your dysfunctional family! And to think that An’gel and Dickse were just minding their own business one day, babysitting their friend Charlie Harris’s cat, Diesel. That crazy day when their friend Rosabelle from college showed up on their doorstep insisting her whole family was out to kill her. Imagine their surprise when said whole family showed up!

This was a really a fun and sort of old school type mystery, really refreshing and different to have all the suspects in one house. It kind of reminded me of “And Then There Were None” as the murders started to happen.

The Ducote sisters were something else! They were almost like the ladies in the Golden Girls show only amateur sleuths. They didn’t actually do the questioning, they did more talking about the case between the two of them. I thought it was fun how sometimes they would actually come up with the same idea at different times.

I think my favorite character had to be Benjy, the stepson of Rosabelle’s son Wade. He was nineteen years old, wanted to be a veterinarian and loved animals as much as Dickse did. I loved it when Dickse and Benjy would get together and do things, sort of like the grandmother figure he never had.

I had someone pegged for the murders but it sure wasn’t the person who actually did it. Some great twists and turns to be had as well as an appearance by one of Rosabelle’s husbands who had a secret of his own going on.

I loved how this series is sort of tied into the other series by Miranda James, The Cat In the Stacks since Charlie Harris is the main character in that and the Ducote sisters are watching his cat for him. It’s always pretty comical when people see Diesel who is a large Maine coon cat and they can’t quite figure out why he’s so big. I know I’ll be reading the rest of this series eventually!

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Biscuits and Slashed Browns-review

January 20, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the fourth book in the Country Store series by Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) I really love this series since I’ve recently read the middle two books so I’d be caught up when I read this advance copy of the book. This book will release on January 30, 2018 so I’ll hold off on the Amazon review until then.

Here’s my Goodreads review:

Biscuits and Slashed Browns by Maddie Day

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every time I read a new book in this series, I think it’s the best one yet. This one did not disappoint! South Lick is having a maple syrup festival and one of the judges ends up murdered so of course Robbie is going to do her best to find out what happened so that none of her friends ends up being blamed. As always she has to watch her back so the murderer doesn’t make her the next headline.

I love how Abe and Robbie’s relationship is growing. It’s refreshing that he doesn’t get on her case for investigating even though he gets worried about her. Danna was away for most of the book and I missed her fun, quirkiness but Adele was there so at least I feel like I got my share of favorite characters that I’ve grown to love. Turner is a new employee but he fits right in.

I found myself missing Octavia Slade who has been detective in the last two books but this time we have a guy who is local but back from whatever leave he was on.

Like all the books in this series, one of the ongoing themes is family and that it doesn’t always have to be people related to you to be your family. That’s one of the things I love about cozies, the warm family feeling to be had.

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A Measure of Murder-review

January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Sally Solari series by Leslie Karst. Another murder mystery with twists that I definitely didn’t figure out.

My Goodreads review:

A Measure of Murder: A Sally Solari Mystery by Leslie Karst

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sally’s joined a choral group that will be performing the Mozart piece she always dreamed of singing but somehow in the process, one of the members ends up dead, having fallen out a window in the building they use for rehearsal. Since Sally was formerly a lawyer and got some publicity when she helped solve her Aunt Letta’s murder, she gets talked into helping find the killer. Hopefully she won’t be the next victim as she gets closer to the truth! Especially after a second body is found.

It was fun visiting with the characters I remembered from the first book. I think Javier and Sally’s dad are my favorites even though her dad wasn’t in this story a whole lot. A lot of the book dealt with technical language regarding music, singing and composers, which to me wasn’t quite so interesting but I was still interested in finding out who the killer was, and it was not the person I was thinking. There were some good twists in the plot as well as a side mystery which was solved and the person responsible decided to do the right thing about it.

I liked that Sally and her dad were coming to a better understanding of what she wants to do. She is still helping at Solari but she really is hoping to ease another woman into her position so she can take on cooking at the restaurant her aunt left her, Gaugin. Her dad seemed much more calm and understanding.

As always, the food mentioned in the book sounds scrumptious and for anyone inclined to try some of the recipes, there are four of them after the book ends.

