cozy mystery – Page 71 – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Support Your Local Pug–review

August 24, 2018August 24, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Pet Palace series by Lane Stone. I had only recently discovered this series and after reading the first one, I was hoping to find the second one. Imagine my surprise when I was able to request this second book from NetGalley and read it earlier than its release date (August 28, 2018). I really enjoy reading about Sue and her friends, who live in a real place, Lewes DE. Wags the Pug sounded adorable too!

My Goodreads review:

Support Your Local Pug by Lane Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this second installment in this series, especially the cute Pug that turned out to be central in the story line. I got to visit Lewes, DE again on pages, but the more I hear about it, the more I would love to visit it for real, since unlike a lot of cozy mystery settings, it’s a real place.

What starts out as a murder mystery for Sue and her business partner/new friend Lady Anthea, may also turn into a case of dognapping. With her good friend the police chief John Turner somewhat approving of what she investigates this time, Sue has to make herself think that their good friend Rick’s father, Martin, may be guilty–of something. Sue can’t bring herself to think Martin could commit murder. He was such a character! He would only talk to Sue, and give fake answers as well as fake cry when John interrogated him. Martin was a good comic relief. Now to find a killer who may or may not know where Sue lives without getting herself killed first!

This was another good mystery, a little bit confusing at times, but it all sorted itself out towards the end. There were lots of things to wrap up and I was glad to find that everything was taken care of and explained at the end. Will John ever get his elusive date with Sue? I guess we’ll just have to keep reading and find out! I saw that there’s a third book coming next May and while it seems like a long wait, I noticed that the first and second books also had the same amount of time in between. I had only discovered the series recently, so I didn’t have to wait long to read this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher and would like to thank them for letting me take care of my Pet Palace fix a little early. Release date is August 28, 2018.

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In the Dog House–review

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a brand new series releasing this Tuesday, August 21. It’s called the Dog Club Mysteries by somewhat newer cozy author V.M (Valerie) Burns, who is making a name for herself among cozy authors with her Mystery Bookshop series. I just loved the dogs in this book and the fact that they weren’t just pretty show dogs. They served an awesome purpose as well. I can’t wait for the next in series to come out!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this via NetGalley and the publisher, but would highly recommend it and will probably end up buying it (if I haven’t pre-ordered already–sometimes I pre-order and I forget!)

Update: I did pre-order this one and I found out the name of the next one and pre-ordered it too. The Puppy Who Knew Too Much comes out on February 12, 2019, my little dachsie’s third birthday!

My Goodreads review:

In the Dog House by V.M. Burns

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, this is such a great beginning for this new series! I absolutely loved this book. And those adorable dogs just added to how much I loved it, especially little Aggie! I hope there’s another one coming up soon!

Lilly Echosby had just found out her husband wanted a divorce. He was leaving her for a dumb bimbo named Bambi. The next minute he was found shot, found by said bimbo. Lilly of course was the obvious suspect. With her two grown kids in town for their dad’s funeral and her bestie Dixie by her side, they were determined they were going to find the real killer and clear Lilly’s name. When a second body turned up and she was blamed for that, she only became more determined to tie those two killings together. With the help of a K-9 officer named Joe and his dog Turbo, they cracked the case open and even got the mastermind of it.

This was a really exciting mystery since there was more than the murder going on. Lilly being a CPA had discovered the car dealership her husband had owned had something hinky going on. Officer Joe said he’d help, which I thought was good because he did genuinely want to clear her name, but he could also keep the civilians somewhat safe. I loved reading about the SING self-defense method. I had only read one other book where it was used to take down a bad guy. It was pretty important in nailing someone in this story.

I haven’t despised a character as much as I loathed Bambi in forever. There have only been a handful of characters throughout the books I’ve read that I have literally hated or was hoping they’d become the next victim. The author must have a special gift for being able to instill that, just as she has a gift for describing and telling about adorable dogs. In one scene, I literally had leaky eyes reading about something that happened to little Aggie, the toy poodle Lilly was adopting.

