cozy mystery – Page 75 – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Bloom and Doom–review

June 24, 2018June 24, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the Bridal Shop Bouquet series, written by Beverly Allen, which is the pen name of author Barbara Early who recently started the Vintage Toy Shop series. After reading this book, I can’t wait to read her other series. She has a really fun writing style!

My Goodreads review:

Bloom and Doom by Beverly Allen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t know a lot about flowers and have never really been too interested in them but I’m really glad this was picked for a June book club discussion. I had been wanting to read it because I knew that even though I wasn’t a big flower fan, it still had to be a good background for a mystery series and boy is it!

Audrey Bloom and her cousin Liv co-owned a florist shop in Ramble, Virginia that they had been running for five years. They were starting to get some interesting customers like the mayor’s daughter who had a huge wedding planned. But one of the recent customers, a former childhood friend of Audrey’s named Jenny, wasn’t going through with her wedding. When her fiance’ turned up stabbed to death in his car outside her apartment, of course Jenny was the prime suspect. Audrey felt an obligation to look into the case and with the help of handsome baker and business neighbor, Nick Maxwell, one night of sleuthing actually turned out fairly hilarious.

There was a little side mystery as well with the girls’ longtime friend and flower grower, Larry. He was acting a little suspicious and not letting anyone into his newest greenhouse. At the same time, the police chief had been investigating some marijuana growing in the area.

Everything worked out great in the end with a pretty exciting showdown with the killer and a couple of people had some exciting news towards the end as well. The killer was a total surprise to me!

I love this author’s writing style, with humor sprinkled throughout the book but not overdone. If it wasn’t in actions, it was in the description of things told from Audrey’s point of view and I found myself giggling more than once. The author is also known as Barbara Early so this makes me even more anxious to read her Vintage Toy Shop series!

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Pasta Mortem–review

June 23, 2018June 23, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the seventh book in the Supper Club series by Ellery Adams. This one was also co-written by Rosemary Stevens. I’m all caught up now and ready for the next book. This series makes me laugh, smile and get leaky eyes all in the course of one book.

My Goodreads review:

Pasta Mortem by Ellery Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this has to be the best book yet in this series! Just everything about it, the mystery itself to the characters’ personal relationships just shines.

It was close to mid-February in Quincy’s Gap and the town was buzzing for a couple of different reasons. A beloved TV show from the late 80s was having a reunion party in a neighboring town and one of the cast members just happened to be editor of a southern type living magazine that had just published an article on why Quincy’s Gap was one of the most desired small towns to live in. The five friends were pretty livid about this as was the rest of the town. For one thing, nosy reporter and newspaper owner Murphy who had acted like she was their friend but had written some murder mysteries with them all as characters, had been going around taking everyone’s pictures claiming she’d use it in one of her newspaper articles. Instead it was part of this magazine spread. Citizens were not happy since it would me overcrowding of schools and just generally overcrowding of everything. The people in Quincy’s Gap liked being a small town and wanted it to stay that way.

When Murphy’s new real estate partner was killed in that bed and breakfast, the police of course turned to Murphy as prime suspect. The five supper club friends were torn about working on this case since Murphy hadn’t been so nice to them just recently. They all decided she could be nasty but she was not a killer. This mystery had a lot of fun twists and turns. I sure never saw the reveal coming. The very ending was probably the sweetest most awesome thing I’ve read in a long time!

I liked how the characters’ personal lives all had something similar going on. The couples were having issues with their couple lives, just like real life people do, and they had to figure out how to fix that while working the case. I admired how they did put their family and personal problems first though. By Valentine’s Day, everyone had a very satisfactory solution to their issues and all five friends could truthfully say they were very happy.

I really hope there are more books coming in this series. I would be sad if this series did end but I think this book was so good that if for some reason that happened, we have some great closure and memories of our friends knowing they’re all doing well. More books would be better though so being an optimist, I will keep hoping! If you love the recipes in this series, you’ll love that there are nine of them at the end of this book.

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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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Black Beans and Vice–review

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the fifth book in the Supper Club series that was given a complete overhaul and now has recipes in each book. There were several memorable things happening in this book and as you’ll see from my Goodreads review below, I didn’t even do a regular synopsis for fear of spoiling something in case someone just surfed in and got this review without reading the others. To get the most enjoyment from the series, I would totally recommend reading it in order.

My Goodreads review:

Black Beans & Vice by Ellery Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The series is just progressively getting better as everyone’s story unfolds and relationships develop while friendships continue to grow. This story was very bittersweet in some spots but the parties involved ended up with a happily ever after or a very nice outcome. There was one little thing that remains hanging but I have no doubt that since it’s been spread over several books, it’ll be resolved soon. A couple of my faves were in physical danger for a bit but all became ok again.

