Tag: cozy-mystery

Review: Planted 4 Murder

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Sophie Kimball Mystery Series

4****

Blurb: When the seniors of Sun City West take over a garden plot, they have no idea they’ll unearth a plot for murder . . .At the urging of the guys in the pinochle club, the members of the Sun City West book club decide it’s time to grow their own vegetables and join the local agriculture club. But when tending to their plants turns up a skeletal hand, the gang begin to feel like they’re working in a graveyard instead of a garden. It’s clear that whoever the bones belong to was the victim of foul play, and soon the seniors are pleading with Sophie “Phee” Kimball to step in and help them weed out the killer. As rumors and speculation flourish, Phee begins to grow suspicious of the other members of the community garden. Certain that one of them chopped up a body and scattered the parts, she has to deal with invasive insects, sabotaged crops and her mother’s hairbrained schemes as she digs for evidence. Her efforts are finally rewarded when a ring found on the skeletal hand yields a clue that will lead her straight to the culprit. The only problem is that the killer is one step ahead of her, and Phee discovers too late that she’s in for a whole lot of trouble . . . And when one of the other gardeners turns up dead, it’s up to Phee and her mother’s friends to figure out who the killer is.

THOUGHTS: This is a hilarious addition to the series. The seniors at Sun City West are at it again – much to Phee’s dismay. Her mother’s hijinks are laughable and her mother’s dog? That dog (and maybe her mother!) really needs a trainer. In this book, the seniors have taken over several plots in the community gardens. When the dog digs up a human hand, Phee has no idea what they’re all in for. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Phee’s aunt’s literary group is doing a reading of Poe’s “The Raven” at a local restaurant. They are dressed in black dresses and veiled hats – and a patron misunderstands. And calls in a SWAT team and Homeland Security for the “terrorists”!

This is a good addition to the series. The characters from Sun City West and Phee and her friends are all here and up to their usual shenanigans.

Recommended.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Review: Holidays and Homicide

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Short stories/Anthology

5+++ stars

THOUGHTS: This book isn’t coming out until December 2, but it is definitely on my “must buy” list. And it should be on yours. In most anthologies, there are often stories that you love and others that are okay, but there are no “okay” ones in this anthology. They are all fun, entertaining, and satisfying–and have characters that are in the authors’ full scale books. And a few of them have delicious recipes as well. They are quick reads so easy to grab over lunch (though some are a little longer and may take more than a lunch break to read) and give you a glimpse at each author’s unique style.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” #GemmaHallidayPublishing

BLURB: From twelve USA Today bestselling and award winning authors, comes a short story collection stuffed full of mirthful mysteries, clever criminals, and holiday cheer! These short holiday bites are perfect for enjoying between rounds of wrapping or binge-reading over a cup of cocoa! Stories: A Hometown Christmas Caper (Hometown Mysteries) by Rosalie Spielman; Gossip, Guilt & Gingerbread (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries) by Lena Gregory; Larceny & Twinkle Lights (Jamie Winters Mysteries) by Kelly Rey; Holidays & Heists (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries) by Anne Marie Stoddard; Ornaments, Surprise & Dead Guys (Gianna Mancini Mysteries) by Jennifer Fischetto; It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Mischief (Northwoods Mysteries) by Annie McEwen; You Can’t see the Forest for the Christmas Trees (Modern Midwife Mysteries) by Christine Knapp; Jingle Bell Rocker (Sunny Side Up Mysteries) by Misty Simon; Holly, Handcuffs, and Hearsay (Camelot Flowers Mysteries) by Erica Wynters; Search for the Silent Santa (Ghost Town Mysteries) by Jamie L. Adams; Nothing But Truffle (Cookies & Chance Mysteries) by Catherine Bruns; A Heartland Homicide (Bourbon B&B Mysteries) by Gin Jones

Review: Dead, White, and Blue

Fiction, Cozy Mystery

5*****

Blurb: It’s the 4th of July in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and no one is more excited than Emmy Cooper. She’s happy to be back in her hometown, settling once again into small-town living and helping her family run Cooper’s Cove, their lake cottage resort. Emmy and her teen crush, police officer Dean Erickson, are enjoying getting reacquainted, while she and bestie Whitney are closer than ever. Lake Covington and its quaint namesake town are bustling with visitors celebrating during the annual three-day Independence Day Freedom Fest. Everything is Yankee Doodle Dandy until a local man with a reputation for trouble starts fireworks of his own. And the explosions just keep on coming when Emmy stumbles over a dead body at the celebrations! The dead man is Jordan James, and as Emmy soon finds out, there are no shortage of people who might want him dead. From a jealous jerk to a conniving cousin and even a former friend from his past, suspects are more plentiful than ants at a July picnic! Despite promises to stay out of the investigation, Emmy finds herself smack in the middle of it. Can she and Whitney figure out the truth and find liberty and justice for all?

