American/Cozy

Darci Hannah: Murder at the Blarney Bash

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Beacon Bakeshop #5

Darci Hannah starts Murder at the Blarney Bash mystery running. Literally. The main focus of the story runs full speed into our heroine Lindsey’s car on her way home with her trusty Newfoundland, Wellington. However, whoever it was got away before she could ensure their well being, or find out who they were. Or what they were. She does not have time to dwell on it, as a league of leprechauns is heading right to her Beacon Bakeshop. Leprechaun children, that is, from the local school who are all looking forward to a Saint Patrick’s Day celebration chock full of tasty green pastries. So Lindsey has to race to beat them there, or at least not be too late. read more

Mia P. Manansala: Murder and Mamon

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Tita Rosie’s Kitchen #4

This is one of the more charming, youthful, and vital series in the cozy universe, combining many traditional cozy elements – cooking, coffee, a dog, family dynamics – and giving all these elements a new kind of flair through the cultural background of the main character and the diversity of the cast.  Series heroine Lila Macapagal now has her own place, the Brew Ha café, next to her Tita Rosie’s restaurant. Her large Filipino family makes for a rich background for the books, and in this installment, her extended gaggle of aunties – called the “Calendar Crew” are starting their own business venture: a laundromat.  They are getting set to open during the town Spring Clean event. read more

Darci Hannah: Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant

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Beacon Bakeshop #4

For those of us who prefer the cooler autumn months, picking up a copy of Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah is a good way to put the summer on pause. This is the fourth book of her Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series. It takes place during Halloween, and  baker and amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell has the pumpkin spice everything in full swing. Her bakery is inside the local old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor, Michigan. While it had to undergo many renovations to be bake-shop ready, the biggest trademark of the lighthouse remains: the ghost of the late lighthouse keeper Captain Willy Riggs. Everyone in town knows Captain Riggs haunts the lighthouse, and even creates “ghost lights” that seem to always harbinger some fatal danger. While Lindsey is a firm believer in her ghostly roommate, she is not so keen on the town seeing her bakery as a local haunted hot spot. read more

Lee Hollis: Death of a Clam Digger

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Hayley Powell #16

Who could have expected to find the next take on Romeo and Juliet to be found in Death of a Clam Digger by Lee Hollis? Two families, the Leightons and the Barns, have been in a business-based war for years. In fact, the book opens with a massive fight between the two matriarchs of each family on the shoreline. Both the Barns and the Leighton families provide seafood staples to local restaurants, including our heroine Hayley Powell’s. Her own establishment is conveniently called Haley’s Kitchen and is a favorite town hangout, beloved by locals and tourists alike. She gets her seafood from her best friend Mona Barns, and her establishment is a favorite of the patriarch of the Leighton family Lonnie Leighton. read more

Ellery Adams: Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft

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Book Retreat #9

Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft by Ellery Adams is the dramatic story of Jane Steward on another adventure, and this time it takes her to the North Carolina coast. The trip is to be a romantic and relaxing getaway for her and her fiancé Edwin, as well as give them a chance to visit longtime friend Olivia in her home town. It also will allow Jane to take a break from the secret library that she is in charge of protecting, along with her team at Storyton Hall. However, things don’t exactly go as planned. read more

Frank Anthony Polito: Rehearsed to Death

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Domestic Partners in Crime #2

I have always insisted I don’t read fantasy novels, but I actually do, because I read cozy mysteries. While the stories themselves are set in more than recognizable places, the behavior of the amateur sleuths in most of them enters the realm of the fantastical.  I could care less.  The world is a hard cold place, and a cozy novel provides respite, comfort, and very often laughs.  Sign me up!  The best of them have characters that have emotional truth and often seem very much like our own friends and neighbors, with the added super power of solving crimes. read more

Ginger Bolton: Cinnamon Twisted

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Deputy Donut #7

Emily Westhill is the protagonist of Ginger Bolton’s Cinnamon Twisted, and owner of the Deputy Doughnut shop. Things start off simply enough for Emily, with the only oddity being a customer who is a little off. Then said customer asks to not only give a toy to Emily’s cat, Dep, but to also leave the store through the back. While Emily finds this odd, she chocks it up to the woman’s personal issues and helps her out, little knowing that interaction would turn her world upside-down and sideways. read more

Lauren Elliott: Dedication to Murder

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Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #9

Our story begins with heroine Addie Greyborne heading to her wedding to Dr. Simon Emerson. The air is filled with excitement and anticipation, and everyone couldn’t be happier for the couple. But everything comes crashing down around her with one announcement, and leaves her with three weeks of vacation to sort out her life. She distracts herself from her personal drama by investigating a new mystery in her attic regarding her beloved Aunt Anita. Soon, it turns out that project is much more complicated and involved than just the discovery of yet another secret room. In it, she finds all kinds of treasures of her past she did not expect to find, including something extra special. However, I will not spoil what that is and leave open to the reader’s interpretation, as there are quite a few things I could be talking about, but for me it was a certain set. That’s the only clue I’ll give. read more

Lucy Connelly: An American in Scotland

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I gobbled up this yummy first in a series book from Lucy Connelly.  As the title indicates, American doctor Emilia (“Em”) McRoy is fleeing a busy ER back in San Francisco as well as a relationship gone wrong, and headed to tiny Sea Isle, Scotland.  She discovers, as does the heroine in all fairytales, that she’s to live for free in a converted castle (I mean, church) and perks include free food everywhere in town as well as a free car.  The job also comes with a working brother and sister – Tommy does the gardening and the capable Abigail, who runs the office, as well as the new MRI machine that the “Laird” of the town has thought to provide. read more

Kate Collins: Gone but Not For Garden

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Kate Collins’ fourth addition to her Goddess of Greene Street Mysteries is Gone but Not for Garden. Readers will find themselves drawn in by main character and detective Athena Spencer. She has only recently opened up her own detective agency with her boyfriend Case Donnelly, works for her family gardening store called Spencer’s, and also posts a blog as a way to vent about her family and personal life struggles and triumphs. However, she does remain anonymous in her blog, and it is amusing to see her family discuss it with such interest. Anyone who has a large family can appreciate and relate to how Athena has both love for her family as well as frustrations. While her family means well, they often push Athena’s boundaries and exasperate her. She does her best to be considerate and kind, while also remaining firm with her family. They mean well, and their pushing clearly comes from a place of love. Athena’s awareness of this makes her all the more relatable to those with more complicated families themselves. Athena also has a son and pet raccoon that add both a humorous element to the story, as well as interesting plot twists later on. read more