cozy mystery – Page 73 – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Hark the Herald Angels Slay–review

July 27, 2018July 27, 2018 Tari Hann

I had read the first two of this series last year before Christmas (prior to starting this blog) and boy, was it hard to resist reading this one since it came out not too terribly long afterwards. I purposely saved it for July and as it turned out, one of the Facebook book clubs picked it for the July discussion this weekend.

This is the third book in the Year-Round Christmas series by well-known author Vicki Delaney. She also writes the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series that I’ve reviewed on the blog, all first three of them. I love the idea of Christmas anytime but the proverbial Christmas in July is well-celebrated in the town of Rudolph, NY in the series.

My Goodreads review:

Hark the Herald Angels Slay by Vicki Delany

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an awesome book to read for a July book club discussion, perfect for Christmas in July, which is exactly what the town of Rudolph, NY was celebrating, only to have it interrupted by a murder that takes place (again) in Merry’s shop, Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. This time she definitely has an alibi, the detective on the case personally saw her at the beach when Santa arrived by boat (her dad, Noel).

Merry’s ex-fiance, Max Folger, was in town with some of the employees from the magazine where Merry used to work. Max has another agenda though–he wanted to talk Merry into getting back with him despite the fact that his fiancee, Erica Johnstone, who happened to be granddaughter to the magazine owner, Jennifer, was planning the wedding of the season. After finding Max in her shop, Merry could only think that someone from the magazine must have had it in for him, and she actually got to eventually work a little with Detective Diane Simmonds, who unlike the local police officer, Candy Campbell, respected Merry’s thoughts on the case. Merry’s main employee went missing at the time of the murder, which was a big reason why Merry wanted to be on the case.

I had my suspicions about the killer but there was a good twist and I was off base quite a bit. Everything worked out and Erica honestly became somewhat likable. She and her grandmother came to an understanding about the magazine as well. I love how Merry could feel kindness toward the woman who had stolen Max from her, but possibly she thought of it as Erica doing her a favor, seeing how things turned out. I was glad that Merry finally felt she could move on and allowed Alan into her life more. I’m anxious to see what the next book brings! This series just continues to get better and better.

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Shelved Under Murder–review

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 Tari Hann

I really loved this second book in the Blue Ridge Library series by Victoria Gilbert. I really enjoy her writing style of combining the past with the present. I highly recommend reading the first book first–if you’ve read this one, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I think most people will be happier if they read the first book then this one.

My Goodreads review:

Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book might just be better than the first book, which I also loved. I do recommend that anyone who hasn’t read the first book yet, read it before this one. You will be much happier if you do!

Amy and Sunny were getting ready for the Heritage Festival where the library would have a table of products to sell, most of which were donations. Amy and Richard stumbled onto the body of a dead local artist, the same artist they were going to talk to about donating a couple of her paintings. A local drug dealer was suspected but he swore he saw someone else running from the scene. While helping the police with the investigation–yes, Brad actually asked Amy to help since she has art history as a background–Amy found some unsettling information that may or may not have involved her uncle in the world of art forgery. Maybe this murder was something bigger than what it looked? Amy and Richard must be careful investigating this case or they could both end up dead.

I liked how both of these books so far have used an older case which ties in with the contemporary case being worked on. A new character, Hugh Chen, was introduced as an art forensics expert from the state of Virginia and Lydia may just have found herself a new male companion. Knowing Lydia, she will take it slowly since she adored her husband, Andrew. Someone else had adored him as well and closure for that ties in, in sort of a bittersweet way. I love that Amy and Richard are getting closer in their relationship. The regular characters, Walt and Zelda, were more comfortable and open with their relationship as well. I just love those two! The temporary characters weren’t especially memorable, only Hugh and I do hope he comes back for a visit or tries to make a distance friendship with Lydia work out.

This series has quickly become one of my favorite new series and I’m so anxious for the next book to come out. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

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A Murder for the Books–review

July 22, 2018July 22, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Blue Ridge Library series by Victoria Gilbert. It looks like she’s new to writing, at least from what I saw of her Amazon page, but her writing sounds like she’s been at it for many years. She spins a great mystery and has some fun characters that you will come to love as much as I have! This series had me from the library setting. 😉

Since I’m currently far enough into the second book to confidently be able to tell you this: PLEASE be sure you read THIS book first, then the second! It’s really advisable.