I’m not going to write my usual synopsis since there are quite a few little subplots that I don’t want to spoil for anyone but instead of the usual small mystery happening at the library, something was going on in Jane and James’s lives that had to be taken care of. I didn’t guess the killer at all in the main mystery and even though there was no official showdown except for Lucy telling the story, sometimes I like it that way. The police have handled it, our friends aren’t in danger. I really love that Lucy became a deputy since it’s caused the sheriff’s department to put more faith in the five friends than they would have in the beginning. Lucy’s a good deputy too and she fiercely protects her friends while doing everything within the law. I think they might have come to a truce with Murphy as well!

Moving along to the seventh and final (for now, I hope there will be more!) book.

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Stiffs and Swine–review

June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the fourth book in the Supper Club series by Ellery Adams which has quickly become one of my favorite series for both the mystery itself and the camaraderie of the five people who have become fast friends, literally through thick and through thin. If you scroll back to May, you’ll see my review for the fifth book which I’m going to go back and go over a bit on my own before proceeding to the sixth book. This one had a very sweet and a little bit of a leaky-eye ending if you like that kind of sweetness. Not overkill just really cool!

My Goodreads review:

Stiffs and Swine by J.B. Stanley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was late summer in Quincy’s Gap and our five friends had been invited to be guests of honor at a neighboring town’s Hog Fest. They were going to judge the hogs in a dress-up contest and also help at the pie eating contest. When one of the barbecue contestants, a loud obnoxious man named Jimmy, was found dead in his camper, Gillian was taken in for questioning since she had had a meltdown with this guy the day before. Since Lucy was a deputy, her help was more welcomed by Sheriff Jade Jones (Bennett developed a crush on her) than the rest but overall, the police there were friendly enough and did their job without being condescending like Donovan at Lucy’s home station was known for. James and Lucy’s former relationship was still a little strained but they still functioned well together as mystery-solving friends. James had felt himself drifting a little from Murphy since she seemed to have changed. Then she told him she’d signed a book contract. She’d been writing about murders in their town but said the characters were loosely based on them. Bennett was definitely not amused when he heard that.

On the home front, Scott and Francis at the library had a little mystery of their own which really ended up so awesome at the end! What a cool little sting operation they pulled with James’s, Lucy’s and Mrs. Hasting’s help. Jackson and Milla had become much closer and James was pleased to find out his dad had proposed to this lovely lady that he’d become so comfortable being around as a mother figure. During the trip, Bennett had been studying very hard for his chance on Jeopardy. When they got home, James had one more thing to take care of with Murphy. Even his beloved bookmobile that had broken down earlier got a happy ending.

I don’t think this mystery was so much focused on guessing the killer because at one point, everyone pretty much knew who, now they had to figure out how to nail the person. The showdown was pretty exciting and James got to be in the spotlight. Gillian was happy to have her freedom and had told the whole story about why she’d had that meltdown a few days ago with the obnoxious barbecue man. She got to do something that was very generous as well as suggesting something very generous as well. That’s what I love about all these people. Despite their personal demons, faults or whatever you want to call them, they are true friends to one another. Who wouldn’t love to be friends with any one of this awesome Flab Five group?

I’ve read the next book but may go over it quickly before moving on to the sixth book. At least I have a good two-book fix for awhile for this series, since the seventh one has recently come out!

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Chili con Corpses–review

June 20, 2018June 20, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Supper Club series by well-known author Ellery Adams. Last month I had jumped out of series order a little to read the fifth in the series but I went right back to where I needed to be by reading this book. It does help explain some things in book five or at least gave me a little insight into things that happen in book five. The author does a good job of catching readers up just in case they do read these as a standalone though. I always love the very relatable characters in this series and their unique friendship that stands whether or not they’re actively working on weight loss.

My Goodreads review:

Chili con Corpses by Ellery Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this installment, our Flab Five friends have decided to take a cooking class one day a week as their break from all the constant dieting they’d been doing. Lucy was working hard to pass the last leg of the deputy’s exam which caused a big change in James and Lucy’s relationship. He found himself drawn to Murphy Alistair, the newspaper editor who in the past hadn’t been a very nice person to them but in this book, she sort of became the 6th person in their supper club. When one of the teachers at Lindy’s school was murdered during a cave field trip, the state police were called in but the friends decided to do what they did best together, figure out who the killer was. I loved how they set up a sting operation at the end. I had suspected the person who ended up as the killer but didn’t know the reason till the clues all were revealed and fell into place.