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Scone Cold Killer-Lena Gregory–review

January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Tari Hann

This book was definitely a page turner! I was able to read and review and advance copy of the book which actually comes out on January 23, 2018. I’ll be posting a review on Amazon on the 23rd but here is my Goodreads review:

Scone Cold Killer by Lena Gregory

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was everything I like in a cozy and more! It’s a brand new series by established author Lena Gregory.

Gia Morelli has come to Florida to start her own cafe, the All-Day Breakfast Cafe. Her life has been really crazy up to this point. Her ex-husband Bradley Remington was running a lot of schemes and scamming money out of people. Gia is tired of having anything to do with him and being in the spotlight. She just wants a quiet place to live and run her business so her friend Savannah talked her into coming to Boggy Creek, FL. Gia’s bought a house and even adopts an adorable puppy–Savannah insisted on a medium size breed since due to Bradley’s schemes, she thinks her friend will need protection.

The diner is off to a nice start with the exception of Gia having hired a woman who turns out to be too lazy to be a cook. Finding the body of her ex in the dumpster outside sort of tops that off. Savannah’s cousin, Det. Hunter Quinn is on the case and he’s going to make sure that Gia is protected while he investigates. Gia and Savannah take matters into their own hands when another body is found, this time in Gia’s own backyard. At least she’s not the one that finds it. Their trip to snoop around a local bed and breakfast is actually really funny. I could totally see it happening in a funny mystery show.

There were so many awesome characters that quickly became new friends. I just loved Earl, the regular at the cafe who made sure that Gia knew to serve grits. Harley, the local homeless guy with a real heart of gold is another one. I loved that Gia was kind to him and left him food–he didn’t want to come inside buildings but when push came to shove, he overcame that just for Gia. It was fun to meet one of Savannah’s brothers too. The one named Joey watched Gia’s puppy Thor for a little bit while the girls went on their little errand.

The ending was pretty exciting and although I was suspicious of someone all along, the reveal still came as a surprise to me because I wasn’t suspecting that person of actual murder.

With the case officially solved and Gia happy with her new little family in Florida, I’m super anxious to read the next book. Hunter has been so sweet to her so I hope they become even better friends in the following books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader’s copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

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Crafts, Crimes and Country Clubs–review

January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the 8th book in the Craft Circle series by Stacey Alabaster. This is actually the first one of it I’ve read but I liked the characters so I want to start at the beginning.

My Goodreads review:

Crafts, Crimes, and Country Clubs by Stacey Alabaster

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

George aka Georgina and her police boyfriend Ryan are headed to a relaxing three day ski resort when he’s called onto duty. He storms back to the police station to argue that he was supposed to be off for three days and comes back satisfied. Later in their room at the resort, a call comes in that Ryan’s not so popular boss, Det. Nicholas, was murdered so this interrupts their weekend for good. A neighboring police force is called in since the entire force in Pottsville is considered suspects until proven otherwise.

In the meantime, a woman has set up a crafts stall right in front of George’s craft shop. Her employee, Brenda, is livid and looks into getting the woman ousted since she most likely doesn’t even have a license to be there.

Suspecting Det. Nicholas’s wife of murdering him, George decides to go undercover to get herself into an exclusive ladies’ group that the wife is in. When one of the women takes a spill outside, George gets worried that she might be found out and be next!

Admittedly this is the first of this series that I’ve read but I do want to go to the beginning and find out how George and Ryan happened to get together, find out more about the craft shop itself.

This book was really good as it had a very unexpected twist to it that I never would have guessed! I did read an advance copy of the book but wasn’t able to post reviews till today. But I pre-ordered a copy as well.

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The Snowman Killer–review

January 16, 2018January 16, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Alaska Cozy series written by Wendy Meadows. I had been curious about it for awhile and conveniently, it gives me a state I need for the Literary Escapes challenge.

Wendy Meadows writes several series and her books are just the right length if you want to finish them in one sitting or less than two hours. This one was fun and creepy!

