Kensington Cozies

Ellen Byron: A Very Woodsy Murder

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Golden Motel #1

Ellen Byron always brings it.  In this series launch, exhausted TV writer Dee has found gold at the end of her particular rainbow.  In her case, it’s an abandoned mid century motel in need of lots of love at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  She wants to buy it and renovate it with her ex-husband and now best friend, Jeff, whose life also needs a bit of a reboot.  The two agree to the plan, sinking their savings into it.  They’re happily renovating when their first guest checks in: an old fellow sit-com writer frenemy of Dee’s.  He seems to be roundly disliked by everyone in town and in good cozy fashion he’s shortly dispatched.  (It’s the end of his particular rainbow.) read more

Molly MacRae: Come Shell or High Water

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Series Debut – Haunted Shell Shop #1

Molly MacRae launches her new haunted shell shop mystery series with Come Shell or High Water. Newly widowed Maureen Nash heads to Ocracoke Island to follow up on some rather odd letters from the shell shop owner. Maureen is a Malacologist and teller of stories and legends. Malacologist is the term for someone who studies mollusks, an interesting factoid I enjoyed learning. One might think that Maureen of the mollusks could have picked a better time to visit the island than right in the middle of hurricane season. Apparently, though, that is a prime time to find some seaside treasures of the shelled variety. Maureen has quite the journey to the island, but the real adventure starts when she literally trips over a body, then stumbles through a series of unfortunate events that results in compromised memory, becoming a murder suspect, and meeting a ghost. read more

Krista Davis: The Diva Goes Overboard

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Domestic Diva #17

Krista Davis’ latest addition to her Domestic Diva Mysteries, The Diva Goes Overboard, follows event planner Sophie Winston in Old Town Alexandria. Her best, and highest maintenance friend, Natasha Smith, has wonderful but shocking news. Her free-spirited mother, Wanda, and local antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth, are getting married. Sophie is thrilled to be asked to help Natasha get an engagement party together, but not so thrilled with the short time frame she’s given to work with. With the short notice, she already knows finding a venue is going to be more than a little challenging. read more

Ann Claire: A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime & Croissants

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Series debut

This is a charming debut, set in the French countryside.  As promised in the title, it provides both cycling and baked goods.  The main character, Sadie Greene, has shucked her secure actuary job in Chicago after the hit and run death of her best friend, Gem, and bought a French bicycle touring company.  She’s all in and her little company, Oui Cycle, is about to take off on it’s first tour. Joining her are – let’s be real – the suspects: her hometown almost family, the Appletons (parents, son, and girlfriend); a sleek German, Manfred; two Scottish sisters who can’t get enough of the baked goods; and a supposedly undercover travel writer, Nigel.  In true Murder, She Wrote style, two of the most unpleasant on the tour, Nigel and Dom Appleton, seem targeted for doom. read more

Daryl Wood Gerber: A Twinkle of Trouble

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Fairy Garden #5

As an enthusiast of mystery and fantasy novels, I am always delighted to find a series that manages to blend the two in an effective and engaging way, and Daryl Wood Gerber’s Fairy Garden Mystery series does just that. Her fifth book, A Twinkle of Trouble, follows our heroine Courtney Kelly during Carmel-by-the-Sea’s Summer Blooms Festival. Her fairy garden shop Open Your Imagination is hosting a booth this year alongside many other local shops and influencers. Other than excitement for the event itself, Courtney is glad for the distraction. Her stalwart companion Fiona has been gone for a bit, having returned to the fairy realm to see her family. Worry for her righteous fairy friend, and what reception she might have received at home, Courtney is determined to focus on the festival as well as some other new side projects. Not to mention her blossoming romance with local restaurant owner, Brady Cash. read more

