Jennifer J. Chow: Tell-Tale Treats

Magical Fortune Cookie #3

In Jennifer J. Chow’s third installment in the Magical Fortune Cookie series, readers meet Felicity Jin, who works in her family bakery, the Jin Bakery, that serves up a little more than Chinese specialty treats. Their baking is quite literally magical, and the Jin family is able to infuse their goods with magic. Her mother, for example, can infuse her products so that the consumer feels happier. Felicity has a gift of prophecy, and she uses it in specialized fortune cookie messages for customers and friends. Her boyfriend, Kelvin Love, runs the flower shop in town, and the two of them have started to bloom not only in their relationship but also in their investigative teamwork. I would be remiss to not to mention Felicity’s most adorable sidekick, Whiskers, the mystical white rabbit from the stars. read more

Best of: Cozies 2022

So many cozies – so little time!  Reading cozies for my Mystery Scene column has been a real joy, and an extra joy was that the column focused on my favorite of formats, the mass market paperback.  A long ago customer, a pilot during WWII, told me he learned to love Agatha Christie during the war as he was able to stick a paperback in his back pocket.  This format is slowly being squeezed out, but to me it’s the best way to have a little rectangle of affordable, portable happiness always on tap.  Hopefully this list will give you a place to start (not ALL on this list are mass markets, but most of them are). Dive in!   read more