Showing posts with label cozy mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cozy mystery. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Audiobook Review: In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon


Author: Joy Avon
Series: A Tea and Read Mystery #3
Narrator:  Laurel Lefkow
Audience: +18
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
Length: 6 hours and 55 minutes
Release Date: February 11th 2020
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Spotify, Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Just in time for the holidays, In Cold Chamomile is sure to be a cupid's arrow aimed straight for your bookshelf.
Tea party organizer Callie Aspen learns that Cupid's arrows can be deadly when a Valentine's Day soiree ends in murder.

Callie Aspen can't think of a more appropriate place to spend Valentine's Day than her adopted hometown of Heart's Harbor, Maine. When she's not helping out at Book Tea, her great-aunt Iphy's vintage tearoom, Callie's adorning Haywood Hall with hearts and roses for the big Valentine's event, where townspeople will fall in love with sweet treats, heartwarming music, and delightful books. But tension is brewing: The librarian argues with the expert who is on hand to appraise precious volumes. And Iphy is shocked to recognize the baritone who's slated to sing at the event as an old acquaintance--one she'd hoped she'd never meet again. And then, when a dead body is discovered, the stirring spoon of suspicion points at the many people who had reasons to want the victim dead.

When Iphy's old acquaintance draws the attention of Deputy Ace Falk, Callie finds herself in a spot. Ace, as usual, doesn't want Callie involved, but how can she ignore Iphy's anguish over the fate of a man she cares for more than she will admit? Bringing the killer to justice may endanger Callie's budding relationship with Ace--and, quite possibly, her own life.

Callie and the Book Tea crew may think they have this case in the bag, but un-kettling truths are yet to be decanted.
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review

One of the genres I've always meant to delve more into has been cozy mystery. I've read a few over the years, but this is the first time when I've read more than one in a month, and I'm very happy that I started delving deeper into the genre. The first one I read this month has been In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon. It's also my first book by this author and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Let me tell you all about it.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Audiobook Tour Book Review: A Death In Duck by Mindy Quigley

The Mount Moriah Mysteries by Mindy Quigley


Author: Mindy Quigley
Narrator: Holly Adams
Length: 9 hours 13 minutes
Series: The Mount Moriah Mysteries, Book 2
Audience: Over 18
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Mindy Quigley
Release Date: Dec. 22, 2015
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: Audiobookworm Promotions
Blurb (from Goodreads):
With the new year approaching, hospital chaplain Lindsay Harding heads for a much-needed break in the peaceful resort town of Duck on North Carolina's outer banks. Her plan to attend the wedding of her friend, Anna, runs aground when a boatload of trouble washes ashore, and as the old year ticks down, the body count goes up. Thrust into the path of an increasingly desperate killer, Lindsay must uncover a sinister secret before she winds up swimming with the fishes.

Old family scandals, sunken World War II U-boats, obscene desserts, and a stolen Doberman all guarantee a far from restful break for the irreverent reverend, who makes her second appearance in this lively mystery.
*Disclaimer:  I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Mindy Quigley. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

If I though I liked book 1, then the second installment was even better. Lindsay Harding has to deal with heartbreak, loss and more family drama in this book, and it was glorious.

The thing I loved most about this book was that even though it was just as funny as the previous one, it had a darker side and a more personal feel than A Murder On Mount Moriah. We get to learn more about Lindsay and her mother, and we get to understand who she is a little bit more.

Friday, July 5, 2019

Audiobook Tour Book Review: A Murder In Mount Moriah by Mindy Quigley

The Mount Moriah Mysteries by Mindy Quigley 

Author: Mindy Quigley
Narrator: Holly Adams
Length: 9 hours 36 minutes
Series: The Mount Moriah Mysteries, Book 1
Audience: Over 18
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Mindy Quigley
Release Date: Apr. 15, 2015
My Rating: 4.5 Cups
Source: Audiobookworm Promotions
Blurb (from Goodreads):
From award-winning mystery writer Mindy Quigley comes a hilarious tale of small-town intrigue and big-time crime.

For hospital chaplain Lindsay Harding, facing death is part of the job. After all she spends her working days comforting sick and dying patients. But when the annual Civil War reenactment in her hometown of Mount Moriah, North Carolina, produces a real casualty, the Grim Reaper suddenly gets a little too close for comfort. With the clock ticking, the police struggle to unravel how and why a beloved local reenactor was shot in front of hundreds of onlookers. As fingers point and tempers flare, another victim ends up laid out on Lindsay's front porch.

Lindsay's life is in danger, but her efforts to expose the century-old sins that lie at the heart of the mystery are undermined by her disastrous love life, her no-good mother, and a ninja-like squirrel - not to mention the small matter of a dangerous killer who'll stop at nothing to keep a sinister secret. Will courage, curiosity, and Lindsay's irreverent brand of religion be enough to catch the killer before she becomes the next victim?