Leslie Meier: Patchwork Quilt Murder

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Lucy Stone #30

Leslie Meier has delighted us with twenty-nine Lucy Stone Mysteries, and hits the thirty book milestone with Patchwork Quilt Murder. Lucy Stone works as a reporter for Tinker Cove’s local paper, The Courier. Her investigative skills have helped Lucy, in her small town in Maine, solve many a crime alongside the local police. In Patchwork Quilt Murder the town is taking on the new community center with its high-priced director, Darleen Busby-Platt. As with any tax payer funded project, there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. Some think it cost too much, some are more focused on Darleen and her questionable price tag, while others are focusing on the possible environmental harm the community center might cause in the long run. Darleen is more than pleased to talk to Lucy Stone, and mentions the first sponsored event will focus on handmade quilts including her own mother’s historical one. Lucy’s interest in the event, however, does not distract from her noticing how flashy Darleen happens to be, and how abusive she is to her own staff. Despite how wonderful Darleen makes everything out to be, there seems to be more to the story. read more

Nancy Coco: Three Fudges and a Baby

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Candy Coated Mystery #12

Three Fudges and a Baby is Nancy Coco’s twelfth book in her Candy Coated Mystery series. Allie McMurphy is our protagonist, and she has one of the most important jobs on Earth: Fudge Maker. She is also a hotel manager for her Mackinac McMurphy hotel, but that’s not nearly important as her attached fudge shop, at least as far as I’m concerned. Allie loves her hotel and fudge shop equally, but has a bit of a problem taking a step away from her work. She has integrated herself into the culture of the island, and has become a staple thanks to winning a fudge competition the year before. Her best friend Jen also lives on the island, and is expecting her first baby any day. Her support system is in place for her to have the baby on the island instead of on the mainland hospital. She even has a Doula, Hannah, to be there to advocate and support her through the birth. read more

Karen Rose Smith: Murder Marks the Page

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Tomes & Tea #1

I have been a longtime fan of Karen Rose Smith’s Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series. I cannot really express how thrilled I was to hear Karen Rose Smith was starting a spin-off series focusing on Daisy Swanson’s daughter Jazzi. Murder Marks the Page follows Jazzi to New York State’s Belltower Landing where she opened Tomes & Tea with her college friend Dawn. Belltower Landing is a resort town and flourishes during the summer months with tourists and boating activities aplenty. As a brand new business, Tomes & Tea faces the challenges of the first year, not being sure what their fiscal outcome will be, or if they’ll even be able to stay afloat once the tourists depart at the end of summer. read more

Isis Crawford: A Catered Quilting Bee

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Mystery with Recipes #18

In Isis Crawford’s seventeenth book, A Catered Quilting Bee, sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons find themselves in for far more than they bargained for when they are hired to cater the Longely Sip and Sew Quilting Circle’s fist exhibit event. First one of the members is found dead, and Bernie and Libby are hired by Cecelia Larson to investigate. Suicide appears to be the cause of death, and the local authorities rule it as such, but her friends just cannot believe it.  What starts as a basic fact-finding quest turns into a full-blown murder investigation for the Simmons sisters. Luckily their father was an impressive detective back in his day on the force, and he raised his girls to investigate and sleuth out the truth, even if their actual profession is more about solving the perfect recipe instead of the perfect crime. read more

Traci Wilton: Mrs. Morris and the Mermaid

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Salem B & B #8

There are very few places more ideal for supernatural themed cozies than Salem, Massachusetts. Traci Wilton takes full advantage of the town’s mystical air, and has based each of her eight books around some sort of mythical being. Her eighth Salem B&B Mystery, Mrs. Morris and the Mermaid, highlights the town’s first ever Mermaid Parade. Charlene Morris’ B&B is bursting with people eager to participate and compete in the parade. There is also a local, and retired, Hollywood celebrity mermaid, Trinity Powers, who will be making her first public appearance in years. She is famous for her role in the movie Sirena, which has a massive fan base. But she isn’t the only big name to show up. Sirena got a remake, and the star of that movie is shimmying her way to center stage with her own fan mob. Needless to say, the opposing fan groups are pretty opinionated, and are unfortunately more than willing to escalate things. Luckily, the stars themselves are more interested in making their own public appearances a success then sending their fans after each other. read more