Best of: Cozies 2022

by

So many cozies – so little time!  Reading cozies for my Mystery Scene column has been a real joy, and an extra joy was that the column focused on my favorite of formats, the mass market paperback.  A long ago customer, a pilot during WWII, told me he learned to love Agatha Christie during the war as he was able to stick a paperback in his back pocket.  This format is slowly being squeezed out, but to me it’s the best way to have a little rectangle of affordable, portable happiness always on tap.  Hopefully this list will give you a place to start (not ALL on this list are mass markets, but most of them are). Dive in!   read more

Honorable Mention 2022

by

With over 500,000 books published each year (not all are mysteries, obviously), there’s no way I can even read a solid sample of what’s out there.  I do gravitate toward historicals, cozies and traditional detective fiction, and out of the 80 plus books I read this past year (all but two were mysteries) these are the (additional) ones I found remarkable and worthy of a look.  Happy reading!

The Rising Tide, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope #10 ). Cleeves always provides a spectacularly thoughtful read, and this one is no different.  Set on “Holy Island”, an island cut off by the tides every night, a group of high school friends have been meeting up for 50 years.  When one of them commits suicide, Vera is sure it’s murder, and of course she’s right.  As expected from Cleeves, there are complex characterizations and a spectacular setting that assumes its own part in the story. read more

Reviewers and Readers faves 2022

by

When we had an open store, I often got recommendations from customers or even authors that guided my reading – Libby Hellman, for example, recommended Elly Griffiths to me very early on.  I spent my first winter catching up on Elizabeth George, thanks to a good tip from a reader. Now that I have three wonderful reviewers writing for the website and a book club full of intelligent and discerning readers, I can still, happily, pick up some recommendations.  This is a varied list, but there are a few commonalities – Elly Griffiths, Louise Penny, S.A. Cosby, Naomi Hirahara, and Mia P. Manasala.  Some are on my own lists – Tasha Alexander, SJ Bennett, Harini Negendra, Elly Griffiths, Mia P. Manasala, Gigi Pandian, Sarah Stewart Taylor and Louise Penny.  Vicki’s, Margaret’s and Carla’s reviews of many of these titles can be found on the website. read more

Laura Levine: Death by Smoothie

by

Death by Smoothie, Laura Levine’s latest work, has Jaine Austen tossed into investigating two murders: that of a classic sitcom turned musical, and that of the lead actress starring in said musical. Jaine is approached by her friend and neighbor Lance Venable and asked if she would be interested in doing the screen writing for the musical remake of an old sitcom called ‘I Married a Zombie’. While she isn’t a fan of the sitcom or of the idea of a musical based upon it, she is definitely interested in the paycheck the job would bring. David and Becca are the couple who are funding and directing the project using the winnings from David’s recent lotto ticket. While she is hesitant about working on such a tacky project, Jaine is won over by the large pay out promised. read more

Louise Penny: A World of Curiosities

by

It’s not easy to tell a good story in the past and present at the same time. Often, characters get lost along the way, or one plot is simply far better. Louise Penny manages it handily in A World of Curiosities. In many ways, though it’s the eighteenth book in the series, it’s an origin story, too. It helps that these characters we’ve come to love play such a strong part in both stories. And, though the backbone of Penny’s books is built on Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir’s relationship, we’ve never seen their first case together. We know how they met, of course, but Penny had never gone in depth. read more

January Book Club: A Bend of Light

by

Our January book club will meet on zoom on Sunday, January 22, at 2 p.m.  We’ll be discussing Joy Jordan-Lake’s A Bend of Light.  Publisher’s description: A quiet coastal village in post–World War II America is shaken when the secrets of the past and present collide in a riveting novel by the bestselling author of Under a Gilded Moon.

Five years after the war, Amie Stilwell, a photo interpreter for an Allied unit in England, returns to her hometown in Maine. Jobless and discouraged but stubbornly resourceful, she’s starting over in the same coastal village where her life once went so wrong. Waiting for her is Shibby Travis, the surrogate mother with whom Amie never lost touch. But the unexpected also awaits… read more

Winnie Archer: Bread over Troubled Water

by

Winnie Archer’s Bread Over Troubled Water has aspiring photographer Ivy Culpepper racing not just to solve a murder, but to also to save her friends and her job at bakery Yeast of Eden from disaster. As the book opens, Ivy’s morning is focused on her normal routine of baking and on reflecting on her own to-do list for her impending wedding party. She does not have much free time, however, as the bread shop is a town staple and thus plenty of regulars and tourists pass through, keeping everyone busy. One such regular is Josh Prentiss. He is a well-known fixture in Yeast of Eden, working away most mornings on his laptop and offering charmingly flirtatious remarks to both customers and employees. After some light commotion in the shop resulting in dropped bread and a broken plate, he leaves the shop and Ivy does not think about him further, until her determined and charming pug, Agatha, sniffs out his body amongst flowers in the park and drags Ivy once more into a mystery. read more

Sarah Fox: Through the Liquor Glass

by

Through the Liquor Glass by Sarah Fox is the fifth installment in A Literary Pub Mystery series and has local pub owner Sadie Coleman not only investigating a new murder but fighting to keep her boyfriend from taking the fall. Shady Creek, Vermont, is celebrating the fall weather with a festival called “A Taste of Shady Creek” which focuses on showcasing all the local eateries. Between preparing for the event at her Pub, The Inkwell, and for a booth at the event hall, Sadie is also having to prepare for the first-time visit of her mother to show her her new home and her new life. Between the pressures of wanting her mother to understand that this is where she belongs and The Inkwell is how she wants to make her living, she also must brace herself to also introduce her boyfriend Grayson Blake. Just when it seems there couldn’t possibly be anything more to add to her plate, Sadie learns that several food critics are present at the event as well. read more

Lauren Elliott: Steeped in Secrets

by

Anyone looking for a new cozy series that has a strong protagonist, multiple levels of enigmas, and a supernatural flair, need look no further than Lauren Elliott’s Steeped in Secrets. The main character, Shayleigh Myers, finds herself back in her hometown of California’s Monterey Peninsula due to her life falling apart. This is thanks to her ex-husband Brad’s scheming and cheating, both in love and in business. Shayleigh is left destitute and discredited from her chosen profession of gemologist and has nowhere to go but back to her hometown and crashing on her sister’s couch.  Just as everything seems hopeless, however, she receives unusual news from the estate of Bridget Early. read more

Elly Griffiths: Bleeding Heart Yard

by

In DS (Detective Sergeant) Harbinder Kaur’s third jaunt, Bleeding Heart Yard, she’s been promoted to DI (Detective Inspector). Author Elly Griffiths never lets her characters stay stagnant, and this latest entry is no exception. Harbinder is looking toward the future in every way – she’s living in a new city, has new roommates, and has her own team of detectives to command in her new position. Being away from her family and friends is a big adjustment to her life, but it’s lovely to see her making positive changes. Of course, her first case is focused entirely on the rest of the character’s pasts. read more