Last night I read these two cozies, Buttoned up is book 4 in Kylie Logan’s A Button Box Mystery series and Bowled Over is book 2 in Victoria Hamilton’s A Vintage Kitchen Mystery series.

The Button Box Mysteries are a fun series that took a darker turn in this outing, incorporating elements of voodoo and black magic and I quite enjoyed it.  As in many cozy mysteries, you do have to practice some suspension of disbelief in Josie’s involvement in the mystery but it did not hamper my enjoyment.  There were plenty of clues sprinkled throughout and I was able to solve the mystery about half way through but wasn’t 100 percent sure I was correct.  The romantic element of the book has some twists and turns in it as well.  Unlike many other cozies, this series does not have a large cast of  quirky recurring secondary characters, however Nev and Stan are both in this book.  This is definitely a series that I will continue to read.

I just recently started the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series with A Deadly Grind, which I enjoyed so much that I went out and bought this one right away.  I really like the protagonist in this series, Jaymie Leighton.  She is a very active sleuth, following up on leads and investigating connections, not just falling into solving the mystery.  In this book, more of Jaymie’s background is revealed and the setting is developed further, a small town on the Canadian-US border.  Unlike the Button Box series, there are many recurring characters which are handled well, they add color but don’t detract from the plot. The theme, all things vintage and kitchen, is fun and adds a lighthearted element to the mystery without overwhelming it.  Another series that I will continue to read! Freezer I’ll Shoot is the next book.