My Goodreads:

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a well-written and well-plotted mystery! There were some twists and turns, memorable characters that I already can’t wait to visit again and an awesome side mystery along with the murders that occurred. I definitely didn’t guess the killer!

Amy Webber was the library director at the Taylorsford Public Library in Taylorsford, VA. Her best frieind, Sunny Fields, was her assistant and the only other paid help. After a nasty breakup with her fiance’, Amy came back to live there with her Aunt Lydia in the old family house. The town was fairly uneventful aside from a very old few cases of questionable deaths. That is until a couple of new murders happened. Did they have anything to do with the old cases or could they possibly be linked to the new housing development that was in the works. Amy being a trained researcher as a librarian couldn’t help but start looking into the cases. Her new interest, choreography and dancer Richard Muir, only wanted to protect her in case the killer was still around, but he had to admit it was interesting investigating, especially the parts involving the older cases and seeing how the new cases could be related.

I love libraries to begin with and any mystery concerning someone who works in one has my interest. I enjoyed all the characters and their interactions with each other and with Amy. It was like she’d never been gone as far as the older people were concerned. Richard was a sweetheart and I can’t wait to see how their budding relationship develops. I hope that Sunny can eventually bring herself to dating Brad, the chief deputy who obviously had it pretty bad for her all those years, even after she rejected him in high school. As abrasive as Brad started out in the story, I wasn’t sure I was going to like him, but he did have a good side and finally came around. At least he wasn’t constantly warning Amy off the case or telling her he’d toss her in jail for interfering.

I’m really anxious to read the next book, in fact I had started it but since there was only one book ahead of it, I thought I’d be happier if I read book one first. But that’s just me. 😉

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Ditched 4 Murder–review

July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Sophie Kimball series by J.C. Eaton aka Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp, a husband and wife writing team. I had such fun reading the first one and if it’s possible, this one was more fun than that book was. I love humor in cozies and this book has plenty–and it’s so easy and fun to picture it!

My Goodreads review:

Ditched 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was even funnier than the first one, especially the ending with the showdown and wedding reception. I could really picture this happening in a funny mystery movie!

Phee Kimball was settled in, living in Arizona and working for Nate Williams, a retired police detective, who had opened his own investigations company in Arizona. Life was never dull in the first book with Phee’s mom Harriet around. Now toss in Harriet’s sister, Ina, who was getting married to a guy named Louis. It was one madcap thing after another with the crazy wedding plans that Ina had dreamed up. Add two murders to this mixture, and you end up with a great mystery that has a fun twist at the end, as well as a very different but funny wedding reception. Shake well after adding a bat for extra hilarity.

It was fun and different to get to a certain point in the book and be fairly sure of who was doing what. All that needed to be done was go after the perp and hope that all the puzzle pieces fell into place and that the sheriff arrived in time. Nate has to be a saint to put up with Harriet causing Phee to need to leave the office or hysterically call him at all hours. He seems like a great guy to work for. I like the new character of Augusta, the office assistant too. Ina was Harriet…on steroids. Even Harriet got fed up with her phone calls and worrying about the wedding details.

This series is just so good that I will be moving along to book 3 next.

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Souffle of Suspicion–review

July 17, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the French Bistro series by well-known cozy author, Daryl Wood Gerber. Daryl writes the Cookbook Nook series (another series that I love!) and also the Cheese Shop series under the name of Avery Aames. I really love it when a series is new and I’ve actually read the first book and was familiar with the characters. This book could definitely stand alone, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll do whatever you can to try and read things in order. It doesn’t always happen that way, mostly because I like getting advance reader’s copies of books from NetGalley, which is where this one came from. Enjoy and bon appetit!