Since meeting Milla, who ran the cooking class, James thought bringing her around to meet his dad would be a good idea and it was. Jackson seemed to enjoy how she liked spoiling him with her cooking and he seemed a little less reclusive. I really like Milla and since I read ahead a few books a few months ago, I am happy about what happens eventually. I got a kick out of Bennett’s New Year’s resolution to try out for Jeopardy, he definitely knows a lot of trivia.

What made this seem so realistic was Lucy sort of pulling away from everyone for awhile to devote time to working out and passing the deputy exam. In real life, friend groups always experience that. They have their ups and downs. I like how all these people are always willing to accept the strayed friend back or welcome new friends. Murphy was just seeming too good to be true so it’ll be interesting to see what happens next. She was very useful in helping to solve this mystery though. Relationships are never perfect so I think it’s pretty true to life how she and James’ relationship tends to fade.

On to book four now!

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Pawprints & Predicaments

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Lucky Paws Pet Sitting series by Bethany Blake, which is another one of my favorite series since there are so many dogs in it. I like cats in books but I can’t say I’m a fan of Daphne’s adopted cat, Tinkleston, since he’s like an attack kitty most times. I do love little Artie the chihuahua though and in this book we got to meet another big old sweetie, Bernie, the St. Bernard. This was a fun book to read while the temperature was in the 90s where I live. I can look outside and think “wow I’m glad I’m not freezing like the people in this book!” 😉

The 4th book (which I’ve already pre-ordered) is “A Midwinter’s Tail” and shows an adorable Pug on the cover! Can’t wait to find out whose pup he is! It releases in November!

My Goodreads review:

Pawprints & Predicaments by Bethany Blake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always love returning to Sylvan Creek to visit with Daphne and her dog Socrates that lives up to his philosopher name.

It was January and the annual Tail Waggin’ Winterfest was underway along with Daphne trying to get her pet bakery grand opening set up. When she discovered the body of a TV executive in the water during the polar plunge, there was no shortage of suspects and Daphne was worried that she’d be tossed into that mix if she didn’t do something to help find the real killer. It wasn’t much help when her friend Jonathan the detective removed himself from the case since his ex-wife happened to be one of the suspects. There were a lot of great twists and turns to get to the killer, which in this case I definitely hadn’t guessed. I love how Socrates got to help at the end, which wrapped up with the eventual pet bakery grand opening.

As always, Artie the hyper chihuahua stole my heart with his adorable love of clothes and how he is always so happy. That little guy just seems so cute, I want to hug him, slobber and all. He had a very interesting costume this time for the Cardboard Iditarod parade at the Winterfest. I liked the new dog character, Bernie, too. He was St. Bernard that just happened to show up and pull the body from the lake which carried the legend of a ghost St. Bernard. Bernie was definitely real, all 10 gallons of slobber and probably 200 pounds of dog. I love how his story turned out as well. Tinks, the badly behaved cat that Daphne adopted in the last book was not too thrilled with her fostering Bernie for awhile.

I’ve heard there are definitely more books coming in this series but I’m happy to be caught up for now and (not so) patiently wait for the next! If you love pets…and some great recipes for them which can be found at the end of the book…you’ll love this series.

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The Diva Cooks Up a Storm–review

June 17, 2018June 17, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the eleventh book in the Domestic Diva series by well-known author, Krista Davis. She also writes another of my favorite series, Paws and Claws. I am determined to read more of this series but as of now, I’ve only read this one and the fourth book, a Halloween theme mystery. She tells a great story, adds in a little history and always has some good plot twists!

My Goodreads review:

The Diva Cooks up a Storm by Krista Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was only the second Diva book that I’ve read but I absolutely loved it! Krista Davis has an amazing way to weave a really interesting mystery with some history and lots of great characters who could be suspects. Even though I had only read one other book, it didn’t take me long to get to know the characters so this could totally be read as a stand alone if anyone wanted to. Although the person who dies would be a bit of a spoiler if you decide to go back and read the other books. I’m still going to read those books since I don’t know how many of them this person is in and that doesn’t really bother me since they were fairly minor. I did remember the name from the Halloween book though.

When a neighbor of Sophie’s is afraid he’s being poisoned and then he ends up dead, Sophie has to wonder if his trophy wife really did do this as everyone else in town seems to think. She ended up spending time with this wife and really felt like the woman couldn’t have killed her husband. Sophie all but told the woman she’d look into things, hopefully without getting herself killed. When another body is found by Sophie and Nina, everyone gets a little more nervous.

I loved how even though Sophie has a bestie named Nina, that she’s not the only one that tries to solve mysteries with her. Sophie actually had a nice group of friends even including her ex-husband to sit around the dinner table with and discuss the possibilities of who did what. I like that they have a friendly relationship and even share custody of the dog, Daisy. I honestly don’t remember a lot about the regulars from the Halloween book but I really do like the character of Francie who seemed to be the oldest of the friends and the voice of reason. And I of course didn’t forget about Natasha who really thinks she’s a diva and a sort of friendly rival with Sophie and the event planning. Natasha was good for some great comedy relief!

