Cozy

Michelle L. Cullen: A Field Guide to Death and Deceit

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Harry & Emma #2

It’s always tricky when a second book in a new series is released the same year as the first one, for a couple reasons, but a big reason is that the first one is still fresh in your mind, so you won’t be able to help comparing the two.  Cullen’s first book, A Field Guide to Murder, was released last January. It’s one of my favorite debuts of this year.  I’m happy to report that book two might be even stronger than book one.  (Where this lands Cullen during award season is another story).  This nascent series has a great set up: retired anthropologist Harry meets young caregiver Emma in book one.  He’s grieving his wife, but as he and Emma investigate a murder in the neighborhood together, they both find friendship and a new purpose. read more

Vivien Chien: And Then There Were Bun

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Noodle Shop #13

Vivien Chien’s thirteenth book in the Noodle Shop Mystery series is And Then There Were Bun. Main character Lana Lee manages her family’s business, the Ho-Lee Noodlehouse Restaurant, in Cleveland’s Asian Village. While managing the noodle house pays the bills, Lana has a very serious knack for managing mysteries as well. Twelve times over now, Lana has helped the local detectives, including her boyfriend, Adam Trudeau. With her team of friends, there never seems to be any mystery they cannot unravel. read more

Lucy Connelly: Death at a Scottish Halloween

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Scottish Isle Mysteries #5

All Hallow’s Eve celebrations are underway in tiny Sea Isle, Scotland. American Dr. Emilia McRoy, a new resident who is the town’s only doctor and coroner, is busy working at the local haunted house. It’s good, safe fun until she and her assistant, Abigail, realize that one of the fake bodies in the haunted house is an actual dead body – and a murder victim.

Dr. Em’s boyfriend, Constable Ewan Campbell, is investigating the murder and tries to keep her out of it, but Em’s compassion for the victim’s family compels her to assist in the case. And it’s a complicated case involving multiple victims, mistaken identities, and possible theft. The killer seems to be looking for something, but what? Is there a connection between the two victims or just a mistaken identity, and is there a connection to a mysterious puzzle box from a local estate sale? read more

Donna Andrews: Probable Caws

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Meg Lanslow #39

After 27 years, 40 books, and unprecedented number of punny bird titles, the Meg Langslow series remains fresh and entertaining as ever. #40 (Jay to the World) will be released in time for Christmas and #39 (Probable Caws) is available now. In Probable Caws Meg and her family are helping retired heavy metal drummer Ragnar Ragnarsen cope with temporarily housing fifty horses from Hoof and Hearth rescue on his estate.

Why move the horses? Able Abernathy, who owns the farm where Hoof and Hearth is based, has just lost his father who apparently died intestate. That means Able does not technically own the farm and his co-inheritor brother George’s only interest in the farm is selling it for a profit. Did George to try harm the horses so his brother would move them off the farm, making it easier to sell? Is there a missing will that might prevent the sale of the farm? And when there’s a murder at Ragnar’s farm, is it related to the horses, the dispute over the farm, or something else? read more

MJ Soni: The Masala Chai Mystery Club

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Debut

This charming first mystery may follow several trendy and now familiar tropes, but that didn’t bother me in the least because the telling of the story and the characters in it are simply  delightful.  It’s set in an upscale condo development where the main character, the recently retired and widowed librarian Neeti Shah, lives with her niece Myra and her adorable great nephew, Ved.  The story begins when Neeti hears a scream across the road and hurries over to find her neighbor dead at the foot of his stairs, seemingly killed by a fall, but, surprise, Neeti is not convinced. read more

Danielle Postel-Vinay: Murder Most Delicious

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Series Debut

There are several ways to judge a book.  If three are present – plot, character, and setting – the book (to me) is good, if not great.  The x factor is prose style.  This novel has three excellent elements – character, setting and lovely prose.  The plot is OK and I figured out whodunnit long before the last page, but the prose just sings as does the setting of the novel, and I was carried away.

That setting is a tiny Paris neighborhood, Gros-Caillou, abutting the Eiffel Tower. The arrival of American sommelier Olivia Beech to a local anchor restaurant, Chez Jacques, is something of a sensation, becoming even more so when, during a wine tasting, the eponymous Jacques falls dead at Olivia’s feet.  While Olivia has been gifted with an extraordinary “nose” for wine, covid has taken away her sense of taste, which for a sommelier is a disaster.  Surfacing from a career crisis in an attempt to reclaim her life, she’s pinned her hopes on a resurrection at Chez Jacques. read more

Paula Sutton: The Body in the Kitchen Garden

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Hill House Vintage #2

Ninety-six years after Miss Marple made her first appearance in the village of St. Mary Meade, The Body in the Kitchen Garden demonstrates that the gentle English village mystery genre is still going strong.  Like Agatha Christie, the legendary creator of Miss Marple, modern practitioners of the British village mystery- writers like Connie Berry, G.M. Malliet, and most recently Katarina Bivald – find the depths of human emotion and depravity lurking not far below the surface of this seemingly idyllic setting.  Sutton has further updated the formula with the provocative move of having her detective be the only black woman in town. read more

Sarah Graves: Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers

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Death by Chocolate #9

In Sarah Graves’ Death by Chocolate series, Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree runs the Chocolate Moose bakery in Eastport, Maine. Her partner and friend Ellie White have a reputation for serving up baked goods to die for, and finding out what people died for. Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers takes place in the summer amidst several town celebrations, including a class reunion, which provides Jake and Ellie with plenty of catering opportunities.

Class reunions tend to bring up more than memories of good times with friends — they also bring up old flames, grudges, and resentments. However, most high school angst does not result in a body. Cindy Munson is found murdered at the reunion’s masquerade dance. The primary suspect ends up being her ex-husband and grown high school bully, Terry Lawson. Given that Cindy’s body was found in Terry’s car, the local authorities do not see this as a difficult solve. However, a six-year-old daughter of Terry and Cindy, Ivy, is now caught up in a strange town with no one to look after her and no foster families readily available to take her in. As a former foster care kid herself, Jake feels compelled to help Ivy avoid the trauma of being drawn into the system and takes her in. Determined to figure out the truth so Ivy can either be reunited with her father, or protected from him, Jake and Ellie begin to investigate, which can be a little tricky when you also have a small child you are responsible for. There aren’t a lot of options for amateur sleuth childcare. Luckily, Jake’s parents come home early and are able to help take over some of the watch. read more

Stacy Hackney: The Primrose Murder Society

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Paperback Original

The Primrose Murder Society is the first adult mystery by Stacey Hackney, who has previously written two middle grade books. Indeed, this mystery also prominently features a kid – main character Lila’s rebellious little girl, Bea. When we meet mother and daughter, they’ve lost just about everything but each other. Lila’s well to do husband, Ryan, has been caught committing fraud and has abandoned them to run from the law. No one in Lila’s upper crust circle believes that she didn’t know about the crimes, and she has been shunned from society. read more

Lucy Connelly: The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor

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Series debut

You can’t help devouring Lucy Connolly’s yummy books like a really good bar of chocolate.   This first installment of her new series finds the central character, former journalist Dr. Gwen Griffiths, returning to Wales to become a professor at the very place where she attended university.  After the layoffs and contractions endured by newspaper staff everywhere, she’s certain she’s found a secure berth at a new place when her old friend Carolyn, now the dean, recruits Gwen to run the journalism department with a real-world edge. read more