I liked Officer Joe an awful lot and almost hate to think about Lilly possibly leaving town. I hope that her pal Dixie stays in the story, she’s such a hoot, I love her to pieces! Lilly’s grown kids, Stephanie and David were amazing. They had a great relationship with their mom, but were able to show their dad the respect he needed when it was time for the funeral. I hope they make an appearance in future books too! The dogs were definitely stars as well. Poodles may not be attack dogs but just the scene of a grown man being scared when one had taken him down was so comical. What awesomely trained dogs!

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m very anxious for the next book in the series! I volunteered to read this one early via NetGalley and the publisher. Release date is August 21.

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Fillet of Murder–review

August 16, 2018August 16, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Deep Fried series by Linda Reilly. This is a fun idea for a sleuth job, working at a fish and chips restaurant that’s owned by a couple from England who came to Massachusetts to live. I loved these characters and the sweet calico kitty that Talia found that had been abandoned. She named her Bojangles, since she’s living in her Nana’s house and that was Nana’s favorite song.

My Goodreads review:

Fillet of Murder by Linda Reilly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book so much! The main characters were all people that I would want to be friends with in real life. Bea and her husband Howie are such sweethearts, and Rachel is just about the coolest friend a person would want.

When Talia Marby comes home to Wrensdale MA to live in her Nana’s old house and work her old job at Lambert’s Fish and Chips, she never knew she’d be playing amateur sleuth to clear her friend Bea’s name. One of the shop owners who was an insufferable jerk, was found dead in his shop with all signs pointing to Bea since the knife that killed him was a fillet knife. In the meantime, Bea and her husband Howie wanted to sell the shop to Talia so they could start their retirement in Myrtle Beach. With so many events coming and going, Talia at least had her mom and Rachel–and an adorable little calico cat she’d found hanging around, to keep her at least partway sane.

I just loved how she met Ryan, an old classmate, whose dad had early Alzheimer’s. His dad was a sweetie too. I’m glad there’s some sort of guy interest there for her. Rachel has met a guy too, another shop owner had some baby news. Even Talia’s mom had something awesome to tell her.

I loved the showdown with the killer in this book! It was pretty exciting and well, you’ll just have to read it. Let’s just say Arthur, Ryan’s dad being a Shakespeare fan came in really handy. Arthur himself was somewhat of a hero as well. I’m anxious to read the next book in this series and hang out in Wrensdale again soon sometime!

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Staged 4 Murder–review

August 15, 2018August 15, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the third book in one of my favorite newer series, Sophie Kimball written by husband and wife team of J.C. Eaton (Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp). If it’s possible, I think they get funnier as they go. There was no shortage of laughs or suspects in this one as the book club ladies took to the stage.

My Goodreads review:

Staged 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m caught up reading in this awesome and hilarious series and now I’m just waiting for the fourth book to come out next year!

This book has Phee’s mom Harriet and her book club friends trying out for a local production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.” When their main actress (who was also a major pain to work with) was found dead on the theater’s catwalk, there’s no shortage of suspects. As always, Phee was trying to juggle her accounting work at Nate’s office with talking to suspects. At the same time, the new investigator had joined their office. Nate had hired Marshall Gardner, a former detective from the same police department where Phee and Nate worked. Phee always had a secret crush on Marshall, and she was beyond happy to be able to work with him. Among the things they had to deal with were threatening notes left to some of the actresses, and a couple of the ladies swore they even saw the dead woman’s ghost. Nate and Marshall agreed to help and with some extra sleuthing help from an old computer pal, Rolo, they made sure the right person was arrested for the murder.

Boy was I surprised at the murderer! I had no clue, what a great twist at the very end too! I love that Phee and Marshall are in agreement now to get to know one another a little better. Just like in the other books, I found myself laughing like crazy at some of the dialogue with Harriet and her friends. I could just see this playing out on TV. Oh, if you’re reading in order and remember Aunt Ina from the last book, she’s baaack but not till the very end. I loved what Harriet told her when she said she had theater tickets for them all to see “The Mousetrap” in another city.

