Cozy

Michael Falco: Murder in an Italian Piazza

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Bria Bartolucci #3

I have had the pleasure of reviewing Michael Falco’s Bria Bartolucci mysteries since the first book’s debut, and am delighted to be able to do so again. In this series, readers are transported to the lovely town of Positano on the Amalfi coast. Bria Bartolucci runs a B&B there known as Bella Bella, living with her son Marco and their dog Bravo. She’s truly living the dream that she and her late husband Carlo had hoped to achieve. She’s had many adventures already, making friends, integrating into the community, and solving mysteries along the way. There were even some new adventures she didn’t see coming, such as a blooming romance with local police Chief Luca Vivaldi, who also happens to be the brother of her best friend and partner in sleuthing, Rosalie. read more

Michelle Chouinard: A Tour to Die For

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Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco #2

Michelle Chouinard’s main character, Capricorn Sanzio – who goes by Capri – runs a serial killer tour business in San Francisco. She has a passion for San Francisco history as well as true crime. This started from a young age, thanks to her paternal grandfather having been known as Overkill Bill for the majority of her life. That mantel made life exceedingly difficult for her father’s childhood, and put her right in the suspect light for the murder of her ex mother-in-law. However, through determination, motivated by two most powerful instincts: self-preservation and protective mother mode, she not only proved her innocence but also managed to uncover and reveal the truth behind Overkill Bill. Capri is constantly evolving and adapting her life to best suit what she needs, and is happy that she can turn her fasciation and love of San Francisco and its killers into a career. She has even started an investigative podcast, and a book about her grandfather. read more

Carol Miller: The Magician’s Deception

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Fortune Telling Mysteries #4

Disclosure: this is the first book of this series I have read. Apparently the theme of each Tarot-themed book comes from the main card of a Tarot reading done at the beginning of the book. Although Amazon describes the series as “hilarious,” that was not my impression. It’s fun and cozy, but not laugh-out-loud funny.

Sisters Hope and Summer Bailey run Bailey’s Boutique, a mystic shop in Asheville, North Carolina which features palm and tarot readings, tea, and mystical gemstones. When Hope does a one-card Tarot reading for a customer, her Gram peeks at the next undrawn card. It’s the Magician, which means “beware the deceitful stranger.” It’s enough to give Gram pause and for her to consider cancelling her school reunion trip with her boyfriend “Because it’s almost Halloween, my dear, and everything is turned around on Halloween.” read more

Cate Conte: Claws Out

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Cat Café #9

Maddie James, cat café owner and animal enthusiast,  works closely with family and friends to run her café, find felines new families, and solve mysteries. The solving mysteries part is Maddie’s secondary passion, as her first love will always be helping the poor kitties find their forever homes and making sure they are well cared for in her keeping. Her café, J.J.’s House, is located on Daybreak Island off the New England Coast. J.J. is Maddie’s cat and mascot, as well as a demanding socialite. Maddie has been contemplating expanding her operation beyond the one café on Daybreak Island, and is presented with a timely and interesting opportunity in the form of a donated food truck. read more

Roz Noonan: That Missing Piece is Killing Me

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Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club #2

Roz Noonan’s main character is Alice Pepper, a librarian, and she also has a club known as the Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club. Her group spends many a relaxing evening working on puzzles together, sharing good food and company. Sometimes they puzzle over mysteries, too. Alice also has a rather complicated home life, with an estranged daughter, two grand kids that grew up with her as the most stable influence in their lives, an ex-husband, and a new romance on the horizon. Starting her life over as a librarian had seemed daunting when she left the restraint business, but she has found her spot and is thriving in her new community. read more

Vicki Delany: Tea with Jam and Dread

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Tea by the Sea #6

In Vicky Delany’s latest, Tea with Jam and Dread, teashop owner Lily Roberts, her grandmother Rose, and her friend Bernadette are all headed to Yorkshire, England for a party at the Thornecroft Castle House and Hotel. Rose had worked in the kitchen at the castle and was personally invited by Elizabeth Crawford, Dowager Countess of Frockmorton, to celebrate her one hundredth birthday alongside other friends and relatives. Lily also has a little side motivation to join Rose on the trip (other than it sounds amazing and she wishes to be there for her): her long distance boyfriend, Simon McCracken, is nearby, and can meet up with them. Everyone is beyond excited for their English adventure. read more

Sandra Jackson-Opoku: Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes

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Debut

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is the winner of Minotaur’s Malice Domestic© Award, a prize previously won by writers like Donna Andrews and Julia Spencer-Fleming. Savvy Summers owns the soul food restaurant Sapphire Summers Soulfood Café and Catering Company, or Essie’s, for the abbreviation SSS-CCC. Her restaurant is a staple of the community and one of the few remaining businesses on a sought-after bit of land. Her one employee and friend, Penny Porter Lopes, keeps things running smoothly. Savvy is a very down-to-earth woman who is determined to make a success of her business and to keep ahold of it, something that is becoming increasingly difficult with numerous phone calls and emails from a very annoying investor harassing her almost daily. read more

Leslie Budewitz: Lavender Lies Bleeding

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Spice Shop #9

I enjoy all my meetups with Pepper Reece at her charming Seattle Spice Shop.  The books are set in the iconic Pike Place Market, and Pepper is very much an active part of the market community.  Many of the books have taken place in and around the Market, but in this one, Pepper ventures out to a nearby lavender farm.  She’s planning a lavender festival at the market and thinking of ways to get as many vendors as possible involved in her venture.

To this end, she’s gone out to the farm of a friend, Liz, who has a lavender farm in Salmon Falls. While the real Salmon Falls is now an historical (and abandoned) landmark, the Salmon Falls in the book is a lively place.  When Pepper arrives, though, Liz’s greenhouse has been trashed and the police are on the hunt for the boyfriend of Abby, Liz’s assistant, as the possible culprit for the vandalism.  Abby is sure he’s innocent. read more

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