THOUGHTS: I love these stories set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at the Cooper’s Cove campgrounds. I love Emmy and how clutzy she is, her hunky cop boyfriend Dean, and her best friends. Plus her whole family. Emmy is a great character. And this town sounds like a great place to visit.
Well, except for the murder(s).
In this one, Emmy stumbles onto the body of Jordan James. While she didn’t know him well, she does know his uncle who is a nice businessman in town. And Jordan was a nice guy from what everyone says. So why was he dead?
Emmy and her friends can’t help looking into his death, even though she promised the cops she wouldn’t. But there are so many suspects, including a group of friends staying in one of their cabins.

This was a good cozy with lots of interesting characters and a satisfying ending. I am definitely looking forward to more books in this series.
Recommended.

Review: Potions and the Pleasantly Poisoned

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal

4****

Blurb: At 40, Dani Williams thought she knew all her family secrets. Gran’s apple pie recipe? Check. The location of grandpa’s hidden cigarette stash? Double check. But when her gran dies, she discovers the biggest secret of them all. All the women in her family are witches. Including her. And the timing couldn’t be worse. After a tough six months, Dani’s life is in ruins. When she returns to Point Pleasant to deal with her gran’s estate, she is plagued by haunting visions of a woman’s death. She realizes who the woman is too late to save her. She knows the woman was murdered, but unfortunately, seeing something in a prophetic dream doesn’t count as evidence. Dani refuses to sit idle while the killer remains at large. With every ounce of her newfound magic, she races against time to unravel the mystery. But there’s one problem—Gran kept her witch heritage hidden, and Dani must navigate her powers alone. Can Dani unveil the true murderer before an innocent person takes the fall? Join her on a thrilling journey through magic, mystery, and self-discovery in this enchanting paranormal cozy mystery.

THOUGHTS: This was a good cozy with a different sort of twist – instead of a nasty person being murdered, it was actually a decent person who was a friend of the “sleuth”.

Dani, the amateur sleuth, is newly divorced, 40, and out of a job. She returns to Point Pleasant, WA to deal with her beloved grandmother’s estate, she starts seeing things and feeling things that don’t make sense. Then she learns that she is a witch and her gran had been suppressing her powers. Now, she not only has to learn how to use her new powers, but also help solve the murder of a good friend. While searching out the perps, she comes to realize that she has more friends there than in Spokane…a great house in her gran’s Victorian home, and the possibility of a job—and a cute cop guy. But someone doesn’t want her there and especially doesn’t want her looking into her friend’s murder. Thankfully, there are others who do want her to stay around.

Recommended.

Review: Funerals & Familiars

FUNERALS & FAMILIARS by Carmen Radtke

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal

4****

Blurb: Midlife can be murder – or magic…
Almost fifty and freshly divorced, Bex Merriweather is going through The Change – battling hot flashes and night sweats. Little does she realize that when an elderly relative dies and leaves her a lending library in sleepy Willowmere, complete with cat, her whole life is going to change… Turns out Aunt Violet left behind more than books and home-made herbal teas, like full-blown witch powers, and a small town where murder is very much on the menu. Even Cosmo the cat is no ordinary feline, but a sassy talking familiar. And when rumors about her aunt’s death begin to circulate, Bex has no choice but to embrace her witchy inheritance, and her inner detective. Now the novice witch, armed only with her circle of lifelong friends and a snarky, judgemental cat mentor, must uncover the truth, before her newly acquired magical life goes up in smoke. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, magical mayhem, and heroines who believe it’s never too late for a new chapter—or a little witchcraft!

THOUGHTS: Bex is 50, newly divorced and living in a tiny apartment when she gets the news that her beloved Aunt Violet has died. Bex dyes her hair blue (because she can), and heads to the small town where she grew up to discover she has inherited the house, a lending library, a cat with attitude (who talks!), and magical powers. Cosmo the cat is not only her familiar, but her mentor who has to teach her how to use her powers and fast, because they have not one, but two murders to solve before there’s another. She has to learn how to control her magical hot flashes (different from her regular hot flashes), and bake “special” cookies. She has a cadre of friends who help her deal with everything and have some pretty special gifts of their own.  

A cute paranormal cozy and the beginning of a series that holds promise. And a satisfying ending.

Recommended.

