crooked lane books – Page 7 – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

How to Book a Murder review

December 19, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a new series by well-established cozy author Cynthia Kuhn. It’s called Starlit Bookshop Mysteries and I gotta say I love the play on the family name Starrs + Lit = Starlit, pretty clever name. And it was a bookshop that was well-known and loved around the town, so it was natural for the daughters Laura and Emma to run it. I really liked their aunt Nora. She was gutsy and wouldn’t let herself get walked on, but she had the biggest heart when it came to her family. No wonder she’d stayed in the family home, and the three of them were now a family.

My Goodreads review:

How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow I really enjoyed this author’s writing! I know she’s pretty well-known in the cozy world, but I just hadn’t had the pleasure of reading any of her works until I found this on NetGalley. I’m so glad I did, because I got right into the story from the start. I really liked Emma and Laura, the two sisters who ran their family’s bookstore. I enjoyed the interaction of Emma with a guy she went to school with who was now a detective along with the leader of a writers’ critique group she’d joined. The author did an amazing job of creating a character I absolutely loathed! I think you’ll know who I mean once you read the book and probably agree.

Aunt Nora was having some internal issues at the college where she taught, so that was an interesting side story that was wrapped up well but still showed that college professors weren’t exempt from workplace drama.

I was completely surprised by the whodunit, and the showdown was pretty epic. I was proud of Emma for thinking to do something she did. I think she and Jake might just have a future friendship and maybe beyond now that they were getting along. I can’t wait to see what the girls come up with next for their bookstore that thanks to a successful author event seemed to be doing well now.

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

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Cold Brew Corpse review

December 18, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the newer series called Coffee Lovers Mysteries by Tara Lush, and I’m really enjoying getting to know these characters. I found myself giggling at what was going on more than once! Great humor and dialogue among the characters is what I really appreciate about a good cozy. I can’t wait to read the next one!

My Goodreads review:

Cold Brew Corpse by Tara Lush
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked this book even better than the first one! It just had more of a regular cozy vibe which I remember not getting as much with the first book. I can’t really explain it, but I just liked this book so much better. The two main characters of Lana and Noah seemed a little more mature and comfortable together. I loved that they were at least on a “we need to date” basis, but it was mainly his crazy hours that kept them from it. That and another case. Lana was awesome as a first person narrator, and I enjoyed the author’s sense of humor coming out in her–and some of the other characters. The dialogue was just so good, and I love how natural-sounding it is!

I’m pretty sure Peter Lewis aka Dad was my fave character in the first book, and that’s definitely not changed. And Erica’s the best bestie a girl could ask for. There was a little side mystery of the cold brew batch going wonky on them. I had my suspicions, and you might too once you read the book!

I was completely surprised by the whodunit, and the showdown was a good one. Lana didn’t get by unscathed though, but by the time she was okay, she was ready to hit the workplace once more. I’m eager to read more in this fun series! That little Stanley pup has stolen my heart!

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

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A Brush with Murder review

October 14, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the first book in the brand new series Paint by Murder by Bailee Abbott, a new-to-me author even in her other persona of Kathryn Long who started a cozy series called Sierra Pines B&B. I have the first book and now that I’ve read her work as Bailee, I want to read Boarding with Murder she wrote as Kathryn.

I loved how the sisters, Chloe and Izzie in this book had such an awesome relationship as well as fairly normal parents who loved them to the moon and back. Katy their mom was a great cook who loved experimenting with all kinds of fads and trendy food, but she knew what her kids and friends liked. I’m really looking forward to the next book. I might already be Team Hunter. 😉

My Goodreads review:

A Brush with Murder by Bailee Abbott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another awesome new mystery by a new-to-me author with a great sense of humor that shines through to her characters. Her main character Chloe isn’t as funny or snarky as Chloe’s sister Izzie or some of the others, but Chloe did have some great one-liners and knew just what to say.

Gotta say, I was really ready to loathe Ross’s character being that he was the ex-boyfriend, and everyone knows how those guys are usually jerks in books, am I right? But Ross turned out to be a decent and likable character. I’m not sure I’d want Chloe back with him (I’m Team Hunter already, lol), but he’s a super good friend to have and promised he’d always be there for her. That cute ball of fluff on the book cover is Max who’s just a good little friend to Chloe and not a crime fighter, yet anyway. The sisters had a great relationship, and their parents, while sometimes a little flaky and out there, were good people who loved both their kids unconditionally.

At one point in the book, I started suspecting the person who ended up as the killer, but this clever author eventually steered me off course. The showdown was a good nail biter one. There were a couple of side mysteries that got cleared up as well, so there are no hanging storylines in this series. I’m awfully eager now to read the next book and am hoping it comes out more than once a year like some series.

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

View all my reviews