Amateur sleuth

Krista Davis: The Diva Poaches a Bad Egg

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Domestic Diva #18

When she’s not busy solving mysteries, Domestic Diva Sophie Winston writes a column on decorating and entertaining. If you like cozies, this is the series for you! Sophie lives in a historical house in Old Town Alexandria with her dog Daisy, ocicat Mochie, and possibly the ghost of her ex-husband’s Aunt Faye. Sophie’s split with Mars was amicable and they share custody of Daisy. He lives nearby with his old friend Bernie Frei, a Brit who owns the Laughing Hound restaurant, and both share Sophie’s adventures. Her best friend Nina rounds the close group of friends who spend lots of time enjoying food, drink, and solving mysteries. Each book is prefaced with a list of the characters and ends with Sophie’s recipes. The only thing missing is a map! (I love those old mysteries with maps.) read more

Freya Sampson: The Busybody Book Club

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I loved this book and its Cornwall setting. It begins with the heroine, former Londoner Nova, fretting that no one will show up for the book club she runs at the local Community Center.  Luckily a few people do straggle in, led by the overwhelming Phyllis, who is so entirely bossy that she’s allowed to bring her smelly dog with her wherever she goes. She’s joined by the affable, older Art, who reads romances to his now blind wife who loves them, a painfully shy teen, Ash, and a man named Michael who seems to have come from afar to join the club but seems to have read little of the book they’re discussing. read more

Paula Sutton: The Potting Shed Murder

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Hill House Vintage Murder #1

One of the most interesting things about The Potting Shed Murder is that readers get to experience the inner thoughts and perspectives of most of the characters involved in the story. Instead of just experiencing how the detective, in this case a Daphne Brewster, thinks, readers get to see how the other townsfolk view one another and react to the murder. Daphne and her family are brand new to the English county village of Pudding Corner and are thus under a lot of scrutiny from the community. She is also one of the very few black members of this community, and is fully aware that means she is getting perhaps a bit more scrutiny than another new neighbor might. Even so, Daphne is determined to make a life in Pudding Corner after leaving the rather intense and expensive life of London behind. read more

Elizabeth Penney: Bodies and Battlements

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New series

Bodies and Battlements is the first Ravensea Castle mystery by Elizabeth Penney. Readers are taken to the Yorkshire Coast in Robinhood’s Bay, where Ravensea castle stands near the shore. The Asquith family has lived in the castle for generations, and with bills piling up Ravensea Castle is undergoing a dramatic transformation to a B&B location. Nora, full title Eleanor Sibilla Asquith, is spear heading the effort with the blessing of her father and contention from her siblings. She runs her own little apothecary, but the funds just aren’t enough for the upkeep of the castle. Despite the lack of support from her siblings and the push back and protests from some new locals, Nora manages to get Ravensea all up to code, ready to run as an official B&B, and get her first guests registered. She just hopes that their resident ghost, Sir Percival, stays inactive long enough to not scare anyone off. read more

Uzma Jalaluddin: Detective Aunty

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Kausar Khan #1

This is the first mystery for writer Uzma Jalaluddin, though she’s already had a successful writing career creating women’s fiction.  Her detective, a recent widow named Kausar Khan, lives in North Bay, Canada.  One morning she gets a call from her daughter Sana, back in Toronto, telling her there’s been a murder and she’s the prime suspect.  Then she hangs up.  Kausar, who hasn’t been back to Toronto since the death of her son many years ago, nevertheless hurriedly packs a bag and jumps on a plane. read more

Diane Kelly: Dead Post Society

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House Flipper #7

In Diane Kelly’s seventh House flipper Mystery, Dead Post Society, main character Whitney Flynn, a carpenter in Nashville Tennessee, works with her father and cousin Buck. She and her cousin  also flip houses, and she solves mysteries in her spare time. Her husband and homicide detective Collin isn’t always pleased to have her poking around in murder cases. His love for her motivates him to want her to stay out of it and be safe, the detective in him welcomes her insight and whatever clues she happens to supply. Currently, Whitney and Buck haven’t been flipping houses for a few months because his wife is about to give birth to their first child. The family is beyond excited, and once the little bundle of joy arrives, it doesn’t take Whitney long to come across a fresh project for them. read more

Korina Moss: Bait and Swiss

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Cheese Shop #6

Gouda news readers, the sixth book in Korina Moss’ Cheese Shop Mystery series is here. In Bait and Swiss, Willa Bauer is celebrating the second year of her shop, Curds and Whey, being open and successful in Yarrow Glen. Her employees and friends, Mrs. Schultz and Archie, are now also joined by a fellow cheese enthusiast, June. Willa is rightfully proud of her shop’s success and is going all out for its birthday celebration, complete with cheese from around the world themes on rotation throughout the day and costumes to match. There is more cause to celebrate around town when Hope is ready to reveal and open her new cakery shop. Ever ready to support her community and friends, Willa and team are excited to attend the grand opening event, until she sees who Hope’s new partners are. read more

Maha Khan Phillips: The Museum Detective

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Dr. Gul Delani is an art historian working at the Museum of History and Heritage in Karachi, Pakistan.  She has basically forced her way into the museum by more or less creating her own department and curating her own staff of eager grad students.  When she gets a middle of the night phone call, she thinks it’s information about her long missing niece, Mahnaz, who had vanished at 15, but instead, it’s an order to get dressed and get in a car for a long ride. When she arrives, she’s asked to take a look at what could possibly be the mummy of a legendary princess of Persepolis. read more

Maddie Day: Deadly Crush

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Cece Barton #2

In Maddie Day’s second Cece Barton novel, Deadly Crush, her protagonist has moved to Alexander Valley in California and manages a local wine bar known as Vino Y Vida. With the exception of being integral in solving a murder in her previous adventure, Cece is adapting well to her new life. She is taking care to get security cameras and new wiring in the wine bar and has hired local electrician Karl Meier to do it, which turns into a disaster. He’s not only slow in his work, he’s abusive to his assistant who was also his nephew, and is just a genuinely unpleasant individual. Given that everyone who knows Carl seems to have the same impression, Cece makes the decision to never enlist his services again. read more

Simon Brett: A Messy Murder

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Decluttering mysteries #4

I’m not sure why I haven’t read this series before, but this book is so good it makes me want to go back and check out the first three installments.  Main character Ellen Curtis is a “professional declutterer,” a job that sounds very silly but really isn’t.  As the story begins she’s working for a husband and wife looking to downsize, with the wife being all for it and the husband, a fading former TV host, not so enthusiastic.  Ellen is a widow, having lost her husband to suicide, and when the husband, “Humph” to his friends, dies, apparently a suicide as well, Ellen’s skills  and familiarity with grief come to the fore. read more