The end of the book says that the fourth book comes out January 2019. There is also a little preview section on the upcoming second book in the author’s Wine Trail series.

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The Uninvited Corpse–review

August 14, 2018August 14, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first in a new series by Debra Sennefelder that was released earlier this year. What a fun start! I hope you’ll like the characters as much as I did.

My Goodreads review:

The Uninvited Corpse by Debra Sennefelder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an awesome first book in this new series! I immediately was drawn to the characters and their chemistry with each other. And who doesn’t love it when the pet (a dog in this case) saves the day and nabs the killer? I didn’t guess the killer until the clues pointed that way, great twist.

Hope Early was a lifestyle and food blogger who had just moved back to her hometown of Jefferson, CT. When a local realtor woman was killed in a friend’s home, and Hope’s sister was the main suspect, Hope knew she’d have to work fast to get to the real killer before her fashionable sister ended up wearing orange for the foreseeable future. After another body was found and a couple of attempts were made on Hope’s life, would she even be able to prove her sister’s innocence?

I thought it was sweet that Hope had gone to school with police chief Ethan and had a comfortable friendship type relationship, even though she admitted only to herself she has feelings for him. Although what cozy mystery would be complete without a triangle right? Now there’s also lawyer Matt, who is also handsome as Ethan. Part of me says Team Ethan, but I’m anxious to get to know Matt a little better too. I just loved how Hope, her reporter friend Drew and her mystery author friend, Jane would meet and discuss the case. Jane may have been older, but she had a good head for mysteries and seemed to put them on the right path. Her sister Claire is every bit the fashionista and not one bit crafty like Hope, who makes a living blogging about food, crafts and home. But the two sisters love each other fiercely as Hope showed when she tried to figure out who the real killer was.

I’m anxious to read the next book and spend more time with these delightful characters I’ve just met!

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Midnight Snacks Are Murder–review

August 12, 2018August 12, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Poppy McAllister series by Libby Klein, and it might even be funnier than the first one! I finished the first one just about a month ago and finally got a chance to read and review this one. It was another awesomely fun read!

My Goodreads review:

Midnight Snacks are Murder by Libby Klein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was awesome going back to visit Aunt Ginny and Poppy at Cape May. I think this may have been even funnier than the first book. I know I spent plenty of time snickering or laughing out loud as I read. There was no shortage of suspects, even though they focused on Aunt Ginny. I definitely hadn’t guessed who the killer was.

Poppy’s B&B was slowly making it into reality as her crew worked on fixing up the old Victorian of Aunt Ginny’s. She ended up with more than house repairs on her hands when Ginny started sleepwalking and stealing food and little trinkets from the neighbors while taking her prescription sleeping pills. When she thought it was taken care of by switching to alternative medicine, Ginny was accused of killing a local humanitarian, and once again, Poppy felt she needed to investigate and prove her aunt’s innocence. Not only did she have that to juggle, but toss in her deceased husband’s mom showing up and barking out commands (since she was an investor in the B&B) and her two handsome boyfriends who finally met.

I could picture this all playing out, all these crazy things Aunt Ginny was getting into. At one point, she was on house arrest with an ankle bracelet and it was just so comical to read about her escape attempts. As much as I can’t stand Georgina (Poppy’s mother-in-law) it was hilarious to see the different names she called Smitty (the contractor) because she didn’t seem to be able to remember his name. The mystery was a good one, lots of people weren’t what they seemed on the outside, but finally the killer was taken down, literally, by of all people, Aunt Ginny herself.

For anyone that needs to bake gluten-free there are some recipes from Poppy’s own kitchen in the back of the book, along with a little sneak preview of the next book, “Restaurant Weeks Are Murder” which, according to Amazon, releases in February.

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Freshly Ground Murder–review

August 8, 2018August 8, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Killer Coffee series by well-known author, Tonya Kappes. She has quite a few series she’s written, and they all take place in a small town in Kentucky, which I just love reading about. Her style is relaxed and lots of fun. This book made it feel like Christmas in August! (minus the snow, not ready for that yet!)