There were plenty of suspects and I’m really glad that some of them didn’t end up as the killer. I really never guessed it but I had suspicions about someone all along although I wasn’t sure why. The show down was delightfully unusual too. As it turned out, two people were actually after Sophie and they were caught. The actual book ending was a lot of fun, friends and neighbors gathered around and another couple of friends made a little love connection! You’ll just have to read it and find out. I am eventually going to get through all these books but I just couldn’t resist the chance to read this ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own (disclaimer)

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Secrets and Pies–review

June 16, 2018June 16, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Callie’s Kitchen series. Now I’m caught up and anxiously waiting for book 4! These characters are just so awesome!

My Goodreads review:

Secrets and Pies by Jenny Kales

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this latest book in the series! Callie and Ian are in a good place with their relationship, Callie’s pretty much come to terms with her ex and his new wife living a couple blocks away and once again, you can see just what awesome family ties there are in this series, not only with actual family but employees as well.

It was summer in Crystal Bay and business was booming for Callie’s Kitchen. Callie was involved making tons of food for the annual Greek Fest as well as handling concessions that her grandma Viv got her involved in for the Chamber of Commerce’s Beats by the Bay, a summer concert series. When Callie found a friend dead at an old house, she was devastated as was Olivia who made her mom promise to find the killer. This time Callie got Max to help her do some investigating which was almost as funny as when she went with her grandma in the first book. Max was having some personal issues and had to give Callie some bad news. George came in to help with the huge amounts of customers they’d been getting. Callie’s investigating nearly got her killed (again) but thanks to long-ago bootleggers she got the situation well in hand! The showdown with the killer was tense for awhile though! I had definitely not seen that person coming.

Everything worked out great, the ending was wrapped up nicely and Callie got a very nice surprise as well. I’ll leave it at that and you’ll just have to read it to find out! 😉 I’m so anxious for the next book to come out! I’ve really grown close to all these characters, who could not love George, the old teddy bear, who loves his daughter and granddaughter like crazy. His relationship started in the previous book seemed to be going well and I was glad everyone was on board with that. Sweetie was mentioned but I’m still hoping she pops up in another book (see book two if you don’t know who Sweetie is) I had to leave Crystal Bay pretty reluctantly knowing there isn’t yet a book to follow but I am sure there will be, hopefully soon.

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Spiced and Iced–review

June 15, 2018June 15, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Callie’s Kitchen cozy mystery series by Jenny Kales. I had read the first one back in April and decided it was time to visit Crystal Bay again even though it was Christmas there. The characters were so memorable that I had no problem remembering things about them from the first book.

My Goodreads review:

Spiced and Iced by Jenny Kales

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this Christmas themed mystery, maybe even more since where I live it’s warm and sunny today and looking outside, I don’t have to see snow lol. I enjoy Christmas themes anyway and reading about it in this awesome Greek family was just a lot of fun. The first book was set a few months before this one and since then, Callie had started seeing the police detective, Ian Sands. Her dad got a new love interest in this story which was interesting and comical at times.

Callie was supplying the cookies for a bridal shower held at the local English Country Inn. The events planner had arranged for her to do that but Callie didn’t have to worry about staying and serving. Later when Callie found that her colleague had been murdered, of course her dad and Ian were worried for her safety and she was actually worried too. It didn’t stop her from wanting to get to the bottom of things. During her investigation, she found a couple of secrets about other inn employees as well. It was pretty funny reading how her Grandma Viv and her cousin/aunt from Greece known as Sweetie had tried to snoop into the case as well. Callie worried about their safety, but as Max said, Viv could probably give Jessica Fletcher some pointers.

Callie’s ex-husband and his new wife, Hugh and Raine are a small part of this book. I like that Callie has been able to deal with their marriage but she was having some issues with them coming to Crystal Bay to live even though she realized that Olivia would love having her dad live close by. Everything worked out in the end, which by the way, was pretty epic since Callie got to chase someone down with a snowplow. I can somehow picture that happening in a mystery on TV.

I still just love the character of Grandma Viv. She’s just everything a family would want in a grandma. She’s got their best interests and safety at heart without thinking about her own. And Sweetie was a hoot too! She enjoyed coming to Wisconsin for a real white Christmas but was glad to be returning to Greece by New Year’s since she missed the warm weather. It would be fun if she turned up in another book. I can see her with Viv doing more investigating for Callie lol.

I’ll be moving on to the third book soon! I really enjoy this series and also the yummy recipes found at the end of the book!

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