christmas season – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Death at Holly Lodge review

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Daisy Thorne series by Louise R. Innes. I’ve followed the series from the first book and have come to really enjoy these characters. From Daisy’s coworkers at the hair salon to DCI Paul McGuiness and Daisy’s bestie Floria, they’re a great crew. Krish at the salon always cracks me up! It was fun to picture Christmas in this little English village, minus any dead bodies, of course! After Daisy babysat her neighbor’s cat, I started thinking how she could really use a cat or a dog. It could be the hair salon mascot!

My Goodreads review:

Death at Holly Lodge by Louise R. Innes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a perfect Christmas mystery and even though I’ve never been to England, I could still picture the little town businesses all decorated and getting ready for the Christmas Market. I loved that Daisy and DCI McGuiness aka Paul were getting closer and closer in their personal relationship. He got a lot less mad when she’d go ahead and do something, and she knew to just ‘fess up and tell him what she did while pointing out the good that came of it. They’re taking it slowly which is alway s a good sign.

The showdown was a good one, and I hadn’t figured out whodunit, so I just went along with whatever Daisy thought. It took several people to take down this perp, and fortunately Daisy was trained well enough now that she’d called the police before going to where she was going. There was a good surprise toward the end which wrapped up the whole case. Looks like Daisy and Paul were going to have a Merry Christmas after all! This book releases September 28, 2021.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Publishing via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

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Silenced in Sequins review

January 16, 2020 Tari Hann

This is the second book in Debra Sennefelder’s Resale Boutique series which I like a whole lot more than I thought I would when I first heard the idea of a high-fashion resale boutique. I’m not interested in clothes shopping myself, but it doesn’t really dwell much on that. I came for the mystery and have definitely not been disappointed.

The characters are fun, especially Pepper, Liv and Gabe. Kelly gets on my nerves sometimes with her impulsiveness and extreme refusal to listen, but she makes up for it in her kindness and willingness to help other people. She simply can’t help herself for being a good person and honestly shouldn’t have to worry about trying to do the right thing. But somehow she always ends up with someone upset or killed. She came through and solved this case, which if truth was known probably didn’t sit well with her new date’s sister the detective. 😉

My Goodreads review:

Silenced in Sequins by Debra Sennefelder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed that this book took place from the time right before Thanksgiving up till Christmas Day. I was glad for another visit to Lucky Cove with Kelly and her friends. I hadn’t really remembered the character of Breena until I got a little bit into the book. I do love Liv as Kelly’s bestie and Gabe as her guy best friend. With two friends like that, Kelly was definitely blessed. Pepper is a great character too, the perfect momlike figure for Kelly and her impulsiveness (which always makes me nervous lol).

At least Kelly wasn’t the one blame for a murder this time, but she promised to help the woman who was the prime suspect. The showdown with the killer was kind of nail-biting, and it definitely was a surprise as to the person’s identity. The side story of Granny and a man named Marvin having been married in Las Vegas was cute until someone decided to take advantage of it. But like the murder case, it all worked out nicely and Kelly had a great first Christmas as a business owner. I like that she and Mark have made a little progress on their budding relationship. His sister, the detective, doesn’t approve, but when has something like ever stopped our friend Kelly, right? 😉

Just like before, I’m super anxious for the next installment in this series!

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Tide and Punishment review

September 23, 2019 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Seaside Cafe series by Bree Baker (also known as Julie Ann Lindsey or Julie Chase), and I think it’s my favorite one so far. I had read the first two books earlier in the year, then at a book discussion online with the author, I was sure that she said there would be another book after this. I hope I’m remembering correctly! Even though this had a sweet ending, I’m not ready to give up my visits to Charm, NC, so I’m definitely looking forward to any fourth book that might be in the works.

My Goodreads review:

Tide and Punishment by Bree Baker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the perfect cozy island Christmas! Well minus the tons of snow they were getting, because that’s not something that Charm, NC normally saw for Christmas. Or as Mr. Waters told Everly, he hadn’t seen snow there for forty years. It didn’t stop the Christmas bustle though, and the tea shop business was booming. This time Everly had to clear her aunt Fran’s name of murder when her opponent in the mayor’s race was killed outside the tea shop during their Christmas party.

I kind of had a feeling for most of the book who the killer would be, but a couple of times thanks to good red herrings, I was thrown off the trail. The killer showdown was exciting, and I think Everly would probably give the following advice: Never underestimate the power of peppermint when fighting off a killer! I loved how Everly’s Giving Tree wish came true which meant that all the island families would also have a very Merry Christmas, at least dinnerwise. I’m happy with where she and Grady are right now, and I hope the series will continue as they get even closer.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own. This book releases tomorrow, September 24, 2019.

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Wagging Through the Snow–review

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 Tari Hann

I took a little detour from the Supper Club series I’ve been reading (no worries, I will get right back to it) when my daughter and I ran into town. She wanted to do some writing at the library so I tagged along and brought one of the books I took out a few days ago, which was this book, the 21st book in the Melanie Travis series by Laurien Berenson. I love dogs so it’s no surprise that a Melanie Travis book (Death of a Dog Whisperer, #17 in the series) was one of the first cozy mysteries I had ever read–before I had actually heard of cozy mysteries and knew it was a thing. I finished this quickly so I’ll be getting back to James Henry and friends soon! 😉

My Goodreads review:

Wagging through the Snow by Laurien Berenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really fun and fairly quick read set at Christmastime. I’m not quite as strict with myself in reading this series in order since for one thing, this was only my second I’ve read but I had read the 17th book before I even realized it was a series. Probably the only downside to not starting at the top would be not following the family development in order but it’s easy to pick up on while reading.

Melanie Travis’s brother Frank is Mel’s ex-husband’s (Bob) business partner and when he bought a Christmas tree farm without consulting Bob, Melanie thought he was nuts. When they all went to see it, they ran across the dead body of a homeless guy who people had only known as Pete. Of course Aunt Peg was always up for snooping so they went to where Frank had said Pete must have been staying, a shack on the property. Melanie found a class ring and starting with that, she was able to unravel a lot of things about Pete’s life, some more confusing than others. Contrary to the town he lived in saying he was always a drunk, Pete’s sponsor in sobering up swore that he had changed. Melanie felt the need to continue to prove that Pete was murdered.

I haven’t read enough of these to really have a favorite character except for Aunt Peg. I guess because she’s such a strong character. I kind of remember in the first book I read I wasn’t sure if I liked her or not but she sure saved the day in this book! I had honestly not figured out the killer. The book was quick to read but well-written and plotted out. Sometimes I like to read a book that moves a little bit faster and of course I’m always a sucker for Christmas themes. I saw this at my library on the new shelf and since I’m always in favor of telling libraries I love cozy mysteries, I couldn’t resist getting it. I do want to read more in the series, maybe I will actually start at the beginning who knows!

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