My Goodreads review:

Freshly Ground Murder by Tonya Kappes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a good Christmas mystery! I could just picture this sweet little town at Christmas with a big tree and Patrick being Santa Claus. I just love visiting Honey Springs, KY! They sure know how to do Christmas right.

The town of Honey Springs was getting ready for the Christmas festival. At the official town tree lighting ceremony, a pair of feet and legs were sticking out from under the big tree. One of their own townspeople had been killed and placed under that tree. The lawyer in Roxy couldn’t help once more being part of the investigation, even though Spencer, the sheriff, wasn’t crazy about her interfering. This time when an attempt was made on her life, she backed off. Thanks to someone else, the police were informed, the arrest was made and Christmas continued as planned.

I really enjoy all these characters and it was pretty exciting that the series is going to have a couple of new characters as well. I always get a kick out of shop employee Bunny and Aunt Maxi fussing with each other–they’re really friends, but they like to pick at each other sometimes. Emily, the girl who was working for Roxy in the last book, got some really good news which made me happy too. I hope the next book is set in the spring and that it includes a wedding!

I didn’t pick out the killer till close to the end and I believe it was probably when we were supposed to be putting the clues together anyway. It was a great twist that really surprised me. I’m anxiously waiting for the next in this series and I can’t wait to attend the book discussion on this book!

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Death of a Lobster Lover–review

August 7, 2018August 7, 2018 Tari Hann

Once again I’ve hopped line and didn’t continue in order so I could take part in a book discussion. It’s not really so terrible. I just have to keep convincing my brain of that, since my brain likes things orderly. I have actually read the first in this series and will get back to book 2, sooner than later, I hope.

This is the ninth book in the long-running Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails series by Lee Hollis, a brother and sister team made up of Rick Copp and Holly Simason. Another great series set in Maine, which is on my list of places to-see!

My Goodreads review:

Death of a Lobster Lover by Lee Hollis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I honestly couldn’t put this down and read it just today. I had only read the first book in the series, but I was happy to see there were no mystery spoilers in this one about any of the previous books.

Hayley and her two best friends, Mona and Liddy, were going on a girls’ weekend trip to nearby Salmon Cove. The cabin they were to stay in turned out to be not much more than a rustic shack with no indoor bathroom. A cute reporter that Liddy had just met was murdered at the lobster bake and despite the nasty mannered Sheriff Daphne, Hayley felt like they needed to find out just why this man was murdered. Little did she know what kind of a hornet’s nest of secrets this would turn into, especially after another man was found dead and Liddy went missing! Mona had taken up with her former friend Corey who lived in Salmon Cove. He was so cute and nice that she was afraid she’d forget she was married.

The case was finally solved and finally the sheriff gave Hayley some little approval for helping bring down a killer. The book has some of Hayley’s newspaper columns and recipes sprinkled at the ends of some of the chapters. I thought it was a nice touch to use the very last one as an epilogue for this story, which turned out a little sad, but it brought true closure to the case.

This book was so hilarious in places! Liddy is an absolute hoot without meaning to be one when she goes on one of her rants and tirades. All three of them are so different from each other but these girls are true blue friends.

I thought the plot was really well written and complex enough to have a lot of stuff going on, but I wasn’t confused about it like I can be when there’s a lot going on. I hadn’t picked out the killer(s) either and I loved the little sting operation at the end with Hayley and the sheriff. I jumped out of order (as usual) in this series for a discussion on the book, lol. I hope to get back to the second book soon!

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Death on the Menu–review

August 6, 2018August 6, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the eighth book the in Key West Food Critic series written by Lucy Burdette. It’s interesting to note that the author was putting the finishing touches on this book, the Keys were right in target of Hurricane Irma. Her acknowledgements are interesting since she really knows people that characters in the book are named after. Be sure and read that section at the end–it might be fun to read it first!