Review: Rocky Road to Murder

ROCKY ROAD TO MURDER by Lena Gregory

Fiction, Cozy Mystery

4****

Blurb: Danika Delaney is thrilled that her old fashioned malt shop, the Coffee & Cream Café, has gotten a catering contract for the biggest party of the season, the Rutherford Manor Fourth of July gala. She’ll be providing desserts for the party as well as attending the exclusive event on Eastern Long Island. However her path to the gala quickly becomes a rocky road… Dani arrives at the event, only to find the gala’s hostess, Cressida Rutherford, dead! What’s worse, one of Dani’s signature parfaits sits next to the dead woman, with what looks like peanuts in it—a food Cressida is severely allergic to. Amid the melted ice cream mess, Dani initially blames herself, thinking she made a mistake while rushing with the desserts. However she quickly learns that what appeared to be an accident was actually foul play, and suddenly Dani has to spring into action proving that she isn’t the perpetrator. Along with her friends, Dani uncovers a string of people in Cressida’s life who might have wanted the socialite dead. Can she prove her innocence and make sure the killer gets their just desserts?

THOUGHTS: This is the sixth book in the “Coffee and Cream” series of cozy mysteries. They take place in a small town on Long Island. Dani (Danika Delaney) runs a small ice cream parlor that once belonged to her Uncle Jimmy (who still works there a lot). Dani, along with her best friends Gwen and Eli, have helped solve several murders in their small town, and now they’re working to do so again—this time because Dani is being accused. When her boyfriend/cop Jake takes her out of the café in handcuffs, the town gossip tongues really start wagging – and her family takes offense. You do not rile the Delaney family! In this one, an heiress, Cressida, has been killed at her own party. In digging into the people who might have done the deed, a lot of dirt is dug up on family and friends. Dani, Gwen, and Eli sift through it all, giving what clues they come up with to the police and, eventually, solving the case. But not without danger to themselves.

I love Dani and her family and friends. Dani may make incredible desserts, but she is incredibly inept when it comes to coordination—especially when trying to do yoga on a boogie board in the middle of the bay. I love how her entire family rallies around her and how Uncle Jimmie defends her against the gossips. There were a few nits in the story that confused me, but overall, this was a fun, decent cozy with a satisfying ending. I look forward to more stories about Dani and crew.

Recommended.

Review: First Time’s a Yarn

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal (ghosts)

5*****

Blurb: Breezy Marston is almost 30 and doing her best to re-rail her derailed life plan. After losing the job she thought she would hold until she was old and decrepit, her best friend, Ammyleigh, throws out an idea for them to start their own business making homemade crochet items. As they are working on getting that off the ground, Breezy gets a phone call that she has to go pick up her youngest sibling, Oona, who is 15 and getting released early from juvie. Now, she is expected to be responsible for Oona in all areas of work, school, and home life. Then she also ends up with Juniper, Oona’s friend from juvie. More expectations. After they find Juniper’s ex-boyfriend and his older brother dead, Russian bad guys start chasing them, Breezy finds out she is some kind of “sleeper agent” for a government experiment, and, oh, she can talk with ghosts. Can she and her group figure out who killed the two boys before an angry Russian or ghost gets to her first?

THOUGHTS: I loved this story! I was expecting your standard cozy, but this is so much more. From the main character being part of a secret government experiment earlier in her life that lets her see ghosts, to the digital coding (and learning new words about it!) and the Russian mafia. She starts a business doing crochet and pulls in her best friend, juvie sister (Oona), sister’s friend (Jasmine), and the elderly Mary’s from the local church to help. Her brother is a cop and his partner is a hunk (of course). They find Jasmine’s boyfriend and his brother dead and the fun (not!) begins. There really is a lot going on in this story (loved the hidden basement!) and I can definitely see more books coming for Breezy and her “team”. This one has a satisfying ending with a surprise twist. Yes, it all may be a bit much for some people, but I really did enjoy this. And the crochet pattern at the end is a bonus. Definitely going to try that one.

Recommended.

Review: The Magic of Death

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal

4****

Blurb: Witches, Murder, and Ghosts, oh my!
Welcome to Dead End, Texas, a tourist town where it’s spooky season all year long… Star Bell comes from a long line of witches originating all the way back to Salem—if her granny is to be believed. While the rest of her family employs their magical abilities in their assorted businesses on Main Street, Star flat out refuses to use her own because communicating with the dearly departed has never brought her anything but trouble. And the one spirit she wants to talk to—her sister Astra—has ghosted her. So why bother? And if that’s not enough for an almost forty-year-old to deal with, she’s living with three generations of Bells. Between her sixty-year-old aunt who is acting like a teenager and her teenage niece who isn’t acting much like herself, Star doesn’t have a moment of peace these days. But when her niece becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, Star must embrace her power and enlist the spirits of Dead End to help find the real killer before she becomes a permanent resident of Dead End herself.

