small town georgia – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

One Sharp Stitch review

March 28, 2025 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a new series called the Nimble Needle by Allie Pleiter, an author whose name I recognized from her Riverbank Knitting Mysteries. I still need to read those especially now that I really enjoyed this book in her new series. She’s definitely got a talent for creating likable and memorable characters as I saw in this book. Can’t wait till the next book comes out!

#NetGalley #KensingtonCozies #AlliePleiter

My Goodreads review:

One Sharp Stitch by Allie Pleiter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed meeting Shelby and her new friends in town along with her family when she came to take care of her mom’s needlepoint shop so Mom and Dad could go on a nice long road trip. She sure had no idea she’d be dealing with a murder soon after her parents left, although at first that’s not what it was being called. But Shelby persisted and even got Jessica somewhat involved.

On the shop front, Shelby managed to combine sleuthing with coming up with a needlepoint prize for a rotation all the shops took every few months. I liked the group she got together to help her do the stitching since they all talked about the case while they worked. The showdown and reveal were good—I’d definitely never suspected that person. Shelby and Jessica grew a lot closer as sisters after that which was gonna make the reveal during the epilogue a lot easier for both, lol. I sure can’t wait for that next book now!

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

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Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson review

December 16, 2024 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a brand new series by a new to me cozy author, P.J. Nelson and I sure hope another one is gonna follow! I was a tiny bit gun shy when I’d read some not-so-nice reviews on Goodreads about it, but I really try not to let those kinds of reviews sway my thinking while I read. Well, I didn’t need any help or hindrance because I liked this book a lot all on my own. It’s hard to believe some people were talking about the same book, lol.

Either way, I enjoyed the characters and the unlikely but quirky friend group with main character Madeline, her aunt’s bestie Phil (Philomena) and a crazy, fun lady pastor who’s probably gonna end up as Maddy-girl’s new bestie. Gloria was an awesome friend but she had the pastor skills down pat and could give some of the world’s best advice. And Madeline wasn’t some airhead who blindly interviewed suspects without backup. She only went twice alone, but she’s the gutsy type who really made me think of Kate Beckett on Castle. Even if Kate wasn’t a detective, she totally would’ve done what Madeline did. But all reviews have a place in the world, and I always go with the tired but true old saying of ‘to each his own.’

#NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #PJNelson

My Goodreads review:

Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Madeline was definitely a different kind of main character, gutsy and brave but then she’d been an actress for quite a few years so she was used to all sorts of situations which might’ve gotten her ready for stuff she’d encounter in real life. I felt the characters were tons of fun, especially Madeline’s wicked sense of humor.

Gloria, her new pastor friend cracked me up at how cool and upbeat she was. I mean who wouldn’t love a friend like her who’s also an ordained Episcopal priest and was capable of other types of guidance as well as just being good bestie material. Phil (aka Philomena) was a really interesting character and had been Aunt Rose’s longtime friend, so she was like another aunt to Madeline. There was lotsa drama and mystery but some good humorous parts too ending up with an epic showdown with the killer. I’m really looking forward to the next book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin Paperbacks/Minotaur Press via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

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Quilty As Charged review

August 24, 2024 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Measure Twice Sewing Mysteries by Maggie Bailey which was somewhat bittersweet since someone very close to Lydia was the murder victim this time. Stuck in an ice storm on a mountain, secrets were eventually revealed, but I was happy that nothing permanently scarred Lydia’s original beliefs about her friend. It was also pretty cool that while one friend was taken from Lydia’s life, a new one appeared (and he sounded super cute lol!).

#NetGalley #CrookedLane #MaggieBailey

My Goodreads review:

Quilty as Charged by Maggie Bailey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a good locked room type murder mystery with an ice storm raging outside. I picked out who I thought was the killer, but that choice became less possible, so I just sleuthed along with Lydia and Auden. I really love that she’s met a nice guy and the good turn her life took in this story.

It’s hard to say much more without spoiling things, so I’ll just say I’m ready for the next book if there’s a third one in the works. I’m eager to see what progress Lydia and Auden might make in their new friendship. It was sad when I read in the description who the person was that got killed first, but there might’ve been things no one knew about this sweet person. Lotsa secrets came out for everyone.

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 Crust to Die For review

January 3, 2024 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mysteries by T.C. LoTempio, an author who writes about awesome main characters and their pets, usually cats, so I was happy to see a little King Charles Cavalier named Cooper in addition to a gorgeous Siamese named Lily when I started reading this series. I love how those two get along so well. And I’m loving how their human’s apparently found someone she really likes too! Can’t wait to read the next book since the ending gave a slight hint as to what we might expect.