*Disclaimer:  I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Mindy Quigley. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it

You know that feeling when you think you know what book you're going to read, you settle down on a comfy couch and start reading it, and then the entire thing is completely different and yet everything you hoped for? That's what happened to me and this first book in the Lindsey Harding series. 

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Book Review: 'Twas The Knife Before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost


Author: Jacqueline Frost
Series: A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #2
Audience: +18
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Release Date: November 13th 2018
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
A Christmas delight, ’Twas the Knife Before Christmas will charm the stockings off readers of Joanne Fluke and Leslie Meier.

It’s out of the cupcake tin, into the fire for Holly White’s best friend, Caroline. Can Holly clear Caroline’s name in time to go caroling?


When a body turns up in the dumpster behind Caroline’s Cupcakes, Holly White is horrified to learn her best friend Caroline is the main suspect. Everyone in town, including Mistletoe, Maine’s sheriff, saw Caroline fighting with the victim on the night of his death. Worse, Caroline’s fingerprints are all over the murder weapon, a custom-designed marble rolling pin.

Now, just ten days before Christmas, Holly’s up to her jingle bells in holiday shenanigans and in desperate need of a miracle. Juggling extra shifts at her family’s Christmas tree farm and making enough gingerbread jewelry to satisfy the crowd is already more than she can handle—and now she has to find time to clear her best friend of murder. Add in her budding relationship with the sheriff, and run-ins with an ex-fiancé looking to make amends, and Holly’s ready to fly south until springtime.

But her Sherpa-lined mittens come off when Caroline is taken into custody. Can Holly wrap up the case in time for Christmas…even after she gains the true killer’s attention? Find out in ‘Twas the Knife Before Christmas, Jacqueline Frost’s second pine-scented Christmas Tree Farm mystery.
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review & Guest Post: Death Turns a Trick by Julie Smith


Author:Julie Smith
Series: Rebecca Schwartz Mysteries #1
Publisher: booksBnimble
Release Date: August 2nd 2012 (first published January 1st 1990)
My Rating: 5 cups
Source:copy received in exchange for my honest review
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Rebecca Schwartz, nice Jewish lawyer with a few too many fantasies, is happily playing the piano in a whorehouse when she suddenly finds herself assigned to make sure a near-naked state senator escapes a police raid. That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of Course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor?

Handsome Parker Phillips, Rebecca’s new beau and the most attractive man she’s met in ages, is arrested for the murder. (Worse, she suspects he might actually have done it.)

On the plus side, another very attractive man is following the case--reporter Rob Burns of the San Francisco Chronicle, a possible ally. And there are other possibilities.

Fans of Janet Evanovich, Joan Hess, and Elizabeth Peters will get a kick out of this one.
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Low-Down Bruisin’ Bad Girl Blues


DEATH TURNS A TRICK was my first book and it sure wasn't going to be autobiographical. Uh-uh, that was for amateurs. And show-offs. Here’s how I was going to work it—I was a tall, thin reporter, so Rebecca Schwartz, my protagonist, would be a short, slightly curvy lawyer; I was a redhead, she’d be a brunette; I was Scottish by heritage, so she could be Jewish; and she could have a lovely family that she completely got along with.

And, boy, was she not going to have my personality. I’m pretty much of an outlaw by nature, so she’d have to be as solid a citizen as they made.

Well, it was a nice idea! Or maybe just ill-conceived. Did I name this blog Song of the Good Girl Halo-Polishing Detective? I did not. Who’d read THAT? Nobody likes good girls. We think we do, but, really, we all want to tap into what the Jungians call our Shadow, the hidden part, the part we know might come out if we relaxed our guard for an instant. Like if we drank too many margaritas and went home with the bartender. Or stood up to our pushy mom and didn't bring the kids to dinner every Sunday. Ohhhhh. Scary. We know she’s there! And whatever we do, she mustn't get control or….help! Little bartender babies! A permanent fight with the rents!

That’s why writing a detective series is so restful to most people—they just base their character on themselves, so it’s nice and easy to identify, and then give her a smart mouth and a gun so she can rock out. Woo-hoo! Suddenly, they’re in daily communication with the fun, fearless person they know is lurking within themselves. At least that’s what I imagined, once deep in Rebecca’s psyche. Because no way I made it easy on myself (see above). I was now stuck with a Good Girl lawyer detective who didn't know a thing about the law, ‘cause I didn't—hardly a recipe for a walk on the wild side. Okay, the lawyer thing was solvable—I had plenty of lawyer friends. But what about Goody Two Shoes Schwartz over there?