My Goodreads review:

A Soufflé of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was another awesome addition to the French Bistro series! I enjoyed reconnecting with the characters I’d grown very fond of from the first book, and I’m happy that Mimi and Nash’s relationship is growing, as well as (finally) Jo and Tyson’s. Mimi’s mom and Stefan’s dad seemed really happy together too.

When Chef Camille’s sister Renee took over the Sweet Treats Festival from the previous owner, then Renee was found dead at Camille’s house, it may have looked a little like her sister had something to do with it. Mimi had a feeling she knew who it was, but the problem was, she may have possibly just hired that person as help for Camille when she came back. With the Sweet Treats Festival and Crush Week going on, the bistro and inn were enjoying some major success, and Camille had definitely needed the extra help. Mimi was worried that she was getting a little too close to the truth when a couple of things happened that could have been taken to mean someone was trying to scare her. But of course, she didn’t give up and the real killer was found. I liked this showdown for a change, it was safe and a lot calmer (to me the reader lol) than I usually find in my cozies. I hadn’t guessed the killer until it was supposed to be known.

It was fun visiting with some of my favorite characters in the Napa Valley and I’m looking forward to the next book!

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed it.

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A Riesling to Die–review

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018 Tari Hann

I had read this five days ago (July 10) but somehow must have forgotten to do a blog post about it. Like the book I just finished, this one is also written by J.C. Eaton, the husband and wife team of Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp. This is the first in their newer series, Wine Trail Mysteries.

My Goodreads review:

A Riesling to Die by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book I’ve read by this author, also known as husband and wife writing team of Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp, but it definitely won’t be my last. I’m going to start their other series very soon! I really loved this book and all the diverse and sometimes quirky characters. There were twists and turns throughout and I definitely didn’t guess this killer.

Norrie Ellington was part owner of a winery in the Finger Lakes region of NY, but her day job was living in the city and writing screenplays. Her sister Francine and Francine’s husband, Jason needed to go to Costa Rica for Jason’s entomology research, and they needed her to oversee management of the Two Witches Winery for a year. Norrie expected to simply sit on the sidelines, run a meeting every so often and possibly help with hiring summer temp employees. What she hadn’t banked on was the murder of one of the community’s most disliked person, Elsbeth Waters, who owned the local B&B. Since Norrie herself was a person of interest, she was determined to find the real killer. With the help of two new friends, Theo and Don, the couple who ran a neighboring winery, she was able to eventually figure things out and bring the real killer to justice. Alvin, the dwarf goat even had a hand, or should I say hoof, in catching the killer.

I think Theo and Don had to be my favorite characters! They were just all-round, textbook good friends to have. They listened, they had Norrie over for meals and they gave her their full support, not to mention loaning some employees if needed. Cammy seemed like a nice person too since Norrie had decided she was going to the one of the few people she told about her sleuthing. I got a kick out of Lizzie, a retired CPA who worked for the winery and had a super-charged interest in sleuthing like Nancy Drew. She didn’t really help or hinder, but she made for an interesting character.

The book was well-written and I was actually glad it didn’t get into the wine-making processes or anything technical because while I like the whole idea of a winery (setting, cool building etc) I’m not real interested in the processes. Maybe the tasting, though, lol. 😉

I’m really anxious for the next book to come out since there was a description at the end of the book telling briefly what will happen in it.

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Booked 4 Murder–review

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018 Tari Hann

This was such a fun book! It’s the first book in the Sophie Kimball series, written by husband and wife team of Ann Goldfarb and Jim Clapp aka J.C. Eaton. I just the first in their new Wine Trail series and already knew I loved their writing style. This book starts with Minnesota and Arizona in September, a super warm month yet for Arizona and Phee at times probably wondered what she was thinking when she told her mom she’d look into her book club problem for her by coming out for a visit.

I loved the idea of Phee’s mom having a little chiweenie as her companion–this is the best unlicensed picture I could come up with. I wish Phee liked little Streetman better than she currently does!

My Goodreads review:

Booked 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book! I was sucked in from the very beginning and could barely put it down. Phee and her mom were such great characters together, yeah maybe her mom is a tad annoying but isn’t everyone’s a little that way? The person I guessed was not the perp, and I even went for a kind of obscure person.

