Cozy

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

Carolyn Haines: Blue Christmas Bones

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Sarah Booth Delaney #28

Carolyn Haines’ twenty eighth Sara Booth Delaney Mystery is Blue Christmas Bones. Sarah Booth and Tinkie are going on a well-deserved vacation from their business, The Delaney Detective Agency, to visit Tupelo, Mississippi, for a festival honoring the king of rock and roll. That’s right, book twenty eight is all about Elvis and those who love him still. Impersonators, singing competitions, king themed beverages, and plenty of gift buying opportunities. The Elvis impersonator competition is the main draw for the event, and Sarah Booth’s friends are competing as well. All in all it looks like they will finally get to really just relax and enjoy some crime-free fun. read more

Liz Ireland: Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s

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Mrs. Claus #5

As August comes to a close, I’m sure we’re all sick of the summer heat and more than ready for cooler weather. Liz Ireland takes readers on a winter vacation in Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s, the fifth book in the Mrs. Claus series. The fantastical town of Santaland is where April, the current Mrs. Claus, makes her home with the current Santa, Nick. The whole town is alive with Christmas cheer as Nick is about to head out on his yearly excursion. All the elves are ready for the celebrations, already singing carols, well into eggnog, dancing with abandon. April is a little less enthusiastic simply because she worries about Nick making it home safely. He’s done the trip plenty of times, but the idea of him rocketing about the world in an old sleigh without seatbelts and only flying reindeer to keep it steady has April uneasy. read more

Michael Falco: Murder in an Italian Cafe

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Bria Bertolucci #2

Michael Falco takes readers away to the village of Positano, Italy, in his second Bria Bartolucci Mystery, Murder in an Italian Café. The Amalfi coast is one of the most gorgeous spots on earth. The ocean views, the warm people, the villages built into mountainsides that seem to defy gravity, and, of course, the food, draw people from all over the world. Bria Bartolucci has made a home her for herself and her son Marco by running a bed and breakfast called Bella Bella. She and her late husband Carlos shared the dream of opening Bella Bella, and she is doing her best to live her life and honor his memory. Things were off to a rough start when she first opened and found herself pulled into a murder investigation, but now has settled in and become a part of the village. Her bed and breakfast is now seen as a staple of the village, and Bria and her son as firm members of the community. read more

Dorothy Howell: Shear Terror

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Sewing Studio #3

Shear Terror is the third book in Dorothy Howell’s Sewing Studio Mystery series. Abbey Chandler is our protagonist, and she lives with her Aunt Sarah in Hideaway Grove, California. She organizes and heads a charity effort to make pillow dresses for girls in Africa, and plenty of people in town enjoy attending the events. In addition, she has taken up teaching herself how to sew and is currently trying to grow a business creating embroidered handbags. Unfortunately, making ends meet is a little difficult, and she has taken up a job at the local Visitor Center. Currently they are getting ready for the annual Lost and Found Day, which requires employees to sort through all the lost and found items turned into the Visitor Center for the past year to resale at extremely discounted prices. 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

Laurien Berenson: Pumpkin Spice Puppy

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Melanie Travis #30

Laurien Berenson’s thirtieth addition to the Melanie Travis Mysteries is Pumpkin Spice Puppy. Melanie Travis is enjoying the arrival of the fall season in Connecticut. The private school she teaches at, Howard Academy, is holding a treasure hunt to raise donations and engage the children. Pumpkin spice muffin tokens are hidden all over town, and there are prizes for the kids and their grades. Everyone really seems to be having fun with it. Shop owners loving finding different places to hide them, and kids thrilled at their found treasures. At least that’s how it all seems until local pet store owner calls with a complaint — an unidentified complaint, which Melanie is tasked with following up on. Only to find that Mr. Willet has a bigger issue than her fundraiser, namely the knife sticking out of his back, and his poor Chow Chow, Cider, locked in a storage room, trying to battering ram his way to his owner. Luckily the poor doggy is prevented from further trauma because Melanie knows to warn people to not release or agitate the dog. read more

Cate Conte: Shock and Paw

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Cat Cafe #8

In Shock and Paw, Cate Conte’s Cat Café books, Maddie James lives on the New England coast’s Daybreak Island. She runs a cat café with her cat JJ, Junkyard Johnny, and has developed quite a reputation as an amateur sleuth. Given that she lives with her grandfather, who is retired from law enforcement and is now a PI, it isn’t too shocking that she knows how to investigate properly. But Maddie’s true passion is pets, especially the cats at her café looking for a forever home, which can be difficult when designer pets are being advertised all over the island on fliers. Her friend Katrina isn’t exactly thrilled about them either, and is ready to sprint into battle against breeders, dragging Maddie along with her. Luckily Maddie’s own level headedness wins out and she manages to talk Katrina down from rushing off to do anything too rash – at least for the moment. read more