Well, an interesting thing happened. I guess in the end we all write from our Shadow, because next thing you know, Rebecca sure developed one—she wanted to be a good girl, like I did once upon a time (say at about age seven), or thought she did, but somehow, no matter how she tried, she just couldn't manage it. She kept doing all the things she wasn't supposed to do—both in her lawyer—aka professional—persona, and in her detective—aka problem-solving one. And that gave her that thing they tell you your characters are supposed to have in writing class—inner conflict! Who knew?

All of which adds up to the realization that the writing process is endlessly fascinating, a thousand per cent unpredictable, and very much its own uncontrollable system—much like the Rum Tum Tugger, it “do do what it will do and there’s no doing anything about it”. It’s a journey leading who-knows-where. Always an adventure!

Oh, yes, and, for the aspiring writer, it also adds up to a bit of advice. By all means learn from my mistakes and base your character on yourself! Think how much easier my life would have been if Rebecca had been a journalist instead of a lawyer. Still, if she’d been a rough and tumble action hero instead of a frustrated people-pleaser, I don’t think the book would have been nearly so funny. So I guess it worked out--I just did it the hard way.

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 Review

Oh, I loved this book. I had a blast reading it. I sat down with my reader and before I knew it, I was done in one night. I couldn't stop reading it. 

Rebecca was so funny. And cute. And inner conflict or not, she was one of those characters that just keep you wanting to go on reading without taking even the smallest break. What I liked about her was that not only was she able to make fun of herself and admit whenever she did something wrong, she also had really strong moments where you can see she's really smart. 

I loved the story too. It has mystery and I love that I didn't get to anticipate who did what and why. And I liked that even in the end there were some details that weren't revealed. 

I really can't think of anything that I didn't like about this book, so I'll just say that I loved, loved, loved it. So if you're a fan of chick lit, or if you're in the mood for some fun reading and funny, smart heroine, then read Death Turns A Trick


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Author Bio:

New Orleans author Julie smith is a former journalist and the author of some 20 mysteries, including two series set in San Francisco and two in New Orleans. Her 1990 mystery, NEW ORLEANS MOURNING, won the Edgar Awaed for Best Novel. DEATH TURN A TRICK is the first book in the Rebecca Schwartz series.

Connect with Julie!

www.casamysterioso.com
www.booksbnimble.com

Buy the Book!

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Rebecca-Schwartz-Mystery-ebook/dp/B008S695AO/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356904885&sr=1-1&keywords=death+turns+a+trick

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Book Review: Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum

Death on Heels (A Crime of Fashion Mystery #8) 



Author: Ellen Byerrum
Series: Crimes of Fashion #8
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):


Never! D.C. style scribe Lacey Smithsonian always swore she would never go back—back to Sagebrush, Colorado, that scruffy hard-luck Western boomtown where she'd earned her reporter’s spurs. But then three young women are murdered, their bodies left barefoot on lonely country roads, and the accused is her old boyfriend, Sagebrush rancher Cole Tucker. Lacey cowgirls up and heads out West (in her best cowboy boots) to prove Tucker's innocence. And perhaps to resolve the last of her old feelings for the man she had loved and left. Naturally, Lacey's plan doesn’t sit well with her current beau, private investigator Vic Donovan, who has his own history (and game plan) in Sagebrush.

Tucker takes one look at Lacey and kicks over everyone's game plan: He abducts her in a daring courthouse escape into the badlands of northern Colorado. On the run from the law with her old flame, in stolen vehicles and on horseback, with Vic and the posse in pursuit, Lacey's world turns upside down. Who can she trust? Tucker or Vic? The law or her own feelings and her reporter's instincts? Caught between two men, with a vicious killer on her trail, Death on Heels is a whole new—and potentially fatal—frontier for this fashion reporter.

Amazing! That's the first word that comes to my mind when thinking about this book. I don't even know where to begin, since I loved the entire book. It had everything: it had humor, sarcasm, action, romance and everything in between.

I loved Lacey. She's so funny, sassy, sarcastic, incredibly curious, stubborn. It was so fun reading about her adventures. I also loved her fashion articles and recommendations. They were fun to read and for someone who has nothing in common with fashion they were actually full with good ideas. Though I'm not sure I want to give up my old, favorite bag yet :P

I am new to this series and I am very sorry for that, because I feel like I almost lost an amazing story and a great heroine. I have to go back and learn more about her friends, Brooke and Stella, and about how Lacey and Vic reunited. Also, I want to read more of Lacey's Fashion Bites columns and about the troubles she's getting into.

If you haven't yet started this series and you want to read something fun and entertaining and something new, don't wait any longer! Read this series NOW!



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