#NetGalley #SevernHouse #TCLoTempio

My Goodreads review:

A Crust to Die For by T.C. LoTempio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has had many awesome red herrings and rabbit holes to explore but I did start putting some of the items together right and solved right along with Tiff. I love that she and the detective were in a good place unlike what she’d been afraid of. I felt bad for Hilary’s poor sister being right in the middle of the murder investigation, but only Hilary’s awesome friend would even dream of trying to prove her bestie’s sister innocent.

That was some wild showdown and someone got to prove themselves useful after being thought of as not so useful. Bartell’s a sweetie and always acted grateful for Tiff helping. The ending was really sweet!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book and my opinions are my own.

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Eat, Drink and Drop Dead review

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a brand new series, Tiffany Austin Food Blogger (sorry, Goodreads doesn’t have a series page up for it so no link for that) by established cozy mystery author, T.C. LoTempio. Her longest running and probably most well-known is the Nick & Nora Mysteries. I still need to start the Nick & Nora series and probably have most of them in some form or another. This lady always writes an awesome mystery with adorable pets!

#NetGalley #SevernHouse #TCLoTempio

My Goodreads review:

Eat, Drink and Drop Dead by T.C. LoTempio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anything I’ve read by this author always has characters you’d like to have as friends and storylines that pull me in right away. And this book didn’t disappoint in either of those things. I really enjoyed meeting Tiffany and her coworkers at the magazine. Hilary was such an awesome bestie. I don’t think there’s anything that girl wouldn’t do for her buddy, Tiff as you’ll read when they go sleuthing. And Hilary was very good when it came to enabling Tiff on dating a certain handsome detective. Dale was the kind of boss anybody would just love to have. He was fair and easy to get along with…and he didn’t mind hybrid employees as long as they came to the staff meetings.

The mystery was a good one and I was stumped until a clue came along toward the end of the book. Then I knew exactly whodunit possibly a little sooner than Tiffany did. That was one good showdown too, and the ending was super sweet. I can’t wait for more in this series!

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

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Crime for the Books review

October 13, 2022October 13, 2022 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Jane Doe Book Club Mysteries by Kate Young, and I especially liked this mystery since it was fun Halloween month reading. I’ve always loved Lyla’s Gran’s character! She’s such a hoot and a real force to be reckoned with. It’s so cool how she always seems to know just when Lyla needs her around. I’ll be eagerly waiting for the next book in the series!

#CrookedLaneBooks #NetGalley

My Goodreads review:

Crime for the Books by Kate Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was crazy good with its combo of Halloween creepy and a twisty, compelling murder mystery. At times I wasn’t sure who to trust, but there were definitely a couple people on my radar, and I was right about one of them. When it got to be over halfway through the book, I couldn’t read quick enough as the clues and theories started coming fast and furious.

I absolutely love it when a group of friends orchestrates a trap with the police, so to me, this showdown was pretty darn epic. And who doesn’t love it when a wily killer gets bested right? And busted too. 😉

The dynamics of the book club ladies and their camaraderie is just awesome. There’s really nothing these girls wouldn’t do for each other since they all feel like sisters who can discuss or do anything. From commiserating over breakups to breaking down a killer to confessing, these ladies were unstoppable! The side story of Amelia and her hubby adopting a little girl was so sweet! I liked the fast-forward at the very end to include their new addition as well as a super comprehensive wrap-up of the case. Can’t wait for the next installment!

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

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Murder Out of Character review

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Peach Coast Library Mysteries by Olivia Matthews who wrote a couple other cozy series as well before working on this one for Hallmark Publishing. I sure hope they want her to do more because I’m more than ready to keep reading about these characters! They just really pulled me in extra hard in this second book.

I love the closeness Marvey has with her parents even though they’re still living in New York while she’s in Georgia. And her friends are just so amazing with how they’ve welcomed her into their various circles. It’s cool how she’s got her close circle of friends (Jo, Nolan and Spence) for sleuthing, but she can also call on her librarian friends for some after-hours sleuthing as well. What an awesome entourage, right? I know they’ve gotta have plenty more stories to tell! (Oh and a total side note: there’s no way I’d be able to only enjoy Anna May’s peach cobbler once a week! I admire Marvey’s self-control!)

#HallmarkPublishing #OliviaMatthews

My Goodreads review:

Murder Out of Character by Olivia Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this so much better than the first book, and I liked the first book a lot. The characters drew me in but in this book it was just different. Somehow it just all came together and these characters became friends I was visiting. The mystery did seem more compelling in this book too, and at times I had a hard time putting my Kindle down. I couldn’t read fast enough toward the end lol. A clever clue led me to guessing the killer.

The book had probably my most favorite type of showdowns (meaning it was fairly safe for all involved), and I sure hope there’s another book because it’s about high time that Jo lets Nolan know how much she likes him. And Marvey needs to do the same with Spence. There at least were some better hints toward that as the book progressed and especially at the end. I really loved how everyone gathered at the end for a sort of debriefing then a party to see Marvey’s folks off which was actually a little bit more than just that! I really hope Hallmark Publishing wants more of this series!