My Goodreads review:

The Snowman Killer by Wendy Meadows

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had been wanting to start this series so I thought what better to read on a cold, snowy day than a book like this, right? It’s the perfect two hours or less type read and this one definitely kept me reading and not wanting to put it down.

I enjoyed the backstory of the protagonist, Sarah, who is an ex-detective from Los Angeles and has relocated after a divorce to Snow Fall, Alaska. She happens to have a good friend, Amanda, who has relocated from London to Snow Falls so since Amanda’s husband is away, she’s staying with Sarah. Little did Amanda know they’d be walking right into a mystery involving the plot of one of the books that Sarah writes under the name of Milly Stevens.

A new detective has been assigned to Snow Falls, Det. Conrad Spencer. He is also trying to track down his ex-wife’s killer and said he might be calling on Sarah to help since she’s a former detective who was known for cracking a lot of cases, one of which they had unknowingly worked on together.

This was a fast and fun mystery, lots of twists. Just when you think you know something, think again! There are quite a lot of characters for such a short book but I got to knowing and liking the main ones.

I like how it draws the reader into the next story with a little bit of a teaser. The main plot is definitely solved but now I’m curious to start the second one. I think it might just be the next one I borrow from Kindle Unlimited!

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When the Grits Hit the Fan–review

January 16, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Country Store series by Maddie Day. It was kind of fun reading about a secret tunnel in Robbie’s building. You’ll have to read it and find out where it leads!

My Goodreads review:

When the Grits Hit the Fan by Maddie Day

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s February and Robbie Jordan has gone three whole months without finding a body or experiencing a murder in South Lick. She’s just fine with that. Since winter started, she gave herself another day off each week and started on the demolition of the upstairs of the building she bought, hoping to someday turn it into rooms for a bed and breakfast.

But this is short-lived when she and her cyclist friend Lou find the body of a not so well liked professor and local guy named Charles. He was in the frozen lake under an ice fishing hole. Detective Octavia is back in this book as well so she’s taken over the case. Buck tried to keep Robbie up to date but there’s not a whole lot he can tell her. Robbie still investigates despite a warning note found in her barn that got broken into.

I can’t really dislike Octavia for doing her job so I wasn’t too upset to see her return. I like the turn that Robbie and Abe’s relationship has taken. I think one of my favorite parts was when Robbie got Buck to explore a secret tunnel with her. It was almost like something out of an old Nancy Drew book which Robbie and Danna talked about later.

This time I really wasn’t sure about the killer due to some clever red herrings the author put in but it was fun to see it play out. The take down was really exciting and there was some good closure to a couple of other side mysteries. Now I’m all caught up and ready for the next book in this series!

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Grilled for Murder–review

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Country Store series by Maddie Day. The series is set in fictional South Lick, IN which is in Brown County. It had been awhile since I read the first one so I wanted to get up to speed by the time the next one comes out in a couple of weeks.

My Goodreads review:

In anticipation of book 4 in this series, I decided to read this one and will follow up with the next one. I had read an excerpt the author provided and wanted to make sure I was completely up to date on the characters before reading the new one coming out this month.

I loved returning to South, Lick IN. It’s after Thanksgiving and people are starting to think about Christmas. One of the local girls, Erica, had returned home a few months ago so her parents threw a homecoming party at Robbie’s cafe and store. The guest of honor was not a well-liked person by anyone except her parents but quite a few people showed up for the food and festivities. Next morning, Robbie finds Erica dead by her pickle barrel.

Since there is no lack of suspects in this case, Robbie knows it will be a hard one to crack but she’s not too anxious to come face to face with another murderer. The state police are called in this time so Buck, the sheriff and sort of father figure to Robbie can’t really share all that he’d like to about the investigation so he just good-naturedly tells her to be careful and let the state people do their job.

Robbie and Jim’s relationship changes at this point but I won’t go into details. They still seem happy. Abe pitches in some more and something else is revealed about him as well.

This time I actually did guess the killer! But I credit the author for planting the right clues. It was still fun to read about the take down which was excellent. Let’s just say Robbie’s self-defense class came in handy!

Everyone gathered in the store to hear Robbie tell about it and the phone call she received was truly in the spirit of a Christmas wish coming true.