My Goodreads review:

Death on the Menu by Lucy Burdette

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had only read the first Hayley Snow book and it’s been quite awhile so pretty much all these characters were new to me, but I really loved the chemistry between Hayley and Nathan! Heck I’m giving this 5 stars mainly because the author’s writing and plotting is excellent and I absolutely loved the killer showdown/sting and the happy ending to the book.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the premise of the Havana/Key West conference since I am not interested in politics or government especially in a cozy mystery, but I did realize that some of the history being told did have to do with the outcome of the book and finding the real killer. I am definitely going to go back and read through the first book again and start making my way through this series. I really do love Hayley, she’s funny and smart, she’s sometimes a train wreck waiting to happen…but she’s a great daughter and a fiercely loyal friend. I want to read her journey that got her from just getting a recipe column in a small paper and ending up accused of murder, to where she is today in her career and to the point of the ending of this book, which again was so darn awesome! I am dying to tell someone but I won’t, since it would spoil it for those who have read the series in order (like I usually want to do-reason follows).

I was provided a hardback copy of this book to read and review from the publisher via a review group I’m in. My opinions are my own, I didn’t promise to love it but I guess it turned out that I did!

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Purrder She Wrote–review

August 6, 2018August 6, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Cat Cafe series written by Cate Conte (aka Liz Mugavero of Pawsitively Organic series fame). I love how she made a reference in this book to the Pawsitively Organic store in Connecticut where the pet store in this book was buying some of their pet treats. This was another really enjoyable book and I didn’t want it to end! It’s going to be so hard waiting almost a year for the next book!

My Goodreads review:

Purrder She Wrote by Cate Conte

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Only two months had passed since the last book and it was still summer on Daybreak Island, MA. Maddie’s business partner Ethan had joined her in the cat cafe venture, while they still had the juice bar business thriving in San Francisco. Ethan took to the town and people like a natural and everyone loved his baking and his coffee that they served to the people who came to play with cats or look at cats to see if they wanted to adopt one. The business seemed to have taken off really well.

When the murder of a wealthy socialite occurred after that woman and Maddie’s volunteer Adele had words about the woman wanting to adopt a cat, the police zoned in on Adele for the murder. Adele had trained a young college-age girl to work with the cats. Her name was Gigi and she took up the slack and worked hard. Maddie thought she seemed a little odd and even scared when it came to her mother, Felicia, who had asked if she could do catering there at the cafe. Along with trying to snoop around to clear Adele’s name, Maddie had the construction project on her plate, the hospital gala that her dad had pleaded with her to help him with and driving the van for her animal control friend Katrina delivering pet food to those on the neighboring islands who couldn’t make ends meet. Maddie also wanted to know what her daddy’s-boy-brother-in-law had to do with all this mess, since he was the one who called in the murder.

There was a really fun twist at the end during the showdown which for a change didn’t seem dangerous. I had randomly thought of the person who was the killer but I had nothing at that point to back it up. But it definitely wasn’t who I had hoped it would be. Adele obviously came back to work and now the construction could begin in turning the garage into a cafe and making some changes inside the house–which was all provided for by the unknown benefactor whose other stipulation was to remain anonymous, so I guess we readers will probably not find that out either–although I still am suspecting someone in particular. The first stipulation was that Grandpa and Maddie turn the house into something to benefit stray cats.

I just love Grandpa even more in this book. He’s so fun and sneaky in how he does his own little investigating using his man cave for an office, but he loves his family like crazy and would do anything for them. I liked getting to know Maddie’s parents a little better too. They’re really nice people and if it wasn’t for having to always please rich people on the hospital board that employed him, I think her dad would be a lot more relaxed! We got to know her middle sister, Val, pretty well in this story. I hope her friendship with Ethan continues because it sure seems they’re more suited for each other than Val and Cole!

I’m going to have a really hard time waiting for the next book–in the back of this book it says it comes out summer of 2019. I do have plenty of other cozies to read, but I could easily have binged into a third book! 😉

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