Sophia “Phee” Kimball got a call from her mom, frantically saying that the book their book club was reading was cursed since three people had already died after reading it. Phee tried to reason with her mom but she knew early on she’d end up down in Arizona from Minnesota. Phee’s good friend, Nate, a detective with the police department where she was in accounts receivable, encouraged her to go. He said she always did such a good job of tracking down receipts and things like that, she’d be a natural for investigating. Phee didn’t really know where to begin, but with Nate’s guidance, she soon had a lot of good information, including what her mother had written down for her before she got there.

I loved how Nate and Phee would share info and how he’d get the tech guy helping her. It was kind of refreshing not to have the main character worrying about which guy she likes, and instead have the male character she’s interacting with be 20 years older and more her mentor. That gave her time to be more concerned with finding out the answer to what ended up being a whole trail of secrets and puzzles that led to the senior ladies’ deaths. Was it murder or was someone using the supposed-curse to their advantage? Who would want to off these sweet old ladies? You’ll have to read and find out. You’ll be surprised and pleased with the ending. Phee somewhat got to Miss Marple and Poirot her findings, but that final book meeting/reveal was pretty hilarious at times.

I really like what happened at the very end of the book when she returned to her office job. You’ll know if you read book blurbs, but I don’t want to be responsible for spoiling it for someone. All I know is, book 2 here I come.

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Class Reunions Are Murder–review

July 13, 2018July 13, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first in what I hope is a really long series (Poppy McAllister) by Libby Klein. It came out earlier this year and I consistently heard it was one of the funniest books out there, and I was not disappointed! I don’t think I’ve laughed so much while reading a mystery! These are some really great characters and I highly recommend starting this series! The second one “Midnight Snacks Are Murder” comes out July 31, and the third one, “Restaurant Weeks Are Murder” comes out February 26, 2019.

My Goodreads review:

Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a fun book to read! I found myself laughing on a regular basis at some of the scenes. I think this series is definitely off to a great start and I can’t wait to find out what the next book brings.

Poppy McAllister let herself be talked into going to her 25th high school reunion by her best friend, Sawyer. She was widowed, depressed and quite a bit overweight, so she had no desire to be seen by anyone, except her cat Figaro that she lived with in her and her husband’s big house. Poppy stayed with her Aunt Ginny, her mother’s sister, who lived in a big Victorian in Cape May, NJ. Not more than once, Poppy longed to be home in Virginia, especially when at the reunion she discovered the very dead body of the so-called class sweetheart and Prom Queen, Barbie Pomeroy Clark. Lots of secrets were hidden by the various characters in this story and there was a really good side mystery involving Aunt Ginny and a social worker who was trying to force her out of her home and into assisted living, claiming that Ginny’s eccentric and sometimes flamboyant personality was senility.

There were some really great characters in this book, but I think my favorite, aside from Poppy herself, was her Aunt Ginny. She was sharp as a tack and faithful to her niece. She was not going to let her niece go to jail for a crime she didn’t commit, but the local police officer, Amber Fenton, who just happened to be a classmate, seemed determined to arrest Poppy for the murder. Poppy had to work twice as hard to gather evidence, because Amber said it was just a matter of time before the lab report would come back and Poppy would be arrested for real this time.

I can honestly believe there are people like this, mean girls who simply got older but are still mean, flirts who have never stopped going after the opposite sex and people who unmercifully make fun of overweight people, even if they are in the same shape themselves. I was really proud that Poppy finally took her life into her hands and worked on her whole self, not just her weight. The cute coffee shop owner apparently thought she was pretty enough to want to date, as did her ex-boyfriend Tim, whom she’d almost married. She had a really good epiphany towards the end and it turned her life around. Now she had two handsome guys interested in her, wonderful friends who stuck by her through the whole ordeal as well as an awesome aunt who even put up with her cat that got into crazy destructive moods.

The showdown was great! I had a suspicion who the killer was but I had no idea why, and I did waver back and forth. The scene with the social worker who was trying to get Ginny into assisted living was epic! You’ll just have to read it and find out, it’s just too good to spoil. I can’t wait to read the next book. Things are definitely looking up for Poppy McAllister!