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

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Reading Between the Crimes review

September 7, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the Jane Doe Book Club Mysteries that started last year. I’m really enjoying getting to know the characters, and you definitely get to know some of the characters a lot better in this book! I couldn’t help thinking the murder had a whole Clue vibe going…”Mr. Richardson in the library with the candlestick.” Except Mr. R was the one who was offed. There was a lot of intrigue and mysterious things happening. As I said in my Goodreads review, I can’t really say a whole lot for fear of spoiling something. Just read and enjoy!

My Goodreads review:

Reading Between the Crimes by Kate Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow what a mystery! A lot of it was more low-key and not tons of action going on, but just when I thought it was getting quiet, pow! Lyla learned something about her mom’s past that was pretty unsettling, but it did explain quite a bit of her recent behavior. I don’t want to go into details too much, because there’s a possibility of spoiling something no matter what I mention.

I’m glad to see that Lyla was still with Brad Jones and at least Quinn her ex was treating her fairly well regarding the investigation. Lots of surprises came out, and the showdown was kind of a show stopper. Very well written with little surprises popping up here and there. I definitely can recommend this series. This book seems more geared toward not having had to read the first one, although I always recommend starting the beginning. I admit to not always having done that myself when ARCs looked tempting though! 😉

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

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Peaches and Schemes review

May 17, 2021May 17, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the third book in the Georgia B&B series by Anna Gerard who cozy fans also know as Diane A.S. Stuckart and Ali Brandon. I’ve loved this series since it first came out a couple years ago, and it just keeps getting better. Nina and her housemate Harry have grown a lot in how they treat one another and may be developing more than just tolerance and tossing around fun-loving insults at each other. I’m really excited to see what the next book will bring! At one point toward the end, I was a little sad, but the next chapter fixed that right up! You’ll see when you read it, and as my review below suggests, maybe a few tissues for those happy tears would come in handy!

My Goodreads review:

Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I love this book the best so far in the series! I never in a million years thought I’d come to love Harry’s character so much when I first met him in book one. But he went above and beyond to prove that maybe sometimes he’s really got a good heart that’s not scheming something.

Harry happened to be back staying at the B&B, and Nina was surprised to run into him at a trade show. I had to laugh at his new venture, a hired plus one. And boy did he get in over his head with his first and only job! Nina’s friend was murdered at a wedding expo fashion show, and she was going to stop at nothing to bring her justice and also prove that an older lady who was the woman’s biz partner wasn’t a killer. Nina was worried about a stalker being the killer and was trying to avoid a certain car. The dead woman’s dog Gus was so darn sweet, I was hoping Nina would get to keep him, since he was already Mattie’s playdate buddy. But Gus did get a good ending.

This showdown was absolutely epic and kind of typically Harry. But it took all the ingenuity of the parties involved to pull it off successfully. Luckily, it worked out and two people got a surprise happily ever after, while two more people were starting to realize something good. What a sweet and fitting ending! Have a few tissues handy for the happy kind of eye-leakage!

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

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On Borrowed Crime review

October 22, 2020 Tari Hann

This is the first book in a new series by Kate Young called The Jane Doe Book Club, and it looks like it’s off to a really nice start. I enjoyed the book club ladies for the most part. Patsy was a bit of a downer at times, but I guess since she’d just become a mom, she was losing interest in murder mysteries. I liked the excitement of when Lyla was sleuthing and would actually get away with something–usually sleuths are stopped in their tracks. I’m really anxious to read the next book.

My Goodreads review:

On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the beginning of this new series and the idea of a book club. It was super creepy (but not overly) in some places like the texting perp who killed one of their members had inside intel somewhere in town, but where were they getting it? Uncle Calvin was pretty cool, and I really hope he stays around town long enough in the next book to get to know him and maybe find out a little more about his background with his sister, Lyla’s mom Francis. I just loved Gran, what a hoot! She added the fun touch when Francis was going off on some social tangent or harping at Lyla that she’d make them look bad by being interested in solving crimes.

I was completely surprised by who the perp was, as I’d been leaning toward someone else for most of the last part of the book, but I was glad it wasn’t who I thought it was. I hope that Lyla grows on me just a little more. She seemed level-headed enough most of the time, but sometimes she came off as immature and stubborn just for stubbornness’ sake. I did have some issues with the ARC’s formatting which I hope got fixed in the final copy. And at times, I was rereading dialogue to figure out which character was speaking–I can’t say the formatting was totally responsible for that. I can appreciate the idea of not repeating the same old “he said, she said, I replied” type of thing, but sometimes I just needed more of a clue as to which person was speaking. Again, maybe that was taken care of in the final copy. I’ll definitely be interested in reading the next book.

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

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