Reviews

Mia P. Manansala: Guilt and Ginataan

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Tita Rosie’s Kitchen #5

When this series opened, Lila Macapagal, our heroine, was a young woman with a broken heart who had left the big city of Chicago for her little hometown of Shady Palms.  She began the series working in her Aunt Rosie’s restaurant; by book five, she and her besties, Adeena and Elena, have opened their own place: the Brew Ha Cafe. As this book opens, they are manning their booth at the local corn festival (hey, it’s Illinois), offering up an unbelievable array of delicious sounding treats featuring corn.  Warning: don’t read these books hungry. read more

Elizabeth Hobbs: Misery Hates Company

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Series debut

I really, really appreciate a book that’s able to keep me guessing.  This novel, while adhering to many of the expectations applying to cozy historicals, also completely upends them in other ways, to the point that even when I was about three quarters of the way through I was still not quite sure where the story was headed.  (I was more than eager to discover where that might be, however.)  As the book opens in 1890’s Boston, Marigold Manners has just lost both parents to the flu pandemic.  And worse, she’s discovered that they died broke.  While Marigold had formerly been a firm part of upper crust Boston, it appears now as though she will have to leave ritzy Wellesley College, abandon her dreams of archaeology, and throw herself at the mercy of her relatives. She has a last, final night out with her friend Isabelle and her devoted society hunk, Cab. So far, so standard. read more

Christina Lynch: Pony Confidential

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I loved this book and sobbed my way through it. I loved it so much that I may not even be able to speak rationally to people who don’t feel the same way, even though, as you can judge by the title, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. As the book opens, our heroine, Penny, is being arrested for reasons not all that clear until her overworked public defender, who has yet to pass the bar exam, arrives to present her with her options.  As is common practice, the lawyer advises Penny to settle, but she refuses as she knows she is innocent on what emerges as a murder charge. read more

G.M. Malliet: Death and the Old Master

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St. Just #6

I’m a huge fan of G.M. Malliet, who writes in a classic, golden age style, right down to the length of her novels.  Like the masters of the genre who came before her, she keeps her books on the shorter side.  With their sharp prose and quick but indelible characterizations, authors like Christie, Marsh, and Tey got their stories told in a much briefer manner than we are now accustomed to.  I have a dear bookseller friend who insists that you should be able to settle in after dinner, say, and finish up your read that evening.  That is indeed possible with a Malliet book.  She shares the dry humor of her foremothers, as well as their clever way with a puzzle. read more

Olivia Blacke: A New Lease on Death

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Series debut

A New Lease on Death, by Olivia Blacke, is the first in her Supernatural Mysteries series. I have read a lot of cozies that contain supernatural elements, especially either a ghost detective or companion detective. I was pleasantly surprised to find Olivia Blacke managed to find a spin on it that was entirely new, at least to me. Two main characters star in A New Lease on Death and switch perspective every few chapters or so. Our living detective is Ruby Young, an optimistic new tenant of a cheap and fully furnished apartment in Boston. Our ghost is the apartment’s previous tenant, Cordelia Graves. Cordelia does not remember the details of her death, or really why she is hanging around as a ghostly entity, but she is not pleased that Ruby has moved in and is systematically murdering all of her beloved plants. Ruby is blissfully unaware of Cordelia for the most part, just curious why her light bulbs keep dying and her electronics often go on the fritz. What puts these two on a collision course is the death of their neighbor Jack Macintyre, who is shot outside of their apartment and left alone in a blizzard for someone to call the police. read more

Ellery Adams: The Little Lost Library

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Secret, Book, & Scone Society #7

The Little Lost Library is the seventh book in Ellery Adam’s Secret, Book, & Scone Society series. The books follow Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books Bookstore in Miracle Springs, North Carolina. One of her more eccentric clients is an elderly town resident, Lucille Wynter. Lucille never leaves her house, never lets anyone inside, is always excited for a new book, and is always ready for tea and a chat with Nora. Unfortunately, one day the book delivery turns dark when Nora finds Lucille dead at the bottom of her stairs, amongst a hoard of books that would overwhelm even the most dedicated bibliophile. Despite the overwhelming mountains of books, Nora feels that it wasn’t the horde that ended up causing Lucille’s death, but she’s puzzled as to who could have motive to kill an elderly agoraphobic woman who seemed to live for the written word? Her children provide a bit of insight when they arrive, believing that something of value is in the house. Her daughter specifically seems to think that Nora knows exactly what that something is and where to find it. read more

Mindy Quigley: Sleep in Heavenly Pizza

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Deep Dish Mysteries #4

In Mindy Quigley’s Sleep in Heavenly Pizza, readers are taken to Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, for a white Christmas and one stressed out Delilah O’Leary. Her restaurant, Delilah & Son, is catering a big Chrismukkah celebration. Thanks to her amazing food and fastidious planning, it all seems to be a success, with just a few unfortunate hiccups brought about by a bit of over indulgence by the guests. Little does Delilah know that the events of the party will directly tie into a gruesome discovery later on at the snow sculpting contest which puts not only her staff, but also her family in the crosshairs of the investigation. read more

Daryl Wood Gerber: Murder on the Page

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Series Debut

Daryl Wood Gerber is the author the fantastic cozy series, The Fairy Garden Mysteries, and now she’s branching out with a new series, the Literary Dining mysteries. The debut is Murder on the Page, and follows English teacher turned caterer, Allie Catt. Appropriately, she also has a cat, who is not an alley cat and has the very dignified name of Darcy. Allie and her catering company, known as Dream Cuisine, are in Bramblewood, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Now for the coolest part about Dream Cuisine: it specializes in parties based on their client’s favorite books – combining love of food and love of books in a creative and fun way that has business booming. read more

Catherine Bruns: In the Blink of a Pie

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Maple Syrup Mysteries #3

In the Blink of a Pie is Catherine Bruns’ third Maple Syrup Mystery. Sugar Ridge, Vermont, is where Leila Khoury manages the family business, Sappy Endings farm. It’s a maple syrup haven that has a farm, store, and café that all work together. Her mother runs the café, and her very serious boyfriend Noah Rivers also works at the farm and makes many a sugary treat. To celebrate the oncoming Thanksgiving season, Sappy Endings is hosting a pie-baking contest. The town is elated, and soon Leila finds herself drowning in pie entries. A very tasty problem to have, but tricky to manage when one has to keep track of who entered what pie and then choose a winner. Luckily her friend Heather, her mother, and even Noah’s daughter are all there to help keep things as organized as possible. read more

Korina Moss: Fondue or Die

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Cheese Shop #5

It’s time once more for me to review the most recent addition to Korina Moss’s Cheese Shop mystery series, Fondue or Die. I know I’ve reviewed two of her books thus far, and I can honestly say I don’t intend to stop.  The characters draw readers in, as does the cozy town setting. And the cheese. The cheese gets a spot light which will please any cheesemonger. Willa Bauer is our protagonist, and runs her cheese shop Curds & Whey with a true dedication to her craft and a deep love of all things cheese. She would be perfectly happy focusing on selling cheese in her beloved town of Yarrow Glen in Sonoma Valley, but somehow she keeps ending up being pulled into murder investigations, each time in an attempt to clear either her own name, save her shop, or to clear the name of someone she loves. Often times she ends up whey over her head, and luckily she has many friends and her own Team Cheese to help her out. read more