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Stay Calm and Collie On–review

July 13, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Pet Palace series written by Lane Stone. I sort of found it by accident, then when I found out it took place in Delaware, which I need for my Read Across the USA and Literary Escape challenges, I grabbed it (it was also on sale hehe). But I’m really glad I read it because it was thoroughly enjoyable and laugh out loud funny at times! Oh and I Googled Lewes, Delaware and was surprised but happy to find out it’s a real place!

My Goodreads review:

Stay Calm and Collie On by Lane Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fun idea for a cozy mystery! A pet daycare and spa with a royal theme, co-owned by an American and a British Lady. I really loved the unlikely-seeming business partnership between Sue Patrick and Lady Anthea Fitzwalter from England. This wasn’t an easy mystery to figure out, so I just sat back, read and enjoyed the ride. I knew I’d never figure out who did it. There were some great twists and plot turns, as well as some memorable characters and laugh out loud moments. I enjoyed the sense of humor throughout so much!

Hoping to drive in more business to the Buckingham Pet Palace, Sue Patrick was getting a visit from her business partner from England, Lady Anthea Fitzwalter just as her delivery driver went missing–with three of her clients’ dogs he was supposed to deliver. He showed up dead in her company van, and there was no shortage of suspects. I liked it that the main character wasn’t under suspicion, as is usually the case in a first of series cozy, a refreshing change. The police chief was pretty nice too and seemed very tolerant of Sue and her little band of amateurs investigating. Sue and Anthea made quite the team, along with Shelby and Dana, who were Pet Palace employees. The showdown with the killer was great, and Anthea’s quick thinking saved the day.

The gala with Lady Anthea as the special guest went great and showed that even royalty enjoys digging their feet into a beach sometimes. I hope she stays around, as was hinted (you’ll find out if you read the last part of the last chapter), since I think she and the others all work well together. Anthea was definitely a team player and didn’t use her title as an excuse to get out of even the grunt work at the Pet Palace. I’m anxious to read more in the series, see if Anthea stays for good and also see how if anything ever works out between the police chief and Sue, who seemed to be getting along pretty well.

Just a fun note: What I thought was really cool, is that Lewes, Delaware is a real place! There are so many times when I read a book and the author will say “it’s based on a real place.” I looked up Lewes just for fun–and there’s even a Gilligan’s pub there! I may have found a new bucket list place to visit!

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Disorderly Conduct–review

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the fourth book in the Maggie McDonald series by Mary Feliz. I really, really enjoyed the first book, which I read back in May. I requested this book through NetGalley, and that made me jump out of order to read it. I do have the other two and plan to read them to catch up. There are several different topics packed into this book, but it all weaves together very nicely in solving the mystery.

My Goodreads review:

Disorderly Conduct by Mary Feliz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this newest book in the series! I had only read the first book and started out reading an advanced copy, but I eventually bought the Kindle version. I’m definitely planning to read the other two books since I have them on Kindle as well. If the others are anything like this book, they can probably all be stand alone stories. I knew the basic characters from the first book, but anything that happened in between, the author did a good job of explaining, without revealing any important clues or whodunits.

Maggie’s best friend Tess got the call that her husband Patrick was found dead on a trail where he used to run, which was right in the line of the wildfires going on in the area in August. When Tess was arrested for the murder, Maggie knew it was up to her to investigate. They were already good friends with the police chief, Jason Mueller, and he was always grateful for her help. There were some great twists and I definitely didn’t guess who the killer was. I hope the character of Martin stays around. He seemed like such a nice guy, and I loved how he protected the boys in a situation. I found out later in the book that he himself was a dad with family in Nicaragua. You’ll have to read the book and find out more of his story!

The book was really interesting and kept me reading. I’m anxious now to catch up and read the other two books before a fifth one comes out (I haven’t heard anything about that but I’m hoping there’s more coming in this series!)

There are some great resources at the end of the book as well as a few tips for anyone who has to be involved in a disaster such as the wildfires that were taking place in this book.

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