THOUGHTS: This was an intense, but fun paranormal cozy mystery. Star is the main character and she can see and talk to ghosts. Which can be both good and bad. She also gets visions – ones that, in this case, show events that happened years ago but lead to the recent killings in their small town of Dead End. There are a lot of corruptions and secrets abound throughout. Star’s family is quirky and interesting in that they are witches. Star uses her gift/curse to help her discover the killer(s), but nearly ends up being a victim herself.

The story plot was intriguing and had a satisfying end. The characters well done, and the scene setting fit the story. What the story needed though was better editing. There were quite a few glitches throughout, but that didn’t lower my enjoyment of the story.

Recommended.

Review: Ropes & Last Hopes

ROPES & LAST HOPES by Trixie Silvertale

Fiction, Cozy Mystery

4****

Blurb: When a suspicious death takes the life of a friend, our psychic sleuth must expose a killer’s dirty laundry… Mitzy Moon hopes for a normal day running errands. And this time, she’s determined to get her grandmother’s couture properly cleaned. But her day gets stuck in a spin cycle when she encounters crime-scene tape at the dry cleaner’s and a puzzling murder. With her only way into the case through an undercover stint in the women’s wrestling league, Mitzy charges ahead with little help from her mentor, Ghost-ma, or her entitled feline. But if the bell rings before she corners the suspect, more lives could end up on the ropes. Can Mitzy hold a murderer down for the count, or will she be taken out in a lethal smackdown? Ropes and Last Hopes is the prequel novella to the hilarious new paranormal cozy mystery series, Harper and Moon Investigations, a spinoff from the popular Mitzy Moon Mysteries. If you like snarky heroines, supernatural intrigue, and a dash of romance, then you’ll love Trixie Silvertale’s wedded whodunits.

THOUGHTS: Mitzy Moon has inherited from a bookstore, a strange building, and a fortune from her grandmother. Oh, and a closet full of high-fashion clothing. And the ghost of her grandmother loves to tell her how to live her life. Grams lives with her as does a wildcat that seems to have a way with clues to mysteries. In this one, a beloved lawyer who helps endangered women with her skills is killed and Mitzy goes undercover (without much covering) as a female wrestler in order to help find the killer.

There were parts of this that I loved, and parts that had me scratching my head in confusion. If this is supposed to be the prequel to a series, there sure does seem to have been a ton of stuff going on before hand. I found the beginning rather confusing, but by the end, I was enjoying the read. But it took me almost a hundred pages to get there.

Still, not a bad story and it has a mostly satisfying ending (while setting up for the next book). Recommended.

Review: A Curse for Samhain

A CURSE FOR SAMHAIN by Dahlia Donovan

Fiction, Paranormal Cozy Mystery Romance

Blurb: Welcome to the Skeleton Crew. Bring your knitting needles and a good, strong brew. Gender fluid, autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass runs Between the Leaves—a cosy village book store. Their life revolves around books, all things autumnal, and the two cats who rule their world. The shop also plays host to a weekly knitting group called the Skeleton Crew. When one of the leaders of the village coven fails to show up for the weekly knitting meeting, Hyde finds themselves investigating a horrific murder side by side with their long-term crush, Teresa Vega. Suspicion immediately falls on other members of their group. Hyde and Teresa struggle to find answers to the growing list of questions. It’s made all the more difficult when the killer has them in their sights. Can working together spark the romantic flame within them? Will they solve the mystery before death comes too close?

THOUGHTS: I absolutely loved the characters in this story. The only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was the ending. I felt a little let down by it. But…the characters! Thank you so much for making them who they are. Hyde is a youngish vampire who sometimes goes by she and sometimes by they; they are also autistic; and they own a bookstore in this amazing hamlet where paranormals who don’t fit elsewhere fit. Hyde’s girlfriend, Teresa, is a witch who owns a taco bus and has anxiety/panic attacks. Having two main characters like that, and having them live their lives as they are really touched me.

In this story, Hyde and Teresa are trying to figure out who killed another witch in town, broke into and trashed Teresa’s bus/home/taco business (all in one), poisoned Hyde, and more. We do find out who the murderer is but not necessarily who did all the rest. It’s a little fuzzy.

But even with fuzzy, I would highly recommend this book if only because of the characters and the setting. Nicely done.